To the Love Born in the Lowest Place-Chapter 164

Well, of course, the answer that came from Hildegard was disappointing.

"Hmm, you know. Can you imagine him liking someone?"

"Ah..."

Walter had lived dozens of lives because of Liv. Having experienced someone who whispered the sweetest love in one life becoming a complete stranger in another, it would be difficult for him to easily give his heart to others.

"Well, I guess so. Still, if by chance someone he connects with appears, let me know. I’d like the Marquis to... be more at ease now."

"Yes, I will."

Only after chattering for a long time until the tea went cold did Hildegard finally stand up.

While saying goodbye to Hildegard, Liv encountered Greta returning with freshly brewed tea.

"Oh, did she leave already? I brought new tea."

"Yes, maybe Miss Meisner would like to drink it?"

When Liv pointed to the seat in front, asking that, Greta didn’t refuse and sat down facing Liv.

"It’s a tea scent I’m smelling for the first time."

"Ah, this was sent from the Merna Empire this time. They say it’s tea leaves brought from the East."

"I see. I heard Eastern tea isn’t bad either."

The tea Greta slowly poured had a green tint, and it definitely had a different taste from the tea Liv had been drinking until now. It had a strong grassy scent and was bitter, but it wasn’t bad as it seemed to warm up the insides.

"Did you have a good talk with the Saintess?"

"Yes, it was nice to see Hilda after a long time."

"The Saintess seems like such a good person. I’m trying to emulate her too."

At the words praising Hildegard, Liv raised her head and asked.

"Are you interested in Hilda?"

"Ah, actually, there’s no one who isn’t interested in the Saintess. Besides being someone who made great contributions to Your Majesty’s ascension, she’s a saintess directly chosen by the Supreme God, so anyone would admire her."

Greta’s reaction to Hildegard was also evidence that Hildegard was doing well in social circles.

"How are things among the maids these days?"

Since there was time, it seemed like a good idea to hear from Greta about the relationships among the maids. When Liv subtly asked about what had been bothering her recently, Greta answered with a contemplative look.

"The others are fine, but Miss Gentzen is still..."

"Miss Gentzen?"

"I’m worried that she’s not getting along with everyone. She keeps making mistakes and showing sharp reactions to the other maids, which sours the atmosphere. I wonder if she hasn’t been able to let go of her old habits?"

Seeing her answer lengthening, Greta clearly seemed to think poorly of Olivia. Perhaps most of the maids felt the same way.

"Hmm..."

What should be done? As Liv was frowning, this time Maria knocked on the door of the reception room.

"Your Majesty, a guest has arrived."

"A guest? Was there an appointment?"

"Ah, yes! They were originally scheduled to come in the afternoon, but it seems their carriage arrived faster than expected."

"In the afternoon..."

Liv blinked, recalling the schedule for this afternoon.

"It must be the Lartman Duchy."

"Yes, vassals of the Lartman family have arrived."

* * *

The Lartman vassals who came to see Liv were the ones she had seen before in the Lartman duchy. Although they had shown a generous attitude towards Liv then, now that Liv had ascended as Emperor, they seemed to find her difficult. Anyway, it meant they weren’t the type of guests Liv had to be wary of.

"We’ve acquired some good horses and would like to offer a few to the imperial palace."

"I’ve discovered a few books from the Garcia Empire."

After they spent time explaining in detail what they had brought for Liv, the main conversation finally began.

"Thank you all for coming such a long way."

"Oh no, not at all. Rather, we’re sorry for coming to see you so late after your ascension, Your Majesty."

"Of course we should come to see you, haha."

While awkward conversation was continuing, the door opened.

"Your Majesty."

"Emmett... no, Grand Duke?"

Emmett, who wasn’t scheduled for the appointment together, had appeared. A servant quickly brought an additional chair, and Emmett naturally took the seat next to Liv.

Liv, who hadn’t expected Emmett to appear, looked at him with round eyes.

"I thought you’d be busy preparing for the banquet."

"How could I leave Your Majesty alone?"

When Emmett said that, the vassals laughed heartily, finding something amusing.

"It seems Grand Duke Lartman really loves Your Majesty."

"As before, the relationship between you two is very good."

Since it wasn’t often that their relationship was flaunted like this in front of others, Liv felt embarrassed. On the other hand, Emmett had a confident expression as if this was natural.

"Why did you really come?"

When Liv whispered that in Emmett’s ear, Emmett naturally stretched out one arm to wrap around Liv’s waist and answered.

"Of course, you are the supreme Emperor and no one can say anything... but I heard that a husband shouldn’t leave his wife alone when meeting his family members."

"What’s that."

But Liv’s face was slightly red as she answered. It couldn’t be bad to have someone care about her. The vassals looked satisfied at the sight of the two. One of them cleared his throat unnecessarily and opened his mouth.

"Ahem, with your relationship being so good, the day to see the Crown Prince must not be far off."

"Ah..."

For a moment, Liv’s face cracked. Of course, Liv didn’t think that her being infertile would bring any harm. But the fact that she couldn’t meet people’s expectations made Liv flustered. As Liv’s expression suddenly turned bad, another vassal cleared his throat again and tried to smooth over the situation.

"Cough, cough! Oh my, these days, interfering in a couple’s affairs like that gets you called an old fogey."

"Haha, is that so? I apologize, Your Majesty. I was being thoughtless..."

"Ah... it’s alright."

Somehow, it felt like Emmett’s arm around Liv’s waist tightened even more.

After that, the vassals didn’t talk about children and changed the topic to the Lartman duchy and the Edelburg region, but Liv couldn’t erase what they had said from her mind even afterwards.

* * *

After finishing the conversation with the vassals, it was Emmett who felt more anxious than Liv.

’I should resolve this quickly after all.’

That was what Emmett thought as he left the room after finishing the conversation with the vassals.

When the vassals brought up the topic of children, he didn’t miss Liv’s flustered appearance. Whether it was because she wanted children but couldn’t have them, or because she didn’t want children, he couldn’t know, but anyway, it would be better to resolve the issue before Liv made plans for children.

Emmett recalled his subordinates he had sent to various parts of the continent. The knights he had trusted since he was Duke Lartman were now investigating various poisons that induce infertility under Emmett’s orders. However, there were no results yet.

It was then that Emmett felt impatient. After the vassals’ figures had completely disappeared, Liv grabbed Emmett’s hand.

"It was nice to see your face suddenly today."

"Was it?"

"Yes, honestly, the Emperor’s position is a bit boring. Your existence is like a gift to me."

Seeing Liv chattering like that reminded Emmett of her when she was still young before becoming Emperor, and he smiled faintly. He lightly kissed the bridge of Liv’s nose.

"Liv, is there anything particularly difficult?"

"Difficult? Hmm... nothing except seeing you less often than before. Ah, my maids don’t get along well, but I don’t think that’s something I should intervene in."

"I see. Then I should come to see you more often from now on."

"But you’re busy with work too, Emmett."

"My most important job is to assist you."

As Emmett said that while gently stroking Liv’s body, her face turned red. After checking his wristwatch, Emmett’s face became a bit annoyed. It was time to go to work. It was the same for Liv, so she pouted with a displeased face.

"...Then, shall we see each other tonight?"

"Alright."

Liv smiled again with a shy face. After kissing the back of her hand, Emmett turned around and headed towards the terrible abyss of work.

* * *

Liv, who had been sleeping soundly making soft breathing sounds, suddenly opened her eyes. Unstable breathing came from her mouth that anyone could hear.

"Ah..."

Liv reflexively tried to raise her body, but discovered Emmett’s arm wrapped around her waist. Liv tried tapping it, but the firm arm showed no sign of letting go of Liv. In the end, Liv gave up trying to escape and snuggled back into Emmett’s arms. Only then did her mind calm down a bit and her breathing return to normal.

’It was a dream.’

In the dream, Liv had found the bodies of the Hamelsvoort couple hanging in the imperial palace.

Since the day she had to flee the capital crying with Emmett, Liv occasionally had nightmares. Sometimes the Hamelsvoort couple appeared in the nightmares, sometimes Laga appeared, or sometimes the late Viscount Wolfe or Walter and Hildegard appeared.

Although she knew that everything was over now and she was safe, there were still terrible memories that couldn’t be erased.

As Liv moved around in Emmett’s arms, Emmett’s closed eyes slowly opened. He checked the pitch-black room where not a speck of light entered, then lightly kissed Liv’s forehead and whispered.

"Sleep more."

"Mmm..."

Liv whined unnecessarily and buried her face in Emmett’s neck. Liv thought she wished this peace would last forever.