To the Love Born in the Lowest Place

“Wow.”

The next afternoon, after riding in Emmett’s carriage to arrive at the Dneuve River, Liv’s eyes sparkled.

Under the dazzling summer sunlight, people in light clothing were enjoying the cool river breeze, settling on the grassy areas. In one spot, an artist had set up a model to paint, while a musician played the violin, accepting money from onlookers. Though a bit disorderly, it was a lively scene that made Liv keenly aware she was living in human society.

As Liv looked around admiring the river, Emmett instructed a servant to prepare a spot for them.

“Umm.”

Soon after sitting on the yellow blanket laid out for her, Liv let out a small sound. Sitting in her voluminous dress with the teacup on the ground and pouring tea proved more difficult than expected.

Seeing Liv’s troubled expression, Emmett opened his mouth with a flustered look.

“I forgot the tea table. I left it in the carriage, so I’ll go retrieve it.”

Since he had sent the servant back to the carriage, there was no one else to fetch the tea table.

“Miss Liv, please wait here for just a moment, I’ll be right back.”

“Alright.”

Liv nodded obediently and hummed a tune as she waited for Emmett’s return.

The cool river breeze made the summer heat bearable, and the people sitting by the riverbank were commoners unconnected to high society, so they did not gawk at Liv and the Duke. Though the river water didn’t look particularly beautiful in the summer, what did it matter? Everything felt perfect.

Then, a shadow fell over her head, and Liv looked up. It was clearly not Emmett’s presence, and there should be no one here who would recognize them, so who could it be?

The person she came face-to-face with was a man with fiery red hair reminiscent of blazing flames. However, distinct from the vivid red she had seen a few times in high society, his hair seemed to have shades of ash mixed in, like the remnants of a long-burning fire. His eyes were sharply slanted, and his brown irises gazed at Liv with a peculiar look.

His attire was closer to that of a commoner than a noble. Yet her attention was drawn to the dagger at his waist.

But more than anything, it was the intense aura emanating from the man that made him stand out. Though he seemed to be posing as ‘ordinary’, his piercing gaze fixed on Liv suggested he hadn’t lived an ordinary life by any measure.

‘Does he know me?’

Liv wondered if he was also a noble, but she had no recollection of encountering this man in high society.

Unable to discern why he had approached her, Liv grew uneasy as she awaited Emmett’s return. Finally, the man squatted before her and spoke.

“I’ve found you, the variable of this world.”

Startled by his words, Liv flinched, but the man only leaned closer, scrutinizing her.

“It’s you, isn’t it?”

The man asked again, as if confirming.

While Liv did think in ways that were difficult for others to understand, she wasn’t oblivious or foolish. Quickly realizing the man’s identity, her expression changed abruptly.

“So it’s you. The Emperor’s would-be assassin.”

“Sharp, aren’t you?”

The man raised the corners of his lips in a wide grin. More than joy, it seemed tinged with anguish.

“I searched far and wide for you after the divine punishment. Yes, I searched for quite a while…”

Liv glanced at the man’s eyes. 

Through his ordinary brown irises, she glimpsed a hint of madness, as if half-diluted. She knew these were the eyes of one who had endured unimaginable divine punishment, like the person she had seen before…

“Who was at that banquet hall? Who inflicted that torment upon me? I thought long and hard about it…”

Relentless. That was Liv’s immediate impression from his gaze. The intense aura she felt seemed to emanate from his relentless, tenacious nature… Anyone looking into those eyes now could discern his fundamental character.

“No matter how much I thought about it, it could only be you. The fake Saintess, Liv Hamelsvoort.”

“Why have you come? What do you want to say to me?”

When Liv asked in a calm voice, the man answered as if surprised:

“You don’t seem afraid of this situation at all. What if I’ve gone mad and do something to you?”

“You’re lying. Someone who has endured divine punishment can’t do anything to me.”

Liv spoke without a hint of fear.

“You can’t harm me. Isn’t that right?”

“Hmm…”

“And…”

Liv glanced up at the sky.

The gods, who would have normally raged about someone daring to be rude to Liv, were silent. No, rather…

So he has finally come to find you.

The chief deity of the Faith of the Radiant seemed to welcome the man. While the reason was unclear, if the gods welcomed him, he wouldn’t pose a threat to her.

Based on the current circumstances, the man didn’t seem likely to harm her, so Liv spoke without fear.

“I’m actually quite curious.”

“About what?”

“Usually, those who undergo divine punishment hate or fear me. But you don’t seem to at all.”

“Hate or fear…”

The man chuckled as if amused by her words. It was clearly an abnormal reaction.

“Who has the capacity left to hate or fear? It seems they didn’t receive the full punishment.”

“Um…”

“I have no reason to regard you in such a way. For I no longer have anything to fear.”

Suddenly, the man glared at Liv with eyes that seemed to blaze.

“What could be more terrifying than what I have endured?”

Bringing his lips close to Liv’s ear, the man whispered:

“Because of you, I have tasted hell, Liv Hamelsvoort…”

* * *

The man’s last memory was of shooting the hound guarding the Emperor before his world went black. And sometime after that, a blade had pierced his abdomen, and he seemed to have seen a woman with white hair…

You dare spill the blood of our beloved daughter.

Did you harm my child?

Receive divine punishment.

Live in eternal torment.

I inflict divine punishment upon you!

Amid the resounding thunderous voices, the man squeezed his eyes shut.

‘Where is this place? What was that last scene I witnessed?’

Recalling how the world he knew had been torn apart like useless scraps of paper crumbling away, he tried to grasp the situation. Soon, the image of the imperial capital he was familiar with had vanished, and now he felt himself being dragged down into a deep, pitch-black abyss.

‘Is this death?’

He felt around his abdomen, but the wound inflicted by Duke Lartman’s blade had vanished without a trace.

‘Divine punishment? What does that even mean?’

At that point, he knew nothing. And soon, when he opened his eyes…

‘Ah.’

There was nothing.

No light, no sound. Only a world of absolute ‘nothingness’.

He tried to move his lips but failed to produce any sound, as if they wouldn’t move.

His body was bound in an unnatural posture, utterly immobile. He attempted to close his eyes, but his body wouldn’t budge, as if forcibly held in place.

‘Divine punishment?’

Though uncertain of the situation, the man thought that once he escaped this space, he would need to find the cause.

Being trapped in horrifying darkness was torturous, but he could endure it to some extent. He was skilled at persevering – had he not waited this long to kill the Emperor?

One day passed like this.

Then two days.

Three days.

A week.

And how much longer?

Around the time he had completely lost his sense of time, the man returned to the original world.

‘…What was suffering again?’

Of course, by then the man had utterly discarded his former values.

Thinking about what he had endured, it wasn’t enough to simply rage with anger and hatred towards the woman who had reduced him to this state. And yet, somehow, he felt his mind had grown dull and cold. His brain seemed to move sluggishly, as if something had frozen it solid.

Within his half-shattered consciousness, he thought, ‘I should find that woman.’ But then what? Seek revenge? Was that even possible with human abilities?

No, he couldn’t. So for now, he would approach her. And observe.

Patiently biding his time was his specialty…

* * *

After hearing the man’s words, Liv’s expression darkened. Regardless of his attempt to assassinate the Emperor, the fact that she had been involved in the punishment inflicted upon him was another matter. In the end, she had unintentionally caused harm to others once again.

‘But I had no choice if I wanted to save Emmett…’

As Liv anxiously pondered this, suddenly her body was scooped up by someone and lifted into the air.

“Who is it?”

“Huh? Ah…”

Cradled in Emmett’s embrace, Liv trailed off. Turning her head, she saw Emmett glaring coldly at the man who had been before her.

“Ah, Duke Lartman.”

The man raised both hands in a mocking gesture as he rose from his spot.

“Duke Lartman, you are well known to me. It is a pleasure to meet you like this.”

“State your identity.”

“My house is likely too lowly for Your Grace to recognize?”

“I will be the judge of that.”

“Schulze. Hayden of the Schulze family.”

At those words, Liv turned her head in thought, but as expected, it was an unfamiliar name to her. In contrast, Emmett seemed to recognize it, flinching before responding,

“But the Schulze family was surely annihilated, was it not?”