In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 74

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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 74

“Hello, Peres….”

I was surprised.

“Why did you get so… tall?”

Because of his irresponsible behavior of sneaking out of the Imperial Palace alone in the middle of the night, Peres had been punished with confinement.

Thanks to that, we hadn’t met during all this time.

We had only exchanged letters like before.

“It’s my growth spurt.”

Right, it must be his growth spurt.

So of course he would have grown.

But since he was already tall to begin with, entering a full-blown growth spurt makes it even more tremendous.

He says his fourteenth birthday is coming soon, but he’s still thirteen.

In terms of height order, he’s as tall as the twins who stand at the very back among their peers.

“You dropped this.”

Peres handed me the handkerchief again as I stared up at him in a daze.

“Oh, this isn’t mine. It belongs to that person.”

“…Oh, really?”

Peres looked at the boy I was pointing to.

“S-Second Prince Your Highness…. Gasp!”

The boy who had bowed in greeting looked up at Peres and was startled.

Wondering why he reacted that way, I tried to look at Peres’s face, but it wasn’t clearly visible due to his hair and the sunlight.

But there didn’t seem to be anything particularly wrong.

He did have a delicate impression, but I guess his personality is really like that too.

“Take it.”

“No! I-it’s fine!”

The boy who had been waving his hands, refusing to take his handkerchief, ran away with a pale face as if fleeing.

“Why is he acting like that?”

“…Who knows.”

“Did he need to use the bathroom or something?”

If I had stopped him when he was in a hurry, I feel a bit sorry.

As I was tilting my head in confusion, I heard Meylon muttering beside me.

“He probably wants to go to the bathroom now. Even if he didn’t before.”

“…Who are you?”

Peres asked while looking at Meylon who was standing right next to me.

But the atmosphere felt somewhat strange.

His red eyes seemed to have darkened slightly.

Maybe it’s because we haven’t seen each other in a long time.

Or maybe he’s in the shade.

If I didn’t know Peres’s personality well, I might have called that expression ‘hostility.’

“I’m Tia’s cousin, Meylon Lombardi. And this is,”

“Giliou Lombardi.”

“Ah…. Hello.”

I guess I was mistaken after all.

He was just being shy.

Peres’s face returned to what I knew.

Looking up at the sky, the sun that had been slightly covered by clouds came out sparkling again.

“I’m Peres.”

“I know.”

But this time, the twins’ atmosphere was strange.

They were glaring at Peres with very displeased faces.

“What’s wrong with you two?”

The shy kid gathered courage to introduce himself first!

“You’re not being petty and territorial, are you?”

“I-it’s not like that!”

“We’re just!”

The twins raised their voices as if they felt terribly wronged.

“It’s okay, Tia. They’re probably just being shy. I’m like that too.”

Peres said as if soothing me.

“Wow!”

“Good grief!”

The twins beat their chests.

I glared at them both while introducing the other cousins who were there.

“This is Larane. She’s Belesack’s older sister.”

“…That Belesack?”

“You’ve met my younger brother before.”

“A few times, briefly.”

When Peres nodded in response, Larane smiled bitterly.

“And this is… Creny. You’ve seen him once before, right?”

Creny was already hiding behind me.

Well, he has reason to be scared.

Last time we met, Peres had cut down the tree that Creny was hiding behind.

“Did I?”

Peres didn’t seem to remember Creny.

I sighed quietly while patting Creny’s round, small head and explained.

“He’s Astaliou’s younger brother. He was eavesdropping on our conversation last time.”

“…Astaliou?”

“Mm. The big kid who was stuck next to Belesack.”

“Ah.”

Peres, who seemed to remember now, nodded and looked at Creny.

“Mmm.”

Creny burrowed further behind me and hid his body.

“Hello, nice to meet you. Sorry about last time.”

Peres said while slightly lowering his body.

But it was no use.

Creny was still afraid of Peres and remained wary.

“Mm. Let’s go eat something delicious. Something sweet, something sweet.”

I said while pointing to the chocolate fountain visible in the distance.

Maybe this awkward atmosphere would lighten up if we got something sweet in our mouths.

With that thought, I led the twins, Larane, Peres, and Creny who was holding onto my skirt hem to move to a different spot.

* * *

Gallahan was conversing with the surrounding nobles when he suddenly looked toward his daughter.

The child who had been wandering around the banquet hall alone just moments ago was now surrounded by her cousins and the Second Prince.

‘They’re heading toward the chocolate fountain.’

After confirming what was in the direction Pirenthia and the children were walking, Gallahan quietly smiled.

It was something he had carefully prepared for Tia, who particularly loved chocolate.

Just then, a spiteful voice that completely broke the atmosphere spoke to him.

“Still as peculiar as ever.”

“…Brother.”

It had been quite a while since Biejie and Gallahan had faced each other.

“To think you’d go so far as to hold a banquet for an eleven-year-old’s birthday, and a girl’s birthday at that.”

Biejie clicked his tongue as he looked around the banquet hall with a mocking expression.

“Isn’t this too wasteful?”

“Please don’t worry, as we only borrowed this banquet hall from Lombardi today. This entire banquet was prepared with my own personal funds.”

“…Well, that’s a relief then. But even if it’s your money, this is still too excessive. Aren’t you being too careless with money?”

“It’s fine.”

If he wasn’t going to spend it on his beloved daughter, what was the point of earning so much money?

“Fine, my foot. Money should be used for greater purposes.”

He had tried to endure it since they were in front of people, but with the continued nitpicking remarks, Gallahan’s patience had finally reached its limit.

“How to spend money is up to the person who earns it.”

“What did you say?”

“I don’t think I’m in a position where I need to take advice about money from you, brother.”

Biejie was about to explode in anger as was his nature, but realizing there were many watching eyes around, he glared instead.

“After nearly dying once, you’ve become completely fearless.”

“Yes.”

Gallahan said with a smile, not hiding his hostility toward Biejie.

“While lying there with a fatal illness, I could clearly see who was ally and who was enemy.”

After his recovery, Gallahan had first investigated who had leaked the secret to Angenas.

As a result, Doctor Omari, who had diagnosed Gallahan, opened his mouth on the condition that he wouldn’t be prosecuted, and his testimony pointed to Biejie.

He had laughed so heartily upon hearing that Gallahan had contracted Tlenbroo disease.

“Thanks to that, I feel like my eyes have been opened.”

He had created the ready-made clothing business to protect Tia.

And he had received territory to pass down to Tia.

He had complacently thought that would be enough.

As soon as Biejie learned that Gallahan had contracted an incurable disease, he tried to steal even that away.

No, he had stolen the ready-made clothing business from his bedridden brother and graciously offered it to Angenas.

In Gallahan’s eyes as he looked at Biejie, there was no longer the same affection and lingering attachment as before.

Though it had taken a long time to distinguish between enemy and ally, he wasn’t soft enough to show weak compassion to someone who had turned into an enemy.

He may have inherited much of his mother’s appearance, but Gallahan was also Rulak’s son.

He had no intention of forgiving, nor any intention of backing down and lowering himself as before.

“Th-that matter….”

Biejie cleared his throat and said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m sure you don’t.”

There was a faint sneer in Gallahan’s tone.

“This is a birthday banquet I held for my daughter. If there’s something you find disagreeable, you’re welcome to leave.”

“What? Gallahan, you’re going too far!”

Biejie flew into a rage, but Gallahan let it go in one ear and out the other.

And he added with a meaningful smile.

“Farewell, brother.”

The surrounding nobles chuckled quietly.

They simply couldn’t burst into laughter openly in front of Biejie.

The fact that Biejie, the eldest son of the Lombardi family, was somewhat incompetent was something all central nobility knew.

They simply didn’t openly disrespect him because he might become the next head of the Lombardi family, and also because he had a wife from Angenas.

Biejie stood there glaring at Gallahan as if he wanted to kill him, then turned and left the banquet hall, but Gallahan didn’t even look in his direction.

* * *

The atmosphere of the banquet was ripening.

The music became more lively, and more and more people began dancing in the space prepared in the center of the banquet hall.

Sometimes adults filled the center of the hall in pairs, and sometimes children who weren’t yet of age would separate by gender and then come together to perform group dances.

The twins and Larane, who had been staying by my side, also joined in, and Creny was called away by his parents.

“Why are you standing so far away?”

Left alone together, Peres was standing four or five steps away from me.

“You said so before. That it wouldn’t be good if it looked like I was getting too close to you yet.”

“Ah, that.”

I had said that because I was worried we’d end up like a shrimp getting its back broken caught between the conflict between the Empress and Grandfather, and between the Crown Prince and Second Prince.

“That ship has sailed.”

“What do you mean?”

“I became your escort, and on top of that, rumors that you saved my father have already spread far and wide.”

Moreover, Angenas had even tried to steal Father’s ready-made clothing business.

Father, the Empress, and Angenas had already formed a thorough opposition.

Grandfather also seemed very angry about that incident.

The reason he started attending noble council meetings again was probably also because of Angenas.

Just looking around this banquet hall, people from pro-Angenas, pro-Empress families were hardly visible.

The nobles had already begun to slowly choose their sides.

One fortunate thing was that Emperor Yobanes was maintaining balance by weighing both sides from the middle.

Things had become a bit troublesome, but we were bound to clash with Angenas eventually anyway.

“Since things have turned out this way, there’s no choice but….”

I stopped speaking and looked at Peres, who had somehow come to my side.

“What?”

When I glared at him, Peres tilted his head with a somewhat shameless expression.

“You’ll regret this later, won’t you? If even a false rumor spreads that you and I are more than just friends, you’ll be in big trouble.”

“…Why?”

“Because.”

In my previous life, when I had seen Peres just once, mixed among the people who had come to watch.

Peres wasn’t alone.

Behind the horse that Peres rode with his cold face that looked down on everyone, there was a carriage carrying that woman.

“Anyway. Don’t do something you’ll regret later.”

I casually pushed Peres’s body away.

No, I tried to push him away.

But Peres had a somewhat sulky expression and didn’t budge.

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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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