In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 39
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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 39
It had been two weeks since Father’s Gallahan Clothing Store opened.
To put it simply, the ready-made clothing business was a huge success.
Even today, all the merchandise sold out before closing time every day, forcing them to close early, and the term ‘ready-made clothing’ was gradually spreading throughout the Lambru Empire like a synonym for Gallahan Clothing Store.
They simply couldn’t keep up with the flood of customers and demand, so they recently had to hire additional weavers and seamstresses – three times as many as they initially employed.
And now they were looking for suitable locations to open branch stores.
Many people were amazed by the introduction of this new concept called ready-made clothing and the affordable prices.
However, those most surprised by the success of this business were undoubtedly the people within the Lombardi Family itself.
Father had such a weak presence, and the family members who had regarded him as just a timid youngest son who liked reading books were shocked and half turned upside down.
Several retainers reportedly asked Cleribane multiple times, “Is that Gallahan the same Gallahan I know?”
Father’s position had changed dramatically from two weeks ago.
In fact, today the manor was bustling from morning because of Father.
Unlike the previous banquet where everyone was required to attend, this was a voluntary breakfast gathering.
Everyone except Lorels’ family, who were staying at his wife’s family, the Gineporc House, over the weekend, and Bestian, who had left for work early in the morning, had gathered.
I sat next to Father, stabbing fruit with my fork and eating while observing the faces of the people seated around the table.
Grandfather smiled contentedly as he watched the servants busily moving in and out of the dining room.
“Haha! It’s quite a sight to see. Don’t you think so, Shannet?”
“Yes, Father. The employees are very pleased as well.”
“That ready-made clothing is quite convenient indeed, Gallahan!”
A few days after Father’s clothing store opened and became a huge success, a large order came in for several hundred pieces of the same type of clothing.
It was from the Lombardi Family.
They had chosen ready-made clothing from Gallahan Clothing Store as uniforms for the employees working inside the manor.
With that order, Grandfather instantly became the clothing store’s premium VIP, and today was the day the ordered clothes were distributed to the servants.
The uniforms, which were overall red bean porridge colored or dark burgundy, were dresses that women could wear freely with tops underneath, and for men, pants and vests that could similarly be worn with shirts at their discretion.
The clothing store, which originally only sold women’s clothing, had to create patterns for men’s clothing because of this order, but it was such a large order that it was worth bearing those costs.
“Thank you for the praise, Father.”
Father bowed his head with a slightly embarrassed expression.
And among all these changes, this was my favorite.
“Ahem.”
Biejie cleared his throat quietly and kept drinking water unnecessarily.
“How did you come up with such a brilliant idea, Gallahan?”
Grandfather spoke to Father with a pleased expression.
“Hmm.”
The more the praise continued, the more Biejie’s face hardened.
He seemed to be trying to act calm in his own way, but the sporadic twitching under his eyes suggested he was boiling inside.
Ah, this is fun!
Biejie couldn’t stand it when the family’s and empire’s attention turned to Father.
I had to pinch my thigh to keep from laughing too obviously while staring at Biejie like that.
“Yohan.”
Grandfather called the butler who was waiting nearby.
“Yes, Master.”
“What do the servants say? Do they like it as Shannet said?”
“Everyone is very grateful, saying they no longer have to worry about clothes.”
“Hehe, good. Very good.”
Grandfather nodded repeatedly, looking very satisfied, then said:
“If anyone has problems with their clothes or needs spare clothes, make sure they can purchase new ones anytime. That’s possible, right, Gallahan?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll arrange it so that whenever Yohan contacts the clothing store, they can be delivered to the manor.”
The butler seemed a bit surprised by Grandfather’s words, then smiled and bowed deeply once.
It was an expression of gratitude and respect.
“Good. And Gallahan.”
“Yes, Father.”
“You did very well.”
That was all it was.
Just one casual word of praise that a father tosses to his son.
But the impact was significant.
The actions of the people seated around the dining table paused momentarily, and butler Yohan also stared at Grandfather quietly.
“Hmm.”
Grandfather also seemed to sense the surrounding reaction and cleared his throat while hurriedly continuing his meal.
“…Thank you, Father.”
Father also seemed surprised for a moment, then answered in a small voice.
Then Ceral interjected with an exaggeratedly raised tone:
“In a few days, our Belesack will be visiting the Crown Prince’s Palace, Father.”
It was clearly intended to shift the conversation topic from Father to his son Belesack.
“What kind of gift should he bring?”
He wasn’t really asking for advice.
In short, he was asking for something appropriate from the ‘family’s possessions.’
Shannet, who couldn’t have missed that underlying meaning, frowned and said:
“Is it necessary to bring gifts when children are just meeting briefly to play?”
“It’s not just any other noble child, but His Highness the Crown Prince who will become the Crown Prince in the future. For a first visit, we should bring a gift that shows respect…”
“Then choose an appropriate gift that matches your means.”
“But brother…”
“Ceral.”
At Shannet’s stern attitude, Ceral made a tearful face.
Then he looked at Grandfather as if requesting help.
“…Get the storehouse key from Yohan the day before the visit.”
The ‘storehouse’ Grandfather mentioned referred to the vault deep inside the manor.
It was a place I had only entered a few times, filled with all kinds of treasures that the Lombardi had owned for hundreds of years.
It was a three-story underground space so vast that you could get lost if you weren’t careful.
In other words, when Grandfather said ‘take the key,’ he meant to freely choose from inside there to give as a gift to the Crown Prince.
Needless to say, Ceral’s face immediately brightened as if lit by fire.
Shannet seemed displeased with Grandfather’s decision, but didn’t object further.
“Thank you, Father.”
Ceral smiled while stroking the head of Belesack sitting next to him.
Biejie also seemed to feel a bit better and relaxed his expression.
Belesack had no idea what the adults were talking about and was busy stuffing bacon into his mouth greedily.
After watching such a pathetic Belesack for a while, I accidentally made eye contact with Grandfather.
Then Grandfather’s hardened eyes softened gently.
As expected, Grandfather likes me.
I chewed the food in front of me thoroughly as if I knew nothing.
“Hehe…”
Perhaps pleased just watching his granddaughter eat something delicious, Grandfather kept smiling and then gestured toward the butler.
“Yohan, give her the key.”
The key?
Are you referring to the storehouse key?
Ceral must have thought the same as me, as I could see him brightening up and adjusting his clothes to receive the key.
“Huh?”
But what the butler handed to Grandfather wasn’t the storehouse key I knew.
And Grandfather called me.
“Tia, come here.”
“…Me?”
Since he called me anyway, I walked toward Grandfather.
Grandfather gently stroked my cheek with the back of his hand, then placed a rather large key in my hand.
“This is the key to the library I promised to give you as a birthday present before.”
“The library… Ah!”
I had forgotten.
When Grandfather had suggested a library as a birthday present, I had said that would be nice but asked him to grant me a favor later instead.
So I thought my birthday present had ended with that.
But now I need to use that favor soon!
Surely this isn’t meant to replace that, is it?
I became anxious and quickly asked.
“Grandfather, but I already received something else…”
“Take this too. Since you love books, this grandfather is giving it to you. Besides, don’t you need a suitable place to have advanced lessons with Cleribane?”
“Advanced lessons?”
Shannet asked, looking back and forth between me and Grandfather.
“Haha, that’s right! Cleribane came recently and told me. He said our Pirenthia is very smart and ready to take more difficult lessons.”
“That’s really wonderful!”
Shannet rejoiced as if it were her own achievement and patted my head.
“I’ve arranged this library so that only you can use it. So read a lot and learn a lot, Pirenthia.”
“Thank you! I love it so much, Grandfather!”
I deliberately let out a “Kyaa!” and threw my arms around Grandfather’s neck.
“This child, ho ho ho!”
Grandfather seemed a bit surprised at first, but soon patted my back and enjoyed his granddaughter’s affection.
It really was a gift received at perfect timing.
I clutched the key tightly with both hands against my chest and shouted for everyone to hear.
“I’ll learn a lot in the library you’ve given me and quickly become a wonderful person!”
* * *
After finishing breakfast and seeing Father off at the entrance as he left for work, I quickly moved with the library key in hand.
When I first heard where the library was located, I had to tilt my head in confusion.
“You said it’s near Grandfather’s study?”
“Yes, Young Lady. You can go there.”
Since it was a gift for me, I had thought it would probably be somewhere around where Father and I stayed.
“Why there…”
“Well. It’s what the clan head decided…”
Well, gifts are up to the giver’s discretion.
With a pounding heart, I headed to the floor where Grandfather’s study was located.
My library was two rooms away from Grandfather’s study.
And the moment I arrived, I could understand why my library had been prepared near the study.
“Have you arrived, Young Lady Pirenthia.”
The Lombardy guard who was watching Grandfather’s study acknowledged me.
It seemed the security personnel guarding the study also controlled access to my library.
As Grandfather had said, this library was a space only I could use.
I politely bowed in greeting, then carefully inserted the key into the door and turned it.
Click.
The door opened with a small metallic sound.
Compared to the public library that everyone in the manor could use, it was a small space, but at a glance it was equipped with quite a lot of books.
Except for the window area, all three walls were filled with books, making it quite cozy.
I closed the door behind me and walked step by step to stand in front of the window.
“I missed this.”
I slowly ran my hand along the wall by the window.
And I looked around the study as well.
“So we meet like this again.”
Coincidence was truly frightening.
This room that had now become my personal library was the place that had been my office in my previous life when I helped Grandfather with his work.
Looking at the interior that was slightly different from my memory but still gave me comfort, I whispered softly.
“Please take care of me well this time too.”
Just then, I heard a knock-knock sound.
“Please come in.”
At my answer, the door opened and Cleribane entered.
“I came after receiving the message, Young Lady.”
Before coming here, I had changed the location for the advanced lessons through the butler.
Cleribane really looked like he had come to teach me, carrying a thick book under one arm.
His thoroughness in being mindful of other people’s eyes was so very like Cleribane that I said with a smile.
“Then shall we start the lesson, teacher?”
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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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