In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 252

The conference room was no different from when a grand conference was usually held.
Central nobles were invited as ‘witnesses’ and sat in the seats on both sides, bustling with their conversations.
The only differences were that a round table for the five lords was placed in the center where the Brown Lord’s witness seat once was, and a high platform was installed where the Emperor usually sat.
And on that platform, a red Crown Prince’s crown, lavishly adorned with gold, was placed.
“It’s been a long time, Lady Lombardi.”
Migente Ivan approached me, who was looking at the Crown Prince’s crown with a strange feeling, and greeted me warmly.
“It’s been a long time.”
I greeted him back warmly and mingled among the four representatives.
“I heard you’re building something called a hospital in Lombardi.”
Oh, you startled me.
The large Lord Sheshou suddenly approached from the side and spoke abruptly.
Seeing the other lords looking at me with sparkling eyes, it seemed everyone had heard rumors about the large-scale construction that had just begun.
Of course, that was my intention.
“Hmm. It seems the rumor has already spread.”
“All the nobles in the capital are talking about it. That Lombardi’s new Matriarch is taking unprecedented steps.”
If Migente Ivan, who arrived in the capital the other day, was saying that, it seemed my initial goal of quickly spreading rumors about the hospital had been achieved.
I nodded and replied.
“That’s right.”
“What exactly is a hospital?”
Lord Sheshou asked.
“You can think of it as a large clinic. Anyone who is a citizen of Lombardi can come and receive treatment.” The hospital was planned to provide medical care to all imperial citizens, like the academy, but I deliberately spread rumors on a smaller scale.
“Anyone?”
But even that surprised Avinox, who was there as Lord Luman’s proxy, and he asked.
“I heard they’re barely charging for treatment. Anyone who is a citizen of Lombardi can use it… Lord Brown muttered quietly, looking a bit shocked.
I felt proud of that, but also a little annoyed.
How little did they think of Lombardi’s wealth to be so shocked?
Still, knowing that Lord Brown had no intention of disrespecting Lombardi, I shrugged once and looked around.
Then I felt countless gazes focused on me.
“They’re going to stare a hole through me.”
Do they think I can’t see them whispering about me when they’re far away?
At my grumbling, Migente Ivan, who was also looking at the seats packed with nobles, gave a slight wry smile.
“They must be on edge, wondering what kind of person the Matriarch of Lombardi is.”
Well, I didn’t not understand the nobles’ reaction.
From the moment I became the successor, until the fact that I was the real owner of Pellet Merchant Guild was revealed, I had been the talk of the town every day.
But the first thing I did after unexpectedly inheriting the position of Matriarch so early, far exceeding people’s expectations, was to build a hospital that clearly looked like it would cost astronomical sums of money.
It must have been a shocking event for the nobles who didn’t know the true extent of Lombardi’s wealth.
“That’s not all.”
Avinox, who had been listening to my conversation with Migente Ivan, spoke casually.
“It’s also out of fear of His Royal Highness the Second Prince, who will soon become the Crown Prince.”
The other lords looked at him in surprise at his blunt words, but Avinox, seemingly unaware, continued calmly.
“From being a forgotten prince born of a maid to where he is now. He’s the one who brought down the powerful Angenas and the former Empress, isn’t he? It’s only natural to be afraid.”
Lord Brown tried to stop Avinox, but I saw Lord Sheshou subtly hold him back.
It meant to let him speak.
“With His Majesty still bedridden, who can oppose His Royal Highness the Prince now? The moment he is appointed Crown Prince, he will seize an unprecedentedly firm imperial authority in his hand… Ah.”
He’s quick to realize.
Avinox’s face turned red as he belatedly noticed the other lords staring at him.
“I apologize. I seem to have gone too far again.”
“It’s just that Eastern culture is different, there’s no need to apologize.”
He didn’t say anything wrong.
The nobles were afraid of Perez, and they should be.
How many of the families gathered here had moved with Angenas?
They were lucky to have avoided the backlash, but it wouldn’t be strange if imperial soldiers raided them at any moment.
After all, an emperor who ascends the throne usually sets an example to solidify imperial power.
Because Jovanes was dying, Perez only gained imperial power as Crown Prince.
I patted Avinox’s shoulder, who had become dejected, with a comforting heart.
“His Royal Highness the Second Prince is entering.”
At that moment, with the loud voice of a servant, the door of the Grand Conference Hall opened, and Perez, accompanied by imperial knights, walked in.
The noisy conference room, which had been like a banquet hall, instantly fell silent as if a mouse had died.
It wasn’t just out of courtesy to Perez, who would soon become the Crown Prince.
It was because an oppressive aura, as heavy as a thick fog, settled over the Grand Conference Hall, making people shrink back.
“Ahem.”
Lord Brown coughed softly beside me.
Lord Sheshou also looked at Perez.
The powerful oppressive aura was emanating from him.
It was a perfect pre-emptive strike that instantly overwhelmed hundreds of nobles gathered in one place.
Perez, who had taken his seat, silently swept his red eyes over the nobles.
Each time his gaze touched someone, quite a few nobles flinched.
Now it was my turn to step forward.
I slowly rose from my seat.
Then I felt Perez’s and the nobles’ eyes focus on me.
Leading the signing ceremony was the right and duty of the Lombardi Lord, the representative of the center.
“Let’s proceed without delay.”
Then the Emperor’s aides began to move busily.
They unrolled the Emperor’s Crown Prince appointment letter on a large marble slab and nailed it down.
Then they carefully placed it on the round table.
Once the lords signed and stamped it, this appointment letter would be covered with thick glass and safely stored deep within the Imperial Palace.
Lord Brown moved first.
With careful hands, he picked up a quill pen, signed his name, and pressed his family’s seal firmly.
Next were Ivan of the North, Ruman of the East, and Sheshou of the South.
Scratch, scratch.
In the silent Grand Conference Hall, the sound of the lords moving their quill pens echoed loudly.
“Lord Lombardi.”
Lord Sheshou, who had placed the last seal, made way for me.
I took the heavy quill pen handed to me by the servant and stood before the marble slab.
[I, Jovanes, Emperor of the Lambru Empire, hereby appoint the Second Prince, Perez Brivachau Durelli, as Crown Prince.]
At the very top of the appointment letter, only a simple phrase was written in the Emperor’s own handwriting.
And below it, the four already placed signatures and seals were visible.
Still holding the quill pen in one hand, I raised my head and looked straight at Perez.
He and I looked at each other for a few seconds without saying a word.
Perez was expressionless.
He looked indifferent, as if it were someone else’s business, to the point where he didn’t seem like someone who would soon become the Empire’s Crown Prince.
He’s not being honest.
Even for Perez, at this moment, his heart truly couldn’t be at peace.
If he showed even a little joy, it would be more rewarding.
At that moment, Perez’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Only to the extent that only I in this vast space could notice.
He should have done that from the start.
I subtly smiled back and picked up the quill pen.
[Florentia Lombardi, Lord of Lombardi]
After a brief signature, I took off the ring on my finger.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
The servant waiting nearby dipped the ring in ink, and I picked it up and pressed it firmly right after my signature.
It was the moment the Lombardi World Tree took root and the appointment letter was finally completed, and the moment Perez was finally reborn as Crown Prince.
The nobles watching the signing ceremony all held their breath.
Gulp.
Someone swallowed loudly, unable to bear the tension.
After the Lombardi Lord finished signing, the servants pressed glass over the appointment letter, framed it, and quickly carried it out of the conference room.
A few imperial knights followed them.
It was to protect the appointment letter in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
Click.
The door closed, and the Grand Conference Hall was once again enveloped in silence.
Thump, thump.
The Second Prince rose from his seat and stood on the platform.
On the crimson cushion, the Crown Prince’s crown sparkled with jewels, quietly awaiting its owner.
It was around this time that the nobles began to stir.
“What’s happening?”
Someone muttered.
But it was a question that all the nobles gathered here thought of.
When the Crown Prince’s appointment was smoothly concluded, it was the Emperor’s job to bestow the Crown Prince’s crown.
The formal procedure was for the prince to kneel on one knee before the Emperor, for the Emperor to place the crown on his head, and then to help the kneeling successor rise.
If the Emperor could not do it, the task fell to the Empress.
He would kneel as a prince, and rise as a crown prince with the help of an imperial elder.
But now, there was neither Emperor nor Empress.
“Uh-oh…”
Everyone was surprised by Perez’s next action.
Perez did not wait for someone to place the crown on his head.
He reached out with both hands and grasped the Crown Prince’s crown.
And without hesitation, he lifted it and placed it on his head.
Thus, he became the Crown Prince himself.
Once again, the Grand Conference Hall was plunged into shock and silence.
From being a prince abandoned in the detached palace, sought by no one, to becoming a Crown Prince with powerful imperial authority.
It was a moment symbolizing his desperate journey.