I’ll Be The Matriarch in This Life [Novel] Chapter 283

"You're late, Chanton."

Perez said, looking out the window at the drizzling rain.

Darkness had long since fallen over the Crown Prince's palace.

With only a few lights barely illuminating the room, deep shadows were cast across his face.

"There was an accident on my way here."

"An accident?"

"Yes."

It was a short reply, but Perez looked at Chanton Sershou with cold eyes.

This man, who had voluntarily stepped down from his position as Commander of the Imperial Knights a few years ago, was not one to speak useless words.

"Is it something I need to know?"

"My carriage hit an intoxicated pedestrian. Upon verifying her identity, she was found to be an illegitimate child of Lombardi."

At Chanton Sershou's words, Perez twisted the corners of his mouth fiercely.

Today was the day he had finally succeeded in shutting the gates of Lombardi forever.

He had thought he would never hear the name Lombardi again.

It was just like Lombardi to be persistent to the bitter end.

"Did Viese Lombardi have an illegitimate child?"

"Not Viese, but his younger brother, Gallahan Lombardi's illegitimate child."

"I hadn't heard that Viese had another younger brother besides Laurels."

Perez said, recalling the spineless second son of Lombardi.

"He was the third son of Rulac Lombardi, who apparently died of illness a long time ago. The illegitimate child's name is Florentia Lombardi…"

"Enough."

Perez stopped Chanton Sershou's report with a single wave of his hand.

"There is no need for me to know that much. Just ensure the bereaved family is well compensated."

"It seems she was living alone in Lombardi city without any connections, so you need not worry about compensation."

"Then that's for the best. An illegitimate child who managed to avoid the brunt of Lombardi's downfall, only to die in a carriage accident. For what it's worth, it looks as though she shared her family's fate in life and death."

With those final words, Perez brushed off any remaining thoughts about Lombardi's illegitimate child.

Instead, he rose from his chair and asked Chanton Sershou,

"Is there any change in your decision to accompany me?"

"I am merely grateful for the opportunity to witness the end of Angenas with my own two eyes."

Perez nodded wordlessly and took the lead.

Their steps soon passed through the dim corridors of the Crown Prince's palace and entered the brightly lit paths of the Imperial Palace.

However, only the bleak sound of the rain flowed between the two men.

Upon arriving at their destination, Perez paused for a moment to admire the view of the Empress's palace.

The sight of the palace with all its lights extinguished and devoid of people coming and going resembled its owner's current state, which was highly satisfying.

The sound of two damp footsteps echoed through the corridors of the Empress's palace, but there was no one to block their path, nor anyone to greet them.

Everyone was ordered to vacate the palace, save for two knights guarding outside the bedroom where the Empress was confined.

It was the absolute command of Perez, the austere Crown Prince who wielded the power of the Lambrew Empire in the palm of his hand.

When the two men stood before the bedroom door, a sharp shattering sound accompanied by a scream erupted from within.

"Open it! I said open this door at once!"

However, the knights standing guard at the door didn't react to the Empress's tearful shrieks.

With tense faces, they only looked toward the Crown Prince.

"Open it."

Just one word.

At Perez's brief command, the door to the Empress's bedroom, which hadn't been opened for the past week, swung open.

Perez took a step inside and snatched the object flying toward him out of the air.

What landed in his grip was a half-broken table clock.

The culprit who threw it was the Empress, Lavini Angenas, breathing heavily with completely disheveled hair.

Making a mockery of her past when she was praised as the greatest beauty of the Empire, having lost everything, she was now nothing more than a haggard sinner.

"You wretch! Who do you think you are to step foot in here!"

Lavini Angenas shrieked frantically.

However, her voice, drained of all strength and left with only malice, had long since gone hoarse.

The once-luxurious bedroom had been reduced to a total mess at the hands of its owner who couldn't contain her rage.

Scanning the room with an expressionless face, Perez approached Lavini Angenas, who was barely standing by leaning against a round table.

With every step, sharp shards of glass were crushed even finer beneath his heavy military boots.

"Have you made your decision?"

At Perez's first words, the Empress's frail body flinched.

A few days ago, when Perez visited the Empress's palace, he gave her a single choice.

It was around that time that the madness of the Empress, who had managed to maintain some semblance of dignity until then, truly began.

"I believe I've given you enough time to think it over."

"Th-That…!"

Lavini Angenas's face turned deathly pale before the veins in her neck bulged.

"I am the Empress of the Lambrew Empire! His Majesty is still perfectly alive, how dare a lowly bastard like you…!"

"Perfectly alive?"

Perez scoffed.

"He's been a half-corpse unable to even open his eyes for days now. Isn't perfectly alive a bit of a stretch, Lavini Angenas?"

"H-His Majesty…"

Lavini Angenas, who had been ignorant of the outside situation due to her confinement, staggered in great shock.

"You demonic bastard! How, how could you do that to your own parent…!"

"Parent?"

Perez retorted.

"Did I ever have a parent? My mother died at the Emperor's hands a long time ago, and I have never once had a father figure in my life."

His red eyes, which had closed languidly for a moment, glared at Lavini Angenas.

"You're not daring to imply that you are akin to a mother to me, are you, Lavini Angenas?"

Met with the murderous intent radiating towards her, the Empress couldn't even breathe properly, let alone answer.

Only her ragged breathing filled the ruined bedroom.

"Come in."

It was Perez who broke the momentary silence.

At his low command, the two knights who had been guarding outside entered the bedroom and firmly closed the door behind them.

"Wh-What are you trying to do…?!"

Sensing the ominous atmosphere, Lavini Angenas backed away.

Even so, all her back met was the hard wall of the bedroom.

The pale Empress only began to clasp her hands and beg after she saw the rope held in the knight's hand.

"Please, spare me! You cannot do this! You cannot do this to me, the Empress!"

In the end, Lavini Angenas half-knelt before Perez.

"Just spare my life. I will lock myself away in some detached palace and live as if I am dead. So, so please…"

"That is how my mother used to beg."

Cutting off Lavini Angenas's plea just like that, Perez nonchalantly asked Chanton Sershou.

"Do you intend to stay?"

"Yes. I will do that."

Hearing Chanton Sershou's answer, Perez turned around without hesitation.

He had no time to waste watching Lavini Angenas's final moments.

From beyond the door closing behind him, a shrill, desperate scream rang out, but Perez did not look back.

Leisurely strolling through the deathly silent, deserted Empress's palace, he headed toward the Crown Prince's palace.

Then, he stopped.

Standing still and letting the falling rain wash over him, he soon changed direction.

The well-paved road disappeared, replaced by an increasing number of trees until a dense forest appeared.

He continued to walk into the woods for quite some time.

His steps, leaving marks on the damp earth, only stopped when he reached a half-ruined detached palace.

A dreary wind pushed against his back.

Climbing the creaking stairs, he roughly pushed open a door with loose hinges.

In this vast Imperial Palace, it was a place only he occasionally visited.

A single chair placed where one could look out the window, and a single liquor bottle next to it.

It was his spot.

Plumes of dust rose as he slumped into the seat, but Perez silently poured liquor into his glass.

Whenever the insomnia worsened, a lingering aftereffect of the poison he had been steadily fed since childhood due to Lavini Angenas's schemes, he would stay awake through the long nights swallowing this strong liquor.

The brown liquid, so excessively potent that it was practically no longer produced anywhere, burned down his throat.

Despite the fiery pain, his expressionless face did not change.

His dark red eyes, seemingly damp from the rain, reflected the distant Emperor's palace.

"It would be troublesome to hold a state funeral twice, so about two days from now would be best."

And just like that, the day Emperor Yovanes would die was set.

Eventually, after emptying the strong liquor in just two gulps, Perez suddenly spoke.

"Are you satisfied now, Mother."

But no answer returned.

Staring down at his completely empty glass, Perez closed his eyes for a long time.

His revenge was complete.

Soon, he would ascend to the Emperor's throne.

He felt empty.

The feeling that he was missing something massive crept up the back of his mind.

It was a familiar yet unpleasant sensation.

Just what is it? What did I miss?

He asked himself.

Of course, just as always, he couldn't find the answer.

"Lombardi's illegitimate child."

The woman he had never even seen, who supposedly perished along with Lombardi today, briefly crossed his mind.

But that was all.

Perez opened his eyes again and looked out the dusty window.

It was still raining in the darkness.