In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 56

As we entered the banquet hall, dragging the gazes of people behind us like a heavy dress train, the situation became even more interesting.
The vast space, filled with people, parted like the Red Sea, and they looked at the three of us with faces full of various emotions.
“It’s the Lombardi family…”
Someone’s murmur reached my ears clearly, as the banquet hall had become utterly silent.
But it was strange.
Even though so many people were watching us, no one actually approached.
Everyone kept a few steps away, whispering among themselves.
Grandfather seemed accustomed to such situations, even leisurely surveying the room with a relaxed expression.
And those who met Grandfather’s eyes either avoided them or bowed their heads.
It was as if they had encountered a wild beast.
Meanwhile, the noblewomen couldn’t take their eyes off Father.
I looked up at Father, who was holding my right hand.
His tall stature, slender yet somewhat thin frame, fair skin, and well-groomed brown hair, tied back to his shoulders, made him stand out like a crane among chickens in the crowd.
Especially his gentle green eyes with long eyelashes sparkled brightly in the banquet lights.
To define him in one word, he was a ‘gentleman with a warm aura.’
Perhaps sensing my upward gaze, Father looked down at me.
And he offered a comforting smile.
It seemed to mean that I didn’t need to be nervous.
However, that smile had a calming effect not on me, but on the women who were looking at Father.
I saw women here and there stumbling, their legs weak from Father’s smiling face.
And surprisingly, I was receiving as much attention as Father and Grandfather.
“That child, is she Gallahan Lombardi’s daughter?”
“Oh, how cute. As expected, the Lombardi children…”
“She looks just like her father!”
Fortunately, the reactions to my first impression were good.
But then other words followed immediately.
“They say she’s an only daughter?”
“For now, she’s the only heir.”
Since Father became an immense wealthy man through the ready-to-wear clothing business, such comments surfaced.
And as I passed a group of elderly ladies, I heard this:
“They say Gallahan’s daughter is very intelligent and is greatly favored by the Patriarch.”
“Have there ever been heirs whom the Lombardi Patriarch personally brought to a banquet before?”
“She must be about ten years old now. My grandson is around the same age.”
And there were also the reactions I was waiting for.
“Whose creation is that dress? It’s a design I’ve never seen before…”
“I’ll have to find out later. It’s truly lovely…”
“Look at the jewels attached to it. My goodness, they say the Lombardi and Gallahan Clothing Store earn all the money in the Empire these days…”
Indeed, being the object of someone’s envy and jealousy felt good.
This feeling is the best, it’s thrilling.
As we continued walking along the path where people parted like the Red Sea, we reached someone standing at the end of it.
It was Empress Lavini, wearing a blue dress that highlighted her splendid blonde hair.
True to her enjoyment of being the center of high society, she had arrived separately from the Emperor and was already enjoying the banquet.
As we drew closer to the Empress, the air around us noticeably tightened with tension.
By now, everyone knew.
That the relationship between the Lombardi and Angenas families was extremely strained.
After Grandfather publicly became Perez’s guardian, high society was abuzz with it for a long time.
Everyone was holding their breath, wondering what would happen if the Empress of Angenas and the Patriarch of Lombardi clashed at a banquet where so many people were gathered.
But then, something happened that surprised everyone.
“The guest of honor for today’s banquet has arrived.”
The Empress approached us first, with a beautiful and harmless smile.
Those who had expected a sharp verbal battle between the two families were dumbfounded.
But Grandfather, as if he had expected Lavini’s move, also smiled benignly and greeted her.
“Thank you, Empress, for preparing such a beautiful and grand banquet.”
“Sir Gallahan of Lombardi is receiving His Majesty’s medal, so we must do this much. Don’t you agree?”
From their outward appearance, they looked like neighbors who couldn’t be on better terms.
“It’s been a long time, Your Majesty.”
Father greeted her first.
The last time Father had met the Empress face-to-face, the situation had not been good.
The Empress had used knights to break their agreement and try to gain the upper hand over Father, and Father had even formally protested her actions to the Emperor.
But from the Empress’s gentle smile as she received Father’s greeting, there was no hint of such a past.
Then the Empress looked at me, greeting her next to Father.
“Florentia, you’ve grown so much since I last saw you. In just a few more years, high society will be abuzz because of the beautiful Lombardi lady.”
Having said that, Lavini asked Grandfather, “They say the Lombardi children traditionally marry early, don’t they? How about Florentia?”
At that moment, I saw Grandfather’s smiling eyes turn cold.
The Empress’s remark was a political one, using the surrounding crowd.
It contained the intention to make it seem as if the Empress was interested in me as a match for Astana.
“…That’s an old story. My grandsons and granddaughters don’t need to do that.”
This time, the Empress’s face stiffened.
It was understandable, given that she had just been told to her face, ‘My granddaughter doesn’t need your son.’
I felt like a chuckle might escape me, but the conversation, filled with unseen daggers, stopped there.
The Emperor had arrived in the banquet hall.
The music stopped, and those dancing and conversing all bowed their heads before the Emperor.
But the deathly silent hall suddenly began to stir.
Emperor Jovanes was not alone.
He was walking with a beautiful, black-haired boy.
Tall, dressed in noticeably luxurious clothes, and with an expressionless face that looked down on everyone, the boy possessed a charm that made it difficult for onlookers to take their eyes off him.
People quickly deduced the boy’s identity.
“Uh, uh… that, that child, surely?”
“His Royal Highness, the Second Prince?”
People were shocked.
Although everyone knew of the Second Prince’s existence, no one had ever seen him.
The Empress had thoroughly excluded Perez from the imperial family, and the Emperor had allowed it.
But today, the Emperor had brought the Second Prince to the National Foundation Day banquet.
And he had brought him personally.
This implied a great deal.
It meant that the Emperor was officially introducing the second prince to the nobles of the Empire, and it was a message to the Empress that she should no longer exclude the Second Prince.
I subtly turned my head and looked at the Empress.
Her face was distorted beyond comparison to the expression that had hardened during her conversation with Grandfather moments ago.
Her trembling eyelids and pale face showed how great the shock was.
Gritting sound.
A terrifying sound came from between the Empress’s clenched teeth.
I quietly took half a step away from the Empress.
Perez, whom she had tried to starve to death by poisoning him and confining him to an annex, had not only received a fine palace in the east but now stood proudly as a prince before the nobles of the Empire.
Now, whether she liked it or not, as the Empress of the Empire, she could no longer ignore Perez.
Furthermore, it must have been even more infuriating that all of this was the will of the Emperor whom she had trusted.
Emperor Jovanes had many displeasing aspects, but this time was a nice shot.
Serves her right, serves her right.
The Emperor and Perez were walking towards where the Empress and we were standing.
Perez’s figure, which had been hidden by Jovanes’s large frame, was now becoming visible.
That rascal, he’s grown a lot.
His face still had a youthful air, but his height had grown significantly, which was the first thing I noticed.
The last time I saw him, he was so small and thin that he didn’t look his age.
He seemed to have grown very healthy, thanks to Catherine and Kailus taking good care of him.
However, his personality, which had less joy and sorrow than others, seemed unchanged, as his expressionless face hadn’t altered at all.
I was watching Perez with the proud feeling of seeing a nephew I hadn’t seen in a long time when our eyes suddenly met.
The rascal, who had been indifferently looking at the nobles gazing at him with eyes somewhere between curiosity and shock, fixed his gaze on me.
And I saw his eyes curving as if he was about to smile.
No!
It must not be revealed yet that we know each other and have been in regular contact.
Of course, Grandfather, who receives reports from Catherine, would know, but I didn’t even tell Father because I didn’t want to cause him unnecessary worry!
I glared fiercely at Perez.
Don’t smile!
Don’t even act like you know me!
Fortunately, Perez seemed to catch on quickly.
A fleeting ‘oops!’ thought crossed his face, which had been slowly breaking into a smile, and he quickly returned to his original expressionless face.
Good boy, good boy! You’re doing great!
Even then, the rascal didn’t look away.
He continued to look at me with an expression that didn’t reveal his true feelings, just as I had instructed.
He probably wanted to say hello since it had been a while since we met.
But a greeting could wait.
When the banquet was in full swing, and there weren’t as many eyes watching.
A simple ‘long time no see’ could be said then.
“Gallahan!”
The Emperor called Father’s name with a hearty laugh.
Next to Jovanes, who was thick-boned and somewhat like a bandit, unlike Perez’s birth father, Father truly looked like a delicate work of art.
A hand like a pot lid clapped Father’s shoulder.
“Do I have to bestow a National Foundation Day medal just to see your face!”
“Your Majesty, I am deeply honored.”
I had noticed this before, but the Emperor was very good at feigning familiarity.
Perhaps it was a virtue of a politician to conceal one’s true feelings and act skillfully.
Watching Jovanes joke with Father and Grandfather, as if for everyone else to hear, I realized one thing.
The conversation was intentionally excluding the Empress.
He didn’t even direct his gaze towards the Empress.
I saw the Empress’s face, which had been pale just moments ago, turn red with anger.
The Emperor was truly a cunning person.
He looked as if he was completely unrelated to politics, yet here he was, holding Lombardi and Angenas in his hands and weighing them.
Now the Empress and Angenas would have to be wary of the Emperor giving more power to our family, and would have to offer more and try to appease the Emperor.
As I was observing the world of adults, one of my cheeks began to prickle.
I looked in the direction where I felt the gaze, and it was Perez, as expected.
The rascal was looking at me without even blinking.
Perhaps he found it frustrating to pretend not to know each other, as his fair face was slightly flushed.
I didn’t dislike Perez’s appearance like that either.
To think that he was so glad to see me, just because we had known each other since childhood and I had helped him a little.
It seemed that exchanging letters occasionally had been effective.
It was a very positive reaction when I thought about the future.
A little later, I should go somewhere and share a chocolate cookie with him.
Just as I thought that and turned my head again, my eyes met with someone who had been watching us.
It was Emperor Jovanes.