In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 127

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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 127

A brief silence fell over the terrace.

Grandfather was looking at me without blinking even once.

And just when I thought a hint of laughter was slowly crossing his eyes.

“Hahaha!”

Grandfather burst into loud laughter.

“Well, I’ll be… Hahaha!”

It was such a loud and hearty laugh that the wine in his hand spilled over the rim of the glass.

I waited quietly until Grandfather’s laughter subsided.

“So that is the gift you have chosen, Pirenthia.”

“Yes. Since it’s a birthday gift for becoming an adult, I thought I’d be a little greedy and ask for something nice, Grandfather.”

“Greedy…”

Grandfather muttered while stroking his well-groomed beard.

“That is a right that anyone in my direct line possesses. It would already be rightfully yours even without asking for it as a birthday gift.”

I firmly shook my head at Grandfather.

Since my regression, I had spent my childhood being more Lombardi-like than anyone else.

So now I was no longer in the position of being pointed at as a bastard with a mother of unknown origins like in my previous life.

However, that wasn’t everything I needed to overcome.

“What I want as a birthday gift is not simply exercising my rights, but your support for it, Grandfather.”

“What is your reason for judging that you would need my support?”

“Of course I have sufficient qualifications to exercise those rights. I’m an adult, I’m your granddaughter, and I’m quite clever too.”

Grandfather let out a low laugh as if agreeing with my words.

“But at the same time, I’m a woman. One who has only just become an adult. I know well the obstacles that will block my path, Grandfather.”

I looked straight at Grandfather.

“If I exercise my rights and get involved in business, there will be backlash.”

More precisely, Biejie would react that way.

Having only considered Shannet as a competitor until now and built his power outside of Lombardi, he would fear his young niece emerging and try to nip it in the bud.

“Just once then, please support me. I don’t need any other help.”

Because all the preparations were already complete.

A strange smile bloomed on Grandfather’s face as he listened to my words in silence.

“Very well, I shall do as you say. If that’s what you want to receive as a birthday gift, your grandfather should grant it.”

The affection for me in Grandfather’s eyes as he said this seemed to pour out several times more than usual.

“When will you be receiving your birthday gift?”

“Soon.”

“Soon?”

“Yes, very soon.”

Now that I had secured Grandfather’s promise, and the timing was just right, there was no need to wait any longer.

Grandfather looked at me with a bright smile and said.

“I shall look forward to it.”

* * *

In one corner of the banquet hall filled with gorgeously dressed people.

In that place bustling with music and all sorts of noise, Gallahan sat quietly lost in thought, chin propped on a plush sofa.

The third son of the Lombardi family head, and owner of Gallahan Clothing Stores that had spread throughout the entire Empire.

Though he was a man with such tremendous titles following him, what caught the glancing gazes of the nobles at this moment wasn’t any of that.

It was Gallahan’s melancholy face as he sat deep in thought with his long legs loosely crossed.

“Hmm.”

It was when Gallahan slowly blinked and let out a low sigh.

“Do you have some concern on your mind?”

“Ah, Lord Cleribane!”

Gallahan’s expression brightened at Cleribane’s gentle approach.

“This is Lady Pirenthia’s birthday banquet, yet you have the worst complexion here, Lord Gallahan.”

“Ah, is that so… You’re right, Lord Cleribane. I should put aside my worries for later and enjoy Tia’s birthday.”

Gallahan scratched his cheek awkwardly.

Cleribane, who had been quietly watching him, sat down near Gallahan and shook his head.

“Concerns should be shared rather than postponed, shouldn’t they? If you tell me what’s troubling you, I’ll think about it together with you.”

“Ah…”

Gallahan hesitated for a moment.

If Cleribane helped him think it through, a good solution would surely emerge.

He believed this without doubt.

But he couldn’t burden Cleribane, who was already busy leading the Pellet Trading Company.

“It’s fine, Lord Cleribane. I’ll try to solve it on my own…”

“Do you no longer need my help?”

“Of course not!”

Gallahan jumped up and waved both hands.

“But you must surely be busy with Pellet Trading Company affairs, Lord Cleribane, and with Tia already indebted to you, I’d be too ashamed to burden you as well.”

“Please don’t say such things.”

Cleribane spoke in a low voice.

“Aren’t you Lady Pirenthia’s father, Lord Gallahan? Moreover, I was once a partner who built the clothing store together with you.”

“Lord Cleribane…”

“You are already someone as special as family to me, Lord Gallahan. When you say such things, it rather hurts my feelings.”

“…Thank you for saying that.”

Gallahan smiled weakly.

“Now please tell me what concern you have.”

Cleribane said leisurely, lifting one foot to cross his legs.

“It’s not about Gallahan Clothing Store. The clothing store has now entered a stable period where it’s fine without me. However, the Chesayu estate…”

“You mean the southern land you received along with the Founding Day medal. I’ve heard you’ve been going to the Chesayu estate frequently lately.”

“Yes, it’s a leisurely and peaceful place as my aunt said. But…”

Worry settled on Gallahan’s face again.

“Perhaps because I was too busy with Gallahan Clothing Store affairs to pay attention to the estate for so long after receiving it, the Chesayu region’s finances are difficult.”

“How difficult are we talking?”

“Oh, of course the estate residents don’t go hungry. But that’s all there is.”

Chesayu was a sizable estate with a population reaching tens of thousands.

In other words, it also meant that the lives of those tens of thousands of people now depended on Gallahan.

And for Gallahan, who had recently begun caring for the Chesayu region, that burden felt overwhelmingly heavy.

“In years when the harvest is good, it’s fine. Because there’s food. But in years of poor harvest, hundreds die. It’s the result of the entire estate being dependent solely on farming.”

“To be honest, there aren’t many estates in the Empire where commoners’ lives are maintained even to that degree.”

Cleribane spoke matter-of-factly.

“I know that too. But…”

Deep wrinkles formed on Gallahan’s furrowed brow.

“I’ve spent my whole life watching Father manage Lombardi. I don’t expect Chesayu to achieve the same growth as Lombardi in a short time, but I want there to be other ways for Chesayu’s people to earn stable income. Like Lombardi’s citizens.”

“…You’re quite ambitious.”

At Cleribane’s words, Gallahan let out an awkward laugh.

“Haha, I suppose I am like that.”

“But as someone who now bears responsibility for an estate, it’s a very admirable concern.”

“Th-thank you. To receive such praise from Lord Cleribane.”

“…Anyone listening would think I’m some cold-blooded person who never says anything nice.”

However, Gallahan smiled awkwardly and avoided answering.

Cleribane looked at Gallahan with slight dissatisfaction before speaking.

“Besides the vast plains for farming, there’s one more asset that the Chesayu land possesses.”

“What would… that be?”

“Rivers. The Chesayu region is located at the lower reaches of the massive Nokta River, isn’t it?”

“Ah…”

“And if you travel down the Nokta River just a little.”

“It intersects with the Elbi River that connects to the Ruman territory in the east!”

“Exactly.”

A faint smile crossed Cleribane’s face.

“Chesayu happens to be a key point for overland transportation connecting the central and southern regions. It has sufficient potential as the starting point for good water trade routes that can bypass the treacherous mountain terrain leading to the east.”

“As expected of Lord Cleribane!”

At Gallahan’s cheer, Cleribane shrugged his shoulders briefly.

It meant ‘something like this is nothing.’

Just then, Shannet’s twins joined the spot where the two men were sitting.

“Why did that woman come here?”

“Since it’s a place where many people gather, she probably came to show off again.”

“What are you talking about, Giliou, Meylon?”

At Gallahan’s question, the twins exchanged brief glances and answered.

“The Empress… is picking on Tia again.”

“Every time they meet at banquets, she tries to break Tia’s spirit somehow.”

“She’s never really succeeded, so why does she keep doing that?”

“She did the same to Mother. That woman… when the Empress comes, Mother doesn’t attend banquets saying it’s bothersome.”

“Ugh, really annoying.”

Gallahan’s complexion darkened as he listened to the twins’ conversation.

His bottom was already halfway off the chair.

“I should probably go and…”

“Lady Pirenthia will be fine.”

Cleribane stopped Gallahan and said.

“Don’t worry too much.”

Rather, he should worry about the Empress who picked a fight with Lady Pirenthia.

Cleribane thought this and swallowed his laughter inwardly.

“Lady Pirenthia is wise and intelligent, so she’ll handle it well without clashing with the Empress.”

“Do you think so?”

Gallahan nodded at Cleribane’s words and sat back down.

However, that was only for a moment.

Gallahan couldn’t stand it and jumped up from his seat.

“I really can’t do this.”

“Lord Gallahan.”

“I need to go check if Tia is alright.”

“Tia is fine.”

There was another voice stopping Gallahan.

It was Peres, who had his time with Tia stolen by Rulak.

“…Your Highness the Second Prince?”

Gallahan, who only remembered Peres’s childhood, asked in a voice of disbelief.

“It’s been a long time, Lord Gallahan Lombardi.”

“My, I wouldn’t have recognized you.”

Gallahan was so surprised he even stuttered.

Peres’s transformation was that remarkable.

“I just came from meeting Tia. Tia is currently having a conversation with the head of House Lombardi, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

“Is that so…”

Gallahan’s complexion, which had hardened with worry about his daughter, visibly brightened.

Meanwhile, Cleribane, standing next to Gallahan, widened his eyes and couldn’t take them off Peres.

He knew that Pirenthia and Peres exchanged letters regularly.

Thanks to that, he often heard news about the Second Prince from Pirenthia.

But those news were generally things like ‘he’s getting along well with someone’ or ‘he got first place in some test.’

Even as time passed and he watched Pirenthia grow up, the Peres in his mind was always just the child who had left for the Academy.

But the Peres who appeared after six years had passed was beyond imagination.

‘What tremendous presence.’

Cleribane thought this as he looked at Peres.

Right now he was talking with Gallahan in a gentle manner, but if that person were to look at me with hostility.

Gulp.

Cleribane unconsciously frowned.

As far as he knew, the only person with this level of charisma was Rulak.

He had encountered Emperor Yobanes several times at imperial banquets and such, but he didn’t have the same powerful presence as Peres.

The moment he thought that.

Cleribane and Peres’s red eyes met head-on.

“Just as I thought.”

And within them, Cleribane could read, if only slightly, the emotions that flashed quickly.

“Lord Cleribane Pellet, owner of Pellet Trading Company.”

It was unmistakable wariness mixed with slight curiosity.

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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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