In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 254

“…Haa.”
A large sigh, the accumulated tension, burst from my lips as I plopped down onto the plush sofa.
The Crown Prince’s appointment ceremony was over.
Perez and I were on our way back to Phorak Palace.
Perez, sitting opposite me, had long since taken off the crown he had worn.
Now, as if the buttons fastened up to his neck were uncomfortable, he was roughly unbuttoning them.
My posture, slumped deep in the chair, was also far from dignified or formal.
At least in this space, just the two of us, Perez and I could breathe a little easier.
But my heart wasn’t that comfortable.
“Crazy. I did it. I really did it.”
I covered my face with both hands and muttered.
Announcing our relationship at the Crown Prince’s appointment ceremony was already a decided matter.
But the exhaustion that came after actually doing it weighed down my body like water-soaked cotton.
“Hmph.”
As I sighed again, I saw Perez’s face through the gaps in my hands.
Unlike me, who was exhausted, he had a very calm expression as he brought a glass of water to his lips.
“Perez.”
My voice came out a little crooked.
“Why are you so fine?”
It was roughly similar to saying, ‘Why do you look like that?’
I knew it wasn’t right to suddenly speak in a somewhat quarrelsome tone.
But it was also true that his perfectly fine appearance was a little annoying.
Perez, who was about to drink water, stopped abruptly and looked at me.
“Fine?”
Perez tilted his head slightly and asked me back.
Then he said slowly.
“I’m feeling quite sad right now.”
“S-sad?”
My heart sank.
He had just gathered hundreds of nobles and threatened them in every way, declaring that he would marry me.
And now he’s sad?
“You, you… Perez, you…”
I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I couldn’t even speak properly.
“How can you say such a thing?”
Doesn’t ‘sad’ mean he regrets it?
I had heard of something called ‘marriage blues’ that people experience before entering the wedding hall.
But to regret it so quickly.
My mind was tangled like a ball of yarn played with by a cat.
Click.
The sound of Perez placing the glass on the table echoed a little loudly.
And he walked towards me, step by step.
His footsteps seemed louder than usual today.
Perez, standing in front of me, who was sitting on a single sofa, placed his hands on both armrests.
And slowly leaned towards me.
“Tia.”
Was it my imagination that his low voice seemed to contain a deep sigh?
“Wh-what is it?”
He said he regretted it just a moment ago!
As Perez came closer, I tried to ignore my pounding heart and maintained an angry expression.
Perez, looking at my face, said briefly.
“Two years.”
Two years?
I blinked, not understanding the sudden word.
Then Perez’s red eyes looked straight at me and said in an even lower voice.
“I have to wait two more years.”
“Are you talking about the engagement period now?”
Perez didn’t answer, but his eyes, staring at me, answered instead.
“There’s nothing we can do.”
I said, as if comforting him.
“Craney has to graduate from the Academy and come back before I can entrust him with the family’s affairs.
Only then can I do well in both imperial and Lombardi matters.”
“I know.”
Perez answered immediately.
“And it’s common for nobles to have a certain engagement period.”
But Perez wasn’t listening to any of my explanations.
His gaze was busy scanning my face.
“Two years…”
Perez sighed again.
His red eyes grew even redder, as if a spark was about to ignite.
I had to stop here.
A kind of alarm system, developed through several past experiences, was ringing an alarm in my head.
“Perez.”
“Hmm?”
“Your eyes look a bit… off?”
I thought Perez would say, ‘Do they?’ and then awkwardly back away.
But he…
“…Tia?”
And he even smiled mischievously.
Perez’s right hand slowly stroked down my arm.
The destination was my left hand, which was holding the armrest of the chair.
With his hand secretly digging into my palm, I narrowed my eyes and said.
“Wolf.”
Then he kissed the back of my hand deeply and widened his smile.
“Thank you.”
Thump.
My heart finally skipped a beat.
Perez’s body heat, felt close by, seemed to bind me, making me unable to move.
Unable to bear it, I sprang up from my seat and walked to the window.
The subtle cold air felt through the closed window touched my flushed face, and the heat seemed to subside a little.
“First, leave the preparations for the Crown Prince’s appointment celebration, which is in a week, to Catherine.”
After a few deep breaths, a fairly normal voice came out.
Satisfied with that, I turned around.
“I’ll be busy with Lombardi’s affairs for a while, so I can’t even worry about the banquet.” Perez was already right behind me.
“You, you…”
I staggered back half a step, but my waist hit the window sill.
“Tia.”
Perez called my name softly and wrapped his arms around my waist.
How did he know I was weak to that voice!
Perez, who had slowly wrapped his arms around my waist, slowly pulled me closer with his firm hands.
His long eyelashes were lazily lowered, and his lips were loosely parted.
He was pretending to be perfectly calm, but I could read it.
The longing for me and the undisguised anxiety in his red eyes.
“Ah, really…”
Finally, I uttered words of surrender and wrapped my arms around Perez’s neck, pulling him closer.
His low chuckle was clearly transmitted through our touching bodies.
***
A few days later.
“How did grandfather manage all this?”
The duties of the Lord were unbelievably busy.
Of course, grandfather must have had the weapon of experience and wisdom that I lacked.
But the fact that grandfather’s complexion was getting better day by day after handing over the Lordship to me and entering full retirement probably meant that this immense workload was the problem.
“Still, it’s a relief that everyone is doing well.”
I muttered that and neatly stacked the documents I had approved for the day on one side of the desk.
The members of Lombardi were doing their best in their positions, to the point where only I needed to do well.
To ruin such a solid family in just a few years.
Viese in my previous life might have been quite remarkable in his own way.
Knock, knock.
At that moment, a soft knock sounded.
“Matriarch, it’s Johan.”
“Come in.”
At my words, Johan, the butler, opened the door and entered, followed by Bate.
Bate had recently successfully launched a restaurant and was starting to make a name for himself as a successful restaurateur.
But that was just the outward appearance.
Lately, Bate had been cheering that more high-quality information was pouring in since opening the restaurant than money.
“What brings you here?”
At my question, Bate glanced at Johan once, then bowed respectfully and said.
“I delivered the special steak course you reserved at our restaurant to the mansion’s kitchen the other day. You should be able to enjoy it on warm plates soon.”
I had never made such a reservation.
That meant there was urgent news that needed to be conveyed, even disguised as a delivery.
“I happen to be a bit hungry. Could you bring the food, Johan?”
I sent Johan out of the office.
With a click, the door closed, and as Johan’s footsteps faded away, Bate shed his calm demeanor and said.
“Do you remember me telling you that we found the person who murdered His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s wet nurse a while ago?”
I nodded.
She had been dragged away by the Empress’s orders, leaving young Perez alone in the detached palace.
And she was found at the Serves River dock in the South, wasn’t she?
“But that person said something strange.”
“Strange thing?”
Bate took a step closer to the office desk and lowered his voice even further.
“He said it wasn’t the former Empress who murdered His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s mother.”
“Not the Empress?”
I shook my head.
“If it wasn’t Lavini, no one else had a motive to kill Perez’s mother.
She was a quiet maid of common birth.”
“That… the Crown Prince’s wet nurse apparently said that, crying, before she died.”
After all, she was the wet nurse who had served Perez and his mother right by their side.
If it came directly from her mouth, it had credibility.
I asked Bate.
“Who did he say killed her?”