In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 287

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

This Life, I Will Become the Clan Head

Side Story Episode 29

Oh no.

An unmistakable look of dismay crossed the faces of the three men.

For Emperor Peres, who feared nothing, the head of the Lombardi family was his only reverse scale.

And they had just touched it.

“Your Majesty, please ignore what Tedro said.”

“That’s right. What would that fool know about marriage or romance?”

“The idea that the head of Lombardi would regret marriage—surely Your Majesty knows better than anyone that wouldn’t be the case.”

They desperately tried to soothe Peres, who seemed to be rapidly sinking into a swamp.

But it was already too late.

Peres, who already had that sigh Pirenthia had let out stuck like a thorn in his heart, was growing paler at the suggestion that she might regret the marriage itself.

This is a disaster.

His close associates, especially Tedro who had brought up the topic of marriage blues, wanted to sew his own mouth shut.

“Regretting marriage…”

Peres muttered once more.

The shock seemed considerable, as he remained motionless, seemingly forgetting even to blink.

‘That bastard Tedro…’

Lignite Ruman, grinding his teeth as he glared at Tedro, quietly swallowed a sigh.

To him, Peres was both a lord he trusted and followed, and a close friend of many years.

And he had realized countless times since their academy days.

To Peres, Pirenthia Lombardi wasn’t just a lover.

She was his everything.

‘Surely there isn’t really something wrong.’

Just imagining such a possibility made his lips go dry.

If the head of Lombardi was truly reconsidering the marriage itself.

If with her straightforward personality she suddenly suggested postponing the wedding.

Lignite Ruman found himself trembling without realizing it.

That’s when it happened.

Crack.

A sound like something tearing echoed through the quiet study.

“Gasp.”

“The, the chair…”

It was the sound of the armrest of the chair Peres was gripping starting to crack.

All the chairs in the Emperor’s study were made by craftsmen carving solid hardwood.

In particular, the chair Peres was currently sitting in was made from northern Triva wood, known for its exceptional hardness.

Yet now it was crumbling in Peres’s grip like freshly baked bread.

Lignite Ruman unconsciously swallowed his dry saliva.

‘The head of Lombardi is a leash.’

The only leash that could control the beast called Peres.

Honestly speaking, Peres couldn’t be called kind-hearted by any stretch of the imagination.

But Pirenthia Lombardi had tamed him.

But if she were to let go of that leash.

Lignite squeezed his eyes shut at the terrible thought.

“A plan.”

The words hadn’t come from his own mouth.

Lignite Ruman’s eyes snapped open in surprise.

Peres was slowly rising from his seat.

The chair’s armrest, completely torn from the main body and having lost its original form, rolled on the floor.

“I need to make a plan.”

At Peres’s determined muttering, the three men including Lignite nodded enthusiastically.

No matter what, this marriage had to happen.

It was a rare moment when everyone’s hearts were united.

* * *

Peres was walking through a forest path.

A moist and refreshing forest holding morning dew stretched endlessly.

‘Where is this place?’

As far as he knew, there was no such vast forest with towering ancient trees in the Imperial Palace.

It was strange.

He had definitely laid down in his bedroom in the Imperial Palace.

And until the moment he fell asleep, he had been thinking of Tia.

Peres continued walking while thinking.

How long had he walked like that?

He saw light in the distance.

He had finally found a way out of the forest.

Peres’s steps quickened.

All he could think about was getting out of this forest quickly to meet Tia.

So he didn’t notice that his breath was rising to his throat.

For Peres, who had transcended human limits, this was something that could never happen in reality.

“Hah.”

He finally escaped the forest.

Sunlight poured down blindingly bright.

However, contrary to his initial resolve, Peres stopped dead in his tracks.

It was because of something standing tall in the middle of the vast grassland that spread out as soon as the forest ended.

A tree so enormous it distorted perspective, its branches extending beyond imagination.

“…The World Tree?”

Peres instinctively realized he had encountered that tree which no one had ever seen and existed only in stories.

His mind became dizzy.

Before this massive existence, he was merely human.

However, Peres didn’t run away.

Instead, he slowly walked toward the World Tree.

Whooom—!

As wind blew from somewhere, the World Tree’s branches swayed, making a sound like thunder.

As if warning him.

But even that couldn’t stop Peres’s steps.

Rather, his pace grew faster and faster.

He had conviction.

Conviction that the World Tree wouldn’t harm him.

After walking like that for a long while, when his rough breathing was about to burst out, he finally reached the World Tree.

And he was overwhelmed.

Before the World Tree’s body resembling a roughly split cliff, and under the green foliage resembling a sacred crown.

It felt as if he had returned to childhood.

To that day when he met his fairy in the forest he had entered to stop his stomachache, who seemed ready to burst into giggles while sitting on those World Tree branches.

Peres slowly raised his hand.

Whooom—!

The World Tree trembled once more as if in warning.

Can you handle it?

As if asking that very question.

Suddenly, a quiet smile crossed his lips.

He spread his hand wide and reached toward the World Tree.

And finally, he touched it.

“Gasp!”

He jerked his body and sat up abruptly.

Looking around, the familiar Emperor’s Chambers came into view.

“Haa.”

His entire body was drenched in sweat.

Peres raised his hand and wiped his face.

His breath against his palm was as rough as it had been in the dream.

His throat was parched.

He frantically gulped down the water placed beside his bed.

And for a long while, his red eyes stared at his own palm.

The very hand that had touched the World Tree in his dream.

How much time had passed like that?

“Mmm.”

Peres let out a low groan.

He felt nauseous like never before.

Had the water he drank too quickly upset his stomach?

Except for when he’d been poisoned with deadly toxin, he’d never even caught a light cold.

Could there be something in the water?

Peres stared at the clear, transparent water in the crystal bottle for a moment before pulling the cord beside his bed.

It was to summon a physician.

During the brief time waiting for the attendant to enter his chambers, Peres squeezed his dizzy eyes shut and muttered quietly.

“What on earth was that dream about?”

* * *

“Peres is coming here?”

“Yes, Sister. A message came saying he’ll have dinner together and stay at the Lombardi Estate tonight.”

“Hmm, alright, I understand.”

I nodded lightly.

Originally, today was supposed to be a night spent at the Imperial Palace.

But he was going out of his way to come all the way here.

Changing scheduled plans wasn’t like him at all.

‘I guess he suddenly changed his mind.’

Since this gave me more time to handle the head family duties I’d been putting off, it was good news for me.

Thinking lightly of it, I reached for the refreshments placed nearby.

“Is Estira’s medicine finally working?”

My condition had been excellent since I woke up this morning.

Perhaps because I’d slept well, I felt very refreshed and energetic.

And the most amazing thing was that I was starting to feel hungry.

It felt like a complete lie that I’d barely been able to keep water down due to morning sickness.

I’d eaten my fill for both breakfast and lunch after so long, and now I was even having snacks on top of that.

“How fascinating.”

Was my morning sickness already ending?

I tilted my head in wonder while rubbing my lower belly, as had already become a habit.

“Well, that would be fortunate.”

Compared to other pregnant women, it had been a very short period, but even that had been such an ordeal.

Honestly, I’d been worried whether I could keep enduring it.

“Are you already looking out for Mother?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at my own thoughtless words.

What power could a baby the size of a small jelly have?

“Ah, this is nice.”

This time of physical comfort I was experiencing after so long was as sweet as honey.

As I worked while picking at snacks one by one, the view outside the window was growing dim before I knew it.

It was just when I suddenly realized this.

Knock knock.

As if on cue, a low knocking sound echoed through the Head Family’s Office.

At the same time, an inevitable smile escaped me.

I already had a good idea who was outside the door.

“Come in, Peres.”

“Hello, Tia.”

Ah, he’s so handsome.

Seeing Peres approach with a grin made my heart flutter.

My fiancé—no, my husband in just a few days—but he’s really handsome every time I see him.

“But what’s all that?”

Peres was carrying an armful of something.

“I brought some gifts.”

“Gifts?”

I sat on the office sofa as Peres led me and received what he handed me one by one.

“This is the completed wedding seating chart.”

“Wow, you finished all this by yourself?”

The seating chart large enough to fill the entire table was densely filled with the names of all the guests without a single omission.

“There’s nothing more for me to touch up.”

It was that seating chart I hadn’t been able to complete a few days ago when I collapsed.

I didn’t know what excuse Kaitlin had made, but the seating chart completed by Peres’s hand was flawless.

“And this is a summary of the agenda items that will come up in the Council meetings for the next few months.”

A thick file folder landed on top of the seating chart.

“You organized all this yourself?”

“Yeah.”

“It must have taken a lot of time?”

“Anything for you.”

Peres answered with his characteristic painted-on smile.

“What, that’s touching.”

“And this.”

No sooner had he set down the file folder than a small box was pushed toward me.

“What’s this?”

“Open it.”

I immediately untied the neatly tied ribbon and opened the box.

“Chocolate… cookies?”

What filled the box were hefty cookies studded with large chunks of chocolate.

Just like the ones we’d shared long ago in that shabby pavilion.

Could it be, these.

“Did you make these yourself, Peres?”

“…Yeah.”

He nodded slightly.

But for some reason, his complexion didn’t look very good.

It seemed like he was breaking out in a cold sweat.

“Are you okay?”

Instead of answering, Peres curled up his trembling lips and smiled.

“I promised you before. I’d bake cookies for you myself… urgh.”

“Peres?”

I was startled and moved closer to him.

However, Peres’s complexion only grew worse.

“Where does it hurt?”

“Sorry.”

“No, being sorry isn’t the issue here.”

Should I call Estira?

I was thinking that as I watched Peres barely maintaining his smile, looking pitiful enough to make anyone feel sorry for him.

“My stomach’s been bothering me since this morning… urk!”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————