In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 95

“Haa, haa…”
The Empress, so enraged that her neatly tied-up hair flowed forward, finally broke one more frame and slumped onto the sofa.
Instead of the wildly rampaging Empress, Astana, who was leisurely sipping tea beside her, subtly smiled at the head of the Angenas family and said,
“Grandfather has arrived?”
“Yo-Your Imperial Highness.”
Astana, with his 16th birthday just around the corner, was growing day by day.
“You were here…”
The head of the Angenas family subtly averted his gaze.
He had always known Astana took after his maternal side, but the extent of it was a bit too much.
It was like seeing Lavini in her youth, as if not a single drop of Emperor Yovanes’s blood flowed in him.
“What can I do if my incompetent grandfather is untrustworthy?”
Even that personality.
“I apologize…”
Perdic Angenas swallowed a sigh and bowed his head again.
“…Father.”
The Empress, who had been leaning against the sofa armrest as if exhausted, called the head of the Angenas family.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Another diamond vein has been discovered in the Lyra Mine, they say?”
“Is that so…?”
However, before Perdic Angenas could even finish his sentence, the Empress sprang up from her seat as if having a seizure.
“Is that so?”
The Empress’s blue eyes were sharp and cold.
“Is that all you have to say?!”
Thump! Crack!
The Empress picked up the teacup Astana had just put down and threw it at the wall behind the head of the Angenas family.
“If only you had done what I ordered!
That mine! Those diamonds! They would all have been ours, the Angenas’s!”
As Pellet Corporation, which had taken over the Lyra Mine, earned more money from diamonds, the Empress’s envy and jealousy grew more intense.
It had gotten to the point where wearing diamond accessories was forbidden at the tea parties and banquets hosted by the Empress herself.
The Empress let out a terrible shriek, like a scream.
Her hands, clutching her head, trembled uncontrollably.
She couldn’t control her rage.
“Get out! Get out right now!”
The Empress panted and pointed towards the door.
Perdic Angenas had no choice but to leave the Empress’s Palace as ordered.
There was no resentment about being treated this way by his daughter.
The relationship between father and daughter had vanished long ago.
Angenas was nothing more or less than a foundation of power that could solidify the Empress’s position.
“Hoo…”
As the head of the Angenas family let out a heavy sigh, Astana approached him from behind.
“Grandfather.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Highness. I apologize for the embarrassing sight earlier…”
“Oh, never mind that. What about the favor I asked for earlier?”
“The earlier matter…”
A few weeks ago, Astana had made a confidential request.
He wanted to acquire private land outside the capital.
However, according to imperial law, a prince could not own private land while residing in the imperial palace.
It was the same reason they could not have their own knight orders or armies.
But these days, Astana, who was increasingly obsessed with creating “his own,” had asked his grandfather, the head of the Angenas family, to buy land under a false name.
It was an act that could lead to being arrested for treason and beheaded if discovered, but Perdic Angenas was trying his best to grant the request.
“I am discussing it with the lord of the region you mentioned, but it seems a bit difficult. He is very closely tied to the Lombardi family… Perhaps you should choose another region…”
“What? You can’t even handle that much?”
Astana frowned deeply.
“Didn’t I explain it clearly back then? That land is good for hunting.”
“If you need good hunting grounds, I will look for other more suitable lands.”
“I want that land and no other.”
“But Your Highness…”
“Are you daring to contradict me, the Prince?”
That was Astana’s favorite phrase to use whenever he was at a disadvantage since he learned to speak.
“Oh, and get me a diamond brooch.”
“Yes? But Her Majesty the Empress…”
“Do I have to dislike something just because my mother dislikes it?”
The head of the Angenas family widened his eyes in surprise.
Astana never did anything his mother told him not to.
But…
“I’m not a puppet who just does what my mother tells me.”
Astana muttered sullenly, then finally glared at the head of the Angenas family and said,
“Next time you come to the Imperial Palace, you will bring me the hunting ground deed and the brooch.”
Then he glanced towards the reception room where the Empress was and went to his own palace.
As he watched, an unpleasant premonition ran down the spine of the head of the Angenas family.
Astana had entered adolescence, and his rebellious phase had begun.
It was a premonition that something uncontrollable would happen if he started rebelling against the Empress.
***

Bate sat alone in the empty Caramel Avenue after closing hours, waiting for the building owner.
The owner, who had suddenly demanded to terminate the contract, had been silent about Bate’s proposal to meet and discuss.
Finally, a reply came this morning.
It was a message to meet after business hours.
Normally, Bate would be busier after Caramel Avenue’s closing time, but he had no choice.
After all, he had to meet the building owner and resolve the contract issue.
“It’s about time for the appointment.”
Bate said, looking at the door, which still showed no sign of movement.
Information about the new building owner floated around in his mind.
‘Rochelo Cox. 35 years old. Unmarried. Disowned at 22 and lived outside the capital, but returned upon hearing of his father’s death.’
So far, it was a fairly ordinary history.
It was a bit peculiar that a thirty-five-year-old was still unmarried in the Empire, where marriage typically happened around twenty.
Given the man’s personality, Bate could understand why he hadn’t found a woman to marry.
Furthermore, the information Bate subsequently uncovered was even more ludicrous.
‘Has about 300 gold in gambling debts.’
He was a typical nobleman’s rogue.
The information stated that he had been disowned 13 years ago due to gambling issues.
And that wasn’t the end of it.
‘A con artist operating under the alias Jeff Rich in the North. Still wanted.’
To even use an alias to commit fraud.
He was a vicious character.
When he had visited the store earlier,
His mannerisms and speech were somewhat crude for a noble.
He had probably done a lot of bad things and traveled around after being disowned by his family.
Bate was certain that further investigation would reveal more charges and aliases.
However, the most important part was the very last line:
‘Still wanted.’
The nobles in the North who had been defrauded by him would be seething.
He probably knew that best himself.
Bate resolved to use this as leverage to blackmail him if necessary.
‘I’m sorry, Mr. Owner.’
Bate felt a slight pang of conscience, recalling the late former building owner.
He had been such a kind-hearted person who had given Bate many conveniences, which made it even worse.
But he couldn’t lose this store.
He had to protect it, even if it meant using information as a weapon.
Ding.
Just then, the bell on the store door rang, and Bate stood up.
“Welcome. I was waiting…”
“Hello!”
It was a clear and cheerful voice, far from the husky voice of the building owner he had been waiting for.
“Wow, it feels different at night! You look even cooler, Bate!”
The girl, who was smiling ‘Hehe’, had a very familiar face.
Bate unconsciously murmured the girl’s name.
“Florentia… Lombardi?”
“As of today, I am the owner of this building.”
I kindly explained to the stunned Bate.
“You, a little kid… No, Lady Lombardi, you are the owner of this building?”
“Yes! I bought this building.”
Honestly, in terms of price, it wasn’t a smart purchase.
But thanks to the diamond business, this kind of spending barely made a dent.
Plus, looking to the future, it was an excellent investment.
“I saw that you were in a bit of a difficult situation last time. So I looked into it a bit. About that person I saw last time and the situation of ‘Caramel Avenue’.”
“Are you saying you investigated me?”
“It’s not really an investigation… I just don’t want my favorite regular store to disappear. I told you before, it feels like my hideout.”
Or a place that would become my hideout in the future.
Hehe.
“So I bought this building from that man. Now I’m the landlord.”
Wow, the day has come when I can say something like this!
I’m the landlord!
It’s thrilling! It’s the best!
“But that man was going to open a dessert shop in the same spot, you know?”
Bate’s shoulders trembled slightly.
He probably hadn’t known that.
“He has no conscience. He probably planned to keep operating as if it were ‘Caramel Avenue.’ Do you know how much premium I paid for this building?”
I asked subtly.
“…I wonder.”
I held out four fingers.
“I gave him 400 gold.”
It was an amount inflated several times over the market price.
“Why did you buy this building for so much?”
“I just told you. I didn’t want my regular store to disappear.”
“That can’t be. Someone like you wouldn’t simply do it for that reason…”
“What kind of person am I?”
Bate, who had accidentally let slip a word, instantly looked regretful, but it was already too late.
As expected, he had already investigated me to some extent.
“So what I mean is, Lady Lombardi…”
“You’ve been collecting information about me, haven’t you?”
As I spoke the word ‘information’, Bate’s eyes sharpened.
I felt good, as if I was finally seeing Bate’s true self, not just the always-kind manager of ‘Caramel Avenue.’
“It’s okay. I also know a little something about Bate.”
I smiled reassuringly at Bate, who seemed to be on guard, bristling like an angry cat.
This Bate was quite different from the Bate I had encountered in my previous life.
Back then, he was a very solid and experienced person, so much so that even I, who prided myself on being quite good at reading people, couldn’t see through him at all.
‘Caramel Avenue’ originally disappeared this year and then reappeared in the same spot ten years later.
And around that time, I had visited this store as a customer.
“To confess.”
I said, looking into his amber eyes that were fixed on me.
“I also know that this ‘Caramel Avenue’ is not just a simple dessert shop.”
‘Caramel Avenue’, the information guild that secretly buys and sells information.
And the guild master who leads that guild.
That was Bate’s hidden identity.