In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 44

I kept my eyes on her, pushing the sweet cake into my mouth.
Catherine appeared to be leisurely enjoying her tea, but her gaze was busy observing the Lombardi employees working around her.
That gaze held a warmth and happiness as if she had returned home after a long time.
At least, I could clearly tell what Lombardi meant to her.
“Tia, this is really delicious, isn’t it?”
Giliou, who was now also digging into the cake with me, said with a white cream smudge on his lips, giggling.
“Shall I get you more?”
Mayron asked, glaring at Giliou.
“No. I’ll eat something else a little later.”
“Alright, tell me if you want anything else.”
Mayron ‘thwacked’ Giliou’s hand as he was about to eat the last piece of cake and smiled at me.
Such a kind boy.
I smiled in thanks and put the cake in Mayron’s mouth.
Mayron’s cheeks seemed to be a little red.
He seemed to have grown a bit recently, but seeing that he still liked sweets, he was clearly still a child.
“Since I’ve had cake, I think I’ll walk around a bit now.”
As I said that and started to move, the twins quickly followed behind me.
It was as if I had suddenly become a mother duck with two little yellow ducklings, but it was much more natural to walk together than for a child to wander alone.
I pretended to look around at various things, slowly approaching the table where Catherine was.
“Ah, it’s Clerivan Pellet.”
As I placed a cookie in each of the twins’ outstretched palms, I overheard some men whispering next to me.
They were glaring at Clerivan, who was at the opposite end of the banquet hall.
Since it was not good for us to appear close publicly, Clerivan was keeping his distance from me today.
“He’s surrounded by women again today.”
Their conversation sounded quite disgruntled with Clerivan.
Clerivan wasn’t just surrounded by women.
In fact, even though his attitude towards people wasn’t particularly good, he seemed to have some kind of magic that attracted people, as there were many male officials who wanted to get close to him.
But well, there were indeed many women.
“Look at that grim expression. What do women see in that arrogant man?”
“Yeah, I know.”
I wanted to tell those bitter losers.
It was that face.
His face was the very reason.
But I was busy, so I just gave those men a contemptuous look and continued to move from table to table.
And finally, I succeeded in moving right next to Catherine’s table.
Now I had to talk to her.
What excuse should I make?
It was when I was racking my brains like that.
“Excuse me.”
A soft voice came from behind.
“Oh?”
Standing just three steps away from us, slowly bending her knees and bowing, was Catherine herself.
“My name is Catherine Brown.”
I was wondering how to make her acquaintance, but it was fortunate that she came to me first.
“You know us?”
Giliou asked, his eyes wide, and Catherine chuckled softly.
“How could I not know the direct descendants of the Patriarch?”
“But everyone here doesn’t seem to know who we are?”
Mayron tilted his head.
“Since the depth of affection for Lombardi differs, their actions naturally differ.”
It meant that her affection for Lombardi was so special that she paid attention to even us, who were still children.
Suddenly, I recalled a memory from a day when I was helping my grandfather with his work.
Catherine, now a middle-aged woman, had come to see my grandfather on a day when it was raining so hard she could barely see, and had a short meeting with him.
And on her way out, she walked through the mansion in that torrential rain, getting completely soaked.
Yet, she kept looking back, again and again, a sight I hadn’t forgotten for a long time.
Although she had sided with Perez and turned her back on Lombardi to avenge her family, the Brown family, she had truly suffered.
“Hello. My name is Florentia.”
I greeted her as politely and neatly as possible.
“The last time I saw you, you were just a walking baby. You’ve grown up wonderfully.”
Indeed, the affection in Catherine’s eyes when she looked at me was genuine.
First, I needed to leave a good impression by saying something pleasant to Catherine.
As I wondered what compliment she would like, the right words came to mind.
I widened my eyes even more brightly and asked Catherine,
“But if it’s the Brown family… isn’t it a family famous for swordsmanship?”
“Oh my, how does the Young Lady know our family name?”
Catherine seemed surprised but very pleased.
Catherine’s younger brother, who would soon inherit the Patriarch position from their uncle, was known to have an exceptionally close relationship with her.
Even though she worked alone in the Imperial Palace, her affection for her family and clan remained strong.
“These two always talked about the Empire’s basic swordsmanship and whatnot. So I looked it up in a book, and I found out that the Empire’s basic swordsmanship was originally called ‘Brown Basic Swordsmanship’!”
I wasn’t lying.
Indeed, ever since they started learning swordsmanship, the twins’ interest in the Brown family had also become immense.
That’s how much influence and respect the Brown family commanded among the Empire’s swordsmen.
Although the family’s prestige had completely plummeted after the disgraceful event about forty years ago when they were expelled from their hereditary territory.
Catherine too, as her family gradually declined and had nowhere to go, grew up under Lombardi’s care, and after coming of age, she entered the Imperial Palace as a lady-in-waiting.
“How excellent must the swordsmanship have been for all the imperial citizens to learn it and even name it ‘Imperial Swordsmanship’!”
As I spoke with a bit of exaggeration, Catherine’s face flushed slightly.
“You flatter me.”
Then the twins, excited, asked Catherine in loud voices,
“I-Is that true?”
“Are you really from the Brown family?”
“Embarrassingly, yes.”
“Wow-!”
It was a cheer loud enough to make several people standing nearby turn to look at us.
“Then did Catherine also learn swordsmanship?”
At my question, Catherine opened her calloused palm to show it to me.
“My training was short, only enough to protect myself.”
“So it’s true that even women in the Brown family learn swordsmanship…”
The twins couldn’t close their mouths, as if they had just joined the Brown family fan club.
“Then do you not wield a sword now? What do you do, Catherine?”
I deliberately asked about her profession.
“I work at the Imperial Palace, Young Lady.”
Fortunately, Catherine immediately gave me the answer I wanted.
In fact, she wasn’t just someone who worked at the Imperial Palace.
She was no less than the Vice-Head Maid of the Emperor’s Palace.
The position of Head Maid, held by an older maid as an honorary title, meant that the real power lay with the three Vice-Head Maids.
I clapped my hands in surprise and said,
“I’ve been to the palace too! To the Empress’s Palace with my father!”
“The Empress’s Palace… Is that so?”
At the words ‘Empress’s Palace,’ a brief shadow crossed Catherine’s face, but she soon smiled for the children’s sake.
“Yes! But it wasn’t fun at all. Except for making a friend!”
“A friend…?”
Catherine tilted her head.
“Yes! I got lost in the Imperial Palace. But…”
I spoke with the most dejected face I could manage, in a small voice.
“But I’m still worried about that friend. He said he was sick. He said he was alone…”
“Young Lady?”
Catherine called me, sounding worried.
“Hehe. It’s nothing. But isn’t it scary to work in such a palace? I find Her Majesty a bit… scary.”
As I shifted the topic to the Empress, Catherine shook her head.
“I serve His Majesty the Emperor, so I am fine.”
“Ah, I see…”
She probably didn’t mean that sincerely.
The Empress couldn’t do anything to a Vice-Head Maid trusted by the Emperor, but what must it feel like to constantly see the face of an Empress from Angenas, who ruined her own family?
Besides, Lavini would certainly know that Catherine, the Vice-Head Maid, was from the Brown family.
How smugly she must act right in front of her.
My respect for Catherine suddenly surged.
If it were me, I might have slapped the Empress a long time ago.
After that, I continued to converse with Catherine for quite a long time.
And as the banquet drew to a close, I became certain.
Her character and prudence befitting a Vice-Head Maid, her loyalty to Lombardi, her knowledge and experience in swordsmanship, and above all, the hostility towards Angenas that she couldn’t help but show at times.
Catherine was perfect as Perez’s guardian and protector!
“Catherine Brown. The Patriarch is looking for you.”
Catherine, who had been watching the Patriarch’s adorable grandchildren wave their small hands and move away with bright smiles, turned around at the sound of her name.
It was Marvin Dillard, the eldest son of Romassie Dillard.
According to the Patriarch’s will, the scholarship fund, held several times a year, was hosted by a different family each time.
It seemed it was the Dillard family’s turn this time.
While it would be more efficient for one person to manage such a large event, there was a reason for this method.
Catherine followed Marvin Dillard along a familiar path.
A moment later, the two arrived in front of the Patriarch’s office.
It seemed Clerivan, whose turn it was just before Catherine’s, was closing the door and coming out.
“It’s been a while, Catherine.”
“You haven’t changed either, Clerivan.”
The two, who had once lived in this Lombardi mansion, were well acquainted.
“The Patriarch is waiting.”
Clerivan courteously opened the office door.
“Thank you.”
Catherine smiled faintly, and Clerivan briefly bowed to Marvin Dillard before turning and walking away.
“That fellow…”
Marvin Dillard muttered softly, watching Clerivan’s retreating back.
‘Were those two that close?’
Catherine tilted her head slightly and entered the office.
Inside the room, there were only Rulac and Catherine.
Neither the Patriarch’s secretary nor the butler was present.
A completely different atmosphere from the boisterous and friendly banquet outside.
A chair without armrests stood alone in front of the massive desk that always felt enormous.
Catherine took a silent breath and sat on the chair.
“That habit of easily getting nervous hasn’t changed, has it?”
Rulac smiled at the sight and said.
“I greet the Patriarch.”
Catherine respectfully bowed.
“So, what news have you brought today?”
Rulac didn’t waste time with trivialities and immediately asked.
The reason why the Lombardi family held the scholarship fund every time, bearing immense costs.
And the reason why a different family hosted the banquet each time was precisely this.
“The Second Prince Perez’s nanny has been found dead.”
The scholarship fund was a way for the Lombardi Patriarch to look deep into every corner of the empire from his office.
It was a day for gathering information.