In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 66

“There’s a cure?”

“Yes. There is.” I replied, thinking of Estira, who was currently on her way to Lombardi by carriage. I couldn’t prevent my father’s illness from manifesting, but I could prevent his death.

I tried to calm my swirling, muddy thoughts. Even though I had known and anticipated it, seeing my father suffer from that disease again was difficult for me too. But this time is different. It’s different from the past, when I had to helplessly watch my father suffer without being able to do anything. I kept telling myself that and comforting myself, but it seems the stress is considerable.

“You don’t look well, Tia.” Perez took a step closer and said.

“…I told you I’m fine?” I took a step back. Perez looked down at the space I had vacated, then frowned. “Hmm.” He seemed to ponder for a moment, then rummaged in his pocket and pulled something out.

“Chocolate cookies?” It was a thick cookie with large chunks of chocolate.

“When things are hard… something that helps. It’s the only thing I know.”

“Ah… Uh, thanks.” I took it. It was quite heavy, as expected. As I just held the cookie, Perez stared intently at me. Was he telling me to eat it?

I slowly brought the cookie to my mouth. I could see anticipation in Perez’s face. When I took a small bite, a sweet taste filled my mouth with a crunch.

“Delicious.” It wasn’t just for Perez, it was genuinely delicious.

“…Really?”

“Yeah. It’s delicious.”

“That’s a relief.” Perez smiled deeply, his dimples showing. Could this be, perhaps?

“Did you make this, Perez?”

“Yeah.” He’s good at cooking too?! Looks, studies, swordsmanship, and now even cooking! I felt a little resentful of the heavens for showering so much talent on one person.

“I’ll make you a lot more, later.” Perez said, blushing slightly, as if embarrassed.

“Later? Well, okay.” I replied without thinking too deeply. It was a delicious cookie, after all.

At my words, Perez’s smile deepened even further. For a moment, I stared blankly at his face, forgetting the cookie in my hand. He was handsome even with a blank expression, but his beauty was even more powerful when he smiled shyly like that. Moreover, as he grew older and fully entered the ranks of handsome young men, he seemed to have upgraded, so to speak. He was more intense and captivating than the roses in full bloom where we stood. Of course, his incredible looks played a big part in how he lived forgotten for a while and then suddenly appeared and instantly dominated the empire.

“Tia?” When I looked at him, half-entranced, Perez tilted his head and called my name.

“Ugh!” And those fine black strands of hair swaying with that small movement are a work of art! I fondly patted his head, filled with proud anticipation for Perez’s brilliant future. “Just grow up well like this, Perez. Your beauty is a national treasure.”

“Me?”

“Of course! When you train, you absolutely must not get your face hurt! Your beautiful face is everyone’s public property, no, not that. Anyway, you have to cherish it!”

“Is that so…” Perez touched his face once and said, as if he didn’t quite understand. Ah, a beautiful boy who doesn’t even know he’s handsome.

“You’re prettier than me, Tia.”

“…Are you teasing me now?”

“No. I’m serious.” Without any way to avoid it, Perez’s hand touched my cheek. The distance between us closed in an instant. His eyes, redder than roses, met mine right in front of me.

Wh-what is this? I froze. And he spoke in a low voice, as if sharing a secret.

“Beautiful.”

“Th-that…” I was so flustered that I couldn’t speak. It was when I was left speechless, stuttering like an idiot.

Rustle.

A round garden bush a little distance away rustled slightly. I thought it was one of the small animals living in the garden, but.

“Who’s there.”

WHOOSH!

Perez quickly drew his sword and cut down the garden bush in one swift motion.

Thud.

The cut bush rolled sideways, and behind it, three small heads were revealed, crouched down.

“W-what are you doing!” It was Bellezac, screaming, his face pale at the sight of the cut tree.

“Ugh…” And Astaliu and his seven-year-old brother, Craney, were too scared to even scream.

“W-what if you accidentally cut us too!”

“Then why were you listening to other people’s conversations like a rat?” I retorted coldly.

“R-rat’?” Bellezac bristled and jumped up from his crouching position. Like Perez, he had grown considerably taller at thirteen, but the scowl plastered on his face had grown too.

“You, you half-breed…”

“Shut up, Bellezac.” I immediately stopped him from reciting his tiresome repertoire again. “I’m not in the mood to listen to you rant about ‘half-breed’ and such. Just leave while I’m being nice.” With my fuse already short due to my father’s situation, if someone like Bellezac hovered around, I didn’t know how I might explode. This was purely advice for Bellezac’s well-being. But how did he take it? Bellezac gritted his teeth and flared his nostrils.

“You little runt!”

“Not what I was thinking.” I clicked my tongue in disdain. Then I asked Astaliu, “Why on earth do you follow someone like him?” Astaliu’s eyes widened, and he glanced at Bellezac. “And with your little brother too.”

Astaliu’s brother, Craney, was unusually small for a seven-year-old. Later, he would diligently study and be the least troublesome of my cousins, so I had the least negative feelings towards him. He inherited the blood of his maternal family, the Gineforks, and his red hair and freckles made him look even younger.

“Bellezac is a rotten rope, so stop and find another one.” I advised sincerely. I didn’t expect Astaliu to heed my advice. But if he remembered this moment later, he would regret it, pounding the ground and thinking, ‘I should have listened to her then!’

“This won’t do. Let’s go, Perez.” I said, wanting to avoid looking at the idiots’ faces, and tried to leave the garden.

“Hey, half-breed! You seem to be getting arrogant just because the Second Prince came to see you!” I stopped in my tracks and turned back to Bellezac. Just like Astana’s soulmate. It was laughable how he swaggered with a sword at his waist, as if he had learned a thing or two. Normally, I might have just ignored him, but today, I felt my patience rapidly tightening. I extended my index, middle, and ring fingers.

“First, I told you not to call me half-breed. Second, ‘Second Prince and such’? How much stupider are you going to get? And third, why would I be arrogant when I have to deal with someone like you? Unless it’s as annoying as catching a fly, maybe.”

At the end, I only raised my middle finger.

“Wh-what did you say?” Bellezac struggled to understand my words for a long time, then failed and his face turned bright red. And this time, he changed his target.

“Hmph, it’s just two half-breeds hanging out together, isn’t it?”

“What did you just say?” Something snapped in my head. “Half-breeds?” Not only was he sneering at me, but he was dragging an innocent Perez into it too? I instinctively picked up the first thing I saw. “Who are you to insult him?” It was a rock. I don’t know why it was lying on a well-kept lawn, but the grip in my hand was perfect.

“Y-you’re crazy?!” Fear filled Bellezac’s face when he saw the rock in my hand.

Clang!

Finally, Bellezac stumbled backward and drew his sword. But I didn’t even blink.

“Who are you to call someone ‘half-breed’ and so on! If you’re far worse than a half-breed, are you just crumbs then?!”

“What?!”

“Just a Bellezac!”

“Hey, Astaliu! You draw too!” Bellezac, feeling at a disadvantage alone, shouted to Astaliu, who was standing nearby. Astaliu reluctantly drew his sword, and Craney, watching them, also reached for the wooden sword at his waist.

“Stop.” I pointed at Craney and said, “You stay still. Unless you want to see something nasty happen.”

“…Sob.” Craney finally burst into tears, perhaps because my glaring eyes and the rock in my hand were quite terrifying. A tense atmosphere hung between me, Bellezac, and Astaliu. The guys were on guard, only watching the rock in my hand, fearing it might be thrown.

“How simple.” I curled one corner of my lip, mocking the idiots. Then I said, “Cut them all down, Perez.”

At that moment, I felt a whoosh of wind from behind me, and Perez charged. A blue aura flashed briefly. Just like what happened to Astana, two swords were instantly cut and fell beside the garden bush. With a small metallic clink. Perez, having cleanly sheathed his sword as if nothing had happened, looked at them with his usual indifferent eyes.

“Th-the rumors were true…”

“Aura…” Bellezac and Astaliu looked utterly dumbfounded.

“To think such guys are my cousins…” The name Lombardi is wasted on them. I watched their pathetic state for a moment, then grabbed Perez’s hand and pulled him. “Let’s go, Perez. If we stay with them any longer, their stupidity will rub off on us.”

“…Ugh.” Perez, who was now much taller than me, obediently followed like a large dog. Unaware that his face was turning red as he looked at our clasped hands. Unaware of how blankly the remaining three were watching us as we moved away.

“Cool…” Only Craney’s dreamy, small voice reached my ears.

A strange carriage entered the Lombardi mansion. It seemed to have traveled a long distance, as both the horses and the coachman were very tired. The carriage headed straight for the annex, not the main gate of the Lombardi main building. It seemed to have a promised destination.

Quietly, the carriage door opened in front of the mansion’s annex. It was a woman with a gentle impression and calm eyes.

“Phew…” The woman, also looking tired, sighed and personally took a bag from the carriage that she had cherished throughout the journey. Just then, the annex door opened. A girl came out, followed by a strangely similar-looking pair of a man and a woman.

Click-clack.

The girl approached, her high-quality leather shoes clicking, and smiled brightly at the woman. “You worked hard to get here, Estira.”