﹡ ⊹ ⊰ Chapter 245 ⊱ ⊹ ﹡
The house was bigger than I thought.
The warm-painted living room and kitchen that I could see as soon as we opened the door were particularly impressive. Since this is a two-storey house, the bedroom must be upstairs.
I looked around the house and something was brought to mind. I asked my father. "Did you hire someone to keep this house clean?"
"Well, I spent the happiest time of my life here, so yes." My father replied and quickly added, waving his hands.
"But that doesn't mean that I'm not happy with the time I spend with my daughter!"
"Yes, of course. I know what you mean." As I replied, my father laughed, sighing a little.
Then he walked into the kitchen and beckoned at me.
"Feel free to look around, Tia. I'm just going to make tea."
As if he were very familiar with the place, he took things out of the cupboard and began to brew.
Maybe he has been visiting this house often by himself.
It was a house where there were a few signs of people living in. As Father said, there were people taking care of it separately, seeing it was clean and free from dust.
I began to look and tread carefully inside the house, feeling as if I had been visiting someone else's home.
"It's a cozy house."
Even in winter, the house felt warm. The sunlight was coming in from the large windows and covering the whole interior of the house.
I slowly approached the window, like I'd been possessed by something.
I stood still and received the sunlight with my whole body, then carefully sat down on the rocking chair in front of the window.
Maybe it's been a while since someone sat here given that there was a noise as soon as I sat, but the chair surprisingly could support my body.
Creak. Creak.
As I leaned over my head, my body began to move slowly along with the rocking chair. It was just enough to calm my heart down.
And strangely enough, sitting here, I could see my father's back busily moving in the kitchen.
"Tia, the tea is ready."
After he turned around with two big cups in hand, Father smiled in surprise when he found me sitting in a rocking chair.
"Would you like to take that chair?"
"Yes?"
When I opened my eyes wide at the sudden remark, my father laughed again.
"Haha! The rocking chair was Shan's favorite thing in this house. But now, no one sits down on that chair anymore and only fills that empty corner. Wouldn't it be better for Tia to take it and use it once in a while?"
"Well, yes, but..."
I like the rocking chair a lot. It looks fragile, but surprisingly, it was quite durable and comfortable to sit on.
But it looks like I'm stealing my father's precious things.
As if reading my mind, my father said as he put the cup down on the table.
"Your Mom would also want our Tia to have it."
"Then...I will use it with care." I nodded, sweeping the armrest of the chair.
"Oh, it's warm."
The tea my father made was the first of its kind that I tasted. Moreover, as soon as I drank it, I felt as if all the remaining tension in my body dissipated.
"We found out about Tia while living in this house and we lived here until your mother was in full term." My father said as he grabbed the cup with both hands, looking around the house. Soon after, my father pointed at my finger.
"And it just so happens that you were wearing her ring today."
"Right, this was Mom's ring."
Dad gave me a purple sapphire ring the day I became an adult. He gave it to my mother when he asked her to marry him.
I wanted to keep this ring on today, even without all the other accessories.
I touched the sapphire gemstone on the top, caressing it a little, wondering if it was a coincidence.
"Tia." Dad called me in a gentle voice.
"You look a lot like your mother. You know that, right?"
"Yes, you said that a little while ago. I really might look like my mother when I wear this."
"Yes, but appearance isn't the only thing that I was talking about. Tia's personality really resembles her mother." My father smiled softly.
"Ah, I'm glad that your personality doesn't resemble me."
Then he started stroking my hair like when I was a kid.
"Shan never backed down if she wanted anything. She was so smart that she somehow got what she wanted in a way that would sometimes surprise me."
Ahh...
Now I know a little bit about why my father tells me that I resembled my mother.
"Especially when she's angry, her green eyes shine fiercely, and this Dad of yours couldn't even refuse her. It was impossible to be angry with Shan in the first place."
My father then said in a low voice, looking at me intensely.
"So Dad doesn't want Tia to give up what you really want even when you become Lombardy's Family Head.
I immediately guessed what my father was trying to say.
"Are you talking about Perez...?"
Instead of answering, my father smiled slightly. But this time, I couldn't nod my head.
Perhaps the reason I returned was to save my family that was destined to be ruined. So Lombardy is more important to me than anything else.
I recently just realized how much I feel about Perez.
Somehow, I feel a little resentful, but I also thought that it might be very difficult to dream of a 'happy life' without him.
However...
What if the future with Perez gets in the way of leading Lombardy?
This concern was still holding me back.
"I'm thinking about it."
That was all I could say.
My father smiled and nodded again.
"Yes, you can think about it slowly, but you must do it thoroughly."
Perhaps he brought me all the way here to tell me that, but my father didn't push me to decide now.
"Because love is more important than you think in life."
After saying that, I just leaned comfortably against the chair and drank tea, as if retreating.
Since we're being honest with each other, I have to say something.
I tapped the handle of the cup with my fingertips and asked.
"Don't you, Dad, want to marry again?"
"Cough!...cough!"
My father, who had been coughing for a long time, asked me back with a red face.
"Why are you curious about that all of a sudden?"
"I'm an adult now, and Dad is still young. If you have a person in mind, I'm telling you to not worry about me."
"Tia...!" My Father screamed and shook his head with a frown.
"The only person I love is your mother." My father laughed as he said so, returning to his youthful look.
"So there's no love left for anyone else."
What a lonely thing to say, but my father's appearance was the opposite.
"When my Dad talks about my Mom, my Dad's face changes. You look very happy."
"Really? Haha. It must be." Dad said, scratching his cheeks awkwardly.
"Because Mom and Dad had a love that they wouldn't regret."
The next day.
I woke up in the morning and the butler informed me that I was summoned by Grandpa.
As soon as I washed my face and changed my clothes, I set off for my grandfather's office.
"It's a bit chaotic today."
I felt it as I walked from the annex to the main building where my grandfather's office was located.
There were originally employees who started their work early in the morning, but today, they were all in a bustle.
"What kind of event is there in the mansion for them to be busy like this? Hmm... Nothing really comes to mind."
No matter how much I searched my head for a forgotten schedule, there was no reason for the employees to be so busy today.
Since the social season starts in spring, there is no banquet.
No one also has any birthdays within the family.
I'll ask my grandfather later.
Thinking so, I knocked on the door of the office.
"Grandpa, it's me. I'm coming in."
As usual, I opened the door and stepped inside.
"...Huh?"
I felt a strange sense of incompatibility.
The appearance of the office remained the same. But something was different.
It was when I looked at the window that I became sure of it.
My grandmother's bust, which I commissioned Alpheo to give as a gift when I was young, was not there.
"Oh, Tia is here? Come here." Sitting on the drawing-room sofa, my grandfather stood up and beckoned.
"Grandpa...something's a little strange here."
"Is that so?"
With an unknown smile, my grandfather slowly entered the main office and gently pushed my back to lead me inside.
After looking around the office and walking to where my grandfather led me, I paused and stood in place.
"Grandfather..."
My grandfather smiled at me and put his hands on the chair of the Head's office. Then he said.
"From this day forth, this is Tia's seat."
"Bu, but..."
A place in Lombardy where only the Family Head can sit.
Grandfather spoke in a low voice, confirming once again to me, who was too stiff to move.
"From this very day and into the future, Firentia Lombardy is the Head of Lombardy."
Not a sound was heard. It seems like time has stopped as well. And the next thing I realized was that I was sitting in my grandfather's chair.
No, in my chair.
After seating me in the chair, my grandfather stood across the desk and looked at me.
"How do you feel?"
".... I feel great."
"Hah! You really are my granddaughter!"
Grandfather burst into laughter.
Should I have said something more modest? But what do I do, I love it.
Slowly, I swept the Family Head's desk with my palms. At the same time, I got goosebumps on my arms.
I am...
Lombardy's...
I can't believe I'm the Head now.
I covered my mouth with my hands. If I didn't, I would have screamed.
The words my grandfather said a while ago amid hesitation revived vividly in my ears.
"From this very day and into the future, Firentia Lombardy is the Head of Lombardy."
Firentia Lombardy, the new Head of Lombardy.
I couldn't say anything as I looked at my grandfather.
"Sometimes it's scary. Sometimes you'll be full of passion. Sometimes it seems like you are overwhelmed by the name Lombardy. In that case, you only need to remember one thing." My grandfather paused before saying, "You are Lombardy, and Lombardy is you. Don't forget that."
Lombardy is me, and I am Lombardy.
I nodded slowly before my hands clasped the armrests of the chair unconsciously.
Then, Butler John came in with the sound of a knock.
"I've come to greet the new Head. I'm John, the butler of Head Lombardy."
"Ah..."
John was now talking to me first, not my grandfather anymore.
I forgot that John wasn't my grandfather's butler, but the butler serving the house.
"The banquet is almost ready, Madam."
"Banquet...?"
Puzzled, I looked at my grandfather.
"It's a banquet to celebrate the inauguration of the new Family Head. Your Dad and Shannanet worked hard to prepare it."
"Oh, that's why!"
That's why the employees were so busy today.
"We will open the door of the mansion for the next three days and have a banquet. It's a Lombardy tradition." My grandfather proudly said as he led me out.
The banquet hall was already set up and the tables were placed in the spacious garden.
Grandfather said quietly to me as I was looking out the window in a daze.
"At the end of this banquet, nothing should happen in this mansion without your knowledge. Everything shall pass through you first."
The two fists neatly placed on the window sill are clenched, and my grandfather looks even better.
I looked him in the eye and said.
"I will make this family even greater, Grandpa."
Then my grandfather patted my shoulder and answered.
"Yes, Firentia, I believe you can do it."
It was the words of my grandfather, who has led the family more successfully than anyone else in Lombardy.
And it's the future I'll recognize.
From today on, I am the Head of Lombardy.
***
As my grandfather said, the banquet lasted three days and nights.
The nobles of the Empire and the citizens of Lombardy all gathered together to enjoy eating and drinking.
And the afternoon of the last three days came quickly.
"Madam."
"What is it, John?"
"A guest came from a distance."
A completely unexpected guest has arrived.
"Lady Shan's mother. The person who identified herself as Madam's grandmother is asking to meet you in the garden."
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March 31, 2022
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