To the Love Born in the Lowest Place

The young lady who had introduced herself as ‘Hannah Hertz’ cut in with an amused expression.

“That’s because she has the highest status among the noble young ladies in this area. It’s not that she particularly loves the Duke, she just thinks the highest position should be hers.”

“Hmm…”

“But what’s the use of having a high title? In the capital, Marquises are a dime a dozen. What’s important is reputation, reputation. The kind of reputation that the Hamelsvoort family has.”

“This is all because Miss Malea is a frog in a well who hasn’t been to the capital,” Maria added.

The other young ladies laughed, saying Maria was talking about the capital again. The slightly stiff atmosphere finally relaxed.

“Miss Malea is that type. Someone who thinks titles are everything. She believes she deserves to be treated well because her title is high.”

“Anyway, it’s better not to get involved with her unnecessarily.”

Hannah said with an uneasy expression.

“She’s quite skilled at bullying people…”

Did that mean she might bully Liv herself? Well, but Liv was already used to being bullied by noble young ladies in the capital. Malea’s bullying probably wouldn’t be much either.

When Liv made an unimpressed face, Maria said that she indeed wouldn’t be a match for a noble from the capital, and they all laughed again at that. As a gathering of young noble ladies, the topic soon changed, and Liv quietly smiled as she listened to them introduce the surrounding area.

* * *

Maria, who had been talking with Liv for a while, exchanged glances with Hannah beside her. It was to ask what she thought of Liv Hamelsvoort. Hannah nodded with a smile, indicating she thought she was good. It wasn’t much different from Maria’s opinion.

All the noble young ladies around the Lartman Duchy had a favorable attitude towards Liv. That was natural, as she would become the future Duchess. It was better to make a good impression now, as they would be closely involved later. Moreover, she was the daughter of the Hamelsvoort family, one of the Five Noble Houses. A marriage between the Five Noble Houses – could there be a more suitable woman as a match for Duke Lartman?

Maria recalled Walter Hamelsvoort, the son of the Hamelsvoort family, whom she had seen when she went up to the capital. Black hair and purple eyes. He was a handsome man with an elegant and beautiful impression. Although he looked so unlike Liv that Maria tilted her head at first, they were both beautiful in their own ways, so it wasn’t like they had nothing in common.

Malea had said that Liv wasn’t very beautiful, but that was by Malea’s high standards. To Maria, Liv had a cute and lovable impression, so it was understandable that she would be quite popular. It made sense that Duke Lartman loved her.

Above all, talking to her, she seemed innocent and kind. Despite coming from an ancient family, she didn’t have an attitude of lording over them, and she smiled with a fascinated expression whenever the other young ladies said something. It’s impossible to dislike someone with such a personality.

‘We’ll get along well in the future.’

Maria smiled, thinking there would be no problem even if she became the Duchess. As long as Malea didn’t interfere unnecessarily, it seemed Liv would be able to adapt to high society without any issues.

* * *

“Liv Hamelsvoort…”

Malea left the banquet hall, muttering that name with a resentful face. Of course, the stupid reason she disliked Liv wasn’t because Duke Lartman loved her. Malea had no interest in love at all, especially when it came to Duke Lartman.

In this remote province, rumors of how cruelly Duke Lartman had acted in the capital hadn’t spread, so there were occasionally noble young ladies who secretly fancied the Duke, but Malea wasn’t one of them.

Malea was simply frustrated at having the position of ‘Duchess’ taken from her. In this land far from the capital, the highest position Malea could aspire to was that of Duchess, and she had been eyeing that position for a long time. And since she was among those with high titles, she thought that she, the daughter of a Marquis, would naturally become the Duchess. But then this young lady of a Count, who came from the capital, had snatched that position.

Feeling rather upset, she felt she needed to go somewhere secluded to find a plan to get back at Liv. As the daughter of a quite high-ranking noble in the Edelburg region, she had always lived getting whatever she wanted and doing whatever she pleased.

Even if she couldn’t become the Duchess, she would often encounter Liv in high society. Shouldn’t she crush that woman’s spirit to some extent for the future?

As Malea was heading towards the back where servants usually worked, she stopped in her tracks upon hearing a small voice.

“I don’t understand why no one listens to me! Why does everyone like that Liv Hamelsvoort?”

It was the name of the woman Malea hated more than anyone right now. Glancing at where the voice was coming from, there was a woman in a maid’s uniform grumbling to a man who seemed to be a servant.

“Shouldn’t you still be careful what you say? Didn’t you almost get in big trouble last time when you were caught by the Duke’s guest?”

“Oh, but I trust you, that’s why.”

“Well, your words have some truth to them. There are quite a few others who think the same way. They’re just not showing it.”

“It’s good to know there are some sane people. I don’t understand why they worship that fake Saintess so much.”

“What did you just say?”

As Malea interjected, making noise with her shoes, the maid stopped breathing in surprise. Ignoring the stupid expression of the lowly maid, Malea approached her, looked down at her, and asked.

“I don’t mean anything by it… but it seems you don’t like that woman either, and neither do I.”

Malea knew how to sweetly persuade these lowly creatures to bring her what she wanted. Ah, even these things can be worth using. Malea smiled as if she was on the maid’s side, and the maid also smiled slightly, seeming relieved. Rather, the maid was showing a happy expression, thinking she had finally found someone who understood her.

“Are you one of the young ladies attending the banquet?”

“Yes.”

“Then you should know this! Liv Hamelsvoort isn’t really the Count’s daughter, she’s an adopted daughter!”

“…Adopted?”

“Yes, because she pretended to be a fake Saintess!”

A moment later, after hearing the whole story from the maid who introduced herself as ‘Becca’, Malea grinned. Come to think of it, she seemed to have heard that there was a Saintess named Hildegard in the Hamelsvoort family, but she never imagined there was such a behind-the-scenes story.

“A fake Saintess, you say…”

It was unacceptable for a mere fake Saintess to deceive everyone and rise to the position of Duchess. As she was pondering how to use this information, a good idea occurred to Malea.

‘She said she came down here to greet the vassals.’

Do the vassals know that Liv Hamelsvoort is a ‘fake Saintess’?

…Maybe they do. Their intelligence network is certainly not inferior to her own. Yet the fact that Duke Lartman brought Liv Hamelsvoort down to the Duchy means he must be confident she will be accepted regardless of her background.

‘Then I just need to create a reason for them not to accept her.’

All she had to do was embellish the story about why Liv became a fake Saintess. The highest position must be occupied by herself. Thinking this, Malea bit her lip.

* * *

[To my sister Liv.

Hello, sister. This is Hildegard. How is the Lartman Duchy? Are you doing well there?

I’ve been so worried since you left that I looked into information about the Edelburg region. I believe you’ll do well, but I’m concerned about you getting hurt or insulted and the gods becoming angry.

I recently met someone from Edelburg, and they said that since it’s so far from the capital, news about the capital travels slowly there. They said they only learned that I was a Saintess of the Holy Church after coming here. As such, I think the noble young ladies in the social circles there might not know much about the bad rumors about you.

So I hope you’re doing well there. I’d like you to make new friends without prejudice against you.

And even if bad rumors spread there too, I hope you’ll face them confidently. After all, Duke Lartman proposed to you, so what’s the problem? If the nobles there treat you badly, act like you’re going to be the future Duchess and threaten them. Sometimes you need to be bad to bad people. You don’t need to be kind to everyone.

Of course, the most important thing would be to make a good impression on the vassals of the Lartman Duchy. From what I’ve heard, Duke Lartman has been under a lot of pressure from those around him to get married because he’s been so uninterested in women. Since the Duke has brought a woman with him, there’s a possibility that the vassals won’t care even if you’re a ‘fake Saintess’.

In fact, above all, it’s a marriage approved by His Majesty. That alone means no one can stop your marriage.

Oh, I have news to share with you, sister. Lord Walter is said to be returning to the Empire soon. He’s obtained a doctoral degree from the Merna Empire.

To be honest, I feel awkward with Lord Walter, so just imagining being alone with him in this mansion makes me feel suffocated. That’s why I hope you come back soon.

Lord Walter is really too noble. He says he considers me family, but it feels like I shouldn’t dare to think that way, you know? Do you feel comfortable with Lord Walter, sister?

By the way, although I said I hope you come back soon, you can rest comfortably in the Lartman Duchy if you’d like. I hope there’s some progress in your relationship with the Duke there.

Have a good day, sister.

Waiting for your reply,

—Hildegard]