To the Love Born in the Lowest Place

Despite destroying the Lartman and Hamelsvoort mansions one after another and creating an ominous atmosphere in the capital, the mood in the imperial palace was not very bright. This was because the mood of August, the master of the imperial palace, was at its worst.

“You say you couldn’t find the eldest son of Hamelsvoort and the Saintess?”

“Yes, it seems they’ve escaped…”

“Do you think I called you in for such meager results?”

When August shouted at Marquis Schmidt in an angry voice, the Marquis lowered his body, trembling. He was the one in charge of searching the Hamelsvoort mansion this time.

“Your Majesty, I will find them quickly…”

“Did you search the temple? The Saintess might have contacted the temple.”

“Well, no traces were found at the temple…”

And at that moment, a sound like the sky was being torn apart was heard.

Rumble, boom!

“Aah!”

Marquis Schmidt covered his ears in surprise, and the Emperor looked up at the sky with anxious eyes. Yes, based on what he had experienced so far, he sensed something… This was certainly not an ordinary thunder sound. It was an unpleasant feeling as if something huge was tearing the sky and looking down on this land.

“It can’t be…”

He desperately hoped his ominous prediction was wrong, but finally, a voice began to fall from the sky.

August, how dare you destroy everything I cherished.

Crash!

A huge chandelier fell from the ceiling with a loud noise. Because fragments flew, blood was flowing from the Emperor’s cheek. However, with a face that felt no pain, he just looked up.

I will abandon you, August Steinberg.

* * *

Elena listened with a blank face as her parents conversed. They didn’t want to inform Elena about the situation, but now that everyone was talking about it wherever she went, Elena couldn’t be the only one unaware of the matter.

“This is nonsense.”

“Isn’t this the time when we should all unite?”

“One of the reasons the rebellion failed five years ago was the existence of Lartman. But now that even he has turned his back, there are no nobles who will side with the Emperor.”

“I heard Schmidt is on his side…”

“…But if we miss this chance, there might never be another opportunity.”

The downfall of the Hamelsvoort County brought a great shock to the nobles. Moreover, rumors spread that the Duke and Duchess Lartman had fled and the Emperor was pursuing them. Although the reason wasn’t publicly announced, all nobles guessed the following reason: If a new 3mperor were to be established, Lartman would be suitable, so the current Emperor might be trying to eliminate them.

“How…”

Elena Luther trembled as she stood in her garden. It felt like it wasn’t long ago that she had invited Liv and Hildegard here for tea.

“I… I will act too!”

“Elena…”

“You told me to devote myself to the Supreme God! Now is… the time to act.”

It was unbelievable that the Emperor had touched two families of the Five Noble Houses at the same time. At this rate, the current Emperor’s power might grow as large as that of the ancient kingdom. If that happens, he will try to expel all nobles who are eyesores with his bloated power.

“Yes, this is nonsense.”

“We can’t just stand by and watch anymore.”

Thus, devout nobles including Luther were the first to become angry.

“We must unite to survive!”

Then even the nobles who feared it would be their turn next united.

“We can’t stay still anymore.”

“Elena, we’ve received a promise of cooperation from the temple.”

Finally, numerous nobles including Elena began to come out onto the streets.

* * *

Although the Emperor is said to kill anyone who goes against his will, there is one thing in the world that even he can’t touch.

“Save Saintess Hildegard!”

“Kill August!”

People gathered like a swarm of bees in front of the imperial palace, shouting slogans. Holy knights were at the forefront, protecting the citizens.

Many of them were believers of the Holy Church. But even those without deep faith gathered in front of the imperial palace, angered by the news that Hildegard, who usually performed good deeds, had been captured. Not only that. Even nobles who usually looked down on commoners were squeezed in among them, shouting slogans. Since they would lose their lives if they directly confronted the Emperor, they decided to unite with the citizens like this.

People covered the streets. The flags of the Holy Hilysid Empire they were holding fluttered in the wind. The sight seemed to mock August.

“How dare they…”

August was trembling with anger, his face red, in the Sun Room. Beside him was Marquis Schmidt, rubbing his hands and watching his mood.

“Your Majesty, we need to resolve this situation for now… If we’re not careful, it might escalate into a bigger issue…”

Although August would normally have thrown porcelain at Marquis Schmidt, even he had no choice but to follow the Marquis’s words now. The priority now was to appease the crowd by any means necessary. If not, they would try to pull August down from his position as Emperor. Of course, the people deposing the Emperor was something that had never happened in the history of the Holy Hilysid Empire, but you never know. In times like these, it’s easy for a hero representing the people to appear, behead the Emperor, and claim legitimacy as the next Emperor.

So now was not the time to kill someone else, but to appease the gathered people.

Above all, because holy knights were protecting the people, he couldn’t unleash the imperial knights. If an armed conflict broke out between the holy knights and imperial knights, news of this would spread to other countries. Other countries might use that as an excuse to intervene in the affairs of the Holy Hilysid Empire.

In the end, the Emperor had to make a decision with his eyes tightly closed.

“I’ll have to throw Louisa to them as a sacrifice.”

* * *

The people who had been protesting for a long time fell silent. The Emperor had appeared on the wall above the gate leading to the imperial palace.

“First of all, I feel great sorrow about this matter.”

The Emperor began to pretend to be sad, and jeers were heard from here and there, but he continued speaking.

“It’s true that the Hamelsvoort County was preparing for rebellion. Therefore, I had no choice but to punish them.”

“Didn’t you try to hold a hearing for Saintess Hildegard!”

A loud shout was heard from somewhere. For a moment, the Emperor’s face almost contorted, but he managed to hide his expression.

“Yes, I want to admit my mistake about that. I tried to hold a hearing for Saintess Hildegard after hearing rumors that her past was unwholesome, but this was a false accusation.”

“False accusation?”

Because the Emperor used the word ‘false accusation’, the citizens began to murmur. The nobles noticed the Emperor’s intention to shift the blame elsewhere, but they remained silent, deciding to wait and see. At most, he would use Marquis Schmidt or other imperial officials as an excuse. If so, while continuing this protest, if they prepare for rebellion together behind the scenes…

However, because the person who appeared before them was an unexpected figure, they could no longer shout.

“My daughter, Princess Louisa, falsely accused Saintess Hildegard.”

As his words ended, Louisa, with her arms bound by knights, was dragged out. Her already pale complexion had darkened even more, and her face was wet with tears.

“Your Majesty, I’m really wronged! Your Majesty!”

“Silence!”

The Emperor’s voice echoed loudly across the square.

“You directly falsely accused Hildegard to me, how dare you deny it shamelessly!”

“Your Majesty!”

Slap!

Louisa’s cheek was struck hard, so she couldn’t continue speaking. She just looked at the Emperor with an expression full of betrayal.

“Imprison my princess, so that she may repent for her crimes!”

“Your Majesty! Father!”

Louisa was dragged away by the knights without being able to make any excuses. The citizens who didn’t know what was going on just focused on the Emperor’s words with serious faces, and the nobles, shocked that the Emperor had chosen to abandon Louisa, whispered in small voices.

“Also, rumors have spread that I am pursuing Duke and Duchess Lartman. This was to make them witnesses to the Hamelsvoort family’s rebellion. So if Duke and Duchess Lartman feel threatened, I will stop pursuing them as of today. Duke and Duchess Lartman are by no means criminals.”

At those words, the nobles’ minds raced quickly. So the Emperor had abandoned his daughter and withdrawn from turning Duke Lartman into an enemy. This was a fairly good deal the Emperor had proposed to the nobles, but…

“Step down!”

Such a shout was heard from somewhere.

“Step down from the throne!”

What the nobles wanted was the Emperor’s abdication. As their shouts continued, August gritted his teeth. And at that moment…

“Th-That!”

Two birds began to descend from the sky. The mysterious birds with golden feathers circled around the Emperor, then landed on both his shoulders.

“Is this sent down by the Supreme God?”

While the citizens were murmuring, August raised his voice.

“Oh, the Supreme God has sent down these birds as a sign of forgiveness for me!”

Anyway, it was a mysterious sight for the citizens to see, so they no longer demanded August’s abdication and marveled at the miracle before their eyes. The holy knights looked at it with suspicious eyes, but there was no way to prove that it was ancient magic. On the surface, the power of God’s miracles and magic looked similar.

“Damn, if he insists that God has forgiven him, we have no justification.”

“Let’s investigate more about the end of Steinberg instead.”

“Ah, that’s right. We should change our justification to that.”

The nobles knew they had to retreat to this extent today. Even if they prepared for rebellion behind the scenes, they couldn’t borrow the power of the citizens. In the end, that day’s protest ended like that.

* * *

“Ah, aah!”

When they were almost at Viscount Wolfe’s domain, suddenly Liv screamed and collapsed on top of the horse. Startled, Emmett quickly stopped the horse.

“Liv! What’s wrong?”

“Huff, ahh…”

Liv convulsed, raising her nails as if in pain. It was a pain she knew well, but could never get used to.