Ten days ago, Lawrence was in a dire situation.
"The Martel family has rejected our proposal."
"…The Bartra family is the same. They said they would accept the establishment of the distribution network they always demanded, yet they have stated that they cannot assist with this matter. My lord, it seems that due to the pressure from the Barco family, receiving help from others is practically impossible."
Bang!
"Damn those bastards."
Upon hearing the report from his vassals, Lord Lawrence could not contain his anger and slammed his hand on the table.
Before the dispute with Barco, the Martel and Bartra families had been flattering him to establish connections with Lawrence.
His fertile lands granted him power in the northeastern region, and Lord Lawrence had maintained amicable relations with them.
Thus, recalling their past relationship and asking for their help, he found the heads of the two families, who had always greeted him with smiles, now displaying cold attitudes as if nothing had ever happened.
He understood.
Recently, rumors had spread in the northeastern region.
If any force intervened in the dispute between Lawrence and Barco, it was said that Lawrence would surely take revenge after his downfall.
Everyone knew that this rumor was intentionally spread by Barco, yet it was precisely because of this intention that other families had no choice but to shrink back.
Barco had blocked the possibility of alliances.
Now, with a week’s grace period declared, Lord Lawrence felt as if his insides were tightly constricted.
"Have you received any word from the Golden Bank?"
"…Yes. They said they would consider a land collateral loan, but it seems they won't finish their review within a week. The Golden Bank is not a neutral force. They have invested a large sum in the Barco family, so it seems they have judged that supporting Barco is more beneficial than supporting us."
"Hah."
Dizziness struck him.
The Golden Bank was not limited to the Cairo Kingdom; it was a force with immense capital that could influence the entire continent.
Their base was said to be in Valhalla, one of the two empires.
Although they claimed neutrality as their highest value, in matters where their interests were at stake, they openly sided with whoever would benefit them the most.
Barco and Lawrence.
The odds were in favor of Barco, and thus, it was better for them to side with Barco rather than invest in both sides.
"So, in the end, does that mean there is no solution?"
For the past few weeks, Lord Lawrence had been running around trying to solve the problem.
After the broken engagement with Dmitri, Lawrence found himself cornered and met many people, invoking past connections in a desperate attempt to survive.
Among them, his contact with the Golden Bank was a last-ditch effort he knew would likely fail.
If he could borrow money, he planned to hire mercenaries just like the Barco family, but the foxes of the Golden Bank would not engage in a business that could lead to their own losses.
He was at a dead end.
It was over.
In a week, Barco would launch their attack, and Lawrence had no strength to withstand it.
'…I should have somehow mended Dmitri's heart.'
Dmitri.
Their existence had become a poison.
When preparing for the marriage with Dmitri, it seemed all problems would be resolved, but instead, turning his back on Dmitri had led even the pro-Dmitri factions to declare they could not help.
The real powers in the northeastern region were Barco and Dmitri.
With both families now hostile, Lawrence had fallen into isolation.
It was hopeless.
In a situation where even his vassals could not speak, a woman sitting at the far end of the conference room cautiously spoke up.
"Father, may I say something?"
Her identity.
She was none other than Flora Lawrence, the cherished daughter of Lawrence.
Roman Dmitri.
Since their meeting began, the realm of common sense that constituted Flora's world had completely crumbled.
'I was wrong in my judgment.
I viewed Roman Dmitri with prejudice, and the real fool was not him, but me.'
Roman's actions were shocking.
At first, she only knew that Roman had committed some wrongdoing, but as time passed, she learned the detailed process.
Roman had eliminated Ben Miles, the leader of the Blood Fang, in front of many people.
It was entirely an act of Roman's own power, and what was even more shocking was the justification behind Roman's actions.
His purpose was to deal with the Blood Fang, which had tormented the people of Dmitri's territory.
Knowing that Lawrence's response was lacking, he acted boldly, prepared for punishment.
Suddenly, Flora felt a sense of shame.
While Dmitri's eldest son was called a fool, he acted for the sake of his family, yet all she had done was mention the broken engagement, putting Lawrence in danger.
If she could turn back time, she would have thought more about the extreme choice of breaking off the engagement, which had provoked Dmitri's anger.
'I was foolish.
Choosing to break off the engagement without any countermeasures was a choice that led the family to destruction.'
Once, she had thought herself clever.
Completing the advanced courses at the academy with good grades, she believed she was a good daughter as she saw her father smile brightly at her.
At that time, she did not realize that receiving support from the family while studying meant she was as ignorant as a flower in a greenhouse, completely unaware of the world.
Outside the family, Barco was a wild predator.
Showing their fierce fangs and drooling, they did not care what kind of life Flora had lived.
When the news of the broken engagement spread, Flora locked herself in her room.
The fact that marriage should be with someone you love remained unchanged, but she could not bear to face her father, knowing the harsh reality that she had to pay the price for romance.
Because of her mistake, her father was now running around every day, begging for help.
The family conference room never saw a day without its lights on, and after each meeting, she could not muster the courage to approach the vassals, who walked out with dead faces, to encourage them.
Flora Lawrence.
Known as the flower of Lawrence, she had always seen good things and experienced only good, yet this was a truly harsh time for her.
She groaned.
There were nights when she had fevers and woke up in a cold sweat from nightmares.
As such events repeated, Roman's figure vividly appeared in Flora's mind.
'How could he act like that all on his own?'
In a situation where no one expected anything from Roman, he boldly took action for the sake of the family.
It was impressive.
Beyond the fact that such actions were possible, just the thought of them made him appear different.
From that moment on, Roman began to appear in Flora's dreams, and as she dreamed of Roman, her heart gradually began to change.
Then one day, Flora made a decision.
"Let’s not turn a blind eye to reality, Flora. If no one is going to help us, just like Roman Dmitri personally hunted down the Blood Fang, we too must find a way to solve our problems ourselves."
In the dark room, Flora emerged from her cave.
Tying her hair back to move comfortably, she headed to the Lawrence library to grab a few books.
The type of books she took were military strategy manuals in preparation for war.
Flora said, "We are now cornered. Barco has cut off assistance from the surrounding area, and the difference in strength is evident. There are opinions that we should surrender to preserve even a bit of our family’s land, but I believe we absolutely cannot do that."
"Why do you think so? Rather than innocent soldiers dying, surrender might be the choice for everyone."
Lord Lawrence questioned.
Seeing the look of doubt on his face, Flora calmly met his gaze.
"Barco borrowed money from the Golden Bank using connections with the central government. Rumor has it that the loan process was unsecured, and thus, a loan without collateral must have a high-interest rate. This war is not just a business that benefits Barco. For both Barco, who borrowed money, and the Golden Bank, which lent it, to gain satisfactory profits, they will completely tear apart this land after conquering Lawrence. Half will go to Barco, and the other half to the Golden Bank. Even then, they will not be satisfied until they scrape the bottom of the vault."
"Cough."
The vassals showed signs of discomfort.
It was a brutally honest statement, yet no one denied the reality of it.
"So what should we do?"
"There is only one way. A desperate resistance. That is the only way we can survive."
"Resistance? Is that truly the best you can suggest?" Lord Lawrence reacted with disbelief.
In that moment, Flora's words sparked hope.
She thought she would hear a brilliant solution that pierced through the situation accurately, but in the end, it was within the realm of common sense.
Locking the gates.
Anyone could think of that.
However, Flora's approach was different from others.
"I'm not just saying to hold on. Give up this year's harvest and set fire to the fields. Then, stockpile as much food as possible and hold out. We just need to survive until winter comes."
"Just hold out until winter?"
"Yes.
Barco borrowed a huge sum of money for this war. Although they used connections with the central government to secure an unsecured loan, the Golden Bank is not a force that can be pressured solely by connections with the central government. They are a massive force that influences the entire continent.
If the war does not end quickly and time continues to flow, Barco will inevitably face pressure from the interest. The larger the loan, the greater the interest. That is the only weakness we can exploit.
Mercenaries move for money, and that money comes from the Golden Bank. If winter, which is unfavorable for siege warfare, arrives, they will inevitably wither away."
"Wow!"
"I can't believe there was such a method!"
At Flora's words, the family vassals were amazed.
Initially showing puzzled expressions, they gradually became completely engrossed in Flora's argument.
It made sense.
This was a race against time.
Since Barco's strength was not tangible, if they could withstand the time until that strength was revealed, there was a good chance of victory.
'When did my daughter grow up like this?'
Lord Lawrence looked at his daughter with a complicated expression.
His only daughter.
He had raised her carefully, fearing she might break if he held her too tightly, and the flower in the greenhouse had blossomed into the flower of Lawrence.
And when the incident with Dmitri occurred, Lord Lawrence thought he had raised his daughter too naively.
However, the truth was different.
When faced with the muddy situation, Flora showed her true self.
'You suffered because of your incompetent father.'
It became clear to him.
Flora's pale face.
The shadow on her face revealed how much she had suffered.
The cherished daughter of the family.
He absolutely did not want to see such a lovely daughter crumble under the Barco family.
Lord Lawrence said, "Flora's words are correct. The Barco family is not a force we cannot handle on our own. So prepare for a desperate resistance immediately. We will endure and carry on the legacy of the Lawrence family."
He made a decision.
They would not surrender.
They would not raise the white flag.
Even if the walls fell and they died, the judgment of the Lawrence family was to fight and endure until the end.
A week later, the day of the decisive battle that Barco had announced finally dawned.