LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 22 - 3. The Pitiful One
3. The Pitiful One
The next day, what woke Liv up was a soft touch gently nudging her body.
“Sister, please wake up. Duke Lartman has arrived!”
As soon as she heard those words, Liv rose from her bed with a startling movement uncharacteristic of her usual self. After realizing he was waiting in the reception room, Liv lightly put on her clothes and followed Hildegard.
“But Sister, isn’t it really strange?”
Whispering as they went downstairs together, Hildegard said:
“He suddenly changed his attitude completely. It’s just like the old times. Could he have lost his memories or something?”
It was a plausible suggestion, but Liv had a calm expression like someone who knew everything. A monotonous voice flowed from her lips, devoid of any inflection.
“Well, you can never really know what’s going on in this world.”
When they went downstairs, Liv saw the bewildered faces of the Hamelsvoorts.
“Liv, you’re here.”
“What in the world is going on…”
In front of them stood Emmett with neatly combed hair and a composed face. The bouquet of pink roses cradled in his hands was a vibrant hue rarely seen, and a sweet, flowery scent wafted from him, as if he had just been in a garden. As soon as he faced Liv, his stiff expression softened, and a smile blossomed on his face, resembling the flowers in his hands.
“Miss Liv.”
He took her hand in such a natural manner, then placed the bouquet in her hands and said:
“I thought you might like some flowers.”
“Yes, I did…”
With a wistful expression as if recalling the distant past, Liv soon had a joyful look as she buried her face in the bouquet. Standing enveloped by the large bouquet, her lips quivered, seeming to hold back a smile.
Witnessing this scene, the Hamelsvoorts, who had been standing by like supporting actors until then, asked with perplexed faces:
“But Duke Lartman, how…”
“Ah, my apologies for visiting so abruptly without sending word in advance.”
Emmett answered in a gentle voice, yet it carried a hint of pressuring dominance over the Hamelsvoorts.
“There will likely be more visits like this going forward, is that alright?”
“…Y-Yes, of course!”
Having grasped the situation, Countess Hamelsvoort quickly responded. She was no fool and knew that relationships between men and women could change in an instant. And now was the moment when their relationship had shifted once again. All Countess Hamelsvoort could do was hope for their happiness. The man willing to pay a hefty sum to marry the woman rumored to be a ‘Fake Saintess’ could only be Duke Lartman!
“We welcome Your Grace anytime, ho ho… Liv, don’t you agree?”
“Of course. I’m happy with whatever Duke Lartman desires.”
Emmett seemed to have a realization at her words, pausing briefly before resolutely opening his mouth.
“…Miss Liv, if I may be so bold…”
“Yes?”
“Could you call me Emmett again? Of course, if you no longer wish to, I cannot object. It”s all my fault, but…”
“By your name?”
Liv’s eyes widened. She briefly recalled Emmett previously telling her not to call him by name anymore.
But since he was directly asking her to call him Emmett again, she had no reason to refuse. An ordinary person might have asserted their pride by asking why his attitude had changed, but Liv had no such pride to maintain towards Emmett.
The immense, devoted, utterly unconventional love she had learned from the gods. Embracing that, Liv simply nodded.
“Alright, I prefer being called Liv too.”
“…Ah, I’ve been calling you Miss Liv again without permission.”
“But that’s fine. I prefer it that way.”
After answering with a bright voice, Liv smiled radiantly as she inhaled the scent of the roses.
She loved flowers. Something that could only bloom under bright sunlight. It was something she could never have imagined before joining the Hamelsvoort family.
“Did you come to give me these?”
When Liv asked Emmett that, he looked a bit bashful as he replied:
“Yes, and… if Miss Liv would like, may I have you show me around the garden?”
“I’d love to.”
Hildegard, who had been watching everything unfold, let out a heavy sigh. Liv was taking Emmett’s abruptly changed demeanor as a matter of course, the Hamelsvoort couple was simply delighted without a second thought – it seemed she was the only one going insane.
“Am I the only one who thinks this is strange…?”
* * *
The next day, Emmett visited Liv again, this time with a bouquet of yellow freesias. That day, they had tea together, and Liv’s bright laughter filled the estate.
The following day, Emmett brought blue hydrangeas. Liv’s eyes sparkled with delight at seeing blue flowers for the first time, and Emmett helped her learn new idioms in the library.
On the fourth day, Emmett came with purple lisianthus. As always, Liv was overjoyed, and they admired the artworks in the Hamelsvoort family’s collection…
“This is really strange!”
Finally unable to contain herself, Hildegard exclaimed.
While Liv had always been difficult to understand, she could accept that. But she simply couldn’t comprehend why Emmett was acting this way.
It was obvious he loved Liv. His eyes gazing at her were overflowing with affection.
Hildegard had given up trying to understand why his attitude towards Liv had abruptly changed. But why didn’t he just confess to Liv? Emmett was behaving like someone desperately trying to win Liv’s heart. If he proposed to her, Liv would surely accept with joyful tears, without a doubt!
In the end, Hildegard called Emmett aside before he left. He was a much taller and intimidating person than her, but protecting Liv was Hildegard’s mission.
“Duke Lartman.”
Hildegard began with a trembling voice.
“I cannot understand why you are acting this way. Have you now developed feelings for my sister? If so, then propose to her. That would make everyone happy, wouldn’t it? You, my sister, everyone.”
However, Emmett didn’t respond to her words, only shaking his head. With her frustration mounting, Hildegard raised her voice, forgetting his status.
“Of course, you may feel apologetic towards my sister. You did cast her aside once before. But relationships can be mended, can’t they?”
“No, that’s not it.”
As if he could no longer just listen to Hildegard’s words, Emmett finally began speaking in a somber tone.
“I have committed a grave sin against Miss Liv. One that may never be forgiven, perhaps for my entire life.”
“No, what are you talking about? There’s no way you committed such a sin against her…”
Then, as if realizing something, Hildegard’s expression turned cold.
“Divine punishment.”
“…”
“Something happened during the divine punishment process. At that time, you wronged my sister.”
As a ‘Saintess’, Hildegard’s divine punishment had ended with simply enduring the gods’ voices, but if Emmett had also undergone punishment in the process of returning to the past, and something had become entangled with Liv during that… Then there was a past between them that Hildegard didn’t know about.
“…You’re right. Miss Liv is so kind, despite the grave wrong I committed against her. And I know she loves me as well.”
He closed his eyes in apparent anguish and said:
“She would likely accept if I proposed to her. For now, she is still unaware, but in her generosity, she would even forgive the sin I committed. However, I am too afraid to even ask for her forgiveness from Miss Liv. I dread being forgiven for the sin I have committed…”
Unable to fathom what had transpired during the divine punishment process, Hildegard couldn’t speak. Addressing her pained expression, Emmett said:
“All I can do is strive to make Miss Liv happy. That is what I have been trying to do. But I cannot bring myself to ask for her forgiveness. I cannot propose marriage.”
* * *
“Miss Liv.”
“Yes.”
To Liv, smiling as she looked at the red roses reminiscent of her own eyes, Emmett asked:
“Is there anything you would like us to do together?”
“Something I want to do?”
“Yes, I would be happy with anything Miss Liv desires.”
At those words, Liv turned her head in thought. Since she would have enjoyed doing anything with Emmett, she found herself at a loss.
‘Something I wanted to do before coming to the Hamelsvoort family…’
Various beautiful things she had read about in novels danced through her mind, and finally recalling one of them, Liv answered in a bright voice:
“A picnic!”
“A pic…nic?”
“Yes, a picnic.”
At that, Emmett seemed to bite his lip before nodding his head.
“Very well, I should have expected you would want that. Let’s have a picnic together tomorrow. Somewhere close to the Hamelsvoort estate… The Dneuve River would be ideal, I think.”
“Is there anything we need to bring for a picnic?”
“I’ll have the servants prepare a blanket to sit on, snacks, and a meal. Miss Liv need not bring anything.”
Though Emmett had said that, Liv still wanted to prepare something for him. She had never been on one, but she knew that people usually packed their own food for picnics.
So after Emmett left, Liv sneaked into the kitchen, only to be…
“Oh my, what are you doing here, Miss Liv? We’re quite busy at the moment.”
“We don’t have time to play with you, Miss.”
…met with hostility from the servants.
‘Ah, that’s right, I had forgotten.’
Reflecting on it, she realized others originally disliked her. Having spent time only with Hildegard and Emmett recently, she had forgotten that fact. Resolving never to forget it again, Liv retreated back to her room.