In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 53

“…Pardon?”
Clerivan’s handsome face turned pale.
His tall frame swayed for a moment, then he gripped the back of the sofa, asking me with a face that looked like the end of the world had come, “Did I do something wrong…? You must be misunderstanding me.”
He was on the verge of tears.
Clerivan’s nickname was ‘Cold Handsome Man,’ but where on earth was that coldness now?
A mischievous thought crossed my mind, and I pretended ignorance, saying, “Weren’t you expecting it, Clerivan?”
“No, I…”
Clerivan ran his hands over his face, a complicated expression on it.
He looked like he was about to cry.
I laughed playfully and said, “Not the clothing store. I mean, preparing your letter of resignation for Grandfather.”
“Ah, then…”
A look of elation crossed Clerivan’s face as he understood my meaning.
I smiled sweetly and replied, “My eleventh birthday is just around the corner, you know. It’s time to start preparing.”
The day I would finally gain my freedom was not far off.
Of course, there was one hurdle to overcome before that.
A wide smile bloomed on Clerivan’s face as he looked at me.
“And this. Could you give it to Catherine? She’s probably in Grandfather’s office right now.”
I handed Clerivan the sealed envelope that Lauriel had prepared moments ago.
Clerivan nodded, seemingly guessing who the letter was for.
***

In the training grounds of Phorak Palace.
In the well-maintained, spacious area, Perez stood with his sword, eyes closed, feeling the wind.
His black hair and collar fluttered in the breeze, but the tall, slender boy remained unwavering.
He merely stood quietly, like a beautiful painting.
The swordsmanship instructor appointed by the Lombardi Patriarch had a slightly different teaching method than other knights.
He never raised his voice outside of sparring, nor did he roughly drill his students.
Perez, in fact, spent much of his class time in such meditation.
He was reviewing the sparring session he had just had with his swordsmanship instructor in his mind.
Perez was diligent and hardworking, unlike someone with innate talent.
Sometimes, his swordsmanship instructor even had to force him to stop training.
But today was a little different.
Perez’s swordsmanship instructor, Yovennes, looked strangely at his disciple, who couldn’t concentrate on his lesson.
From a teacher’s perspective, this disciple, who absorbed everything at an alarmingly fast pace, occasionally had days like this when he was distracted.
It seemed as though such days came periodically.
Finally, Yovennes let out a small sigh and said, “…Let’s stop here for today, Your Highness.”
Despite constantly twitching his eyebrows, unable to focus on the movement of the wind, Perez stubbornly closed his eyes tightly and shook his head.
“I’ll do more.”
It had been almost three years since he regained his rightful position as a prince.
He should be able to live a bit more comfortably now.
However, the Second Prince’s continued intense focus on swordsmanship and academics, to the point where it seemed like an obsession, made those watching him a little worried.
Yovennes thought it was for the best.
He hadn’t skipped a single swordsmanship lesson until now, so he decided it was time to make the Second Prince rest.
“You keep losing your focus and composure; merely going through the motions with your body is useless. Please put down your sword for now.”
At the stern tone, Perez slowly opened his eyes.
Between his black hair, fluttering in the gusts of wind, ruby-red eyes emerged, redder than any ruby.
At thirteen, Perez, on the verge of leaving boyhood, possessed an extraordinarily beautiful appearance.
Sometimes, it was so excessive that it felt unreal.
But Yovennes, who had experienced Perez up close for a long time, knew that this beautiful boy was, in fact, a person lacking in many ways.
He possessed almost none of the emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure that a person should naturally have.
Even if he did, they were faint.
The only times Perez showed emotional expressions were occasionally when he ate sweet hard candies or gazed at fully bloomed Springnia flowers.
Even when pushing himself to the physical limit during training, Perez would only grit his teeth.
He heard that his attitude was the same in academic lessons.
His growth rate was dazzling, but Yovennes worried about the origin of the Second Prince’s ‘blindness.’
So, taking advantage of Perez’s unusual distraction today, he decided to trace the root of that blindness backward.
“Is there someone you are waiting for, perhaps?”
Yovennes asked, remembering how Perez had repeatedly looked towards the palace entrance.
“…?”
“Yes.”
Perez flinched slightly and replied.
“Who are you waiting for?”
“I am waiting for Catherine to return home.”
“Why?”
“…I cannot tell you.”
Perez, who had always spoken only the truth, refused to answer for the first time.
His young lips stubbornly pressed together, as if hiding the most precious secret in the world.
Yovennes even felt a hint of betrayal.
“Tell me.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Your Highness.”
“I said I don’t want to.”
Perez was now even showing caution.
Yovennes, intending to probe his thoughts, said, “Since you refuse to obey your master, I will punish you. Perform 1,000 vertical and horizontal slashes.”
“Yes.”
Now, even Yovennes was speechless.
He would rather perform 1,000 slashes than state the reason he was waiting for Catherine.
He shook his head repeatedly.
Soon, only Perez’s heavy breathing and the whooshing sound of his sword filled the training grounds.
When he was past the 500th slash.
Yovennes, with his back to a sweat-soaked Perez, spoke in a chiding tone.
“I don’t know why, but I am greatly worried about Your Highness.”
Whoosh, whoosh.
“Just as understanding and tolerance towards others are important, so is having a generous attitude towards oneself.”
Whoosh, whoosh.
“From what I have observed, Your Highness is lacking in that regard. You don’t always need to be perfect in every aspect. A person, by nature…”
It was strange.
The regular whooshing sound of the sword cutting through the air was no longer heard.
Yovennes turned around, puzzled, and saw Perez already running at full speed in the distance.
He was running frantically towards somewhere, holding his sword in one hand and its scabbard in the other, his profile blurry.
“Your, Your Highness?”
It was the first time.
Perez had ever lost his composure like that.
No, in those radiant eyes, which had brought to mind red rubies moments ago, there was even a glint of something akin to madness.
And in the direction Perez was running, there was a carriage just entering Phorak Palace.
Yovennes stood dumbfounded, watching the scene.
Perez, who had rushed to stand in front of the carriage, could not stay still even in the short moment the footboard was lowered and the carriage door opened.
He quickly slid his sword into its scabbard and repeatedly rubbed his dirt- and sweat-covered hands on his trousers to clean them.
Finally, the carriage door opened, and Catherine, the head maid of Phorak Palace, gently stepped onto the ground.
Discovering Perez standing directly in front of her, she smiled faintly, then took something out of her handbag and handed it to him.
“A letter…?”
It was clearly a small, pink envelope.
And a faint smile spread across Perez’s face as he received it.
His red lips formed a beautiful arc, and his sharp eyes curved into soft crescents.
It was a definite smile.
“Ha…”
Yovennes let out an involuntary dry laugh at Perez’s smile, which he was seeing for the first time.
Who on earth was that pure boy, so overwhelmed with joy?
He stood still for only a moment.
Perez then ran into the palace, holding the letter.
Leaving even his sword, which he always kept on him, abandoned on the floor.
Yovennes looked at the sword lying on the ground and muttered dejectedly, “Well, it’s a good thing, I suppose.”
***

“Milady, can I sleep over here tonight?”
“No.”
“Whyyy? There are plenty of spare rooms.”
“Why sleep at someone else’s house when you have a perfectly good one of your own? Go home quickly.”
“Hmph, Milady is so mean…”
Lauriel drooped her shoulders and pouted, but it didn’t work on me.
Recalling the time I thoughtlessly allowed it once, and ended up listening to Lauriel’s incessant chatter until just before falling asleep…
I involuntarily shivered.
“Hmph. Then I’ll come early tomorrow.”
Lauriel said that, bowed to me, and went outside.
Tomorrow’s her day off, though.
She knows that, right?
But if I call her back, I might really have to let her stay here.
I flopped down on the sofa in the reception room, enjoying the quiet that had finally arrived.
Thanks to Lauriel’s various helps, my day had become very comfortable, but sometimes, I needed time alone.
I leisurely closed my eyes.
But the quiet didn’t last long.
Bang!
The door burst open with a loud sound.
“Lauriel, you forgot something again… Father?”
The person gripping the doorknob, panting heavily, was clearly my father.
I was startled and sat up.
“Ti, Tia…”
Father stumbled towards me, calling my name.
He stopped in front of the sofa where I was sitting and then plopped down on his knees.
Father’s face, now at my eye level, was teary.
“Fa, Father… Father…” Father stammered a few times before finally continuing.
“Father is getting a medal!”