In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Side Story, Chapter 16

“You, you are…”
Just as I recognized Ethan Clouse at once, he instantly saw through my changed hair color and recognized my true identity.
“You wench…!”
My whole body was stiff, unable to move.
I wanted to hide behind Perez again, but I couldn’t.
Several Sheshou soldiers were already climbing onto Ethan Clouse’s back, trying to tie his hands and feet with ropes.
But he paid no attention to such things, his burning gaze fixed solely on me.
“Heu, heu…”
And Ethan Clouse began to laugh.
Like someone who had lost everything, seeing a glimmer of light offered before his eyes.
The corners of his mouth stretched wide, and blue veins pulsed on his forehead.
“Heu, heuheu.”
The soldiers frowned at the wanted man’s sudden laughter.
“What’s wrong with this guy?”
“I don’t know, maybe he’s gone crazy thinking it’s all over now. Oh, tie him up properly…”
“Kuaaak!”
Ethan Clouse twisted his body with a grotesque scream and rose to his feet.
The ropes that had just been binding Ethan Clouse’s hands and feet were futilely snapped, and the soldiers surrounding him scattered like fallen leaves.
Ethan Clouse, now free, charged towards me, crawling on all fours.
“I’ll kill you!”
With a bloodcurdling shriek, his two injured hands reached out for me.
As if he would strangle me with his bare hands if he had no weapon.
However, his body, exhausted from a long life of fleeing, was not in perfect condition.
It was a stark contrast to his brilliant career as the Angenas knight commander.
Only the murderous intent to kill me remained.
“How dare you.”
With a low voice, Perez moved.
He naturally reached out, drew the sword from the soldier who had been checking IDs, and twirled it once in his large hand as if it were his own.
And then, he swung it upwards.
No, it seemed like he did.
At that moment, all I could see was Perez’s large hand covering my eyes.
“Kuaaak!”
Ethan Clouse’s scream sounded as if it came from very far away.
Soon, the sound of soldiers rushing in, who had been watching blankly, mixed with his desperate shrieks.
“That wench! That wench must die…! Let go!”
But even that sound gradually faded.
Clang.
Perez, who had casually dropped the sword to the ground, stood in front of me.
Then, his large hand covered my ears.
Ethan Clouse’s screams grew faint.
The chaos on deck receded.
As everything subsided, the warmth against my ears and Perez’s red eyes protected my world.

Ethan Clouse, his hands and feet tightly bound, had a gag firmly placed in his mouth.
Perez looked down at the defeated man sprawling at his feet with indifferent eyes.
His Achilles tendons were severed, and he was covered in blood, a pathetic sight.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
Nevertheless, the former Angenas knight commander was still screaming something in a desperate rage, but no one listened.
He was the last remnant of Angenas.
The empress’s henchman whom he himself had missed while dealing with Angenas.
To unexpectedly find such a person in a place like this.
It was an unexpected achievement.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
Perez, watching Ethan Clouse still writhing like an insect, glanced at the Sheshou soldiers’ movements.
They, who had suddenly apprehended a wanted man, were sweating profusely, their faces flushed with thoughts of reward money, preparing to transfer him to the warship.
“Is it an Angenas tradition?”
Perez leaned slightly towards Ethan Clouse and said in a low voice,
“To be so impatient.”
Both the Empress and the Angenas lord had ruined things in this manner.
“The reason he specifically boarded a cruise ship heading east, even while being pursued, must have been to target the Lombardi lord.”
It was a well-known fact among the imperial citizens that the entire Lombardi family would attend Lorraine’s wedding.
“If he had just kept a low profile and lived in hiding, he could have survived, mourning the Empress alone.”
Perez’s lips twisted into a crooked smile.
“A fitting end for Angenas.”
“Gasp! Choke!”
When Lavini was mentioned, Ethan Clouse resisted even more fiercely, his veins bulging, but it was all meaningless struggle.
“Excuse me.”
The man who appeared to be in charge among the Sheshou soldiers approached and spoke.
“We received great help in apprehending the wanted man. This fellow has caused us months of trouble.”
“What is his name?”
Perez straightened up and asked.
“Well. We don’t know, but the higher-ups must know.”
“I see.”
Perez’s guess was correct.
If they had known who Ethan Clouse was, the inspection would not have been conducted by ordinary soldiers alone.
“Now I feel completely relieved.”
The soldier, who had muttered that, looking at Ethan Clouse with disgust, cautiously asked Perez,
“By the way… your sword handling seems skilled. Are you…”
The person in charge seemed to be more perceptive than expected.
Perez took out a small medal from his pocket.
It was an item stamped with Chanton Sheshou’s personal seal, proof that the bearer was acting under his command.
“I was on my way to the East at Lord Sheshou’s command, in case of any unforeseen dangers.”
“Ah, I knew it!”
The eyes of the commanding soldier, who recognized the medal, widened.
“I thought your swift subjugation of the wanted man was extraordinary.”
The soldier, whose tone had become respectful, nodded repeatedly.
“I will personally ensure that Lord Sheshou is informed of your valiant efforts.”
“Thank you.”
Perez said that and gently placed the medal in the two hands respectfully offered to him.
By the time it reached Chanton Sheshou, the ship would already have reached the East.
He had brought it along just in case, having used it years ago while traveling in the South, and it had proved useful.
“Then, I entrust the prisoner safely to the imperial palace.”
“Yes! Don’t worry!”
The soldier, who was still curiously examining the medal stamped with Chanton Sheshou’s seal, replied with a spirited voice.
Perez gave Ethan Clouse one last cold look, then turned his back on them.
He walked, thinking about how to deal with Ethan Clouse once their journey to the East was over.
Pushing through the excited crowd, buzzing with the recent commotion and anticipation for the upcoming fireworks, his red eyes instantly found Florentia.
His destination was always by her side.

Perez returned after handing Ethan Clouse over to the Sheshou soldiers, looking somewhat relieved.
“So Chanton Sheshou was looking for Ethan Clouse.”
I thought…
A hollow laugh escaped me as I recalled the past few days, spent anxiously wondering if the strict security was aimed at us.
“I thought he was chasing us, knowing we had left for the East early…”
I couldn’t finish my sentence.
Because Perez had taken both my hands.
“Why are you trembling so much?”
Hmm. He noticed, after all.
My fingertips, resting on Perez’s large hands, were visibly trembling.
“I really can’t hide anything from you.”
Perez’s brow furrowed, as if my efforts to act normal upset him more.
He sighed softly, gathered my two hands, and enveloped them.
Warmth gradually spread through my chilled hands.
“Ah, really. I was trying to create a romantic atmosphere today. And then Ethan Clouse had to pop out. Don’t you think?”
“I’m sorry.”
Perez didn’t answer my question, but said in a deep voice.
“If I had moved a little faster, you wouldn’t have had to be scared.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I was scared, but it’s not because of Ethan Clouse.”
“Then?”
I also looked down at my hands instead of answering.
The trembling in my fingertips had stopped.
“What scared me was this.”
I met his red eyes and said,
“I realized how important you are to me.”
Someone had rushed at me, trying to kill me.
It should have been a terrifying situation.
But I wasn’t particularly afraid.
“I secretly thought that everything would be okay just by having you by my side.”
It’s strange, isn’t it?
A chuckle escaped me.
“That’s who you are, Perez.”
His red eyes were shaking, as if my trembling had transferred to him.
I slowly reached out and cupped his cheek with one hand.
“You said it last time. That you couldn’t be my first.”
“Tia, that’s…”
“You’re right.”
I had no intention of comforting Perez with clumsy lies.
“As you said, I have a lot to protect. Lombardi, and the people who follow me.”
But.
“You are the one who enables me to protect those people. Without you, I don’t think I would have been able to do many things, nor would I be able to.”
So.
“Will you stay by my side from now on?”
It was a somewhat selfish confession.
But Perez smiled.
His eyes crinkled beautifully, and his red lips formed a lovely arc.
Then he rubbed his cheek against my hand.
“Please.”
Perez said with a sigh.
“Please let me stay by your side, Tia.”
Pop! Bang!
Brilliant fireworks burst in the black night sky.
Though it was muffled by the deafening sound, I clearly read the short words Perez added.
“Forever.”
Yes. No more words were needed between us.
“Yes, forever.”
Until the end of this second and last life.
Bang! Pop! Pop!
The cruise’s proud fireworks display and the cheering crowd all became distant noise.
We left everything behind and, as if by unspoken agreement, walked towards the cabin.
One step, one step.
Not too slow, not too fast.
Holding hands tightly and walking in sync, we soon found ourselves in front of the firmly closed cabin door.
But Perez didn’t move from that spot.
“Tia, I…”
He said, tightening his grip on our clasped hands, as if spitting out the words.
“If I go inside now… I won’t be able to stop.”
His red eyes shimmered in the light of the fireworks illuminating the distant sky.
As those fleeting, burning lights illuminated and then darkened his face, my resolve grew even firmer.
“I know.”
“…You know?”
“Yes, I know.”
Whoosh!
Hearing the distant cheers, I smiled at Perez.
“Tia, you don’t have to overdo it…”
Click.
The sound of the door opening stopped Perez’s words.
“I know everything, Perez.”
I opened the door and led Perez into the dark room.