In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 38

Clerivan’s deeply furrowed face looked as if he had received a notice of separation.
“Um, Sir?”
“If I am insufficient to assist the young lady, I will work harder. I will learn more and gain more experience. So please reconsider.”
Like his smiling face last time, this was a completely different side of Clerivan than I knew.
Clerivan never bowed his pride before anyone.
Even in front of my grandfather, he always maintained such a stiff attitude that I wondered if it was okay.
Honestly, it was bewildering.
I asked as if to confirm, in disbelief.
“So you’re saying you want to help me?”
“No. I’m asking for permission to help the young lady.”
“Why on earth…?”
My true feelings slipped out without me realizing it.
Had I done something so big that Clerivan would react this way?
No.
On the contrary, I had moved quietly, so people wouldn’t notice or be drawn to me.
But why was Clerivan Pellet showing such a side?
Clerivan looked at me, mumbling blankly, with a furrowed brow and replied.
“Because I saw potential in the young lady.”
“Potential? Do you mean the potential that I could become a smart adult later?”
“No.”
Clerivan shook his head.
“I mean the potential to save this Lombardi.”
It felt like I had been caught off guard.
I was striving to save this beautiful family, which Viese would ruin in the future, by becoming the head.
But I had never uttered that thought to anyone.
I barely managed to compose my expression, returning to an innocent face, and asked again.
“Are you saying, Sir, that our family is dying right now?”
At my question, Clerivan flinched and corrected himself.
“Not yet. The Patriarch is firmly in place.
However…”
Clerivan, who was about to give a long explanation, suddenly cut himself off and stared at me intently.
And then, with a slightly self-deprecating laugh, he said,
“You’re testing me again, young lady.”
And then, in a tone that showed no doubt whatsoever, he said to me,
“You already know, young lady, don’t you?”
Clerivan smiled subtly.
Ah, he didn’t fall for it again.
I shrugged my shoulders resignedly and said,
“You mean Viese Lombardi shouldn’t be the next Patriarch, right?”
I deliberately called him “Viese” instead of “uncle.”
Anyway, it was more comfortable since I felt no familial affection for my father’s brothers except for Shanannet.
Clerivan didn’t seem to care about it at all.
On the contrary, he seemed pleased that I had accurately grasped what he was trying to say.
“The young lady must become the future of Lombardi.”
“What’s the reason?”
“Well, of course, Viese Lombardi is not fit to be the Patriarch…”
“No, not that.”
I cut Clerivan off.
“As you said, it would naturally be much better for me to grow up and inherit the headship than for Viese to become the head. What I’m curious about is not that.”
I smiled sweetly, as was my habit.
“I’m asking why I should trust you and keep you by my side.”
“That is…”
Clerivan hesitated for the first time.
I didn’t press him.
I just sat quietly, waiting for Clerivan to collect his thoughts.
“I am originally from Dillard.”
It was the first words that carefully left his lips.
“Romassie Dillard, the current head of the Lombardi Trading Post, is my father.”
I had known this since my previous life.
However, only a very small number of people knew this fact.
At most, it was limited to the heads of other vassal families with deep connections.
Romassie Dillard had never officially acknowledged having an illegitimate child, and Clerivan had never said that he was Romassie’s son.
I had only found out by chance while helping my grandfather with his work.
Even then, my grandfather had made me keep quiet.
He had warned me several times, even though he knew I wasn’t one to spread rumors.
To Clerivan, the fact that he was an illegitimate child raised in the shadows was a deep, unerasable scar on his immense pride.
But now, he was voluntarily revealing his secret to me.
“When I became an adult, my father wanted me to live outside Lombardi. He offered sufficient support and advised me to become an official in the imperial palace or go to another region to make a living. But I came into Lombardi. The reason is.”
Clerivan’s blue eyes looked directly at me.
“Because my loyalty to this Lombardi is great. More than anyone in the Dillard family.”
And then, as if to justify himself, he added,
“That’s not to say I have any lingering attachment to the Dillard family. I also wanted to escape the Dillard family and build my own domain, and I simply wanted to contribute to Lombardi in my own way. But…”
Clerivan furrowed his straight eyebrows, as if recalling something unpleasant, and said,
“Although I sincerely respect the Patriarch, his children, however… are truly deplorable.”
I had to admit it too.
The three sons were almost completely useless, and Shanannet, who showed some potential to be a head, was a daughter.
“Especially in Viese’s case, who acts as if he’s already been appointed the head, is there dung instead of brains in his head…?”
Clerivan, who was about to spout harsh words, glanced at me and quickly changed the subject.
“So I was disheartened, thinking that my ability to work for Lombardi would only last as long as the Patriarch was alive. I became an education officer just in case, but the result was as expected… But then I met the young lady.”
Clerivan looked at me with eyes so full of affection they seemed to overflow, and said seriously,
“Although I have not yet accomplished anything significant, I am confident that my loyalty to this Lombardi is second to none.”
Honestly, it was a little surprising.
To think that the always ice-cold Clerivan had such passion for the Lombardi family.
Well, that must be why he furiously grew the trading post as soon as he became its head, as if he had been waiting for the opportunity.
And though it might sound a little strange, in Clerivan’s appearance, I kept seeing glimpses of my past self.
The way he did his best out of affection for Lombardi, even knowing he wouldn’t be properly recognized due to his birth.
I finally made up my mind and opened my mouth.
“The reason you haven’t accomplished anything until now, Sir, is because you haven’t been given the opportunity.”
At my words, which he had only been listening to, Clerivan’s eyes widened.
“But now it’s different, isn’t it? Although it’s just one clothing store to start with, you know how big a movement my father’s business will become, don’t you?”
“Then, the reason you sent Gallahan to me…”
“I thought you two would make good business partners. It’s a chance for both my father and you to do something freely.”
“Ah…”
Clerivan let out a small, sigh-like exclamation.
I asked Clerivan clearly,
“Can you handle it?”
There was no reason for me to push Clerivan Pellet away when he wanted to become my person, even showing his scars.
No, it would be crazy to do so.
To me, still young and not free to leave the mansion, Clerivan would become my eyes, my mouth, and my feet.
He would also be my mask until I became an adult.
“It might be a little difficult to keep up with the things I’m going to do in the future.”
Clerivan’s blue eyes trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
“And most importantly…”
Finally, I asked the most important thing.
“Can you keep a secret?”
Until I was ready, no one should know about what I was doing.
For as long as possible, I had to remain just a slightly intelligent granddaughter of the Patriarch.
So that Viese wouldn’t feel a serious sense of crisis.
So that by the time he realized it, I would already have surpassed him in all aspects and usurped the position of the next head.
And I saw it.
A smile as bright as when he tied the ribbon on my sleeve last time bloomed on Clerivan’s face.
“Please take care of me from now on, Clerivan.”
At my changed address, Clerivan’s shoulders trembled once, then he carefully kissed the back of my hand.
“I will believe and follow you, young lady.”
Grand promises or oaths were not necessary.
“I will believe and follow you,” those words alone were enough.
Now that the conversation was over, I rose from my seat.
As I moved, Clerivan quickly followed suit.
I dusted off my slightly crumpled skirt and said to Clerivan,
“Tell Grandfather soon.
That you want to give me advanced education.”
“Advanced education?”
His face seemed to ask, ‘Me, to the young lady?’
“We can’t keep having secret conversations like this, Clerivan. There will be more and more things to discuss in the future.”
And a lot of them.
“So, tell him you’ll hold irregular one-on-one lessons for me as needed. Grandfather probably won’t object.”
On the contrary, he’d probably be overjoyed and laugh, “Hahaha!” again.
I walked towards the exit, leaving Clerivan, who was standing blankly, uncharacteristically.
When I opened the door and went out, I saw two employees walking towards me from afar.
I turned around and shouted loudly so they could hear.
“Then, goodbye, Sir!”
I bowed deeply.
Then Clerivan, who had come to his senses, returned the greeting and said,
“…Please go carefully, Lady Florentia.”
I smiled widely once more, as if to say ‘let’s do well,’ and then began to walk briskly.
Even to me, my steps were bouncy.
I was even humming a tune.
“Good, good.”
I gained Clerivan much faster than expected.
Now, what should I do?
In my head, a busy list of tasks for my father’s business and the Lombardi Trading Post, with Clerivan at the forefront, was forming.

“What on earth is going on…?”
Robert, the baker, stared dumbfounded at the long line of people in front of Gallahan’s clothing store.
The long queue, starting right at the entrance, stretched past the pottery shop next door and even past the shop next to that.
All the people in line were women, and they all kept peering into the store, looking visibly anxious.
“Alright, alright, we’ve prepared plenty of stock, so please be patient and wait a little longer!”
The woman who had introduced herself as Violet last time cupped her hands and shouted loudly.
But as more and more items were held in the hands of people coming out of the store, the faces of those waiting became increasingly downcast.
Just then, a man rushed out of the bustling store.
“Manager!”
The man, with reddish-brown hair and unusually pale skin, glanced at the people in line, then quickly approached Violet and spoke quietly.
“We’ll probably have to put a limit per person. At this rate, all the prepared stock will be gone in less than an hour.”
“Right, there’s no other way. Do that.”
She had expected it to be popular, but such an explosive reaction!
She hadn’t thought they’d have to limit the number of clothes a person could buy because they were running out of stock.
Violet and the store staff, who had been running around all day without feeling tired, kept smiling broadly.
She took a deep breath, then exhaled, and cupped her hands again, shouting loudly so that even the person at the very end of the line could hear.
“To ensure as many people as possible have a chance to purchase, each person can buy a maximum of two pieces! We ask for your understanding! Two pieces per person!”
At her words, those who had been greedy grumbled, but the people at the back of the line were very happy.
However, despite the staff’s efforts, all the clothes were sold out long before the closing time on opening day, and the clothing store had to close early.
And the popularity of the clothing store continued to grow, not diminishing the next day, nor the day after.