In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Side Story, Chapter 18

After quickly washing up and getting ready, the ship was just entering the harbor.
“It really is Luman.”
I muttered, gripping the ship’s railing.
It was hard to believe that Luman, the center of the East, which I had only ever heard about through reports and stories from others, was now spread out before my eyes.
“It’s beautiful.”
It was exactly as Avinox had once described it.
White buildings with blue and red roofs, people in brightly patterned clothes, and narrow, winding alleyways intertwined like a painting.
And something made the scene even more perfect.
The lively singing of the harbor workers waiting to unload the cruise ship’s luggage.
Splash, splash
Is it the sound of waves or oars?
Is it the sound of my distant beloved returning?
It was just as Avinox had said: it was an Eastern tradition for families to play music and sing on the shore while waiting for their loved ones to return from the sea.
The Eastern folk song, lively yet with a hint of sadness, felt familiar and comforting even though I was hearing it for the first time.
As I unconsciously hummed along to the song, Perez approached me and exclaimed softly.
“It’s incomparable to a few years ago.”
“That means it’s prospered that much, right?”
“Yes. If it weren’t for the cruise’s destination, I might have thought we docked at the wrong city.”
What was Luman like before the Eastern trade began?
Was it a much quieter and more beautiful small coastal town than it is now?
I suddenly wondered.
As if reading my thoughts, Perez, who had hugged me tightly from behind, kissed my head and informed me.
“There weren’t as many large docks as there are now. Only a couple for trade with the Eastern Continent. That area where the warehouses are concentrated used to be a barren, rocky field. And quite a few restaurants have sprung up near the harbor.”
“Then what about that big building up there? It looks quite new.”
“Hmm. That whole area used to be residential. It’s changed a lot.”
“Wow, that’s really amazing.”
“It seems many restaurants and inns have also appeared along the harbor. How about we have a meal there before we leave, Tia?”
There were usually good restaurants near stations and harbors.
I quickly nodded.
“Let’s eat, then find the Pellett Merchant Guild’s Luman branch at the harbor. We’ll take a carriage from there and travel for a few more hours.”
Even though we had arrived in Luman, our journey wasn’t over yet.
There was a true destination.
Perez, who had listened to my explanation in silence, smiled and replied.
“Wherever you go, Tia, I’ll follow.”
***
After filling our stomachs at a randomly chosen good restaurant, we headed to the Pellett Merchant Guild.
Coincidentally, the large building I had pointed out on the cruise ship earlier was the Pellett Merchant Guild’s branch.
“Welcome! How may I help you?”
As soon as I stepped into the guild, a lively voice asked me.
“Hello. I’m here to see Manager Brady Locke.”
Brady was a man with notably pale skin and reddish-brown hair, who had worked with Violet since the Galhan Garment Store first opened.
About a year and a half ago, Brady Locke was appointed as the manager of this Luman branch, one of the most important regions.
It was a personnel change that occurred when I became the Lord of Lombardi and Violet became the head of the Pellett Merchant Guild.
“The manager is upstairs, but…”
The manager of the Pellett Merchant Guild was not someone you could just meet by asking.
“Did you have an appointment…”
As the employee cautiously began to speak, wondering how to explain it,
“My Lady!”
With a slight commotion, a man in his mid-thirties practically ran down the stairs from upstairs.
“Oh, you’ve arrived!”
It seemed Violet had already given Brady Locke a heads-up.
“Long time no see, Brady. How have you been?”
“Yes! Of course! Thanks to My Lady and the Lombardi family… Gasp! Th-then this person…”
Brady, who had belatedly discovered Perez standing next to me, bowed, his hands trembling.
“It, it is an honor to greet you, Your Majesty!”
“Hee-eok!”
I turned around at the strange, gasping sound, and saw the employee who had greeted us earlier standing with a pale face.
“Lom… Lombardi… Your, Your Majesty?!”
We hadn’t intended to reveal who we were here, but it didn’t really matter.
We had already arrived in the East, and there was nothing Chanton Sheshou could do even if he found out later that I had moved ahead with Perez.
Luman was, in many ways, friendly territory for Lombardi.
I gave a small smile to the startled employee, then asked Brady,
“I’d like to have tea with you, but someone is waiting for us. Can we get into the carriage right away, Brady?”
“Of course! Everything is ready! Please give me your luggage!”
The manager of the Pellett Merchant Guild himself took the bag from Perez’s hand like a porter.
The carriage was prepared right in front of the branch’s side door.
It was a carriage fully prepared for a somewhat rough journey ahead.
“This carriage will take both of you to your destination. I’ve also found a very skilled coachman.”
“Thank you, Brady. Then I’ll see you at the wedding in a few days.”
“Yes! Please have a safe journey to your destination!”
Brady Locke did not straighten his bowed back until our carriage was out of sight.
I saw passersby, who recognized the Pellett Merchant Guild manager, whispering among themselves.
At this rate, the rumors would spread quickly.
I shook my head and chuckled, then let out a small yawn.
“Are you tired?”
Perez, who had been looking out the window and admiring the streets of Luman, noticed it like a ghost and asked.
“Hmm, a little?”
“Are you feeling unwell, Tia? Your stamina seems to have weakened too much.”
“It’s not that my stamina is weak, it’s that I used too much of it…!”
I shouldn’t have said anything.
Perez laughed as I stopped speaking mid-sentence and turned my head abruptly.
He was indeed teasing me, knowing full well.
Go ahead and suffer.
I changed my mind about leaning against the carriage wall to close my eyes and instead lay down, using Perez’s lap as a pillow.
“We’ll be traveling for about three more hours. Wake me up when we arrive.”
Even iron-willed Perez would get numb legs from a three-hour lap pillow.
I pretended to be asleep and closed my eyes.
Of course, I didn’t actually intend to make Perez suffer for several hours.
I planned to pretend to sleep for a while and then get up.
Rustle, rustle.
His large hand began to stroke my head.
Ah, this shouldn’t be happening.
I’m actually falling asleep.
I thought that and tried to sit up, but my vision was already blurring.
Before I completely fell asleep, I looked up at Perez, who was looking at me with a more relaxed smile than ever.
“Sleep well, Tia.”

“…Are you really okay?”
“Yes.”
“You really don’t feel numb at all?”
How can a person be like that?
To my continuous questions, Perez tilted his head as if he didn’t understand what the problem was.
“It was only for a few hours.”
“Usually, even one hour is hard, Perez.”
“Is that so?”
Perez shrugged with a relaxed expression, as if he didn’t quite understand.
“I think I could do ten more hours.”
“…I feel like I lost.”
I briefly forgot that Perez’s body, which constantly emitted aura, was very different from that of an ordinary person.
“Are you tired? Want to sleep more?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
It wasn’t out of stubbornness.
“We’re almost there.”
“Our destination… is here?”
He probably couldn’t understand why such an important place, where I had arrived days earlier, hiding my identity, in a fit of anger over Chanton Sheshou’s counterattack, was in the middle of nowhere.
Just then, the carriage was slowly coming to a stop.
I opened the carriage door wide first and said to Perez,
“Let’s go, they’ll be waiting for us.”
My steps, leading the way, were a little faster than usual.
I couldn’t help but feel excited.
“Tia, you’ll fall.”
“You worry too much, Perez.”
Of course, this was my first time here too.
But the map of this place, which I had seen countless times since its creation, was vivid in my mind.
A straight road cutting through a vast plain that seemed to stretch endlessly.
On either side, golden-ripe crops swayed with the wind.
And on that road, stood someone I had longed to see.
“Lorraine!”
At my call, Lorraine, dressed in Luman’s characteristic flowing dress, turned around.
Wearing a large hat to shield her from the sun, Lorraine smiled more brightly than ever against the backdrop of this golden field.
“Tia!”
Was this really the fragile Lorraine who had barely moved between the mansion and the greenhouse?
Lorraine ran to me in one breath and embraced me tightly.
“It’s been too long! How have you been?”
“Great! You look very healthy too, Lorraine!”
We spent a long time checking on each other.
“Oh, my mind! Have you been well, Your Majesty?”
“Long time no see, Lorraine.”
Perez also greeted Lorraine warmly.
But his expression still showed confusion.
After all, this trip to the East was planned for Lorraine and Avinox’s wedding.
He looked like he didn’t understand why I had left Lombardi days earlier.
I approached Perez and asked,
“Still don’t understand?”
I took his hand and led him to the field beside the road.
Swoosh.
Just then, a long breeze swept across the field.
Perez casually turned his gaze towards it.
At that moment.
His red eyes shook greatly.
“Now you understand, don’t you? The reason I asked you to accompany me.”
“Tia, this is…”
Perez reached out his hand towards the crops, as if in disbelief.
But the tickling sensation against his palm was real and didn’t disappear.
“Yes. It’s wheat, Perez.”
Swoosh.
In the wave-like breeze, the ripe wheat danced in unison.
“Now the East also produces wheat.”