In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 143

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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 143

“To receive such comfort from a young lady makes me even more grateful.”

The Aivan deputy lord spoke to me with a slightly choked voice.

“Not just because she’s my granddaughter, but she’s a child with a very broad mind and quite intelligent, though she’s only just come of age.”

Grandfather subtly praised me from the side.

“This Lombardi courier business is also this child’s creation.”

“Oh, is that so?”

The look in the Aivan deputy lord’s eyes changed as he turned to me.

I smiled brightly and pointed to where tea was prepared.

“I’ve prepared tea that helps with sleep. Let’s talk while drinking it.”

The tea I personally selected and chose was actually more for calming the mind than for sleep.

It was clearly effective, as the Aivan deputy lord’s complexion visibly improved after sitting and taking a few sips of tea.

His face, which had seemed frozen solid, warmed up and became soft.

Soft enough to poke and knead as I pleased.

“How is the damage situation?”

As I had told him beforehand, Grandfather opened the conversation first.

“From what we’ve assessed so far, fortunately there aren’t too many casualties. But…”

The Aivan deputy lord spoke about the situation surprisingly honestly.

“At this rate, I’m not certain whether the territory’s people will be able to farm properly in the spring after winter passes.”

“Farming isn’t the problem right now. You should worry about getting through the immediate winter first. Isn’t the northern winter harsh?”

“…That’s also true.”

The Aivan deputy lord’s shoulders drooped even lower.

And seeing that, I could be certain.

He visited the Empress’ quarters early this morning, but his relationship with the Empress isn’t the same as before.

If he were still maintaining a close relationship with Angenas, the Aivan deputy lord wouldn’t have let his guard down around Grandfather and me until the very end.

Well, there’s no reason for the Empress to continue keeping faith with Aivan, who can no longer supply Triva wood.

It’s something that they’re not immediately pointing fingers at each other and fighting with veins bulging in their necks over responsibility for the landslide.

Anyway, what’s important now is that Aivan, the representative of the north, is currently in a situation like a kite with a broken string.

“The Aivan family was careless in this matter. You should have done moderate logging. The castle walls can be rebuilt, but what about those who were sacrificed in the landslide?”

Grandfather spoke in a stern voice.

I quickly took the Aivan lord’s side from beside him.

“No one knew it would rain that much, Grandfather.”

“But a lord should know how to prepare for such situations.”

Grandfather and I weren’t really having a disagreement.

We were just faithfully playing our roles according to the script we had prepared.

One side threatens and intimidates while the other side protects and soothes.

Then the target person naturally becomes emotionally dependent on the side that protects them and listens to their words.

“What’s the use of assigning blame now, Grandfather? The most important thing is to quickly help people return to their normal lives. Isn’t that right, Deputy Lord Aivan?”

Let’s cover up the past and make plans.

It’s the favorite phrase of people who have things to be responsible for.

The Aivan deputy lord was no different.

“That’s right. The northern families are now also focusing on damage recovery.”

“And to help with that, I asked to meet with Deputy Lord Aivan today.”

“Help, you say…”

“The most necessary thing to restore the north to its former state would be timber, wouldn’t it?”

“Y-yes.”

“But you can’t do aggressive logging because you’re worried about another landslide.”

“The roads to the logging sites that didn’t collapse are unfortunately all blocked by landslides…”

“Oh my, how terrible…”

I added my interjection and then said:

“Cleribane Pellet, the owner of Pellet Trading Company, has been my teacher since I was young. And fortunately, Pellet Trading Company has a large amount of unused Triva timber stored up. My teacher is thinking of selling that timber at cost price due to the north’s unfortunate situation.”

In truth, it wasn’t Cleribane but me who had bought and collected it with this intention.

“Is that really true? Mo-money is no problem, well, it might be difficult right now but if you give me time I can pay!”

The Aivan deputy lord was delighted.

Aivan is definitely not a poor territory.

But with their main industries of mining, agriculture, and forestry all shut down, they can’t make large expenditures right now.

“You can put those worries aside. We Lombardi are thinking of purchasing half of that timber and sending it to the north as relief supplies.”

“N-no, such a large amount…”

The Aivan deputy lord, who had been surprised by my words, quickly stopped speaking.

He must have realized that the people he was facing were none other than Lombardi.

In reality, that amount wouldn’t even make a dent in Lombardi’s finances even if spent ten times over.

The Aivan deputy lord hesitated and then bowed his head slightly.

“Though it’s shameless, I will… accept Lombardi’s help. Thank you.”

And his voice was choked as he continued.

“I’ve been asking for help everywhere all day today but was only rejected… I don’t know how to express this feeling…”

The Aivan deputy lord said while looking at Grandfather.

Grandfather spoke to Ronchent Aivan in a leisurely voice.

“Why are you looking at me? All authority regarding this matter belongs to this child.”

“Ah…”

The Aivan deputy lord, who was about the same age as my father, looked at me and stammered before saying:

“Thank you, Lady Lombardi.”

“Natural disasters can happen to any of us. At times like this, we should help each other, shouldn’t we?”

“If there’s anything our Aivan can do to repay you…”

Yes, that’s exactly it!

That’s exactly what I wanted to hear!

I smiled slightly and subtly brought up the main point for arranging this meeting.

“Well then, there is one thing…”

“What would that be?”

The Aivan lord asked as if telling me to say anything.

“I hope measures will be established at tomorrow’s council meeting so that such incidents never happen again. The best method would be for everyone responsible for this landslide to receive appropriate punishment.”

“Punishment, you say…”

“Of course, the north has already paid a great price with the landslide, so now you just need to focus on reconstruction.”

“Ah…”

The Aivan lord’s gaze wavered once again.

Lend your strength to keeping the Empress and Angenas in check.

He understood what I was saying.

“Now it seems to be my turn to speak.”

Grandfather, who had been quietly listening to my conversation with the Aivan deputy lord, spoke.

From then on, Grandfather began telling the Aivan deputy lord what to say at the council meeting.

The deputy lord, who had been listening silently, eventually nodded his head.

Those words weren’t unreasonable at all, and as he listened, they were things that Aivan could naturally say from their position.

“Well then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The Aivan deputy lord politely greeted Grandfather and left the study.

Grandfather and I, left alone again, enjoyed a moment of silence.

And Grandfather smiled at me and said:

“Not bad at all.”

I also said to Grandfather:

“You too, Grandfather.”

“What? Hahaha!”

Grandfather’s laughter echoed loudly throughout the study.

Grandfather, who laughed so hard that his face was covered in wrinkles, patted my head.

“Yes, you are indeed my granddaughter. I could tell for certain when I saw you grilling the Aivan acting patriarch today.”

Grandfather’s granddaughter.

No matter how many times I hear it, those words always make my heart swell.

I swallowed those feelings and instead gave him a bright smile.

“I just showed off using Lombardi’s resources, that’s all.”

As I shrugged my shoulders, Grandfather spoke with a peculiar gleam in his eyes.

“Well, what’s wrong with a Lombardi showing off using Lombardi’s resources.”

“Haha!”

This time it was my turn to laugh heartily.

As expected.

Our grandfather is amazing.

* * *

A council meeting was held to discuss relief for the northern region.

Since they had already held a regular council meeting just a few days prior, some nobles harbored complaints, but none had the audacity to openly grumble in a setting where the Emperor and both princes were seated.

However, the hall was somewhat noisy because many of the nobles were approaching Astana to speak with him, using the Angenas patriarch’s death as an excuse.

“How deeply grieved you must be, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

“I am a little sad but I’m fine. However, Mother is so deeply grieved that she has refused all food and drink and cannot get up.”

Astana, who appeared wearing black mourning clothes, was reciting the same words like a parrot.

“Now let us begin the meeting.”

The nobles who hurriedly returned to their seats at the Emperor’s single word exchanged subtle glances.

These were people who would be offended if you said they weren’t quick-witted.

They had figured out what Angenas was trying to gain by taking the risk of not attending the council meeting, and were pondering which side to take.

Shortly after, the council meeting began and the Emperor immediately got to the point with his opening words.

“Tell me the plans you have considered.”

However, no one stepped forward to speak.

In the quiet atmosphere, a retainer from the Baraport family, who was close to Angenas, opened his mouth.

“How about reducing the northern region’s taxes, just like we did during the eastern drought last time?”

“Ahem.”

Emperor Yobanes frowned with displeasure.

Collecting less taxes ultimately meant the national treasury would shrink.

The nobles who had proposed this idea wouldn’t suffer any losses themselves.

“Are there no other alternatives besides that?”

Silence fell over the hall again.

At this rate, they would really end up opening the imperial coffers to help the north.

But they couldn’t just ignore the northern region either.

Emperor Yobanes glanced at the Aivan acting patriarch, who sat with a stern expression, and grew anxious.

“I am disappointed in you lords! Is this the best you can do!”

“Your Majesty.”

At the end of Yobanes’ furious outburst, Rulak Lombardi slowly rose from his seat.

“Oh, what is it, Lombardi patriarch.”

The Emperor welcomed Rulak with obvious delight.

Right, Lombardi wouldn’t just pretend not to know.

Yobanes’ eyes sparkled with anticipation as he looked at Rulak.

Rulak Lombardi, who calmly surveyed the assembly once, spoke in a resonant voice.

“We Lombardi cannot simply stand by and watch the tragedy of the north, our long-time friend and ally, so we have given much thought to how to execute relief efforts.”

Long-time friend? Ally?

The nobles looked at the Aivan acting patriarch with bewildered faces.

Until the last council meeting, Aivan had been a family aligned with the Empress’s faction.

Hadn’t the Crown Prince even tried to redirect the eastern subsidies to the north?

Yet within a few days, Lombardi was calling Aivan and the northern region their ally.

What on earth had been discussed between them?

The nobles stared at Rulak Lombardi with wide eyes.

“As a result, Lombardi will cooperate with Pellet Trading Company to provide large quantities of Triva timber for the north’s rapid reconstruction, and we plan to dispatch five core engineers from Lombardi Construction to the north to assist with smooth rebuilding.”

For central Lombardi to move so decisively on affairs in the distant north.

The assembly buzzed at this groundbreaking statement.

But Rulak Lombardi paid no heed to such reactions and continued speaking.

“And this entire process will be directly managed and supervised by Lombardi through dispatching a supervisor to Aivan territory.”

“Ho, a supervisor. They will be handling very important work. Who is this supervisor, Lombardi patriarch?”

Yobanes leaned forward from his backrest and asked with a voice full of curiosity.

Then Rulak smiled once and spoke with a proud voice.

“Yes, Your Majesty. The supervisor for this relief effort is this Rulak’s granddaughter and Gallahan Lombardi’s daughter, Pirenthia Lombardi.”

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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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