In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 61

His back, standing in front of me as if to protect me from anything, was unusually broad and unwavering.
“Ha!”
Astana glared at Perez as if he found it unbelievable.
“You… draw a sword on me?”
Had he forgotten the sword in his own hand?
Astana said, grinding his teeth in rage.
I subtly assessed the situation behind me, pretending to look at Father.
Grandfather was half-risen from his seat, glaring at Astana as if to burn him alive, and Father’s face had turned pale as he tried to rush to save me.
However, Father was stopped by a hand gripping his arm.
It was Emperor Jovanes.
“Your Majesty?”
Father called out in surprise, but the Emperor did not look at Father.
He was merely watching his two sons, who were standing with swords drawn at each other, with an utterly intrigued expression.
Seeing the Emperor’s reaction, the knights who had been about to intervene stepped back again.
At this, Astana became even more excited.
He seemed to think the Emperor had set the stage for him to crush Perez.
The tip of the sword, still pointed at me, twitched like his smiling face.
“What are you going to do? You seem to have become arrogant because of today’s events. Know your place…” Astana, who had been mocking Perez, stopped speaking and looked back and forth between me and Perez.
“Ah, are you two feeling a bond because you both have lowly mothers?”
Two insults in one go.
He truly was Astana the scoundrel.
“Are you going to gang up, you half-breeds?”
“Your Royal Highness, the First Prince!”
Finally, Father, unable to bear it, burst out in anger.
But Astana merely glanced at Father, who was still silently enduring, then checked on the Emperor who remained quiet, and continued to sneer.
“How dare you draw a sword on me, the Empire’s only legitimate heir?”
Astana said that and swung his sword widely.
He must have thought he would win easily.
Perez had been very small when he was young, and the period he had formally trained in swordsmanship was incomparably shorter.
The sword, imbued with all his weight and might, fell towards me and Perez.
No, the tip of the sword was clearly still aiming at me, behind Perez.
I did not back down and stared directly at Astana.
“W-what?”
Just to see that expression.
Thunk.
The upper part of the sword Astana had confidently swung was cleanly cut off and fell to the floor.
It was a very clean cut.
“This is… now…”
Astana stared blankly at his sword, which had been cleanly cut in half, and couldn’t speak for a long time.
Then he screamed at Perez.
“You, you bastard! What cowardly trick did you use?!”
“Stand back.”
“What cowardly trick did you use?!”
Perez’s cold voice, like pouring oil on a fire, made Astana completely lose his reason.
Look at that lunatic.
“Aaaargh!”
He yelled, veins bulging in his neck, beside himself with rage, then looked around frantically.
“Y-Your Royal Highness! No!”
“Give it to me!”
The knight, fumbling and unable to fully stop the Prince’s hand, ultimately had his sword snatched by Astana.
Shouldn’t he have stopped him?
The knight looked at the Emperor with such eyes, but there were no specific orders.
The knight, unable to physically restrain the Prince without permission, could only watch his own sword fall into Astana’s hand.
“Ugh-aah!”
Now, Astana even let out a battle cry as he swung the knight’s sword.
The golden blade, characteristic of the Imperial Knights, flashed.
But.
Thunk.
The result was the same as before.
The sword, severed in half, fell onto the carpet.
Astana was now speechless.
He breathed heavily, staring blankly at the severed sword.
“H-how…”
Just then, Perez’s sword moved smoothly.
It was an elegant motion, like flowing water.
“I told you to step back, unless you want to die.”
Whoosh.
With a low resonance, Perez’s sword shimmered with a blue light.
“Gasp!”
“Oh, aura!”
The knight immediately recognized the true nature of the blue light and gasped in horror.
There had never been a swordsman who emitted aura at thirteen.
And such a clear blue light at that.
“N-no way…”
Astana was now rubbing his eyes.
“How. How could someone like you… have aura…”
Both him and Bellezac.
Can they not get rid of that phrase, ‘someone like you’?
Even after seeing his sword cut like tofu twice just now, ‘someone like you’?
“Take it back.”
Perez’s sword, shimmering with blue aura, pointed at Astana.
“Take back what you said about ‘half-breed’.”
It was different from Astana’s sword, which had twitched incessantly.
Perez’s sword, unwavering by an inch, was menacing, as if it would stab Astana at any moment.
“Do you think I’d apologize to someone like you…?”
“Not to me.”
Perez pushed the sword closer to Astana’s neck and said.
Huh? Me?
I was startled and looked at Perez, who I had naturally assumed was referring to being called a half-breed himself.
Perez’s red eyes were deeply shadowed.
His eyes, as smooth and sharp as a blade, glowed fiercely, glaring at Astana.
He was truly that furious at me being called a half-breed.

“Stop.”
It was the Emperor.
“Lower your sword.”
But Perez still aimed at Astana.
He didn’t seem to intend to lower his sword.
I poked Perez in the side, out of sight of others.
If he gets on the Emperor’s bad side by disobeying him, it’ll be a mess!
Fortunately, Perez slowly lowered his sword.
Then Astana suddenly shouted,
“It’s clearly magic!”
Pointing at Perez with his finger, he said indignantly to the Emperor,
“Otherwise, how could he!”
“You stop too, Astana.”
The Emperor said, frowning.
“But Your Majesty! That fellow pointed a sword at me! At me!”
“The First Prince’s bullying of my granddaughter came first.”
Grandfather cut Astana off.
“Th-that…”
“The Second Prince is only guilty of protecting my granddaughter from the First Prince, who just drew a sword out of nowhere.”
Astana looked at the Emperor as if pleading for help, but Jovanes showed no intention of doing so.
He merely watched the situation as a perfect bystander.
“Apologize.”
Even at Grandfather’s words, Astana just stood there huffing.
Seeing no sign of remorse, Grandfather spoke to the Emperor.
“It seems the First Prince is still very angry, so it would be best for him to cool his head alone.”
“That would be good.”
Jovanes, who readily agreed to Grandfather’s suggestion, gestured to the knights.
“Let go! Argh! Let go of me!”
Astana struggled, dragged away by the knights, each holding one of his arms.
How vulgar, how base.
I clicked my tongue, watching him.
Astana was dragged out, and finally, the room became quiet.
“Are you okay?”
Perez asked me.
“Yeah. I’m fine…”
I was about to answer thoughtlessly, then remembered where I was.
Sure enough.
The Emperor was watching us.
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
I politely bowed to Perez, then immediately turned back.
But the Emperor’s strange gaze didn’t leave me.
Ah, why is he bothering me like that?
I tried to act as if nothing was wrong, walking with a poker face.
“Tia! Are you hurt anywhere?”
Father strode over, knelt on one knee, lowered himself, and hugged me tightly, asking.
“I’m not hurt. Ah, but Astana tore my dress,” I remembered, looking down.
“Oh dear… Our Tia’s carefully made dress is torn.”
He was foolish, but how strong he was.
The silk, which I had simply thought was torn, was actually ripped beyond repair.
I should have whispered to Perez to just stab him earlier.
If I had, Perez probably would have stabbed him without a moment’s hesitation.
I somehow felt he would have.
“I apologize on behalf of Astana’s rudeness.”
Unusually, Emperor Jovanes spoke.
“And Perez.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Well done. A man, by all means, should know how to stand up for a woman.”
Perez seemed to be at a loss for words.
He just looked at me for a moment, then nodded slightly.
“But I was surprised too.
That you, who are usually so indifferent, would rush in so immediately…”
Jovanes looked at Perez with interest.
“It must be because the First Prince dared to draw a sword in front of Your Majesty.”
Grandfather tactfully intercepted the conversation.
Grandfather was the only one who knew that Perez and I knew each other and had maintained our friendship all this time.
“Hmm. Is that so…”
The Emperor seemed to have completely forgotten about Astana by now, returning to his usual carefree expression.
He was completely different from Father, who was still clinging to me anxiously.
“But it’s also the first time Perez has shown such an attitude…”
“Don’t attach too much significance to it, Your Majesty.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea. What about a companion, Gallahan?”
Father’s hand, which had been gently patting my back, stopped abruptly.
“What do you mean, Your Majesty?”
“Since your daughter and Perez are of similar age, I was wondering what you think about them becoming companions. From their personalities, they seem to get along quite well.”
No, which part of them do you mean?
I was dumbfounded.
Grandfather and Father seemed to be equally so.
The only one whose eyes sparkled at the Emperor’s words was Perez.
“…It seems best to leave for today.”
Grandfather said with a stiff face.
His lips twitched, indicating he was very displeased.
“Let’s go, Gallahan.”
“…Yes, Father.”
Father also replied, rising from his kneeling position.
Sway.
Father’s body swayed.
“Dad?”
I grabbed Father’s hand, which was tilting to one side.
“Gallahan? What’s wrong?”
“Ah, nothing. Perhaps one of my legs is numb…”
“Gallahan!”
Grandfather shouted loudly.
But Father’s body began to collapse to one side again.
Thud, crash!
A loud sound, bearing his full weight, resonated through the floor.
“Uh-oh…”
Father, too, seemed to not understand the situation, sitting on the floor with a bewildered expression.
“What happened?”
Grandfather asked.
“I, I don’t know. Why is my right leg like this…”
Father’s hand repeatedly massaged his right leg.
“Should we call a doctor?”
Jovanes also approached, asking casually.
While everyone was bewildered and confused, I clenched my teeth.
It had finally begun.
A disease where one side of the body gradually loses function, rapidly spreading, ultimately leading to the loss of all motor skills.
A disease where paralysis eventually reaches the chest, causing one to tragically die, eyes open, struggling to breathe.
Tlenbru, the disease that killed my father, had manifested.