To the Love Born in the Lowest Place

When she opened the envelope, it contained, as Liv expected, an invitation to a tea party.

‘A tea party…’

The content of the letter was polite and courteous, but now that Liv had shown her power to everyone, all the letters coming to her could only be filled with good content.

“I received that letter too.”

Hildegard said, shrugging her shoulders, so Liv pondered for a moment. Would it be good to go to this tea party? She wanted to go since it was an invitation she had received after a long time, but it seemed troublesome if she kept asking about the Supreme God. Towards Liv, who was pondering, Hildegard said:

“It won’t be bad. Miss Luther didn’t bully you from the beginning. I heard she’s of an upright nature.”

“Really? Does she have a good reputation?”

“They just say she’s very Luther-like. The Luther family is a family of theologians, so in the end, it must be with good intentions, right?”

“Hilda, do you think I should go there?”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t go anywhere and rather make people anxious… But if you must go, this seems better. It’s better to go with someone who had no connection from the beginning than with those who suddenly changed their attitude after bullying you. Anyway, you’ll have to return to social circles someday, and Miss Luther seems like a good choice.”

Persuaded by Hildegard’s words, Liv decided to go to this tea party. Liv also wanted to get along well with other people. She wanted to build friendships with new people, not the noble young ladies who had bullied her. The experience of mingling with young ladies in the Lartman territory remained a special and good memory in Liv’s mind.

“Alright, I’ll go.”

“Really? Then I should go with you.”

Liv considered asking Emmett, but it seemed that Emmett wouldn’t interfere with whatever decision Liv made. And for some reason, he seemed busy these days.

‘Of course, he’s still fulfilling his duties…’

The night that was supposed to end in a day continued on. Whenever Liv felt overwhelmed, Emmett apologized but didn’t stop. Emmett, who answered that this was a couple’s duty, somehow seemed to be enjoying it, making it difficult for Liv to guess his true feelings.

“Sister, you’ll write a reply, right?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

So the two wrote a reply saying they would attend the tea party. The letters became distorted as Emmett kept lingering in a corner of her mind, but there was no time to worry about such things.

* * *

When they arrived at the Luther mansion on the day of the tea party, what Liv encountered was Elena, who had come out to greet them at the entrance of the mansion. Elena, with her golden hair, a bit more saturated than Hildegard’s, half-tied and hanging down, was wearing a dress that was somewhat modest for a noble. It could have been rustic, but when you saw Elena’s pure and kind smile, it felt as if the dress became beautiful because of her smile.

“Oh my, Mrs. Liv! And even the Saintess has come!”

Elena naturally stuck close to Liv’s side and whispered:

“If it’s not rude, may I call you by your name?”

“Yes.”

“Great, please call me by my name too!”

Seeing Elena’s friendly attitude, it seemed unlikely that she would bully Liv at this tea party like other noble young ladies. When they entered the garden, there were already other young ladies sitting at the table. They stood up as soon as they saw Liv and Hildegard.

“Hello!”

“Oh my, it’s so nice to meet you like this!”

As Liv looked at them making a fuss with suspicious eyes, Hildegard whispered beside her:

“Miss Luther’s friends are all devout believers of the Holy Church and diligent people.”

“Ah.”

Although she had seen them a few times in social circles, they weren’t very familiar faces. Until it was revealed that Liv was a fake Saintess, they probably didn’t dare to speak to her first because of her status as the Saintess of Hamelsvoort, and after the truth was revealed, they didn’t bully her, so their faces were unfamiliar. She didn’t know what courage they had to call Liv this time.

Elena gave Liv the seat next to her and even pulled out the chair for her. As Hildegard and Liv sat down, they began introducing themselves.

“We don’t often attend parties, so you might be seeing us for the first time. I’m Elena from the Luther Viscount family.”

“I’m Katherine Barth.”

“I’m Monica Reichenbach.”

After the introductions, Elena looked at Liv with sparkling eyes and said, twisting her body:

“Thank you both for accepting my invitation. I made my debut in society last year, and I’ve wanted to become friends with the Saintess for a long time, but I didn’t have the courage to speak to her first.”

That meant that when Elena made her debut in society, it was already after Liv had been revealed as a fake Saintess.

“Actually, even now I don’t think I’m great enough to invite the Saintess… but, but I felt this was my chance.”

“You can call me Hildegard.”

“Oh, thank you!”

“But why did you think now was your chance?”

“I, I just felt that way. Everyone is sending invitations to both of you now, and I thought if I don’t gather courage now, I might never be able to…”

Elena blushed shyly as she looked at Liv.

“Mrs. Liv… Oh my, I can’t tell you how happy I am to meet you like this…”

Looking at Elena’s eyes as she said this, Liv shuddered. Because Elena’s eyes were a look that Liv knew well.

Yes, it was just like… Liv’s eyes when looking at Emmett!

Liv rolled her eyes slightly to avoid Elena’s gaze. Then she saw the other young ladies looking at Elena with somewhat bored expressions. When Liv’s eyes met one of them, she whispered with her mouth:

‘Be careful. She’s completely fallen for Mrs. Lartman.’

Liv made a dumbfounded expression, not understanding those words, when Elena moved her body close to Liv and said:

“Mrs. Liv, actually, I attended the wedding too…”

“I see.”

The devout Elena seemed to have been greatly moved by Liv after directly witnessing the miracle at the wedding. Elena continued in a voice that was almost tearful.

“Ah, I felt like my faith was rewarded that day! I was so happy…”

“I see.”

Elena suddenly made an expression as if she had decided something, and bowed her head in front of Liv.

“Mrs. Liv, I’m sorry for all this time!”

“What? For what?”

At the unexpected words, Liv’s voice grew a bit louder. Hildegard even opened her mouth with an unbelieving face. But Elena’s posture, with her head bowed, was straight.

“Well… There were people who bullied you in social circles, but I didn’t help you.”

It was the first time she had heard an apology, so Liv’s face went blank. She thought they would pretend not to know.

“Actually, I knew it was wrong. But… I was afraid of those people who were bullying you. Because they were in such high positions that I dared not say anything. So I remained silent, but now that I think about it, I really regret it.”

“I see…”

“Yes, of course, this isn’t because I found out that you receive God’s love.”

Elena clenched her fist.

“Originally, it’s obvious that we shouldn’t throw stones at anyone, but I don’t think I internalized that rule. I’m sincerely reflecting on it. No one should be bullied like that!”

Hearing the pure outcry, Liv recalled using God’s power on those who had troubled her. Like Malea, or Zibel, or Gert… Feeling somewhat pricked in a corner of her heart, Elena apologized to Liv once again.

“Mrs. Liv, I’m really sorry.”

Liv smiled faintly. Among the people who had changed their attitude as if nothing had happened, Elena was the only one who apologized to Liv.

“It’s okay, Miss Elena. I didn’t hold it in my heart.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Since she didn’t seem like a bad person, Liv reached out her hand to her. It felt like she could make friends now.

“Miss Elena, how about becoming friends with me instead?”

“Friends?”

Elena looked at Liv’s hand as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

“Oh my, such an honor…! I’m so happy. Yes, really.”

Then the other young ladies also apologized to Liv in an awkward atmosphere, and Liv once again told them it was okay. Now there was a warm atmosphere in the garden. Those who had apologized seemed a bit embarrassed, but still, everyone was looking at each other and smiling.

“By the way, Mrs. Liv.”

Elena opened her mouth in a curious tone.

“I heard when I went to pray at the temple. Is it true that you’re going to show your power in front of people?”

“Yes.”

Liv nodded. It should be okay to say in advance since it would be announced soon anyway.

“In four days, the temple has arranged a place.”

“I see…! I must definitely go there. What kind of power do you plan to show there?”

Since Liv hadn’t decided on that either, she pondered for a moment. Then Liv found an answer that would satisfy Elena.

“That depends on God’s will.”

“Wow!”

Elena looked at Liv with sparkling eyes, clasping her hands, and Liv smiled again. Having friends was indeed a good feeling. Unlike in the Lartman Duchy, she had been a bit depressed because she had no friends in the capital, but now she felt her heart lighten a little.

“Well, there’s a saying like this.”

Liv, feeling a bit proud, continued.

“‘Fera Gospel 2:14’, Those who believe in me, a path will appear before them.”

“You know the scriptures well!”

“Of course, I memorized it all.”

Although Liv still didn’t know much about the world compared to others, she was second to none when it came to scriptures and mythology. She knew all the history and laws of every religion. After all, it was the story she heard every day when she was confined in Abgrund. Perhaps because she liked their eyes filled with admiration, words flowed smoothly today.

“My favorite story is this one. When God’s apostle Elrom was being chased by enemies and reached the sea, the Supreme God split the sea in half and opened a path for Elrom.”

“That’s right, I started liking the sea after hearing that!”

“Really? I rather find it scary. I feel like the sea is a space full of the Supreme God’s power, not permitted to humans.”

“That’s a new perspective!”

As Liv excitedly exchanged conversation with Elena, the other young ladies joined in and the conversation became lively. Perhaps because they were all devout young ladies, they seemed to enjoy talking about the scriptures.

At that moment, the young lady who had introduced herself as ‘Monica’ spoke in a careful tone.

“Um, by the way, Miss Hildegard, do you know?”

“Know what?”

“There’s a bad rumor going around these days.”

Monica, saying this, had an apologetic attitude towards Hildegard.

“Some people are spreading malicious rumors, saying that if that’s the case, isn’t Mrs. Liv the real Saintess and Miss Hildegard the fake Saintess?”