To the Love Born in the Lowest Place

Liv looked down at the pink dress she was wearing. The glossy pink dress looked so delicate that it seemed a single touch of a fingernail might snag it, but this was also a guarantee of its high price. Since Liv had returned from the Lartman Duchy, the Hamelsvoort couple had been providing her with even better clothes than before.

She quietly observed the people attending the banquet with a seemingly cheerful face. She was alone, as Hildegard was still out volunteering.

-Liv, I might be a bit late that day due to some business. Is that alright?

-Yes, it’s fine with me since there will be many people there anyway.

Emmett seemed worried about Liv being alone at the banquet, but Liv insisted she would be fine. Perhaps because rumors had spread that Liv had been to the Lartman Duchy, the noble young ladies, unlike before, didn’t pick fights with her. Instead, they left Liv alone, awkwardly watching her.

‘I’m bored.’

As Liv was thinking this and counting the number of flowers carved on the wall, a shadow fell over her head.

Looking up, she saw a noble young lady with an unfamiliar face standing there. Although Liv wasn’t particularly well-connected in social circles, she had attended numerous banquets. If this was a face she had never seen before…

‘Has she just come of age?’

Suddenly, Liv remembered that a debutante ball had been held while she was down in the Lartman Duchy. This turned her guess into certainty.

‘She’s a young lady who just debuted in society.’

The young lady greeted Liv with a smiling face. Seeing her bright smile with the most gentle expression possible, she showed the typical signs of a girl who had just debuted in society and was trying hard to make connections with other noble young ladies.

Considering that Liv was currently wearing an expensive dress, she clearly appeared to be a noble young lady worth befriending, at least in appearance.

“Hello, may I greet you?”

“Yes.”

Liv had no reason to refuse as she was bored anyway. While the social circles of neighboring countries had complicated rules like lower-ranking people shouldn’t speak to higher-ranking people first, the social circles of the Holy Hilysid Empire weren’t so old-fashioned. The girl standing in front of Liv also began her introduction in this free atmosphere.

“I’m Judith from the Feuchstein Count family. I just debuted in society. I haven’t seen you at the few banquets I’ve attended so far, so I took the liberty of greeting you first.”

“I’m Liv Hamelsvoort.”

“Are you from the Hamelsvoort family? …Oh.”

Judith, who seemed surprised at Liv’s surname, one of the Five Noble Houses, soon seemed to realize who Liv was after hearing her name. Judith’s face cooled so much that it was hard to believe she was the same person who had smiled brightly at Liv just moments ago.

“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you. I thought Liv would be in the slums, not in high society.”

It was familiar for people to react like this when they first heard Liv’s name. They were usually devout believers of the Holy Church. However…

“Ahem, Miss Judith?”

“Come here.”

By now, everyone except the young ladies who had just debuted in society knew that Emmett was behind her. Liv could see other experienced young ladies subtly trying to stop Judith. Liv quietly looked at her and suddenly realized.

‘I’ve gotten used to the Lartman Duchy.’

In the past, she wouldn’t have been offended, but she had become too accustomed to the nobles there who treated her well. Usually, she would have kept her mouth shut, but somehow today she couldn’t stay quiet. And Liv knew one of the factors that made other nobles wary of her.

“Until recently, I wasn’t in the capital’s social circles.”

“Pardon?”

“I was down in the Lartman Duchy.”

Liv is soon to become the Duchess. Hildegard had advised Liv to say this if anyone picked a fight with her. It was bitter that it was actually a loveless marriage, but there was no need to keep her mouth shut when others provoked her. Emmett had asked her to do so, and after all, weren’t other nobles also marrying without love?

When Liv said this, Judith’s face showed she didn’t understand. Liv continued towards her.

“I went down there with Emmett. It was a wonderful place.”

As other young ladies surrounded Judith and whispered something, her face turned pale.

“Ah, I think I need to greet other people now…”

“Yes, I hope we can meet again.”

Liv bid farewell to Judith with a kind greeting until the end. The gentle smile Liv was wearing made her look even more dignified. After Judith disappeared, the other young ladies just glanced at Liv with unreadable eyes.

‘Now I’m not sure what I want to do either.’

Whether it was okay to keep her mouth shut and be mistreated in society, or whether she wanted to reveal her power and escape contempt. Thinking of the Emperor made her instinctively close her mouth, but when she actually experienced people’s hostility, she wanted to escape from it. She had no idea which side to choose. Liv quietly clenched and unclenched her hand.

Child, use the power you have. It is power received from us.

Today, even the gods only said this, not trying to kill those who upset Liv as they usually did. While it was comfortable for Liv not having to stop the gods…

‘You said there’s a time to reveal my power, didn’t you?’

Previously, the gods hadn’t helped Liv, saying there was a ‘time’ for everything.

That’s right.

‘Is that time approaching?’

The gods didn’t respond to that question. Seeing this, it seemed even more clear that the time was approaching.

‘What would happen if I choose to continue like this?’

Everything will flow according to providence.

Liv wasn’t even sure if she had free will. The gods tried to explain what happened to Liv with words like fate and providence.

Was Liv really forging her own destiny, or was she unknowingly following a predetermined fate?

Soon Emmett arrived, and Liv’s attention immediately shifted to him, but the faint question that had arisen in her mind had already left its trace.

* * *

“She mentioned herself that she had been down to the Lartman Duchy?”

Surrounded by other young ladies, Deborah fluttered her fan with an uncomfortable expression.

“Yes, she clearly said so to Miss Judith, who just debuted in society.”

“She seemed quite proud of it.”

At those words, Deborah raised one corner of her mouth in a mocking expression.

“She’s really getting cocky. Using that as a weapon.”

“Indeed, what are you going to do?”

All eyes were on Deborah. They looked like they believed Deborah would do something. Slightly emboldened by their gazes, Deborah answered.

“We can’t just watch a slum-born who doesn’t even know what she did there try to stand above us. At this rate, that woman might become a real member of the Five Noble Houses while hiding her past as if it doesn’t exist.”

Deborah had an inferiority complex towards the Five Noble Houses.

The Steinberg family, which was one of the Five Noble Houses, had now become the imperial family, so she couldn’t dare to aspire to them, and she couldn’t deal with the young Duke of the Lartman family either. The Schmidt family was holed up in the frontier and rarely came up to the capital, and the Arendt family people didn’t often interact with outsiders, so she had no chance to meet them.

Therefore, the Hamelsvoort family was the perfect family for Deborah to have a sense of competition and burn with inferiority. Deborah’s anger towards Liv stemmed from this.

‘Why do I have to be treated as inferior to the Five Noble Houses even though I’ve come this far?’

Her family, the Zibel Marquisate, had a higher rank than the Hamelsvoort County and more wealth. Not only that, the Zibel Marquisate always made wise decisions and operated a huge trading company. Especially by predicting this drought and hoarding fruits in bulk, they were able to make huge profits. Yet people naturally treated the Zibel Marquisate as inferior to the Hamelsvoort County.

This time, Deborah intended to pull Liv down and tarnish the honor of the Hamelsvoort family as well. And Deborah knew how to bring Liv down.

“It seems we’ve forgotten because things have been quiet lately, but there was another person who loved Miss Hamelsvoort.”

“You mean…”

“Shouldn’t Young Lord Kreppelin have a chance too?”

* * *

“Oh, sister! You’re back!”

Hearing that Hildegard had arrived, Liv went downstairs. Hildegard, looking disheveled, was standing at the entrance and smiled when she saw Liv. Her hair was dirty as if it hadn’t been washed for a long time, and there were stains all over her clothes. Above all, her dry lips and dark circles under her eyes elicited sympathy.

“I need to wash up first, could you have some water drawn for me?”

After saying this to a maid, Hildegard approached Liv. Then, realizing something, she maintained a slight distance from Liv and asked.

“I must smell, is that okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Only then did Hildegard nod and continue.

“I’ve been volunteering in the slums. There have been many deaths recently due to an epidemic.”

“Did you use your divine power?”

“Yes, I couldn’t save many… but I was able to cure those whose illness wasn’t too severe.”

Hildegard often went out to volunteer like this when there was something happening in the slums. Because of this, Hildegard’s popularity among the imperial citizens of the capital was at its peak.

“But I’m worried because they say a drought has hit recently. For now, the crops are just not growing well, but if the rivers dry up, soon the imperial citizens won’t be able to drink water…”