In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Side Story, Chapter 31

At my question, Perez paused to gather his thoughts and then began to speak.
“That dream was…”
It was an early morning, low voice, enough to make me want to fall back asleep.
But as his explanation continued, I gradually woke up more and more.
“Uh… so you saw the World Tree in your dream?”
“Rather than seeing it, I reached out and touched it. And the sensation…”
Perez quietly opened and closed his right hand.
As if the feeling was still vivid.
“What was the sensation like?”
“Hmm.”
A smile slowly bloomed on Perez’s face.
“It was warm. And comforting.”
“Oh, I see.”
It’s a conception dream.
This is a conception dream.
Perez had a conception dream.
“Tia?”
When I didn’t say anything, Perez tilted his face towards me and called out.
“Oh, no. It’s nothing.”
I flopped back onto the bed to manage my expression and said,
“Let’s go back to sleep. It’s still too early.”
“…Should we?”
I watched Perez lie down beside me, then stared blankly at the ceiling, blinking.
There was no concept of conception dreams in this world.
Occasionally, there were fabricated legends in children’s storybooks, like a sacred star appearing when a hero was born.
But it wasn’t me, it was Perez who had a conception dream.
‘So, is this child’s conception dream the World Tree?’
I was bewildered.
A conception dream of the World Tree was incredibly grand, yet also very much like my child.
Above all, the World Tree was the symbol of Lombardi.
I glanced sideways and saw that Perez’s eyes were already getting hazy.
I hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
“Perez, you know what?”
“Yes, Tia.”
“If your schedule allows, would you like to stay at Lombardi tonight, or rather, today?”
“Today too?”
“Yes. Anyway, I think we’ll be busy with wedding preparations during the day, so let’s have a proper dinner tonight, the one we couldn’t have yesterday.”
Perez looked surprised, as if he hadn’t expected me to make such a suggestion.
Then he smiled brightly like a child who had received a gift.
“Yes, let’s do that.”
“I’ll tell the chef to prepare food that’s easy on your stomach.”
“Tia.”
Perez slowly approached me.
As he moved, I heard the sound of the bedsheets rustling by my ear.
“Thank you. For giving me a chance to make amends.”
His warm lips touched my forehead.
It was a warmth that always put me at ease.
Afraid that my heart’s sudden thumping would be noticed, I deliberately spoke as if it were nothing.
“It’s not like you wanted to be sick, anyway. Just get some more sleep.”
“Okay, I understand.”
At my words, Perez closed his eyes obediently like a well-behaved child.
His usually sharp, defined face gradually relaxed into a peaceful expression.
I watched him quietly and felt relieved.
Perez in my previous life had been a severe insomniac.
But now, before me, was a boy-like figure who knew nothing of such things, falling into a deep sleep in the early morning.
With his even breathing as a lullaby, I too slowly closed my eyes.
Tomorrow, all the wedding preparations would be complete.
Then, we would sit intimately for dinner, and there, I would tell him.
That an early gift had come to us.
What kind of face would Perez make then?
Imagining various joyful scenarios, I gradually drifted off to sleep.
***
“Matriarch, it’s time for your final dress fitting.”
“Catherine.”
“Yes, Matriarch.”
“Are there brides who die from overwork while preparing for their wedding? If not, I think I might be the first.”
I muttered, half-sprawled on the sofa.
At that, Catherine and the various employees helping with the wedding preparations chuckled softly.
But I’m really not joking.
“Oh, I’m dying.”
There was no forced march like this one.
The schedule, which had started promptly at sunrise, continued until this hour, when the sun was setting.
“If you’re too tired, shall we take a short break?”
Perez, who was beside me, asked worriedly as he brushed back my fallen bangs.
It was a very tempting offer, but…
“No. Let’s just get it over with quickly.”
Otherwise, we’d end up eating a late-night snack instead of dinner.
I can’t announce the baby news while eating a late-night snack!
I truly squeezed out the last of my strength and stood up.
“Catherine, is the dress all ready?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Okay, just one more try, and it’ll all be over.”
I said that to Catherine, but it was actually to myself.
As if understanding my feelings, Catherine also nodded with a determined expression.
“I’ll be back, so wait here, Perez. It’s my dress, so you should see it too.”
Until now, we had been preparing for the wedding separately, in the Imperial Palace and Lombardi.
In other words, Perez was seeing me in my wedding dress for the first time.
“I’ll be out quickly.”
I waved to Perez, who had a somewhat sparkling look in his eyes, and headed to the next room.
Thanks to thorough preparations, the fitting was over quickly.
But it wasn’t the end.
“Ugh, every time I put it on, I feel how heavy this dress is.”
The union of the Emperor and the Lombardi Matriarch was unprecedented in imperial history.
Therefore, the dress was heavily emphasized.
There was no easier way to showcase the power of the Imperial Family and the Lombardi family at a glance than with a lavish wedding dress.
“I will assist you, Matriarch.”
Catherine carefully approached and took my hand.
As I began to walk, escorted by her, the employees smoothly opened the doors.
Rustle, rustle.
With each step, the jewels on the dress made pretty sounds.
As I left the room in the dress, I saw Perez waiting for me.
Unable to sit still, he had been pacing, but he stopped abruptly as soon as he saw me.
He didn’t even blink.
Is he broken?
“Perez, how do I look?”
Even at my urging question, Perez remained silent.
His red eyes seemed frozen, fixed on me, unmoving.
He’s really broken, I guess.
“Perez?”
I let go of Catherine’s hand and took a step towards him.
“What? Say something… Ugh!”
In the end, the heavy dress caused trouble.
I had only taken a few more steps, but I couldn’t properly support the weight of the jewels and layers of the dress and stumbled.
Ah, I shouldn’t get a bruise on my face on my wedding day.
I was thinking that as I saw the floor rapidly approaching.
“Tia.”
Strong arms caught me, and a low voice echoed in my ear.
“Oh, you startled me. I thought I was going to fall. Thank you, Perez.”
I guess I should tell them to reduce the number of jewels on the dress.
As a sign of gratitude, I patted the arm that was holding my waist.
And when I looked up…
“Tia.”
Perez’s face was very close.
Much, much closer than I expected.
“Are you okay?”
It was clearly a gentle voice asking if I was hurt, checking on me.
But why did it sound so dangerous?
“Uh-huh. I’m fine.”
“…That’s a relief.”
Even as he answered, Perez didn’t let go of me.
A strange atmosphere filled the room.
“Um, Perez.”
Could you please let go of my arm now?
What is this atmosphere?
And why are Catherine and the others quietly leaving?
Click.
Eventually, the door closed, leaving only the two of us.
“I’m fine now…!”
Perez’s face, which had been close, immediately came even closer.
Our lips met perfectly, without a gap.
His large hands gently cupped my cheeks.
Perez was now supporting my waist with only one arm.
“Mmm.”
Perhaps because of the uncomfortable dress, or because of Perez, who was wrapping around me without giving me a moment to breathe.
My breath quickly became ragged, but I couldn’t even push him away.
“P-Perez, haa.”
Even the name I barely managed to utter was swallowed by his lips.
“Tia.”
Perez, whose lips had moved to my neck, called my name several times.
Each time, his hot breath touched my skin.
His large hand grabbed my arm and wrapped it around his neck.
My head went blank from the familiar yet dizzying sensation.
“…Perez.”
As if my whispered name in his ear was a fuse, his slow movements suddenly became urgent.
Tug, tug.
I heard the sound of the knot, which several employees had struggled to tie, coming undone loosely behind my back.
‘Is this okay?’
Such a question suddenly came to mind, but it merely passed by.
I simply let my body go and closed my eyes.
Rustle.
Once again, the jewels clinked against each other.
At the same time, Estira’s words, which she had repeatedly emphasized a few days ago, echoed loudly in my mind.
“You should avoid sexual intercourse for a while. The early stages of pregnancy are still unstable.”
“No, don’t!”
I pushed Perez away fiercely without realizing it.
“This isn’t right.”
That was a close call.
I couldn’t endanger the baby by getting carried away by the atmosphere.
I half-collapsed onto a nearby chair in a hurry and let out a sigh of relief.
Then I suddenly realized that Perez was very quiet.
I had expected him to approach with a relaxed, gentle smile.
But he was still rooted to the spot, as if nailed there.
“Perez?”
“I…”
My shoulders flinched at his terribly low voice.
His red eyes, fixed on me, were deeply sunken, as if they had never been heated.
They were eyes that were very unfamiliar, yet also familiar.
They were infinitely empty.
It felt like I could hear the sound of rain in the distance.
And in a voice even more melancholic than that, Perez asked,
“Do you hate me now?”
“…What?”
There was no answer to my repeated question.
Perez walked with somewhat disjointed steps.
“Still, no, Tia.”
His tall shadow loomed over me.
“Even if you regret it now, no.”
His large hand reached out towards me.
“Perez, calm down for a moment…”
I couldn’t finish my sentence.
With a thud, Perez’s body lowered.
He had knelt before me.
And the hand that had been extended towards me took my hand, which was resting on my knee.
His hand, which held mine as if cradling the most precious thing in the world, was now trembling terribly.
“Marry me, Tia.”
It felt like we had returned to the day he proposed.
But Perez back then wasn’t trembling like this.
“Love me again.”
He wasn’t begging for affection like this.
“Give me a chance. I, I’ll work hard. Please.”
This isn’t right.
It was as if I had been doused with cold water, and my senses snapped back.
“What on earth are you talking about?!”
“…Tia?”
“Can’t you see I’m wearing a wedding dress right now? If I don’t marry you, who will I marry?”
I grabbed his face with both hands.
“Perez Brivachau Durelli! Are you not going to marry me?!”
“…I, I will.”
“Then what is this? Explain it properly.”
“I, I mean…”
Perez fumbled for my hands, which were holding his cheeks, as if he couldn’t believe it.
“I thought you were regretting marrying me.”
“What?”
“That it seemed like marriage blues…”
“What nonsense! Who said that? No, I don’t even need to look, it’s those idiotic Three Musketeers again, isn’t it? Right?”
Perez nodded blankly instead of answering.
“They wouldn’t say something like that out of the blue. So why did you think that?”
“Tia, your complexion wasn’t good, and you kept avoiding my eyes at the grand conference, and…”
“And?”
“You sighed…”
Oops.
It was truly ‘oops.’
It was all because of my morning sickness.
“Ha.”
A deep sigh escaped me.
Oh, I don’t know either.
“Here, look.”
I took Perez’s hand and led it to my stomach.
“Here.”
It was the hand that had touched the World Tree.
“Our baby is here.”
This wasn’t how I intended to tell him.
But to clear up Perez’s huge misunderstanding, I had no choice.
“Tia, what did you just say…?”
“I’m pregnant.”
This time, I spoke each word clearly, so there would be no confusion.
“Our baby, yours and mine, is in here.”
“…A, a baby?”
“Yes. Probably a baby that looks half like you and half like me.”
Saying that, I pulled his palm closer so it could fully touch my stomach.
“Listen carefully. You’d be able to tell, wouldn’t you?”
Perez was someone who surpassed human limits, feeling things others couldn’t.
“My morning sickness was a bit severe. All those things you misunderstood were because I wasn’t feeling well due to morning sickness.”
“Ah…”
“The sigh that day was because of the food suddenly being in the conference room.”
It was absurd.
How could he get it so wrong, so far off the mark?
Those Academy Three Musketeers were the problem.
I should call them in sometime and give them a lecture.
“So don’t worry about strange things, okay? If you say you won’t marry me now, after making a baby like this, I’ll be the most troubled one… Perez?”
Something was strange.
Perez was silent.
With one hand still on my lower abdomen, he just kept his head bowed.
“Surely not.”
Oh, surely not.
I slowly lifted Perez’s chin.
His unresisting head slowly turned towards me.
‘Surely not’ really gets you, doesn’t it?
“Perez, are you… crying?”