In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 289

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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

Side Story Episode 31

At my question, Peres took a moment to gather his thoughts before beginning to speak.

“That dream…”

It was still early dawn, his voice so gentle it made me want to fall back asleep.

But as his explanation continued, I found myself becoming more and more awake.

“Uh… So you’re saying you saw the World Tree in your dream?”

“Rather than saw, I reached out and touched it. But that sensation…”

Peres quietly clenched and unclenched his right hand.

As if that feeling was still vivid.

“What was the sensation like?”

“Hmm.”

A smile gradually bloomed on Peres’ face.

“It was warm. Comfortable and peaceful.”

“I-I see.”

It’s a pregnancy dream.

This is a pregnancy dream.

To think Peres had a pregnancy dream.

“Tia?”

When I remained silent, Peres tilted his face toward me and called out.

“Oh, no. It’s nothing.”

I flopped back down on the bed to manage my expression and said.

“Let’s go back to sleep. It’s still too early.”

“…Should we?”

After confirming that Peres was lying down following me, I stared blankly at the ceiling, blinking.

There’s no concept of pregnancy dreams in this world.

Occasionally there are made-up legends in children’s fairy tales about how a holy star appeared when some hero was born.

But it wasn’t me, it was Peres who had the pregnancy dream.

‘So this child’s pregnancy dream would be the World Tree?’

I was bewildered.

A pregnancy dream about the World Tree – it was incredibly grand yet so fitting for my child.

Most importantly, the World Tree is the symbol of Lombardi.

When I glanced sideways, Peres’ eyes had become drowsy in the meantime.

I hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Hey, Peres.”

“Yeah, Tia.”

“If your schedule allows, would you like to stay at Lombardi tomorrow, no, tonight as well?”

“Tonight too?”

“Yeah. We’ll be busy with wedding preparations during the day anyway, so let’s have a proper dinner together in the evening like we couldn’t yesterday.”

As if he never expected me to make such a suggestion, Peres looked surprised.

Then he smiled brightly like a child receiving a gift.

“Yes, let’s do that.”

“I’ll tell the chef to prepare food that’s easy on the stomach.”

“Tia.”

Peres slowly moved closer to me.

As he moved, I could hear the bed sheets rustling by my ear.

“Thank you. For giving me a chance to make up for it.”

Warm lips touched my forehead.

It was the warmth that always put me at ease.

Worried that my suddenly racing heart might be noticed, I deliberately spoke as if it was nothing special.

“It’s not like you wanted to be sick. Well, hurry up and get some more sleep.”

“Okay, I understand.”

At my words, Peres obediently closed his eyes like a well-behaved child.

His usually sharp, defined face gradually relaxed into peaceful softness.

I quietly took in that sight, thinking how fortunate it was.

The Peres from my previous life was a severe insomniac.

But in front of me now was only a boy-like figure who knew nothing of such things, falling into dawn sleep.

Using his steady breathing as a lullaby, I too slowly closed my eyes.

Tomorrow all the wedding preparations would be finished.

Then we could sit together intimately for dinner, and I could tell him then.

That a slightly early gift had come to us.

I wondered what expression Peres would make.

With such pleasant thoughts, I gradually fell asleep.

* * *

“Master, it’s time for the final dress fitting.”

“Kaitlin.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Are there brides who die from overwork while preparing for their wedding? If not, I think I might be the first.”

I muttered while half-sprawled on the sofa.

Kaitlin and the various employees helping with the wedding preparations chuckled softly.

But I’m really not joking.

“Oh, I’m dying.”

There’s never been such a forced march.

The schedule that started with a bang as soon as the morning sun rose had continued until this time when the sunset was glowing.

“If you’re too tired, shall we take a break and continue later?”

Peres, who was beside me, asked worriedly while brushing away my fallen bangs.

It was a very tempting suggestion, but.

“No. Let’s just get it over with quickly.”

At this rate, we’d be eating a late-night snack instead of dinner.

I can’t share baby news over a late-night snack!

I squeezed out what was truly my last remaining strength and got up from my seat.

“Kaitlin, the dress is all ready, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Right, just one more try-on and it’s all over.”

Though I was speaking to Kaitlin, it was really words for myself.

As if understanding my feelings well, Kaitlin also nodded with a determined expression.

“I’ll go and come back, so wait here, Peres. Since it’s my dress, you should at least check it once.”

We had been preparing for the wedding separately at the Imperial Palace and Lombardi.

In other words, this would be Peres’ first time seeing me in a wedding dress.

“I’ll be right back after putting it on.”

I waved at Peres, who had somehow bright, sparkling eyes, and headed to the next room.

Thanks to everything being fully prepared, the fitting was quickly finished.

But it wasn’t over.

“Phew, I feel it every time I put it on, but this dress is too heavy.”

The union of the Emperor and the Lombardi family head was unprecedented in the Empire’s history.

As a result, the dress was loaded with significance.

There was no easier way to show the power of the Imperial family and the Lombardi family at a glance than a splendid wedding dress.

“I’ll help you, Master.”

Kaitlin carefully approached and took my hand.

As I began walking with her escort, the employees flowed like water to open the doors for me.

Clatter, clatter.

With each step I took, the jewels on the dress made pretty sounds.

As I left the room wearing the dress, I saw Peres waiting for me.

Unable to sit still, he had been pacing in place, but stopped abruptly the moment he saw me.

He didn’t even blink.

Is he broken or something?

“Peres, how do I look?”

Even at my urging question, Peres remained silent.

His red eyes seemed frozen, fixed on me without moving.

He really must be broken.

“Peres?”

I let go of Kaitlin’s hand and approached him step by step.

“What is it? Say something… Whoa!”

Finally, the heavy dress caused trouble.

I had only taken a few more steps, but I couldn’t properly handle the weight of the jewels and layers of dress and staggered.

Oh no, I can’t get bruises on my face on my wedding day.

As I watched the floor rushing toward me, I was thinking such thoughts.

“Tia.”

A firm arm caught me while a low voice echoed in my ear.

“Oh, you startled me. I thought I was going to fall. Thank you, Peres.”

I should probably ask them to reduce the jewels on the dress.

I patted the arm holding my waist as a sign of gratitude.

And when I looked up.

“Tia.”

Peres’s face was very close.

Much, much closer than I expected.

“Are you okay?”

It was clearly a gentle voice asking about my well-being, wondering if I was hurt.

So why did it sound so dangerous?

“Mm-hmm. I’m fine.”

“…That’s a relief.”

Even while saying that, Peres didn’t let me go.

A strange atmosphere was circulating in the room.

“Um, Peres.”

Won’t you let go of this arm now?

What is this atmosphere?

Why are Kaitlin and the others quietly leaving?

Click.

Eventually the door closed, leaving just the two of us.

“I’m fine now…!”

Peres’s face, which had been lingering close, came straight toward me.

Our lips fit together perfectly as if they were made for each other.

Large hands gently cupped my cheeks.

Peres was now supporting my waist with just one arm.

“Mmm.”

Whether it was because of the uncomfortable dress, or because of Peres who gave me no time to breathe.

My breathing quickly became labored, but I couldn’t even push him away.

“Sto… haa, Peres.”

Even the name I barely managed to utter was swallowed by his mouth.

“Tia.”

Peres, who had moved from my lips to my neck, called my name over and over.

Each time, his heated breath touched my skin.

Large hands took my arms and wrapped them around his neck.

My head grew dizzy from the familiar yet thrilling sensation.

“…Peres.”

As if my name whispered in his ear was a fuse, his slow movements suddenly became urgent.

Tug, tug.

I could hear the sound of knots that several employees had struggled to tie coming undone helplessly behind my back.

‘Is this okay?’

Such a question suddenly occurred to me, but it just passed by.

I simply surrendered my body and closed my eyes.

Clatter.

Once again, the sound of jewels clinking against each other rang out.

At the same time, Estira’s repeated warnings from a few days ago echoed loudly in my head.

“You must avoid intimacy for the time being. Early pregnancy is still an unstable period.”

“Ah, no!”

Without realizing it, I pushed Peres away forcefully.

“This isn’t right.”

That was close to disaster.

I couldn’t endanger the child by getting swept up in the mood.

I hurriedly half-collapsed onto a nearby chair and let out a sigh of relief.

Then I suddenly realized that Peres was unusually quiet.

I expected him to approach with a relaxed smile.

But he was still there as if nailed to that spot.

“Peres?”

“Did I.”

My shoulders trembled at his terribly low voice.

His red eyes looking at me had sunk deeply, as if they had never been heated.

They were eyes that were both unfamiliar and familiar.

Infinitely hollow.

I felt like I could hear the sound of rain from far away.

And in an even more gloomy voice than that, Peres asked.

“Did I become disgusting to you?”

“…What?”

There was no answer to my question.

Peres walked over with somehow misaligned steps.

“Even so, you can’t, Tia.”

A shadow fell over me as he stood tall above my head.

“Even if you regret it now, you can’t.”

Large hands reached toward me.

“Peres, wait, calm down…”

I couldn’t finish my words.

With a thud, Peres’s body lowered.

He had knelt before me.

And the hands that had been reaching toward me grasped my hands resting on my knees.

His hands, as if cradling the most precious thing in the world, were trembling terribly before I knew it.

“Marry me, Tia.”

It felt like we had returned to the day he proposed.

But Peres hadn’t been trembling like this back then.

“Love me again.”

He hadn’t begged for affection like this either.

“Give me a chance. I’ll, I’ll work hard. Please.”

This isn’t right.

I snapped back to my senses as if cold water had been thrown on me.

“What are you talking about right now!”

“…Tia?”

“Can’t you see I’m wearing a wedding dress right now? If I don’t marry you, who else would I marry?”

I grabbed his face with both hands.

“Peres Bribachau Durelli! Aren’t you going to marry me?”

“…I, I will.”

“Then what is this right now? Explain properly.”

“I, I mean.”

Peres touched my hands that were holding his cheeks as if he couldn’t believe it.

“I thought you regretted agreeing to marry me, Tia.”

“What?”

“I thought you had marriage blues…”

“That’s completely ridiculous! Who said that? No, I don’t even need to ask. It was those stupid trio again, right? Right?”

Instead of answering, Peres nodded blankly.

“They wouldn’t have said something like that out of nowhere. Why did you think that?”

“You didn’t look well, Tia, and you kept avoiding my eyes during the Council Meeting, and also…”

“Also?”

“You were sighing…”

Oh no.

It really was “oh no.”

Everything had happened because I was experiencing morning sickness.

“Ha.”

A deep sigh burst out.

Ah, I don’t know either.

“Look.”

I took Peres’s hand and guided it to my belly.

“Here.”

It was the same hand that had touched the World Tree.

“Our child is here.”

This wasn’t how I had planned to tell him.

But to clear up Peres’s huge misunderstanding, I had no choice.

“Tia, what did you just say…”

“I’m pregnant.”

This time, I spoke clearly, word by word, so there would be no confusion.

“Inside here is our baby, yours and mine.”

“…Ba, baby?”

“Yes. Probably a baby that looks half like you and half like me.”

Saying that, I pulled his palm close so it could completely touch my belly.

“Listen carefully. You should be able to sense it.”

Peres was someone who transcended human limits and could feel things others couldn’t.

“My morning sickness has been pretty severe. Everything you misunderstood was because I wasn’t feeling well due to morning sickness.”

“Ah…”

“The sighing was that day, because there was suddenly food in the meeting room.”

It was absurd.

How could someone get things so wrong for so long, even when misunderstanding?

Those Academy Trio are the problem.

I should call them over sometime and give them some education.

“So don’t worry about strange things. Understand? After making a baby like this, if you said you wouldn’t marry me now, I’d be the one in the most trouble… Peres?”

Something was strange.

Peres wasn’t saying anything.

With one hand still pressed against my lower belly, he was just quietly keeping his head down.

“No way.”

No, surely not.

I slowly lifted Peres’s chin.

His unresisting head slowly turned toward me.

No way really does get people in trouble.

“Peres, are you… crying right now?”

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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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