In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 178

“You’re really trying to win me over, aren’t you?”
I muttered, looking at the imperial carriage that stood grandly before me. It had arrived at the Lombardi mansion precisely on time for the Empress’s dinner, which I reluctantly agreed to attend.
It was a very luxurious carriage, enough to make others feel honored, but my own carriage was better.
“Greetings, Lady Lombardi. We have come from the Empress’s Palace to escort you.”
It was a proper reception, with even a chamberlain from the Empress’s Palace rushing out.
“Or is it a demand?”
As in, don’t even dream of not attending?
Either way, my mood wasn’t great.
“…Pardon?”
“No, nothing.”
When I smiled brightly, the chamberlain’s face flushed slightly.
“I think I’ll need a footstool.”
When I pointed to the front of the carriage, where nothing was placed, the Empress’s chamberlain gasped in surprise and replied.
“Ah! My, my apologies! I will bring a footstool immediately!”
While the chamberlain fumbled to get the footstool, I turned my head towards the side of the main building. It was the direction from which I had felt a strong gaze for a while.
“Why is she looking so fiercely again?”
It was Selal, glaring at me as if she wanted to kill me. I hadn’t noticed it before, but her glaring face looked exactly like Empress Lavini’s. Like cousins, indeed.
She must have felt me looking at her. Selal didn’t try to hide or avoid my gaze. Instead, her eyes blazed even more fiercely.
The reason for her behavior was obvious without even asking. She was probably jealous that I was going to the Empress’s dinner while she had been relegated to the annex.
Selal would know. That it was all the Empress’s will, regardless of my own. She simply chose to hate me because it was easier than hating the Empress.
But no matter how Selal felt, if she kept glaring at me like that…
“It makes me want to tease her more.”
Just then, the chamberlain placed the footstool in front of me.
“Thank you.”
When I thanked him, the chamberlain gave a shy smile. I stepped lightly onto the footstool and got into the carriage.
And I opened the window.
I could still see Selal glaring at me.
In this situation, an ordinary noble would glare back at Selal, sniff disdainfully, and close the window. That would be the typical reaction.
But I raised my hand, looking at Selal.
And, waving gently.
I smiled sweetly.
Then I saw Selal’s eyes widen, and her hand gripping her dress hem tremble. Judging by the movement of her lips, she seemed to be showering me with curses.
But it was too far to hear her words. She was only hurting her own throat.
And so, as the carriage departed and Selal’s figure was no longer visible outside the window, I kept smiling brightly and waving my hand.
By the time I left Lombardi and arrived at the Imperial Palace, the sun had completely set.
But as I absentmindedly looked out at the brightly lit Imperial Palace, a somewhat familiar road suddenly came into view.
“Oh, this is where I first saw Perez.”
The place where my father’s carriage was suddenly inspected by knights instigated by the Empress.
The carriage I was in happened to be passing through that road. It was hard to see in the dark, but Perez’s black head had briefly passed through the forest beyond.
And taking advantage of the carriage’s stop, I secretly slipped out and met Perez.
A small, scrawny young Perez, eating grass to survive.
“Time flies so fast.”
The boy, who was ridiculously small for his age because he hadn’t eaten, had grown so much.
If nothing else, I was very surprised when he helped Lorraine escape. His physical ability to carry me with one arm and jump up to the terrace high above with his bare hands was incredible.
I felt a little proud.
Even though Catherine and Kailus had struggled with raising him.
Even if I didn’t raise him, it felt like I did.
Especially that arm that held me firmly so I wouldn’t be scared…
Thump.
My heart pounded loudly as I recalled that night. At the same time, a corner of my heart felt a little uncomfortable.
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat and tore my eyes away from the dark forest.
Fortunately, the carriage was already approaching the Empress’s Palace.
“Whew.”
I took a deep breath to compose myself. I had to put thoughts of Perez aside for now.
Because.
Click.
The carriage stopped and the door opened.
And as soon as I stepped down, the Empress, dressed in a flamboyant gown, approached.
“You’ve come a long way, Lady Lombardi.”
For the Empress to personally come out to greet me in front of her palace was an unusual reception. And the Empress’s lips, slightly curled upwards, seemed to demand that I be pleased with such a reception.
“Thank you for inviting me to the dinner, Your Majesty.”
But I only offered a simple greeting.
‘I don’t know what to say, Your Majesty, sending a carriage for me. Thanks to you, I came so comfortably…’
I did not add the usual flattering remarks.
I saw the Empress’s gaze turn cold. But I was not deterred by that much. What would she do by glaring coldly?
I stood facing the Empress with a smile on my face, without flinching.
The Empress was breathtakingly beautiful. She had clearly put more effort into her appearance than usual. She was adorned with even more expensive dresses and jewels. It was so much that the jewels clinked together every time she moved.
And I felt the Empress’s blue eyes sweep over me from head to toe. She was trying to find fault with my clothes or accessories. I had already heard that this was a method the Empress often used to gain the upper hand in social circles.
However, the Empress’s silence was unintentionally prolonged. Because there was nothing to find fault with.
My appearance, from head to toe, was perfect. Of course, I wasn’t dangling jewels like the Empress. I wore a dress that was luxurious yet dignified, made with only the finest materials in gold and red.
The Empress, with her keen eye, would have immediately noticed. That the glittering things on my dress were not just sparkling pigments, but tiny jewels meticulously set by an artisan.
It was probably more expensive than the dress the Empress was wearing. And it was undoubtedly more beautiful and exquisitely designed.
The simple earrings I wore were special pieces made exclusively for me by old man Croyley of Pellet Merchantry’s diamond workshop. The circlet, draped long along my hair, was made by his apprentice, meticulously linking platinum and diamonds one by one.
The Empress’s long eyelashes fluttered as she looked at me. She must have felt it herself. That her own appearance, laden with jewels, looked ridiculous.
She seemed to have intended to intimidate me with all the dazzling jewels and accessories she had collected.
But you shouldn’t try to beat Lombardi with money. That’s utterly useless.
“Your Majesty?”
I called the Empress with a sweet smile, with an innocent face as if I knew nothing.
“Yes. Has Lady Lombardi ever attended my dinner before?”
The Empress, like someone with much experience in social circles, quickly composed her expression and asked.
“I came once when I was very young, accompanying my father, Your Majesty.”
“Ah, yes. To think that Lady Lombardi, who was so young then, has grown up to be engaged to the Second Imperial Prince.”
The Empress said with a very pleased expression.
“How happy I was when I heard the news of the Second Imperial Prince and Lady Lombardi’s engagement.”
So happy that you smashed everything in the Empress’s palace?
The Empress’s reaction on the day the primogeniture law was thwarted is specially compiled into a book that I keep, courtesy of Beit. It’s amazing how much it cheers me up whenever I read it.
“Today, I have prepared a special dinner just for Lady Lombardi, without inviting any other guests. We are soon to be family, aren’t we?”
The Empress chuckled.
I knew this would happen.
It’s annoying enough to be invited to the Empress’s dinner, but to sit across from the Empress alone for a long, multi-course meal? Absolutely not.
I knew this would happen, so I prepared.
Instead of answering, I subtly glanced around.
“Ah, here they come.”
A group of people could be seen approaching, crossing the large boulevard on the east side, directly opposite the Empress’s Palace on the west. I thought they might not be able to make it in time since they were at the hunting grounds.
I smiled brightly and called out to the person at the very front of the approaching group.
“Lord Perez.”
Having arrived at the Imperial Palace and changed his clothes, Perez walked towards me, radiating his usual dazzling beauty.
And the first thing he did was.
“Tia.”
With a low voice, he kissed the back of my hand. It was an act that completely disregarded the Empress, who was clearly an adult of the Imperial Family.
But Perez only looked at me.
“Lady Lombardi.”
Until the Empress called me.
“Did… Lady Lombardi call the Second Imperial Prince?”
“Yes. Since Your Majesty invited me to dinner, I sent a letter to see if he could join us.”
“That would be rude…”
“It’s alright for us to have a pleasant meal together, Your Majesty, isn’t it? We’ll soon be family.”
I cut off the Empress before she could say anything more.
Given what she had just said.
If she were to get angry at me over this, the dinner would be ruined before it even began, so the Empress mechanically forced a smile.
“Yes. The more guests, the merrier. Let’s dine together, Second Imperial Prince.”
Having said that, the Empress subtly glared at me at the end of her sentence.
Why, what? You just said we’d be family soon, didn’t you?

It was truly a tedious affair. The Empress was so persistent in trying to win my favor that I thought calling Perez was a stroke of genius.
And as the conversation continued, the Empress’s purpose for inviting me became clearer.
“I hear Chesayu is growing into an important commercial city connecting the central and southern regions. Where is Lord Gallahan Lombardi staying these days, Lady Lombardi?”
When all the questions were directed at my father like this, it was impossible not to know.
“He usually stays in Chesayu. It’s no exaggeration to say that Chesayu is like a second child to my father, he has so much affection for it.”
“Oh, is that so. That must be why Chesayu is growing so rapidly day by day.”
The Empress seemed more interested in Chesayu than I was.
Wishing to end this meeting quickly, I casually dropped a hint.
“It connects the central and southern regions, but what makes Chesayu most prosperous these days is the river trade with the eastern region.”
Clink.
As expected.
The Empress’s knife, which had been quietly cutting steak, scraped against the plate. At the same time, the atmosphere at the table grew slightly colder.
Good! Let’s end this dinner right here!
But the Empress, wiping her mouth with a white napkin, attacked me from a completely unexpected direction.
“However, the Second Imperial Prince and Lady Lombardi are a bit surprising.”
Perez, who had been drinking wine, also realized the strange turn of events and put down his glass.
“I heard that you two have such deep affection for each other that you would run to His Majesty together. But I don’t feel any of that from the two of you now.”
She wasn’t just saying it. The Empress’s smiling face held a strange certainty. She was clearly doubting the relationship between Perez and me.
Her blue eyes, which strangely did not lose their light even at night, sharply gazed at Perez and me.
“That’s…”
Just as I was about to retort.
Slide.
Perez, who was sitting to my left, suddenly took my hand. It wasn’t a light touch, like simply placing his hand on mine. It was a slightly more intimate gesture, intertwining his fingers with mine.
And before I could stop him, he slowly pulled my left hand towards him.
“Pe, Pere…”
Perez’s red eyes stared at me as if they would burn me. And his lips deeply kissed my finger, where my engagement ring was.
It was so close.
When I flinched slightly at the hot sensation on my skin, I clearly saw the amusement in Perez’s eyes.
“Second Imperial Prince!”
The Empress exclaimed, as if he were being rude.
However, Perez merely replied leisurely.
“I’ve been trying to hold back, but once I touch her hand like this, I simply cannot let go. It seems that’s how it appeared to Your Majesty.”
Perez’s thumb secretly rubbed the tender flesh between my fingers. And he subtly smiled, as if to show off to the Empress.
“Then, may we leave now and go somewhere undisturbed, Your Majesty?”