In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 174

“I had no idea you two were in such a relationship, I truly didn’t.”
Since I had visited so early in the morning.
Emperor Jovanes’s face was still full of sleepiness.
Nevertheless, his eyes, looking at Perez and me, held surprise and a hint of suspicion.
A sudden premonition flashed through my mind that if I left it as is, I’d have to recite a long, non-existent love story.
It’s troublesome, so I’ll show him with action.
I subtly took Perez’s hand, which was resting on his knee.
Then, I saw Perez’s hand twitch slightly in mine, and his body visibly stiffened.
“Hehe.”
I pretended to laugh and subtly turned my head to glare at Perez.
Hey, do it properly, okay?
Perhaps having snapped out of it after my glare.
Perez’s hand, which had been quietly resting beneath mine, moved and instead grasped my hand.
Firmly, as if he had never hesitated.
The sensation of my hand being enveloped by his large, rough hand was quite warm and pleasant.
And I felt Jovanes’s gaze fixed on our clasped hands.
I deliberately met Perez’s gaze lovingly, as if to show off, and said, “I’m a little shy, Your Majesty.”
I saw Perez’s eye twitch slightly.
Why? What?
“So I asked His Highness the Prince to keep it a secret from everyone for a while.”
“Was there any special reason for that?”
Jovanes asked persistently, despite my earlier explanation of being “a little shy.”
He was probably trying to probe my true feelings.
But I replied with a bright smile, “I wasn’t ready yet.”
“Ready?”
“Ready to tell my family, perhaps. Your Majesty also knows the Lombardi family’s extraordinary love for their family, don’t you?”
“That’s true.”
See this?
Even that cunning Emperor was immediately convinced by Lombardi’s famous family affection.
Honestly, if it weren’t for Grandpa’s emphasis on bloodline and Lombardi’s unique family traditions, Viese would have been kicked out a hundred times over long ago.
“Your Majesty.”
Perez, who had been silently listening to the conversation between the Emperor and me, spoke up.
“Lady Lombardi and I have known each other for a long time, but our relationship developed only recently. So please understand that it took us some time to confirm our feelings before coming here.”
One of Jovanes’s eyebrows rose as he looked at Perez.
“It was all due to my lack of courage.”
Saying so, Perez gripped my hand even tighter.
A subtle smile played on his lips.
Good boy! Well done, Perez!
My efforts have paid off!
“Hoo. That’s the first time I’ve seen the Second Prince like that.”
Jovanes said, looking at Perez with curiosity.
Indeed, they were only father and son in name, so Perez’s behavior must have been surprising to him.
I quickly interjected naturally, “You said the union of Lombardi and the Imperial Family would greatly contribute to the peace of the Empire, Your Majesty.”
And I smiled brightly at Jovanes.
“You’re truly amazing, Your Majesty.”
What? I don’t know either.
But I know Jovanes is very susceptible to flattery.
“Ahem.”
Sure enough.
Jovanes’s lips twitched uncontrollably.
I didn’t miss that moment and said, “Now that we are engaged, the unnecessary conflict between Lombardi and the Imperial Family will also disappear, won’t it? I’m so happy to be able to contribute to the peace of the Empire, even in this way.”
“If you’re talking about the Lombardi Patriarch’s Golden Gate Order…”
Jovanes tried to speak, his relaxed face hardening.
But I interrupted him first.
“No. I was talking about the citizens of the capital and the nobles who are suffering due to Lombardi’s absence.”
Jovanes fell silent.
He seemed lost in thought.
To think I have to spoon-feed him even this.
Alright, Emperor Uncle.
Listen carefully.
“Your Majesty’s personal letter to my grandfather stated, ‘Agree to the marriage between the Imperial Family and Lombardi,’ didn’t it?”
I can see Jovanes’s eyes wavering slightly.
He seems to be seeing a way out now.
Jovanes must have been the one who was most agitated by my grandfather’s drastic measure.
Lombardi is free from public opinion, but the Emperor has to be mindful of the people’s sentiment.
I am kindly showing the Emperor an escape route.
A way to exit the battlefield, gaining some of what he wants while preserving his most important pride.
“Of course, the reason I’m here is also because my grandfather acknowledged the relationship between His Highness the Prince and me.”
“…The Lombardi Patriarch?”
“Yes. After all, I am a Lombardi. My grandfather, the Patriarch, needed to give his permission first.”
“Right. So, the Lombardi Patriarch has agreed to the marriage between the Imperial Family and Lombardi, then?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Slowly, relief and joy spread across Jovanes’s face.
“Hahahahaha!”
Suddenly, a loud laugh, enough to make one frown, burst from the Emperor.
“Yes! Rather than Viese’s daughter and Astana, who are unwilling, you two, who are already in love like this, are better! Indeed!”
Jovanes looked relieved, as if a ten-year-old blockage had been cleared.
Then he slapped Perez’s shoulder and said, “You’ve done a splendid job, Second Prince! Splendid!”
I saw a flicker of intense annoyance cross Perez’s face as his body swayed.
Just bear with it a little longer, Perez.
I gripped his hand tightly to convey that meaning.
But I, too, couldn’t look kindly at Jovanes’s broadly smiling face.
With this, my grandfather’s Golden Gate Order was lifted.
And I succeeded in making the Empress eat her words.
But Jovanes, you’re not done yet, are you?
***
“Grandpa, I’m getting engaged.”
After a meeting with his retainers about the Law of Primogeniture, Rulac, who was resting, was hit with a bolt from the blue.
“What… What are you talking about, Tia?”
Rulac’s voice even trembled.
“Just a moment. Come in, Perez.”
Tia said, facing the office door.
And the one who appeared was the Second Prince, Perez.
“You, you…!”
Rulac pointed a finger, forgetting that the other person was a prince. No, at this moment, it didn’t matter if he was a prince or even the Emperor.
Thump!
Rulac finally sprang to his feet.
Perez, as if he had expected Rulac’s reaction, stood beside Tia with a perfectly composed, unperturbed face.
Rulac was enraged again at their standing side by side, but he took a deep breath and managed to calm himself.
“Explain what you mean, Tia.”
“The Law of Primogeniture. You have to stop it, don’t you?”
“What does that have to do with your engagement?” The wrinkles on Rulac’s forehead deepened.
“Tia, you don’t mean…”
“Could you show me His Majesty the Emperor’s letter? The one that issued the Golden Gate Order.”
Rulac reluctantly pulled out the Emperor’s letter, which had been carelessly tossed in a drawer, and showed it to Tia.
“Hmm, as expected…”
Tia nodded.
“According to this Golden Gate Order, Grandpa, you only need to agree to a marriage between Lombardi and the Imperial Family. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Lorraine and the First Prince.”
“So, you and that fellow are going to take that marriage instead?”
Rulac said, gesturing towards Perez with his chin.
He had never liked how the boy had hovered around his granddaughter like a wolf since childhood.
But he had kept him alive because he was useful for checking the Empress.
How dare he lay a hand on my granddaughter!
Sparks flew from Rulac’s eyes as he glared at the silently standing Perez.
“Yes, Grandpa.”
But whether she knew of Rulac’s anxious feelings or not.
His beautiful granddaughter replied very calmly.
“Tia…”
“Perez and I have already discussed it. We’ve decided to have a contract engagement.”
“To marry you to some imperial nobody, that’s something that can’t happen before I die and dirt gets in my eyes…”
Rulac, who had been muttering, holding his head, stopped speaking.
And then he looked up sharply and asked, “Contract… engagement?”
“Yes, Grandpa.”
Tia smiled sweetly.
“Perez is also in a difficult situation if this bill passes.”
“…Is that true?”
Rulac looked at Perez and asked, as if to confirm.
“Tia is right.”
It was the answer he had been waiting for, but Rulac’s heart didn’t feel at ease.
He was a difficult person to read.
But it was obvious, even without seeing it, what kind of dark intentions lay beneath that expressionless face towards his granddaughter.
Just looking at those crimson eyes, always blindly following Tia, told him so.
“A contract engagement, then. That wouldn’t be his idea. It must be your idea, Tia.”
“…Yes, that’s right. It’s my idea. Perez and I will use this engagement to block the Law of Primogeniture, and after a certain period, we’ll proceed with the annulment.”
If Tia said so, then it must be so.
From the moment his granddaughter brought it up, Rulac’s apprehension about the contract engagement itself had somewhat disappeared.
But something was bothering him.
“Annulment, huh… It might not be a big deal for the Prince, but it’s quite a disadvantageous deal for you, Tia.”
“I know.”
“You know that, and you’re still willing to have a contract engagement just to lift your grandpa’s Golden Gate Order?”
“Yes, Grandpa.”
Tia nodded.
“Because it’s for Lombardi.”
Thump.
The carriage jolted once, and Rulac awoke from his reverie.
The Law of Primogeniture was defeated.
Even as Rulac sank deep into the plush carriage seat, his expression was not good.
Although it was a contract engagement, the thought that it was a victory achieved by sacrificing his granddaughter somehow made him feel uneasy.
Then, the Second Prince, who had suddenly become his granddaughter’s official fiancé, came to mind, making him feel even worse.
“It’s just an engagement, an engagement. If he gets any greedier, I won’t let him get away with it.”
A Durelli bloodline as our Tia’s partner? Unthinkable.
The Durellis had never had a decent one, generation after generation.
The Second Prince himself might possess considerable abilities.
But for Tia to be entangled with the Imperial Family was something Rulac, as her grandfather, could simply not tolerate.
“I’ll find a docile and reliable fellow for Tia, separately, who listens well to her words…”
Rulac stopped speaking.
A docile and reliable fellow.
Somehow, Perez’s image overlapped with that description.
Meanwhile, his granddaughter’s gaze, which had looked directly at him, never left Rulac’s mind.
“Because it’s for Lombardi.”
“That girl… When did she grow up so much?”
It felt like just yesterday she was a tiny thing running around the mansion, drinking cookies and juice on the office sofa.
“Yes. A Lombardi should have that much spirit.”
Rulac smiled contentedly.
It was an affection for the Lombardi family that seemed no less than his own, the Patriarch.
“With that kind of heart, I could entrust her with the position of Patriarch.”
It was a thought he had spoken without much consideration.
But Rulac paused.
And then he stroked his beard, falling into deep thought.
He could entrust Tia with the position of Patriarch.
It was a half-joking thought, but the image he envisioned wasn’t bad at all.
On the contrary, it suited her perfectly.
As if she had grown up to be a successor from the very beginning.
“Florentia. Tia…”
Inside the carriage returning to the mansion, Rulac’s thoughts continued, one after another.