In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 252

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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 252

 

The meeting room was no different from when the usual grand conferences were held.

 

Central nobles had been invited under the pretext of ‘witnesses’ and sat on both sides of the seats, chattering noisily with their conversations.

 

The only difference was that in the center where Lord Brown’s witness stand had once been placed, there was now a round table for five clan heads, and a high platform had been installed where the Emperor usually sat.

 

And on that platform was placed the red Crown Prince’s crown, lavishly decorated with gold.

 

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

 

As I was looking at the Crown Prince’s crown with strange feelings, Migente Aivan approached and greeted me warmly.

 

“It has been a long time.”

 

I also greeted him warmly in return and mixed in among the four representatives.

 

“I heard you’re building something called a hospital in Lombardy.”

 

Oh, what a surprise.

 

The large Sersheu Marquis suddenly approached from the side and spoke up abruptly.

 

Seeing that the other clan heads were also looking at me with sparkling eyes, it seemed they had all heard rumors about the large-scale construction that had just broken ground.

 

Of course, this was exactly as I had intended.

 

“Hmm, it seems the rumors have already spread.”

 

“All the nobles in the Imperial Capital are talking about nothing but that. They say Lombardy’s new clan head is taking unprecedented steps.”

 

If Migente Aivan, who had arrived in the Imperial Capital just the day before yesterday, was saying this, it seemed I had achieved my intended purpose of quickly spreading rumors about the hospital.

 

I nodded and answered.

 

“That’s correct.”

 

“What exactly is… a hospital?”

 

The Sersheu Marquis asked.

 

“You can think of it as a kind of large clinic. Anyone who is a citizen of Lombardy can come and receive treatment.”

 

The hospital was planned to provide medical care to all citizens of the Empire like the Academy, but I deliberately spread rumors with a reduced scope.

 

“Anyone, you say?”

 

But even with just that, Avinox, who had come as the representative of Lord Ruman, asked in surprise.

 

“I heard you’ll hardly charge any treatment fees. To say that anyone who is a citizen of Lombardy can use it…”

 

Lord Brown muttered quietly, seeming somewhat shocked.

 

That reaction made me feel both proud and slightly offended.

 

Just how much did they estimate Lombardy’s wealth to be, to show such shocked faces?

 

Still, knowing well that Lord Brown had no intention of looking down on Lombardy, I shrugged my shoulders once and looked around.

 

Then I could feel countless gazes focused on me.

 

“They’re going to bore holes in me, bore holes.”

 

Did they think I couldn’t see them whispering about me from far away?

 

At my grumbling, Migente Aivan, who was similarly looking at the seats packed with nobles, gave a slight bitter smile.

 

“They must be keeping their antennae up to see what kind of person Lord Lombardi is.”

 

Well, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand the nobles’ reaction.

 

From when I first became the heir until it was revealed that I was the actual owner of Pellet Company, I had been making headlines daily.

 

But to exceed people’s expectations by far, inheriting the clan head position early, and the first thing I started was a hospital that would obviously cost astronomical amounts of money.

 

For nobles who didn’t know exactly how much wealth Lombardy possessed, this would be quite shocking.

 

“That’s not all it would be.”

 

Avinox, who had been listening to my conversation with Migente Aivan, said casually.

 

“It’s also because of fear toward His Highness the Second Prince, who will soon become the Crown Prince.”

 

The other clan heads looked at him in surprise at those direct words, but Avinox, seemingly unaware of this, continued speaking peacefully.

 

“From a forgotten prince born to a maid to where he is now. Isn’t he the one who brought down the mighty Angenas and the deposed Empress? He’s certainly fearsome enough.”

 

Lord Brown tried to stop Avinox, but I could see the Sersheu Marquis subtly stopping him from the side.

 

It meant to let him talk.

 

“In this situation where His Majesty cannot rise from his sickbed, who could oppose His Highness the Crown Prince now? From the moment he’s appointed as Crown Prince, he’ll grasp unprecedented solid imperial power in one hand… Ah.”

 

He caught on quickly.

 

Avinox’s face turned red as he belatedly noticed that the other clan heads were staring at him intently.

 

“I apologize. I seem to have gone too far again.”

 

“It’s just that Eastern culture is different, no need to apologize.”

 

He hadn’t said anything wrong, after all.

 

The nobles were afraid of Peres, and they were right to be afraid.

 

How many among the families gathered here had moved together with Angenas?

 

They had luckily avoided the backlash, but it wouldn’t be strange if Imperial soldiers came bursting in at any time.

 

Originally, emperors who ascend to the throne make examples to solidify their imperial power.

 

Peres had simply gained imperial power with the status of Crown Prince because Yobanes was dying.

 

I patted the dejected Avinox’s shoulder consolingly.

 

“His Highness the Second Prince is entering.”

 

Just then, with the attendant’s loud voice, the doors of the grand meeting room opened and Peres walked in, accompanied by Imperial Guards.

 

The meeting room, which had been as noisy as a banquet hall, instantly became as quiet as a mouse.

 

It wasn’t simply out of courtesy toward Peres, who would soon become Crown Prince.

 

It was because an overwhelming presence that seemed to weigh heavily on everyone’s bodies settled like thick fog in the grand meeting room, making people shrink back.

 

“Ahem.”

 

Lord Brown cleared his throat quietly beside me.

 

The Sersheu Marquis also looked at Peres.

 

The powerful intimidating aura was flowing from that direction.

 

It was perfect preemptive control that instantly dominated hundreds of nobles gathered in one place.

 

Seated Peres said nothing and just swept his red eyes over the nobles.

 

I could see quite many nobles flinch whenever that gaze touched them.

 

Now it was my turn to step forward.

 

I slowly rose from my seat.

 

Then I felt Peres and the nobles’ eyes focus on me.

 

Leading the signing ceremony was both the right and duty of the Lombardi clan head as the central representative.

 

“Let’s proceed without delay.”

 

Then the Emperor’s aides began moving busily.

 

They unrolled the Emperor’s Crown Prince appointment document that had been rolled up and spread it out on a large marble slab, nailing it down.

 

Then they carefully placed it on the round table.

 

Once the clan heads finished their signatures and seals, this appointment document would have thick glass placed over it and be safely stored in the depths of the Imperial Palace.

 

Lord Brown moved first.

 

With careful hands, he picked up the quill pen, signed his name, and pressed down firmly with his family’s seal.

 

Next was Aivan of the North, Luman of the East, and Sersheu of the South in that order.

 

Scratch, scratch.

 

In the silent grand meeting room, the sound of the clan heads moving their quill pens echoed loudly.

 

“Lord Lombardi.”

 

The Sersheu Marquis, who had pressed his seal last, gave way to me.

 

I took the heavy quill pen the attendant handed me and stood before the marble slab.

 

[The Second Prince, Peres Bribachau Durelli, is appointed as Crown Prince.]

 

At the top of the appointment document was only a simple phrase written in the Emperor’s own hand.

 

And below it, I could see the four signatures and seals that had already taken their places.

 

Still holding the quill pen in one hand, I raised my head straight to look at Peres.

 

He and I stared at each other for several seconds without saying a word.

 

Peres was expressionless.

 

He looked so indifferent, as if it were someone else’s business, that he didn’t seem like someone who would soon become the Empire’s Crown Prince.

 

How dishonest of him.

 

No matter how much of a Peres he was, at this moment, his heart truly couldn’t be peaceful.

 

It would be more rewarding if he showed at least a little sign of joy.

 

At that moment, Peres’s eyes narrowed slightly.

 

Only enough for me alone to notice in this vast space.

 

Of course it would be like that.

 

I smiled back subtly while picking up the quill pen.

 

[Lord of Lombardi, Pirenthia Lombardi]

 

After signing briefly, I removed the ring from my finger.

 

“Excuse me for a moment.”

 

The attendant waiting beside me dipped the ring in ink, and I took it and pressed it firmly right after my signature.

 

It was the moment when Lombardi’s world tree took root and the appointment document was finally completed, and the moment when Peres was finally reborn as Crown Prince.

 

* * *

 

All the nobles watching the signing ceremony held their breath.

 

Gulp.

 

Someone couldn’t overcome the tension and swallowed loudly.

 

After the Lord of Lombardi finished signing, attendants pressed glass over the appointment document, made it like a frame, and quickly carried it out of the meeting room.

 

Several Imperial Guards followed behind them.

 

It was to protect the appointment document in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

 

Click.

 

The sound of the door closing echoed, and the Grand Meeting Hall was once again enveloped in silence.

 

Step by step.

 

The Second Prince rose from his seat and stood on the dais.

 

On the purple cushion, the Crown Prince’s crown waited quietly for its owner, its jewels gleaming.

 

It was around that time when the nobles began to stir.

 

“What’s happening?”

 

Someone muttered.

 

However, it was a question that all the nobles gathered here had in mind.

 

When the Crown Prince appointment ended smoothly, it was the Emperor’s duty to bestow the Crown Prince’s crown.

 

The formal procedure was for the prince to kneel on one knee before the Emperor, who would place the crown on his head and help the kneeling successor to stand.

 

If the Emperor couldn’t perform this duty, it would pass to the Empress.

 

When kneeling, he would be a prince, but when rising with the help of an imperial elder, he would stand as Crown Prince.

 

But now, there was neither Emperor nor Empress.

 

“Oh my…”

 

Everyone was shocked by Peres’s subsequent action.

 

Peres didn’t wait for someone to place the crown on his head.

 

He stretched out both hands and grasped the Crown Prince’s crown.

 

And without hesitation, he lifted it and placed it on his head.

 

Thus, he became Crown Prince by his own hand.

 

Once again, the Grand Meeting Hall fell into shock and silence.

 

From a prince abandoned in a pavilion with no one to seek him, to becoming a Crown Prince wielding powerful imperial authority.

 

It was a moment that symbolized his desperate journey.

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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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