In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 229

After the great council ended.
Dewey Angenas and Ethan Clouse returned to the Empress’s Palace, following Empress Lavini.
Thud.
Dewey’s legs gave out, and he collapsed into a chair with a loud noise.
“It’s… all over.”
Dewey muttered, tearing at his hair.
Not only was Angenas’s territory taken, but he was also stripped of his position as the representative of the West.
“We were perfectly played.”
Dewey’s head was still numb.
“Pellet Merchant Guild, Pellet Merchant Guild…”
He couldn’t even grasp whether he should be angry or afraid.
“The Deputy Head of Lombardi is the owner of the Pellet Merchant Guild… Ha, truly.”
A hollow, bitter laugh escaped him.
“So, from the very beginning when Clerivan Pellet came to offer money, no, from the Head of Sheshou… No, that’s not it either.”
Dewey shook his head.
The reason the Head of Sheshou was needed was because the Western development project failed, and the reason that project failed was… Dewey Angenas covered his mouth with both hands.
“From where exactly…”
“Dewey.”
Empress Lavini, standing with her hand on the back of the sofa, called her younger brother coldly.
“Shut up.”
The Empress who had tearfully clutched the Emperor’s sleeve in the great hall was nowhere to be seen.
Her face was pale, but her eyes still held a fierce blue flame.
Lavini clenched her hand, wanting to tear the mouth of Dewey, who was spouting weak words with eyes like rotten fish.
Grind.
The leather of the chair screeched as Lavini’s fingernails scratched it, making a chilling sound.
“Jovanes, that cowardly apostate bastard.”
It didn’t matter when the lowly Second Prince and Florentia Lombardi had conspired.
In the end, it was Jovanes who stabbed Angenas in the back.
From the day he was engaged to Lavini, Jovanes had never been a proper spouse for a single moment.
He constantly weighed Angenas, only enriching himself, and lusted after new women.
Perez was the one illegitimate child out of countless seeds of infidelity that Lavini had failed to deal with and missed.
And that mistake was now strangling Lavini.
“I should have killed him with his mother in her womb.”
Lavini muttered coldly.
“Shouldn’t we try to talk to him nicely now?”
“…What did you say?”
“I mean the Second Prince. If we apologize for everything that has happened now, isn’t it possible he might leave us alone?”
Dewey said with blank eyes.
“Or, if we call Florentia Lombardi and sweet-talk her…?”
Then he nodded, seemingly quite pleased with his own idea.
“Do you think the Second Prince will leave Angenas alone, even if you kneel and beg for three days and nights?”
“We won’t know until we try!”
Dewey shouted at Lavini, as if in a fit of desperation, and rose from his seat.
“This is a decision I will make as the Head of Angenas. It’s no use for you, Sister, to stop…”
“Ethan.”
“Yes, Your Majesty the Empress.”
“Cut out Dewey’s tongue.”
The moment that command was given, Ethan Clouse approached Dewey with no hesitation.
“S-Sister! Your Majesty the Empress!”
Dewey shrieked and tried to flee.
But he was instantly caught by Ethan Clouse’s strong hand, and his jaw was forcibly pried open.
“H-Hooah…!”
Just as the glinting dagger was about to pierce Dewey’s mouth.
“Give it to me.”
Lavini’s white hand appeared and snatched the dagger from Ethan Clouse’s hand.
And she pointed it at Dewey’s eyes, which were filled with terror.
“Head of Angenas?”
Lavini scoffed, her voice faintly trembling.
“You, who have done nothing for the family except being born a son, dare, in front of me.”
“S-Sister…”
Dewey trembled and wept, completely ensnared by Ethan Clouse’s terrifying grip.
“You’re going to apologize to that lowly being as the Head of Angenas?”
Lavini’s blue eyes flashed fiercely.
“Then I’ll have to tear your mouth so you can’t.”
“Ugh, ughhh!”
The blade of the dagger cut a long gash at one corner of Dewey’s mouth.
Red blood gushed from the split.
“Ugh, ugh.”
Dewey couldn’t even scream.
He just clutched his torn mouth with both hands and trembled.
“Now it’s quiet.”
Lavini tossed the dagger beside Ethan Clouse.
The blood-soaked knife lay haphazardly on the floor.
“How did I get here?”
Lavini said, recalling the days she had to endure all sorts of humiliation to appease Jovanes.
And the only way to break through this situation flashed through her mind.
“Yes, it’s better this way.”
A smile that sent shivers down one’s spine bloomed on her red lips.
“I am the Empress of this Lambru Empire.”
The authority that the Second Prince and that adorable little girl had not yet taken from her.
That remained.
Lavini called for a maid who was waiting outside.
The maid’s face turned pale as soon as she entered and saw the copious blood and the Head of Angenas bleeding.
“Y-You called, Your Majesty the Empress?”
“Go and fetch Chief Maid Otuah.”
Unlike the horrific scene in the room, Lavini’s voice was utterly calm.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The maid quickly replied and fled the room as if escaping.
‘Chief Maid Otuah?’
Dewey, who had been writhing in terrible pain and focusing only on stopping the bleeding from his wound, opened his eyes wide.
Chief Maid Otuah was the one who served right beside the Emperor.
‘No way.’
And his gaze met Lavini’s, who was looking at him.
“It seems you’ve caught on this time.”
Lavini tossed a handkerchief to Dewey and smiled.
“You know what happens if His Majesty the Emperor passes away without a Crown Prince being appointed, don’t you, Dewey?”
“B-But, Sister…”
“Yes. The authority to choose the next successor to the throne lies with me, the Empress.”
Gulp.
Dewey unconsciously swallowed.
The metallic taste of blood spread in his mouth, but he was too astonished to even notice it.
“If I can’t make my son the Crown Prince, then I’ll just put him on the throne…” A moment later, Chief Maid Otuah stood before the Empress.
“You called, Your Majesty the Empress…”
Chief Maid Otua said, unable to even look at Dewey.
“Where is His Majesty now, Chief Maid Otuah?”
“He has not yet returned from the hunting grounds.”
“If he went hunting, he must be thirsty when he returns.”
The Empress placed a small bottle in front of Chief Maid Otuah.
Chief Maid Otuah bowed her head and squeezed her eyes shut.
It wasn’t the first time the Empress had placed a ‘small glass bottle’ in front of her.
“What you gave me before… there’s still some left.”
“I told you to put it in diligently.
Have you been lazy again?”
Empress Lavini spoke in a tone as if scolding a child.
“That’s not it…”
“Take it. This is different.”
At the Empress’s words, Chief Maid Otuah reluctantly put the glass bottle into her bosom.
Her fingertips were trembling slightly.
“It’s the venom of the Titian spider. This time, pour the entire bottle.”
Chief Maid Otuah knew well what those words meant.
She had suspected such a day would come ever since she began secretly poisoning the Emperor’s food at the Empress’s command.
“What will happen to my life?”
Chief Maid Otuah asked.
“You ask an interesting question.”
Then Empress Lavini said, twisting one corner of her mouth.
“Are you trying to make a deal with me?”
“That’s not my disrespectful intention! I just wanted to ensure my life would be safe even if I put this poison in His Majesty’s wine…!”
“Who was it that allowed you to rise to the position of Chief Maid?”
Chief Maid Otuah fell silent.
Although she was a maid, her family was humble, and she had only done odd jobs. Her current position as Chief Maid serving the Emperor was clearly due to Empress Lavini’s influence.
Towards the maid who bit her lip and said nothing, Empress Lavini said.
“Don’t forget that your blood relatives are still in Angenas.”
“…Understood.”
Chief Maid Otuah left those words and returned to the Emperor’s Palace.
“Can we trust her?”
Ethan Clouse, who had been quietly observing, asked.
“What if we can’t trust her?”
“I will follow her now.”
He meant he would kill her to silence her.
“Ethan, your loyalty is always pleasing. But she can be trusted.”
Empress Lavini said, sitting in a chair for the first time since entering the room.
“Even if the maid who has been poisoning the Emperor’s wine with her own hands were to betray me now, what more could she do than die?”
Moreover, Chief Maid Otuah’s family was held hostage in Angenas territory.
“The Chief Maid cannot betray me.”
Having said that, Lavini commanded Ethan Clouse.
“You return to the mansion and prepare Angenas’s troops. And when I send you a letter, bring them to the Imperial Palace.”
Empress Lavini picked up another handkerchief and meticulously wiped the blood from her hands, saying.
“If His Majesty passes away, we don’t know what dangerous acts some unruly forces might commit, do we?”
“I will obey your command, Your Majesty the Empress.”
Ethan Clouse replied solemnly.
But Lavini was not looking at him.
Her slightly furrowed eyes were directed at the blood splattered on her dress.
It was a red bloodstain on the blue silk dress that seemed indelible.
***
The sun had set.
It was quite some time after Emperor Jovanes’s carriage returned to the Imperial Palace.
Lavini, having shed the blood-stained dress and changed into a new one, sat alone.
Time seemed to bypass her; Lavini didn’t even move an eyelash.
How much time had passed like that?
“Your Majesty the Empress!”
Lavini opened her lowered eyes wide at the urgent voice calling her.
“His Majesty! His Majesty the Emperor has collapsed!”
“What do you mean?!”
Lavini shouted, checking her reflection in the mirror one last time.
She had changed her accessories to very small ones along with her dress.
An Empress adorned lavishly next to a deceased Emperor doesn’t look good.
“I, I don’t know either, a message just came from the Emperor’s Palace… You must go!”
“If it’s a false rumor, I’ll cut off your head!”
The Empress flung open the door and shouted.
The composed appearance she had moments ago, gazing into the mirror, was gone, replaced by a face startled by the sudden news.
Lavini clutched the hem of her dress and hurried towards the Emperor’s Palace.
As she neared the Emperor’s bedchamber, the Empress inwardly smiled in triumph.
The chaotic atmosphere of the Emperor’s Palace was proof that everything was going according to her plan.
But then.
“You’ve arrived, Your Majesty the Empress.”
The imperial physician was coming out of the Emperor’s bedchamber, wiping his sweat.
Then he sighed in relief and said.
“His Majesty the Emperor has safely overcome the crisis.”