In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Side Story, Chapter 0

Buzz-buzz.
It was summer, and cicadas were buzzing loudly.
Clerivan Pellett, the head of the Lombardi Merchant Guild, was walking along the wide corridor of the Lombardi mansion.
As he stretched his long legs and moved, his clothes fluttered, and his blond hair and blue eyes sparkled in the midday sun.
Many of the mansion’s employees working nearby stared at him, mesmerized.
Clerivan, however, didn’t notice them and simply walked lost in thought.
“To barge in and demand to see Lady Lombardi without an appointment. What an ignorant fellow…”
Clerivan’s neat brow furrowed as he thought of the uninvited guest who had arrived without prior notice.
“Well, this is probably all going according to Lady Lombardi’s will anyway.”
He had been given a heads-up.
If ‘that person’ were to visit unexpectedly, he was not to turn them away but to inform her.
“She always has a plan.”
Thinking of her, the light and pillar of Lombardi, a smile finally graced Clerivan’s face.
He continued walking, looking around the interior of the mansion and out the windows.
Even though the heat was at its peak, and things might have been a bit disheveled and loose,
There was no place that wasn’t perfect wherever his gaze landed.
Of course, it had always been that way, but in Clerivan Pellett’s rather subjective opinion, Lombardi had become even more perfect about one year and three months ago.
That was when Florentia Lombardi, the current head of Lombardi, inherited the position.
“Exactly 447 days.”
Clerivan muttered proudly.
It was a number he had meticulously calculated, adding one day each morning when he woke up.
It was true that at first, there were uneasy glances both inside and outside Lombardi regarding the new head of the family.
The person Florentia Lombardi was, in many ways, an ‘unconventional’ choice.
However, the new head of Lombardi, upon hearing those concerns, said with her characteristic confident smile:
“Everyone will naturally understand in time, anyway. Why I became the head of Lombardi.”
And her words proved true.
Despite the worries, she quickly began to establish herself as the head of the family.
As if she were born to be the head of Lombardi from the very beginning.
She handled complex matters without outside help, and made difficult decisions without hesitation, always choosing the right path.
Indeed, every day was filled with admiration from everyone who was watching the new head of Lombardi.
Thus, the past year and three months had flown by quickly.
As Florentia had promised, and as Clerivan had expected,
No one dared to question the actions of the new head of Lombardi anymore.
To anyone who looked, Lombardi was becoming stronger than ever in its family history.
Clerivan’s shoulders naturally straightened with pride, serving such a person so closely, and with the pride of being her closest aide.
“Ah, Lord Bate.”
Clerivan spotted Bate just emerging from the mansion’s gallery and approached him.
“Long time no see, Lord Clerivan.”
Bate, the guild master of the Information Guild, greeted him with his mysterious amber eyes curving into a smile.
He always thought that his smile was as rich as caramel, just like the name of the dessert shop he ran.
“Lady Lombardi is inside. She’s admiring Alpheo Gian’s work.”
“The one that was newly presented?”
“Yes. She seems to like it very much, and she’s in an especially good mood today.”
“That’s fortunate.”
Clerivan nodded, thinking of the person waiting for her in the family head’s office.
“Please go in.”
“Yes, then.”
Although they both claimed to be the left and right hands of Florentia Lombardi, working closely with her, the two did not discuss work-related matters at all.
What they knew about each other was too sensitive.
Thump, thump.
As Clerivan entered the high-ceilinged, open gallery, his footsteps echoed louder.
A space where all sorts of rare artworks showcased their beauty on white marble floors.
In the deepest and widest part, Alpheo Gian’s work, which Bate had mentioned, was located.
The title of the work was ‘World Tree’.
It was a colossal sculpture, crafted from multiple pieces of wood, embodying the Lombardi family’s symbol, the World Tree, using his specialty in woodworking.
To celebrate Florentia Lombardi, who had recognized his talent when he was young and became the head of the family, he had poured his soul into creating this artwork for over a year, without a single day of rest.
A massive tree trunk, large enough for three adult men to barely embrace, and countless branches extending in all directions from it.
It was majestic, as if supporting the world rather than just the gallery ceiling, and also seemed to blaze, as if it would devour everything at any moment.
And below it.
A person with a presence that wasn’t overshadowed by the energy emanating from the sculpture.
Florentia Lombardi, the head of Lombardi, turned to Clerivan and smiled.
“Welcome, Head of Pellett.”

“You’re calling me that again.”
Clerivan said in an uncharacteristically sullen voice.
“Please call me comfortably, like before.”
“But you’re the head of the Lombardi Merchant Guild now…”
I trailed off, but Clerivan didn’t budge.
He’s really stubborn about strange things.
“Alright, Clerivan.”
“Lady Lombardi, honorifics…”
“Calling you ‘Clerivan’ and then speaking informally? I really can’t do that.”
This time, I shook my head firmly.
Clerivan sighed lightly and smiled, as if he couldn’t help it.
I smiled back at Clerivan, then turned my head to look up at the World Tree sculpture again.
I felt as if I had become one of the lucky humans to witness the legendary World Tree.
As I stood there quietly for a moment, Clerivan informed me in a low voice from behind.
“Um, Lady Lombardi.”
“Speak.”
“I apologize for interrupting your appreciation, but Chanton Sheshou is waiting in the office right now.”
Clerivan’s tone, when he uttered the name of the Grand Lord of the South, Sheshou, was quite rough.
It meant he disliked him that much, I suppose.
However, I didn’t answer his words.
He just came when it was time for him to come, that’s all.
Besides, he was the one in a hurry right now, not me.
Instead, I reached out a hand and stroked the solid surface of the World Tree.
Normally, artworks were meant to be appreciated only with the eyes, but Alpheo Gian had said he created this World Tree sculpture with touch in mind.
Solely for me.
“Clerivan.”
“Yes, Lady Lombardi.”
“What if the branches of this World Tree hadn’t spread out in that shape?”
“…Pardon?”
“What if there were no World Tree flowers blooming there? Or what if this sculpture was just a little smaller than this?”
I met Clerivan’s blue eyes, which were intently trying to read my intentions, and smiled.
“Don’t you think it would still have been quite a magnificent sculpture?”
Just like the sculpture I saw in my previous life.
With my help, Alpheo Gian began sculpting in earnest at a much younger age than in his previous life.
And with the full support of Lombardi.
It was like a genius gaining wings, so naturally, Alpheo Gian succeeded faster and gained more fame.
And he had already presented one sculpture to the Lombardi family.
‘Woman Tending a Sapling,’ showcased at the Lombardi Scholarship Foundation banquet held to secretly bring in the head of the Brown family.
So I thought that would be the end of it.
But Alpheo Gian eventually created his masterpiece, ‘World Tree,’ and dedicated it to me, the new head of the family.
As if creating that masterpiece was his destiny.
“What I want to say is, what’s meant to happen will eventually happen.”
But there were also changes.
This ‘World Tree’ was slightly different from the one in my previous life.
Flowers that weren’t there before were added, and the branches depicted a more dynamic outward spread.
And most of all, its scale had become even grander.
“However, how one escapes that destiny and how one utilizes it ultimately depends on the person.”
Just like Alpheo Gian, who created a more beautiful ‘World Tree’ with improved skills compared to his previous life.
Then, I affectionately patted Clerivan’s shoulder and said,
“Didn’t you say a guest is waiting? Let’s go now.”
Considering how much he’s bothered me, I’d like to make him wait longer.
With that thought, I took a very leisurely stroll from the gallery to my office.
I deliberately stopped in the middle to admire flowers and chatted with Lord Herring of the Scholarship Foundation, who happened to be passing by.
And finally, when I entered the office.
“Lady Lombardi.”
Chanton Sheshou, who had been sitting, stood up and called me.
He was usually a man of no expression, but today his face was even more rigidly set.
As if he were extremely angry.
However, I knew all too well that beneath that thick, expressionless mask, a hint of anxiety was flowing.
I stood silently for a moment, admiring Chanton Sheshou’s face.
Finally, Chanton Sheshou could no longer endure and asked.
“What was written in the letter… is it true?”
Yes, you should have come out with that sooner.
With ample delight, I smiled at Chanton Sheshou and said,
“It’s been a month, Lord Sheshou.”