In This Life, I Will Be The Lord - Chapter 87

—————
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 Episode 87

“You just picked this up?”

“Just open it and take a look first.”

Peres looked at me once more, then carefully opened the box with cautious hands.

As soon as a bit of sunlight touched it, the jewel revealed itself, splitting into hundreds and thousands of sparkles and emitting an even more brilliant light.

“This… a diamond?”

It was a diamond brooch specially crafted for Peres.

The boy just stared at the diamond he was seeing for the first time in his life, not even touching it.

“How is it? Do you like it?”

“…It’s flashy.”

An ambiguous impression.

Honestly feeling a bit disappointed, I deliberately spoke with emphasis.

“I had it custom-made to give to you.”

“I like it.”

Without even 0.5 seconds of thought, he immediately answered.

Though his change of attitude seems a bit quick.

“Don’t just look at it, try it on to see if it suits you.”

I was trying to act cool.

But I couldn’t overcome my impatience and spoke up.

After hesitating for a moment, Peres took out the brooch and pinned it to his chest.

The jewel, polished with the most brilliant technique among Croily’s proud cutting arts, was so beautiful that despite its eye-achingly bright sparkle, one couldn’t stop looking at it.

“Wow.”

Kaileus let out a small exclamation from behind.

I completely agree with that sentiment.

The brooch was worth every bit of what it cost to be made exclusively for Peres.

Not only was it a large, high-purity diamond, but the harmony with the obsidian crafted in the same way was even more striking.

“I knew it would suit you well.”

I felt proud seeing Peres’s beauty come alive even more.

Kaileus and Kaitlin also nodded vigorously as if agreeing with my words.

“Thank you.”

Peres also couldn’t take his eyes off the diamond, looking fascinated.

“But it must have been incredibly expensive.”

“Mm. A bit?”

It wasn’t just a bit.

If I had tried to buy this brooch with money, it would have easily cost hundreds of gold.

These days, diamonds are so scarce they can’t be sold, so their value has jumped several times over.

I shrugged my shoulders and urged Peres.

“Wear it around prettily everywhere. It’ll suit you anywhere.”

Peres nodded while fiddling with the brooch on his chest.

But soon he put the brooch back into the box.

“I’ll wear it on special occasions.”

“Well, gifts belong to the person who receives them.”

Seeing the subtle smile forming on his lips, Peres seemed to be in a very good mood right now.

I felt the same way.

Amusingly, giving Peres a gift made me truly feel like I had become the owner of a diamond mine.

“We should head back now…”

I was about to suggest returning to Poirak Palace since it seemed like a cold wind was blowing.

“Hmm? There were already guests here.”

That’s when I heard the familiar, deep resonant voice of Emperor Yobanes.

The Emperor wasn’t alone.

Behind the Emperor who entered the garden where we were, with his hands clasped behind his back, were the Empress and Astana.

The Empress, who had probably intended to spend time with the Emperor while bringing Astana along, didn’t even try to hide her discomfort.

And my eyes met with Astana, who had been looking at me first.

Astana, now fifteen years old, had completely entered adolescence.

It was also closer to the appearance of ‘Crown Prince Astana’ that I remembered.

“I greet His Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Empress, and His Highness the Crown Prince.”

I hurriedly stood up from my seat and greeted them according to proper etiquette.

“I wondered who it was, and it turns out to be you all.”

Yobanes looked back and forth between me and Peres with curious eyes.

Then he spoke to me in a friendly voice.

“It’s been quite a while, Pirenthia. The last time was when Gallahan received the founding medal, wasn’t it?”

His smiling face as he said this really looked like a friendly neighborhood uncle.

It was hard to imagine that he was actually someone more cunning than anyone else and quick to calculate political gains and losses.

However, I’m no less so myself.

Whether his attitude toward Peres was disagreeable, or his behavior of weighing his own interests against his children was annoying.

In any case, Yobanes is the Emperor of this Empire.

I deliberately smiled bashfully as if embarrassed and said.

“I’m honored that you remember even such things, Your Majesty.”

“Hmm?”

Yobanes widened his eyes, then smiled and said.

“You really know how to speak beautifully.”

“Thank you for looking upon me so favorably, Your Majesty.”

Politely and cutely.

But at the same time, without being intimidated, with backbone.

Because I am a Lombardi.

I smiled brightly without avoiding the Emperor’s gaze.

Then a gleam passed through the Emperor’s eyes.

After looking at me subtly for a moment, the Emperor turned his head slightly to look at the Empress and said.

“There’s no better place than this for having a cup of tea, so how about joining us here, Empress.”

When the Emperor speaks like that, the Empress’s response is predetermined.

“Let’s do that, Your Majesty.”

However, she didn’t forget to glare at Peres as if she wanted to kill him.

Additional tables and chairs were placed where Peres and I had been sitting, creating a truly awkward and uncomfortable setting.

Astana and Peres, who ended up sitting across from each other, didn’t even look at each other, and the Emperor paid no attention to such an uncomfortable atmosphere, leisurely drinking his tea by himself.

Regardless of other people, as long as he’s comfortable?

What an annoying Emperor.

Then my eyes met with Astana’s once again.

Why does he keep looking at me like that?

It was truly an uncomfortable tea time.

Ah, I want to go home quickly.

As I was regretting not just staying at Poirak Palace, the Emperor asked me.

“Is Gallahan completely recovered now?”

“Yes, fortunately the medicine was very effective and he recovered without any aftereffects.”

“That’s truly fortunate.”

The Empress interjected into the conversation.

Fortunate, my foot.

When she had tried to steal Father’s ready-to-wear business.

“And Second Prince.”

The Empress called Peres.

“…Yes, Your Majesty the Empress.”

When Peres reluctantly answered, the Empress smiled with a subtly triumphant expression and said.

“From now on, it would be better to receive guests within Poirak Palace as much as possible. That place is the Second Prince’s space, after all.”

In other words, she was telling him not to wander around outside and to stay cooped up in Poirak Palace.

But why?

When you and Astana are walking around just fine?

I was planning to just quietly drink tea and leave, but it seems that won’t work.

I answered instead.

“It’s my fault, Your Majesty the Empress.”

With a face full of distress.

“I wanted to see this garden, so I pestered His Highness the Second Prince. Please scold me.”

The Empress was momentarily flustered and cleared her throat.

“Hmm. Well, if the Lombardi young lady says so, I’ll overlook it just this once….”

“I heard that everyone who enters the Imperial Palace can freely come and go anywhere. It was my mistake for misunderstanding… I’m truly sorry, Your Majesty.”

I immediately redirected the arrow toward the Emperor.

In fact, everyone knows that this garden can be used freely by anyone.

The Empress is currently making unreasonable demands.

In this situation, what the Emperor can say is predetermined.

“…You didn’t misunderstand. This garden is a place where people can enter and exit freely.”

“Really? Then may I also come to look around whenever I visit the Imperial Palace, Your Majesty?”

The Emperor glanced at the Empress, then slowly nodded his head.

“Ah, I’m so happy!”

Since the Emperor said there was no problem, the Empress had nothing to say.

I deliberately smiled even more innocently and said to Peres.

“To think I’ll be able to tour the garden in the future too. That’s fortunate, isn’t it, Your Highness?”

I kicked Peres’s foot under the table.

“Mm-hmm. It is.”

Fortunately, Peres answered appropriately.

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

I excluded the Empress from the conversation and continued to smile only at the Emperor.

The Emperor stared at me intently, then spoke in a mischievous voice.

“A daughter really is different after all. Pirenthia, won’t you become my daughter? Being my daughter would be much more fun than being Gallahan’s daughter.”

He doesn’t even know how fun my life is these days with the Pellet Trading Company and the mine.

It was absurd, but I laughed ‘Kyaa!’ and answered cheekily.

“I’m not sure about my father, but Your Majesty might have to fight with my grandfather. Would that be alright? My grandfather adores me tremendously!”

“What?”

The Emperor, who was surprised by my bold response, burst into loud laughter.

“Hahaha! What a witty child!”

Then suddenly, his voice became subtle.

“Yes, I can see at a glance that you receive the clan head’s affection. Such fine quality diamonds.”

The place where the Emperor’s gaze was fixated as if enchanted was my head.

More precisely, it was my hairpin.

It had a thick diamond the size of a thumbnail with smaller diamonds surrounding it.

“I heard that diamonds are so popular these days that even small ones are hard to obtain. To purchase such a hairpin for his granddaughter shows tremendous affection.”

Even while saying this, the Emperor’s eyes wouldn’t leave my hairpin.

It was terrible greed.

I had definitely presented him with something twice this size as soon as the diamond business was established.

Even after that, the Emperor secretly had people purchase several sets of earrings and necklaces.

I know for certain since I personally gave approval to Cleribane.

To think he had such material desires despite being born a prince with everything given to him and becoming Emperor.

In some ways, he was truly an amazing person.

I raised my hand to touch my hairpin and said.

“This hairpin is embarrassing to say, but it’s not a gift from my grandfather.”

“Then, was it Gallahan?”

“No. I received it from my teacher, Your Majesty.”

“Teacher?”

Yobanes tilted his head.

“Yes, Cleribane Pellet, who runs the Pellet Trading Company, is my teacher.”

“Oh, Cleribane Pellet?”

Yobanes seemed genuinely surprised as if he truly didn’t know.

“He continues to teach you even after leaving the Lombardi Family?”

“Yes. That’s correct, Your Majesty.”

“You must truly be a precious student. To see him taking care of you even in the midst of being so busy!”

“Thanks to him taking such good care of me, I’m learning a lot by observing closely.”

“Yes, that’s the best kind of learning.”

I could feel it immediately through my skin.

That the Emperor’s gaze toward me had changed.

But then Astana, who had been quietly sitting without saying anything, caused trouble.

“What’s this?”

He suddenly grabbed the brooch box that had been placed in front of Peres.

He had suddenly snatched away the brooch box that had been placed in front of Perez.

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