In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 179

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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 179

Wow. That startled me.

For a moment, Peres’ face looked so seductive that it took my breath away.

So this is what a honey trap looks like.

Hey, you really are a dangerous guy.

I could feel my heart pounding and my face turning red.

But Peres is just focused on acting as my fiancé right now.

I tried to think that way and calm myself down.

As my heart settled a bit, I could finally see the surrounding situation clearly again.

The Empress also seemed quite surprised by Peres’ rather shameless attitude.

Now that the Empress’s composure was shaken.

Since my face had already turned red anyway, I looked at Peres and shyly covered my mouth.

“Oh my, Your Highness too…”

While doing so, I naturally tried to pull my hand away.

But that guy Peres wouldn’t let go.

I tried wriggling around inside his grip to pull my hand free, but his large hand didn’t budge.

I pretended to lean close to Peres so the Empress couldn’t see, turned my head and glared at him.

Hey, aren’t you going to let go of this?

Then Peres quietly gestured toward the Empress with his eyes.

“Hahaha…”

I laughed while glancing at the Empress, and could see she was still watching me and Peres.

Well, it can’t be helped.

Having my hand firmly held by someone else felt very awkward, but if the Empress had even the slightest suspicion, I had to end it here.

I lightly brushed Peres’ shoulder with my other hand and looked at him as if I was crazy about how lovely he was.

When me and Peres didn’t let go of each other’s hands even as time passed, the Empress spoke to Peres with displeasure.

“How rude, Second Prince.”

“I apologize, Your Majesty the Empress. But as you can see, my fiancée is such a lovely person that once I touch her hand, I cannot easily let go.”

It was such a smooth answer from Peres that even I, watching from the side, felt like getting angry.

Moreover, he added:

“Of course, Your Majesty the Empress would understand with your generous heart, wouldn’t you?”

When Peres went that far, even the Empress had nothing to say.

If she said ‘I can’t stand watching such romantic displays, let go of that hand right now!’ here, only the Empress would look foolish.

Knowing this well, Empress Lavinia could only respond by smiling coldly and letting it pass.

In the end, Peres held my hand until dessert was served.

My hand was getting sweaty.

I wanted to let go and kept glancing at Peres, but he just looked back at me and smiled brightly, so I was half giving up when.

Clatter.

With the small sound of a plate being set down, what the servant placed in front of me was a strawberry cake of a somehow familiar shape.

This is…

“I prepared it from the dessert shop that Lady Lombardi usually frequents. It was Caramel Avenue, wasn’t it, the name of that place?”

The Empress and I looked at each other with smiling faces.

Right now, the Empress was telling me with this Caramel Avenue cake.

‘I’ve investigated and know this much about you.’

It was the kind of moment that would make most people break out in a cold sweat down their back.

I looked down at the cake covered with white cream.

The Empress probably wasn’t completely bluffing.

The cream cake topped with strawberries was indeed one of the desserts I frequently bought.

But at the same time, I could sense the limits of the Empress’s intelligence network.

I frequently bought this cake for Loril.

Because this was what Loril liked most.

Loril’s baby Merillin would also smack her lips and eat deliciously when I dabbed a little of this sweet cream on her mouth.

If the Empress’s intelligence network was really excellent, what I actually like – chocolate cake sprinkled with caramel – would have been placed in front of me instead.

If this had been a dinner I was hosting, fruit drizzled with the finest honey would have been placed in front of the Empress instead of cake.

“Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress.”

I smiled brightly, picked up my fork, and ate the cake deliciously.

As if it really was my favorite type.

I could see the Empress smiling with satisfaction.

And something else was placed in front of me.

“Your Majesty the Empress, this is…”

“This is an engagement gift I’m giving to Lady Lombardi.”

The Empress seemed determined to win my favor, separate from her suspicions about me and Peres.

She’s probably thinking of somehow building a bridge to Father through me.

Since it would be awkward to keep borrowing money from Sersheu, Angenas is looking for a new host to stick their straw into.

And the one making the most money on the continent right now, at least from what’s visible on the surface, would be my father.

“Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress.”

When I opened the black box, inside was a pair of emerald earrings.

The design was antique, and at first glance they looked like old valuables.

Although Angenas’s money is running dry, the Empress has funds she can operate individually.

But from what I know, most of that is also invested in Angenas’s business.

This shows quite a bit of generosity for the Empress.

The Empress smiled and cleared up my question.

“These are jewels that have been passed down through the imperial family for generations.”

I thought so.

It seemed to be an item taken from the imperial treasury.

“Since Lady Lombardi will soon become a member of the imperial family, I thought it would be nice for you to keep one of the imperial treasures in advance, so I put some thought into it.”

“I am deeply honored, Your Majesty the Empress.”

I’ll have to return this to Peres later.

Even for me, keeping imperial heirlooms with no connection to them felt a bit uncomfortable.

“By the way, there’s much to discuss regarding Lady Lombardi and the Second Prince’s engagement period and wedding ceremony. When is Lord Gallahan Lombardi expected to return from Chesayu?”

I could instinctively tell.

This question was the reason the Empress held tonight’s dinner and put me in a good mood with all sorts of pleasantries and jewels.

I closed the earring box again and looked at the Empress.

“Your Majesty the Empress, please listen without misunderstanding my intentions.”

And I made my expression look really careful as I spoke.

“Father currently has no time to spare for matters other than Chesayu. Physically, time-wise, and most of all, financially.”

The Empress’s eyes sharpened.

I had touched her enormous pride.

But surprisingly, she didn’t interrupt me or shout that I was being rude like she had with Peres.

I glanced at Peres, who was sitting quietly beside me.

So you’ve been busy all this time, and you’ve completely dried up the Empress’s funding sources?

“But perhaps I know of a place that might be helpful to Your Majesty the Empress.”

“…Where would that be?”

“Pellet Trading Company.”

“Pellet… Trading Company?”

The Empress seemed quite surprised when a completely unexpected name came from my mouth.

That makes sense, since Pellet Trading Company has pro-Lombardi, pro-Peres leanings.

Moreover, they had clashed significantly with Angenas during the Triva lumber business.

“Recently, Pellet Trading Company has too much cash and is looking for places to invest long-term. Since I sometimes help with Pellet Trading Company’s work, I know about this, so it’s not much of a secret.”

The Empress’s eyes lit up at the words ‘lots of cash.’

Yet she asked evasively.

“Well, I wonder if Pellet Trading Company would listen to my story.”

“He may be my mentor, but when it comes to money and business, Master Cleribane Pellet is someone who can easily forget and move past old matters.”

The Empress seemed to be already half-convinced by my words.

And she seemed to be considering whether to give it a try.

Feeling Peres’ piercing gaze from the seat beside me, I suggested to the Empress.

“Shall I ask my mentor about his intentions, Your Majesty?”

* * *

“It’s been a while, Kaitlin, Kaileus! How have you been?”

After the dinner with the Empress ended, I came to Poirak Palace with Peres.

“Lady Pirenthia.”

I had seen Kaitlin occasionally since she came and went to the manor whenever the Lombardi Scholarship meetings were held, but my last conversation with Kaileus was when I briefly spoke with the Heringga family members during Grandfather’s birthday.

While we were having a brief conversation, Peres spoke to the two of them.

“Bring desserts with chocolate and warm tea.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Kaitlin and Kaileus glanced at Peres for a moment, then went outside.

“Tia.”

“Hm?”

“Now sit down and rest.”

“Ah…”

It was strange.

As soon as Peres said that, fatigue washed over me.

It seemed I had been unconsciously tense during the dinner with the Empress.

I sat down on the sofa with a thud.

“Thanks, Peres.”

And in that state, I flopped sideways and lay down lengthwise on the sofa.

“Tia!”

Peres, who had been frowning slightly and unbuttoning his collar as if feeling stuffy, was startled and rushed over.

His eyes were wide, and his face was completely stiff.

“Hahaha! Look at your face, Peres!”

“Hah. Tia…”

“It’s a joke, a joke! Did you think I’d collapse from something like this? Aren’t you seeing me as too fragile, Peres?”

When I burst into loud laughter, Peres rubbed his face with both hands once, then sat down on the floor below the sofa where I was lying.

For a while, there was no conversation between us.

But that didn’t make it awkward.

Rather, such time was comfortable.

Peres was one of the few people with whom I could ‘just be’ comfortably.

After a moment, Peres asked me in a slightly hoarse voice.

“Will it really be okay though?”

“What?”

“The Empress borrowing money from Pellet Trading Company.”

“Ah, that.”

I answered while stretching greatly.

“Don’t worry. I really have no intention of lending her money. That would mess up your plan.”

Peres wasn’t surprised that I knew about his plan, which he had never told me about.

Rather, his reaction was closer to treating it as natural.

“Pellet Trading Company will buy the debt claims for the construction costs that the Empress owes to Lombardi. Angenas will owe money to Pellet Trading Company, not Lombardi. While saying there’s no need for immediate repayment.”

“Debt claims.”

“Then when you make your move, I’ll be able to help you, Peres.”

Finally, Peres turned his head toward me.

But the distance was closer than I thought.

The distance between my face lying on the sofa and Peres’ face.

“Ahem.”

I deliberately cleared my throat and patted Peres’ shoulder as if nothing was wrong.

“And you know what. You don’t need to push yourself like that.”

“Push myself?”

“Earlier in front of the Empress… when you held my hand. Even if she suspects something, what could she say? Right?”

I giggled and laughed, but Peres didn’t.

He only looked down at me with a deeply sunken expression.

“At least laugh along with me.”

Though I grumbled, Peres didn’t react this time either.

“Phew.”

I sighed briefly, put away my smile, and said.

“Peres, you haven’t forgotten yet, have you? That we’re just in a contract engagement.”

Peres and I couldn’t become anything more than that.

No, we shouldn’t.

Peres’ red eyes, which still gave no answer, contained only me.

Throb.

The area around my chest ached sharply.

“Peres.”

He had conveyed his feelings to me countless times.

But I couldn’t reciprocate those feelings.

I must not cross that line.

Because I couldn’t repay Peres’ emotions, which I could understand just by looking at his face like this, with a complete happy ending.

Because.

“Tia.”

Peres called my name and approached.

Following that movement, I felt Peres’ shadow falling over my face.

Right, I was lying down.

Feeling somewhat helpless, I quietly looked up at Peres, who was half-overlapping his body over mine.

“Tia.”

Peres’ voice, heard from even closer, was like chocolate.

Deep, sweet, and somehow dark.

While maintaining eye contact without gaps, Peres’ hand slowly moved.

As if telling me to avoid it if I wanted to.

His large palm warmly covered the flat area below my collarbone, where my heart was.

At that moment, I realized.

That my heart was beating incredibly fast.

Feeling that pounding that struck my chest bone beneath the thin flesh, Peres smiled deeply.

And said quietly.

“It seems like you’re the one pushing yourself.”

Along with that voice, my heart began to beat even faster.

Then Peres came even closer to my ear and whispered.

“You don’t have to hold back, Tia.”

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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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