In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 48

“What… are you doing here?”
He managed to suppress his frown, but a disgruntled voice still escaped.
Emperor Jovanes hastily cleared his throat, “Ahem, ahem,” and corrected himself.
“What I meant was… what brings you all the way out here?”
“Indeed. That must be what you meant.”
Rulac smiled, wrinkles forming around his eyes, and said.
“Has it been three years?”
The head of Lombardi rarely left the Lombardi territory.
For Jovanes, this was both a relief and a source of irritation.
The old man knew everything happening in the imperial palace, but he, the Emperor, could hardly figure out what was going on inside Lombardi.
“About that,” Jovanes replied, having somewhat regained his composure, and naturally took the seat of honor.
“You’ve become much more mature since then.”
But that was only for a moment. At Rulac’s single remark, Jovanes’ thick eyebrows twitched.
He was vexed by how Rulac treated the Emperor of the Empire as if he were a neighborhood child he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“How many times this old man wanted to come to the imperial palace. But I kept His Majesty’s words from our last meeting in my heart, and turned back from the palace gates again and again.”
“…Anyone hearing that would think I was persecuting the head of Lombardi, who is practically my uncle.”
“‘I cannot lead this empire from an imperial palace where the head of Lombardi comes and goes as if it were his own house. If you want to drag me off the throne, continue to show your face at meetings,’ you said.”
“Ahem…” Jovanes was speechless.
It was a natural reaction, as those were indeed his own words to Rulac.
“At that time, I was burdened with heavy duties…”
Rulac, who had been calmly watching Jovanes make trivial excuses, spoke.
“Despite enduring for so long, I could not help but seek out Your Majesty today. Forgive me.”
“…What on earth is the matter? So early in the morning.”
Jovanes was also unbearably curious.
To come and wait in his office without prior notice was typical of Rulac, yet also uncharacteristic.
“Forgive my bluntness, but are you aware of the current situation of the Second Prince, Perez?”
“Perez?” It was an unfamiliar name to utter.
It took him a few seconds to realize it was the name of his own son, whom he had forgotten existed.
“That child, the Empress is taking good care of him, isn’t she? Are you saying the Head’s visit today is because of that child?”
It was completely unexpected, so Jovanes tilted his head.
“I have one question for Your Majesty. Do you truly believe that the Empress will properly care for the Second Prince and have entrusted his upbringing to her?”
He used honorifics for the Emperor, but not for the Empress.
It was a unique way of speaking that showed the unparalleled status of the Lombardi family heads.
Jovanes, feeling a surge of anger at Rulac’s scolding tone, replied,
“Are you now interfering in the affairs of the imperial family?”
Unlike the previous emperor, Jovanes was a relatively docile emperor who had never openly antagonized Lombardi, but he showed a considerable reaction when it came to his heir.
“I am not here to discuss your parental responsibilities, Your Majesty. What good would such things do in the imperial family? However.”
Rulac shook his head with a hint of regret.
“Shouldn’t the seed you sowed prevent itself from becoming a pretext to manipulate Your Majesty?”
“Manipulate me… a pretext?” Jovanes’s demeanor grew serious.
“What exactly are you saying? Explain yourself properly.”
To the impatient Jovanes, Rulac gave a relaxed smile.
However, the words that flowed from his lips were anything but light.
“The Angenas family reported their territorial income as half the actual amount this year.”
“Half?” The fact that the Angenas, the Empress’s family, were somewhat evading taxes was not new to Jovanes.
But the sheer scale of it, half, certainly startled him.
“But there is something else Your Majesty should pay more attention to.”
“What is that?”
“Someone who found something strange in the tax statement reported it to their superiors, but strangely, no action was taken.”
Rulac’s words were accurate.
Color drained from the astonished Emperor’s face, his expression vanishing.
Rulac, unconcerned by the Emperor’s reaction, poured oil on the fire.
“Doesn’t that imply there are quite a few people working for Angenas, receiving money from the imperial family?”
And he poured it generously.
“Not paying taxes properly? That could be seen as a minor transgression, something one might overlook once. But if even imperial officials are cooperating in that matter… wouldn’t that surely tarnish Your Majesty’s authority?”
“Hmm.” The Emperor rubbed his temples as if suffering from a headache.
Rulac, who was observing him as if watching an enjoyable play, threw in the second stone he had brought.
This time, hoping for a bigger ripple in the lake.
“I also have something to apologize for to Your Majesty. Do you perhaps remember the mine located at the lower reaches of the Serves River?”
“…I remember.”
“That iron mine, which the late emperor entrusted to our Lombardi in case of an emergency, was sold to the Barapot family by my son.”
“The Barapot family, you say…”
“They are one of Angenas’s leading vassal families.”
In preparation for the possibility of the Durelli family being dethroned, the imperial family would discreetly transfer assets to Lombardi.
For example, five thousand gold ingots sleeping in the deepest vaults of the Lombardi Bank.
Or, mines that were publicly known as ‘small and insignificant mines’ but actually possessed vast iron veins underground were such examples.
These measures were taken under a very old oath: ‘Durelli and Lombardi shall never turn their backs on each other.’
“Even though the Barapot seal is on the documents, isn’t it obvious who the true owner of the mine is?”
Of course, it was Vestian’s Schulz family that took over the mining operation, but Rulac did not bother to mention that.
“Angenas couldn’t have known what kind of mine it was, but it’s proof that they’ve grown bold enough to lay their hands on iron ore.”
Iron ore was a very important military resource.
Iron, the material for weapons, was a resource that only a very few families, including the imperial family and Lombardi, possessed in the empire.
And, needless to say, they were all families who had long sworn loyalty to the imperial family.
Although Angenas was the Empress’s family, they were originally closer to the noble faction than the imperial family.
Iron ore was not property permitted to them.
“And you, Your Majesty, are the one who allowed them to dream presumptuous dreams.”
“My fault! That’s absurd! I merely—”
“Did you not give power to Angenas? Not only did you have your first son with the Empress, but you also threw your second son to her. You didn’t even care whether Lavini Angenas killed or saved that child born of a maid.”
“Killed or saved?”
Jovanes was not a foolish emperor.
At least, according to Rulac’s assessment.
He was quick to grasp his own interests and swift to read between the lines of people’s thoughts and words.
Just like now.
“So you’re saying the Empress harmed Pere… the Second Prince?”
“Fortunately, he’s still alive. It seems he’s been fed poison, though.”
“Ha!” Jovanes was speechless and simply let out a hollow laugh.
It was certainly not affection for the son of a maid whose name he could barely remember.
Rather, it stemmed from anger and resentment towards the Empress who dared to touch his own bloodline.
Rulac pushed a glass of water, which he had already poured, towards the Emperor and said,
“Of course, giving power to Angenas as a counter to me was a very good move, Your Majesty.”
Jovanes, whose thoughts were completely read, flinched, but Rulac smiled contentedly at his reaction.
It was almost the look of a teacher watching a well-grown student.
“But you gave them too much. That was the problem. They continue to be greedy, not knowing their belly is bursting… Now it’s time to take that power away.”
“But…”
“Your Majesty needs to do nothing.”
Jovanes’s hand, which had been pressing his throbbing forehead, stopped.
Rulac smiled broadly at the Emperor.
And then he made an offer that the Emperor could never refuse.
“I will be the villain for you.”
***

Perez and I sat facing each other on the bed.
It was an unavoidable choice, as the only sofa was covered in layers of dust, and the floor was as cold as ice.
His black hair still covered his nape, his skin was fair, and his eyes, as red as his lips, met mine.
“Perez, you…” With a blink, his long eyelashes fluttered slightly.
“You’ve grown a bit?”
“I think I’ve grown taller.” Perez nodded with an impassive face.
“Indeed… He was a head taller than everyone else, after all.” I muttered, recalling his appearance in my previous life.
I had only seen him once, standing far away in the crowd that had gathered when the new Crown Prince was announced.
But the sight of Perez, his body more disciplined than the knights around him, his cape fluttering, and his cold eyes looking down on everything, instantly captivated the crowd.
“Who?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing.”
But it was hard to imagine the boy in front of me growing into such an adult.
Compared to Crown Prince Perez, who was like a large, sleek black wolf, this boy was…
“Who are you thinking of right now?”
He was just as expressionless, but this Perez was a little more…
“A puppy?”
At my sudden words, he tilted his head.
See, he really looks like a dog… no, a puppy.
“Do you have a puppy?”
“Uh, no. I’m thinking of raising one now.”
“You like puppies? I like them too. I’ve never actually seen one, but since you like them, I’m sure I will too.”
Perez muttered something meaningless.
“Did you do your homework well that I gave you?”
“Eat, take medicine, lie down when the maid comes, and practice swordsmanship.”
He counted them off on his fingers and answered immediately.
“Yes. That’s it.”
“I did everything. Everything you told me to.”
Was it my imagination that a black tail seemed to wag behind his bright, clear face?
“Want to see?” Perez asked, as if he was ready to grab a wooden sword and swing it right away.
“No. That’s not important right now. Since you did your homework well, you should get a reward, shouldn’t you?”
“A reward?” I pulled my bag closer and grinned.
Perez’s gaze never left my hands as I untied the knot on the bag’s lid.
“Here, I’ll give a present to a good boy.”
Do you know Santa?
I said, opening the bag wide.