Chapter 235

(Florentia's POV)

"Uh...."

A murky sound came out of Crenny's mouth, seemingly embarrassed.

His big round eyes didn't move, as if he were stuck in Perez who was approaching us.

Although Crenny's life wasn't in danger.

It would be difficult for Crenny to endure that glaring and striding coming from Perez.

"Haa.."

I sighed softly and dragged Crenny slightly behind me.

And said, raising my hand towards Perez.

"Perez, stop."

At my words, Perez stopped a couple of steps away.

However, his gaze continued to follow with my hand holding Crenny's hand.

"Who..sister..."

From behind my back, Crenny called me in a frightened voice.

"Oh, God."

One of them is a guy who skipped two years at the Academy after serving as a senior officer at the current year and the other one is a guy who skipped one year at the top of the Academy as a senior and military officer.

I can't believe this is happening.

I let go of Crenny's hand and instead pointed to Crenny's face and asked Perez.

"Don't you think you've seen this face before?"

As if Crenny's existence itself was unpleasant, Perez's red eyes, sunken in black, turned towards Crenny.

"Hic!"

You're doing all sorts of things.

Crenny was eventually frightened and started to hiccup.

"Think carefully, Perez. Didn't you see him once when he was young and once when he was this big?"

Perez's thick eyebrows curled quietly.

And he thinks about it for a while.

"Oh."

Perez briefly admired and opened his mouth.

"Oh...Crenny?"

He found out fast.

Seeing him hesitating while calling his name, it was clear that he was not sure.

"Oh, I haven't seen you in a long time, Your Majesty."

"You've changed so much that I didn't recognize you."

Perez muttered a bit of an excuse uncharacteristically.

And then he looked at me and say.

"I'm telling you, I didn't recognize him."

"Yes, I see. Because you are not interested in people around you."

"No, I'm interested in Tia."

"....What--what are you talking about?"

As I was talking to Perez, Crenny smiled broadly and told me.

"You two look great standing beside each other like that!"

"What?"

Looking at the bright face of Crenny, it seemed very heartfelt.

It didn't seem to be in consideration of the fact that Perez and I were engaged so that the whole Empire would know, but we temporarily broke up the engagement after I became the successor of the household.

"One is the heir to the throne and one is the heir to the Lombardi family. It's like looking at two different world!"

Crenny continued to speak brightly.

"You look really great!"

"You said you weren't missing the top of the academy. You must be very smart."

Perez taps Crenny on the shoulder and says.

"....Don't talk nonsense to him. Let's head out to Angenas, Perez."

These days, Perez was taking me every morning to work in Angenas' townhouse.

I've repeatedly refused to come to Lombardi from the palace and go back to the townhouse in Ecliptic, saying it was ridiculous.

I didn't have the ability to win the stubbornness of the guys who came to Lombardi from dawn in case I started first,

"You are going to Angenas, sister?"

Crenny said, and opened the carriage door.

"Because I have to take what I want to take."

"Don't push yourself too much."

"Too much?"

It was a common saying, but it was a little different.

"There are so many families involved in Angenas. If you want to take into account all of their interests, you will be very tired."

"....You even think about it."

I thought he was only tall, but Crenny had grown more mature as well.

"Hehe. I meet people from so many different families at the academy. Some people want to get the money they lent to Angenas, and some people want to bury the fact that it was related to Angenas even if they lose the money."

It was as Crenny said.

As soon as rumours spread that the Empress was imprisoned in a dungeon and that I was in charge of cleaning Angenas, I received dozens of letters.

There was also a personal request and a plea for help.

In fact, it was more difficult to organize the traffic for such families than to dispose of Angenas property.

But Crenny sees right through it.

"Let's talk more over dinner tonight, Crenny."

"Yes, sister! Have a safe trip!"

Crenny stepped back with a smile.

Although he was a lot taller, his smile when he was younger still remains

My gaze on Crenny was long until the carriage departed.

****

"Father."

Shannanet called Rulac.

Standing by the window, watching the carriage carrying his Granddaughter set off for the Ecliptic, Rulac turned to his daughter's call.

"Why did His Majesty ask Tia to clean up Angenas?"

Shannanet, who especially cares about her nephew, is particularly concerned about Yovanes' intentions.

"He's been wary of Lombardi's power all his life, and now he's given that responsibility to the new Lombardi successor."

Responsibility was bound to be accompanied by power.

For the noble families who had something to receive from Angenas, Tia has become a being with absolute power.

"It's probably because of the Second Prince."

Rulac answered calmly.

"In the face of Lombardi and the Imperial conflict, it means to stop thinking about Tia, Yovanes did the right thing for the first time in a long time."

"Do you agree with that, Father?"

"I can't help it. Although I'm worried that Tia might hurt her heart. Still, there's a connection that needs to be sorted out for the big things."

Rulac spoke bitterly but firmly.

But Shannanet shook her head.

"I don't agree with father this time."

"How come?"

"I've been thinking that it would be nice that Tia has everything."

Shannanet's smiling face was somewhat lonesome.

"It's a life in which she can live as the head of Lombardi and live with her loved ones completely."

Shannanet was happy with her present life.

As she worked for the family, she was rewarded day by day.

The empty seat next to her didn't bother her that much.

She chose love over her family, and now she only chooses her family.

But Tia is not like that.

"Your Highness and Tia are deeply in love with each other. As grandfather knows too."

"How can we not know without being blind?"

His granddaughter seemed to be trying so hard to hide it. But her eyes never sparkled more than when she saw him.

So, he felt proud and sorry for his granddaughter who chose to live as the Patriarch of Lombardi rather than her love for someone.

"Tia is thinking of cutting off her relationship with His Highness the Second Prince and live for her family. That's what she is."

Shannanet said to Rulac, who nodded with his mouth shut.

"But, is that really the path that father, who has lived his whole life for the family, wants Tia to walk?"

Rulac could not answer easily.

Living at the expense of everything for his family, the things that were lost in the wind were too important in a person's life.

Rulac, who didn't spend time with his little ones, wasn't a very good father.

He wasn't a good husband who could take care of his wife who was getting weak..

It was all because of Lombardi.

It was because Rulac himself put the family first before anything else.

'If I could live once again, I wouldn't live like that.'

It was a choice that Rulac had regretted repeatedly on his bed.

Life to live again.

It was a vain imagination, but if I could, I'd be a little more greedy.

To take everything without making a choice.

Rulac nodded slowly one again.

"Yeah, you're right, Shannanet."

And after the carriage passed, he said, looking at the front door of Lombardi, which was slowly closing.

"Unknowingly, I was taking Tia's sacrifice for granted."

There must be a love that does not end even after a lifetime.

Rulac himself regrets a blind life that he spends solely for the family.

Of course, he was hoping that his granddaughter would only understand Lombardi with a big scar on her chest.

****

(Florentia's POV)

"How's it going, Claryvan?"

Claryvan, wearing his glasses again after a longtime, smiled at me.

"I'll find the money, I'm going to get it." Claryva said, competently, and from the first day, he had been turning over Angenas' mansion.

"The work itself is going smoothly. I'm worried that Angenas' debt is larger than I thought."

"Is is that bad?"

"If you look here..."

Claryvan held out some papers to me.

"Are these all the new discoveries today?"

"Is it an onion? It kept coming out." I looked at the newly discovered IOU, it was a spectacle.

(A/N: I wasn't sure about the 'onion' part but I think it has something to do with it that's keep on coming out. You know how onions grow from the ground? Like a potato or the like. Oh and the IOUs are written acknowledgement of debt that one party owes to another and it literally mean 'I owe you'.)

He seemed to have borrowed money from his own vassal, but the time limit for the situation is not fixed and there is no interest.

In addition, there is a clause that says, 'Angenas shall not be held liable if the debt cannot be repaid under unavoidable circumstances.'

It was an amount that would be a tremendous burden to his vassal family, but it was safe to say that this was almost the level of extortion.

So while I was looking at the paper, Claryvan talked to me.

"Would you please give me time in a few days?"

"Time? If you have anything to say, you can do it now, Claryvan."

At my words, Claryvan shook his hands.

"No, it's not urgent, so I'll tell you again when your work is a little quiet."

I got quite curious.

It was because Claryvan's face while talking to me seemed tense.

The world's Claryvan Pellet is nervous.

"It's not a bad thing, is it?"

"Such a thing is...no, it's not."

Claryvan himself didn't seem to be ready yet.

Sometimes there are words that take time to put out into words.

"That's fine."'

So, I nodded and put the contents of the IOUs back in my head.

Likewise, Claryvan, who was busy working, approached me and said, "There seems to be a problem anyway, Lady Florentia."

****

"Even if I dispose of Angenas' property, is it not enough to pay off all of their debts?"

Perez raised one eyebrow at the official's report from the office.

"Yes, Your Highness. Even if you rob all real estate, movable property, and accounts...."

"What about the property of the lords?"

The official winced at Perez's question.

Strictly speaking, it is right to confiscate and dispose of all the property of the family members who were in the same boat with Angenas.

Then, it was clear that the opposition from the aristocratic society would increase.

"Your Highness, it's...."

Perez frowned as the official hesitated without answering.

"What does Lombardi think about this issue?"

"I haven't spoken to them yet. Anyway, the Pellet is also in the creditor's shoes, Your Grace."

The official, who sneaked a hint, said while looking into Perez's eyes.

"If Lombardi finds out and asks us to raise the priorities of Pellet..."

Money is scarce and there are many who will want to get their debts back.

Therefore, he was asking in case the priorities would naturally be set according to the power of the family.

"....Let us do what the Deputy Patriarch of Lombardi asks us to do."

Conincidently

It was when the official nodded and tried to answer.

"Your Highness, may I speak with you for a moment?"

Tia, who seemed to be irritated at a glance, entered the office.

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A/N: So yeah, I updated Chapters 232-235 today and I will update another 5 chapters tomorrow! I'm trying to rush things up since my class will start next week. I hope you enjoyed reading the previous chapters!