In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 224

Empress Lavini frowned.
Not to trust the Imperial Family.
Although it was through marriage, Lavini herself was undeniably a member of the Imperial Family.
Croyton Angenas continued to relay the message.
“The cruelty of those who sit on the throne is to cast aside even the Brown family, who pledged their utmost loyalty, with a single word.”
It was nothing short of a contradictory situation.
Angenas had once enticed the Emperor to push out and kill the Brown family.
But now, they stood on the opposite side, having to observe the direction of the Emperor’s heart.
“The only eternal ally of the Durelli Imperial Family is Lombardi. Do not stake Angenas’s fate on the Emperor’s fleeting goodwill, which comes and goes like waves.”
Lavini stood still for a moment, saying nothing.
As if she hadn’t heard Croyton’s story.
She stood looking at the dry branches swaying back and forth with the wind.
And after leaving one remark, she turned around and returned to the meeting room.
“It’s already too late.”
At those words, mixed with the cold wind, Croyton Angenas involuntarily chuckled.
‘Angenas is already too late.’
Because that was his father’s true last words.
‘So, Croyton, you too, leave Angenas immediately.’
But Croyton, left alone in the central courtyard, shook his head.
“Where would I go if I left Angenas, Father?”
His grizzled hair swayed in the winter wind.
One who inherited the blood of Angenas would only live and die with the name of Angenas.
***
At the same time, in the waiting room next to the Grand Council Hall.
Emperor Jovanes entered the waiting room with a look of utter annoyance.
He only thought of quickly finishing the tiresome and burdensome Grand Council schedule and going hawking in the afternoon.
Clink.
Then, a small sound caught Jovanes’s attention.
“There was already a guest.”
Jovanes said in a displeased voice.
He was already in a bad mood and disliked having to share this space with someone else.
“I was having a cup of tea before the meeting began, Your Majesty.”
The guest was Perez.
“I dislike seeing the faces of all the nobles who will fill the meeting room.”
At Perez’s words, the annoyed wrinkles on Jovanes’s face smoothed out a little.
“A young prince like you shouldn’t be thinking such things already.”
Jovanes said that feigning dignity, but he was actually thinking the same thing as Perez.
That was why his mood had been at rock bottom before the Grand Council.
Jovanes, who had originally intended to sit separately from Perez, sat in front of the Second Prince as if doing him a favor.
“I made a mistake due to my frustration, Your Majesty.”
Perez said calmly, naturally placing an empty teacup in front of the Emperor.
And he continued,
“But I don’t know how Your Majesty has been doing this for decades. Are they not people who only want to receive without giving anything to the Imperial Family?”
Pour.
The sound of tea being poured quietly echoed.
“I can’t help but feel respect for Your Majesty.”
“Haha, the Prince is flattering me!”
Jovanes burst into satisfied laughter and brought the teacup to his lips.
Then he paused, stopped his action, and asked Perez,
“What kind of tea is this, Second Prince?”
“It’s a tea blended with various tea leaves that help calm the mind and aid in sleep.”
“Oh, really?”
Jovanes looked into the light brown tea and sniffed it.
The tea had a fragrant floral scent mixed in, making it quite enjoyable.
Jovanes cautiously brought the teacup to his lips.
“I also drink it often when I want to calm my mind.”
Since the Second Prince also drinks it regularly, it must be trustworthy.
Jovanes relaxed and began to drink the tea.
“You look very tired, Your Majesty.”
Perez said in a somewhat dry voice.
However, Jovanes rather liked that point.
Perez didn’t overly try to curry favor like others.
Instead, his tone was a bit impudent, but Jovanes didn’t mind that either.
He thought it was not good for the Emperor’s son, the master of the Empire, to be overly concerned with what others thought.
“As the Second Prince says, there is never a day when this position of Emperor brings peace of mind.”
Jovanes said, taking a large sip of tea.
Perhaps it truly had a calming effect, as Perez had said.
The more he drank the tea, the more languid he felt.
Then Jovanes and Perez’s gazes met.
“It seems the Prince has something to say to me.”
At those words, Perez raised an eyebrow as if surprised.
“Did you not think I would notice?”
“It seems my true feelings were revealed without me realizing it.”
“Haha. Though I may be indifferent, I am not an unobservant Emperor.”
Perhaps because he was drinking a tea he liked after a long time.
Jovanes rarely smiled generously.
“What do you wish to say, Prince?”
Perez looked as if he was contemplating for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“Could you dismiss those around us?”
Jovanes lightly waved a hand, dismissing the attendants outside.
Otuah, the head maid, and others who had been waiting outside all retreated from the waiting room.
Finally, when only the two of them remained, Perez spoke.
“Before the Grand Council begins, there is something I must inform Your Majesty.”
“Speak.”
“Before that.”
Perez poured another cup of warm tea into Jovanes’s teacup, which was now almost empty.
“Please savor the tea a little more.”
Pour.
The sound of tea being poured echoed once again.
“Your Majesty’s heart will be greatly disturbed when you hear the story.”
Perez said with a faint smile, as subtle as the tea’s aroma.
***
The last path leading to the Central Palace where the Grand Council was held.
There, Lombardi’s carriage stood surrounded by Imperial Knights.
“Haha.”
Lambert Lombardi laughed chillingly, looking at the knights blocking their way.
That alone made the shoulders of the confronting knights flinch slightly.
“I stayed in the mansion and only trained.”
His voice was laced with amusement, but the murderous intent and anger within it were enough to send shivers down everyone’s spines.
“Has Lombardi changed in that time, or has the world gone mad?”
His brown eyes swept over each knight.
And finally, he looked at the one standing at the very front of the Imperial Knights.
“What do you think, Ethan Clouse?”
“I will check the cargo hold.”
“As expected, beasts cannot understand human words.”
Lambert Lombardi slowly gathered his aura and said,
“How many times do I have to tell you that’s only possible if you defeat me?”
Less than ten Lombardi knights were surrounded by over thirty Imperial Knights and Ethan Clouse.
Lombardi was already outnumbered, but the atmosphere between the two confronting forces was the exact opposite.
It was Lombardi who was more imposing.
“What, why are they so weak?”
Giliou said askance, looking at the Imperial Knights.
“Captain, should we just push through and go?”
Mayron, like Lambert Lombardi, scanned each Imperial Knight and chuckled.
But even with such words and actions, the Imperial Knights could not protest.
“Damn it.”
It was because the Lombardi Knights’ martial prowess far surpassed that of the Imperial Knights.
What Mayron said was not mere bravado.
If they truly put their minds to it, all the Imperial Knights present would either be incapacitated or suffer severe injuries.
Excluding the other Lombardi knights, Ethan Clouse would likely be the only one who could even parry Lambert Lombardi’s sword once.
“This is Imperial territory. So, you there.”
Lord Lambert Lombardi pointed with his chin at an Imperial Knight standing next to Ethan Clouse.
“Are you the Vice-Captain of the Fourth Knight Order?”
“Y-Yes… Yes, I am.”
“What do you think, Sir? Angenas’s hunting dog says he must open the Lombardi carriage and check the cargo hold.”
“W-We…”
The Vice-Captain, caught between Lambert Lombardi and Ethan Clouse, answered with a ‘what the heck’ attitude.
“It’s an Imperial order to check the cargo hold of the Lombardi carriage!”
“Why?”
“For security reasons!”
“You’re good at making excuses.”
Lambert Lombardi chuckled, feeling his patience slowly reaching its limit.
“Captain, he’s starting to laugh.”
“Oh no.”
“We can’t stop him now.”
The twins, well aware of Lambert Lombardi’s peculiar habit of smiling more as he got angrier, clicked their tongues in sympathy for the Imperial Knights.
Meanwhile, Ethan Clouse was convinced.
‘Clerivan Pellet is inside.’
The Grand Council would begin shortly.
The only reason for this prolonged standoff was that Clerivan Pellet was hiding in the cargo hold.
‘Perhaps dragging out the time like this to prevent him from attending the Grand Council is also a method.’
Ethan Clouse thought so and glared at Lambert Lombardi.
It was then.
“Lord Lombardi.”
Florentia Lombardi’s voice was heard from inside the carriage.
“Yes, Acting Head.”
“Tell them to look.”
Everyone outside the carriage was surprised.
Especially Ethan Clouse, who was convinced that Clerivan Pellet was hiding in the cargo hold, his eyes wavered greatly.
“…Are you sure?”
Lambert Lombardi asked, not taking his eyes off Ethan Clouse.
“It’s unpleasant, but I’ll hold Angenas accountable for it later.”
Her voice was calm.
“It would be embarrassing to be late for my first Grand Council meeting with His Majesty after becoming the acting head, wouldn’t it?”
“…Understood, Acting Head.”
Lambert Lombardi gestured to the Vice-Captain.
“Vice-Captain, check it.”
The Vice-Captain, swallowing hard, slowly approached the carriage.
At the same time, the aura of the Lombardi Knights watching his movements grew sharper.
The atmosphere suggested that if he tried anything foolish with the carriage carrying the acting head, his wrist would be immediately severed.
Creak.
With a small sound, the carriage’s cargo hold opened.
And.
“Oh, there’s nothing. Nothing at all.”
The knight said.
“Move.”
Ethan Clouse couldn’t bear it and shoved the Vice-Captain aside, stepping forward.
And what he saw was indeed an empty cargo hold of the carriage.
“This is…”
Did this really mean Clerivan Pellet wouldn’t attend the Grand Council?
It was when Ethan Clouse’s face hardened, unable to hide his bewilderment.
“You’ve checked, so is that enough now?”
The Lombardi acting head said from beyond the closed carriage door.
“Let’s go. We’ll be late at this rate.”
Ethan Clouse, still looking at the empty cargo hold with bewildered eyes, raised his head.
And through the window, he could see Florentia Lombardi’s profile.
‘She’s… smiling?’
The Lombardi acting head was smiling.
A strong sense of foreboding suddenly shook Ethan Clouse’s head.
Something was wrong.
But Lombardi’s carriage had already started moving towards the Grand Council Hall.
There was no longer any justification to block their way.
Whatever the Lombardi acting head had prepared.
It was already too late to stop Lombardi.

“I apologize for being late, Your Majesty. There was a small commotion on the way to the palace.”
I barely managed to enter the Grand Council Hall at the last possible moment to avoid being late.
The Emperor, Perez, and even the Empress were already waiting for the meeting to begin, so that said it all.
But I didn’t apologize.
I could tell just by looking at Jovanes, who didn’t ask me ‘what commotion it was.’
The Emperor already knew what the Empress was up to. I sat in my seat with a blank expression.
And when I glanced at Perez, I saw him nod briefly.
It meant he had successfully had a private audience with the Emperor.
Good, then everything is ready.
“The Grand Council will now begin.”
It was when Jovanes, who had stood up, declared that.
My eyes met the Empress’s.
Seeing me enter alone without Clerivan, she seemed to be expecting an easy victory, sitting comfortably.
She even gave me a relaxed smile.
She must have thought I would be upset.
“To be so complacent already.”
Knowing the future of the Empress and Angenas, which the Empress herself didn’t know, I couldn’t help but smile.
My lips quietly formed an arc.
As I silently smiled at her, Empress Lavini’s blue eyes trembled uneasily.
The smile gradually faded from her beautiful face.
Then, there was a heavy thud.
It was the sound of the meeting hall doors closing.
It was also the sound of the trap I had meticulously set for a very long time, ‘clunking’ shut.