In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 179

Wow. I was surprised.
For a moment, Perez’s face looked so alluring that it took my breath away. I thought, ‘So this is what a honey trap looks like.’
“Whoa, you’re a dangerous one.”
I felt my heart pound and my face flush.
But Perez was just focused on his role as a fiancé. I tried to think that and calm myself down.
As my mind settled a bit, the surrounding situation began to come into clear focus again.
The Empress also seemed quite surprised by Perez’s somewhat brazen attitude.
Now that the Empress’s composure was broken.
Since my face was already flushed, I covered my mouth, pretending to be shy as I looked at Perez.
“Oh my, Your Highness, too…”
And then I naturally tried to pull my hand away.
But Perez wouldn’t let go. I wiggled my hand inside his, but his large hand didn’t budge.
I leaned closer to Perez, pretending to be affectionate so the Empress wouldn’t see, and glared at him.
“Hey, aren’t you going to let go?”
Then Perez quietly signaled to the Empress with his eyes.
“Hahahaha…”
I chuckled and glanced at the Empress, and I saw that she was still watching Perez and me.
Well, what can you do?
My hand, firmly held by someone else, felt awkward, but if the Empress had even a slight suspicion, I had to put an end to it here.
I gently patted Perez’s shoulder with my other hand, pretending to be so in love with him that I couldn’t stand it.
When Perez and I didn’t let go of each other’s hands even after some time, the Empress said to Perez with displeasure.
“How rude, Second Imperial Prince.”
“My apologies, Your Majesty. But as you can see, my fiancée is such a lovely person. Once I touch her hand, it’s hard to let go.”
Perez’s smooth reply was enough to make me furious just by listening.
And he added.
“Of course, Your Majesty, with your generous heart, will understand.”
If Perez went that far, the Empress had nothing to say. If she were to say, ‘I can’t stand such public displays of affection, let go of her hand at once!’, she would only make herself look ridiculous.
Knowing this well, Empress Lavini could only manage a cold smile and let the matter pass.
In the end, Perez held my hand until dessert arrived.
My hand was getting sweaty.
Even though I kept glancing at Perez, wanting him to let go, he just smiled back at me. It was at this point that I had half-given up.
Clink.
With the small sound of a plate being placed, the servant set down a familiar-looking strawberry cake in front of me.
This…
“I prepared it from the dessert shop Lady Lombardi usually frequents. Caramel Avenue, was that the name of the place?”
The Empress and I looked at each other with smiles.
The Empress was telling me with the Caramel Avenue cake:
‘I’ve investigated this much about you and I know this much.’
For most people, it would be a moment that would send a chill down their spine.
I looked down at the white cream-covered cake. The Empress wasn’t completely bluffing. The strawberry cream cake was indeed one of the desserts I often bought.
But at the same time, I also felt the limits of the Empress’s intelligence.
I often bought this cake for Lauriel. It was Lauriel’s favorite. Even Lauriel’s baby, Marilyn, would smack her lips and eat it deliciously if I put a little bit of the sweet cream on her mouth.
If the Empress’s intelligence was truly excellent, a chocolate cake sprinkled with caramel, which I actually prefer, would have been placed in front of me. Just as if this dinner were hosted by me, fruit drizzled with the finest honey would have been placed in front of the Empress instead of cake.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
I smiled brightly, picked up my fork, and ate the cake as if it were my favorite kind.
I saw the Empress smile contentedly.
And then something else was placed in front of me.
“Your Majesty, this is…”
“This is an engagement gift from me to Lady Lombardi.”
Regardless of her suspicion about Perez and me, the Empress seemed determined to win my favor. She must have been thinking of somehow building a bridge to my father through me.
Since it would be difficult to borrow money from Sheshou anymore, Angenas was looking for a new host to leech off of. And currently, the one earning the most money on the continent, at least on the surface, would be my father.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
I opened the black box, and inside was a pair of emerald earrings. The design was antique, and it clearly looked like an old, precious item at a glance.
Even though Angenas was running out of money, the Empress had money that she could manage individually from the Imperial Family. But as far as I knew, most of that was invested in Angenas’s businesses.
This was quite generous for an Empress.
The Empress smiled and cleared my doubts.
“They are jewels passed down through generations in the Imperial Family.”
Just as I thought. It seemed to be an item from the Imperial Treasury.
“Since Lady Lombardi will soon be a member of the Imperial Family, I thought it would be good for you to possess one of the Imperial treasures in advance, so I put some thought into it.”
“I am honored, Your Majesty.”
I’ll give this back to Perez later. Even for me, keeping an Imperial heirloom with no connection to me felt a bit uncomfortable.
“By the way, there’s much to discuss regarding Lady Lombardi and the Second Imperial Prince’s engagement period and wedding. When is Lord Gallahan Lombardi expected to return from Chesayu?”
I instinctively realized it. This question was the reason the Empress held this dinner and showered me with compliments and jewels.
I closed the earring box and looked at the Empress.
“Your Majesty, please don’t misunderstand my intentions, and listen.”
And I made my expression as careful as possible and said.
“My father currently has no time to focus on matters other than Chesayu. Neither physically, nor time-wise, and most importantly, financially.”
The Empress’s eyes sharpened. I had touched her immense pride.
But surprisingly, she didn’t interrupt me or scold me for being rude, as she had done with Perez.
I subtly glanced at Perez, who was sitting quietly beside me.
So, you said you were busy all this time. You’ve really dried up the Empress’s funds, haven’t you?
“But perhaps I know a place that might be able to help Your Majesty.”
“…Where is that?”
“Pellet Merchantry.”
“Pellet… Merchantry?”
The Empress seemed quite surprised by the unexpected name that came out of my mouth. And rightly so, as Pellet Merchantry had a pro-Lombardi, pro-Perez leaning. Moreover, they had a major conflict with Angenas during the Triva timber business.
“Pellet Merchantry currently has an excessive amount of cash and is looking for long-term investment opportunities. It’s not a big secret, as even I, who occasionally helps Pellet Merchantry, know about it.”
At the words ‘excessive cash,’ the Empress’s eyes lit up. Yet, she asked slyly.
“Well. I wonder if Pellet Merchantry would listen to me.”
“Although he is my mentor, Lord Clerivan Pellet is someone who can easily overlook past events when it comes to money and business.”
The Empress seemed half-convinced by my words. And she seemed to be contemplating whether to drop a hint.
Feeling Perez’s piercing gaze from beside me, I proposed to the Empress.
“Shall I ask my mentor about your intentions, Your Majesty?”
***
“It’s been a long time, Catherine, Kailus! How have you been?”
After the dinner with the Empress, Perez and I came to Poirac Palace.
“Lady Florentia.”
I saw Catherine occasionally when the Lombardi Scholarship Foundation was held at the mansion, but the last time I talked to Kailus was briefly with the Herring family at my grandfather’s birthday.
As we were talking for a moment, Perez said to the two of them.
“Bring me chocolate dessert and warm tea.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Catherine and Kailus glanced at Perez for a moment, then went outside.
“Tia.”
“Hm?”
“Now, sit down and rest.”
“Oh?…”
It was strange. As soon as Perez said that, fatigue washed over me. I must have been more tense than I realized during the dinner with the Empress.
I sank onto the sofa with a thud.
“Thank you, Perez.”
And just like that, I flopped sideways onto the sofa, stretching out.
“Tia!”
Perez, who had been slightly frowning and unbuttoning his collar as if he was uncomfortable, was startled and rushed over. His eyes were wide, and his face was rigid.
“Hahaha! Look at your face, Perez!”
“Haa. Tia…”
“It’s a joke, a joke! Did you think I’d collapse from something like this? Aren’t you seeing me as too fragile, Perez?”
When I burst into laughter, Perez ran his hands over his face once, then sat down on the floor beside the sofa where I was lying.
For a moment, there was no conversation between us. But it wasn’t awkward. Instead, that time was comfortable. Because Perez was one of the few people with whom I could ‘be like that’.
A moment later, Perez asked me in a slightly hoarse voice.
“Are you sure about this?”
“About what?”
“The Empress borrowing money from Pellet Merchantry.”
“Ah, that.”
I stretched widely and replied.
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of actually lending her money. That would mess up your plans.”
Perez wasn’t surprised that I knew about his plans, which he had never told me. Instead, his reaction was closer to it being obvious.
“Pellet Merchantry will buy the bonds for the construction costs that the Empress owes Lombardi. Angenas will then owe money to Pellet Merchantry, not Lombardi. And they’ll say there’s no need to repay it immediately.”
“Bonds, you say.”
“Then I can help you when you make your move, Perez.”
Finally, Perez turned his head towards me.
But, the distance was closer than I expected. The distance between my face, lying on the sofa, and Perez’s face.
“Ahem.”
I deliberately cleared my throat and patted Perez’s shoulder as if nothing was wrong.
“And you. You don’t have to overdo it.”
“Overdo?”
“Earlier, in front of the Empress… holding my hand. What could she say even if she suspected something? Right?”
I chuckled, but Perez didn’t. He just looked down at me with a deeply solemn face.
“Just laugh with me a little.”
I grumbled, but again, Perez didn’t react.
“Whew.”
I sighed briefly, wiped the smile from my face, and said.
“Perez. You haven’t forgotten, have you? That we’re just engaged by contract.”
Perez and I cannot be more than that. No, we shouldn’t be.
Perez’s red eyes, still silent, held only me.
A dull ache. My chest ached with a sharp pain.
“Perez.”
He had conveyed his feelings to me countless times. But I couldn’t reciprocate those feelings. I couldn’t cross that line. Because I couldn’t repay Perez’s emotions, which I could feel just by looking at his face, with a complete happy ending.
Because.
“Tia.”
Perez called my name and approached. I felt his shadow fall over my face with his movement.
Right. I was lying down just now.
A little emptily, I calmly looked up at Perez, who was half-leaning over me.
“Tia.”
Perez’s voice, heard even closer, was like chocolate. Deep, sweet, and somehow dark.
His eyes fixed on mine without a gap, Perez’s hand slowly moved. As if telling me to move if I wanted to.
His large palm warmly covered the flat area below my collarbone, where my heart was.
At that moment, I realized.
My heart was pounding incredibly fast. Feeling that throbbing against my chest bone beneath the thin skin, Perez smiled deeply.
And he said in a low voice.
“It seems you’re the one overdoing it.”
With that voice, my heart began to beat even faster.
Then Perez leaned closer to my ear and whispered.
“You don’t have to hold back, Tia.”