In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 119

—————
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 119

“Ooh!”

“The colors are different!”

The clan heads stirred at the clearly different red and blue flames that were obvious even at a glance.

“Such a method…”

Rulak also nodded while stroking his beard.

“The one burning red is the real Lombardi check. The one with blue flames is the counterfeit.”

Shannet answered while extinguishing the fire before the checks were completely burned.

“As you can see, it’s an easy method that can be identified just by burning one corner. Before the important parts with the amounts written on them burn.”

“With this much, we should be able to verify it right at the counter! Burning it with fire! Really, it’s a method I never could have imagined, Lady Shannet!”

Grodic Brey spoke in an extremely excited voice as if he couldn’t believe it.

“How on earth did you figure out this method?”

“…I was lucky while trying to find ways to distinguish between various things on my own.”

“Truly amazing!”

Before Shannet answered, there was a slight pause, but no one noticed it.

“As expected of Lady Shannet!”

“Such an innovative method. Who could have thought of it!”

The gazes of the clan heads, who had each examined the fake and real checks, naturally turned to Rulak.

Everyone was waiting only for Rulak’s decision.

Rulak looked at Biejie and Shannet one last time each.

Shannet, who was confident but not smiling, and Biejie, whose face was completely distorted with anger, both looked at him simultaneously.

A clan head sometimes must make difficult decisions for the family.

Now was exactly such a time.

Rulak spoke in a low voice.

“Have Shannet perform the duties of deputy clan head until I return.”

It was the moment when the Lombardi deputy clan head changed from Biejie to Shannet.

Biejie protested in a voice that seemed ready to tear.

“Father!”

However, Rulak didn’t seem to have any intention of reversing that decision.

He only looked at Biejie, who was calling out to him, with a face that wouldn’t allow even a needle to penetrate.

“Do you know what this means right now? Father, you have just officially recognized my sister, a woman, as a candidate for clan head successor!”

“Do you think I wouldn’t know that?”

“Are you really going to do this!”

Biejie couldn’t control his anger and shouted with veins bulging in his neck.

“You can’t do this over just one counterfeit check! You can’t treat me, the eldest son, like this!”

He cried out in injustice like someone who had been robbed of what was rightfully his.

“Do you think you’re being removed from the deputy clan head position because of just that one incident?”

“If not that, then what else is there!”

“…It seems I’ve made the right decision after all.”

Rulak said coldly.

“You may go now.”

There was nothing more Biejie could do.

Biejie, trembling with both fists clenched, glared at Shannet with murderous eyes one last time before storming out of the bedroom.

Bang-!

The door closed with a loud noise, but no one paid attention to it.

Rulak clicked his tongue and shook his head with a sigh, while the clan heads actually breathed sighs of relief.

Their expressions showed they could finally breathe a little.

And Shannet looked back at Pirenthia, who had been standing silently by the doorway all this time.

The door that had closed violently with a thunderous sound should have been frightening.

Pirenthia paid no attention to such things.

She just stood there with an expressionless face.

No, rather, the child was smiling.

Shannet could now understand.

The boiling sense of victory and achievement that didn’t match that seemingly gentle face.

Looking at Pirenthia’s sparkling eyes beneath her calmly lowered long eyelashes, Shannet also smiled slightly.

* * *

The day Cleribane came to visit Shannet’s residence.

Cleribane, who was neat yet cold, and Shannet, who was elegant yet not soft, sat facing each other.

The two people were similar yet very different.

“I came to see you because I wanted to give you this, Lady Shannet.”

Cleribane said while placing a small envelope on the table.

Shannet, who opened the envelope with curiosity to check its contents, widened her eyes in surprise.

“8000 gold…?”

It was quite a large amount to be written on just one bearer bond.

Shannet raised her gaze and stared intently at Cleribane.

Even under that humorless gaze, Cleribane wasn’t flustered.

It was quite a different reaction from when Grodic Brey had sweated profusely at the question of whether it was a ‘bribe’ previously.

“That money belongs to you, Lady Shannet. No, to be precise, it would belong to Lombardi.”

Cleribane spoke in a polite but extremely businesslike tone.

“It’s the money I received when Bestian Shultz came to request that the diamond mine’s mining company be changed to the Shuls family previously.”

“…You’re saying you received a bribe?”

Shannet said with a slight frown, but Cleribane only shrugged once.

“I am a businessman and a merchant. I pursue whatever is profitable rather than justice.”

“Profitable things…”

Shannet looked Cleribane over with serious eyes.

A person who had deep loyalty to clan head Rulak and was expected to remain with Lombardi forever.

However, someone who suddenly left Lombardi and spread his wings even wider.

He must have certainly found something more valuable than Lombardi.

It wouldn’t be strange for such a person to say he pursues profit rather than justice.

But.

“I don’t quite understand. If you were truly someone who pursues profit, couldn’t you have just quietly pocketed this bond without anyone knowing?”

At Shannet’s question, Cleribane thought for a moment and then nodded lightly.

“Actually, doing that would be more fitting for my personality, but…”

What was he thinking about?

A faint smile spread across Cleribane’s face.

“Anyway, since Bestian Shultz mainly embezzled money from the mining company, I thought it would be right to return this money there as well, so I brought it.”

Shannet looked once more at the bond extended to her.

She couldn’t get a satisfying answer, but Cleribane’s words were correct.

“I’m grateful for Duke Pellet’s honesty. This money will be put to good use at the mining company.”

“How are things these days?”

Cleribane asked at the end of the conversation.

“It seems Lombardi has been in turmoil because of the new deputy clan head.”

“…You’re still well-informed about the rumors regarding Lombardi’s internal affairs.”

“Didn’t I also work at Lombardi for a long time?”

At Cleribane’s words, Shannet nodded while firmly drawing a line.

“But for an outsider to take too much interest in the Lombardi family’s affairs…”

“Then what about the matter of the counterfeit checks?”

“How could you possibly…?”

“If I were to tell you a method to identify forged checks, how would you use it?”

Wariness appeared on Shannet’s face.

Even though he was offering her the key to solve the immediate problem, Shannet was being cautious about whether that key had been obtained through dishonest means.

Perhaps this is the kind of trait that pleased her.

Cleribane thought this while recalling Pirenthia, who would smile happily whenever she spoke about Shannet.

“The answer is contained in here.”

Cleribane took out another envelope from his coat and placed it next to the promissory note as he spoke.

“It’s up to you, Lady Shannet, to decide how to use this.”

Having said that, Cleribane promptly rose from his seat.

“Oh, and please say that you discovered that method on your own. If you tell the truth, it could cause big trouble instead.”

As he finished speaking and was about to leave, Shannet asked him.

“How did you know?”

However, Cleribane had no intention of satisfying her curiosity.

Thinking about what would be a good way to respond, Cleribane came up with an appropriate answer and slightly curled up one corner of his mouth.

“Trade secret.”

Cleribane looked at Shannet, who was slightly frowning, with a smiling face and strode out just like that.

“Ugh…”

Awakened from her reminiscence by a small sound from beside her, Shannet turned her head to look where the sound came from.

“Isn’t there anything other than milk?”

Tia was grumbling with a frowning face as she put down the glass of milk.

Watching this, the twins each made their know-it-all comments.

“No way, Tia has to drink milk diligently.”

“That’s right, you still need to grow a lot. You’re still too small.”

“What’s wrong with this? You two are just ridiculously big, this is average, you know?”

Two weeks had passed since Shannet became the deputy lord.

Compared to when Biejie was sitting in that position, Lombardy was running incomparably more stably.

So much so that Rulak extended his recovery period by another month, saying ‘I should rest a bit more while I have the chance!’

Biejie, who was ousted from the deputy lord position, left for Angenas, Ceral’s family home.

Nominally it was a trip to rest at hot springs in the west, but everyone knew it was because he couldn’t bear to watch Shannet excellently perform the deputy lord duties.

And today was the first holiday since Shannet became deputy lord.

Even the twins didn’t go out for sword training today and remained at the manor.

Clink.

Shannet put down her teacup and spoke to the twins.

“You two, didn’t you say you learned a new sword technique? How about showing it to Tia today?”

“Should we?”

“Tia, watch us closely!”

Giliou and Meylon excitedly ran out to the courtyard connected to the drawing room.

Through the wide open door, the two’s boisterous voices flowed in.

“I’d prefer juice though.”

Watching Tia, who was still grumbling quietly, reluctantly pick up her milk, Shannet called to Tia.

“Tia.”

“Yes?”

Still twelve years old, an age where she needed to grow a lot more, just as the twins said.

However, Shannet slowly opened her mouth and spoke.

“Hurry up and grow to become the lord of Lombardy, Tia.”

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