Chapter 125: A New Life, New Relationships (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 125: A New Life, New Relationships (3)
The misunderstanding was quickly resolved.
However, after hearing the full story, Baron Romero spoke in a voice that still trembled with lingering agitation.
"Since you have already apologized, I will not pursue this matter further. However, keep this one thing in mind. The Dmitry family will do whatever it takes to protect our own flesh and blood. If you ever threaten Roman or touch Lauren again, you had best prepare yourselves. Even if Dmitry must walk the path of ruin, we will use any means necessary to drag Castro into the abyss with us."
Click.
He cut the communication.
His mind was still a whirlwind of thoughts, but the moment Count Castro disappeared from the screen, Baron Romero could no longer hold back his laughter.
"Bwahahaha! My son has truly grown up!"
Roman Dmitry.
A mere six months ago, he was a selfish child who cared only for himself. Yet, he had marched straight into the Castro family's domain to resolve his younger brother's troubles. A deep warmth welled up in Romero's chest. Dmitry's three sons had always seemed like oil and water, but without him even realizing it, they had formed a tight, unbreakable bond.
Furthermore, outside the office, the people of Dmitry were waiting for his orders.
Seeing them pour into the streets regardless of age or gender, Romero viewed Roman's standing in a completely new light.
‘People say that leaders are born, not made. In such a short time, Roman has completely captured the hearts of our people. From the leadership of Dmitry to the artisans of the forge and the miners in the iron mines—the very foundation of Dmitry now accepts Roman as their leader.’
The absolute trust of the people.
Everyone looked up to Roman Dmitry.
Seeing their willingness to lay down their lives for his son, Romero could not help but feel immense joy as a father. Roman had once been the child he worried about the most—the one who had shared the hardships of their days as commoners. His transformation filled Baron Romero with overwhelming excitement.
Bam!
He kicked the door open and stepped out.
Facing the leaders waiting for him in the hall, Baron Romero roared in a hearty voice, "Prepare a feast immediately! I shall reward everyone who made this great resolve for my son and for the future of Dmitry. Close down everything—the forge, the iron mines, the taverns! Today, we eat to our hearts' content and drink as if there is no tomorrow!"
And so, the day's incident—the event that had set the hearts of Dmitry's people ablaze—came to a triumphant end.
* * *
Incidents breed rumors.
The clash between Dmitry and Castro was no exception. The whispers began with the Academy students.
"I saw it with my own eyes, I tell you."
"Really?"
"Yeah. That arrogant William Castro couldn't say a single word to Roman Dmitry, even though he brought his own father along. In fact, when William hesitated, Count Castro got angry and forced him to apologize immediately! The Hero of Cairo must truly be something else. Count Castro is one of the most powerful men in the capital, yet he just stood by and watched his eldest son beg for forgiveness. The power structure of Cairo is definitely shifting."
The sight of William kneeling and apologizing had left the students in a state of profound shock. After all, William Castro, who had once wielded absolute, unchecked power at the Academy, had been utterly crushed.
And that wasn't all.
Merchants arriving from Dmitry spread new rumors of their own.
"It was only for a few hours, but a rumor circulated among the merchants trading with the Dmitry Trading Company. They said that if we cut off all transactions with the Castro family and found ways to disadvantage them, Dmitry would reward us handsomely. Do you know what that means? When the incident between Castro and Roman Dmitry broke out, the Dmitry family was actually preparing for an all-out war against Castro."
"Wow. A family from the fringes was going to take on Castro?"
"Exactly. But what's even more chilling is that as soon as the incident occurred, massive capital immediately tilted toward Dmitry. In a clash between a powerhouse of the capital and a family from the fringes, the giant merchant groups shockingly judged that Dmitry had a higher chance of winning. I've always known Dmitry's underlying strength was nothing to scoff at, but ever since they produced the Hero of Cairo, they've become a completely different beast."
This incident made one thing abundantly clear.
Although the Dmitry family had been heavily undervalued due to their commoner origins, their reputation was instantly reversed now that they possessed immense wealth alongside the martial might of Roman Dmitry. They were a powerhouse of the fringes that even the Central Government could not easily touch. Dmitry was no longer a family that could be looked down upon just because they were located on the periphery.
As the rumors spread, they grew larger and wilder.
With tales circulating that Roman and Dmitry had completely trampled over Castro, the Castro family's reputation plummeted to rock bottom.
Yet, even in this humiliating situation, Castro could say nothing.
The truth was far worse than the rumors. From Castro's perspective, it was actually better for people to simply believe that Dmitry was stronger than expected, rather than knowing the pathetic reality of their submission.
That was not all.
People wondered if Marquis Benedict might be furious over the Castro incident, but rumors circulated that he had actually vented his anger on Castro instead. Touching the Hero of Cairo was clearly the Castro family's blunder. With even Marquis Benedict, the reigning authority of the kingdom, taking Roman Dmitry's side, Dmitry instantly rose as an emerging power with the implicit backing of the Central Government.
It was a single incident, but to dismiss it as a mere happening would be a grave mistake. The prestige of the Dmitry family had completely transformed.
* * *
The public rumors and the words on people's lips eventually reached Roman's ears as well.
In particular, the revelation that Dmitry had actually prepared for war and mobilized its resources stirred somewhat complex emotions within him.
‘Dmitry is a family averse to war. Yet, they made such a drastic decision for my sake.’
This life was not a choice of his own free will.
After his death, he had opened his eyes as Roman Dmitry, and as always, he had lived by adapting to the reality before him. So much had happened since then. While he had quickly adapted to this new life by forming new relationships, this decisive action by the Dmitry family was unexpected even to him.
Baron Romero did not like war.
Believing that a blacksmith should remain a blacksmith, his father tended to handle matters as peacefully as possible. For that reason, Dmitry had never acquired great political power relative to the sheer strength and wealth they possessed.
‘Baron Romero's choice was not his decision alone. He made the decision for war, and because the core figures of Dmitry cast their votes in favor, the estate put it into action. A small society like Dmitry, which had been content to stay on the fringes, judged that it was worth risking the devastating dangers of war just for me.’
His past life as the Heavenly Demon, Baek Joong-hyuk, had been entirely calculated.
Under the law of the jungle, anything was permitted, and falling into the abyss was a consequence of a single moment's complacency. He had witnessed countless deaths in that manner. Naturally, his personality had grown extreme. A clear, absolute boundary existed between those inside his fence and those outside. In truth, while the people of Dmitry could be considered Roman Dmitry's people, he had not yet seen them as people inside his personal fence.
It was an ambiguous boundary.
Yet, people who were not particularly special to him had made the decision to sacrifice themselves for his sake without expecting anything in return.
‘Is this life truly different from my past one?’
In this new life, he had formed new relationships.
Just as people had cast aside their prejudices to look at him, Roman had also tried to look at them without prejudice. The result of that mutual understanding was Dmitry's decision. Even though they did not seek any special reward, and even though no one had ordered them to act that way, the people showed pure goodwill to repay him.
"Young Master. I think you've been overworking yourself lately. It's good to live life to the fullest, but please don't push yourself to the absolute limit."
It was Hans.
Seeing Roman lost in thought, Hans fussed over him, tidying up this and that as if the slight mess displeased him.
Of course, there had been people like Hans in his past life as well.
However, few had looked upon him—a man who had climbed to the absolute peak through a Mountain of Corpses and a Sea of Blood—as merely 'a human being.' Thus, he knew just how precious Hans's consideration was, and he felt grateful for it. It was the very emotion that allowed a human to live like a human.
The gaze with which Roman looked at Hans softened warmly.
He smiled.
At the news of Dmitry's resolve.
At the sight of Hans fussing before him.
Roman was gradually, fully accepting the new life he had been given.
* * *
Chris
The Castro incident.
Chris, who had been deeply engrossed in his training, heard the news from a soldier who came running in, panting heavily.
"Lord Chris! Our liege is in danger right now!"
"...Our liege is in danger?"
Stop.
He halted his sword.
Intimidated by Chris's fierce aura, the soldier hurriedly explained the situation.
"We received word from the Dmitry family. It seems our liege was captured by the Castro family while helping Young Master Lauren, and they said he might be in danger if left like this. What should we do?"
Chris let out a smirk.
The claim that his liege was in danger was utterly absurd.
"You still don't seem to know what kind of person our liege is. If our liege takes action, it is always done with thorough calculation. Castro is a noble family of the Central Government. They are an opponent the Dmitry family might worry about, but I assure you, the one in danger right now is not our liege, but the Castro family."
"...Then are you saying we should just wait?"
"No."
He sheathed his sword.
He trusted his liege implicitly. However, trust aside, it was his duty as a subordinate to prepare for any contingency.
"Assemble the troops immediately. The moment our liege's order falls, we must be perfectly prepared to execute it."
"Understood."
Kevin
Kevin had learned of the incident even before Chris.
After telling a comrade to relay the news to Chris, he had immediately dashed toward the Castro estate.
‘How dare they touch my liege.’
His insides boiled with rage.
He did not think Roman was in any danger. Roman had overwhelmed even the powerhouses of the Hector Kingdom; there was no way he would fall to the mere weaklings of the Castro family. Even so, his anger flared. To him, Roman was a being as high as the heavens, and the mere fact that such rumors were even circulating made his wrath toward the Castro family boil over.
A mere ten minutes.
That was all the time it took for him to reach the grand estate of Castro.
"Who goes there?" A guard stepped forward and questioned him.
The guard showed his discomfort at the suspicious figure, but Kevin said nothing. He simply sat down with a thud right in front of the main gate.
Plop.
‘I will wait for my liege.’
He did not yet know what was happening inside.
A rash move could ruin everything. So, Kevin waited. If even a single scream echoed from within, he was prepared to cut down the guards without hesitation and storm the estate.
"State your identity— gasp."
The guard, who was about to demand answers, flinched in shock.
Kevin's eyes. They gleamed with a chilling, murderous aura.
Realizing he was dealing with no ordinary person, the guard slunk back and firmly locked the main gate.
A long time passed.
Only after confirming Roman's safe exit did Kevin quietly slip away into the shadows.
Hector Kingdom
The war with Cairo.
It was a battle upon which the fate of the Hector Kingdom rested.
They had staked everything on it, and as long as Edwin Hector led them, they believed victory was guaranteed.
However...
"Hector's Star has fallen to the Devil of Cairo."
On the day the defeated soldiers arrived in the capital, the people fell into absolute despair.
The loss of their final sliver of hope was one thing, but they simply could not accept the fact that the life of Edwin Hector—the prince they trusted and followed—was in jeopardy. They were desperate to know the full story of the incident. But the defeated soldiers, having lost their wits, only repeated over and over that they had been crushed by the Devil of Cairo, failing to explain exactly what had transpired.
The officers involved in the war kept their mouths shut.
Edwin Hector had not yet woken up.
Hoping against hope that he would regain consciousness, they prayed for his recovery, holding vigil while still dressed in their battle gear.
Time passed.
Then, one day.
"...How much time has passed?"
Edwin Hector.
He had finally opened his eyes.