In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 21

The mansion was noisy early in the morning. The employees were busy moving around even earlier than usual, and looking out the window, dozens of carriages, carrying guests, were parked on the long straight avenue connecting the main gate to the main building.
While I was absentmindedly looking out the window, someone called my name.
“Lady Florentia.”
It was Clerivan, looking particularly smart today in a navy tunic.
“Lady Lorraine just said that a merchant’s most valuable asset is ‘a trustworthy business partner.'”
“Ah.”
I had forgotten for a moment. I was in the middle of a lesson. It was just like Clerivan to have lessons even on a day like this.
“What do you think?”
Seeing me staring blankly at him, Clerivan asked again. What did I think?
“I think that’s right.”
For a merchant, a trustworthy business partner is a lifeline. And since it wasn’t something easily acquired, it was certainly a valuable asset.
“Then do you also agree with Lady Lorraine’s opinion? That a merchant’s most valuable asset is a trustworthy business partner?”
“Hmm. No, I don’t. My answer is similar, but a little different.”
“Since it’s your turn, Lady Florentia, would you like to give us your answer to the homework?”
I awkwardly scratched my cheek. There was no fixed answer to this kind of question. Everyone had different values.
“I believe a merchant’s most valuable asset is ‘people.'”
It might sound cliché, but I think this is the correct answer.
“After all, everything is done by people. All important decisions, all difficult choices, are made by people.”
I felt this anew while watching my father work this time. Originally, the Coroi textile business had been a disastrous failure that inflicted significant damage on Lombardi. Of course, such a loss was easily recoverable for Lombardi, but there was a greater loss involved: the trust of the people who had bought the unfamiliar Coroi fabric, relying on the Lombardi name. My grandfather had compensated for all losses from unsold fabric under the Lombardi name, which further exacerbated the damage to the family.
However, this time, I intervened. But since I wasn’t an expert in textiles either, I changed only one thing: I replaced Viese with my father as the person in charge of the business. This single change led to an enormous transformation.
“And as a merchant earns more and more money, they can’t do everything alone. So wouldn’t trustworthy people they can rely on become even more valuable?”
In fact, it wasn’t just commerce. The positions of emperor or family head were the same. An emperor would even spend money they didn’t have to build an academy and marry off imperial family members to influential nobles. This was all to build a strong faction on their side. My grandfather’s eagerness to gather talented individuals was for the same reason. Furthermore, my grandfather didn’t stop at bringing talented people to Lombardi; he also operated a scholarship system to educate promising individuals and cultivate new talent. All these investments ultimately aimed to gain “people.”
So, I intended to follow a similar path. The difference between my grandfather and me, however, lay in the probability. The probability that the invested talents wouldn’t perform their roles fully, and the probability that they wouldn’t become Lombardi’s people. Since the scholarship system wasn’t a slave contract, quite a few people worked for other families after finishing their studies, not Lombardi. My grandfather never said anything about it, but it must have been quite painful for him each time.
But I’m different. The people I’m going to befriend and invest in will be people who achieve tremendous things in the future. Moreover, because I know exactly what they want and what they need, they will become my people when the time comes. Not Lombardi’s people, not the Second Prince’s people, but my people.
The faces of the people I would recruit in the future came to mind. It was just a pity that my scope of action was still limited, preventing me from approaching all of them. I sighed inwardly and looked at the first person I would make my own, asking,
“What do you think, Teacher Clerivan?”
I wasn’t about to let the genius of commerce, Clerivan Pellet, who had started from nothing and built one of the empire’s leading trading groups in just a few years, go to waste in front of me or be taken by someone else. I put on a cute, bright child’s smile, a kind of recruitment appeal.
“…That’s a good thought.”
“Hehe. Thank you.”
Show me someone who wouldn’t adore a child who’s smart, cute, well-mannered, and even charming.
“Ahem.”
Sure enough. Clerivan, who had covered his mouth with his fist and cleared his throat, let his right lip curl subtly upwards. Clerivan, who had turned back to the blackboard as if to focus on the lesson again, suddenly dusted his hands and said,
“Well then, let’s stop here for today. Since it’s a special day, we’ll finish early.”
“Yay! We’re done!”
“Freedom!”
Giliou and Maylon sprang to their feet and cheered. Aren’t you two a little too happy? But for some reason, Clerivan also calmly tidied up his books.
“Then I’ll see you in the banquet hall shortly.”
As soon as Clerivan finished speaking, the twins each grabbed one of my arms and pulled me along.
“Tia, let’s go! Hurry, let’s go!”
“I’m hungry! Let’s go quickly before all the good food disappears!”
As if food would run out at an event hosted by the Lombardi family. But the hungry 10-year-olds were like snorting bison. I told the two of them to “Woah-woah, calm down.”
“The food won’t come out until I, the main character, get there, you know?”
“Oh, is that how it is? Then we have to go even faster!”
“Right! Let’s go eat all the delicious food ourselves!”
“Ugh.”
I ended up half-running, pulled along by the two of them. My breath started to shorten, my heart pounded, and I gradually felt better. Running down the long corridor of the Lombardi mansion, which felt even grander as a child, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Maylon and Giliou shouted to me,
“Happy birthday, Tia!”
Yes. Today was my eighth birthday.
The Eleanor Hall, used for banquets in the mansion, was bustling with people. The orchestra was already playing lively music, and the delicious aroma of food being busily cooked in the kitchen stimulated my senses. From the carpets on the floor and the long curtains on the windows to the centerpieces on each table, nothing was less than the highest quality. Among the attendees at my birthday party, those who were visiting a Lombardi banquet for the first time were noticeable. They couldn’t take their eyes off the magnificent paintings and sculptures adorning the high hall ceiling.
As I entered the banquet hall with the twins, I momentarily looked around as if it were my first time here, and unconsciously muttered,
“Lombardi is the best after all… What other family in this world could host such a grand and extravagant banquet?”
And for an eight-year-old child, no less.
In my previous life, my eighth birthday party was quite ordinary. I played excitedly with my father during the day, and had dinner with other family members in the evening. When I returned to my room, there were a few birthday presents waiting. Of course, those presents were much more expensive than what other families would give, but it passed quietly nonetheless.
“Whoa, this is fun!”
“There are clowns too!”
Perhaps because it was a child’s birthday party rather than a typical banquet, there were many children from other noble families, and as the twins said, there were clowns to entertain the kids.
“But why are so many people here?”
It was unlikely that all these people came purely to celebrate my birthday. Even if many wanted to attend a banquet hosted by Lombardi, it wasn’t an important enough event for dignified nobles to bring their young children. As I looked around the banquet hall to figure out why, someone tapped me on the shoulder.
“Tia, happy birthday.”
“Lorraine.”
It was Lorraine, even prettier today with her hair beautifully styled.
“The family is up front. Let’s go.”
Lorraine, who was eleven, took my hand and started walking in the direction she had just pointed.
“We’ll go too!” The twins, who had been frantically grabbing fruit provided while waiting for the banquet to begin, quickly followed behind me. However, it seemed difficult for four children to push through the crowded people to get to the front.
“Huh?”
But something strange happened. The people who seemed to be engrossed in their own conversations and laughter suddenly parted like the Red Sea as we started moving, making a path for us. In the end, everyone was conscious of us. Unlike me, who was a little surprised, Lorraine and the twins seemed accustomed to this situation. Because my father rarely participated in social activities, I had almost never attended banquets where nobles gathered. But my other cousins were different. They often attended such banquets with their parents. Just like Bellesac did last time.
As I walked towards the front under the focused gazes of the people, I saw the Lombardi family members, as Lorraine had said. Shananet, Viese, and the Laurels family were all gathered in one place. Seeing them like this, they all looked impressive. Regardless of what was on the inside, seeing the Lombardi people gathered together from afar was enough to make other nobles envious. Should I say they exuded an inexplicable aura?
“Florentia, come here.”
Grandfather saw me and smiled, saying. Lorraine let go of my hand first, and I smiled brightly, scurrying to my grandfather.
“How do you like your birthday banquet?”
Should I tell him honestly or not? But I was a good granddaughter, so I chose my words carefully.
“I was surprised. I didn’t expect so many people to come to my birthday banquet, Grandfather.”
“Hoho…”
Grandfather laughed and stroked my head, saying,
“Your grandfather called some acquaintances together. To come and celebrate our Florentia’s birthday.”
“Wow, you did!”
“Florentia, you’re still young so you don’t know yet, but among adults, sometimes who comes to celebrate is more important than the joyous occasion itself.”
How could I not know, Grandfather? I looked at the people filling the banquet hall with new eyes. Indeed, most were high-ranking nobles with significant influence. This meant that the status of the people here reflected my and Lombardi’s social standing.
“And as many people as your grandfather invited, many are also your father’s guests.”
Stripping away the parts that were softened for a child, this meant that many of these people were trying to curry favor with my father. It seemed to be the aftermath of my father’s textile business being a huge success.
“But where’s Dad, Grandfather?”
My grandfather was slightly flustered by my question and replied,
“Well… His work is running a little late. He said he’d come straight after stopping by the textile workshop, so he’ll be here soon.”
“Yes, alright.”
I preferred my father’s business flourishing a hundred times more than this kind of birthday party. Grandfather smiled at me, then raised the glass in front of him. The murmuring banquet hall miraculously fell silent.
“Alright, since the birthday girl has arrived, let’s begin the banquet…”
Just as my grandfather was about to command attention and announce the start of the banquet, the doors connecting the banquet hall to the kitchen, which had closed after I entered, opened, and someone walked in. At first, I thought it was my father, but it wasn’t him who walked elegantly across the carpet, receiving everyone’s attention.
“What…”
I muttered in surprise. The person slowly walked up to me, accustomed to hundreds of eyes fixed on them, and greeted me first.
“Hello, Florentia.”
Grandfather had said that who came to celebrate was more important than the joyous occasion itself. I wanted to look up at my grandfather and ask,
Grandfather, what happens if the First Prince, who wasn’t even invited, comes as a guest?