Chapter 17: A Moment's Choice (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 17: A Moment's Choice (2)
During her childhood, Flora attended a prestigious academy.
The prestige of the Lawrence name, backed by the wealth of their fertile lands, carried immense influence. Every morning, servants attended to her as she cultivated the refinement expected of a noble. Her memories of those days were nothing special.
But now, amidst the current crisis, a single memory suddenly surfaced.
'He was from the Joel family.'
The Joel family.
They were a noble house in name only, so obscure that people in the northeast doubted they even existed. Given their standing, admission to such a prestigious academy should have been impossible. Yet, by some stroke of luck, a boy from the Joel family attended at the same time as Flora. She hadn't looked upon him with prejudice. She got along well with him as a fellow student, but not everyone shared her perspective.
Within those walls, Joel was an anomaly. In a world of self-proclaimed elites, no one was willing to treat him with respect.
One day, Joel made a minor mistake.
While the children of prominent nobles got away with causing major incidents, a disciplinary committee convened over Joel's trivial error. He faced expulsion. As the teachers shrieked and yelled at the boy, a man who appeared to be his father arrived. Dressed in faded clothes, he bowed his head in supplication.
Begging for mercy just this once.
Promising to keep a tighter leash on his son.
Watching the middle-aged man plead so desperately, Flora experienced the harshness of reality secondhand.
'How pitiful.'
If only the Joel family's status had been grand.
If only they possessed power.
Would the head of the Joel family have bowed his head?
No.
It wouldn't have even become an issue in the first place. The academy would have treated Joel's child with respect on their own accord. But because he lacked power, the patriarch of the Joel family had no choice but to apologize.
And now, it was no different.
Standing before the wrathful Baron Romero, Flora's father looked exactly like the head of the Joel family.
"...As the head of Lawrence, I have no excuses, even if I had ten mouths to speak with. What you say is absolutely correct, Baron Dmitry. It was our Lawrence family that first inquired about the marriage, yet my daughter, in her immaturity, committed a grave error. I should have apologized for that from the very beginning. I sincerely beg your forgiveness for instead turning around and venting my anger on you."
Viscount Lawrence bowed his head.
Dmitry's wrath.
Lawrence did not have the power to withstand it. The very fact that Dmitry was their only solution to resolve the conflict with the Barco family proved that Dmitry possessed true power.
Viscount Lawrence faced reality. Now was the time to apologize. Seeing him bow his head without offering a single excuse, a surge of hot emotion welled up inside Flora.
'...It's all because of me.'
Joel. He was a pitiful boy. She had felt sorry for him, which was why she wanted to treat him well. The person she once viewed as an object of pity was now a reflection of her own situation.
She had been foolish. She had been pathetic.
Once, even outside her greenhouse, the world had shown her warmth. She failed to realize that this was no longer the case since the decline of the Lawrence family. Just like her childhood memory of watching the Joel family's plight from a distance, she still hadn't truly understood the weight of responsibility that accompanied her choices.
'There is no reason for my father to be treated this way because of me. This is my fault. If only I had fully taken responsibility instead of trying to shift the blame onto Roman Dmitry, we wouldn't have had to face Dmitry's wrath. How utterly pathetic of me. Both for judging Roman hastily, and for turning a blind eye to reality.'
Squeeze.
She clenched her fists tightly.
She was the source of the problem. Therefore, she knew that she, not Viscount Lawrence, had to apologize personally to resolve this situation.
"Baron Dmitry..."
Thud!
"My Lord."
It was at that moment. Just as she was about to speak, a soldier entered and announced, "Young Master Roman has arrived."
In an instant, it felt as though her world was turning upside down.
At the sight of Roman Dmitry stepping into the office, Flora gasped involuntarily.
'...This man is Roman Dmitry?'
Before her eyes stood a man entirely different from the one in her memory.
Her first meeting with Roman had been the absolute worst. While the rumors of him being "The Fool of Dmitry" had already biased her against him, his unkempt appearance and suffocating cologne had made her grimace. Though she later learned the cologne was a choice made out of consideration for her, at the time, she had been too blinded by prejudice to see him in a positive light.
But now, an entirely different person stood before her.
A natural, pleasant scent wafted with every step Roman took. He was completely transformed from head to toe.
He was tall and well-proportioned. His once-blemished face had become as fair as white jade, making his dark hair and red lips stand out strikingly against his skin. If his appearance had been average before, he could now easily be called handsome. Yet, what truly astonished Flora was the unique aura radiating from him.
'It feels like I'm facing a giant.'
He was imposing. He carried an aura that seemed to look down upon the world, declaring he had absolutely no reason to shrink back.
He was like a sharp sword.
If their first meeting had been unexpected, and their second shocking, then this third meeting left her utterly spellbound.
She knew it was pathetic to have such thoughts right now. But still, Roman's silhouette bore a striking resemblance to the ideal man she had once envisioned.
Step.
He stopped walking.
Unshaken despite being the center of everyone's attention, Roman looked at Baron Romero and spoke calmly.
"Roman Dmitry greets his father."
One week.
The results of his closed-door training were more than enough to shock everyone present.
Baron Romero was equally taken aback. His son had completely changed. Though he had countless questions, he maintained a composed expression under the watchful eyes of their guests.
"Have you successfully completed your training?"
"Yes, Father."
"We shall speak of that later in private. The reason I summoned you here is because the Lawrence family wishes to undo the engagement cancellation and proceed with the political marriage once more. As your father, I have no desire to maintain ties with a family that treats the sacred bond of marriage so lightly. However, this matter originated from your decision in the first place. Whatever choice you make, this father of yours will support it."
Had it been a month ago, Baron Romero might have called off the marriage and openly proposed an alliance with the Barco family out of spite.
But now, he trusted his son.
He believed that the young man who had begun taking charge of his own life—starting with the Blood Fang incident—would make the right choice for himself.
"...I understand what you mean."
The atmosphere in the room was heavy. The situation was clear. Although he hadn't been present from the start, the stiff expressions of the Lawrence father and daughter made it easy to guess that Baron Romero had given them a harsh tongue-lashing.
From what Roman had gathered, the Dmitry family possessed formidable power. They simply chose not to flaunt it because they disliked putting on airs, but Dmitry was by no means a weak family.
They were a powerhouse of the northeast. No matter what choice he made, Dmitry could back it up.
Roman spoke.
"I am well aware of what a union between Dmitry and Lawrence signifies. The reason the Lawrence family considered me—a man they had never even met—as a marriage partner was not because they wanted Roman Dmitry as an individual, but because they needed Dmitry's wealth. With the Barco family threatening Lawrence's safety, Dmitry's financial power would guarantee their security."
"...You wished for the marriage even knowing that?"
"Yes. At the time, I believed it was worth it."
Baron Romero showed a look of surprise. He had assumed his immature son desired the marriage to Flora without giving it any real thought. He had never explained regional politics to him, so he hadn't expected Roman to grasp the complex relationship with the Barco family.
Just moments ago, Roman had echoed the exact words Baron Romero had spoken to Viscount Lawrence. Through a brief investigation, Roman had already grasped the surrounding circumstances. He knew the correct path to take.
"A union with Lawrence demands sacrifices from Dmitry. Since the Barco family has obtained the approval of the Central Government, they will not back down simply because Dmitry intervenes. Therefore, the woman I take as my wife must be worth that sacrifice. Putting aside the mere profits and losses of our families, she must be someone worthy of Roman Dmitry's lifelong devotion. Once, I sought that worth in the appearance of Flora, who is called the Flower of Lawrence. However, on the day I first met her, my thoughts changed when she brought up the cancellation of our engagement."
A man and a woman do not truly know each other at first. They construct images of one another in their minds based on rumors, but those are nothing more than illusions, not reality.
Even so, Flora had made a hasty judgment. She mistook the cologne he wore out of consideration for her as proof of his indulgence in pleasure, and assumed his skin troubles were fitting for "The Fool of Dmitry." Flora had been rash. She believed unverified information, and even if he had truly been such a person, she ruined the relationship with her unwise attitude.
"What was Flora thinking when she decided to call off the engagement? She must have heard the rumors of 'The Fool of Dmitry' and concluded that she could not marry such a man. The problem lies in her process. In handling a matter of grave importance to her family, Flora was unwise. She judged and concluded everything about a person she had never personally met, relying solely on rumors. Marriage is about finding a lifelong partner. One cannot live happily with someone forever simply because they are beautiful or because their family is grand. What matters is wisdom. How one copes with the various challenges that arise in life is what ultimately grants the trust needed to promise a lifetime together."
Roman spoke without a single hitch.
With every word he uttered, Flora's face flushed crimson. She could not bring herself to look him in the eye.
She was still young. It was a mistake born of inexperience, but because the matter was so critical, she could not escape the consequences.
"I am proud of the Dmitry family. Starting as blacksmiths, we built our foundation and overcame the barrier of social status that others would not dare to challenge. And in that process, I desire a woman like my mother, who was always proud of my father. No matter how the world evaluates Roman Dmitry, I wish to take a partner who believes and acts upon what they have seen and judged for themselves."
The answer was clear.
Roman looked at Flora. Just as Flora had unilaterally delivered her ultimatum during their first meeting, Roman left absolutely no room for compromise.
"I wish to proceed with the engagement cancellation, as promised."
The water had been spilled.
That was all.
Water scattered on the ground leaves only a stain—there is no way to gather it back up.