In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 191

My body felt heavy.
But I strained to lift my eyelids.
The sight that greeted me, fortunately, was my bedroom at home.
And I felt a large hand tightly gripping my left hand.
“……Perez.”
It was Perez, wrapped in bandages all over his body, sleeping face down on my bed.
“Are you awake?”
“Ah, Estira.”
I tried to smile, happy to see Estira after a long time, but even that wouldn’t obey me.
I was so tired, as if I had worked for several nights straight.
“Your body feels very heavy, doesn’t it? It’s a symptom that appears as the Titie poison detoxifies.”
Estira spoke as if reading my mind.
“This one…… why is Perez here?”
He was a more serious patient than I was.
“His Highness the Prince has been here ever since he woke up a few hours ago. No matter how much we tell him to lie down in his room, he won’t listen.”
Estira explained with a bitter smile.
“Perez…… is he okay?”
“The bleeding was severe, but fortunately, the sword didn’t hit a vital spot. An Aura user’s recovery ability is incomparable to that of a common person, so His Highness will recover quickly. Perhaps even faster than Lady Florentia.”
“……Even though I just got a small cut on my finger?”
“His Highness is a person who has transcended human limits in many ways.”
Indeed.
He’s someone who wields mana, which people like me can’t even sense, as if it were his own limbs.
Sometimes, I forget how amazing Perez is.
I tore my gaze away from Perez, who was sleeping as if unconscious, and looked up at the ceiling.
It was to clear my thoughts.
“The mastermind is clearly the Empress.”
The most important thing was who that skilled person was, who attacked us first.
There was a strong suspicion.
“House Sheshou’s head.”
Among those who wielded swords near the imperial capital, he was the only one skilled enough to contend with Perez.
Considering his actions, such as not attacking immediately but subtly giving them time, it had to be Chanton Sheshou.
“And the rabble behind them must be the surveillance team sent by the Empress.”
To watch if House Sheshou’s head handled the job properly or not.
And to ensure a definite finish by using poison.
At that moment, Estira approached, wiped my face with a damp cloth, and said.
“As Lady Florentia said, it was a huge relief that you had prepared various antidotes in advance.”
“Thank you, Estira.”
“You…… expected something like this, didn’t you?”
To a sad-voiced Estira, I responded with a smile instead of words.
I had prepared for it just in case, as the Empress was fond of using poison.
“……I’ll make antidotes for rarer and stronger poisons in the future. That’s all I can do for you.”
Estira sighed softly.
Just then, the bedroom door opened cautiously.
“Dad.”
“……Tia.”
My father seemed a little surprised to see me awake.
And his gaze quietly took in Perez, who was asleep holding my hand.
“Shall we talk for a moment, Tia?”
My father asked me with a weak smile.
***
Estira took Perez out.
Normally, he would have already sensed my father entering and opened his eyes.
But Perez, whose body was clearly not in a good state, could only move after being shaken awake several times.
I smiled and waved at him as he looked back at me until the door closed.
“How are you feeling?”
That was the first thing my father asked after we were left alone in the bedroom.
“I’m fine. Just tired.”
My father sat in the spot where Perez had been lying.
And he spoke in a voice so faint it seemed it would extinguish with a puff.
“I thought something bad had happened to you, Tia.”
“Dad……”
“When I saw you collapsed, my heart truly stopped.”
My father nervously ran a hand over his face.
“I’m fine now. Estira said I’ll be fine after a little rest.”
“……Well. I don’t know, Tia. I don’t know if you’ll truly be okay.”
I knew immediately.
My father was no longer talking about this incident.
“I’m sorry, Dad.”
This was all I could say.
My father quietly looked at my face and then said.
“You don’t have to go this far, Tia.”
My father was in distress.
“An engagement for the family, and because of that, an accident like today…… My father already knew exactly why today’s incident occurred.
“I’ve taken measures to ensure that today’s incident doesn’t reach grandfather’s ears.
But it won’t last long. An assassin sent by the Empress infiltrated Lombardi’s land.”
My father’s voice also sank low.
“But the Empress is becoming desperate enough to commit such an act, even in Lombardi territory. Since this attempt failed, she’ll try something else. It will become increasingly extreme. She’ll do anything to make her son emperor.”
My father accurately understood what Empress Lavini was like.
“Tia.”
My father’s kind eyes were clouded with worry.
“Let’s go to Chesayu.”
“……Pardon?”
“Chesayu is developing day by day. The port has now been established, and it still has much potential for growth. You’ll really like it, Tia.”
“Are you saying we should leave Lombardi now?”
My father smiled bitterly at my question.
“Lombardi is a great family.”
My father said, looking up at the World Tree beautifully adorning the ceiling.
“But that greatness sometimes consumes the members who make up the family. Families lose their bonds, and couples don’t know love.”
My father’s green eyes met mine again.
“I want you to live a happy life, Tia. Not as fertilizer sacrificed for the growth of this World Tree, but as someone who puts down her own roots.”
“Dad……”
“Let’s go to Chesayu together, Tia.”
This was the first time I had seen my father like this.
He was afraid.
“I can’t live if I lose you too.”
Looking at my father’s face, for the first time since my regression, I hesitated about my decision.
I wanted to hold my father’s hand, who was afraid of something dangerous happening to me.
And settle down and live in a safe and peaceful place.
Such an impulse arose.
But I looked up at the World Tree on the ceiling that my father had gazed at, and remembered something I had momentarily forgotten.
The iron gate of the mansion being sealed by imperial soldiers in my previous life.
My helpless self standing in front of it.
The half-hearted rage of failing to protect the family.
I tore my eyes from the World Tree and looked at my father.
And I said.
“Dad, I’m going to be the head of Lombardi.”
My father’s green eyes, so like mine, trembled greatly.
“And I intend to succeed grandfather.”
“Tia, that’s……”
“Aunt Shananet has stubbornly said several times that she has no intention of succeeding as head. It’s a choice for her twins’ lives. Just like you are doing for me now, Dad.”
My father’s slightly open mouth closed again.
“And you can’t inherit Lombardi, Dad. Because you have Chesayu.”
My father didn’t deny it.
Chesayu was like a young child just starting to walk, unlike Lombardi.
My father was busy day and night just taking care of Chesayu and helping it grow.
“Then the only one left is Uncle Viese.”
I couldn’t bear to see that.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I’m going to be the head of Lombardi.”
I said it clearly once more.
My father wasn’t surprised.
“Tia, I vaguely thought you might have such intentions, but……” My father looked at me with sad eyes for a long time.
And at some point, he smiled weakly.
He seemed to have realized that no words could break my will.
“Right. My daughter had such a dream.”
My father murmured in a low voice.
And looking at me, he said.
“You would make a great head, Tia. My daughter would lead Lombardi better than anyone else.”
Thump.
My heart pounded at my father’s words.
It was the first time anyone had said such a thing to me.
You would lead Lombardi well.
Those words sounded sweeter than any others in the world.
I couldn’t suppress the smile that welled up from deep within.
“Thank you, Dad.”
I said, smiling brightly at my father.
“Thank you for believing in me.”
My father gently stroked my head as I lay there.
It was the same gentle and warm touch as when I was a child.
***

The room next to the Lombardi Patriarch’s office.
The great conference room was filled with people for the first time in a long while.
A meeting where all of Lombardi’s vassals gathered was being held.
Many people were seated, but the conference room was silent.
Rulac opened his mouth to the vassals who sat around the long table, looking at him.
“Thank you all for coming despite your busy schedules.”
Rulac slowly observed each familiar face.
From young people to those with deep wrinkles of old age.
These were the people who made Lombardi, Lombardi.
Rulac spoke in a resonant voice.
“Today, I called you here because I want to hear your honest thoughts on the successor to the Patriarch.”