To the Love Born in the Lowest Place

When they arrived at the port, Liv faced an unexpected crisis.

“Those are… soldiers sent from the imperial palace.”

Despite it being early morning, the atmosphere at the port was chaotic. There were sailors smoking with their upper bodies bare, and people with rough faces who were clearly being chased for crimes, but what stood out most among them were soldiers with the imperial emblem spread throughout the port.

Walter, who spotted them, frowned slightly and remained still for a while, as if observing the situation. After a moment, he signaled to Hayden.

“Please get the disguise tools we brought in advance.”

“Will we be able to avoid detection?”

“Well, there are so many criminals here… Everyone seems reluctant to undergo inspections. The imperial palace will probably understand this to some extent and try to avoid unnecessary conflicts with them, so we should be fine even if we’re a bit uncooperative.”

Among them, Liv was the one with the most noticeable hair color. She received a black wig from Hayden and put it on. Hildegard, well-known as a ‘Saintess with angelic blonde hair and blue eyes,’ wore a brown wig. Walter’s hair color wasn’t particularly noticeable, but he also wore a blonde wig just in case.

“Where’s the ship we’re supposed to board?”

“We’ll have to move now to find it. Then encountering the soldiers will be unavoidable… Acting natural will be important.”

Liv couldn’t hide her anxiety and tightly grasped the hem of her clothes. She was also worried about her pale pink eyes, which weren’t a common color, and the fact that if she was caught here, Hildegard, Walter, and Hayden would be in trouble too.

However, they had to get to the Merna Empire, so they ultimately had to break through those soldiers. Finally, Liv made up her mind and went forward with Walter, with Hildegard and Hayden following behind.

“Ah, our ship is over there.”

Just as Liv said that, pointing to a place where she spotted a familiar flag, a soldier passing by looked at them suspiciously.

“Hey, you there.”

Liv hoped those words weren’t directed at them, but…

“I said stop.”

They had no choice but to stop at the voice holding them back.

“Is there a problem?”

Walter answered in a slightly irritated voice as he turned around. It was unlike his usual way of speaking, but he seemed to be trying his best to hide his identity and appear like an ordinary criminal from Miergrund.

“Do you have identification?”

“…This is Miergrund. Are you serious?”

“Hey, I don’t know who pissed off someone important enough to bring out the imperial palace, but we’ve never been involved with anyone that high up. Mind your own business?”

Hayden helped Walter with a casual tone, but the soldier still didn’t seem to remove his suspicion from Walter.

“Where are you from? Your accent is too noble.”

…Oh no, they had overlooked that. Hayden had learned the commoner accent while traveling around, and Hildegard also spoke comfortably when she wasn’t conscious of it. Liv, who learned language from the gods, was said to use a unique and peculiar tone that couldn’t be called any particular accent… But Walter used an accent that anyone would recognize as noble.

“Damn, now these insignificant folks are being a nuisance.”

Suddenly, words so rough that it was hard to believe Walter had said them sprang out. His manner of speaking changed to be coarse in an instant. If observed carefully, one might notice that it was intentional rather than natural, but the threatening swear words prevented the soldier from thinking deeply.

“Are you looking for a fight? Damn, yeah, I’m on my way back after pulling off a scam in the capital. Is that enough? Oh, did Marquis Neuter send you? Or Count Windscheid? Damn, I’ve done so much I can’t even guess which one it is.”

Walter put a fierce killing intent in his eyes and pulled out the dagger Viscount Wolfe had given him for self-defense. Then he brought it in front of his face and twirled it threateningly.

“If you’re here to find me, say so. So I can decide whether to kill you or not.”

It was the look of a real criminal who seemed to have killed dozens of people, so Liv could only look at him with a surprised face without realizing it.

“Whoa, whoa, calm down, friend.”

The soldier’s attitude towards Walter changed instantly. He probably knew it would be dangerous if he got into a fight with him here and attracted the attention of other criminals in Miergrund.

“I’m just trying to be thorough. I’m not suspecting you, just…”

“Ah, how annoying. What are you doing here? I didn’t know you were here, what a waste of time.”

It was then that a woman appeared and grabbed Walter’s arm.

She was wearing armor, and the face of the woman with her gray hair tied up in a ponytail was clear without a single scar, unfitting for the longsword in her hand. However, her height comparable to a man’s and the sword spinning in her right hand gave her a threatening aura.

“Ah, these are our guests.”

When the woman casually put her arm around Walter’s shoulders and said that, the soldier’s expression changed and he nodded.

“…They’re your guests, Anne? I see, no wonder they seemed a bit rough.”

“What exactly have you been looking for since yesterday?”

“That’s a bit difficult to say. Take your guests and go quickly to avoid misunderstandings.”

Although they didn’t know who this woman was who suddenly appeared and helped them, it was a favorable situation for them, so Liv kept her mouth shut. The woman showed her middle finger to the soldier, then walked away from the soldier with one arm still around Walter.

“Thank you, but who are you?”

When Walter asked that, the woman answered in a gruff voice.

“That’s what I should be asking. Who are you?”

“What?”

“Who are you to have visited Viscount Wolfe’s domain?”

At those words, Walter’s eyes widened, and the woman nonchalantly pointed to the two horses they had with them.

“These are horses raised in Viscount Wolfe’s domain, right? This one’s Alex, and this one’s Betty. I’ve known these horses since I was little, there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize them.”

Liv instinctively realized her identity. Gray hair, mention of Viscount Wolfe’s domain. Then…

“You’re Viscount Wolfe’s granddaughter.”

“…You even met my grandfather?”

While the woman was looking at them with strange eyes, Hayden was the first to speak.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Wolfe. I should introduce myself first. I’m Hayden Schulze.”

“…Schulze?”

For a moment, a strange light flashed in the woman’s eyes.

“That Schulze? The one grandfather talked about…”

“Unfortunately, our timing was always off, so we never had a chance to meet.”

“Right, I know about you… Then the people with you must be related to ‘that matter’ you’re preparing.”

“Well, yes. These are people from the Hamelsvoort family, currently being chased as traitors. You could say they’re another victim created by Steinberg.”

When Hayden said that, pointing to Hildegard and Walter, this time the woman’s eyes widened.

“Hamelsvoort was accused of treason?”

“…Don’t you ever think about catching up on the latest news?”

“No, I’ve been busy lately.”

The woman scratched her head as if embarrassed. Her wariness towards them seemed to have diminished a bit. She introduced herself while casually twirling her sword.

“Well, I’m Anne Wolfe. As you know, Viscount Wolfe’s granddaughter.”

“But why were you here?”

“Ah, I’m doing short-term work here. I joined a sailing guild, and our guild is responsible for transporting people who are escaping from this country. However, we only accept people whose identities are sufficiently guaranteed, because it gets complicated if we get involved with someone important and become major criminals ourselves. That’s why the soldier let you go when he saw me earlier.”

“Are you acquainted with the soldier?”

“Oh, the soldiers have been all over the place since yesterday, but our guild master told them well that our guild has nothing, so don’t bother us unnecessarily. It’s about cooperating with each other, you know.”

“Why are you doing short-term work here anyway?”

“Ah, the money is quite good. I was lucky to get the job through an introduction from a mercenary I know.”

Despite clearly being a noble, she was showing speech and behavior that was hard to believe of a noble. Judging by what she was saying, it seemed she had always lived this kind of life due to lack of money, so that was rather natural. She glared at Hayden with dissatisfied eyes.

“Anyway, let’s not get involved unnecessarily. I don’t want to get tangled up in your loyalty game.”

“You’re being harsh.”

“Why, am I wrong? Honestly, I’m just as irritated by Steinberg. If it weren’t for Steinberg, our family’s life wouldn’t have become this miserable. But how can we take revenge? There’s no more Gracia now, and Steinberg’s power covers the country.”

Hearing those words, Hayden’s eyes took on a strange look. Hildegard and Walter also glanced at Liv.

Liv had been quietly listening to her words, then stepped forward. Somehow, Anne’s eyes seemed full of resentment as she spoke. It was pitiful to see her giving up after understanding the reality, even while knowing who her enemy was.

“Miss Wolfe, listen carefully. Go back to Viscount Wolfe’s domain right now.”

“What?”

“If you go back there and wait, an opportunity will come. The opportunity you’ve been wanting so much.”

“Uh…”

Because Liv’s attitude as she said this was so dignified, Anne just opened her mouth quietly instead of getting irritated and asking what she was talking about. She looked Liv up and down with suspicious eyes.

“What do you know to say such things?”

“Yes, soon a huge storm will sweep through this country. And Miss Wolfe will inevitably be caught up in that storm. No, you’ll throw yourself into it willingly. So go back to Viscount Wolfe’s domain.”

“An opportunity…”

Normally, she would have easily dismissed such nonsense, but now she simply couldn’t. Because this woman in front of her… had a special look in her eyes that seemed to draw people in.