In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 26

I had met Lavini several times, though in my previous life. Even then, she was a stunning beauty with meticulously maintained looks, but as the empress, still in her teens, she was truly breathtaking. Yet, she possessed a coolness that matched her beauty.
“You must be Sir Gallahan Lombardi?” Lavini slowly extended a hand to my father. While women’s imperial greetings involved bringing a hand to the heart and bowing, men had two ways: the same bow, or the more formal act of bowing and touching the imperial family member’s outstretched hand to one’s forehead, a gesture rarely used now. The empress kept her hand extended confidently, and my father, after a moment, touched it to his forehead. I followed my father’s lead, but the empress wasn’t looking at me. Her gaze, slightly lowered, was fixed on my father, seemingly savoring a subtle victory.
“I came out because the carriage of my invited guest for the dinner banquet hadn’t arrived. Was there a problem?” The empress turned to the two knights and asked.
“Well, that is…” The knights were visibly flustered. They had been caught by the empress herself, having forcibly searched our carriage on her orders and then apologizing for it. Lavini’s gaze was particularly chilling as she looked at them.
“Let’s not stand here; let’s go inside. It’s impolite to keep guests waiting in the road.” With that, the empress turned and began to walk, followed by five or six maids. My father, his face stern, watched them for a moment, then, feeling my gaze, turned to me.
“Shall we go, Tia?” He must have been deep in thought, yet he offered me his hand with a smile.
The empress led us to a dining hall specially built for banquets within the empress’s palace. Lavini hosted about ten guests each month to manage her connections, and often the emperor himself attended, making the empress’s banquets a highly coveted event among nobles. However, as my father and I entered, we realized today’s banquet was different from what we’d heard. The long table was set for only five people.
“Today, I’ve specially invited only the Lombardi father and daughter. We have something to celebrate, don’t we?” The empress smiled, her large eyes creasing beautifully. It was a lovely sight, but it felt anything but beautiful. Instead, the miserable state of the Second Prince kept coming to mind, making me uneasy.
“…It is an honor.” My father politely bowed and took the seat the empress indicated. As soon as we were seated, the dining hall doors reopened as if on cue, and the First Prince entered.
“Mother.”
“Welcome, Asthana. Your friend is here today, aren’t they?”
“Yes…” Asthana glanced at me and replied with an incredibly meek expression. The idea of him and I being friends made me want to scoff, but I held back, given the setting.
“Greetings, Sir Lombardi.”
“It’s been a while, Your Imperial Highness, the First Prince.” The First Prince received my father’s greeting, then calmly walked and sat next to the empress, directly across from me. Ugh, what an appetite killer.
“Empress, I’d like to finish what I was saying earlier.” My father, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. The empress, who was calmly sipping water, paused.
“…Speak.”
“On the way to the empress’s palace today, our carriage was stopped and searched by imperial knights.”
“Oh my.” The empress feigned surprise, though it was closer to a smile. Usually, such a pretense leaves the accuser speechless, as there’s nothing to say when someone claims ignorance. But my father, unyielding, continued the conversation with a stern face.
“Members of the Lombardi bloodline are not subjected to searches or inspections within the Imperial Palace. Is that not the law?” My father’s protest was valid.
“Indeed. It is a very strange law.” But the empress merely smiled faintly at my father’s words. “Why is it that the Lombardi family alone has so many exceptions? Other families entering the Imperial Palace are subjected to thorough inspections, you know.” The empress’s tone was heavily sarcastic, but it didn’t seem intentional. Rather, her negative feelings towards Lombardi were so strong that her cynical tone slipped out unconsciously. Perhaps realizing her mistake, the empress soon smiled and added, “Of course, that’s because Lombardi is a very special family in many ways.” My father didn’t respond. He simply met the empress’s gaze, unflinching.
The tense atmosphere, ready to shatter at any moment, was broken once again when the dining hall doors opened.
“Hahaha! Gallahan!” The emperor, Jovanes, entered, calling my father’s name in a loud voice from the moment he appeared. Like the Second Prince, he had black hair and a jovial demeanor. I rose from my seat, following my father’s lead, and bowed according to imperial etiquette.
“It’s been a long time! How have you been?”
“I’m delighted to see Your Imperial Majesty in good health.”
“I always am!” My father and the emperor were of similar age and seemed to have been quite close in their youth. The emperor, with a hearty slap on my father’s shoulder, turned his gaze to me.
“Oh. So you are Florentia.”
“Florentia Lombardi greets Your Imperial Majesty.” Surprisingly, I performed well in a real-life situation, thankfully not making any mistakes this time. The emperor’s smiling yet dry eyes swept over me.
“Yes, yes. A very lovely child indeed.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Gallahan, you seem to have a sharp daughter, just like you!” The emperor seemed adept at praising people. “Now, now, let’s sit down!”
As the emperor took his place at the head of the table, servants began to bring in dishes, and the banquet officially began. While everyone was busy preparing for the meal, I noticed something a little strange. Even though he was his son, the emperor hadn’t glanced at the First Prince even once since arriving. Astana also seemed used to it and didn’t seem to care.
“So, what were you discussing before I arrived?”
“We were just exchanging pleasantries, nothing more.” The empress replied with a smiling face. My father stared at the empress.
“That doesn’t seem to be the case, Gallahan?” The emperor looked back and forth between my father and the empress. “If something is bothering you, feel free to speak your mind.” However, the emperor’s words were merely polite formalities, not genuine curiosity about what my father wanted to say. And the empress, perhaps not expecting my father to speak up in front of the emperor, calmly sipped her fruit wine.
I was angry. These two, who would be so careful with every word in front of my grandfather, were treating my father with disdain. But at the same time, the empress’s composure was justified. So I thought my father wouldn’t say anything.
But then.
“I was just informing Her Majesty the Empress about what happened on our way to the banquet today.”
It was surprising. My father didn’t back down even in front of the emperor. Both the emperor and the empress paused, their smiles frozen, apparently not expecting my father to go so far.
“What happened?” The emperor stroked his chin and asked.
“Our carriage was subjected to a search by the Imperial Knights.”
“Hmm,” the emperor replied, looking quite surprised. He then subtly glanced at the empress. “Haha, so that’s what happened.” He seemed to have a rough idea of what had occurred. We probably weren’t the only ones subjected to such intimidation tactics. I had a strong hunch that Viese might have fallen victim to the same scheme. The empress, eyes downcast, showed no expression.
“It seems… there might have been a misunderstanding.” The emperor, after a moment’s pause, said.
“They stopped a carriage bearing the Lombardi crest. It doesn’t seem to be a misunderstanding, Your Majesty.”
“…Gallahan, you seem very angry.” Indeed, this wasn’t like my father. His usually timid nature, which prevented him from speaking harshly even to employees, let alone the emperor, was completely different.
“My daughter was very frightened,” my father replied in a low voice. It was then that I understood my father’s actions. He wasn’t angry because he had been insulted, but because the knights had scared me. For a moment, a chilling breeze seemed to sweep across the table.
“Hahaha! My apologies!” The emperor burst into hearty laughter but ultimately had to apologize. However, there was no mention of the empress in his subsequent words. “Please understand the recklessness of the knights. There are sometimes those who cannot accept the special relationship between the Imperial Family and Lombardi due to their loyalty.” Ultimately, the fault was placed on the knights, while the empress, who had orchestrated everything, was conveniently left out, her actions dismissed as individual transgressions. My father, realizing this, sighed softly and nodded.
“I only hope such an incident does not happen again.”
“Of course, of course. It won’t happen again! Here, have a drink!” The emperor thumped his chest as if to guarantee it, then poured wine for my father. I pretended to drink the juice in front of me and observed the empress’s face. A shiver ran down my spine. Her beautiful face still held a smile, but her sharp eyes remained unmoving, glaring at my father. I’d known it since she tried to kill the Second Prince, but she truly was a frightening woman.
With that, the main course of the banquet began, and dishes were brought out in order. As they were served by the empress, the dishes were, of course, excellent, but still not as good as Lombardi’s. While I was making this rather cool assessment, the emperor, who had been engaging in various casual conversations with my father, suddenly asked about business.
“So, I heard the business you initiated is achieving great results?” Even the empress, who had been silent since my father’s protest to the emperor, showed interest this time. “It’s truly admirable to see Angenas and Lombardi, the two pillars of the Empire, working together!”
“…You flatter me.” Since when did Angenas become a pillar of this Empire? The emperor subtly elevated his in-laws, the Angenas family, to the same level as Lombardi. Indeed, Emperor Yovanes was currently trying to use Angenas to curb Lombardi’s sole dominance. It was also why he pretended not to know what the empress was doing to the Second Prince. However, their partnership would end in about three years when Angenas incurred the emperor’s wrath with outrageous tax evasion.
“Please continue to help the Dyurak Merchant Group, Sir Lombardi. They are just starting out and are quite inexperienced.” The empress said to my father with an extremely friendly smile. But the reply she received was far from friendly.
“As I already told the head of the Dyurak Merchant Group, I plan to withdraw from the textile business soon, Empress.”
“…What?”
This seemed to be genuinely new information, finally breaking the empress’s poker face. She likely thought that without my father, who was central to the business, it would falter. It’s a source of funds to make the First Prince the Crown Prince, so it’d be a big problem if it dried up.
“I plan to start other personal businesses.”
“That’s… quick. Aren’t you rushing too much? It would be good if you could help the Dyurak Merchant Group a little longer.”
“I apologize, but I don’t think that will be possible.”
The empress, flustered, tried to persuade him, but my father didn’t budge. “The Lombardi Merchant Group cannot keep assisting the Dyurak Merchant Group indefinitely.” In short, he was telling them to manage on their own now. The empress’s lips trembled, having fully grasped the meaning. And then, the empress’s eyes changed. Before, it was about how to manipulate this seemingly easygoing person to do her bidding, but now, that thought seemed completely abandoned.
“…Sir Gallahan, you are a very different person from what I imagined.”
“I don’t know what expectations Her Majesty the Empress had of me, but I apologize for not meeting them.” My father wasn’t usually so firm. It seemed he truly didn’t like the empress. And neither did I. From the Second Prince’s situation to her dealings with Lombardi, she was truly a terrible person in many ways.
The banquet, where it was hard to tell if the food was going into my mouth or nose, finally ended. On the way home in the carriage, my father was still quiet. He only spoke one thing, stroking my forehead as I drifted off to sleep, my head resting on his lap since it was well past my bedtime.
‘Because I have no power…’ My father mumbled, looking out the window.