In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 54

“Wow, a National Foundation Day medal?”
“Yes! They sent someone from the Imperial Palace to the clothing store!”
Every year on National Foundation Day, the Emperor bestows medals.
The recipients of these medals are truly at the Emperor’s discretion.
Among past Emperors, some even awarded medals to their own sons, the princes.
The contents of the medals also varied.
Sometimes a plaque was given, and in generous cases, one of the imperial family’s villas was granted.
“They said it was because I contributed to protecting the health of the Empire’s citizens by creating ready-to-wear clothing…”
Father muttered, pinching his cheek as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Father is the best!”
I kissed Father’s dazed cheek, showing even more joy.
In truth, I already knew.
That Father would be the recipient of this year’s National Foundation Day medal.
Emperor Jovanes had already informed Grandfather of his intention three months ago, and Clerivan had told me.
It wasn’t for nothing that I wrote to Perez that I would see him soon.
Furthermore, this year’s National Foundation Day was planned to be even more special.
Clerivan brought news that incredibly powerful families, with histories older than the Empire itself, who firmly held sway over each region, had arrived in the imperial capital a while ago to attend the banquet.
The Shesheu of the South, the Ruman of the East, the Huxley of the West, and the Ivan of the North.
Had there ever been a royal banquet in recent decades as grand and with as many esteemed guests as this one?
“They said to attend the National Foundation Day banquet in just three days… What should I prepare, no, more importantly, Tia’s dress first…”
Father was still rambling, but he prioritized my dress.
Even though he was the one receiving the award, not me.
“I want to wear a Gallahan Clothing Store dress!”
Father’s eyes widened in surprise at my shout.
“But, Tia. The clothing store’s clothes are…” Father paused, choosing his words carefully.
“They’re a bit… for attending an Imperial Palace banquet. How about wearing the dress Aunt Shananet gave you this time?”
He seemed worried that I would be ridiculed if I wore ready-to-wear clothing to the Imperial Palace banquet.
It was a natural concern, in a way.
Ready-to-wear clothing was for commoners.
This could be seen from the very fact that Father was receiving a medal just for creating ready-to-wear clothing for those who were always exposed and cold.
But I didn’t give up.
“I’m going to wear the clothes Father made!”
“Tia…”
Father hugged me tightly.
He seemed touched by my extreme filial piety.
“Thank you, Tia.”
Father patted my back at the end of his tearful voice.
“Whose daughter could be so pretty…”
I hugged Father back just as tightly.
I was so happy that I couldn’t help but smile.
An Imperial Palace banquet, huh?
It’s the perfect opportunity to promote children’s clothing.
***

“His Majesty is waiting.”
The Emperor’s chief aide quietly spoke to Perez as he approached.
It was still early, the sun having barely shown its face.
Once a month, Jovanes would summon Perez to have breakfast with him.
Others seemed to say, ‘His Majesty greatly cherishes the Second Prince,’ but well.
Perez thought it was closer to surveillance.
To check if the half-prince, reluctantly taken in, was harboring any ill intentions?
Upon entering, the Emperor was already eating.
Without even a customary greeting, Jovanes, confirming Perez’s arrival with a sidelong glance, continued his meal.
Perez, accustomed to this, took a seat a little distance away.
Soon, excellent food, the same menu as the Emperor’s, was served.
Gazing at it, Perez recalled the day he first entered Phorak Palace.
The day he first learned what a ‘princely’ meal was, when he was getting used to moldy food.
The day he realized how warm the nights were when candles were lit after sunset and the fireplace burned all night.
The day a rage hotter than any fire flared within him.
In the memory of that day, only Florentia made Perez smile.
“I hear your aura’s sustained duration has noticeably increased,” the Emperor said to Perez, who was recalling Florentia.
“…Yes.”
“Indeed.”
It was an absurdly short reply to the Emperor, but Jovanes didn’t mind.
His heart was greatly captivated by Perez’s incredible talent in swordsmanship.
When Jovanes first read the report that the swordsmanship instructor submitted to the chief aide, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
A master capable of maintaining aura for an hour at just thirteen years old!
There had never been such a swordsman in the entire history of the Empire.
At thirteen, it was an age where merely completing physical training was considered a sign of talent.
A similar example was the First Prince, Astana.
Astana, who had held a sword from a much younger age than Perez, recently completed basic training at fifteen and began theoretical lessons for aura.
He was making fast progress.
Seeing Astana, the nobles of the Empire were saying, ‘The future of the Imperial Family is bright.’
Until now, Perez’s achievements were known only to Jovanes and the swordsmanship instructor.
No, since the swordsmanship instructor had been acting on Lombardi’s recommendation from the start, Rulac must have also been receiving reports.
However, apart from them, Perez was still the forgotten prince.
He was completely different from Astana, whose every move was practically broadcasted, attracting the attention of the nobles.
They only knew of Perez’s existence.
“Perez.”
At Jovanes’s call, Perez put down his utensils.
“Attend this National Foundation Day banquet.”
Perez’s red eyes, filled with doubt, looked at the Emperor.
Jovanes looked at those eyes and wondered if Perez’s mother, whose face he no longer remembered, had such red eyes.
“…I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
After a moment of thought, his answer was a polite but clear refusal.
Jovanes, who had not expected Perez to refuse an imperial command, was flustered.
He had thought that Perez, having lived hidden from view, would be overjoyed at the chance to finally step into the light.
But there was no particular emotion on Perez’s face.
There was even a hint of annoyance.
“It’s an opportunity to be recognized as the Second Prince,” Jovanes said, as if giving a final warning.
“Do I need recognition?”
“…What?”
Even at the re-question, Perez offered no further explanation and stubbornly closed his lips.
The Emperor gazed at him for a moment, then muttered to himself, “You, you resemble me.”
A fleeting look of unconcealed displeasure crossed Perez’s eyes, but Jovanes, engrossed in his own thoughts, did not see it and continued, “Yes. You are my blood, even without the recognition of those mere nobles. You are the Second Prince of this Lambru Empire.”
The ‘recognition’ Perez spoke of was not merely the recognition of nobles, as Jovanes understood it.
It also meant that he did not need the Emperor’s recognition.
Indeed, it had been less than three years since the Emperor began to care whether Perez was alive or dead.
Before that, he had left Perez to the Empress, who wished for his death.
Perhaps the Emperor, too, had wished for that one-night mistake to disappear.
But Jovanes seemed to have taken his words in a rather different sense.
“That’s…”
Perez tried to correct the misunderstanding, but the Emperor’s words interrupted him.
“But the nobles also need to know that Astana is not the only prince who has my, the Emperor’s, recognition.”
Astana.
At the mention of the First Prince’s name, Perez’s eyes changed.
Jovanes, noticing this, smirked.
“Indeed. You seem to agree on that point.”
In fact, for Perez’s own benefit, it would be better for him to remain hidden for a few more years.
Astana possessed the immense power of his maternal family, the Angenas, which Perez did not.
Although Rulac Lombardi was his guardian, that was merely the product of a transaction between the Emperor and Rulac.
So, it was better to remain quiet and cultivate his own strength further.
But that was the path for Perez.
Not the path for Jovanes.
“The National Foundation Day has always held a special meaning in various ways,” Jovanes said.
A while ago, Angenas offered 10 bars of gold.
It was an action Angenas took to curry favor with Jovanes while keeping Perez in check.
If Perez was brought to the forefront at this National Foundation Day, Angenas would have to pay attention.
Even more than just 10 bars of gold.
“This year, even more so. Gallahan Lombardi will be entering the palace to receive a medal, so the number of nobles attending the banquet will be double that of previous years…”
“I will attend,” Perez abruptly stated.
His face, which had been utterly dull moments ago, now had a sparkle in his eyes.
‘He seems to have ambition after all,’ Jovanes nodded, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
He hadn’t expected Perez to change his attitude so abruptly just by hearing the name ‘Gallahan Lombardi.’
***

On the day of the National Foundation Day banquet.
With Lauriel’s help, I finished getting ready.
“Yes, this is it.”
I moved gently in front of the mirror and smiled contentedly.
“Wow, Milady, you’re so cute!”
“Aren’t I?”
Usually, children my age dislike being called ‘cute’ by adults.
But no matter what those kids think, if an adult finds it cute, it’s a win.
It’s adults who buy children’s clothes, after all.
The dress I chose to promote the newly launched children’s clothing line was a modest, chestnut-colored one.
It was the kind of style that highlighted my green eyes while looking neat and tidy, exactly what adults liked to dress their children in.
However, that wasn’t all.
Underneath the plain dress, I wore an ivory silk blouse, and green silk embroidered with elaborate golden flowers was sewn along the hem of the brown dress.
Tiny emeralds were attached to the plain brown fabric, which could have looked dull, and a rosario made of pearls thicker than a finger joint was used to cinch the waist, giving the dress more volume.
Furthermore, with white lace delicately shaped and attached to the sleeves, it became a dazzlingly beautiful dress that one wouldn’t believe was ready-to-wear.
Although its beginning was similar to others, the charm of ready-to-wear clothing was that it could be transformed into something unique with desired accessories and individual fashion sense.
Of course, the emphasis here was that everyone knew what a plain ready-to-wear garment originally looked like.
People would only know how expensive the accessories I used were and how beautifully I transformed the design with my aesthetic sense if they knew the original form.
It was the perfect material to stimulate the competitive spirit of nobles who loved to show off, had plenty of money and time, and little to do.