A musty, fishy smell permeated the underground prison. Bound on the cold stone floor, August stared at the man who had thrown him in here. The young man who once followed his every word more faithfully than anyone now looked down at him like filth on the street.
"My wife will decide your punishment."
Hearing those words, August giggled. Emmett seemed displeased by August's laughter. August couldn't explain why he was laughing, but he felt he hadn't been completely defeated. Even if he lost the imperial throne and was recorded as a loser in history.
He would remain forever in the minds of Liv Gracia and her husband. He would live and breathe there, tormenting them.
'At least I'm leaving behind some embers.'
Liv Gracia would inflict a terrible punishment on him. She could cut off his limbs and keep him alive, repeatedly dip him in boiling water and heal him, or use divine power to drive him insane. Since he would lose his mind soon anyway, August decided to enjoy a moment of pleasure.
The fact that Emmett Lartman had killed Viscount Wolfe was revealed to the world. That alone would have planted seeds of distrust in Liv Gracia's heart. And about the infertility...
'It seems he won't tell her.'
Lartman would never tell Liv that August had tried to blackmail him with Liv's physical condition. He wouldn't reveal that the cause of infertility was poison, and would instead try to find the antidote on his own.
But in fact, there was no antidote.
It was true that August had the court physician feed her medicine. However, it was just a ploy to create confusion for them. The medicine was nothing.
'Yes, in the end, the two will distrust each other.'
If he were to face death, Liv Gracia would never be able to find happiness either. With his death, they would never know the truth.
* * *
The underground prison wasn't exactly a fitting place for a newly enthroned emperor. But only by finishing things completely in this darkness could she emerge into the light as emperor.
"Liv."
As Liv descended into the underground prison, Emmett stood beside her as if to protect her. However, Liv waved her hand saying she was fine, and approached August. Finally, Liv, who had come close to the iron bars, opened her mouth with a cold expression.
"August, I hope you're ready to pay for your crimes."
August remained silent, but Liv hadn't really expected an answer from him, so she continued speaking.
"The punishment I'll give you isn't complicated. You just have to endure the power of the gods. That's all."
At the word 'gods', August raised his head as if sensing something strange. He must have thought Liv Gracia only received the love of the Supreme God.
"You know, I originally only received the love of the Supreme God. But thanks to you imprisoning me in Abgrund, imprisoning me in the lowest place in this world..."
Liv leaned in and whispered to him with a giggle. As if a child giving the correct answer to a test question, her voice was mixed with excitement.
"All the gods in this world came to love me."
Hearing Liv's words, August's eyes widened. Shock filled his eyes.
"What?"
"You made me stronger with your own hands."
August's body trembled upon hearing those words. He struggled to get up from where he was bound on the floor.
"Originally I only had to deal with one god. But because you imprisoned me in Abgrund yourself, you now have to face tens of thousands of gods."
"Tens of thousands of gods...? It wasn't just the Supreme God that existed?"
"Yes, in this world, gods exist in all forms that people believe in."
Now August slowly lowered his head. He looked like someone who had lost all motivation.
But soon he jerked his head up and glared at Liv with green eyes full of hatred.
"I may have been defeated in the end, but you won't be happy either. A fate where you become emperor, receive everyone's love, and live happily - that won't come true."
"It doesn't matter."
Despite August's curse, Liv answered in a calm voice.
"It's okay if people don't love me. Because I love humans. I believe in humans."
Yes, it really was okay. Of course, she too had once resented why humans didn't love her while she loved them alone. But now it didn't matter anymore. Liv knew that as long as she didn't abandon this love, humans would someday return her love. She believed in the power of love she possessed, and she trusted humans.
Before August could retort to those words, Liv raised one hand.
She had pondered a lot about how to give August an appropriate punishment. Of course, the punishment that suited him best was imprisonment in Abgrund. That would have been the fairest revenge. But Liv didn't want anyone else to suffer in Abgrund.
The next candidate for punishment was torture. Emmett, Hayden, and Walter strongly pushed for this. They each argued that they could keep August barely alive and inflict terrible pain. But Liv thought that wasn't enough.
Countless imperial citizens had suffered under August's tyranny, and there were endless noble families who held grudges against him. And one of the biggest victims was none other than Liv herself.
Because of August, Liv was imprisoned in Abgrund for fifteen years, and being trapped there since birth, she struggled greatly to learn about the world, became an alien existence compared to other humans, and lost people around her. She even had to suffer in agony every time August used ancient magic.
Liv had heard about punishments in myths from the gods. They were all simple, but unimaginably cruel. Like making someone swallow dozens of snakes, or having their whole body torn apart by wild dogs, or submerging them forever in a swamp full of black, sticky mud.
Divine punishment, and human punishment. Liv had agonized a lot between the two. The conclusion she reached was...
"Ah, aah!"
Suddenly August's eyes rolled back. Then he began to groan with foam at his mouth. His body shook violently.
To Emmett, who was silently standing beside her, Liv said:
"I used all the power of the gods I gained from the sea. I'm not sure how it will manifest..."
Liv murmured while looking into the air.
"The gods will pass appropriate judgment."
Even Malea Tschermak, who had acted a bit arrogantly towards Liv, went half-mad for a while, so what kind of punishment would the gods who loved Liv inflict on August, the source of her suffering?
My child, the punishment has been decided.
We will each speak a word to this man.
"I see."
Liv nodded with a calm tone. It might seem like nothing, but it was a terrible punishment.
Unless you were Liv who had grown up with gods since childhood, ordinary humans couldn't withstand the divine aura. Every time he heard a god's voice, he would feel a heavy pressure as if his body was being flattened into thin pieces. He would also feel as if someone was reaching into his head and stirring his brain. His stomach would churn as if dozens of snakes were writhing inside, and eventually he would have to endure agony to the point of wanting to dig out his own eardrums.
He might want to escape by losing his mind, but the voices of the gods would make August's mind increasingly clearer. Despite the pain, since his actual body was fine, the suffering wouldn't end easily either.
Liv was very excited to see what state August would be in after hearing the voices of tens of thousands of gods.
* * *
A few hours later, Liv heard that August had tried to die by biting off his own tongue but couldn't. She ordered the physician to stop the bleeding from his self-inflicted wound and gag him.
A day later, Liv heard that all of August's nails had been pulled out and his fingertips were mangled. It was because he had writhed in agony. Following that, she also heard that his whole body was covered in bloody wounds from rope burns. Liv again instructed the physician to treat him.
A week later, Liv heard that he had lost his life after hitting his head against the wall.
Liv left the disposal of the corpse to those who held grudges against August.
August met such an empty end.
* * *
Many nobles welcomed August's downfall. They believed that any Emperor would be better than the tyrant August.
"Darling, did you hear? Duke Lartman succeeded in the rebellion!"
As Viscountess Gentzen said while opening the door on the first floor, Olivia's eyes widened. Viscount Gentzen also staggered to his feet.
"They really succeeded? Well, I knew it would happen..."
"What will happen to us?"
"Well, what could happen? We didn't do anything."
As the Gentzen couple said, the Gentzen family had done nothing in this rebellion. Despite the Emperor's coaxing that he would recognize them as a meritorious family, considering the possibility of Lartman's victory, they didn't contribute any strength to the war. They only sent a message of support to Lartman when the people finally flocked to Lartman's side and they gained the upper hand.
So Lartman's victory was a gain for them if anything, not a loss.
"It's a good thing for us that the tyrant has stepped down."
"That's really true."
Rather, with the death of the Emperor who had oppressed the nobles and ruled tyrannically while doing whatever he wanted, their future was full of light. They didn't know what the new emperor would be like, but anyway, wouldn't it be better than August?
Yes, it certainly wasn't a bad thing. But...
'Oh no, this is not good.'
Olivia, who had fallen into anxiety, bit her nails. The Gentzen couple, unaware of Olivia's inner thoughts, continued their conversation.
"What's important now is that. The rumor that Gracia was actually alive!"
"Yes, who would have known that Duke Lartman's wife was the heir of the Gracia family?"
"She was extraordinary from the moment she declared herself loved by God. Hamelsvoort will be reinstated too, I guess."
"I wonder if she'll be able to handle being Emperor well though."
"Duke Lartman is by her side, isn't he? Well, I'm sure he'll help properly. With Lartman and Gracia united, who could stop them?"
"True, there's no better candidate if we consider bloodline."
"It seems like just yesterday she was ostracized in social circles as a fake Saintess. My, I don't know when the situation changed so much."
As her parents continued their conversation nonchalantly, Olivia's face grew paler and paler as she listened.