In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 192

At the mention of a successor, the vassals stirred.
“Lord, such words are still……”
“Are you going to say it’s too early?”
Rulac asked back with a smile.
“Isn’t it time for me to rest now?
It feels like every day is different.”
The vassals looked grim.
Especially those on the younger side.
The only Patriarch they knew was Rulac.
It was hard to imagine anyone other than Rulac sitting in the position of Patriarch.
A strange silence fell over the room.
“My friends, when did I say I was stepping down right now? Why do you all look so gloomy?”
Rulac chuckled.
“Come on, speak freely. Tell me who I should trust to hand over this family to.”
Another silence descended.
Everyone was lost in thought.
Then, the head of House Herring was the first to break the silence.
“How about Lady Shananet?”
Several other vassals nodded in agreement.
“Hasn’t she directly handled various matters as acting Patriarch until now?
Her ability has already been proven, so I believe she would be the safest choice.”
“Hmm. Do others think so too?”
At Rulac’s question, this time the head of House Grinich, who managed the land, replied.
“I have experience working with Lady Shananet. In fact, I always felt a sense of stability, so much so that we didn’t need extra time to coordinate. It was just like working with the Patriarch.”
“That’s right. Furthermore, Lady Shananet’s crisis management ability is incomparable to anyone else’s.”
Tolta, the head of the mining industry, agreed.
Then, the head of House Bray, who was in charge of the Lombardi Bank, spoke.
“I suggest Lord Gallahan.”
“Ohh.”
Rulac raised an eyebrow at the emergence of another name.
“What is your reason?”
“Lord Gallahan has experience governing and developing a territory, Patriarch.”
“Indeed. Chesayu has achieved significant development in a short period.”
“Yes. Even I, whose business is handling money, was surprised by how high Lord Gallahan’s understanding of commerce and finance is.”
Coming from the head of House Bray, who was usually stingy with praise, his words carried even more weight.
“In that regard, Lord Gallahan also has excellent qualities.”
“That’s right. Moreover, if Chesayu is incorporated into Lombardi’s territory, wouldn’t we be able to aim for a tremendous synergistic effect commercially? What do you think, Lord Dillard?”
Everyone’s gaze turned to Romasie Dillad, the head of the Lombardi merchant guild.
Rulac’s too.
“I……”
Romassie Dillard replied in a calm voice.
“I believe that both Lady Shananet and Lord Gallahan could be good successor candidates, but they would not be the best choice.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Lord Tolta, who was sitting next to him, asked in surprise.
“Then you’re saying there’s another option besides Lady Shananet and Lord Gallahan?
No, Lord Dillard, surely you’re not……”
Are you talking about Lord Viese?
Lord Tolta asked with wide eyes, unable to utter the last words.
“No. I was referring to Lady Florentia.”
This statement caused an even greater stir.
“Florentia?”
“Isn’t Lady Florentia Lord Gallahan’s daughter?”
“Why a young lady who is still……”
Various comments poured out from among the Patriarchs who supported Shananet and Gallahan.
But Romassie Dillard remained calm.
“She was intelligent from a young age. After becoming an adult, she successfully led various Lombardi businesses. Also, it’s not unprecedented in Lombardi’s history for a successor to skip a generation.”
“That’s true, but……”
At that moment, an unexpected person joined the discussion.
“I also thought of Lady Florentia first when the Patriarch spoke.”
It was Klang Devon, the head of the transportation and delivery business.
“Didn’t you just say that working with Lady Shananet gives a sense of stability?”
Klang Devon said, looking at the head of House Grinich who had said that.
“Working with Lady Florentia…… feels like being invincible.”
“Invincible?”
“Yes. A feeling of being unstoppable, of having nothing to fear when you trust and follow Lady Florentia.”
“Huh, that’s…….” Then the head of House Herring raised an objection.
“But Lord Dillard. Even if she was intelligent, isn’t Lady Florentia still young? And she recently became engaged to the Second Prince. Can such a person be a successor?”
This was also a valid point.
Once again, everyone’s gaze turned to Romassie Dillard.
Then Romassie Dillard smiled subtly and shook his head.
“It’s merely an engagement. Formal marriage talks haven’t even begun yet. And you mentioned age.”
Romassie Dillard looked directly at the head of Herring and said.
“Being young doesn’t mean one isn’t Lombardi. Don’t you agree?”
In short, he meant she was fully qualified to be a successor.
After a frantic debate, the conference room fell silent again.
However, this time even Rulac was silent, lost in thought.
He had expected Shananet and Gallahan’s names to be mentioned, but the mention of his granddaughter Florentia was something Rulac had not anticipated.
Rulac, who had been stroking his beard, quietly looked at Romassie Dillard.
Romassie was always the one among the vassals who best understood Rulac’s intentions and acted accordingly.
‘Is it the same this time? Or……’
Romassie had been one of the first to support Rulac when he was young, before he became a candidate for Patriarch.
After that, Rulac and Romassie Dillard had, in a way, grown up together.
Such a man had come out in support of Florentia.
It was a matter of great significance to Rulac.
At the same time, a question arose.
‘What did Romassie see in Tia?’
He wouldn’t have publicly supported Florentia in such a public setting without a valid reason.
Romassie Dillard was convinced.
That Tia was the right person to be the next head of Lombardi, surpassing Gallahan and Shananet.
‘There must be something.’
Rulac’s curiosity grew.
***
“Your Highness, it’s still too early to return to the palace!”
Regnite cried out in frustration.
Upon hearing the news that Perez had suffered a major incident, he rushed to the Lombardi mansion with Tedro and Stilley.
However, what he found upon arrival was Perez, who was still unable to move freely but was stubbornly insisting on returning to the imperial palace.
“You’re not going to announce to the whole world that the Empress tried to kill you, are you? Then you won’t receive proper medical treatment in the palace. What are you going to do in this state!”
Stilley said angrily, but Perez paid no mind.
“Fetch my sword, Tedro.”
“This time, I agree with those two. You still need to recuperate at Lombardi.”
“That’s right. You can’t even walk properly!”
Regnite sighed deeply.
Perez’s weak state came as a great shock to the three of them.
Although he had been attacked by assassins occasionally before, it was the first time Perez had suffered such a severe injury.
“Besides, you were poisoned! Lombardi’s physician is said to be very skilled. Let’s get treated for just one more day, Your Highness!”
But Perez only shook his head.
Finally, Regnite raised his voice sharply.
“Then at least tell us why! Why are you suddenly going back to the imperial palace?
When you first came to the Lombardi mansion, you acted as if you were going to set up house here, leaving us all behind!”
“It’s because of Tia.”
Perez, who had been sitting on the bed, answered as he forced himself to stand up by gripping the bedpost.
“I can’t let Tia get caught up in my fight.”
Ah, they said the Lombardi lady was with him this time.
Only then did the trio understand Perez’s sudden change in attitude.
It seemed the Lombardi lady was very precious to Perez.
“My thoughts were shallow. I should have dealt with the Empress first.”
A murderous aura seeped into Perez’s red eyes.
Not only did she send House Sheshou’s head as an assassin, but she also attached tails and even used poison.
If she wanted to kill him so badly, it was only proper to fight back with the same intensity.
But he didn’t want to drag Tia into that ugly fight.
“Perhaps it’s fortunate that I realized it now.”
It wasn’t the time to rejoice at having Tia by his side, even if it was just through a contract engagement.
Even though his selfish actions were putting her in danger.
Dumbfounded by Tia, he hadn’t even realized how irresponsible his own actions were.
“Hmph.”
Perez suppressed the pain with a sigh and asked Regnite.
“Where is His Majesty the Emperor?”
“……At his mistress’s house in the northern residential district of the imperial capital.”
“Is it a recent relationship?”
“Well, yes.”
“Then it’s fortunate that he’ll be in a good mood to hear about a broken engagement.”
“A, a broken engagement?!”
The trio asked in surprise, simultaneously.
“A broken engagement, Your Highness, reconsider.”
“If you break off the engagement with the Lombardi lady now, you’ll be in big trouble if you fall out of favor with His Majesty the Emperor!”
“The hunting competition is coming up soon. How about talking about it after that’s over?”
Perez knew better than anyone how important Lombardi’s role was in the remaining plans.
But all of that could not be more important than Tia’s safety.
However, the answer came not from Perez, but from a completely unexpected place.
“Talking about breaking off the engagement, huh.”
The surprised trio quickly turned around.
Tia was standing leaning casually against the open doorway, arms crossed.
“I dragged my body, tired to death from detoxing, to visit you, and what? A broken engagement?”
Her eyes narrowed, and she strode towards Perez.
Overwhelmed by her force, the trio stumbled back as if the sea had parted, unconsciously clearing a path for her.
“Where do you think you’re going in that state, Perez?”
“I’m going back to the palace.”
“Why?”
“No more……”
“You’re not saying some nonsense like, ‘I can’t put you in danger anymore,’ are you?”
Tia asked, raising one eyebrow.
“Surely, the ‘broken engagement’ I just heard didn’t come out in such an absurd context, did it? No, it couldn’t have.
Right, Perez?”
Perez only pressed his lips together without answering.
“I pulled out the dagger as quickly as I could. Did the poison spread to your head in the meantime? Otherwise, the Perez I know wouldn’t say something so stupid, would he?”
Stilley subtly gestured to Regnite at the incessant barrage of insults.
‘Shouldn’t we stop this?’
But Regnite subtly shook his head.
‘No. Just let the Lombardi lady do what she wants.’
He shot back with such a look.
“Perez, I’m giving you a chance to retract what you just said.”
Tia said with a sweet smile.
“I’ll forgive you if you say Estira used a strong medicine and you were talking nonsense for a moment.”
But Perez did not back down.
He only stared at her with deep eyes.
“So that’s how it is.”
Tia murmured in a low voice.
And she raised a finger, poking Perez’s shoulder, and said.
“Sit.”
Just that.
Perez, whose body was not in good shape, winced in pain and had to slump back onto the bed.
Then Tia whirled her head around, glared at the trio, and said.
“Get out, all of you.”