Antonio Barca's appearance was more ordinary than expected.
With a face that could be seen anywhere, he widened his eyes in surprise upon spotting Roman and began to fuss.
"Roman! What on earth happened to you all this time?!"
Just a moment ago, he had heard through a servant that Roman had changed.
But he hadn’t expected the transformation to be this dramatic, so he genuinely looked at Roman with a surprised gaze.
Roman spoke.
"I don’t know the reason either. When I spent a fortune trying to manage my appearance, nothing changed. But lately, without doing anything, I’ve been changing day by day. Anyway, it’s good to see you after so long."
He spoke casually.
The light and frivolous tone was something he had adopted after considering Hans’ advice about maintaining his relationship with Antonio Barca.
‘Only Antonio Barca is in the private room.’
Roman glanced around.
Just moments ago, Antonio Barca had been enjoying the party with the daughters of other nobles, but upon hearing of Roman’s arrival, he had sent them all away.
As a result, the table was a complete mess.
Countless bottles of alcohol were scattered about, and what appeared to be women’s undergarments were also strewn around.
It was easy to guess.
What kind of person Antonio Barca was, and how he had been playing around in the private room under the guise of a social party.
So, Roman hid his true feelings.
Having dealt with the cunning snakes of the demonic sect, he knew that one couldn’t always face things head-on.
‘Antonio Barca sent all the nobles out of the private room when he heard I arrived.
That means he has something secret to discuss, and I need to play along to hear it.’
He smiled.
Hoping that Antonio Barca would remember him as the Roman he knew, he sat down and immediately downed a glass of alcohol.
Thud.
"Ah, that’s good."
The alcohol burned down his throat, instantly clearing his mind.
Despite his outward appearance, Roman calmly waited for Antonio Barca to speak, his gaze steady.
Antonio Barca.
The information about him was fragmented.
Through Hans, Roman had roughly grasped his tendencies, but there was no way to uncover the secret relationship between the two.
So, Roman kept his mouth shut.
By quietly waiting, he prompted the other to speak first.
Then, Antonio Barca opened his mouth.
"It’s good to see you after so long, and I’ll take that as a positive sign. Honestly, I was really curious about your intentions back then. You, who ignored our friendship and pushed through with a political marriage with Lawrence, showed up in the private room’s bedroom at that time… Ugh. Even though it was a social party where secrets were guaranteed, I didn’t expect you, who was about to get married, to go that far."
Social party.
Private room’s bedroom.
As fragments of the truth began to surface, Antonio Barca spoke with a playful expression.
"So, attending this party means you’ve accepted my proposal, right? No, since you’ve already proven your resolve by breaking off the engagement, I don’t even need to hear your answer. Let’s keep what happened back then a secret and talk about a marriage with Barca now."
Marriage with Barca.
The moment the key word was mentioned, a lock in Roman’s mind clicked open.
Click.
From the depths of his memory, a recollection from his past life surfaced.
That day.
Roman had been extremely nervous about attending Barca’s social party.
"Phew, Roman Dmitri. Don’t be so nervous. Even though you betrayed Antonio Barca and accepted a political marriage with Lawrence, you can’t keep avoiding them forever, right? So, let’s use this opportunity to mend your relationship with them."
Barca’s invitation.
After confirming it, he had hesitated countless times but eventually decided to meet them directly to resolve the issue.
The other party was Barca.
Given that his actions might lead to war with them, he wanted to solve the problem through dialogue if possible.
His father had taken a completely hostile stance toward Barca since pushing for the political marriage with Lawrence, but young Roman Dmitri believed there was still room for conversation.
And so, Roman went to the party.
To his surprise, Antonio Barca welcomed him warmly, and as his tension eased, he unknowingly drank heavily.
That was the problem.
He blacked out.
When he woke up with a splitting headache, he found himself in an entirely unfamiliar scene.
The private room’s bed.
There were women he had never seen before lying beside him.
Roman, startled, rushed out, and Antonio Barca saw him.
That was the beginning.
The moment Roman’s life began to plummet.
Antonio Barca and Roman had been known for their wild lifestyles, so Roman thought it would be overlooked.
But Antonio Barca, with a fierce expression, said:
"Roman. I won’t say anything about you fooling around with women even though you’re about to get married. But do you know who you’ve messed with now? One of the women you were with is Emily Barca. You’ve not only betrayed me by marrying Lawrence, but you’ve also touched a woman of Barca."
Emily Barca.
She was a member of Barca’s collateral line.
From that day on, Antonio Barca used this as leverage to blackmail him.
"Choose. Either I expose this and you get unilaterally divorced, or you fix our relationship by marrying into Barca’s main line instead of the collateral line. I’m still furious about what you’ve done, but if you become one of Barca’s people, I’ll suppress my anger and forgive you."
It felt like the sky was falling.
Roman locked himself in his room as soon as he returned from the party, shouting at Hans to bring him alcohol.
Days of torment followed.
Both options were the worst.
If he got divorced for touching a member of Barca’s collateral line, the Dmitri family’s honor would be ruined.
Roman Dmitri, who already knew the reputation of his commoner-born family, couldn’t bear the thought of facing his father, Baron Romero’s wrath if such a thing happened.
But he couldn’t choose the latter either.
Roman loved Flora.
He had fallen for her the moment he saw her, and despite knowing the price his family would pay for the political marriage, he had begged his father.
But now, not only was he being asked to break off the engagement, but he also had to bring the disgrace of being a "divorced woman" to the woman he truly loved.
It was unbearable.
He was torn.
Antonio Barca kept sending letters to pressure him, and eventually, the moment of decision arrived.
That day.
Roman chose to kill himself.
He was a weak man.
A man who had never achieved anything on his own had no confidence in solving the problem and believed that his death would resolve everything.
The death of the heir.
That too would bring disgrace to the Dmitri family, but it was still better than being unilaterally divorced due to his scandalous behavior.
And for Flora Lawrence, being widowed was a far better option than being labeled a divorced woman.
Pathetic.
Recalling those memories, Roman let out a hollow laugh.
‘What a pitiful reality.’
The reason for his suicide.
It wasn’t anything grand.
Barca had played a political trick, and the weak Roman, out of fear of his father and his genuine feelings for Flora, chose to give up his life.
If Roman had trusted his father, Baron Romero would never have allowed his son to make such an extreme choice as suicide.
But Roman didn’t know.
He didn’t know how much his father loved him, and so he swallowed the pills, bearing the burden alone.
And now, back to reality.
When he looked ahead, he saw Antonio Barca waiting for his answer.
The news of Dmitri’s divorce.
When Antonio Barca first heard it, he felt as if he had won the world.
‘What a fool! To actually go through with a divorce over something he doesn’t even remember.’
Roman’s memory.
It was different from the truth.
It was true that he had woken up in the private room’s bed, but Roman hadn’t touched the woman beside him.
In fact, he had initially planned to stay sober.
Given Roman’s usual wild lifestyle, he thought it would be easy, but his reaction was unexpected.
"Sorry, but I’m about to get married. I don’t plan to fool around with other women anymore."
It was ridiculous.
Seeing him talk about love as if he were some romantic, Antonio Barca’s mood completely soured.
So, he planned.
He made sure Roman got drunk, and persuaded a powerless woman from the collateral line to act as if she had slept with Roman.
It was a plan Roman couldn’t escape.
If he hadn’t been a wild person, it might not have worked, but since Roman had been, he firmly believed it was his fault.
And then, Antonio Barca blackmailed him.
As planned, Roman chose to break off the engagement, and Antonio Barca knew what the finale of this plan would be.
‘Now the Lawrence family is completely cornered.
But they’ll probably fight to the end to protect their pride.
In this situation, if Barca and Dmitri form a political marriage? The game is over.
No one in the northeast can withstand the combined power of Barca and Dmitri with just willpower alone.’
It was perfect.
Suppressing a laugh, Antonio Barca sweet-talked his puppet, Roman.
"Roman. The union of Barca and Dmitri will shake the entire northeast. No one will dare challenge our iron fortress, and you’ll gain unparalleled power in the northeast. And the sister you’ll marry is, as you know, a renowned beauty. For you, there’s no reason to refuse this offer."
It was sweet.
An offer no man could resist, and Antonio Barca naturally expected Roman to accept.
But.
Roman’s reaction was unexpected.
"I don’t think I need to accept a political marriage for such reasons."
"... What did you say?"
Antonio Barca’s expression hardened.
Thinking he must have misheard, he repeated himself.
"You seem to be under some misunderstanding. This isn’t a choice between two options. If you refuse Barca’s offer, I’ll have no choice but to reveal what happened in the private room’s bed to the world. What do you think will happen to Dmitri’s standing then? Even though you’ve divorced Lawrence, people will probably think the reason was your womanizing. So think carefully. If you want to hold your head high in the future."
It was a threat.
Facing Antonio Barca’s fierce expression, Roman let out a slight chuckle without a hint of wavering.
He crossed his legs.
And then, he looked straight at Antonio Barca.
A few days ago.
Roman had investigated the Barca family.
What kind of place Barca was, how strong their influence was.
And he had made a judgment.
"I already told you. For such trivial reasons, Dmitri has no need to accept Barca’s offer."
The northeast.
Here, the top power wasn’t Barca—it was Dmitri.