To the Love Born in the Lowest Place

Riding in the carriage towards the Duke Lartman’s estate, Liv exuded a vibrant radiance akin to a freshly blooming flower. She had no reason to be in low spirits. Everything was reverting to how it had been!

The servants of the Hamelsvoort household, previously unkind to Liv, had recently begun treating her courteously after seemingly receiving some instruction from Count and Countess Hamelsvoort. The coachman periodically asked if she was comfortable, to which Liv had to reassure him she was fine.

“Miss, we’ll be arriving shortly!”

“Ah, I see it over there.”

Liv’s eyes sparkled as she peeked through the curtain and spotted the Lartman estate in the distance. While the Lartman family’s main residence was located in their Ducal lands, the manor they were heading to in the capital was no less grand and splendid than other noble households in the city.

Screeeech!

Then, the carriage abruptly screeched to a halt, causing Liv’s head to forcefully strike the ceiling. She winced while rubbing her head.

“What was that…?”

“Miss!”

The coachman’s flustered voice came from outside.

“J-Just a moment, please. I’ll take care of it.”

His voice trailed off as he spoke, and Liv calmly waited inside the carriage for him to return. However, even after counting to one hundred and waiting further, he didn’t come back.

‘What’s wrong?’

If it were simply a stone stuck in the wheel or getting trapped in mud, he would have reported it to Liv beforehand and worked on it. This seemed like some unexpected situation. Thinking her assistance might be needed, Liv parted the curtain by the window to look outside, and what she saw was…

“Hayden?”

The halted carriage on the bridge, and the man standing before it.

‘…Perhaps I really should have refrained from going out?’

As Hildegard had warned, he had clearly been lying in wait for an opportunity when Liv ventured outside.

This bridge had to be crossed to reach the Lartman estate. To proceed to her destination, she would need to have him move aside, so Liv exited the carriage to converse with him. As soon as the carriage door opened, he extended his hand as if to escort her.

“Need a hand getting down?”

“No need.”

Liv simply hopped down from the carriage, thinking she should wear lower-heeled shoes next time to prepare for such situations.

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, when else would I get a chance to talk to you?”

“Don’t say that.”

Liv responded coldly to Hayden’s brazenness. She remembered Emmett’s words to keep her distance from him and agreed that associating with Hayden would likely be unfavorable for her in various ways. Separate from her intrigue towards him, the Emperor’s would-be assassin could cause some unexpected incident.

“Liv, won’t you join me in bringing down the Emperor?”

Hayden whispered discreetly to Liv while extending his hand towards her, but she only stared blankly at it.

Instead, the one who reacted was the coachman, who had been anxiously watching Liv’s movements.

“Miss, who is this man? He’s blocking the road – do you know him?”

“A strange person.”

“A strange person, you say…?”

Then, the coachman seemed to realize something and exclaimed:

“Could he be an extreme stalker? I’ve heard young ladies these days suffer from those.”

“Extreme stalker?”

Liv pondered briefly. Was Hayden a so-called ‘stalker’ pursuing her? Yes, that seemed accurate. And was he ‘extreme’? That also fit.

“Yes.”

“Good heavens!”

The coachman jumped in shock. Unable to lay a hand on Liv, he fretted before her, struggling to block her path as he spoke anxiously:

“Miss, it would be best to quickly return to the carriage…”

“It’s fine, he likely won’t leave unless I talk to him.”

“But? But then the Count and Countess will…”

The coachman seemed fearful of the repercussions if this matter came to light, but as Liv was the highest authority present, he couldn’t protest further. Liv and Hayden regarded each other as if the coachman didn’t exist.

“It wouldn’t be difficult, Liv. You could just use the power of your gods, right?”

“That’s impossible.”

Liv cut him off bluntly.

“The gods’ abilities are restricted, so they cannot exert great power in the human world. No matter how divine, they cannot manipulate the world and interfere with humans as they wish. That’s why.”

“Hmm.”

Hayden let out a perplexed hum, scrutinizing Liv with a sharp gaze.

“Then what about when you died?”

“That was because the gods designated me as their ‘beloved child’.”

Liv was this world’s sole child beloved by the gods. Therefore…

“The gods can only intervene in this world if I am harmed. From the minor case of being insulted by others, to the extreme of facing death.”

“So this world truly revolves around you, then…”

Hayden licked his lips with an intrigued expression, resembling a snake that had found suitable prey.

“In that case, I can’t let you go anymore.”

“You now understand you ca’t exploit me.”

“Well… what if I could?”

For an instant, a blinding flash seemed to erupt in his eyes.

“If you were deliberately punished by the Emperor? Then the gods would inflict divine punishment upon him, able to deliver immense torment!”

“I don’t want to become entangled with the Emperor.”

That was precisely why Liv feigned ignorance despite having sufficient power – any matter involving the Emperor caused the gods to become raucous, so she wished to avoid any association with him.

Child, come to the sacred grounds.

Come to our realm.

There, you can become anything.

Even amid this, the gods whispered for Liv to come to the sacred grounds, where their power would be amplified.

If Liv gained power there, she could wield godlike abilities and inflict the horrific torment on the Emperor that Hayden desired. However, obtaining power in the sacred grounds was no simple matter, and Liv had no reason to go to such effort for something unrelated to her. Hence, she didn’t bother mentioning the sacred grounds to Hayden.

“The most important thing is, I have no reason to bring down the Emperor. He has nothing to do with me at all.”

“Everyone knows August is the epitome of a tyrant. His foul temper is such a calamity that anyone could fall victim, making him a public enemy of the current nobility – your Duke excluded, of course.”

“I really have no interest in such matters.”

Though Liv emphasized with an exasperated tone, Hayden still seemed unwilling to back down.

“Alright, truthfully, I had no intention of exploiting myself as I mentioned earlier.”

“Not exploit, but have me join you instead. With or without your abilities, I have the confidence that together, we can topple the Emperor.”

Liv wore a perplexed expression, but Hayden continued undeterred.

“Won’t you take my hand, even now? To bring down the Emperor together…”

“Miss Liv.”

At the voice coming from nearby, Liv immediately turned her head to see Emmett approaching from the direction of the Lartman estate. While his gaze towards Hayden lacked outright murderous intent, the overly refined emotion made it seem all the more terrifying.

“Just what are you doing here?”

“Ah, it won’t do. I’ll see you again next time, Liv.”

Hayden clicked his tongue in seeming regret before instantly leaping down from the bridge they stood on, his movements fluid as if accustomed to such feats. It must have been quite a height, yet when Liv peered over in shock, Hayden was nowhere to be seen.

“Are you alright?”

Emmett approached Liv, naturally guiding her away from the bridge’s edge as he spoke.

“What did that man try to do this time?”

“No, he just blocked the carriage’s path… He wanted to talk to me.”

“He must truly be deranged.”

Though his expression seemed unperturbed, Liv could sense the disdain in his voice towards Hayden.

“It seems I must issue a wanted order for that man.”

“Yes…”

Even setting aside the attempted assassination of the Emperor, Hayden was an unpredictable danger, so Emmett’s decision was reasonable.

“Shall we walk the rest of the way to the estate then? It’s not far.”

“I’d like that.”

When Liv readily agreed, seemingly forgetting about Hayden already, Emmett extended his hand towards her, as if inviting her to take it. Liv hesitated briefly before carefully placing her hand atop his larger one. Instantly, his hand enveloped hers, transmitting warmth.

Just as the two, hand-in-hand, were about to set off, the coachman called out tentatively:

“U-Um, Your Grace!”

“What is it?”

Fortunately, Emmett responded with a gentle tone, seemingly emboldening the coachman. Watching Emmett’s demeanor, he broached his concern:

“It’s about the guards at the estate’s entrance, you see…”

“The guards?”

“Yes, I had been observing the guards at the main gate, but they blatantly ignored Miss Liv’s precarious situation, no matter how much I gestured for them to come over…”

So it seemed the coachman hadn’t simply stood idly by while Liv conversed with Hayden – his efforts had merely been disregarded.

“…Are you saying the guards of my household acted in such a manner?”

The anger swirling in his face was like blue flames, a stark contrast to his earlier nonchalance when observing Hayden.

“…Miss Liv, I truly apologize.”

“No, there’s no need…”

“It is entirely my failure to properly discipline the servants of my household. This serves as an opportunity to ensure you receive proper treatment, Miss Liv.”

As he spoke those words, his gaze was fixed intensely towards the estate. From his expression, it seemed a storm was about to descend upon the Lartman manor today.