In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 222

“Clerivan!”
I ran towards Clerivan as I saw him dismount from the horse.
And then I embraced Clerivan tightly.
Wham!
Perhaps because he had been riding a horse, Clerivan smelled of wind.
“…Lady Florentia.”
Clerivan embraced me back.
“You’ve been through a lot, Clerivan. Were you scared?”
“It would be a lie to say no.”
He said that with a smile, but his body was trembling slightly, as if the tension had finally left him.
“Brother…” Lauriel cautiously approached Clerivan.
The tears that had finally stopped were flowing again from Lauriel’s already swollen red eyes.
“…Lady Lauriel.”
Clerivan, who had been quietly watching her, took out a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to her.
“Th-Thank you… sob!”
Lauriel, looking at the handkerchief she received with wide eyes, burst into tears again.
It was because the handkerchief Clerivan carried was the same one she had given him last time.
Even if he didn’t show it outwardly, Clerivan also thought of Lauriel as his younger sister.
Clerivan, who was gently patting Lauriel’s shoulder, spoke to me.
“The Imperial Knights have Violet.”
“Violet?”
I sharply turned my head and glared at the Imperial Knights stopped in front of the mansion’s main gate.
“Those bastards, really.”
I wanted to overturn everything right now.
But it’s not the time yet.
I have to wait until it’s ripe.
“Even Lady Violet… What do we do, Milady?”
Lauriel asked me with fearful eyes.
With one hand, she tightly gripped Clerivan’s clothes.
“It’s okay. Nothing serious will happen. I won’t let it.”
“But the charge is… complicity in the attempted assassination of the Emperor.”
It’s quite grand.
“Wouldn’t it be better for Brother to actively explain that he has nothing to do with such matters?”
Lauriel cautiously suggested to me.
But I shook my head.
“No. Even if he does, the Empress will just create another suspicion.”
“Then what should we do…?”
“We should target the Empress. So she can’t pull off such schemes again.”
I said, still watching the Imperial Knights confronting the Lombardi Knights.
“To mobilize even the Imperial Knights like that. It’s proof that the Empress is cornered. So there’s no need to be intimidated.”
After all, we hold the knife.
“There are only a few days left until the Grand Council. We just have to hold out until then.”
And I spoke to Perez.
“About Violet.”
“I understand. Don’t worry.”
Perez answered immediately.
“I’ll move her to the Knights’ building and protect her.”
Fortunately, the person in charge of the attempted assassination case was Perez.
Even if the Knights were divided in half, Perez had the authority to interrogate those involved in the case.
“I’m going.”
Perez said as he mounted his horse again.
“Wait a moment.”
I grabbed Perez’s arm a little roughly.
“Nothing like what happened with Bellezac should happen to Violet. Of course, I know the security was deliberately lax then, but…”
I stopped talking.
Because Perez’s lips suddenly approached mine.
I was momentarily flustered by the brief touch and withdrawal of his lips.
What did this kiss mean?
As if reading my thoughts, Perez chuckled softly and said,
“Because I might not see you for a while.”
“I’m not joking, Perez. Something really shouldn’t happen to Violet. Violet is my person.”
“I know. How much you cherish your people, Tia. So don’t worry.”
Perez said, kissing my forehead once more.
“I won’t let anything happen that would make you sad.”
Saying that, Perez moved as if leaping and mounted his horse.
And when he took the horse’s reins, I approached and said,
“Be careful.”
Outside, it was a battlefield.
I would be safe inside the mansion, but I couldn’t hide the anxiety I felt sending Perez out alone again.
Perez smiled slightly without a word and nodded.
“Let’s go, hurry!”
Clop, clop!
Only after watching Perez and his horse safely pass the mansion’s boundary and gallop away, did I take Clerivan inside the mansion.
***
The Head of Angenas’s office.
“Clerivan Pellet has hidden himself in the Lombardi mansion.”
Ethan Clouse reported to the Empress.
Though it was a space for Dewey, the Head of Angenas, neither the Empress nor Ethan Clouse, the captain of the Angenas Knights, showed any hesitation in their actions.
“Like a rat…!”
The Empress slammed her desk, grinding her teeth.
“You should have guarded that front from the beginning!”
The Empress shouted fiercely at Ethan Clouse.
“I apologize.”
Lavini glared at the silently apologizing Ethan Clouse once more and asked,
“The contract and the land collateral documents?”
“We are searching both the Pellet mansion and the trading house buildings. We should find them soon.”
“We must get our hands on them by any means necessary. Otherwise…”
Lavini stopped speaking.
With the Emperor’s heart currently tied to Angenas, that contract was their only remaining weakness.
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
Lavini muttered, nervously biting her nails.
After a long moment of contemplation, Lavini stood up.
“Are you leaving?”
Ethan Clouse picked up the Empress’s outer garment and draped it over her shoulders.
“Ethan.”
Empress Lavini turned to Ethan Clouse and said,
“The most important thing is to prevent Clerivan Pellet from attending the Grand Council.”
Because only the ‘owner of the Pellet Trading House’ could exercise the rights of the contract.
“Guard the front of the Lombardi mansion. And if Clerivan Pellet comes out, kill him.”
Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad for the Pellet Trading House to be dissolved like that.
Empress Lavini smiled beautifully.
***
“It’s been a long time.”
Craney smiled, looking at the familiar scenery of Lombardi that he had missed.
He took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of Lombardi.
“I should go and boast to Sister Tia!”
After going to the academy, Craney had grown like a fish in water.
Perhaps it was because he had read many good books since childhood, recommended by his cousin, or perhaps he was naturally intelligent.
He always maintained the top position in his grade.
“If I tell her I’ve skipped another year, Sister will be happy too!”
Now, only two years remained until graduation.
He would complete a six-year course in just four years.
A blush spread across Craney’s face.
Thump!
“Ugh!”
Just then, the carriage came to a sudden stop, and Craney hit his knee on the carriage seat.
“What’s wrong?”
“S-Sorry! Knights are blocking the way!”
“Knights?”
Craney tilted his head and looked out of the carriage, his face hardening.
Imperial Knights were looking at Craney with menacing expressions.
“What… is going on?”
Craney looked at the front gate of the mansion in surprise.
“Why are Imperial forces surrounding the mansion?”
Fortunately, the Imperial Knights slowly retreated, allowing the carriage to reach the mansion’s boundary.
“Let’s do a search.”
Then, with a brief remark, the carriage door Craney was riding in swung open.
A nervous Craney looked at the knight who opened the door.
“…Giliou Brother?”
“What, it was Craney?”
Giliou, dressed in the uniform of the Lombardi Knights, grinned at Craney.
“Huh? Craney?”
Mayron’s face also popped into the carriage.
“You’re here for vacation?”
Mayron asked.
“Is something wrong? Why is the front of the mansion…”
“Go ask Tia. She’ll explain it well. It’s nothing serious, so don’t worry too much.”
Saying that, Giliou closed the carriage door again and gestured to the Lombardi soldiers.
The tightly closed mansion gate slowly opened, and the carriage carrying Craney began to move again along the mansion’s path.
Meanwhile, Rulac was watching a single carriage barely entering the mansion.
“Father.”
Gallahan approached Rulac from behind and spoke.
“Are you going to let this continue?”
“What if I don’t?”
Rulac’s question made Gallahan frown.
“Shouldn’t we help Tia resolve this situation?”
Shananet also approached and cautiously added,
“The standoff has been going on for days, Father.”
“Are you truly worried about the conflict between the Imperial Family and Lombardi, Gallahan?”
Rulac turned to Gallahan and asked.
“Why don’t you tell me your honest thoughts?”
“Then I won’t beat around the bush.”
Gallahan opened his mouth with a heavy heart.
“You are still the head of Lombardi, Father. Not Tia. If this standoff continues, the pressure on Tia will only intensify.”
“Gallahan is right, Father. It might be good to send a letter of protest to His Majesty.”
Shananet also supported Gallahan.
But Rulac only shook his head with a stern face.
“Father!”
Gallahan and Shananet spoke in unison, but Rulac’s will remained unchanged.
“You are wrong. This is indeed Tia’s fight, Gallahan.”
Then he gazed at the Imperial Knights who were confronting them, surrounding the mansion.
“Jovanes is trying to gain the upper hand before Tia becomes the head of Lombardi. He’s trying to tame her.”
He desperately wanted to intervene, but Rulac held back again and again.
“Tia will have to overcome even greater challenges than this in the future.”
“But…”
“If she can’t even defeat a foolish Emperor like Jovanes, how will she lead Lombardi in the future?”
Rulac said that, hiding his concern.
Nevertheless, a quiet sigh escaped him, followed by a low murmur to himself.
“She has to overcome this much with her own strength.”
Days passed since the Imperial Family and Lombardi began their standoff in front of the mansion.
During that time, the Empress’s side had literally devastated the Pellet Trading House and Clerivan’s mansion.
According to Bate, all the windows of the mansion were broken, the garden was a mess, and the goods in the trading house’s warehouse were all damaged beyond repair.
They had taken out their frustration because they couldn’t find what they wanted, no matter how much they searched.
But Lombardi remained silent, with its mansion gates closed.
And finally, the day of the Grand Council arrived.
“I’m leaving.”
“Be careful, Tia.”
My father said to me with concern.
“I’ll be back soon. Please wait for me.
Let’s have dinner together, Dad.”
A faint smile appeared on my father’s face at my words.
“Let’s depart.”
“Yes, Acting Head.”
The veteran coachman, who had been driving the family head’s carriage for decades, replied with a very meaningful expression.
The carriage departed and gradually headed towards the tightly closed iron gate.
Creak.
I heard the sound of the Lombardi soldiers opening the gate after confirming my carriage.
And, as expected.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Without waiting for my reply, the carriage door swung open.
“Insane.”
I glared at Ethan Clouse, the Empress’s henchman, and said.
“Those bastards, really!”
Behind me, I heard the Lombardi Knights fuming.
But I had told them beforehand not to intervene, so no fight broke out.
Instead, I spoke to Ethan Clouse.
“To open the Lombardi family head’s carriage.
You must have lost your mind, Sir Clouse.”
Ethan Clouse slightly frowned at my harsh words.
It seemed his pride was hurt by hearing such things from someone so young.
But what was more important than age was rank.
If you want, you can be a family head too!
As I glared with cold eyes, Ethan Clouse checked inside the carriage without replying.
“Clerivan Pellet isn’t in this carriage.
You should know that without even looking.”
“…It is an Imperial order to check all carriages leaving Lombardi.”
“It must be Her Majesty the Empress’s order.”
I smiled, raising one corner of my mouth.
“Did the Empress tell you to prevent Clerivan Pellet from leaving the mansion?”
When the Empress was mentioned, Ethan Clouse’s demeanor turned chilling.
But I wasn’t someone who would be intimidated by such a thing.
I looked directly into Ethan Clouse’s grey eyes with even more confidence and said,
“Why, are you daring to block even me, the acting head of Lombardi?”