In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 45

“Dead?”
Rulac asked again, half-raising himself from the back of his chair.
“Yes. She was found two days ago in the lower reaches of the Servez River in the south.”
“If she was found by the water, it would be difficult to identify her, wouldn’t it?”
“She was found by the river, but the cause of death was not drowning. Her hands were tied…”
“She was disposed of in an uninhabited part of the river, then.”
Rulac tutted.
“What should we do?”
Catherine asked cautiously.
“Now that the nanny has been confirmed dead, what should we do next… Her complexion was very poor as she murmured.
The Second Prince had disappeared from the Imperial Palace where she worked, and his whereabouts had been unknown for a long time.
It seemed Catherine felt a considerable sense of responsibility for this matter.
“Catherine.”
“Yes, Patriarch.”
“You simply need to live your life. If you happen to learn information that might be useful to Lombardi, just remember it and tip me off.”
“But…”
Catherine gripped the hem of her dress so tightly that it creased.
“Did others hear anything, Patriarch?”
Asking about information brought by others was forbidden in this place.
The members of the scholarship fund were only meant to bring back small pieces, as it was the Patriarch’s domain to piece them together.
Knowing that well, Catherine bravely asked.
“I have no other intentions. It’s just that the Second Prince’s whereabouts are that important to the Patriarch, aren’t they…”
Rulac, knowing her thoughtful heart, did not reprimand her harshly.
He merely nodded, acknowledging that her words were correct.
“Isn’t it rather amusing, Catherine? For a mere child, a prince with no presence, to become so necessary to me.”
It was a self-deprecating remark tinged with a hollow laugh.
The reason Rulac was searching for the Second Prince was simple.
To keep Angenas, that is, Empress Lavini, in check.
The most absolute card the Empress held was that she was the mother of the Emperor’s legitimate and only son.
The Emperor certainly had another son, but he was as good as non-existent.
The Emperor’s attitude of feigning ignorance about his own offspring only made the Empress’s influence grow stronger.
“It’s my fault for moving too late.”
Rulac regretted it.
If he had only known earlier that the Second Prince’s mother was dying, and if only he had kept the Second Prince under Lombardi’s protection.
The Empress would not have dared to meddle with Rulac’s succession issues, not knowing her place.
“Angenas keeps poking her nose into matters under my roof, and I have to just stand by and watch! Ha!”
Lavini Angenas was using Viese, the eldest son, like her subordinate and interfering in Lombardi’s affairs, but there was nothing they could do from this side.
They had hidden the Second Prince so well that they couldn’t even find a card to play against the Empress.
Rulac’s face furrowed even deeper.
“Could he already be dead…?”
The annex in the forest where the Second Prince lived with his mother was said to have been vacant for a long time.
In the abandoned annex, which was no different from a ruin, there was no trace of the prince, nor any servants attending to him.
So Rulac ordered Catherine and other scholarship members working in the Imperial Palace to find the Second Prince’s nanny.
He thought the Empress had sent the Second Prince and his nanny somewhere to Angenas’s land.
But then, the nanny was suddenly found dead in the south.
It was highly probable that the Second Prince’s body had drifted away with the current and had not been found.
“It shouldn’t be this difficult to find a child and the maids attending to him in an Imperial Palace full of adults, right?”
Rulac shook his head and lamented.
The only children residing in the Imperial Palace were the princes.
Rulac decided it was time to stop searching for the Second Prince.
“A child…”
Something flashed through Catherine’s mind as she listened.
“Yes! But it wasn’t fun at all. Except for making a friend!”
It was what Florentia, whom she had met just a moment ago, had said.
Catherine mulled over the words she had heard.
“He said he was sick. He said he was alone??…?”
Alone.
Until now, while searching for the Second Prince under Rulac’s orders, the target had been a combination of a child and palace maids.
They hadn’t considered that the Empress would leave the Second Prince alone.
But what if she had hidden the Second Prince somewhere by himself and moved the nanny to create a diversion?
Catherine carefully opened her mouth towards Rulac, who seemed lost in thought.
“Grandfather, I’m here!”
I had just heard that my father would be late again and was about to have dinner with Shananet and the twins.
Then the butler himself came and said that Grandfather was looking for me.
When I entered the office, a simple meal was set on the table, just like last time.
“Our Tia is here! I called you to eat with your grandfather!”
“I’d love that too!”
I wondered what it was about.
It seemed he just wanted to have dinner with his granddaughter.
I relaxed, sat next to Grandfather, and started eating.
“Here, eat this too. And this.”
Grandfather pushed delicious food towards me and stroked my head.
“Hehe, Grandfather, you eat too! It’s delicious!”
It was when I put the third large piece of meat into my mouth.
Grandfather, who had been watching me intently, asked,
“I hear our Tia has a friend?”
“A friend?”
“Yes. One in the Imperial Palace.”
I was caught off guard.
I pretended to chew the meat diligently, hiding my surprise.
What would an ordinary eight-year-old child’s reaction be to such a question from their grandfather?
Gulp.
After swallowing the chunk of meat, I put down my fork.
“How did Grandfather know that?!”
I widened my eyes and raised my voice, pretending to be very surprised.
Young children still don’t understand the complex relationships of adults.
My telling Catherine about ‘a friend in the Imperial Palace’ earlier in the day must have been out of genuine concern and longing for a friend, with no other intentions.
I turned completely towards Grandfather.
Grandfather chuckled, lightly pinching my cheek without hurting me.
“I heard it from Catherine. You told Catherine about a friend you didn’t tell your grandfather about, do you know how disappointed I was?”
Grandfather said, chuckling, without any hint of testing me.
“Umm. I met him when I got lost when I went to the Imperial Palace with Dad before. I was afraid I’d get scolded…”
“You got lost?”
It seemed Father had silenced the servants.
There was no need to be considerate of the Empress and Emperor like that.
Father was really too kind.
The problem was that I wasn’t that kind of person.
“Yes! Suddenly, scary knights stopped the carriage and told Dad and me to get out. Dad got angry and fought with them verbally! So I got out too, but I got scared…”
“These people…”
Grandfather seemed to realize who had ordered it as soon as he heard.
He ground his teeth, then cleared his throat when he saw my wide, innocent eyes.
And then he asked in a gentle voice,
“So what kind of child is our Tia’s friend? Is it a friend similar in age to Tia?”
“Yes! He was three years older than me! He has very black hair and red eyes like a rabbit!”
Grandfather’s eyes were no longer smiling.
I quickly added,
“When I got lost in the Imperial Palace, he helped me!”
“Yes, he is a kind child…”
“But my friend lives alone, Grandfather. Alone, without a mother or a nanny. He looked so lonely and sad, Grandfather.”
Grandfather’s hand, which was stroking my head, stopped abruptly.
“Alone?”
“Yes! That’s why he said he envied Tia for having a big family.”
“Oh dear…”
But Grandfather’s reaction wasn’t what I expected, as if he would rush to the Imperial Palace immediately.
Damn it!
His voice sounded sympathetic, but I knew that tone of Grandfather’s.
He was deep in thought.
He probably had received various pieces of information from the scholarship fund people today.
Everyone would have come in as he called them and dropped off what they knew, one by one.
If I left it like this, I didn’t know if it would take days or weeks for Grandfather to act.
No, it was even questionable if he would even get involved in Perez’s affairs.
But Perez didn’t have that much time.
So my plan was to use the birthday wish coupon I had received before to ‘go with Grandfather to see my friend in the Imperial Palace.’
But the small piece of information I had given Catherine for future use had flowed like this.
Unlike my father’s affairs, it was certainly not easy to control matters involving Grandfather.
I pondered for a moment and then made a decision.
I needed to give Grandfather a reason to act quickly.
“And…”
As I hesitated, Grandfather reassured me again.
“Don’t worry. You can tell your grandfather anything.”
I wiggled my fingers, then, as if mustering courage, said,
“And he said he was sick. That someone was hurting my friend…” I bowed my head with the saddest expression possible.
“That someone was trying to harm him.”
Grandfather still said nothing.
I clutched Grandfather’s sleeve tightly and said,
“Can’t Grandfather help?”
Indeed, my granddaughter’s earnest plea seemed to have an effect, as Grandfather’s stern expression wavered.
Grandfather, looking at me with a complicated expression, asked in a low voice,
“What is your friend’s name, Florentia?”
It was as if he needed confirmation.
I answered clearly,
“Perez. My friend’s name is Perez, Grandfather.”
***
The moonlit night deepened.
Rulac Lombardi poured a drink and looked out the window.
It had been a long time since his granddaughter Florentia had returned to her room, but Rulac’s worries did not end.
Knowing where the Second Prince was brought forth a cascade of other thoughts.
There were many things to consider.
The information brought by those who had come before Catherine was intertwined, making his head heavy.
However, more than any politics or interests, what complicated Rulac’s heart most was kinship.
Rulac, who had emptied half his glass while standing in place, pulled the cord.
A moment later, the butler quietly opened the door and entered.
“Hello, Johan.”
“Yes, command me.”
“Has Viese returned?”
It was his eldest son who had ignored Rulac’s warning and insisted on going to the Imperial Palace with his wife and children early in the morning.
“That is…”
Johan, the butler, replied reluctantly.
“A message just arrived from the coachman. It seems Lord Viese’s family will be staying at the Imperial Palace tonight… It appears to be for attending the Imperial Palace banquet tomorrow evening.”
Rulac remained silent for a while.
The butler, unable to fathom his thoughts, bowed and waited quietly.
A moment later, Rulac said in a low voice,
“I see. That’s what he decided.”
Click.
The sound of a glass being placed on the windowsill echoed in the office.
***
“Tia? Tia, can you wake up for a moment?”
I rubbed my sleepy eyes and got up as a hand shook me.
“Dad?”
In the still dim room, the first person I saw was my father.
My father, wearing only pajamas and a silk robe, was waking me up with a flustered expression.
“Are you very sleepy?”
“Umm, I’m fine. But why?”
“It seems Tia needs to wake up a bit early today.”
My father wouldn’t wake me up before dawn for nothing.
His behavior of constantly glancing behind the half-closed door made me fully awake, as if I had plunged into ice water.
I quickly got out of bed and opened the door barefoot.
Grandfather was sitting on the sofa in the equally dim drawing-room.
“Oh, you’re awake?”
Grandfather, whose voice was as energetic as someone who had just woken up from a deep sleep all day, was already dressed from head to toe.
Seeing me holding the doorknob, Grandfather smiled and said,
“Would you like to go to the Imperial Palace with your grandfather, Florentia?”