In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Side Story, Chapter 24

It was quite a sight to behold Chanton Sheshou’s face crumple at my greeting.

“Don’t waste time with useless words. This is a matter of life and death for us.”

“Useless words? That’s a bit harsh.”

I spoke as if genuinely hurt.

“I was just about to ask if autumn was coming soon and if preparations for winter were going well.”

“……”

Of course, Chanton Sheshou couldn’t answer.

I didn’t expect an answer anyway.

The situation in the South was obvious, and I had already grasped it through reports.

“Why the long face? Surely the harvest isn’t going poorly, is it?”

I wanted to rub salt in the wound a few more times, but I thought he might cry.

I slumped into my office chair and said, “Did you receive the letter I sent?”

“……I came here to confirm it myself. Really……”

Chanton Sheshou asked with a face even more stern than usual.

“Did you really find a cure for the blight?”

“The damage in the South is quite severe, isn’t it? I hear the export of Sheshou’s grain has stopped immediately.”

Ah, I can’t help it, I have to poke him one more time.

“I told you, didn’t I? If you keep being so spiteful, you’ll be punished.”

“Surely……”

Chanton Sheshou’s voice dropped.

“This blight……”

This black bear?

“Are you suspecting that I spread this blight, right now?”

“Are you not?”

“There’s no point in continuing this conversation. Get out.”

I pointed to the office door and spoke coldly.

At my sudden change in attitude, Chanton Sheshou finally seemed to come to his senses, clenching his fists and apologizing.

“I misspoke, Matriarch Lombardi.”

“It’s a relief you know it was a slip of the tongue.”

I said, still not relaxing my expression.

It didn’t matter, as I wasn’t actually angry.

If something similar happened to Lombardi one day, I would be the first to suspect Chanton Sheshou.

More than anything, for a stoic, inscrutable black bear to make such a slip of the tongue meant he was desperate.

So I deliberately pretended to be angrier.

It was to gain an advantageous position in the upcoming negotiations.

I pulled a stack of documents from a drawer and deliberately placed them on the desk with a thud.

It was a research report sent from Luman by Lombardi’s scholars.

Chanton Sheshou’s gaze shot to it.

“If I give you this, what can Sheshou give me?”

At my question, Chanton Sheshou answered as if he had been waiting.

“If it truly is a definitive cure for the blight, we will pay a sufficient price……”

“No, no.”

I picked up the stack of documents and shook my head.

As if I could put it back in the drawer at any moment.

“Do I look like Lombardi is short on money to you?”

Tsk, tsk, I didn’t forget to click my tongue.

“Show some sincerity, Patriarch Sheshou. Think carefully. What do I want?”

After a moment of heavy silence, Chanton Sheshou opened his mouth.

“……We will halt the terrain construction in the Tamal region.”

I deliberately didn’t react.

It meant it wasn’t enough yet.

“Furthermore, I promise, on the name of Sheshou, that we will not open a port in the Tamal region.”

“And?”

“What more do you want……!”

“Arcadia.”

At my blunt word, Chanton Sheshou’s eyes sharpened.

Arcadia was a Sheshou territory bordering Lombardi, located at the gateway to Chesayu.

“Halting construction in the Tamal region and transferring all rights of Arcadia to my father, Gallahan Lombardi, the Lord of Chesayu, is my condition.”

Without Arcadia, Chesayu would no longer be isolated, and naturally, Chanton Sheshou could no longer interfere with Chesayu’s eastern trade.

“That’s!”

“Why? You can’t do even that for the villagers you cherish so much? Didn’t you say it was a matter of life and death?”

He was silent for a long time.

He merely clenched his fists even tighter.

I left Chanton Sheshou as he was, enjoying the silence.

Because the answer was obvious anyway.

“……I will do so.”

I won.

I smiled brightly and pulled out the contract I had prepared in advance.

It had precisely the clauses I had just mentioned written in it.

For a moment, a ‘I’ve been had’ expression flashed across Chanton Sheshou’s face, but it was far too late.

The rest of the process proceeded smoothly.

After all, it was just signing two copies of the contract and stamping the patriarch’s seal.

“For detailed research data, you can refer to this, and the completed medicine will be sent to the Sheshou mansion tomorrow. You may leave now.”

I waved a hand.

Telling him to leave quickly.

Because I intended to savor this moment.

Chanton Sheshou stood up stiffly, holding one copy of the contract and the scholars’ report in one hand.

But that was only for a moment.

He stopped his steps to leave, then turned back, rubbing his forehead roughly with a tired face.

“We need to revise the contract.”

“The contract? Why?”

“Here, the clause about not opening a port in the Tamal region is missing.”

I reread the part Chanton Sheshou pointed to.

The contract only stated, ‘We will stop the terrain clearing work in the Tamal region and never resume it,’ and ‘All rights to Arcadia will be transferred to Gallahan Lombardi, Lord of Chesayu.’

“Hmm, that’s unexpected, Patriarch Sheshou?”

I thought he would just slyly let it pass.

“You could have just used my mistake to plan for the future, couldn’t you?”

Then Chanton Sheshou frowned, looking displeased.

“We do not engage in cowardly acts when making a promise on the family name. The name of Sheshou is not so light.”

“The same goes for me.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Chanton Sheshou, who still didn’t understand my words, seemed to need an explanation.

“It means I deliberately omitted the clause about not building a port in Tamal. It means I don’t care whether Sheshou builds a port in Tamal or not.”

“But then……”

“Do you think Lombardi is afraid of competition?”

I kindly added to the still-dumbfounded Chanton Sheshou.

“Tamal is good in terms of location, but the river is narrow and the current is strong, so building a port there won’t be easy. Next time, I recommend hiring Lombardi Construction, which has experience in port construction.”

It’s not because it’s my family’s company, but truly, there’s no better place for building a port than Lombardi Construction.

“Well, I’ve said all I need to say, so you can really leave now.”

But Chanton Sheshou remained rooted to the spot, as if nailed down.

And then he suddenly asked me, “If I hadn’t agreed to the deal, what would you have done then?”

“……I wouldn’t care what happened to the crops in the South.”

I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

Chanton Sheshou stared at me.

Then he suddenly let out a weak chuckle.

“You’re not being honest.”

What is he talking about, really.

“Did you go crazy after losing Arcadia…… What’s wrong with your head?”

“Just like a Lombardi Matriarch.”

……Was I found out?

Actually, if the deal had fallen through, I had planned to distribute the cure for free in Lombardi’s name.

Of course, explaining that it was discovered by chance.

Because innocent imperial citizens shouldn’t suffer due to the power struggles of the patriarchs.

“Stop talking nonsense and leave. I’m busy.”

Only at the third dismissal did Chanton Sheshou begin to move.

Unlike before, he bowed respectfully towards me.

“Then I will see you at the Grand Council, Matriarch Lombardi.”

The heavy footsteps of his military boots, which he still wore tirelessly, faded away.

Only then did peaceful silence return to the office.

“We made a deal, so we owe each other nothing.”

I recalled Chanton Sheshou’s last words and rose from my office chair.

And slowly approached the window.

The entire view of Lombardi came into sight.

It was the spot where my grandfather used to stand when I looked up while playing in the garden as a child.

Now, from the window, which was my favorite spot in the office, I looked down.

Just then, I saw Chanton Sheshou getting into his carriage.

“He doesn’t do cowardly things on his family’s name.”

Those were Chanton Sheshou’s words.

“I was going to give him hell if he had just left.”

He’s a stubborn bear, just like he looks.

“That’s why I can’t hate him.”

A rival who knows where to draw the line—that was a welcome thing for me.

Because unchecked power tends to rot.

“Well, shall I get back to work?”

I stretched widely once, then sat back down at my desk.

I didn’t know why a smile lingered on my lips.