Chapter 9: Change (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 9: Change (2)
At first, she had no idea what was happening.
It was only after stopping a soldier leaving the office that Flora learned what had transpired in Lawrence.
‘Heavens.’
Blood Fang.
They were a notoriously heinous group of criminals active in the vicinity of Lawrence.
At one point, the noble families had attempted to wipe them out, but they eventually gave up due to the bandits' rat-like stealth and vicious retaliation. To Flora, Blood Fang was an unsolvable problem. As long as they weren't provoked, there would be no trouble, so she had always done her best to steer clear of them.
The day she had brought up breaking off the engagement, Roman had said he would deal with them.
Because he had framed it as his responsibility for their broken engagement, Flora had found herself trying to stop him.
Back then, Roman had drawn a clear line.
"We are strangers now. I will take care of my own affairs."
With the bond of their political marriage gone, he had made his stance clear: they were not to interfere in each other's lives.
It was absurd.
She had been angry, unable to understand him.
Was it his last shred of pride? Was he so embarrassed by her breaking off the engagement that he had to act so abrasive just to feel better?
She had been lost in her own thoughts.
Naturally, she never expected Roman to actually follow through on his words.
And yet…
‘He really wiped out Blood Fang.’
What she had deemed impossible had become reality.
Something others wouldn't even dare to dream of, Roman had accomplished in a matter of days.
Her common sense shattered.
The Fool of Dmitry?
That was nothing but a false rumor.
Even if Knight Commander Jonathan had assisted him, the Roman she had seen and experienced firsthand was not an insignificant man who deserved to be called a fool. He knew how to take responsibility for his actions and possessed the drive to keep his word. And if he had personally executed Ben Miles, the leader of Blood Fang, then the rumor that he was a half-wit who couldn't even swing a sword was almost certainly false as well.
Why on earth?
Why had Roman remained silent in the face of the world's judgment?
If she had known his true self even a little sooner, Flora would have at least made an effort to get to know him.
But regret always came too late.
The die was cast. Flora was summoned by her father.
He was full of praise for Roman.
She didn't know what had transpired in the office, but she threw cold water on her father’s enthusiasm, which was glowing with admiration.
“……We broke off our engagement.”
At Flora's confession, it was as if a bolt from the blue had struck Viscount Lawrence.
Flora.
She was the apple of his eye.
He had raised his daughter with the utmost care, as if she were a delicate flower that might blow away in the wind, but this was something he absolutely could not tolerate.
“You already notified him of the broken engagement?!”
Viscount Lawrence leaped from his seat.
Flora’s heart pounded at her father's unprecedented rage, but she forced a calm expression and spoke her mind.
“Yes. I made my intentions clear when I visited the Dmitry estate. I wanted to act for the sake of our family in accordance with your wishes, Father, but no matter how much I thought about it, marrying someone I cannot respect…”
“Flora! I thought you were a truly wise child. But this is unacceptable.”
He cut her off.
Unlike his usual self, he had no intention of hearing his daughter out.
“I told you before, didn't I? I told you how dire our territory's situation is. Right now, the Barco family has borrowed a massive sum from the Golden Bank to prepare for war against us. Did you make this choice knowing what that implies? There is no longer any compromise with the Barco family. They will use this issue as a pretext to bring us to our knees, and since they have a legitimate justification, they will strip us of everything. And that doesn't just mean gold and silver. It means our land, our honor, and even you, who are called the Flower of Lawrence. It means they will take everything.”
“Lawrence isn’t weak. Even against Barco, it's not as if we have no chance of winning, is it?”
“Indeed. If it were only the Barco family, you could think that. The problem is that the ‘Central Government’ approved a document whose authenticity hasn't even been verified, and the Golden Bank lent money to the Barco family without any collateral. This isn't a fight between two families. The forces backing the Barco family will ensure we lose this war, if only to secure their own interests.”
“……”
Flora’s eyes trembled.
She was smart. She had been called a prodigy since childhood and boasted a brilliant mind, having even completed her Academy courses early.
But that was merely academic knowledge.
From the Academy.
And from the library.
It was knowledge learned from books, not from cold, hard reality.
In her judgment, Lawrence stood a fair chance, but the reality confronting her was far from ideal.
Viscount Lawrence continued, “The political marriage with the Dmitry family was an unavoidable choice. Among the families in the northeast, they were the only ones with the power to help us fend off the Barco family's clutches. That’s why I asked for your consent. I asked if you could sacrifice yourself for the family's sake. Of course, even though it was a difficult situation for you, if you had refused back then, I wouldn't be this angry now. I would have stepped back and allowed you to choose a partner you liked from another prestigious family. But not now. Before, you were the Flower of Lawrence whom everyone admired, but now, your choice has left a blemish on your reputation. Other families will simply wait and see. For them to pursue your hand in marriage under these circumstances would be an extremely risky choice.”
In the world of power, choices carried heavy consequences.
Lawrence, which had secured Dmitry’s backing through the political marriage, now stood to lose even more because of the broken engagement.
Just moments ago, Viscount Lawrence had met Roman.
He was a decent man. His eyes were sharp, and his attitude showed no intimidation, even when facing a viscount. Seeing how he had dealt with Blood Fang for his people, he clearly cherished his own.
That was why the viscount had been in such a good mood.
Even if it was a political marriage, his daughter’s partner was not the fool of the rumors. With no other options left for Lawrence, he had been truly relieved that this choice was not the worst one.
But the damage was already done.
As a result, all their preparations to face the Barco family had been rendered useless.
“In the past, the Barco family requested a political marriage with us. They must have coveted our fertile lands. I flatly refused at the time. No matter what benefits they offered, the reason was simple: the eldest son of the Barco family is a notorious womanizer. If we lose this war, you will become a woman of the Barco family, not Dmitry. That is the reality. While you were in a position to choose your partner before the war, the situation will be entirely different once we hit rock bottom.”
The reason for the political marriage.
The reason he had made such a heart-wrenching decision.
It was because the opponent was Barco.
Knowing what it would mean to lose to those who had long eyed Lawrence with greed, Viscount Lawrence had been forced to accept reality.
Flora’s heart sank.
In her world, such stories did not exist.
She had no idea what intentions Barco harbored, or what her father had hoped to gain through the marriage with Dmitry.
She was naive.
With a pure heart in a cruel world, she had broken the engagement, completely failing to foresee the consequences.
Cold reality.
Viscount Lawrence took a deep breath. Fortunately, there was still time to salvage the situation.
“For the time being, take some time to reflect on your mistake. I will arrange another meeting with Dmitry and act as if this broken engagement never happened. My daughter, we are nobles. We are not commoners who worry about making ends meet; we are in a position where having much entails equal responsibility. So please, pray that this matter is resolved. If Dmitry coldly rejects us, our chances of victory against the Barco family will be slim to none.”
Fortunately, the news of the broken engagement had not yet spread. This was their only window to undo the mistake.
Viscount Lawrence left his office, leaving a shocked Flora behind.
He had many things to handle.
*
Meanwhile, Roman was leaving Lawrence with the Dmitry Knights.
On the road, Knight Commander Jonathan kept stealing glances at him.
‘Is this truly the Young Master Roman I know?’
The Roman he knew did not possess the courage to look Viscount Lawrence straight in the eye. Furthermore, there was the matter of wiping out Blood Fang. It was all riddled with questions.
Although they didn't usually converse much, Jonathan could no longer hold back his burning curiosity.
“Young Master, did you really have to provoke Viscount Lawrence like that? It’s a relief he didn't make a big issue out of it, but if he had flown into a rage, you wouldn't have escaped punishment.”
Instead of accepting the reprimand, Roman had criticized the Viscount to his face. Jonathan had been so startled he had almost stepped in to stop him.
“Was there a need, you ask?”
Roman smiled.
A need? There was none.
While resolving things amicably would have been the wisest course of action, he had deliberately changed his attitude in response to the accusatory atmosphere.
“Lawrence is not free from responsibility in this matter. Their complacent attitude allowed Blood Fang to run rampant, and as a result, the people of Dmitry suffered. I merely reminded him of the facts—that he had no right to reprimand me under those circumstances. And even if things had gone poorly, Viscount Lawrence couldn't have punished me. Judging by the atmosphere, he didn't know about the broken engagement yet. He wouldn't make the foolish decision to punish the son of a family he is about to marry into.”
“……!”
Roman’s actions had not been reckless. He had assessed the situation accurately and spoken only what he knew he could handle.
“In the first place, they are a family that fails to communicate properly even on a matter as major as a broken engagement. Why should I seek forgiveness from him? I solved a problem they couldn't. If anything, I should be receiving praise, not a reprimand.”
A confident attitude and a voice filled with conviction.
At that moment, Jonathan was certain.
‘The Young Master has changed.’
Roman Dmitry was no longer the fool of the past.
*
Roman arrived home.
He immediately soaked himself in the tub, washing away the dried blood clinging to his body with warm water.
‘Even in this new life, my essence does not change.’
He had killed people. Dozens of them.
Blood Fang had been annihilated, and he felt no guilt.
‘It was necessary.’
Roman, or rather, Baek Joong-hyuk, had lived in a world where the strong preyed on the weak. If he had shown the weakness of hesitating when a life had to be taken, Baek Joong-hyuk would have died in his childhood.
Therefore, once he made a decision, he always saw it through. He cut down those who blocked his path without a moment's hesitation and, when necessary, did not shy away from torture.
That was the life of Baek Joong-hyuk.
Nothing had changed just because he was now Roman.
If anyone showed killing intent toward him, eliminating them by any means necessary was simply the way Baek Joong-hyuk had always lived. If the same thing were to happen in the future, Roman would always make the same judgment.
Whether the opponent was Blood Fang or someone even greater.
Roman had lived the life of a predator, surviving by preying on others.
“Young Master, the Lord is calling for you.”
He had just finished bathing. At Hans’s words, Roman changed into clean clothes and headed out.
He arrived at the office.
However, Baron Romero, whom he had expected to criticize his reckless behavior, was staring at him with gleaming eyes. His expression could not hide his immense anticipation.
Baron Romero spoke.
“So, you personally dealt with Blood Fang?”
Jonathan was standing beside him. He must have already reported what happened.
The meaning behind the question was clear.
Baron Romero was the Lord of Dmitry, but before that, he was a father—a father who couldn't hide his soaring anticipation at the realization that his eldest son had finally changed.