In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 52

To Florentia,
How are you doing?
I think I’ve gotten used to the new palace now.
It’s in the east, so the sun comes in really well.
Perhaps that’s why there are many good herbs.
Yesterday, I was walking and found a cluster of Bomnia flowers.
I recognized them because they bloomed often where I used to live.
Soon, the Bomnia flowers will bloom.
They are red flowers with sweet petals.
When the Bomnia blooms, can I send it to you?
(Omitted)
Sword lessons are starting tomorrow.
I’m looking forward to it.
Yesterday, I ate a fruit sandwich for the first time.
The white cream was sweet and delicious, but not as good as the candy you gave me.
Kailus said he would tell the chef to make chocolate cookies tomorrow.
But I don’t have high expectations because I don’t think they’ll be as delicious as the ones I ate with you.
(Omitted)
If it’s okay, please reply.
You don’t have to if you don’t want to.
Really.
See you again.
From Perez.
P.S. I think you, too, will like the Bomnia flower, Tia Florentia.

I’m sorry for the late reply, Perez.
I’ve been a bit busy lately.
The horses my father bought me for my birthday just arrived, and I’ve been preoccupied taking care of them.
They’re very gentle and beautiful.
I named the mare Bailey and the foal Blanc.
I’ve never heard of a flower called Bomnia before. Well then, I’ll look forward to the flower gift.
Take care.
Tia.
P.S. How about you stop eating grass now?

To Tia,
The Bomnia flowers have finally bloomed.
This year, autumn came slowly, so they bloomed late, I think.
I looked it up in a book, and Bomnia flowers are originally wildflowers that only grow naturally in the southern part of the Empire.
Someone who missed their hometown must have secretly planted them in the Imperial Palace.
I’ll send you Bomnia petals with Catherine.
Because I don’t eat grass anymore.
(Omitted)
Something strange happened today.
During my swordsmanship lesson, I generated something called ‘aura’, and the training ground floor was dented because of it.
Of course, I wasn’t that surprised, but the swordsmanship teacher’s reaction was particularly odd.
He made me generate the aura several times and then left.
And when evening came, His Majesty the Emperor visited my palace.
It was my first time seeing him in person, and he really didn’t resemble me much at all.
But His Majesty smiled and said that my talent resembled his own.
(Omitted)
How are Bailey and Blanc?
Are they bothering you?
I hope they are.
Because I don’t want you to be too tired.
See you again.
From Perez.

To Perez,
Happy thirteenth birthday.
I wanted to give you a new sword for your birthday.
But Catherine had limitations on secretly bringing things in, so a sword was impossible.
So I’m sending a few gold coins and a ruby brooch in your pocket.
This is something I… picked up while passing by.
Anyway, happy birthday.
Tia.

To Tia,
Last month, I wore the ruby brooch you gave me to the evening banquet.
The Empress glared at me, so I couldn’t eat properly, but I felt good.
(Omitted)
By the way,
I heard through Catherine that the Bipatree I gave you for your tenth birthday had an accident with your beloved Bailey.
I apologize on behalf of Bipatree.
(Omitted)
By the way,
When can we possibly meet?
No other reason, but it’s already been two and a half years since I last saw you.
When can we see each other?
From Perez.

To Perez,
From now on, if I see any good ruby accessories, I’ll give them to you as a gift.
I’m glad to hear the Empress was enraged!
And don’t worry about Bailey’s situation.
It’s a happy thing for both Bailey and Blanc to have a new family.
Bipatree is doing an excellent job as a father.
And so much time has passed already since we started exchanging letters.
You asked when we can meet, didn’t you?
We will see each other soon.
Perhaps even sooner than you think.
We’ll meet soon.
Tia.

“Lady, what are you doing?”
Just as I put down my pen, I heard a voice calling me and looked up.
A woman with light brown hair, close to wheat-colored, entered the study, taking off her outer garment and smiling at me.
“Ah, Lauriel. You came early today?”
Lauriel was a companion and maid my father hired when I turned ten.
Now nineteen, she had a kind and cheerful personality.
“Couldn’t you just give me a room in the mansion? Commuting is too much of a hassle, Lady.”
“No. If you don’t go home, Mrs. Dillard will be sad, won’t she?”
She was the youngest daughter, the apple of the eye, of the Dillard couple in Romaci.
With three older brothers, she was the much younger youngest child, so it was understandable.
“Mother is subtly hinting that I should start looking for a good groom. I want to date too, but it’s hard when there are no men around… You’ve written a letter?”
Lauriel approached me and naturally sat down beside me, asking.
“You only use that nice stationery occasionally.”
At first, I used any paper.
But as the days went by, the stationery Perez sent became a bit more luxurious.
He used good paper, so I couldn’t just write on the back of a practice notebook.
I had no choice but to use good stationery.
Come to think of it, it had been almost three years since I put him in Phorak Palace.
In that time, I had turned ten, and Perez had recently turned thirteen after his birthday.
I had never seen him in person during that time, but Catherine would occasionally ask about him through letters whenever she visited the mansion.
“Who is the recipient?”
“I can’t tell you yet. You know.”
The fact that Perez and I were exchanging letters still had to be kept secret.
It was not the time to get involved in the power struggle between Lombardi and Angenas, and between the First Prince and the Second Prince.
I folded the letter and handed it to Lauriel, who familiar sealed it with wax.
“Phew… You’ll definitely tell me later, right?”
“Yes. Later.”
Lauriel was a little disappointed but soon forgot about the letter and happily watered the plant.
“What did you say the name of this flower was, Lady?”
“Bomnia.”
“Right, Bomnia. It’s such a beautiful flower. It’s a shame we can only see it for a few days in autumn.”
“That’s why it might appear even more beautiful. Because it’s fleeting.”
Lauriel, who had stopped watering at my casual remark, said,
“Sometimes, Lady, you say things that are very mature for your age.”
“I’m just smart. That’s why.”
“Indeed. You’re right. Thinking about your cousins, oh, there’s no one as smart as our Lady Tia.”
“That goes without saying.”
Lauriel rolled up her sleeves and opened all the windows to ventilate the room.
As the cherished daughter of the Dillard family, she wouldn’t have to work separately.
Given that she volunteered to be my maid, Lauriel also seems to have a unique personality.
“Indeed, since you’re so smart, Lady, I suppose that’s why Brother Clerivan decided to become your exclusive tutor.”
Not long after he became my person, Clerivan announced his resignation from his successor education position and declared that he would become my private teacher.
Thanks to that, the household was in an uproar.
Thinking back to that time, it’s incredibly satisfying.
Recalling Selal’s disbelieving face still makes me laugh even after several years.
Knock, knock.
With a polite knock, the study door opened.
It was Clerivan, who was not one to wait.
“Brother!” Lauriel, who was tidying the curtains, brightened and ran towards Clerivan.
“…Good morning, Miss Dillard.”
However, Clerivan took half a step back and treated Lauriel strictly like a stranger.
“Haa. When will you treat me like your sister? There’s no one else here anyway.”
Lauriel pouted, feeling dejected.
Upon learning about Clerivan’s existence from her father after coming of age, Lauriel always greeted him happily like that.
“I do not use the Dillard surname. So why do you call me brother? Your real brothers would be quite disappointed to hear that.”
“…You’re so mean, really.”
Lauriel slumped her shoulders sadly and went outside.
When Clerivan came and lessons began, Lauriel couldn’t even enter my study.
Clerivan’s eyes followed Lauriel’s retreating figure, disappearing outside the door with soft steps, for quite a long time.
Seeing that, it seemed that Lauriel wasn’t a complete stranger to Clerivan either.
However, I could somewhat understand his feelings, having been born out of wedlock and raised without recognition, so I didn’t bring it up.
Soon, Clerivan sat down, and the report continued.
“The children’s clothing line, which began at your suggestion, Lady, is yielding tremendous results. We’re seeing an immediate reaction, just like when we first launched the menswear. Here.”
Clerivan handed me a well-organized report.
Truly, Clerivan Pellet was a person worthy of being called a genius.
When he first started the ready-to-wear business, there were a few mistakes.
But he never repeated the same mistake.
And now, almost three years later, ‘Gallahan’s Garment Shop’ was expanding throughout the empire.
Local nobles, who learned about the successful ‘ready-to-wear’ system established in Lombardi, eagerly requested branches of Gallahan’s Garment Shop in their territories.
Of course, behind this were the facts that my father was Rulac Lombardi’s son, and that a portion of the profits from the garment shop would be paid to the lords as taxes.
As a result, there was no commoner who didn’t know the name Gallahan, as they now wore good quality clothes at low prices.
It was also reported that the health of commoners, who now wore clean and seasonally appropriate clothes, had greatly improved.
In short, my father had become very, very rich in the past three years.
And with the recently launched children’s clothing line, he was set to become even richer.
After receiving all the reports on the garment shop, I said to Clerivan, who was standing up and packing his belongings,
“Clerivan, prepare your resignation letter soon.”