In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 176

“Ah, Father!”
Viese shouted as if screaming. No, it was a scream. He stared at his grandfather with wide eyes, seemingly unable to comprehend the words he had just heard.
“You, you mean to strip me of my rights…”
Viese’s body trembled like an aspen leaf.
“You can’t do this, Father. You can’t do this to me…”
Viese, who had been muttering continuously, suddenly approached his grandfather.
“No matter if you are my father, you cannot cast me aside like this!”
This was the height of audacity. Viese was now yelling at his father.
His father’s eyebrow twitched upwards, as if he too was dumbfounded.
“I am a Lombardi! You cannot deny my rights, which are inherited from the noble Lombardi bloodline!”
Viese was like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum. No, a child would at least be cute.
His father’s patience was clearly running out. He shook his head slowly and spoke clearly, cutting off each word.
“You cannot deny that I have given you countless opportunities until now.”
“But…”
“This family has no need for those who seek personal gain by exploiting their own kin.”
It seemed the marriage proposal between Astana and Lorraine was the final line his father would not cross.
Certainly, his father’s expression towards Viese was different from before.
“Father…”
Fear crept into Viese’s face. But his father merely looked at Viese coldly before turning away.
It was then.
Thud!
Viese knelt before his father.
“I’m sorry! I have committed a grave sin, Father! For, forgi…”
The servants who were busy carrying luggage, and the administrators who had come out to observe the commotion, were all startled. It was the first time for everyone to see Viese, who was usually so arrogant, in such a state.
“Please forgive me!”
Viese truly prostrated himself, like someone desperately seeking his grandfather’s grace more than anything else at that moment. His voice seemed filled with earnestness.
But his father, looking down at Viese, merely frowned slightly. He seemed to not believe a single word of Viese’s desperate apologies.
“It’s too late, Viese.”
With those words, his father walked away without looking back.
As expected.
As soon as his father disappeared, Viese spat out curses and stood up. He glared for a long time in the direction of his father’s office, then spat on the floor and strode towards the annex.
As if he had done something right. Like a ill-tempered child, his every step seemed to thump loudly.
“Of course. What apology?”
People like Viese never change. They repeat the same mistakes and eventually drive themselves off a cliff.
“The Empress’s reaction will be the key.”
In fact, the Empress’s reaction was predictable. As she had said just now.
People never change.
***
“Aaaah! Perez! Perez, that wretched commoner interfered with my plans! Aaaah!”
Crash!
“I’ll kill him! Kill him, right now! Aaaah!”
Shatter!
Dewey Angenas shivered, recalling Empress Lavini’s frenzy a month ago after the primogeniture law failed.
Lavini had instilled much fear until now, but he swore he had never been so terrified as on that day.
The Empress, having missed her target right before her eyes, could not control her rage. Not only did she smash everything in the room, but she even harmed people later.
“The tea has gotten too cold. Bring me new water.”
“Yes, yes, Your Majesty…”
That was why a large number of the maids attending the Empress had been replaced. The maids, who had suffered various injuries, all wished to retire, and Dewey Angenas had to pay a considerable amount of compensation to silence them.
Furthermore, finding new maids was a huge task. No one wanted to work by the Empress’s side.
In the end, only those desperate for money filled the positions, so the quality of the maids naturally declined, and the Empress became even more sensitive, complaining that she didn’t like them.
“Are there any interesting tidings in the capital, Dewey?”
Though she was smiling now.
The devilish image of that day kept overlapping Lavini’s beautiful face, and Dewey averted his gaze.
“There’s nothing particularly interesting for Your Majesty, haha.”
An awkward laugh followed.
“Hmm, is that so.”
Lavini’s blue eyes pierced Dewey Angenas. Then, as if nothing had happened, she smiled sweetly.
“I wonder what our Imperial Prince is doing these days. It breaks my heart that he doesn’t show his face to his mother very often.”
Astana had not set foot in the Empress’s palace for a month.
“Rumors are rampant in the palace that Mother has gone mad! I am to inherit the throne, what if I get hurt by going near a mad person? Let my uncle convey my regards instead!”
These were words he used to avoid the bothersome task of visiting the Empress’s palace to pay his respects.
Though his words to his mother were utterly heartless, Dewey Angenas was not surprised.
‘Astana is Lavini’s child, after all. It’s only natural for him to be like her.’
Having such a child was Lavini’s karma, if anything.
“His Imperial Highness is very busy, isn’t he?”
Dewey hid his true feelings and spoke as if he couldn’t help it. Then, without much thought, he blurted out recent news about Astana.
“His Highness’s hunting skills are improving day by day. He achieved the splendid result of second place in the autumn hunting competition recently, you know.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Dewey realized his mistake.
As expected, Empress Lavini narrowed her eyes and asked.
“Second place? Then who was first?”
“Th-that…”
“Tell me quickly, Dewey.”
Dewey Angenas bit his tongue. Why did he bring that up!
But he couldn’t remain silent under the Empress’s sharp gaze. Finally, he closed his eyes tightly and opened his mouth.
“The, the Second Imperial Prince.”
Grinding.
A chilling sound of teeth grinding echoed.
With just the words ‘Second Imperial Prince,’ Lavini transformed into a completely different person. Her gentle smile vanished, and her eyes changed with fury.
Click.
“Your Majesty, I have brought the hot water as you requested.”
At an unfortunate timing, a young maid carefully returned, holding a teapot.
“Oh dear.”
Dewey Angenas clicked his tongue. Bad luck. To come in at this very moment.
To the Empress, who was looking for an outlet for her surging anger, the clumsy maid was good prey. The Empress picked up the teapot from the tray and threw it at the maid’s feet.
Shatter!
“Aack!”
The maid screamed as hot water covered her feet and ankles.
“Y-Your Majesty…”
“Are you trying to harm me right now?”
“W-what do you mean by that…? I was just following orders…”
“Do you think I don’t know your true intention, bringing me this boiling hot water to drink!”
“Sob! N-no, I truly didn’t mean that…”
Trembling with pain and fear, the maid looked at Dewey for help, but all she received was a click of the tongue and a turned back.
Her face turning even paler, the maid prostrated herself.
“P-please save me, Your Majesty!”
It was a pitiful voice, but the Empress didn’t even blink.
“Head Maid, take this child away!”
Finally, only after the Empress’s confidante, the Head Maid, brought in burly servants to drag the young maid away, did the Empress’s complexion clear slightly.
Lavini brushed off the hem of her dress, where a little tea water had splashed, and said.
“This won’t do at all. Dewey, fill that maid’s position with someone from Angenas.”
“…Pardon?”
“They are nobles, but they are no different from commoners, so they are uneducated, aren’t they? Someone from Angenas would be useful to keep by my side.”
The only women of suitable age in Angenas to work as maids were Dewey’s daughters.
Dewey, maintaining his smile, quickly racked his brain to avoid answering. He was trying to think of something to change the subject.
It was then that a letter he had brought in his pocket suddenly came to mind.
“Se, Selal asked me to deliver this letter to Your Majesty.”
It was a letter sent to the Angenas mansion instead, saying that she herself was not in a position to enter the Imperial Palace at the moment.
“Selal?”
As Lavini showed interest, Dewey quickly offered the envelope.
“Oh dear…”
Lavini, who had read through the contents Selal must have painstakingly written, murmured regretfully.
“Selal and Viese Lombardi are in a difficult situation. It seems they have fallen out of favor with the Lombardi Patriarch due to the marriage proposal.”
But that was all.
Lavini casually tossed Selal’s letter aside, as if it were bothersome trash. She said nothing more about Lombardi.
She seemed to be lost in thought, but it didn’t seem to be about Selal.
“…Sister?”
Dewey Angenas asked cautiously, finding it strange.
“Shouldn’t we… help Selal?”
Lavini blinked her large, beautiful eyes a couple of times and then replied.
“Why should I help Selal?”
“W-well…”
Selal had been loyal to Empress Lavini all this time. She had brought her son, Bellezac, in as Astana’s companion, and she took on all the unpleasant tasks required for the social gatherings the Empress hosted.
That wasn’t all. She had manipulated Viese to Angenas’s advantage, as instructed by her cousin, Lavini.
Thanks to her, Lombardi’s various businesses, large and small, including real estate and mines, had benefited Lavini.
But now that Selal was in trouble, the Empress seemed to have forgotten all of it.
“Dewey.”
Lavini said with a sweet smile.
“She’s already been stripped of all her qualifications and banished to the annex. Selal can no longer do anything for me.”
Goosebumps rose on Dewey’s arms.
Even at this moment, Lavini’s only concern was ‘what Selal could do for her.’
“By the way. Since Selal’s husband has been pushed aside, I need to find out the successor the Lombardi Patriarch has in mind as soon as possible. It must be Gallahan, wouldn’t you say?”
Empress Lavini muttered, her eyes gleaming with obsession.
Selal’s letter lay discarded on the floor, blown away by the wind.
***
“Lady, a letter has arrived.”
Lauriel said, handing me a bundle of letters.
I buried my face deeper into the book I was reading and replied.
“Ugh, how annoying. They’re all banquet invitations anyway, I bet.”
“No… I wish I could say that, but I think you’re right.”
“Just put them on the desk, Lauriel. When I have time later, I’ll reply to them all at once saying I can’t come… wait.”
What did I just see?
I sprang up from the sofa where I was half-reclining and approached Lauriel.
“That…”
Among the many envelopes, one stood out.
“Lauriel… what on earth did you bring…?”
“I’m sorry, Lady! What did I bring?!”
As I frowned, Lauriel immediately apologized.
“Whew…”
I sighed, then made a small pincer with my thumb and forefinger and picked up the edge of one envelope from the bundle. It was a familiar purple envelope.
“It’s the Empress.”
A deep, vivid purple. It was indeed Empress Lavini’s invitation. I held onto the last shred of hope that it might have been mistakenly sent to me instead of the annex.
But on the back of the envelope, written in a flamboyant script, it clearly said:
‘Florentia Lombardi.’
“So annoying, really.”