Chapter 252

(Florentia's POV)

The conference room was no different from the usual conference sessions.

Central aristocrats were invited to sit on both sides in the name of 'witnesses', and their conversations were raucous.

The difference is that a round table for the five householders was placed in the center, where Brown's witness stand was once placed, and a high platform was installed in the place where the Emperor usually sat.

And on top of the podium lay the crown for the Prince decorated with gold.

"Long time no see, Lord Lombardi."

As I looked at the Crown Prince's crown with a strange heart, Migente Ivan approached and greeted me gladly.

"It's been a while."

I also greeted the others happily and mingled among the four representatives.

"I heard you're building a Lombardi hospital."

Oh, my.

From the side, a big man, Patriarch Sushou approached and suddenly talked.

Seeing the other householders were also looking at me with their eyes twinkling, everyone seemed to have heard rumors about the massive construction project that had now opened and began.

Of course, that's exactly what I intended.

"Well, I guess the rumor has already spread."

"That's all the stories of the aristocrats of the Ecliptic. Lombardi's new owner is making an extraordinary move."

If Migente Ivan, who arrived in the Ecliptic the day before yesterday, said so, the desired purpose of spreading rumors quickly about the hospital seemed to have been achieved.

I replied with a nod.

"That's right."

"The hospital is...what exactly is it?"

Asked the Patriarch of Sushou.

"It's kind of a big legislator. The hospital, where any citizen of Lombardi can come and receive treatment, was scheduled to treat all Imperial citizens like the Academy, but it was deliberately reduced."

"Anyone?"

But that alone, Avinox, who had come as Deputy Patriarch of Luman, asked in amazement.

"It was said that you would not pay very much for treatment. Anyone in Lombardi can use it..." Brown murmured quietly, a little shocked.

I was proud of his reaction, but I was also a little offended.

Lombardi's wealth is evaluated to some extent, but he has such a shocked face.

I shrugged and looked around, knowing very well that Brown had no intention of disregarding Lombardi.

Then, before I knew it, I could feel a lot of eyes focused on me.

A gaze that could possibly pierce right through me.

Do you think I can't see you squirming at me when I'm far away?

As I grumbled, Migente Ivan, who looked at the seat of the nobles, made a bitter smile.

"They must be paying close attention to know what the Matriarch of Lombardi is like."

Well, it wasn't that I didn't understand the reaction of the aristocrats.

It was me who became a hot topic every day from the time I became the successor for the first time until it was revealed that I was the real owner of the Pellet Corporation.

However, the first thing that started, after I took over the Lombardi, was far beyond people's expectations. It is a hospital that looks like it's going to cost an astronomical money.

It would be a surprise to the nobles who don't know how much Lombardi's fortune really is.

"I'm sure that's not the only reason."

Avinox, who was listening to the conversation between me and Migente Ivan, snapped.

"It may be because of their fear of the Second Prince, who will soon become Crown Prince."

Other householders were looking at him in amazement at the straightforward words, but Avinox seemed not aware of that.

"From the forgotten Prince until this day. He brought down the powerful Angenas and the Empress. No wonder they feel scared."

The Patriarch of Brown tried to stop Avinox, but I stopped the Patriarch from the sidelines.

I meant to let them talk.

"In this situation where the Emperor is not getting up from the bed, who can stand against Your Highness the Prince now? From the moment he was appointed as the Crown Prince, he will hold the unprecedented imperial power in one hand----ah."

He noticed it quickly.

Avinox's face turned red, when he belatedly noticed that other states were staring at him.

"I'm sorry. I think I've gone too far again. It's just that Eastern culture is different, I owe you an apology."

He didn't say anything wrong.

The nobles were afraid of Perez, and they are right to be scared.

Many of the families gathered here moved with Angenas.

Fortunately, we have avoided headwinds. But it will not be strange when Imperial soldiers come in.

Originally, the Emperor who came to the throne is supposed to set an example to solidify his authority.

As Yovanes was dying, it would only give Perez the Imperial power as Crown Prince.

With a consoling heart, I patted Avinox's depressed shoulder.

"Your Highness the Second Prince is coming in."

At that time, the door of the conference room opened with a loud voice of the attendant, and Perez, accompanied by Imperial Knights, walked in.

The conference room, which was noisy like a banquet hall, quickly became quiet and cramped.

It wasn't simple because of the courtesy of Perez, who would soon become the Crown Prince.

It was because the pressure that seemed to weigh heavily on their whole body, spread in the conference room like thick fog, causing people to crumble.

"Hmm."

The Patriarch of Brown coughed a little from the side.

The Patriarch of Sushou also looked at Perez.

It was because a strong sense of pressure was flowing out from there.

It was a perfect head start where hundreds of nobles who gathered in one place were captured in an instant.

Perez, who sat down, looked at the nobles with his red eyes without saying anything.

Every time that gaze touched someone, quite a few nobles were seen wince their shoulders.

Now it was my turn to step up.

I slowly got up from my seat.

Then I felt Perez and the eyes of the nobles concentrate on me.

It was the authority and the duty of the Patriarch of Lombardi, the central representative, to lead the signing ceremony.

"Let's proceed without delay."

Then the Emperor's aides began to move busily.

The Emperor's appointment letter, which had been rolled up, was spread out on a large marble plate and nailed it in.

Then he carefully placed it on the round table.

Upon completion of the signatures and seals of the owners, the appointment will be kept securely in the depths of the Imperial palace with thick glass atop it.

First of all, the Patriarch of Brown moved.

With a careful hand, he picks up his quill, signs his name, and presses the seal of the family he brought.

Next was Ivan from the North, Luman from the East, and Sushou from the South.

In the conference room where the silence had fallen, the sound of the householders moving their flag pens rang loudly.

"Lord Lombardi."

Patriarch Sushou, who last took the seal, moved away from me.

I stood in front of a marble plate with a heavy flag pen handed to me by my attendant.

[The Second Prince, I order Perez Brivacheu Durelli as Crown Prince.]

At the top of the letter of appointment, there was only a simple phrase written by the Emperor.

And beneath it were four signatures and seals already in place.

Still holding a quill in one hand, I looked straight up and looked at Perez.

He and I stared at each other for a few seconds, silently.

Perez was expressionless.

He seemed indifferent to the extent that he doesn't look like the person who would soon be the Crown Prince of the Empire, as if it were someone else's business.

He's not honest.

No matter how much Perez hid, at this moment, his heart couldn't really be calm.

It would be more rewarding if you show off at least a little joy.

At that moment, Perez's eyes narrowed slightly.

Only enough for me to notice in this vast space.

That only lasted for a moment.

I lifted the quill with a smile on my face.

[The Matriarch of Lombardi, Florentia Lombardi.]

After a short signature, I took the ring off my finger.

"Excuse me for a moment."

The attendant waiting next to me put ink on the ring, and then I picked it up and pressed it right behind my signature.

It was the moment when Lombardi's world tree took root and the appointment was finally completed, and it was the moment when Perez was finally reborn as the Crown Prince.

All the nobles watching the signing ceremony held their breath.

Gulp.

Someone couldn't overcome the tension and swallowed loudly.

After Lombardi's head had signed, the attendants pressed the glass to cover the appointment, making it like a frame, and quickly carried it out of the conference room.

Some of the Imperial Knights followed suit.

It was to keep the appointment letter in case of any accident.

The sound of the door closing was heard, and the conference room was again surrounded by silence.

Perez rose from his seat and stood on the platform.

On the purple cushion, the crown of the Crown Prince was waiting quietly for its master, shining with jewels.

It was about that time that the noble's agitation began.

"What's going to happen?"

Someone murmured.

However, it was a question that all of the nobles gathered here came to mind.

When the appointment of the Crown Prince ended smoothly, it was the Emperor's job to award the Crown Prince.

When the Crown Prince knelt in front of the Emperor, the formal order was to place his crown over his head , and to raise up his successor who was on his knees.

If the Emperor couldn't do it, it is passed on to the Empress.

He was a Prince when he kneeled down, and stood as a Crown Prince when he stood up with the help of an Imperial adult.

However, there was no emperor or empress now.

"Uh..."

Everyone was surprised by Perez's actions that followed.

Perez didn't wait for someone to put the crown over his head.

He reached out and grabbed the crown of the Crown Prince.

And without hesitation, he lifted it up and put it on his head.

That's how he became the Crown Prince himself.

Once again, the conference room fell into astonishment and silence.

From the Prince abandoned in the separate palace because no one was looking for him, to the Crown Prince with a powerful Imperial authority.

It was a moment symbolizing his desperate journey.

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A/N: I'm literally tearing up when I was first translating this. And it's effin' hard to edit while crying. lmao.

Anyways, Florentia did it. And Perez is almost there. Just a little more.

Congratulations, Your Highness the Crown Prince, Perez. Announcement on my profile's 'Conversation' section because I have a question there for Chapter 253. Those who know some Korean Words might understand(?). Anyways, you all will be a great help! Thank you! <3