Manhwa/Chapter 1

## Chapter Guide

**Decline** is the 1st chapter of the **I Shall Master this Family!** (Manhwa). The first chapter can be read for free online at Tapas in English and at Kakaopage in Korean.

## **Summary**

*~ In front of a grand gate ~*

A huge crowd has gathered to see the great demise of the Lombardi Family. They whisper to one another about the various crimes that had lead them there - tax evasion and treason. Even if it's the Lombardis, they can't get away with treason. Their rich history won't help them.

In the crowd stands a young woman that is angrier than most about this situation. She curses the ones that had led the family this far, if only they had listened to her words, if only they had not followed the **First Prince**. **Florentia** had warned them that he won't be the one to become the Crown Prince. She told them many times.

Lombardi - with a crest that represents the World Tree, a name that symbolizes eternal prosperity. History so old even the First Emperor was crowned by the family itself, it was safe to say that Lombardy's history is the Empire's history as well. As they accumulated unfathomable wealth, fought wars and made history, and patronized the arts and culture, the Lombardy name was written about across the globe.

Feeling threatened by all this, the Imperial Family issued a Golden Decree shortly after Rulac Lombardi became the Head of the family. Rulac immediately devised a "scholarship" system to nurture talented people, regardless of their status. Thanks to the Lombardy's benefaction, those who Rulac patronized began to fill the empire's most important positions and the Emperor eventually withdrew the Golden Degree. But this was in the past.

Right now Florentia was angry at the people (she called them "Stupid") who had destroyed this family. She was mad because she was also a Lombardy once. Before she was a part of it she was a little girl who had died in a car accident in Korea. So when she opened her eyes to this new life as a baby, she thought that she had been born with a really lucky ticket in her hands. But she was mistaken. Her father, Gallahan Lombardi, was the third son of the Duke, but her mother was a commoner who died during labor and she wasn't officially recognized as his fiancé. And she, the product of their union, was allowed to use the Lombardy name because of her father's love for her, and with the permission of her grandfather. But she was still nothing more than an illegitimate child.

A few days before her eleventh birthday, her father died. She didn't have anyone to take care of her and gradually became forgotten by the family. But because she couldn't bear to accept things as they were, she began to take family matters into her own hands once she turned fifteen. Desperation fueled her sincerity, and her skills weren't that bad either. And just like that, little by little, she increased her role within the residence, she began to manage the Lombardi Household from the age of eighteen. When she was nineteen her grandfather fell ill and she began to handle all of his affairs. She did all this instead of the arrogant and incompetent uncles, and the good-for-nothing cousins. She undertook huge responsibilities although she didn't have any rights to them of her own. It was very difficult. At the end of his days, her grandfather wished that he had seen her potential earlier and said that he would have passed the family down to her. She felt underqualified for that role because of her commoner background, but her grandfather reminded her that she is a Lombardy and that that is enough. He apologized for not taking better care of her when she was little. These words pushed her even further to save Lombardi. She truly loved Lombardis. But one day out of the blue she was kicked out of the house by her uncle. He looked down on her as an illegitimate child. She did something very hard for her, she begged him to let her stay, she would give up the Lombardi name and work for the family. They needed her there. But this wasn't enough she was still thrown out without anything of her own.

Then exactly 2 years later they had ruined the Lombardi family. Her hard work was destroyed.

~ *At a bar* ~

Florentia was drinking her sorrows away, being loud, and spewing out all her sadness. She was angry they didn't notice that the Second Prince was a better option for the Crown Prince's position than the Second Prince, who only gambled and ran after women.

The Second Prince, **Perez Brivacheu Durelli**, was an outcast for being the son of a maid, but he immediately stood out as a genius as soon as he entered the academy. Not only did he graduate from the Imperial Academy as the Top Student in both Liberal arts and Military studies, but he also turned the entire aristocratic parliament, which was already occupied by the Empress, over to his side. This was when his political power was unrivaled. But because the Lombardis had rooted for the First Prince and did all sorts of vicious things to the Second Prince, when the Second Prince was appointed as the Crown Prince and the Emperor collapsed, the Lombardis experienced a backlash.

Florentia was drunk on the streets now cursing at the air while she walked. She did not notice the horse carriage coming her way and was trampled by them in a flash. She died in a car accident in her previous life, but this time it was a carriage accident, she was so fed up with everything as she died.

## **Quotes**

“I knew they were stupid, but how could they destroy such a family in merely two years?!”
—Florentia after she viewed the demise of her family
“What a shame... Had I known earlier that you had such skill, I would have passed the family down to you...”
—Rulac Lombardi to Florentia Lombardi
“You know what you must do, Florentia. **Leave.** I held back out of consideration for father, but this can not go on any longer. Running around, not knowing your place as an illegitimate child.”
—Viese to Florentia, when kicking her out in the first timeline
## **Characters in Order of Appearance**

* Astana Nerempe Durelli (Mentioned)
* Rulac Lombardi
* Gallahan Lombardi (Mentioned)
* Viese Lombardi