In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 13

“Bring forth the stepping stone!”
As soon as the Dyurak Merchant Guild’s carriage halted, Viese quickly ran forward, shouting to the servants.
Clerivan, following behind with Rulac, let out a small tsk.
While waiting for the Dyurak Merchant Guild to bring textile samples, he had investigated the guild master.
The result was, as expected, the guild master was the Empress’s person.
To be precise, the current Angenas family head was his great-uncle.
Though distantly related to the family’s center, he had significantly benefited from growing up close to the Empress since childhood.
But even so, Viese’s conduct was excessive.
No matter that the other party was the Empress’s person, Viese was the eldest son of the Lombardi Patriarch.
There was no need for him to act so subserviently.
Even the Angenas, who had produced the current Empress, were not a family that could compare to Lombardi.
Rulac, walking right beside Clerivan, couldn’t have missed his tsk.
However, there was no sign of displeasure.
He merely clasped his hands behind his back and looked at his eldest son with an even more inscrutable gaze.
Finally, Viese opened the carriage door instead of a servant, and the Dyurak Merchant Guild master stepped down from the carriage as if accustomed to it.
He then bowed deeply to Rulac in greeting.
At least this one knows the proper hierarchy.
Clerivan muttered inwardly.
“You’ve come a long way. Before we go inside, I’d like to inspect the goods immediately. What do you say?”
“…Let’s do that.”
The Dyurak Merchant Guild master’s brow furrowed slightly.
He had brought the textiles because he was asked to see a sample, but he didn’t realize it would truly be a prerequisite for the business.
Viese, who had repeatedly assured the guild master that it was merely a formality, stood in front of Rulac as if blocking him and said,
“Father, is there really a need for that? The Dyurak Guild Master has shown his sincerity by bringing the goods all the way here…”
“Move aside.”
Rulac’s furious eyes turned towards Viese.
He didn’t frown or glare intensely, but upon seeing that gaze, Viese instantly froze.
“Did I teach you that you could block the Patriarch’s path?”
“Ah…”
Only then realizing his mistake, Viese hastily stepped aside.
“Remove the cover.”
At Rulac’s command, the servants removed the cover from the cargo carriage brought by the Dyurak Merchant Guild.
“Hmm.”
Rulac reached out and ran his hand over the fabric, letting out a low hum.
The surface was uneven and rough.
“Clerivan.”
When Rulac called, Clerivan approached as if he had been waiting.
As expected, his expression wasn’t good after touching the fabric either.
“What is the raw material?”
Clerivan asked the Dyurak Merchant Guild master.
“Ah, that is…”
The guild master hesitated for a moment, as if struggling to remember.
To not even be able to name the raw material of a product he was trying to sell by borrowing someone else’s money.
It showed the Angenas family’s ignorance and attitude towards commerce.
“It’s… it’s woven from long stalks of Coroi.”
“Coroi, you say?”
Coroi was a type of weed-like plant that grew widely throughout the Empire.
Seeing that Clerivan, who was highly knowledgeable, seemed to be hearing about textiles made from Coroi for the first time, Viese scoffed.
“It’s a traditional method from the eastern provinces. The Guild Master personally procured it. You act like you know so much, but you actually know nothing.”
Clerivan bristled at Viese’s sarcasm, who truly ‘knew nothing,’ but had no retort.
Textiles were not a field he knew much about.
While he had managed Lombardi’s household and engaged in many commercial transactions, he had never heard of fabric woven from Coroi.
“Since it’s widely used only in the East and not well-known in other regions, we could anticipate great profits.”
The guild master said to Rulac.
“Is that so.”
It sounded like a positive answer, but Rulac’s gaze remained fixed on the rough fabric piled high in the cargo carriage.
He had already received a written report on the amount and labor required by the Dyurak Merchant Guild.
It was indeed a large sum that other merchant guilds alone couldn’t handle.
However, for Lombardi, it wasn’t a burdensome amount.
Even if this textile business failed, Lombardi could make up for the loss in a month or two.
What Rulac was concerned about wasn’t money.
His wrinkled eyes focused on his eldest son, Viese, who was continuously chattering next to the guild master.
The current Empress, Rabini Angenas, was a narrow-minded but ambitious individual.
She would stop at nothing to make her son the Crown Prince.
The hastily formed Dyurak Merchant Guild was also being pushed through to secure funds, as they lacked enough bribes to offer the noble council.
It was obvious who would be blamed if this venture went wrong for any reason and the Empress was not financially satisfied.
Viese was probably so eager because he thought this venture would bring him closer to the Empress’s faction.
Rulac finally made a decision.
This textile business would be a test not just for the Empress, but also for Rulac.
“Viese.”
“Yes, Father!”
“This textile business…”
He was just about to say, ‘I’ll entrust it to you from now on.’
Then, from beyond the cargo carriage wheel, a small brown head popped up, and a clear voice was heard.
“Wow, it’s cloth for making clothes!”
The four people standing in the rigid atmosphere simultaneously turned to look.
“Florentia?”
Rulac mumbled in surprise.
Florentia smiled brightly at her grandfather and said in an even louder voice,
“My dad knows a lot about this kind of thing!”

Seeing the people surprised by my sudden appearance, I put on an even more innocent, childlike smile.
“How did you suddenly come here?”
Grandfather bent down slightly towards me and asked.
“I came out for a walk with Dad! And then I saw Grandfather and just ran over!”
There was no grandfather who would dislike a grandchild coming to see them.
Especially not a young granddaughter who had run all the way.
As expected, I saw the corner of Grandfather’s lips curl slightly upwards.
“Thank you, Florentia. But running around is dangerous, so be careful from now on.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
Grandfather was patting my head, but Viese, displeased by the interruption, waved his hand at me as if shooing a fly.
“The adults are working, so go play over there, quickly!”
But I ignored Viese and asked Grandfather,
“But what is all this? There’s so much of the same fabric!”
“This is cloth made from a plant called Coroi. The adults here were discussing whether we could sell this to people and earn money.”
“Oh, I see.”
Earn money? No way. This business will utterly fail.
If I were to point out the problems, there were too many.
Amidst various scattered issues, this large-scale Coroi textile business ultimately failed, and Lombardi had to endure a financial loss.
I could step forward now and say, ‘This is how it is, so don’t even start, just give up here,’ but that wasn’t my place as a young child yet.
“Gasp, pant! Tia! How could you run off like that alone!”
That’s our Father’s job.
I turned to Father with an innocent face, as if I knew nothing, and said,
“Dad! Grandfather is selling this fabric!”
“Gasp, phew! I’m sorry, Father. Tia, you shouldn’t interrupt the adults’ conversation. Let’s go for a walk over there.”
Father, not understanding my intentions, tried to lead me away.
“Look at this, Dad! This is made from a plant called Coroi. It’s so amazing!”
“Hm? Coroi?”
I knew he’d be interested.
Father turned towards the cargo carriage, seemingly intrigued by the idea of weaving with a mere weed like Coroi.
“Oh, so this is fabric made from Coroi. It’s my first time seeing it in person, and this rough texture is new to me…”
Father, who had been excitedly talking without realizing it, suddenly caught himself and flushed.
“Let’s go, Tia.”
We can’t just go like this!
Just then, a voice, clearing my anxious mind, echoed.
“You should take a look, Gallahan.”
It was Grandfather.
Viese seemed agitated by his younger brother’s sudden appearance and knowing comments, but his face, unable to intervene, was a sight to behold.
“I don’t know much either.
Only that in the eastern part of the Empire, about a hundred years ago, they started weaving and using cloth from this Coroi plant. It’s easy to make and the materials can be found directly in the mountains, so it’s a popular textile among commoners.”
“Commoners?”
But the Dyurak Guild Master’s reaction was a bit strange.
When Father mentioned that Coroi fabric was mainly used by commoners, his face twitched.
“Are you saying this is cloth only commoners use?”
“Yes, that’s right… As you can see, it’s coarse and loosely woven, so it’s not suitable for noble attire.”
“Huh, indeed.”
When the guild master couldn’t continue, Grandfather asked,
“What’s wrong, Guild Master?”
“Well, the one who told me about this textile said that both nobles and commoners alike favored it… So I intended to target nobles for this business.”
“Didn’t you say just a moment ago that you procured it yourself?”
“I-It was as good as procuring it myself, as someone very knowledgeable did it for me…”
“It seems you’ve been swindled by that ‘knowledgeable’ person.”
The disgraced guild master’s face flushed.
“However, this Coroi textile has one drawback. Once harvested from the plant, it develops a kind of shelf life… Ah, just as I thought.”
Father lifted a part of the neatly stacked fabric and clicked his tongue.
Black mold had bloomed on the textiles in the middle.
“Finished Coroi cloth is vulnerable to moisture. It seems this happened while we were going through the rainy season recently.”
“Haa, how unfortunate.”
The guild master couldn’t hide his dismay.
Of course, he would feel empty.
After all, the ambitious business plan he had prepared had turned out to be useless.
Just then, Father, who had been deep in thought, spoke to the guild master.
“However, Coroi grows sufficiently in the territories near the direct domain, so there won’t be a big problem if you source the materials nearby instead of bringing them from far away.”
“Oh, is that so!”
“And if you truly intend to target nobles with this business, try mixing in some wool when weaving.”
“Oh, oh.”
“Yes. Actually, Coroi is not such a bad material. On the contrary, you can save a lot on raw material costs, which is good. So, if you invest a little of the money saved on raw materials into wool and mix it in, you’ll get a surprisingly cool and soft textile.”
“Oh, such a method!”
As if he had seen a lifeline from heaven, the Dyurak Merchant Guild master’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Father.
“However, mixing wool with other raw materials is considered a rather advanced technique.
Select skilled weavers carefully.”
“W-weavers, you say…”
The guild master seemed truly ignorant of this field, only blinking.
“If it’s the Lombardi-affiliated Weavers’ Guild, they can certainly accomplish it. Of course, that would mean Lombardi’s share of the business’s profits would need to increase.”
Clerivan stepped in at just the right time to help.
“What percentage are you thinking of?”
“Considering the salaries of Lombardi’s artisans…”
As Clerivan and the guild master began to negotiate, Father took my hand.
He was quietly trying to slip away.
“Gallahan, you handle this business.”
Grandfather’s immense command, however, immediately stopped Father in his tracks.
“Ah, Father!”
Viese practically shrieked.
He wouldn’t want the business he had painstakingly brought in to be snatched away from him.
But Grandfather’s stance was very firm.
“But I don’t know much about business. It’s an overwhelming task beyond my abilities, Father.”
Father, startled, tried to refuse, but Grandfather leisurely asked the Dyurak Guild Master,
“It seems you’ll need a knowledgeable advisor in this field.”
“Indeed, I was having difficulty due to my lack of knowledge about textiles. It would be reassuring if Lord Lombardi could help!”
Viese, who had been treating him like a servant from another house, now changed his attitude, referring to Father as ‘Lord.’
“If it’s about business, I will also lend my humble support. Don’t worry too much, Lord Gallahan.”
Clerivan, who had a bad relationship with Viese, also stepped forward to help Father.
Father hesitated for a moment, then looked down at me, who was standing there holding his hand.
You can do it, Father!
I sent him the most sparkling gaze I could and said,
“To be able to help that gentleman!
You’re cool, Dad!”
My words were the decisive blow.
Having made up his mind, Father, holding my hand tightly, nodded to Grandfather.
“I’ll give it a try.”
I barely managed to suppress the urge to jump up and down and shout right there.
Father could definitely make this business a success.
The fundamental problems would disappear, so both Lombardi and Angenas would earn a lot of money, and there would be no fool brave enough to interfere with a business conducted by the two largest families in the Empire.
“Eek!”
Except for idiots like Viese, who was grinding his teeth right now.
But as long as Grandfather was alive, Viese couldn’t do much.
If he tried to ruin a business involving the family’s money out of jealousy, Grandfather wouldn’t stand idly by.
“Dad, you’re so cool.”
I deliberately muttered these words so Father could hear, standing quietly.
There was something I knew for certain from living in the future.
Just as Lombardi was interested in the succession to the throne, the Empress was also keenly interested in who would inherit the Lombardi Patriarchate.
Until now, the eldest son had been the most prominent, but there was no imperial noble who didn’t know that Viese was not brilliant.
While Viese and his family currently attended the monthly banquets at the Imperial Palace in place of Grandfather, I’m confident that after this business succeeds, the name ‘Gallahan Lombardi and his family’ will appear on the guest list at least once.
And there was someone in the Imperial Palace I absolutely had to meet as soon as possible.
The person I had to make my own if I, an illegitimate child and a woman, was to succeed to the Patriarchate.
Second Prince Perez Brivacheu Durelli, he was in the Imperial Palace.