Before long, it was time for the party to begin.
Roman's appearance had changed completely from the day.
During the day, he had been covered in dust from working in the mines and had spent time training with Chris right up until the party, but now he arrived at the venue looking neat and polite.
The moment everyone had been waiting for had arrived with Roman's entrance.
As he walked into the party hall, the chatter around him fell silent.
“Lord Roman Dmitri has arrived.”
Roman looked around and greeted the people.
There was no trace of his usual prickly demeanor.
This party was held in his honor, and he knew how to act as the main character of the event.
His demeanor caught the attention of the noble daughters who had previously snubbed him during the day.
“Lord Roman, why did you leave so abruptly earlier? I wanted to chat a bit before the party.”
“I had just finished my work, and my appearance was rather shabby, so I had no choice but to act that way. I hope you can understand my desire to look presentable.”
“Oh, I see.”
Perhaps because they liked Roman's response, from that moment on, no matter what he said, everyone laughed heartily.
Their intentions were clear.
They were trying to create a connection with Roman, and before long, he was surrounded by women.
Among them, Sylvia stood out the most.
“You truly seem to be as remarkable as the rumors say. A successor from a noble family, working alongside the miners? My father always said we should live with humility and a thirst for knowledge, but I found it difficult to put that into practice like you, Lord Roman. If I were to have someone like you as my partner, wouldn’t I also change by learning from my lifelong companion?”
Her words were quite direct.
The people around them shot her wary glances, but Sylvia paid no mind to their stares.
She was beautiful, fully aware of her looks, and had learned from experience that if she made the first move, most men would be left speechless.
It was not a bad strategy.
If Roman had not been the kind of man who remained unfazed even by the beauty of Flora Lawrence, the most stunning woman in the northeast, her approach would have surely worked.
“Thank you for the kind words.”
That was all Roman said, cutting off the conversation with a smile.
While he kindly entertained the questions coming from all sides, he never allowed any intimacy beyond a friendly distance.
How much time had passed? After being pestered by the women for a while, Roman secretly slipped out of the party hall to catch his breath.
At that moment, a familiar voice called out from behind him.
“You’re quite the actor, aren’t you?”
He turned to see Flora Lawrence looking up at him.
There was none of the previous friendliness in her tone.
Since they were in a place where no one was watching, Roman dropped the facade of kindness and spoke coldly.
“It was a necessary act.”
“Unexpected. I thought you didn’t care about relationships between people.”
“Normally, that would be the case. However, this party was hosted by the Lawrence family in my honor, and my parents and their guests were watching. Regardless of my usual behavior, this was a situation that required at least a minimum level of courtesy. And to say it was unexpected, you were the same when I first met you.”
When he first met Flora, Roman had dressed in formal attire.
He had even doused himself in strong perfume to mask the smell of blood on him, believing that it was not courteous to approach someone in such a state.
That was the kind of person Roman was.
He could act as if he were above others, yet when necessary, he would behave appropriately.
Flora replied, “Now that you mention it, I suppose that was the case. I was the one lacking in courtesy.”
In her memory, Roman was a person of clear principles.
Even in a politically arranged marriage, he maintained his manners until the end, and when she made a meddlesome remark after calling off their engagement, he had shown her his cold side.
Reflecting on it, she realized it was her fault.
Roman had tried to maintain a proper distance, but Flora had trampled on that and ruined their relationship.
He was consistent, and that made her even more curious.
How had Roman lived to have such firm principles?
“Why do you work alongside the miners? Others think it’s part of your training as a successor, but I’ve heard that there’s no such training.”
Flora’s question.
Normally, he wouldn’t have answered.
However, recalling her demeanor on the battlefield, Roman felt he wanted to share his thoughts at least once.
“What do you think brought the Lawrence family to its current position?”
“... What?”
“People often think that the Lawrence family prospered from the fertile lands and crops, but that’s not the whole truth. The Lawrence family is a successful commercial family. They knew how to utilize the crops they owned and turned them into profit through sales or trade, which is how the Lawrence we know today was built. I’ve also heard that the younger brother of Lord Lawrence succeeded as a merchant in the capital by utilizing such talents.”
Flora was surprised.
Few understood the true foundation of the Lawrence family.
Just recently, she had thought that the fertile land was all there was to the Lawrence family.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“I believe that the forge, and further, the iron mine, is the foundation of the Dmitri family. If there were no miners going out every day, covered in dust, digging for iron ore, Dmitri would not have achieved its current success. Therefore, I wanted to fully understand the land of Dmitri.
Regardless of whether I inherit it or not, I believe it is the duty of anyone with the surname Dmitri. If I were to face a problem alongside the people of Dmitri, I am sure that the time spent in the mines, which others do not understand, would greatly help me empathize with them.”
Roman’s voice was firm, as if it were an absolute necessity.
Flora was momentarily left speechless by his assertion.
“... Ah.”
“It seems time has slipped away. I must take my leave.”
With that, the conversation ended.
Roman Dmitri turned away without any lingering feelings.
Flora watched him go, feeling as if she had been struck hard on the head.
Truly, every time she met Roman, he plunged her into a swamp of thoughts.
Recently, people had begun to call Roman Dmitri the man of all.
The reputation of the Dmitri fool had sunk beneath the surface, and everyone looked up to him with envy.
If she were in Roman’s position, surrounded by praise, could she work in the mines with such thoughts?
“No, I couldn’t have.”
That’s how people are.
Sweet words can melt the brain, and no matter how diligent a person is, at some point, they will want to enjoy reality.
Especially someone like Roman, the man of all.
Even if he received advances from women and acted recklessly, people would not see it as a flaw.
Yet, Roman was different.
He did not indulge in victory, nor did he enjoy reality.
As soon as the war ended, he grabbed a pickaxe and headed to the mines, while others celebrated, the hero of the war silently dug for iron ore, covered in dust.
What kind of thoughts must he have to act that way?
Flora had not wasted her time, but facing Roman made her feel embarrassed.
“He’s an incredible person.”
She respected him.
She wanted to emulate him.
Regardless of the fact that he was a selfish man, Roman himself perfectly matched her ideals.
Suddenly, Flora recalled her father’s words.
“... From now on, live for your dreams. I will not repeat the mistake of devaluing you, and I am ready to support you in whatever you wish.”
Lord Lawrence hoped that Flora would live as Flora Lawrence, not just as the flower of Lawrence.
The promise of support filled her mind now more than ever.
“What is my dream?”
No matter how much she thought about it, she had no clear dream.
But one thing was certain: while watching Roman’s path, she had developed a desire.
“I want to be strong. So that no other forces can covet the territory of Lawrence. I don’t want to leave Lawrence’s safety to others; I want to become strong enough to overcome such dangers myself. That is the goal I desire.”
She made a decision.
A firm dream.
Her mind, which had wandered after the war, finally felt clear, as if everything was being organized.
Flora left the venue.
There was no longer any reason to stay at the party.
The existence of Roman Dmitri no longer held her back.
A few days later, it became known that Flora had left Lawrence to head to the capital.
The flower of Lawrence finally stepped out of the greenhouse and into the world.
Time passed.
Two weeks later, as the downfall of the Barco family became common knowledge, a guest arrived at the Dmitri forge.
“Hendrick! Hendrick!”
“What’s the matter?”
“What do you think? I came to have a drink together.”
A small man grinned as he looked at Hendrick, who was stepping out of the forge in a huff.
Hendrick’s mouth watered at the sight of the bottle in the man’s hand.
It was lunchtime, so Hendrick hurriedly cleared off some items from a wooden stump that could serve as a table.
“Indeed, Jacob, you’re the only one who understands my heart.”
“Isn’t that right?”
The man’s name was Jacob.
He was in charge of the work at the mine, pouring liquor into Hendrick’s cup while drinking straight from the bottle.
“Ah, that’s good.”
“How was work today?”
“Just the same as usual. This blasted iron mine seems endless. We’ve only developed the entrance of the mountain, and the Dmitri family won’t run out of iron ore even after hundreds of years. I, Jacob, who has lived my life as a miner, can assure you of that.”
Hendrick and Jacob, the two pillars of Dmitri, often spent time like this.
Taking a brief break to drink amidst their daily hard work felt like a refreshing rain.
How long had they been drinking? After Hendrick set down his cup, he asked in a low voice, “By the way, how’s Roman Dmitri doing? Just a fortnight ago, there was a lot of talk about him working in the iron mine, but it seems quiet lately. Has he stopped working?”
“Oh, Roman?” Jacob chuckled.
He took another swig of his drink and said with amusement, “Don’t even mention it. He hasn’t missed a single day of work. At first, everyone was wary of him because they didn’t understand his intentions, but now there isn’t a single miner who dislikes Roman.”
“Really?”
Hendrick’s eyes widened.
Miners were as proud as blacksmiths.
For such stubborn people to like Roman was surprising.
“What on earth happened in the iron mine?”
A lot had happened in the past fortnight at Dmitri’s iron mine.