At those words, Liv's mouth closed. She felt the thorns that had been raised towards him in her heart slowly crumbling.
When Liv imitated the emperors in history books and said she would grant his wish, she didn't mean for him to use his wish on such a trivial matter. She had thought of bestowing territory as emperors do to favored subjects, or reducing taxes on his domain, or giving him family heirlooms.
She didn't expect him to use that opportunity on her own hurt feelings.
"Ah..."
Liv stared at Emmett with her mouth open. Something seemed to ripple beyond his gray eyes. He was clearly sincerely asking Liv not to abandon him.
If he had asked her to forgive him, she might have considered it, but asking her not to abandon him... then Liv had no choice in the end. Liv could never abandon him, and he must have known that fact.
But above all, the reason Liv was perplexed was that she could feel his love for her in Emmett's words more than ever before. His plea not to abandon him allowed her to feel his desperate feelings for Liv. Liv was always used to being the one giving love, and when she received such great love, she would unknowingly feel embarrassed. Liv couldn't look him in the eye and lowered her head deeply.
"That's too much... If you say that, I have no choice but to answer that I won't."
Words that sounded like whining popped out of her mouth, and eventually she raised her head and met Emmett's eyes. Liv threw herself into his arms, and Emmett opened his arms to embrace her.
"You won't abandon me?"
"How can you ask that sincerely..."
Liv mumbled with her face buried in Emmett's chest.
"I will never abandon you. Because I will continue to love."
"But I can't help feeling anxious."
Liv heard Emmett's plaintive voice near her ear.
"People are really fickle. At first, I was happy with just your love, but now I find myself wanting you to love me without changing."
"I won't change. My love is that kind of love."
That was what Liv liked most among the legacies she had received from the gods. Liv was grateful that she could love without losing strength in any situation.
"It's the same for me. I'm confident I won't change either."
Emmett began his story in a calm voice.
"What I show you is human love, and because of that, you might doubt me... but sometimes humans can surpass their limits and become close to gods. I'll prove to you how deep a love humans can have."
Pleased by those words, Liv laughed softly. It felt as if everything had returned to normal, and her heart felt much lighter. Seeming to notice Liv's feelings, Emmett continued speaking.
"I tried to think from your perspective. Even I would have wanted you to tell me everything."
"Yes..."
"I made a really foolish choice. I've learned a lot this time, so it won't happen again in the future."
"Everyone has a chance to learn, you said."
That was also what he had said to Liv when she was previously awkward in human relationships. As if realizing the meaning, Emmett's hands holding Liv tightened.
"I'm just grateful that you've forgiven all the wrongs I've committed against you."
"No, I actually understand. It was natural for you to act that way back then."
After finishing those words, Liv raised her head again and looked into Emmett's eyes. She liked these moments because looking into someone's eyes made her feel like she was examining that person closely. As the cold atmosphere that had frozen between them melted away, Liv's cheeks flushed as she felt ticklish for no reason. Emmett, with an equally relaxed face, began to speak of things he had been holding back.
"I've wanted to say this for a long time, but I loved you first."
"What?"
"That is, when I received divine punishment and went to Abgrund, I was watching you even before I revealed myself to you. It took some time for the gods to use their power to materialize my form."
"You, you were watching me?"
"Yes. You were precious to me during all those moments, so you could say I loved you first."
"What is that..."
Although she felt her mood soaring to the sky, Liv whined unnecessarily to overcome her embarrassment. As if the god of love was shooting arrows at her, she felt an uncontrollable love that was difficult to handle.
"Thinking about it now, it's embarrassing that you saw me acting like a child."
"You really didn't know anything about the world back then. What's there to be embarrassed about?"
"Still... I still can't forget when I came out into this world and saw you for the first time at the banquet. That's when I realized my feelings were love."
"That's a memory I'd like to erase. I shouldn't have treated you so coldly."
"No, wouldn't it be stranger if you were kind to a complete stranger saying strange things?"
They talked all night, having so much to say. Having spent so much time together, the conversation didn't end.
Suddenly, Liv thought that this love was no longer overwhelming. In the past, she felt like she was embracing such a massive love that it was hard to handle, thinking that one day she might be crushed by this love. She couldn't help wanting to do anything for him.
But now the love inside Liv was soft and sweet. Liv could give him enough love, and he in turn received Liv's love and gave back just as much. In their relationship, the love that was once stiff gradually became more tender, and it wasn't hard to hold in her heart.
That's how Liv finally became human.
* * *
After talking with Liv all night, Emmett finally felt his heavy heart lighten. It felt like the burden he had always been carrying on his back had disappeared, and now only ticklish love remained in its place.
He always wanted to be with Liv, but when day came, Emmett had to start his work again. It was his role to oversee the internal affairs of the imperial palace, and because the system had just been restored after collapsing once, there was much he needed to pay attention to.
Emmett signed off on the reports placed on his desk one by one. They were mostly about the use of internal budgets for the imperial palace. Then, his brow furrowed as he discovered a letter that didn't fit with the other documents.
"Ah, that's a petition sent by Marquis Meisner."
As he heard the head servant say that, he picked up the letter. It contained content not worth reading. It was Marquis Meisner's protest that it was too harsh to expel him from the capital for a moment's mistake.
Emmett smiled at that. It wasn't a moment's mistake, and it was a lenient measure compared to what the previous Emperor August had done. Isn't this looking down on Liv too much?
'Should I impose an even greater punishment?'
For example, confiscating his property, or sending him to forced labor camps. Either way, he would meet a miserable end... Wait a moment.
'No, something's wrong.'
Emmett raised his head in shock, realizing that he had almost unknowingly imposed a cruel punishment no different from August. If he couldn't break his past habits and imposed unnecessary and harsh punishments like this, it would lower the evaluation of the current Emperor Liv, and Liv would be disappointed in him.
'This isn't right.'
He thought he had moved away from August a lot, but August's influence still remained in him. He needed to wash away this habit quickly, but it wasn't easy.
Resolving to be more mindful, he was about to continue his work when Emmett's brow furrowed as he realized something strange.
'Wait a minute, if it were August...'
Yes, let's think from August's perspective. Why did he use a drug that induced infertility on Liv?
In fact, there probably wasn't a big reason for it. Not to cut off the descendants of Lartman or anything like that, but he probably used the drug simply to take revenge on Liv and Emmett who had rebelled against him. For him, watching others suffer was a kind of amusement.
Even when he threatened Emmett, it probably wasn't because he really believed Emmett would spare his life to find the cure. August wasn't the type of person to choose such a shabby method to save his life. If he was completely defeated with no chance of recovery, he would choose to die cleanly.
So the reason he mentioned that drug to Emmett in his last moments was probably just to ruin his mood. Yes, August had been trying to shake their relationship from before. Didn't he also spread rumors about Viscount Wolfe...?
'Did that drug even really exist in the first place?'
Emmett came to such a question.