In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 12

Alpheo began to gain renown around the time I first started working by my grandfather’s side.
Countless artists were sponsored by Lombardi, but Alpheo was special.
He started his serious artistic endeavors at the late age of thirty.
Unlike most other Lombardi artists who were discovered at a young age and nurtured like hothouse flowers, Alpheo was originally a carpenter.
And not just any carpenter, but a carpenter who had worked for Lombardi for three generations, following in his grandfather’s and father’s footsteps. That’s why my grandfather was so regretful when he heard about Alpheo.
He wished he could have sponsored such a talent earlier and provided him with a better working environment.
But Alpheo didn’t care about such things.
Instead, he was immensely grateful to the Lombardi family for sponsoring him, even belatedly, and presented his first formal work to the family.
The title of that work was ‘World Tree.’
It was a colossal sculpture that embodied the Lombardi family crest, the World Tree, in wood.
It was a masterpiece made by carving several trees separately and then joining them together.
And with that work, Alpheo instantly became an artist renowned throughout the Empire.
“But how do we find him?”
It was midday, and most people were working inside the mansion, so the employee residential area was quiet, but it still felt daunting.
Should I go house to house asking if anyone knows Alpheo?
“What’s that?”
“It looks so strange!”
Oh, right, I forgot about them.
The twins were running around excitedly like children in a toy store, marveling at the unfamiliar objects.
“Giliou! Mayron! Don’t run around recklessly!”
I shouted, but the two paid no attention.
“Wow! There’s water here!”
“It looks like you scoop it with this dipper!”
“Let’s scoop some water too!”
Oh, that’s a bit dangerous.
Giliou and Mayron, who seemed utterly fascinated by the well as if they’d never seen one before, were now boldly holding a dipper and trying to draw water.
They were eleven, taller than me, but the well was still built for an adult’s height.
They looked precarious on their tiptoes, giggling.
“Hey! Get down, you two!”
In the end, I gathered up my dress hem and ran towards them.
But my legs were short, and the twins’ movements were unnecessarily fast.
“Whoa!”
Mayron, who was leaning over to pull out the dipper from inside the well, suddenly swayed and tilted downwards.
At this rate, Mayron will fall into the well.
“No!”
I shouted loudly and stretched out my hand, but it was useless.
But then.
“What are you two doing?!”
A large hand suddenly reached out, grabbed Mayron by the scruff of his neck, and pulled him up.
Then, with the other hand, he lifted Giliou by his torso.
“It’s dangerous to play near the well!”
A low voice, post-puberty, shouted angrily.
The twins, who were suddenly held by a stranger by each side, struggled to get free but couldn’t easily.
“Gasp! Pant! Hey! Why were you trying to climb into the well!”
I shouted at the two, breathing heavily with my breath catching in my throat from running in shock.
Then I turned my gaze to the person who had saved the twins.
I had to thank him.
It was the moment I saw the heavily frowning face of a teenage young man, who seemed as surprised as I was by the perilous situation.
“Oh? Oh!”
His face looked familiar.
Red hair with plenty of freckles on his nose, and a height much taller than others.
Sixteen-year-old Alpheo Gian stood before me.
“Ahem!”
Calm down, just calm down.
I cleared my throat, trying to compose my agitated heart, and then said to the young man, Alpheo,
“Excuse me, could you please put those two down?”
Alpheo, who had been quietly looking down at me, soon put the twins down.
“Who are you two? I haven’t seen your faces before.”
Yeah, yeah, you wouldn’t have seen them before.
I answered with a bright smile.
“My name is Florentia, this is Giliou, and this is Mayron.”
I kindly introduced them, pointing to each one.
But instead of saying his name, Alpheo scanned me and the twins with narrowed eyes.
It seemed our names sounded familiar to him.
Then, seeing our luxurious clothes, his eyes trembled slightly.
“S-surely…”
It seemed he realized that the three of us were direct descendants of Lombardi.
I couldn’t maintain distance from the start.
I deliberately smiled even more brightly and said,
“I’m sorry for the commotion…”
“P-pardon me, Young Lady! Pardon me, young Sirs! I, I didn’t recognize you!”
“No, I wasn’t asking for an apology…”
I tried to salvage the situation belatedly, but Alpheo took off his hat and kept repeating his apologies.
It doesn’t seem like my family treats their employees so harshly, though.
Seeing his face turn crimson all the way to his neck, it seemed to be Alpheo’s personality.
Indeed, even the thirty-something Alpheo Gian was a shy and pure person, uncharacteristic for his age.
“No. It was their fault, wasn’t it?”
“But…”
“Anyway, what’s your name?”
“My name is Alpheo.”
As expected, it was him.
“Excuse me, Alpheo. I’m sorry, but could you draw a bucket of water from the well for me?”
At my request, Alpheo, though a little flustered, silently drew the water.
“You two play with that water. Don’t do anything dangerous.”
Telling them to play with a bucket of water.
It might sound strange.
But the eleven-year-old twins obediently squatted in front of the wooden bucket and splashed the water around.
Alright, now that the disruptors were gone, should I get to the point?
“My father’s name is Gallahan.
You know him, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
“So, I have a favor.”
It was a very strange logical leap, but fortunately, Alpheo didn’t seem to notice.
“I heard from someone that you’re good at carving, Alpheo?”
“Th-that’s… just carving children’s toys out of wood to sell. I’m not good…”
“Wow, you’re already making money from carving! You’re an expert!”
Praise makes even whales dance.
As I made a fuss and poured on the flattery, Alpheo’s tense face visibly relaxed.
“Can you carve a person’s face if I have a picture? I have the wood to use.”
When I indicated the size with my hands, Alpheo hesitated slightly.
“Carving a person’s face is a bit difficult, so perhaps it’s too much for that level of carving yet.”
I felt a little uneasy.
“I have carved faces of family members before.”
Oh, good.
“But…”
Again, why?!
I couldn’t hold back and asked,
“Then will it take a long time?”
This is a problem, it can’t take long.
Clerivan had given us only about a week.
“But coincidentally, tomorrow is a holiday. So, about four days…”
No, this guy is really playing with my emotions!
I brightened up and firmly grabbed Alpheo’s hands with both of mine. Then I placed the portrait of Grandma that Father had drawn into his hand.
“I’ll make sure to pay you for your work!”
A childhood work by Alpheo Gian, it would be difficult to put a monetary value on it, but I intended to give him a portion of the selling price.
“W-work fee?! It’s alright!”
“No! It’s a skill you worked hard for, Alpheo! It’s good to always be compensated!”
When I spoke firmly, Alpheo thought for a moment, then nodded.
“I’m counting on you. I’m going to give this as a gift!”
“…I’ll do my best.”
Alpheo said with a determined face.
His dependable demeanor put my mind at ease.
Now I wouldn’t have to worry about the class assignment.
Because I had left it in Alpheo Gian’s hands.
“Oh, but I forgot one thing.”
“What is it?”
“About the log to be used. Alpheo, you have to take it. It’s too heavy for me.”
“Ah?…”
Sorry, but delivery is self-service.
After entrusting the carving to Alpheo, I spent about two days with nothing to do.
There was truly nothing left but to wait, so I passed the time watching Father make books or going to play in the garden if the weather was good.
This morning, the twins came to play, but I sent them away, saying I didn’t want to.
They looked crestfallen at my sharp refusal.
But I had a foreboding feeling they would come back tomorrow.
“Tia! Your dad finally finished the book!”
Father shouted, raising his hands in triumph, as if he was still thrilled, even though he had already written several books this way.
“Wow!”
So, as a dutiful child, I also raised my short arms high and cheered with him.
“Oh, our cute Tia.”
Father patted my head with a pleased smile.
“Dad, please show me the book you wrote!”
I was curious about the book, which he had completed by drawing and transcribing page by page, even sacrificing sleep.
“You like books too, just like me. Alright, let’s turn the pages together from the beginning, shall we?”
Father sat me on his lap and put the newly finished book in my hands.
It was unique, thinner and larger than other typical books.
I carefully opened the cover, worried about damaging the paper.
But.
“Oh?”
On the blank page after the first sheet, I saw my name written in Father’s handwriting.
[Waiting for the day I can fit the first debutante dress for my ever-lovely daughter, Tia.]
Each word in the sentence was unusually pressed firmly onto the page.
“I wrote this book to show you when you get to the age of being interested in dresses, Tia.”
Father said, kissing my head.
“It’s not very profound, but you’ll still be able to know what kind of dresses were popular throughout the Lambru Empire for generations. Trends, you see, always come back around.”
I couldn’t say anything.
With each page I turned, a wave of emotion swelled within me.
As Father said, this book was created solely for me.
Small letters were written around the skillfully drawn dress pictures of various designs that filled each page.
[This would look good on Tia if she grows tall in the future, as she is currently smaller than her peers.]
[This style of dress would highlight Tia’s eye color if Sasheer green velvet is used.]
“Usually, debutante dresses are taken care of by the mother, but your dad will make sure our Tia is taken care of even more reliably! Don’t worry, alright?”
In my original life, I never had a debutante ball.
Being half-commoner and practically non-existent in the family, there were no banquets to invite me to, and I myself was too busy improving the library that was given to me rather than making a social debut.
I closed the book, which I had finished reading, and hugged it to my chest.
Perhaps Father had written this book for me in my previous life too.
For the day he could personally choose my dress.
“Do you like the book?”
“Yes, very much.”
Father pulled me closer, holding the book to my chest, and hugged me tightly.
“I wish for our Tia to grow up quickly, and also for her to grow up slowly.”
“Dad.”
“Yes?”
“You’ll really have to choose my dress later, okay?”
“Of course! Let’s open this book and carefully choose it together, Tia.”
This time, I hope Father can see my debut.
I hope he can hold my hand and go to the banquet with me.
I hugged Father back.
Clop, clop.
The sound of hooves approaching from a distance was heard through the open window.
I lifted my head from Father’s embrace and quickly ran to the window.
A carriage bearing the Dyurak Merchant Guild’s flag was entering the mansion.
Unlike last time, when it was simple, a large cargo carriage was following behind the carriage carrying the guild master.
Finally, they’re here!
I quickly put the book neatly back on the bookshelf and pulled Father’s hand, saying,
“Dad! Let’s go for a walk in the garden! Quickly!”
“Suddenly in such a hurry. Did you want to go that much?”
“Yes! So hurry!”
Father, reluctantly pulled along by my hand, chuckled continuously, seemingly happy about something.
But I felt like I would miss the opportune moment if we went slowly like this, so I let go of Father’s hand and shouted,
“I’m going to run! If you don’t follow quickly, you might lose me!”
“T-Tia! You’ll fall!”
Seeing Father, who was startled, start running after me, I gave a triumphant smile.
Now it’s time to create a solid foundation for Father!