In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 28

No! My hand roughly pushed the door, causing it to rattle.
“Lady Florentia?” Dr. O’Malley looked at me, still standing with my hand on the doorknob, and asked, bewildered. “Is something bothering you?”
Of course, it’s bothering me! You’re throwing away the letter of recommendation that should be for Estira to some unheard-of guy like it’s a blank check! I wanted to grab Dr. O’Malley by the collar and shake him, but I managed to force a smile and asked innocently, “Is something… good happening?”
Next to Dr. O’Malley, the glistening man who had been overjoyed swiftly approached and greeted me. “Greetings, Lady! My name is Jason. I’ve received Dr. O’Malley’s recommendation and will be attending the Imperial Academy!” Aside from being overly polite and friendly, there wasn’t much to criticize, but I still disliked him. Firstly, he had snatched the recommendation that rightfully belonged to our Estira, which was enough to earn my displeasure.
“Hmm. Are you the doctor’s student? I haven’t seen you before…” I had been frequenting the laboratory for some time, but this was genuinely a new face.
“Jason is a student I briefly taught a few years ago,” Dr. O’Malley explained. Briefly, a few years ago? Not even now?
“He wanted to attend the Imperial Academy this time, so I wrote him a letter of recommendation! Haha!”
“That’s truly wonderful, Dr. O’Malley’s recommendation! He’ll probably attract a lot of attention at the Academy’s research labs!” Jason couldn’t hide his laughter, imagining his future happiness. In contrast, Estira’s face was dark. Although she was forcing a smile, I could tell she was quite despondent.
“Well, then, it’s about time…” Jason subtly glanced at me and began to hint at leaving to Dr. O’Malley.
“Lady Florentia, you didn’t come because you were feeling unwell, did you?” It seemed Dr. O’Malley and Jason had somewhere else to be. Perhaps it was a gesture of thanks for the recommendation. I nodded with a reluctant expression.
“I came to see Estira. Please don’t worry and go ahead.”
“Yes, then we’ll see you again.” Dr. O’Malley left the lab with the still-grinning Jason. In the now quiet space, Estira was diligently working again, clearing teacups and tidying snack dishes from the table. I cautiously approached her and asked, “Estira, are you alright?”
Estira smiled faintly at my question. “Yes, Lady. I’m fine. If anything, I’m sorry to you.”
“Me? Sorry to me?” I didn’t understand what Estira meant. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. Although that Jason person beat us to it, if we talk to Dr. O’Malley, I’m sure he’ll write you a recommendation too.”
But Estira’s bitter smile only deepened. Something was off. This wasn’t enough to make her so disheartened.
“Estira?”
“A recommendation letter…” Estira, who had been silent for a moment, spoke with difficulty. “Only one recommendation letter for the Academy is valid per year, Lady.”
“O-one letter?”
“Yes…” Estira, understanding the situation, managed a comforting smile towards me, who was still stunned. “Next year… Next year, he’ll write one for me too.”
Seeing her forced smile, I felt a deep sense of responsibility. It was my complacency. I had promised to send her to the Imperial Academy but hadn’t properly followed through. By only moving when the application deadline was near, I had missed Dr. O’Malley’s recommendation. I looked at Estira’s slumped shoulders and said, “Don’t worry too much, Estira.” I would send her to the Academy no matter what. If I couldn’t get Dr. O’Malley’s recommendation, I would simply get someone else’s.
***
It was breakfast with my father for the first time in a while. I was diligently chewing fruit, mentally preparing for what was to come, when I turned my head at my father’s third sigh.
“Hmm…” There were deep lines between my father’s brows, a stark contrast to the sunny smile he usually wore when he was with me.
“Dad, what’s wrong?” I tugged at his sleeve, and he finally snapped out of his thoughts and looked at me.
“Ah. It’s nothing. I was just thinking a bit.” It seemed more like worrying than just thinking.
“If you’re having a hard time, it’s good to talk to someone!” At my words, my father stroked my head, as if I were being remarkably astute.
“I’ve made Tia worry too. It’s nothing big.” But if it was nothing big, he wouldn’t be sighing as if the sky were falling. I kept my wide-eyed gaze fixed on my father. Seeing his young daughter looking at him, wanting him to tell her everything, my father sighed faintly and then smiled.
“Your dad is just trying to start another business, like the textile one last time. But I don’t have experience, so I’m hesitant.”
“A business?” Now that he mentioned it, my father had said something like that at the empress’s banquet. That he planned to withdraw from the Coroi textile business soon and start another personal venture. Honestly, at the time, I thought he was just being hot-headed and retaliating against the empress. But it seemed he was serious. And to be worrying so deeply about it. I wanted to help if I could.
“Dad, that’s amazing! But what kind of business is it? Can’t you explain it to me?” I scooted closer to my father. “I’m so, so curious!”
My father, who was always weak to my pleas, pondered for a moment, then began to explain his business idea in simple terms a child could understand. To be honest, the explanation was long and complicated. My father himself hadn’t fully grasped the concept yet, and it was rambling and confusing in parts. But as I listened to my father’s explanation, I internally shouted, ‘Jackpot!’ I could feel my face flush red with joy and excitement.
My father’s business proposal was a new concept that didn’t yet exist here. But it was something I was very familiar with. If this business took root properly, my father would achieve immense success with it alone. No, I was confident that the empire’s commerce itself would develop in a completely different way.
“Dad, you’re the best!” I hugged my father tightly and exclaimed. My father, who probably didn’t think I’d understood everything he’d just explained, chuckled and hugged me back.
“Tia, your excitement gives me strength!” But it was my father who didn’t fully grasp the repercussions this business would bring. This was truly a jackpot. And then, someone who would make a fantastic team with my father suddenly popped into my head.
“Dad, Dad!”
“What is it, Tia?”
“When you have questions, ask Mr. Clerivan!”
“Mr. Clerivan?”
“Yes!”
My father had worked quite closely with Clerivan during the recent Coroi business, so he would know. He would know how knowledgeable Clerivan was about merchant affairs. Since he was of similar age to my father, he had an unusually vast knowledge of merchant groups for someone so relatively young. But for some reason, my father seemed very reluctant.
“Mr. Clerivan… Hmm…” At my father’s ambiguous reaction, I cried out impatiently, “If you have a question, Mr. Clerivan always kindly teaches you!” He might seem a little cold at first, but he won’t hurt you!
“Okay. I’ll think about it.” My father reluctantly replied to my persistent urging, but he truly seemed unwilling. Anyone watching would think he was afraid of Clerivan.
After pacifying my father and sending him off to work, I walked through the mansion to take care of my own business. My grandfather’s schedule never changed unless something extraordinary happened. The weekly routine, repeated for decades, was the same even when I helped him with his work. So, today, the second day of the week, was a morning for him to handle his duties alone, without meetings. It meant a relatively relaxed schedule.
I was heading to his office with a relatively light heart. Until I heard a terribly grating laugh from the bottom of the stairs.
“Hahaha! Estira, you want to go to the Academy?” I stopped and looked down the stairs. It was Estira, looking a bit angry, and the man named Jason.
“Estira! Do you even know what the Imperial Academy is?”
“Of course, I know it’s a difficult place to get into, senior. But I really want to someday… It’s too late this year, but someday…”
“Wait. You don’t think you can’t go because I received Dr. O’Malley’s recommendation, do you?” Jason, who had been so polite in front of me, had a completely different attitude towards Estira. Yes, I knew it was all an act. I sat down on the stairs and listened more closely to their conversation.
“You know what kind of family we are, right?”
Jason asked Estira. But before Estira could answer, he bragged, “The Plang Merchant Guild, the Plang Merchant Guild specializing in medicines.”
Ah, I knew that shiny face looked familiar somehow. That scoundrel who first instigated Astaliu and lured him into gambling was the second son of the Plang Merchant Guild. Astaliu, much younger, even called him ‘brother’ later on. Eventually, Astaliu’s gambling debts even led to Lombardi’s real estate being handed over to the Plang Merchant Guild. My blood had boiled at their attitude, as if they were doing us a favor by taking prime real estate at a ridiculously low price in exchange for debts. Thinking about that time made my anger flare up again.
“The connections I’ll build at the Imperial Academy will be my wings in the future. And you dare covet my recommendation?” Jason scoffed, looking Estira up and down with disdain, who had her head bowed. “Know your place, Estira.”
At that moment, his words, filled with derision, felt like a jab to my chest.
“You still don’t know your place.” What exactly is that “place”?
Seeing Estira standing there, unable to properly retort to Jason, I saw my past self mirrored in her. The days when I possessed superior abilities within the family but was always dismissed with “know your place” came back to me as if it were yesterday, enraging me. What had Estira done wrong to deserve such sarcasm just for saying “I want to go to the Academy”?
I shot up from the stairs where I had been sitting. And then I strode towards the office. My original plan was to ask my grandfather to get a letter of recommendation for Estira. And I hadn’t worried much about the insufficient research funds, as I could cover them with my allowance.
However, the plan had changed. Jason Plang would receive great attention at the Academy with Dr. O’Malley’s recommendation? The thought of that guy, who looked like he’d poured a whole can of hair oil on his head, flaunting the Lombardi name in front of people, made my stomach churn again.
“I need to change my strategy.” I clenched my fists and headed back towards the office.