In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 11

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

This Life, I Will Become the Clan Head Episode 11

Is it just my imagination that Cleribane looks very pleased as he brushes off the wood chips from his clothes?

A moment of silence fell over the classroom.

All of us children, including myself, were busy blinking our eyes and looking back and forth between the wood in front of us and Cleribane.

“You want us to… sell that?”

Belesack was the first to break the silence.

The guy who had been lying down throughout the entire lesson was now sitting up awkwardly, frowning as he asked.

“Yes, that’s correct. Your assignment is to sell this log and bring back money.”

Whether Belesack liked it or not, Cleribane’s smiling face remained unchanged.

“You may use any method to sell the item. You can cut or split this wood, and if necessary, you can even burn it.”

In other words, it didn’t matter what means or methods we used as long as we managed to sell it.

“Hmm…”

I was in the same boat when it came to not having any clever ideas.

As Cleribane said, that was just an ordinary log with nothing particularly special about it.

Even though it was lightweight vibo wood, it was obvious I couldn’t lift and carry it by myself.

Moreover, such wood was extremely common, so at best I could only sell it to someone who needed firewood.

I was pondering what to do when…

“However, forced sales using your status are not allowed. You must only sell to someone who truly needs this wood.”

“Ah…”

At Cleribane’s final condition, I heard a small sigh from right next to me.

It was Meylon and Giliou.

Both of them looked very disappointed, drooping the corners of their eyes and letting out small sighs.

What? What were they thinking about?

As I was looking at the two of them with very suspicious eyes, Larane, who had been quietly listening to Cleribane, carefully raised her hand.

“Um…”

“Yes, Lady Larane. Please speak.”

“Do we have to carry that… ourselves?”

Perhaps embarrassed by her question, her pale face turned bright red.

“Don’t worry about that. This is just a sample; one should already be delivered to each of your quarters.”

“Oh, thank goodness.”

Perhaps she had been worried about having to struggle carrying that heavy thing, because when Larane smiled after hearing the answer, pretty dimples appeared in her cheeks.

“I don’t want to do it.”

While I was admiring the lily-like beauty of Larane, I heard a sulky voice.

I didn’t need to look in that direction to know who it was.

It was Belesack’s grumpy voice.

“Why should I have to do such a thing?”

That guy’s words are so curt. Sure enough.

Though his mouth was still smiling, the laughter disappeared from Cleribane’s eyes.

“What do you mean by ‘such a thing,’ Lord Belesack?”

“Selling things directly like that. Why should I have to do work that only lowly people do?”

“Why do you think it’s work that only lower-class people do?”

“My mother said so. She said dealing with money is vulgar work.”

It was such a typical thing for Ceral to say that I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Ceral, who came from the Angenas family—one of the most prestigious families in the Lambru Empire, second to none—was truly an ‘aristocratic’ person.

Indeed, there was once a time when directly handling money transactions and being obsessed with money was considered unbecoming of nobility.

But that was all in the past.

The nobles were shocked by Lombardy’s rise, starting with commerce and taking control of everything through the power of money.

One by one, they realized the power of assets and began using their dormant money for lending or actively establishing guilds to enter commerce.

That’s why even the Angenas family, who held out until the end, created the Durak Guild and reached into the textile market.

I recalled the Durak Guild that had visited the manor last time seeking Lombardy’s help.

Yet here was Belesack, a descendant of that Angenas, spouting such carefree nonsense.

“Then there’s no choice.”

Cleribane spoke as if it were regrettable.

“I’ll have to give Lord Belesack a failing grade for this assignment.”

“A failing grade?”

Belesack’s face, which had been blankly muttering the words ‘failing grade’ for a moment, soon turned bright red.

“Why would I get a failing grade!”

“There’s no other way, is there? This assignment is about selling an item, but since Lord Belesack refuses to do it, you’ll inevitably fail.”

“Then the teacher should just change the assignment! The problem is that the assignment was wrong from the start!”

“Is that so? I understand.”

That was the end of it.

Cleribane neither got angry nor tried to make Belesack understand.

He simply turned around and spoke to the rest of us, excluding Belesack.

“You may keep the money from selling the wood, and there will be a prize for whoever earns the largest amount, so please work hard.”

Completely excluded in the end, Belesack fumed and stormed out, slamming the door with a ‘bang!’

Not that anyone particularly cared.

I moved closer to examine the wood.

“Hmm.”

I wondered if there might be something I was missing, but it really was just an ordinary log.

Cleribane had definitely said we could use any method.

I crouched down in front of the wood and began racking my brain furiously while poking at the rough bark.

Wood. Where could wood be utilized?

If I tried to sell this as it was, I obviously wouldn’t get more than a few coins.

That meant I needed to process it somehow.

The moment I thought that, a memory flashed through my mind.

Ah, there was that person.

Someone who could transform this crude log into a work of art.

That person was currently at Lombardy.

* * *

The quarters that Father and I use are structured more like an apartment than just ‘rooms.’

While there’s only one entrance to this place, there are four rooms attached to the space used as both a living room and drawing room.

Though it seems much smaller in scale compared to where Father’s other siblings live, it’s a perfect size for us.

If only Father wouldn’t scatter books all over the drawing room like he did today.

Even though I came out of my room and stood there dumbfounded by the chaotic state of the living room, Father was too absorbed in his work to notice me.

I carefully made my way to Father’s side, being careful not to step on the books scattered on the floor, and saw him drawing something intently.

“Dad…?”

“Oh, Tia, you’re out.”

Hearing my voice, Father looked up and smiled brightly.

“Are you busy?”

“No, not really busy.”

Father said this while quickly pushing away what he had been drawing.

Even though I had interrupted something he was so focused on, which might be a bit annoying even for a daughter…

Father instead pulled me into a tight hug.

“Actually, I have a favor to ask you, Dad.”

“Oh, our Tia has a favor to ask? Dad will grant you anything.”

“Well… could you draw me a picture?”

“A picture?”

Father tilted his head.

“Alright, what kind of picture should I draw for you? Flowers? Trees? Or maybe cute animals?”

“Grandmother’s face.”

“Grandmother’s… face?”

Perhaps my request was quite surprising, as Father just blinked silently without saying anything.

“Yes, I’m curious about what kind of person Grandmother was.”

She was my grandmother who had passed away a few years before I was born.

I had seen her appearance in the portraits left behind a few times, but that was all.

Perhaps understanding my curious heart, Father scratched his cheek and picked up the sketchbook he had pushed aside earlier.

“Well… It’s been so long since I last saw her. I don’t remember very well, but.”

Even as he said that, Father’s hand quickly began moving.

Without hesitating even once, the graphite in his hand moved across the white paper as if dancing.

I quietly sat beside Father and watched him work.

The drawing room was filled only with the scratching sound.

“…This is what she was like.”

“Wow!”

It wasn’t a fake exclamation.

Looking at the completed drawing, admiration flowed out of me without realizing it.

The grandmother Father remembered had a kind smile.

There were a few light wrinkles around her eyes, and the downward corners were similar to Father’s.

Although it was drawn only with black lines, I could feel that those two eyes contained pure affection for her son.

“Mother was such a gentle person.”

Father trailed off as if longing for her.

Then he stroked the edge of the paper a few times with his thumb and carefully tore out a page to give to me.

“But why did you suddenly ask me to draw Grandmother’s picture, Tia?”

“Um, there’s someone I want to show it to.”

“Someone to show it to?”

Father seemed like he wanted to ask more, but I rolled up the paper, held it in one hand, and hopped down from the chair.

“I’ll go play outside for a bit and come back. I’ll be going!”

“Huh? Outside?”

Father, who seemed momentarily flustered, shouted loudly at the back of my head as I opened the door and ran out.

“Be careful not to fall while you’re playing!”

I won’t fall, Father.

How old do you think I am!

* * *

Perhaps Father actually has the ability to read the future.

Thud.

“Ugh!”

I had excitedly left the main building where we lived and was heading toward my destination when my foot got caught hard on a stone.

“Hup!”

I managed to squeeze out the maximum strength and sense of balance a seven-year-old could muster, stepping down with my other foot to avoid falling, but the pouch tied around my waist fell to the ground.

Ah, my snack pouch.

I could see a piece of candy rolling out from the pouch that hadn’t closed properly.

But fortunately, it didn’t get too dirty.

I quickly picked it up and blew on it while brushing it off.

There’s no one watching anyway, so what does it matter.

After confirming there was no visible dirt on the surface, I tossed it into my mouth.

“Eek!”

What was that sound?

Looking toward where the sound came from, I saw two small heads quickly duck behind a wall in the distance.

Those heads looked familiar somehow.

“Come out.”

Even though I spoke toward them, there was no response and it remained quiet.

“Giliou, Meylon.”

Only when I called their names did the twins finally come out reluctantly and approach me.

But their expressions were strange.

Giliou stared at me intently, while Meylon seemed restless somehow.

“You ate something that fell on the ground.”

“We told you to throw away things that fall on the ground.”

Ah, so they did see.

“Why, what. What’s wrong with you two?”

Getting caught eating candy that fell on the ground was very embarrassing, but I decided to act confident.

“You’ll die from that, Tia.”

“Let’s go to Doctor Omari, Tia.”

The twins grabbed each of my arms and tried to drag me along.

“People don’t die from just that.”

Annoying kids.

“Why were you two following me anyway?”

I changed the subject before they could keep pressing the issue.

“Th-that’s…”

Fortunately, the twins suddenly became quiet as if at a loss for words.

“If you have nothing to say, I’m leaving. Goodbye.”

I didn’t have time to waste here like this.

I’m in a hurry to get where I’m going.

As I turned around, Meylon said urgently.

“We want to come with you too!”

“Do you even know where I’m going?”

“We don’t know, but it’ll be fun!”

“Right! Because Tia is fun!”

Are these kids buttering me up right now?

That thought crossed my mind briefly, but one thing was certain.

These weren’t kids who would stay behind just because I told them not to follow.

“Then stay quiet so you don’t bother me. I’m busy.”

“Okay!”

“We’ll be quiet!”

The sight of the twins nodding with identical smiling faces was quite cute.

I can see the signs of beauty from a young age, you two.

With two pretty goldfish tails attached, I began moving again toward my original destination.

I thought I was walking fast, but my legs were still too short to go as fast as I wanted.

“But where are we going right now?”

Giliou, who was walking leisurely as if out for a stroll while I was panting, asked me.

“You’ll know when we get there.”

Geez, this is tiring.

Fortunately, the person I was looking for wasn’t too far away.

Among the large buildings of the Lombardy Estate, the most remote but most lively place.

A very small village where houses with a completely different atmosphere from the main building where we lived were gathered together.

“W-wow! Where is this place?”

“I didn’t know there was a place like this in the estate!”

The twins couldn’t close their mouths as they looked around and spoke.

“This is where the residential homes of Lombardy’s employed workers and their families are gathered.”

I wiped the sweat dripping down my chin and explained triumphantly.

“Now we just need to ask around and find him.”

A genius sculptor who bloomed late in life.

An artist from Lombardy who would later sculpt even the Emperor’s bust.

Alfeo Zan, who is now sixteen years old, is somewhere around here.

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