In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 111

—————
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 111

After that, we stopped by the ‘most famous and popular’ restaurant in the Imperial Capital, and as the sun began to set, we headed back to the Lombardi Estate.

In the quiet carriage, I kept the window open and enjoyed the breeze, just as I had on the way there.

However, thanks to the hairpin Peres gave me, I didn’t have to worry about my hair getting messy.

“Tia.”

At Peres’s call, I opened my eyes that had been closed.

“Are you ready to talk now?”

“…Yes.”

Peres took a small breath and then spoke.

“I’m going to the Academy.”

And silence fell inside the carriage.

For some reason, Peres looked a little nervous.

“I see, so you’ve decided to do that.”

I had somewhat expected this.

Since the Academy’s new semester would be starting soon.

“Peres, are you going because you want to?”

“Yes.”

Peres pressed his lips together tightly as he answered my question.

In my previous life, Peres had also left for the Academy at the age of 15.

The only difference between then and now was one thing.

In my previous life, he had been forcibly pushed to the Academy by an imperial decree after falling for the Empress’s schemes.

“That’s good. Go and learn a lot, Peres.”

“…I have something I want to ask you, Tia.”

“What is it?”

“Do you think going to the Academy is a good thing for me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Because you’ll meet your people there.

The people who will make you the Crown Prince, and then the Emperor.

“Because you’ll be able to learn many things.”

“But why didn’t you try to persuade me? You could have told me I must go to the Academy since it would be good for me.”

“That’s because…”

I paused to choose my words.

Then I said.

“Because it’s something you have to decide for yourself.”

Peres had experienced far too many things at such a young age.

But he certainly wasn’t like the Peres from my previous life.

Back then, he was someone with a desperate poison flowing through him.

And that poison had enabled Peres to overcome everything and become the Crown Prince.

But the current Peres before my eyes was not like that.

In this situation, even if he were pushed into the Academy, there was no way he could achieve the same results as in my previous life.

All of Peres’s people were those who had as many wounds as Peres and had much to repay the world for.

They were people drawn to his poison.

If he would just waste time at the Academy halfheartedly, it would be better not to go at all.

That’s why I hadn’t tried to persuade Peres to go to the Academy.

“Something I have to decide for myself…”

Peres mulled over what I had said.

“Tia, you’re right.”

A gentle smile spread across Peres’s lips.

“This is the first path I’ve decided on and chosen for myself.”

Peres’s face as he said this looked much more at ease than before.

“After thinking deeply about it, I realized the reason I need to go to the Academy.”

Peres’s red eyes looked at me.

They were deep and clear eyes without any trace of laughter.

A moment later, the carriage arrived at the Lombardi Estate.

Even though I told him it wasn’t necessary, Peres insisted on getting out of the carriage to escort me.

Just before saying goodbye, I asked Peres.

“So when are you leaving for the Academy?”

Peres thought for a moment and then said.

“…I’m not sure yet.”

“Let me know as soon as it’s decided. I’ll see you off.”

“Alright.”

After walking into the annex, I looked out the window and saw Peres’s carriage finally departing.

* * *

It was early morning before dawn had broken.

As Peres was tying the strings of his cloak alone in the dim room, Kaitlin, who had likewise finished preparing for the long journey, approached and informed him.

“Your Highness, all preparations are complete.”

“Good, I’ll be out.”

“Um, and the Impigra Housekeeper requests a brief audience…”

“The Impigra Housekeeper?”

Peres tilted his head and gave permission for her to enter.

Shortly after, the Impigra Housekeeper, leaning on her cane, entered the bedroom.

As if the dawn chill was taxing for her, the housekeeper’s complexion didn’t look very good.

“I heard from His Majesty last night that you would be departing on a long journey to the Academy today, so I came to see you despite the strain, Second Prince.”

“What is it?”

“I have something to give you, Your Highness.”

The Impigra Housekeeper said this while handing him an elongated box.

When Peres opened the very light object, he muttered blankly.

“…Gloves?”

They were black leather gloves that were clearly high-quality items at first glance.

“When I asked the Imperial Guards, they said there’s nothing better than quality gloves for preparing for winter training.”

“Ah…”

“The Academy is located in a mountainous region where winters are very cold, unlike the Imperial Capital. It’s also an area where it snows heavily.”

Peres looked away from the gloves and gazed at the housekeeper.

Her face was still stern, but within it lay concern for Peres, who was heading to the Academy at such a young age.

“Thank… you.”

Peres cleared his throat briefly as he spoke.

“You said you heard yesterday that I was going to the Academy, but how did you…”

The housekeeper answered bitterly.

“I had guessed that you would leave for the Academy someday. And…”

The housekeeper hesitated.

It was unlike Impigra.

“Your Highness’s mother, Lady Keila… though she entered the palace as a maid, she had such an upright and intelligent nature that I promoted her to lady-in-waiting. I even took her under my wing to teach her personally.”

Peres’s eyes widened at this fact he was hearing for the first time.

But the Impigra Housekeeper’s face grew increasingly dark.

“If she had just remained a maid, she wouldn’t have caught His Majesty’s eye, and if that had been the case, she wouldn’t have had to leave like that…”

As the pure and graceful face of Keila, who used to smile often, came to mind, the Impigra Housekeeper felt as if a boulder had settled on her chest.

Upon hearing the news of his illness, she tried everything to get a physician into the pavilion, but the Empress’ Quarters were beyond the Impigra Housekeeper’s reach.

In the end, she was caught by the Empress and confined to her room for a week.

Though she was finally released thanks to Emperor Yobanes discovering this fact, it was already too late.

Keila was dead, and only the news that Peres had left the Imperial Palace with his wet nurse in the middle of the night awaited the Impigra Housekeeper.

Thus she incurred one debt, and another debt for the sin of not knowing that Peres remained openly within the Palace Interior.

The Impigra Housekeeper, recalling the past, deliberately concealed her sadness with a stern voice.

“Outsiders cannot enter the Academy, but messengers sent from the Imperial Palace can come and go. If you lack anything, send a letter. This old woman will prepare it.”

“…I will. Thank you.”

The sound of horses neighing could be heard from afar.

Peres put on his gloves somewhat awkwardly and picked up his sword.

The gloves warmly wrapped around his hands that had grown cold from the chilly weather.

Finally, Peres looked back at the Impigra Housekeeper standing alone in his bedroom and bowed his head.

“Please take care of your health, Second Prince.”

The Impigra Housekeeper said this while bowing deeply at the waist.

Peres watched her for a moment before turning around.

Step, step.

He left Poirak Palace with unhesitating steps.

There would be no reason to return to the Imperial Palace for some time.

And when he finally returned, Peres was scheduled to be a completely different person than he was now.

With that thought, his heavy steps became even lighter.

Even though a prince was leaving for the Academy, he welcomed the silence of this Imperial Palace where no one came to see him off except for the housekeeper who came alone.

Peres’s steps had nothing to obstruct them.

“Good morning, Peres.”

Until he spotted Pirenthia standing in front of the carriage.

“How did you… know?”

He had deliberately not told anyone.

The only person Peres had informed in advance about leaving today was Emperor Yobanes.

Because permission was necessary.

Kaitlin had also promised to respect Peres’s wishes.

So a letter was scheduled to go to the Lombardi Family head, his guardian, this afternoon.

But how.

“Just because.”

Tia said with a smile.

“I thought you would leave today. At dawn like this when no one would know.”

Her cheerful voice rang clearly in the quiet dawn air.

Tia approached without hesitation, replacing Peres who couldn’t move as if he had taken root where he stood.

With each step she took, the hem of her thick brown cloak danced along.

Tia, who had come right up to Peres, smiled brightly.

“When a friend is going on a long journey, I have to see them off.”

Peres laughed softly in bewilderment.

He had been read again.

Tia was always like that.

She seemed to know him better than he knew himself.

When standing before those clear eyes, he often felt as if all his inner thoughts were being read.

“You appeared for me again this time, Tia.”

My little hero who always appeared whenever I needed someone to help.

Peres looked at Tia with a bitter smile.

“It’s your first time leaving the Imperial Capital for the outside world, so it would be a little sad if you left alone, wouldn’t it?”

“…Thank you.”

“This much is nothing between friends. Oh, and I loaded chocolate and candy into the carriage. Eat them on the way.”

“…Yeah.”

Sweet foods were what Peres liked.

When sweetness filled his mouth, Tia came to mind.

Like when a candy had slipped into his mouth that was full of the fishy and bitter taste of medicinal herbs.

Because Tia had entered Peres’s dark and lonely life in the same way.

When he had something sweet in his mouth, young Tia’s white, round face would come to mind.

“I want you to live. No, I think you should live.”

She had been light in the darkness.

“And I will help you.”

She had been a helping hand of salvation.

And Tia had kept her promise.

Perhaps the most difficult thing during his time at the Academy would be not being able to see Tia.

Peres pressed his lips tightly together, already feeling gloomy thinking about his future.

Tia, who had been watching him, took another step closer.

“Peres.”

And slowly raised both hands to fasten Peres’s cloak tightly.

Tia’s pretty eyebrows furrowed as if something displeased her.

“It seems like it’ll be cold during the journey…”

Peres, who didn’t feel the cold much since he started using aura, was about to say he was fine.

But he lost his words at Tia’s subsequent action.

“At least wear this too.”

Because Tia had unwound the brown scarf she was wearing and tied it around Peres’s neck.

Tia’s flower-like fragrance instantly bloomed.

“Ah…”

Peres blankly felt around his neck area.

The fabric felt soft under his fingertips.

It was like Tia.

Then another sensation awakened Peres.

“Have a safe trip. Write letters often.”

Pat, pat.

It was Tia’s touch stroking Peres’s hair.

“Since outsiders can’t visit the Academy, it’s unfortunate, but don’t forget to show your face every vacation.”

Thanks to their height difference, Tia’s face was right in front of him as she patted Peres’s head.

Thump.

They were kind and gentle green eyes.

But regrettably, that warmth wasn’t Peres’s alone.

Tia was such a good and kind person that she couldn’t just pass by people in difficulty and helped those in trouble.

He had to share that helping hand of salvation that had been extended to him in childhood with other people.

Possessiveness.

When Tia’s green eyes held other people, bad feelings grew uncontrollably.

Not knowing that Peres harbored such feelings, Tia spoke again in her clear voice.

“If anything happens, write a letter. You understand, right?”

“…Are you worried about me?”

The voice that flowed out was low and husky.

“Of course, isn’t that natural?”

You’re worried about me.

Peres felt a surge of hot relief at those words.

And once again, desire suddenly welled up within him.

Just this once.

Just this once, should he be a bad boy to Tia?

Looking at that innocent face tilting her head in confusion, Peres swallowed the words “just this once.”

Then he pressed his lips directly against Tia’s white forehead, leaving a kiss like a stamp.

“Y-you…!”

Tia quickly stepped back, covering her forehead with her hand as her face turned bright red.

Seeing her flustered state somehow made Peres happy.

“It’s instead of a farewell greeting.”

His eyes, containing ruby-red pupils, curved gently as a deep smile bloomed on Peres’s face.

“Tia.”

Peres spoke with sincerity.

“You can’t forget me.”

Gazing into those eyes that held the color of green foliage, he spoke desperately, as if casting a spell.

“Because I’ll think of you every day.”

Like leaves trembling in a gentle breeze, he could see Tia’s eyes wavering.

Yes, that’s enough for now.

Peres smiled with satisfaction.

“I’ll be back.”

Wait for me.

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