In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 51

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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 51

“The palace isn’t completely organized yet, so we had to prepare hastily and it’s quite lacking, Your Highness.”

Kaileus apologized, unable to lift his head as if he felt ashamed.

“We’ll prepare properly starting from dinner. My apologies, Your Highness.”

Kaitlin, who was personally arranging the tableware, also looked displeased, as if she wasn’t satisfied with Peres’s first meal at Poirak Palace.

“….”

Peres stood in front of the stone table prepared in the garden with his usual unreadable, expressionless face.

I had been looking at flowers while touring the garden, but suddenly I became worried.

What if he thinks they brought him substandard food for his first meal in his new palace?

Even for someone as easygoing as him, this would be quite disappointing.

Moreover, it was Kaileus who had gone into the still-organizing Poirak Palace to personally prepare the meal.

If Peres became disappointed with Kaileus, who would need to take care of him closely from now on, it would be a disaster.

What could be so terrible that they’re acting like this?

I stopped what I was doing and immediately ran toward the dining table.

But then.

“What?”

Honestly, I was surprised.

It wasn’t because the meal set on the table was terribly messy.

Rather, I was surprised because it was such an elaborate feast.

But Kaileus and Kaitlin seemed to think differently.

I could tell from how they bowed their heads even more apologetically at my reaction.

“We apologize, Young Lady. If this doesn’t satisfy you, please eat this food for now and we’ll go to the Imperial Palace to bring back more proper food.”

Looking at their expressions, this wasn’t a joke but their sincere intention.

“It’s much better than I expected, isn’t it? Right, Peres?”

When I asked him, Peres finally nodded slightly.

The lunch meal that Kaileus had hastily prepared consisted of sandwiches spread with red jam, a salad topped with plenty of fresh fruit, grilled chicken with sweet sauce, roasted vegetables cooked alongside it, and a basket of warm bread that seemed freshly made with steam rising from it.

I didn’t know how it would taste yet, but this was an excellent spread for lunch.

At the Lombardi Estate, we sometimes had more elaborate lunch meals, but when I ate alone, most meals were simple and substantial like this.

I asked Kaileus just in case.

“Is His Majesty the Emperor’s lunch much grander than this spread?”

Kaileus nodded firmly and answered.

“His Majesty eats all three daily meals as prepared full-course dinners. Each time, there are at least three main dishes prepared to His Majesty’s taste, and especially four or more appetizers and desserts.”

“He doesn’t eat all of that. Does His Majesty choose only what he wants from among them?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Wow….”

Our house was quite modest then.

Well, Grandfather hates unnecessary food waste.

So naturally, Lombardi’s chef puts all their heart into cooking fewer varieties of food.

The other family members are also accustomed to that style of dining.

I asked just in case.

“What about the Crown Prince?”

When the Crown Prince was mentioned, Peres, who had been staring at the prepared food, turned to look at me.

Does he have a sense of rivalry after all?

The boy’s face looking at me was more rigid than usual.

“From what I know, by the Empress’s orders, a feast as grand as His Majesty the Emperor’s is prepared for every meal.”

“But since he’s young, there must be much more wasted food?”

“…The order was that more attention should be paid to meals because he’s in his growing years.”

I had heard about the Empress’s extreme love for her son, but it was truly exceptional.

I shook my head and sat down.

Seeing me do so, Peres also settled into the chair that Kaileus had pulled out for him.

I immediately picked up my fork and knife and charged toward the chicken dish.

There were other appetizers like salad and sandwiches, but first things first—meat!

When I cut the tenderly cooked chicken and put it in my mouth, I could taste a well-balanced flavor.

This wasn’t bad at all.

One piece of meat, two bites of salad, and then I tore off some bread and spread it generously with butter for a big bite.

While I was eating enthusiastically like this, Kaileus, who was standing behind Peres’s chair across from me to serve the meal, didn’t look pleased.

I looked at Peres.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

Peres was just holding a fork in one hand and staring blankly at the food.

“Don’t you like the food?”

He shook his head.

“Then you don’t know what to eat first?”

He shook his head again.

Then, perhaps.

“Are you… afraid of the food?”

“…Yes.”

His answering voice was very small.

But it must have been clearly heard by Kaileus and Kaitlin standing beside us.

Kaitlin, who seemed to know the reason, pressed her lower lip tightly, while Kaileus tilted his head in confusion.

And I took the plate with chicken that was placed in front of Peres.

After cutting it into several pieces for easy eating, I picked up one piece and put it in my mouth.

“…Ah!”

Surprised Peres let out a small cry.

But I looked straight at Peres while chewing and swallowing the food thoroughly.

“There, satisfied?”

“…Don’t do that anymore. It’s dangerous.”

“Why? Because there might be poison in the food you eat?”

He nodded.

Only then did Kaileus, understanding the reason for Peres’s behavior, look upset.

It wasn’t because the new person he would serve suspected him.

He had simply realized why such a young child had come to have such fears.

I placed the plate back in front of Peres and said.

“Don’t worry about that anymore. Kaitlin and Kaileus are trustworthy people. They’re people sent by Lombardi, by our Grandfather, to protect you.”

“But….”

He still hesitated.

I understood his feelings.

When his mother was dying of illness, no one helped, and after that, the young child was left alone in ruins, surviving by eating poisoned food that a maid brought every few days.

Now that other people appeared saying they would take good care of him from now on, it wouldn’t be easy to trust them.

But he couldn’t refuse food.

“Do you trust me?”

“I trust you.”

It was an incomparably faster answer than before.

“Then how about giving these two people a chance?”

Peres raised his rose-red eyes to look at Kaileus and Kaitlin.

What was he looking at?

After staring at the two people for a long time, Peres picked up his fork again.

And carefully, he put the chicken I had cut up into his mouth.

“Ah….”

I heard Kaileus’s relieved sigh from behind.

“Delicious?”

“…Mm.”

Munch munch.

The speed of his lips moving gradually quickened.

Then next he unhesitatingly stuffed fluffy dinner bread into his mouth, followed by jam-covered sandwiches.

It was terrible dining etiquette by Crown Prince standards, but no one pointed it out.

The sight of Peres eating proper food for the first time in so long was too heartbreaking for that.

I pushed my portion of sandwiches toward him and said.

“From now on, eat whatever you want without worry. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

Stop.

The boy’s movements, frantically bringing food to his mouth, came to a halt.

And after a moment, he nodded his head once.

The face of the boy who began eating silently again was a little brighter than before.

He seemed to be enjoying himself, actually tasting the food.

I also began slowly eating my food beside Peres.

When lunch ended like that, the boy had finished eating more than three people’s worth of food by himself.

Kaitlin and Kaileus smiled happily at Peres’s behavior of poking his full belly, as if amazed by it.

Soon the empty plates were cleared away, and simple refreshments were prepared on the table.

Seeing the luxurious tea set and desserts following a meal unlike any he had ever received before, Peres suddenly asked Kaitlin.

“Do Crown Princes originally live like this?”

Neither Kaitlin, who had been smiling continuously, nor Kaileus could easily answer.

“Do they originally live this comfortably?”

However, Peres didn’t press the two for an answer.

Without even touching the tea set, he just kept staring at something reflected in the clear, rippling tea water.

Even I couldn’t find words to offer this time.

A moment later.

When the tea had grown cold, I heard a voice calling for me.

“Pirenthia!”

“Grandfather!”

I got down from the chair I was sitting in and ran straight to Grandfather.

Grandfather, who had been patting my head as I ran to him, said.

“Now let’s go home, Pirenthia. Your father must be very worried.”

Father might really be waiting for me at home without even going to work.

The Imperial Palace was a place that made Father very reluctant and nervous, and since he had sent me there alone with Grandfather, he couldn’t be at ease.

I didn’t think about Father.

Then Grandfather approached Peres.

“Soon teachers will come to instruct you. Study hard.”

“…Yes.”

“You must not neglect either academics or swordsmanship.”

“Yes.”

The relationship between Grandfather and Peres was drier than I expected.

Peres didn’t even look at Grandfather properly, and Grandfather treated Peres with a cold attitude completely different from when he dealt with me.

I tugged at Grandfather’s sleeve and chimed in.

“Grandfather! Peres is incredibly smart! He reads herb books by himself, and he’s really good with a sword too!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! So Peres will do well! The new teachers might be amazed. He’ll be good at studying and swordsmanship too!”

Unlike that Crown Prince Astana who only uses his head when wearing hats and has no talent for swordsmanship!

Peres already shows different potential.

Even in his previous life when he grew up alone like a wild dog in that forest pavilion, he showed such tremendous ability.

Now if excellent teachers personally chosen by Grandfather stay by his side to teach him, just how amazing will Peres become?

Just thinking about it made my heart tremble with excitement.

Moreover, I was so looking forward to seeing the Empress and that Astana’s faces contort.

“Right, Peres?”

“…Yeah.”

Peres answered, blinking slowly.

“I’ll definitely work hard.”

The future of a hardworking genius can only be bright.

I approached Peres and patted his head while saying goodbye.

“I’ll write letters. Let’s meet again next time.”

Now it was time to part.

At least for the time being, until he goes to the Academy where he’ll meet his people, the boy will be able to grow up safely.

In a much better environment than before, safely.

And if we exchange letters occasionally, at least Peres won’t forget me.

I extended one hand to shake hands.

“Take care, Peres. Eat well and grow big…!”

Grab.

The boy pulled my extended hand and hugged me tightly.

“Don’t say goodbye.”

“What, what did you say?”

“Don’t say goodbye.”

“Oh, I understand. Then…”

Still, what could I say when we won’t see each other for a while?

I thought while gently pushing the boy away.

The boy who had hugged me as if he would never let go was easily pushed back by my touch.

Right, there were those words.

I looked at Peres with his melancholy eyes and said.

“See you again, Peres.”

The boy’s face instantly bloomed.

Dimples hidden in his cheeks appeared, and the corners of his mouth, which had always uttered gloomy words, lifted slightly.

Something like ‘joy’ appeared in his red eyes that had shown no emotion before.

With a face like a newly formed small rose bud, the boy answered.

“Yeah. See you again.”

Even on the way out of Poirak Palace holding Grandfather’s hand, and while riding in the carriage back to the manor.

And that night, after bathing in warm water with soft bubbles and lying in bed with my head buried in fluffy pillows.

Looking back now, that smile of his remained in my mind for quite a long time, like the intense fragrance of roses I was smelling for the first time.

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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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