In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 109

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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This Life, I Will Become the Clan Head Episode 109

“Phew….”

Coming out to the terrace and breathing in the cold air deeply, a half-swallowed sigh flowed from Peres’s mouth.

Although it was intentional, the nobles who kept approaching him and the young ladies asking him to dance were bothersome.

Peres leaned against the terrace railing and crossed his arms.

The owner of the gaze that had been annoyingly following him around had followed him out to the terrace.

“One well-placed backing and you’re feeling great, aren’t you?”

The one sneering with a face flushed red from drinking was Astana.

Peres looked at Astana with contemptuous, pathetic eyes.

Then Astana, getting worked up, raised the veins on his neck and shouted.

“You! How dare someone like you look at me with those eyes?”

Then he roughly tried to grab Peres but missed completely.

Something impossible even with a clear mind couldn’t be possible for Astana who was staggering drunk.

“Whoa!”

Astana, who nearly lost his balance and fell over the railing, was startled and gulped down his saliva.

However, soon realizing that Peres was watching him, he pointed his finger and spoke loudly.

“Enjoy it while you can! Later you won’t even be able to dream of it, you lowly thing!”

Peres’s eyebrows twitched.

It wasn’t because of the words “lowly thing” that he’d heard countless times.

Such words didn’t bother him anymore.

“Enjoy it while I can, you say?”

At Peres’s reaction, Astana became even more triumphant.

“Right now, since Pirenthia Lombardi is young, you can pretend to be close and follow her around as her escort. But when she gets a little older, not a chance, right?”

“….”

Peres didn’t answer at all, but Astana sneered as if he understood what he was thinking.

“She’s none other than Gallahan Lombardi’s daughter. Though her mother’s bloodline is a bit flawed.”

It was a tone as if he were evaluating dog breeds.

“With Duke Gallahan’s money, that can all be covered up and more. Unlike you, who no one would look for even if you disappeared right now.”

Peres’s mouth opened as if to say something, then closed tightly again.

Because he had nothing to say.

Frustratingly, everything Astana was saying with a sneer was true.

These were also the worries that had been floating around in Peres’s mind ever since Rulak Lombardi visited Poirak Palace.

“You’re not even close to worthy of standing beside Pirenthia Lombardi.”

Distant.

Peres finally gritted his teeth.

“Now if it were me, that would be different.”

Peres’s red eyes glared at Astana as if they would burn him to death right then.

And he approached step by step.

“What, what is it?”

Astana, who had been mocking freely, finally remembered that Peres was a skilled fighter who could emit aura and stepped backward.

Finally, when Peres had pushed him until Astana’s legs touched the terrace railing, he spoke in a low voice.

“You’re wrong.”

“What, what?”

“I said you’re wrong.”

And after thinking for a moment, Peres soon came up with appropriate words.

“You Belesack bastard.”

It was a phrase Tia sometimes used as a really harsh curse.

“That, that lowly thing, what is he saying now?”

Peres mockingly glanced once at Astana’s trembling legs and turned around.

“You’re the one who should enjoy it while you can.”

Leaving only those words, Peres went back into the banquet hall.

* * *

“Where is he? He didn’t already go back, did he?”

After calming down Father and Grandfather, I looked around for Peres again, but he was nowhere to be seen.

While looking around, I noticed a mid-teen boy with platinum blonde hair and slightly dark skin nearby.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to dance.”

According to the imperial capital’s etiquette, this was so direct it was slightly bordering on rudeness.

“Oh, my! How can you say something so rude….”

As expected.

The young lady who had asked him to dance left looking quite displeased.

“Phew….”

The boy, who sighed deeply as if he himself was troubled, turned around and bumped into me standing behind him.

“Whoa! I’m sorry! I was too flustered…. Are you alright, my lady?”

The boy helped me up by holding my shoulders, looking very apologetic, and offered me his handkerchief even though nothing was particularly dirty.

“I’m fine. The capital seems quite different from the eastern region, so you must be overwhelmed.”

When I returned the handkerchief and spoke, the boy’s eyes widened.

“How did you know I’m from the eastern region?!”

“Hmm. I could tell from your skin color and how you rejected the dance request earlier. I heard the eastern region has a slightly different culture.”

Nobody in the imperial capital’s aristocratic circle talks like that.

“Wow, that’s really amazing!”

The boy who said that smiled brightly.

The brilliant blonde hair sparkling in the banquet hall’s light, light sky-blue eyes, and fresh smile created an incredible synergy effect.

Should I say he was like a bright sun that sparkled brilliantly?

While I was staring at that smiling face, the boy readily extended his hand and said.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Abinox Ruman.”

Ah, so this is the son of the young Lord of Ruman who recently inherited the position.

I shook Abinox’s hand and introduced myself.

“I’m Pirenthia Lombardi.”

“Ah! So you’re Lady Lombardi!”

As expected, Abinox recognized me right away too.

“Nice to meet you, Lady Pirenthia Lombardi!”

There was no sign of flattery or trying too hard to make a good impression.

He was upright and confident.

Now I understood why I felt he was like the “sun” earlier.

Just then, I saw Peres emerging from the nearby terrace.

“Peres! Over here!”

When I called out, Peres looked in my direction.

But somehow, his expression didn’t look normal.

His steps walking straight toward me while only looking at me seemed twice as fast as usual.

“Tia.”

“Where were you?”

“I went to get some fresh air for a moment.”

“What, I looked for you for a long time without knowing that.”

“…You looked for me?”

For a moment, Peres’s face looked strangely happy.

“Of course I looked for you, why wouldn’t I?”

This kid is stating the obvious.

But while talking with Peres, I noticed Abinox looking at Peres with passionate eyes.

“Ah, this is….”

“I’m Abinox Ruman, Your Highness the Second Prince!”

He was full of energy, and his eyes seemed to flash like lasers.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he had glow sticks hidden in his hands behind his back.

But an unexpected response came from Peres.

“Ah, you’re the son of Lord Indit Ruman who recently became the head of the family….”

It seemed he knew that the head of the eastern Ruman family had recently changed.

Ah, that kid was incredibly smart.

Peres’s brilliant mind keeps getting overshadowed by his looks and swordsmanship skills.

“You, you know about me?”

More precisely, he knew about his father, the Lord of Ruman.

Peres nodded his head.

“Ah, thank you. Ever since I heard that you can create aura at such a young age, I’ve really wanted to meet you someday!”

It turned out Abinox was a fan of Peres.

“Uh….”

Peres looked quite troubled by this situation.

He probably hadn’t met a noble who expressed their admiration so directly before.

As someone who remembered Peres charming all the nobles of the empire and making them his allies, this felt a bit strange to me.

“Ah! Father!”

Then Abinox called out to someone passing nearby.

“Oh! Lady Pirenthia!”

But the one who answered was Tilianna, who popped her head out from behind a man.

Tilianna ran toward me with a delighted face, almost skipping, and introduced me to a group of people following behind her.

“This is Lady Pirenthia Lombardi!”

They were people dressed in splendid attire.

People with slightly tanned skin who boldly used bright colors.

Among them, the tallest man who appeared to be in his late thirties approached me and greeted me.

“Greetings, Lady Lombardi. I am Indit Ruman, head of the Ruman family.”

Despite having a long scar on his chin, his unadorned bright smile was identical to Abinox’s.

“I heard that you helped my niece Tilianna a great deal, so I came to thank you personally.”

“Oh, it was nothing….”

When I nodded, Indit Ruman looked surprised and widened his eyes.

“Hmm? You’re not surprised that she’s my niece despite having a different surname?”

“No, I’m very surprised.”

“Lady Pirenthia has such a calm personality!”

Tilianna interjected from the side.

Actually, I had known who Tilianna Gitterwel was from the moment I heard her name.

Indit Ruman’s younger brother, Tuke Ruman, received a small territory called ‘Gitterwel’ when he married and became independent.

And he even changed his surname to Gitterwel.

I heard that wasn’t uncommon in the eastern region.

But young ladies unfamiliar with eastern affairs wouldn’t know that fact.

“I heard that Tilianna was misunderstood as a country bumpkin from the east and was teased….”

“Uncle!”

Tilianna jumped up, but the Lord of Ruman just smiled mischievously.

“Lady Lombardi’s kind heart in helping Tilianna warmly without even knowing she was from Ruman is truly beautiful.”

“I only did what was natural. You’re too kind.”

Thanks to Tilianna being like Creny, I wasn’t bored.

And Tilianna was the one who spoke to me first anyway.

“Ah, as expected….”

The Lord of Ruman nodded contentedly while looking at me.

Then the people surrounding us parted, and another group approached.

“Oh, Lord of Ruman.”

“We greet His Majesty the Emperor.”

Emperor Yobanes and Grandfather were there, along with Father and Cleribane behind them.

But with two splendid groups of people gathered in one place, naturally all the other guests’ attention was drawn to us at once.

“Let’s not stay here like this, let’s go upstairs.”

It was an invitation to the ‘private room’ that was only allowed to a very select few at banquets.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Lord of Ruman nodded happily while giving signals to his family members around him.

Then only one man who seemed closest to him quickly remained by the Lord of Ruman’s side.

“Since you’ve now debuted in aristocratic society, Pirenthia, today’s protagonist, should come along too.”

The Emperor said to me.

It’s a bit bothersome.

But since I couldn’t refuse, I slightly bent my knees to show gratitude.

And Emperor Yobanes’s gaze reached Peres standing next to me.

“The Second Prince too.”

That was all he said.

Peres was also formally invited.

As we all began heading upstairs together, people stepped back and made way for us.

People’s gazes lingered especially long on Peres.

They were surprised that Peres, who was a prince but had no particular reputation until now, was heading to the private room with important figures including the Emperor.

Peres’s face was also a bit stiff, perhaps conscious of their stares.

I poked Peres in the side and said.

“There’ll probably be delicious food there. Let’s just eat that while the adults talk.”

“…Yeah, let’s do that.”

Peres finally smiled slightly and nodded.

Then he slowed his pace for a moment and looked back as if checking something.

“What are you looking at?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Peres quickly shook his head and followed behind me.

And that night.

Only when it became quite dark were we able to board the carriage returning to Lombardy.

Loril and Cleribane called separate carriages and returned to their respective homes, and all the family members gathered in Lombardy’s large carriage.

Father sat next to me, the twins sat in the front seat, and Shannet was taking care of Grandfather who had drunk too much with Emperor Yobanes and the Lord of Ruman by the window.

“We hate Tia.”

“You’re really too much.”

Giliou and Meylon said with pouting lips.

“Why again.”

When I asked indifferently, the twins began their complaints.

“How could you not dance with us?”

“You kept sticking with that Second Prince kid… I mean, the Second Prince.”

Giliou said while sneaking glances at Shannet.

“I’ll dance next time, then. We’ll be attending banquets together tediously from now on anyway.”

“N, next time?”

“Together….”

The twins quickly exchanged glances and suddenly played rock-paper-scissors.

“I won! I’m first!”

“Argh!”

Meylon won and Giliou lost.

Just from that, Meylon laughed loudly as if he had gained the world, while Giliou clutched his head.

Well, I suppose it’s because they’re young.

I’m exhausted after the banquet, but these kids are still full of energy.

While I was thinking that, the carriage jolted once.

With that movement, my drunk father leaned against my shoulder.

“Tia…”

Father mumbled absentmindedly in a low voice.

“Our Tia, grow up just a little slower… just a little…”

Oh my, our father.

I gently patted father’s head like that and looked out the carriage window.

The Imperial Palace was growing distant outside the window.

* * *

The day after the Debutante Ball.

Peres, who had finished his sword training early in the morning as always, was leisurely having breakfast.

It was a day no different from usual.

Then suddenly, Peres spoke to Kaitlin who was pouring his drink.

“Prepare to go to the Academy.”

“…Pardon?”

“I’ll be going to the Academy soon. But don’t tell anyone yet.”

Peres lifted his downcast eyes to look at Kaitlin.

The word ‘anyone’ clearly meant the head of the Lombardi family.

“…Yes.”

“Thank you.”

Peres knew how big of a deal this was for Kaitlin, who was loyal to Lombardi.

“And a guest will be coming today, so it would be good to prepare.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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