In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 26

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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 26

I had met Lavinia several times before.

Of course, not now, but in my previous life.

Even then, she was a beauty with thoroughly managed and outstanding looks, but the young Empress, still several years younger than before, was truly breathtakingly beautiful.

But at the same time, she had a cold side that matched her appearance.

“You must be Lord Gallahan Lombardi?”

Lavinia slowly extended one hand toward Father.

If the imperial greeting for women was what I had practiced with Shannet last time, then there were two ways for men to greet.

One was to similarly place one hand near the heart while bowing the head in greeting, and the other was to bow at the waist and bring the extended hand of the imperial family member to one’s forehead, as was happening now.

Of course, the second method was slightly more respectful.

It was also a greeting method that was rarely used anymore.

The Empress did not withdraw her confidently extended hand, and Father looked at that hand for a moment before touching it to his forehead.

I also followed Father in greeting, but the Empress was not looking at me.

With slightly lowered eyes looking at Father, she seemed to be feeling a strange sense of victory.

“The carriage of the guest I invited to tonight’s dinner hasn’t arrived, so I came out to see what might have happened?”

The Empress asked while looking around at the two guards.

“Well, that is…”

Naturally, the guards seemed flustered.

They had forcibly inspected our carriage at the Empress’s command, and now the Empress had caught them in the act of apologizing for it.

Lavinia’s gaze toward them was particularly cold.

“Let’s not do this here and go inside. It’s not proper to keep guests standing in the street.”

Having said that, the Empress turned around first and began walking.

Five or six maids hurriedly followed behind her.

Father, who had been watching this scene with a stiff expression for a moment, felt my gaze and turned around.

“Shall we go too, Tia?”

He must surely have many thoughts running through his mind.

Father extended his hand to me while smiling.

* * *

The place the Empress guided us to was a dining hall specially built for dinners in the Empress’ Quarters.

Lavinia would invite about ten guests each month to manage her network, and since the Emperor often joined them, the Empress’s dinners were important events that nobles definitely wanted to attend at least once.

However, as Father and I entered, we realized that today’s dinner was different from what we had heard about.

The long table was set with tableware for only five people.

“Today I specially invited only the Lombardi father and daughter. We have something to celebrate after all. Don’t we?”

The Empress smiled, gracefully narrowing her large eyes.

It was truly a beautiful sight, yet it didn’t feel beautiful at all.

Rather, only the Second Prince’s shabby appearance kept coming to mind, making me feel uncomfortable.

“…It’s an honor.”

Father still politely greeted her and sat in the chair the Empress indicated.

And as soon as we took our seats, as if they had been waiting, the dining hall doors opened again and the Crown Prince entered.

“Mother.”

“Welcome, Astana. Astana’s friend is here today?”

“Yes…”

Astana glanced at me and answered with an incredibly innocent expression.

To think that brat and I are friends.

I wanted to snort, but given the setting, I held back.

“Hello, Lord Lombardi.”

“Have you been well, Your Highness the Crown Prince?”

After receiving Father’s greeting, the Crown Prince walked over and sat in the seat next to the Empress.

It happened to be directly across from me.

Ah, what an appetite-killing sight.

“I would like to finish what I couldn’t say earlier, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Father, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke up.

The Empress, who had been smiling while drinking water, stopped her actions.

“…Please speak.”

“On the way to the Empress’ Quarters today, our carriage was inspected by the Imperial Knights.”

“Oh my.”

The Empress made a surprised face, but it was actually closer to a smiling expression.

Usually when someone feigns ignorance like that, the person making the complaint has nothing left to say.

Because there’s nothing to say when they claim they didn’t know.

But Father didn’t back down and continued the conversation with a stern face.

“Within the Imperial Palace, members of Lombardi blood are not subject to inspection or search. Isn’t that the law?”

Father’s protest was justified.

“That’s right. What a strange law indeed.”

But the Empress smiled sweetly at Father’s words.

“I wonder why only Lombardi has so many exceptions. Other families entering the Imperial Palace all undergo thorough inspections.”

The Empress’s tone was heavily twisted.

But somehow it didn’t seem intentional.

Rather, it was closer to cynical words flowing out unconsciously because her negative feelings toward Lombardi were too strong.

The Empress seemed to realize her mistake and quickly added with a smile.

“Of course, that must be because Lombardi is a special family in many ways.”

Father gave no response.

He simply met the Empress’s gaze without avoiding it.

The atmosphere that seemed ready to shatter at any moment was broken when the dining hall doors opened once again.

“Haha! Gallahan!”

The one who entered calling Father’s name in a loud voice from the moment of entrance was the Emperor, Yobanes.

Like the Second Prince, he was a man with black hair and a hearty atmosphere.

I stood up following Father and bowed according to imperial etiquette.

“My, it’s been so long! Have you been well?”

“I’m glad to see Your Majesty the Emperor is also in good health.”

“I’m always like this!”

Father and the Emperor seemed to be of similar age and appeared to have had quite a friendship in their youth.

The Emperor, who had heartily patted Father’s shoulder with his thick hand, turned his gaze to me.

“Ho. So you’re Pirenthia.”

“Pirenthia Lombardi greets Your Majesty the Emperor.”

I was surprisingly the type who was strong in actual situations, and fortunately I made no mistakes this time either.

The Emperor’s eyes, both amused and dry, looked me over.

“Yes, yes. What a lovely child you are.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Gallahan, you seem to have raised a very sharp daughter who takes after you!”

The Emperor seemed skilled at praising people.

“Come, come, let’s sit!”

As the Emperor took his place at the head seat, servants brought and served food, and the dinner began.

While everyone was busy preparing for the meal, I felt something a bit strange.

Even though he was his son, the Emperor hadn’t given the Crown Prince a single glance since arriving at the dinner.

Astana also seemed accustomed to such a father and appeared not to mind.

“So what were you all talking about before I arrived?”

“We were just exchanging pleasantries without any particular conversation.”

The Empress covers up with a smiling face.

Father stared intently at such an Empress.

“That doesn’t seem to be the case, Gallahan?”

The Emperor looked back and forth between Father and the Empress before speaking.

“If there’s something weighing on your mind, feel free to speak without reservation.”

However, the Emperor’s words were mere lip service, not sincere.

He didn’t seem curious at all about what Father wanted to say, and the Empress also didn’t seem to think Father would say anything particular in front of the Emperor, as she leisurely sipped the fruit wine that an attendant had poured for her.

I was angry.

These two people who would be careful with even a single word in front of our Grandfather were looking down on Father.

But at the same time, the Empress’s composure was justified.

So I thought Father wouldn’t say anything.

But.

“I was telling Her Majesty the Empress about what happened on the way to tonight’s dinner.”

I was surprised.

Father didn’t back down even in front of the Emperor.

Both the Emperor and the Empress seemed not to have expected Father to come out this far, as they paused for a moment with their smiling faces frozen.

“What happened?”

The Emperor asked while scratching his beard.

“Our carriage was searched by Imperial Guards.”

“Hmm?”

The Emperor also seemed quite surprised.

Then he glanced at the Empress.

“Haha, such a thing happened.”

He seemed to have roughly figured out what had occurred.

We probably weren’t the only ones who had been intimidated in such a way.

I had a strong premonition that Biejie had probably fallen victim to the same tactics.

The Empress kept her eyes downcast, not showing her expression.

“It seems… there was some kind of misunderstanding.”

The Emperor said after pausing for a moment.

“They stopped a carriage bearing the Lombardi crest. It doesn’t seem like a misunderstanding, Your Majesty.”

“…Gallahan, you seem quite angry.”

Indeed, his current appearance was unlike Father.

It was so different from his usual timid personality that made him reluctant to say unpleasant things even to employees, let alone the Emperor.

“My daughter was very frightened.”

Father answered in a low voice.

Only then could I understand Father’s behavior.

Father was angry not because he himself had been insulted, but because I had been scared due to the guards.

For a moment, it felt like a cold wind was blowing over the table.

“Haha! This is quite embarrassing!”

Though he burst into hearty laughter, the Emperor ultimately had to apologize.

However, there was no mention of the Empress in his following words.

“Please understand the guards’ youthful indiscretion. There are occasionally those who cannot accept the special relationship between the Imperial Court and Lombardi out of loyalty.”

In the end, it was the guards who took the blame.

The Empress, who had orchestrated everything, was completely left out, and it was dismissed as individual fault.

Father, knowing this, sighed quietly and nodded.

“I only hope such incidents won’t happen again.”

“Of course, of course. There won’t be such incidents again! Come, have a drink!”

The Emperor thumped his chest as if making a promise and poured wine for Father.

I pretended to drink the juice in front of me while observing the Empress’s face.

And I got goosebumps.

Though it was still a beautiful face with a smile, her sharp eyes were glaring at Father without moving an inch.

I had noticed since she tried to kill the Second Prince in that way, but she’s truly a frightening person.

Thus the full-scale dinner began, and the prepared dishes started coming out in order.

Since the Empress was hosting, they were naturally excellent dishes, but still not as good as Lombardi’s.

I was making such a cold assessment when it happened.

The Emperor, who had been having various casual conversations with Father, suddenly asked a question about business.

“So, I heard the business you led achieved great results?”

The Empress, who had been quiet since Father’s protest to the Emperor, also showed interest this time.

“It’s wonderful to see Angenas and Lombardi, who can be called the two pillars of the Empire, working together!”

“…You flatter me.”

Since when did Angenas become a pillar of this Empire?

The Emperor was subtly elevating Angenas, his in-laws, to the same level as Lombardi.

Well, Emperor Yobanes was currently trying to use Angenas to check Lombardi’s dominance.

This was also the reason he turned a blind eye while vaguely knowing what the Empress was doing to the Second Prince.

But in about three years, when Angenas incurs the Emperor’s wrath due to outrageous tax evasion, the partnership between the Empress and Emperor would end.

“Please continue to help the Durak Guild greatly, Lord Lombardi. They’re just starting out, so they’re quite inexperienced.”

The Empress said to Father with the most friendly smile in the world.

But the response wasn’t very friendly.

“As I already told the Durak Caravan Leader, I plan to withdraw from the textile business soon, Your Majesty the Empress.”

“…What?”

As if hearing this for the first time, the Empress’s poker face finally cracked.

She probably thought there would be disruption to the business if Father, who was at the center of it, withdrew.

It was the money source to make the Crown Prince the heir, so it would be a big problem if it dried up.

“I’m thinking of doing other personal business.”

“That’s… quite fast. Aren’t you being too hasty? It would be good if you helped the Durak Guild a bit more.”

“I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible.”

Even though the flustered Empress tried to persuade him somehow, Father didn’t budge.

“The Lombardi Guild cannot help the Durak Guild indefinitely.”

In other words, he was telling them to handle things on their own from now on.

The Empress, who properly grasped that meaning, had her lips trembling.

And the Empress’s eyes changed.

If until a moment ago it was ‘how should I handle this seemingly easy person to make him do what I want,’ now she seemed to have completely given up on that idea.

“…Lord Gallahan is very different from what I had thought.”

“I don’t know what expectations Your Majesty the Empress had of me, but I’m sorry for not living up to them.”

Father wasn’t originally someone who spoke so firmly.

It seemed the Empress had thoroughly displeased him.

I felt the same way.

Both regarding the Second Prince’s matter and how she treated Lombardi.

She was truly a terrible person in many ways.

Thus ended the dinner where I couldn’t tell if food was going into my mouth or nose.

Even on the way home in the carriage, Father remained silent.

Since it was already past my usual bedtime, the only thing he said was while stroking my forehead as I dozed off using Father’s leg as a pillow.

‘Because I lack power…’

Father muttered while looking out the window.

* * *

In a dark room with only a single candle lit.

Though called a small pavilion, it was a space too large and empty for an eleven-year-old boy left alone.

Peres, sitting as if hiding at the edge of the bed, took out a pouch that wasn’t yet familiar in his hands.

And Peres carefully measured out exactly the amount of golden medicine inside that Pirenthia had mentioned and gulped it down in one go.

It was bitter medicine, but Peres didn’t show it.

Because there was no one left to indulge him even if he did.

Worried that even a drop might spill, Peres tightly closed the medicine bottle’s cap, then took out a round candy from his pocket and popped it in his mouth.

His pale cheek bulged out following the candy’s round shape.

“…Sweet.”

Peres muttered as if complaining.

The bitter taste had become familiar to the point of being tiresome, but this kind of sweetness was not.

It was unfamiliar and awkward.

But Peres diligently rolled the candy around in his mouth.

Because his mood was gradually improving.

Was it the fully spreading sweet taste that made his heart pound?

Or perhaps…

Peres fidgeted with the soft fabric of his pouch.

He recalled Pirenthia’s face from when they met during the day.

She had such a cute face that for a moment he wondered if she was a forest fairy.

Especially those large, round green eyes that seemed to have borrowed the exact color of grass blades were stuck firmly in his mind.

And that girl had said.

“I hope you live. No, I think you must live.”

Peres gripped the medicine bottle tightly in one hand as if he would never let it be taken away.

Roll.

The candy rolled once more in his mouth.

“…Sweet.”

Peres muttered while watching the flickering candlelight’s shadow.

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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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