In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 49

The first thing I took out of the gift bag was a thick autumn and winter cloak.
It was similar in design to the black cloak that the adult Perez often wore.
I gave it a big flap to roughly dust it off, then draped it around Perez’s neck.
He moved his red eyes and simply watched as the thick cloak was placed on his shoulders.
“Hmm, it really suits him.”
There was a reason he wore only that cloak, as if it were a school uniform.
It made Perez’s black hair and flawless skin stand out even more than a cloak with elaborate patterns.
“Don’t go around cold; wear it well.”
Pleased to see Perez meekly wearing the cloak I had draped over him, I pulled out the second gift.
It was a wooden sword already sticking out from the top of the bag.
“Ugh, it’s heavy.”
It was too heavy for me to hold with both arms.
“I know you already have a wooden sword. But the one you had last time seemed too light for you, so I brought this.”
Actually, it would be more accurate to say I snatched it from the twins, but Perez didn’t need to know the details.
“Try swinging it.”
At my words, Perez held the wooden sword in one hand and swung it briefly.
Whoosh!
Because the wooden sword had a very heavy and thick iron core embedded in it, the sound of it cutting through the air was different.
“Ah.” The indifferent boy’s eyes widened.
“How is it? Do you like it?”
“Yeah.”
“Then take this too.”
What I took out of the bag was a sword manual.
Perez took the rough, tough leather-bound book and read the title on the cover aloud.
“‘Brown Sword Manual’?”
“That’s right. Not the ‘Imperial Sword Manual,’ but the ‘Brown Sword Manual’!”
I boasted proudly, but Perez didn’t seem to understand the difference between the two.
What’s the point of giving a luxury gift if he doesn’t appreciate it?
I ended up having to explain it myself.
“The ‘Imperial Sword Manual’ and the ‘Brown Sword Manual’ are actually similar. The ‘Brown Sword Manual’ was simply renamed the ‘Imperial Sword Manual’ because it became so commonly used. But all the books coming out these days are titled ‘Imperial Sword Manual.’ But this one looks pretty old, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, it does.”
“So what does that mean?”
“This book contains the real ‘Brown Sword Manual’?”
“Exactly! That’s right! It’s even the genuine article, personally revised and compiled by the previous Brown family head!”
It was an unexpected stroke of luck that this book came into my possession.
I found it tucked away in a corner of the study my grandfather had made for me and immediately thought of Perez.
This original Brown Sword Manual was the perfect gift for him.
Unlike me, who was bursting with excitement, he remained calm, merely looking down at the book in his hands.
But he seemed to like it quite a bit, as I saw him gently caressing the book cover with his finger.
“However, you might be a little disappointed, but that’s not yours.”
“Then?”
“For now, you can read the book as much as you want. But someone might ask for it later. Then you’ll have to give it to them.”
“…I don’t want to.”
“What?”
No matter what I said or what I asked him to do, he always nodded and complied without question, but this was the first time he’d said he didn’t want to.
I was a little flustered and asked again.
Perez looked at my surprised face for a moment with his eyes slightly hidden by his black bangs, then lowered his gaze and replied.
“…Okay. I’ll give it.”
What, you surprised me.
But, well, it probably meant he really liked the book.
I added, intending to soothe him,
“I’ll get you something even better later, so don’t be too sad.”
Whether he was listening to me or not, Perez’s small fingers tightly gripped the corner of the sword manual.
Somehow, my conscience pricked me.
It felt like I was a bad adult who gave a toy to a child and then took it away.
“Hey, I told you I’d give you an even better book later, didn’t I?”
But he didn’t answer.
He just nodded his head.
To be upset over something so small.
Thinking of Perez’s future self, who would be as cold as a cutting wind, I found him cute, thinking he was still young.
This is all for your own good, future Crown Prince.
Thinking that he would understand my deep feelings someday, I rummaged through my bag.
I needed something to cheer Perez up.
“Here, take this!”
What I pulled out was a bottle full of candy, the same kind I had given Melkon last time.
The colorful round candies in the clear glass bottle were pleasing to the eye, even if just left alone.
“Ah, this… something sweet.”
Perez, who had been clutching the book tightly as if he didn’t want it taken away, finally shifted his attention to something else.
He’s a child, after all.
I deliberately shook the glass bottle, making a rattling sound, and then placed it in Perez’s hand.
“Do you like sweets?”
“Not usually, but I like this…”
“Then should I give you something even sweeter and more delicious?”
“Sweeter and more delicious?”
Having succeeded in capturing Perez’s interest, I took a small box out of my bag.
It was always on the table in my study and our living room.
“Ta-da! Chocolate cookies!”
“Chocolate?”
Perez curiously looked at the dark specks embedded in the fragrant cookies.
“Have you ever had this?”
It felt a bit like I was Jeomsun saying, ‘You don’t have this at your house, do you?’
But I already knew through Estira that chocolate wasn’t such a common food yet.
I picked up a chocolate cookie the size of my palm and gave it to Perez.
“Try it!”
He hesitated for a moment at my words, then bravely took a bite of the chocolate cookie.
“…It’s delicious.”
“Right? Look at this. I brought this much for you to eat!”
While others might never see chocolate in their lives, at our house, it was like tissue paper, always available wherever I often went.
I had gathered everything from my room, the living room, and various other places in the house, so there were easily more than thirty of them.
“I should have one too. Ah, I’m hungry.”
I gave Perez another cookie for his other hand and bit into one myself.
The sticky, incredibly sweet taste spreading in my mouth made me feel a little better.
“I couldn’t even eat breakfast, moving since early morning. Ahem, I’m so sleepy.”
Honestly, besides ‘sweet,’ I didn’t even really know what the cookie tasted like.
I roughly shoved it into my mouth and then just flopped down beside him.
Perez, who had finished one and was about to eat the other, looked at me.
“Yawn. Don’t mind me and just eat. I’m just going to… sleep.”
As soon as the realization hit me that I was tired and sleepy, sleep overcame me.
I laboriously lifted my heavy eyelids a few times, looking at Perez eating his cookie.
I could see chocolate crumbs around his mouth.
I wanted to tell him to wipe it off, but I was falling asleep too fast.
He looked like a rabbit, fixing his red eyes on me as I lay there, his mouth twitching.
It was funny to think that such a cute child would grow into such a cold Crown Prince later.
At the same time, I was relieved that he wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.
I thought, looking at his red eyes still fixed on me.
Still, after I’ve done this much, he wouldn’t completely ignore me later, right?
At the very least, he wouldn’t hinder me when I try to become the family head after he becomes Crown Prince.
Yes, that’s enough.
It was when the time I spent with my eyes closed was gradually longer than the time I spent with them open.
With a small sway of the bed, I saw Perez flop down beside me on the opposite side.
You were tired too.
Well, the sun had just fully risen.
It was too early for a child to be up and moving.
I’ll just sleep for a bit and then wake up.
The last thing I saw before falling asleep was Perez’s pale face, looking at me with cookie crumbs around his mouth.
***

“What should we do?” A voice, hushed, asked.
“Both of them are sleeping so soundly…”
Then, another person responded in an equally quiet voice.
“For now, you two go downstairs and prepare His Highness’s belongings.”
At the quiet command, the light footsteps of several people began to move in unison.
“By the way, if I had the talent, I’d want to paint them. They look so cute.”
The one speaking, holding his hand over his mouth as if at a loss, was Imperial Palace attendant Kailus Herring.
Kailus, with dark blonde hair and kind blue eyes, was the second son of the Herring family, one of Lombardi’s vassal families.
He was a young man who had been working at the imperial palace for ten years, but he was already an elite among elites, having qualified as a first-class attendant.
And beside him, also looking at the bed with affectionate eyes, was Catherine Brown, the Vice-Chief Maid of the Imperial Palace.
However, both of them had changed their affiliations just an hour ago.
The place they willingly transferred to, by order, was the Second Prince’s Palace.
“Let’s let them sleep for a while. We also need time to tidy up downstairs.”
“Yes. I’ve heard a lot about Lord Gallahan’s daughter, but this is my first time seeing her like this. The Prince too.”
Kailus, who originally liked children, couldn’t take his eyes off them.
“But how could they be so adorable, both of them?”
Although a little exaggerated, Catherine fully agreed with Kailus’s words.
The two children, lying facing each other on a bed covered with sweet treats, were fast asleep, oblivious to the world.
Florentia, with her curly brown hair, and Perez, with his somewhat shaggy but night-sky-black hair, both possessed incredibly cute looks that made anyone want to take a second glance.
Moreover, what truly tugged at Kailus and Catherine’s heartstrings was the charming sight of the two children sharing a single black cloak.
“I should cover them a bit more properly…”
Kailus, who stealthily approached to cover them with the cloak again, careful not to wake the children, covered his mouth again after seeing something.
Catherine, curious, stood on tiptoe and saw Perez’s hand tightly holding Florentia’s small hand beneath the cloak.
Kailus was already squeezing his eyes shut, trying not to make a loud sound, like someone fatally wounded.
It was due to an overload of overwhelming cuteness that had suddenly rushed in.
After taking a few deep breaths in that state, Kailus tried to pull the cloak back over Florentia’s shoulder.
Thwack.
If it hadn’t been for the strong grip that seized his arm.
“Second Prince…” Perez, who had been soundly asleep just moments ago, was wide awake, gripping Kailus’s wrist tightly.
“Who are you?”
“Ah, that is… I am…”
Kailus lost his words, his wrist being squeezed as if it would break.
He was only an eleven-year-old child.
But what was this strength?
Instead of the flustered Kailus, Catherine spoke in a calm voice.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness the Second Prince. We are here to serve Your Highness starting today. My name is Catherine Brown.”
“I, I am… Kailus, Kailus Herring, Your Highness.” Kailus managed to reply.
But the wariness on Perez’s face didn’t fade.
Just then.
“Oong…” Florentia slowly opened her eyes with a small sound.