In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 23

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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 23

“Yes, that’s right. Now bend your knees there…”

Trying to bend my knees as Shannet instructed while keeping my back straight made my legs tremble.

“A little more.”

But Shannet spoke sternly without showing any mercy.

“…Yes, well done. That’s how you do it.”

“Whew! This is so hard!”

I was truly surprised.

I never expected that performing imperial etiquette greetings in a child’s body would be this difficult.

In my previous life, I had perfectly mastered noble etiquette while helping Grandfather, but I never had occasion to learn imperial etiquette, so I hadn’t anticipated this.

The fact that my young body was much smaller and more fragile than other children my age, despite eating plenty without being picky lately, also played a part.

Perhaps due to lack of muscle, even simple movements made my body keep swaying.

“It’s harder now because you’re doing it slowly. Can you try doing it once the way I show you, Tia?”

Shannet stood up from where she was sitting and positioned herself in front of me.

She bent her right arm and placed her hand near her heart, while her left hand grasped her skirt hem and lifted it slightly.

Then, simultaneously nodding her head, she sent her right leg back and bent both knees.

This is the greeting method used in imperial etiquette, employed by nobles when meeting royalty.

While this was the etiquette from the early days of the kingdom’s founding, nowadays etiquette itself has become much more flexible, so not all royalty receive greetings in this manner.

Only the Emperor and Empress, along with the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, are qualified to receive such formal greetings.

“So elegant and wonderful…”

I clapped as I watched Shannet straighten her body after finishing the greeting.

Without any exaggeration, Shannet performing the imperial etiquette greeting looked like an elegant swan.

The curve that began from her long neck, slightly bowed as she looked down, continued to her fingertips grasping and lifting her dress hem, making her look like a swan spreading its wings.

“How do you do it like that?”

I genuinely wanted to know.

The secret behind Shannet’s incredible elegance.

Shannet tapped my nose with her index finger as my eyes sparkled with curiosity, then smiled and said:

“Practice.”

“Aw…”

How is that different from saying you got into Seoul National University by studying textbooks?

I pouted my lips.

“I’m not joking. There really is no method other than practice. Especially in your case, Tia, when you still lack strength, you have no choice but to make your body learn it.”

“Yes…”

Shannet was right.

Perhaps because I take after Father’s slender build, despite carefully eating well and sleeping well, there hasn’t been much change in my body.

“Are we still far from done?”

“We want to play with Tia, Mother!”

The twins rolled around on the sofa, wailing.

The two had been keeping their promise to wait quietly beside me while I learned imperial etiquette from Shannet fairly well.

“Do you understand the greeting method to some extent now, Tia?”

“Yes, I’ll practice hard. Please check on me again tomorrow.”

In any case, to avoid becoming a laughingstock before the Emperor and Empress, I needed to master at least the greeting method perfectly.

Especially since I absolutely couldn’t bear to see that Crown Prince brat mock me.

Shannet gently stroked my head as I clenched both fists.

“I wished I had a daughter just like you.”

It didn’t seem like just casual words – regret dripped from Shannet’s tone.

“How did I end up becoming the mother of these mischievous twins…”

Shannet wrinkled her nose and smiled while gently pinching Meylon and Giliou’s chubby cheeks.

“Isn’t it still not too late?”

Seeing Shannet’s expression as she seemed to genuinely want a daughter, I blurted out the words without thinking.

“…What?”

Ah, those words just now weren’t something that should come from the mouth of an eight-year-old who hasn’t received sex education and doesn’t know anything yet.

How should I gloss over this?

For now, I laughed.

“Ehehe…”

Then I redirected the arrow toward the twins.

“You two would like to have a little sister too, right?”

I expected them to immediately answer “Yes!” to this question.

The two were always bored, and I thought they’d be happy to have a sibling to play with.

But Giliou and Meylon’s reaction was rather lukewarm.

“Hmm. Not really.”

“Me neither.”

“Why, why not?”

At my question, Giliou rolled his big eyes once and then answered.

“We like playing with Tia.”

“Yeah, we like playing just the three of us like this.”

“We don’t like other kids joining in.”

These kids are really saying something troublesome.

“I have lots of other people to play with besides you two.”

And there will be many more in the future.

“That’s a lie! When we don’t play with you, Tia just reads books alone all the time!”

“…W-well, that’s true for now, but.”

They have surprisingly sharp instincts.

I avoided the twins’ gaze.

Then the two grinned and grabbed one of my arms each, starting to whine.

“Let’s play! Let’s play!”

“Let’s play hide-and-seek again!”

Finally, the confined beagles had escaped.

“Alright. Then first…”

Let go of this and let’s talk, let’s talk.

I was struggling to pry off the fingers of the two people holding me one by one when the door to Shannet’s residence opened and someone entered.

“Father!”

The twins, who were much taller and bigger than me yet hanging onto my arms, instantly dropped away.

Then they rushed toward a handsome man who was just entering.

“Why did you come home so early today?”

“Can you play with us continuously until bedtime now?”

The man with neatly combed dark blonde hair, tall stature, and sturdy build in his mid-thirties was Bestian Shultz, the twins’ father and Shannet’s husband.

Though he had married into the family, he hadn’t changed his surname to Lombardi and maintained his pre-marriage surname.

“Oh my, these rascals!”

Bestian lifted the twins up, one in each arm, and laughed.

“You’re back?”

Shannet stood up and greeted Bestian.

“I didn’t have much work today, so I came home early. Were you well with the children, Shannet?”

Bestian smiled gently and kissed Shannet’s cheek.

At that greeting filled with affection, I stared blankly up at the happy-looking couple.

Is this what an ideal couple looks like?

Tenderness overflowed in their exchanged glances.

“Oh? Pirenthia is here? Have you been well?”

Such an ideal and normal greeting in our family!

When the handsome Bestian with his fine features smiled warmly, it seemed to brighten the surroundings.

“Hello.”

I clasped my hands together modestly and bowed in greeting.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t attend your birthday party last time. I was busy with work that day.”

Although Bestian wasn’t originally from Lombardy, he was in charge of managing several of the clan’s small businesses.

What he was most passionate about these days was the business of bringing minerals mined from Lombardy-owned mines in the north and selling them in the central region.

But the ore veins discovered a few years ago had all dried up, so I thought he’d be idle until new veins were found next year, but wasn’t that the case?

Since the business Bestian managed wasn’t limited to just that, I didn’t think deeply about it.

“Shannet, should we try for a pretty daughter like Pirenthia too? Of course, the boys are cute too, but…”

Bestian said wistfully while looking at me.

“…Don’t say such things when the children are listening.”

Shannet, her face reddening, pushed against Bestian’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Oh my, look at how well these two get along.

I deliberately stood up and grabbed a few cookies from the plate in front, offering them to the twins as I said,

“Shall we go outside and play?”

Fortunately, the twins immediately nodded and agreed, so we went outside.

Since I was always “it” when we played hide-and-seek, I watched Giliou and Meylon run away in the distance, giggling, when a question suddenly occurred to me.

Why would such a loving couple divorce three years from now?

Moreover, the twins would go with their father, while Shannet would go alone to live at the Lombardi resort on the outskirts of the Empire.

The only time Shannet returned to the Lombardy estate after that was for Grandfather’s funeral.

I tilted my head, recalling the couple who had been holding hands and gazing at each other.

* * *

As always, I was enjoying some leisure time sitting on the windowsill with the window slightly open.

The warm midday breeze gently tickled my face.

In a few hours, when Father returned from his morning duties, we would immediately depart for the Imperial Palace.

From here to the border of the Imperial Domain was about an hour by carriage, and then another thirty minutes to get inside the Imperial Palace.

And Father said he would depart with plenty of time to spare, as he wanted to show me around the inside of the Imperial Palace since it was my first time there.

The Empress’s banquet would begin at sunset.

However, no matter how busy tonight was scheduled to be, the afternoon hours were flowing slowly.

Just as I was about to drift off to sleep, I heard a knock at the door.

“Come in-.”

When I answered, the door opened carefully and Estira entered.

“Hello, Estira!”

She was the welcome guest I had been waiting for.

I quickly pulled over a nearby chair so Estira could sit.

“I brought what you requested. The medicine was completed a few days ago, but you said to bring it today…”

“Yes, yes. That’s right! Thank you!”

“Here it is.”

What Estira handed me was a small glass bottle that fit perfectly in my palm.

The glass bottle was inside a pouch made of thick cloth so the contents couldn’t be seen, and when I carefully untied the string and opened it, I could see it was filled with golden melcon medicine.

“As expected of you, Estira. You’ve prepared everything perfectly as I requested. Thank you!”

I carefully placed it in the small handbag I had set aside.

I would take it with me when entering the Imperial Palace.

“Um, Young Lady…”

“Yes? What is it?”

Estira, who had been quietly watching my actions, called out to me with a worried expression.

“Are you planning to use the melcon medicine as an antidote?”

“…”

I didn’t give any answer.

I just stared directly into Estira’s eyes.

They were truly clear eyes.

Clear enough that I could tell she was asking this question purely out of concern for me.

“It’s not for me, so don’t worry too much!”

I deliberately smiled even more brightly.

“Then…”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you more than that. But you’re right that I’m taking it to the Imperial Palace.”

When the Imperial Palace was mentioned, Estira’s complexion darkened further.

For ordinary people, the Imperial Palace must be an infinitely difficult and frightening place.

“There’s someone there. Someone who needs this medicine. I’m going to give it to that person.”

“…Please be careful, Young Lady. I’m worried that you, still so young, are trying to do something too big.”

“Thank you for worrying about me, Estira. Oh, and also…”

I leaned toward Estira and whispered.

“You know this is just between the two of us, right?”

At my whisper tinged with playfulness, Estira nodded with a face full of firm resolve.

Though I said it out of excessive caution, I don’t suspect that Estira would tell anyone about me.

Estira was someone who kept her promises.

I knew of the blind loyalty she had shown to her master in my previous life.

“Ah, I wish Father would come quickly.”

I muttered while looking at the empty road with no carriages passing by.

* * *

“Don’t be too nervous, Tia.”

Gallahan said to Tia for the tenth time inside the swaying carriage.

“I’m fine though?”

“Yes, that’s a relief…”

His daughter answered spiritedly, but Gallahan only smiled weakly.

“Father, are you okay? Your face is pale…”

“I’m fine. Father is just a little nervous.”

“Oh dear…”

Tia patted Gallahan’s cold hand with her small hand.

At that small touch, Gallahan felt his heart become a little more at ease.

“But what’s that bag, Tia? It looks quite heavy, shall Father carry it for you?”

Gallahan deliberately tried to distract himself from thinking about the Empress’s dinner banquet.

“It’s not heavy, it’s fine.”

“You don’t usually carry bags around… What’s inside?”

The round brown handbag that matched well with the light green dress Tia was wearing looked even more adorable in the child’s small hands.

“A gift!”

“A gift?”

“Yes! I’m giving it to the Crown Prince!”

Pirenthia answered in a bright voice.

“You’re giving it to the Crown Prince?”

His daughter didn’t give a direct answer but just giggled.

And at that innocent face, Gallahan felt as if a huge boulder had fallen with a thud onto his chest.

“Yes, Tia has reached that age too, now. I knew this day would come someday, but…”

“No, it’s not like that…”

Just as Pirenthia was about to say something,

The carriage that had been traveling smoothly suddenly stopped with a screech.

“What’s the matter?”

Gallahan asked the coachman.

“Well, that is… The palace guards said to stop the carriage for inspection…”

“That can’t be right.”

He pulled back the carriage curtain to check outside.

The father and daughter had been moving without stopping once from the Lombardy Estate all the way into the Imperial Palace.

Carriages bearing the Lombardy crest always traveled that way wherever they went.

Just as Gallahan was frowning and trying to understand the situation, the carriage door burst open.

“We’ll be conducting a brief inspection. Please step out.”

It was two Imperial Guards in gleaming armor.

“This is Lombardy’s carriage. I am Gallahan Lombardi, here by invitation of Her Majesty the Empress.”

But the guard didn’t even listen to Gallahan’s full explanation and opened the carriage door even wider.

“We apologize. We ask for your cooperation.”

Something was wrong.

But if he caused friction here, his daughter might be greatly frightened.

Gallahan looked back at Pirenthia, who sat quietly with wide eyes, then tried to get out of the carriage alone.

“The young lady should step out as well.”

“You’re going to search even a child?”

Now Gallahan’s voice rose as if he was completely angry.

“…We apologize.”

It seemed the guard didn’t want to do this either.

Gallahan didn’t hide his displeasure.

In the Imperial Palace where carriages bearing the Lombardy crest could pass directly even to the Emperor’s study, there was only one reason to suddenly demand a search like this.

A show of force.

The Empress or Emperor who gave the order was trying to break their spirit.

“Is this Her Majesty the Empress’s command?”

Gallahan asked directly.

“…”

The guard couldn’t answer and averted his gaze.

There was no choice.

Gallahan sighed quietly and said.

“Leave the child alone.”

At his low, warning voice, the guard briefly exchanged glances with his colleague and nodded.

Gallahan stepped out of the carriage.

Looking around, the place where the carriage had stopped seemed to be deep within the palace grounds where the Empress’ Palace was located.

It was an empty, ordinary stretch of road without even a proper guard post.

They had stopped a perfectly normal moving carriage to conduct a search now, after already passing the Central Palace where many eyes could see.

‘I should have brought some of the clan’s guards.’

Gallahan felt belated regret.

“Then, just for a moment…”

The guard approached to check Gallahan’s person.

Trying not to contort his face at this humiliation he had never experienced in his life, Gallahan said.

“It would be best not to lay hands on me.”

The approaching guard flinched for a moment.

“If you don’t want to lose your title while trying to put on a show of searching me.”

“Ahem…”

Overwhelmed by Gallahan’s presence, the guard stepped back and after watching for a moment, cleared his throat and nodded.

“There seems to be nothing, so we’ll end the inspection. Please get back in the carriage.”

It was an absurd and ridiculous situation.

Gallahan gave the guards one last cold look before climbing into the carriage.

Or rather, he tried to.

But seeing the carriage door hanging wide open on the opposite side and the empty interior, he froze in place.

“Pirenthia?”

His daughter was gone.

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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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