At first, she didn’t know what was happening.
Flora, who had stopped a soldier coming out of the office, finally learned what had happened in Lawrence.
‘Good heavens.’
Blood Fang.
A notorious criminal organization operating near Lawrence.
Once, noble families had attempted to eradicate them, but their elusive and vengeful nature eventually forced everyone to give up.
For Flora, Blood Fang had remained an unsolvable problem.
As long as they didn’t provoke them, there would be no trouble, so she tried her best to avoid any association with them.
On the day she called off the engagement.
Roman had said he would deal with them.
Flora, feeling responsible for the broken engagement, had unconsciously tried to stop him.
At that time.
“We are strangers now. So, I’ll handle my own affairs.”
Roman had drawn a clear line.
With the strategic marriage bond gone, he made it clear they should no longer interfere in each other’s lives.
It was absurd.
She was angry, and she couldn’t understand him.
Was it his last shred of pride?
Was he acting so coldly because he was ashamed of being the one who was dumped?
She had many thoughts.
Of course, she didn’t think Roman would actually carry out what he said.
But.
‘He really eradicated Blood Fang.’
What she thought was impossible had become reality.
What others wouldn’t dare to attempt, Roman had accomplished in just a few days.
Common sense was shattered.
Dmitri’s fool?
That was a false rumor.
Even if Jonathan, the knight commander, had helped, the Roman she had seen and experienced firsthand was no fool.
He knew how to take responsibility for his actions and had the drive to keep his word.
And if he had personally taken down Ben Miles, the leader of Blood Fang, the rumor that he couldn’t even wield a sword was likely false as well.
Why?
Why had Roman kept silent about the world’s judgment of him?
If she had known even a little about his true self earlier, Flora would have made an effort to understand him.
But regret was already too late.
The water had been spilled, and Flora was summoned by her father.
Her father, who was praising Roman.
She didn’t know what had happened in the office, but her father, who had taken a strong liking to Roman, had his enthusiasm dampened.
“……We called off the engagement.”
Flora’s statement.
To Count Lawrence, it was like a bolt from the blue.
Flora.
The jewel of Count Lawrence.
The daughter he had cherished all his life, but this time, he couldn’t accept it.
“You already informed him of the annulment?!”
Count Lawrence stood up abruptly.
Faced with her father’s anger for the first time, Flora’s heart raced, but she maintained a calm expression and explained her thoughts.
“Yes. When I visited the Dmitri territory last time, I made my intentions clear. I wanted to do what was best for the family, as per your wishes, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t marry someone I couldn’t respect……”
“Flora. I thought you were truly wise. But this is not it.”
He cut her off.
Unlike usual, he didn’t want to hear her out.
“I’ve told you before. How serious the situation in the territory is. Right now, the Barcos have borrowed a huge sum from the Golden Bank to prepare for war with us. Do you know what that means? There’s no more compromise with the Barcos. They will use this as an excuse to bring us to our knees, and with a legitimate reason, they will take everything. And it’s not just gold and jewels. Our land, our honor, and even you, the flower of Lawrence. They will take it all.”
“Lawrence is not weak. Even against the Barcos, we have a chance, don’t we?”
“That’s true. If it were just the Barcos, I could think that way. The problem is that the central government has approved documents of unknown authenticity, and the Golden Bank has lent money to the Barcos without any special collateral. This is not just a fight between two families. The forces backing the Barcos will ensure we lose, for their own gain.”
“…….”
Flora’s eyes wavered.
She was smart.
Called a prodigy since childhood, she had completed her academy studies early, boasting a sharp mind.
But that was just book knowledge.
In the academy.
And in the library.
She had learned from cold records, not the harsh reality.
She had thought Lawrence wouldn’t lose, but the reality she faced was far from ideal.
Count Lawrence continued.
“The strategic marriage with the Dmitris was an unavoidable choice. The only family in the northeast that could counter the Barcos was them, and that’s why I asked for your permission. To sacrifice for the family’s crisis.
Even if it was hard for you to refuse, if you had refused then, I wouldn’t be this angry now. You could have chosen another prestigious family, and I would have stepped back. But not now.
Before, you were the flower of Lawrence, admired by all. Now, with the annulment, you’ve been tainted. Other families will watch and wait.
Marrying you in this situation would be a very risky choice.”
The world of power.
Choices come with great consequences.
Through the strategic marriage, Lawrence had gained the Dmitri backing.
With the annulment, they had lost even more.
Earlier.
Count Lawrence had met Roman.
He was a decent man.
His gaze was sharp, and he didn’t falter when facing him.
And seeing how he had dealt with Blood Fang for the sake of his people, it seemed he cared deeply for his own.
So he felt good.
Even if it was a strategic marriage.
Because the other party wasn’t the fool the rumors made him out to be.
For Lawrence, in a situation with no other options, it was a relief that the choice wasn’t the worst.
But the water had been spilled.
Because of this, all the preparations to face the Barcos had become useless.
“In the past, the Barcos had proposed a strategic marriage to us. They must have coveted our fertile land. At that time, I firmly refused. No matter what benefits they offered, the fact that the Barcos’ eldest son had a notorious reputation with women was reason enough to refuse. And if we lose this war, you will become a woman of the Barcos, not the Dmitris. That’s the reality. If we could choose our opponent before the war, once we’ve fallen, the situation is different.”
The reason for the strategic marriage.
The reason he had to make such a painful decision.
Because the opponent was the Barcos.
Knowing what it would mean to lose to them, who had long coveted Lawrence, Count Lawrence accepted the reality.
Flora’s heart sank.
Her perspective.
In her world, such stories didn’t exist.
What the Barcos intended, and what they aimed to gain through the marriage with the Dmitris.
She was naive.
With a pure heart in a cruel world, she had chosen to annul the engagement, not foreseeing the consequences.
The cold reality.
Count Lawrence took a deep breath.
There was still time to salvage the situation.
“For now, take some time to think about the mistake you’ve made. I will arrange another meeting with the Dmitris and make the annulment as if it never happened. My daughter. We are nobles. We are not like commoners, worrying about daily survival. We have much, and with that comes great responsibility. So pray that this issue is resolved. If the Dmitris coldly refuse us, our chances in the war with the Barcos will be slim.”
Fortunately, the annulment hadn’t been made public yet.
To undo the mistake, now was the only time.
Count Lawrence left the office, leaving the shocked Flora behind.
There was much to handle from now on.
At that moment.
Roman had left Lawrence with the Dmitri knights.
On the way.
Knight Commander Jonathan kept glancing at Roman.
‘Is this really the Roman I know?’
Roman.
The Roman he knew wasn’t someone who could face Count Lawrence head-on.
And the fact that he had dealt with Blood Fang.
It was all too suspicious.
Though they hadn’t spoken much before, Jonathan couldn’t hold back his curiosity now.
“Young master, was it really necessary to provoke Count Lawrence like that? It’s fortunate he didn’t make a big deal out of it, but if he had gotten angry, even you wouldn’t have been able to avoid punishment.”
In a situation where he was being reprimanded.
Roman had instead criticized the other party.
At that time, Jonathan had been so shocked that he had tried to intervene.
“Was it necessary?”
Roman laughed.
Necessary?
It wasn’t.
In that situation, it would have been better to smooth things over, but he deliberately changed his attitude in the face of criticism.
“Lawrence is not free of responsibility in this matter. Their complacency allowed Blood Fang to thrive, and because of that, the people of Dmitri suffered. So I simply reminded them of the facts. That they had no right to reprimand me. And even if the situation had been worse, Count Lawrence wouldn’t have punished me. From the atmosphere, it seemed he still didn’t know about the annulment, and he wouldn’t make the foolish decision to punish the son of a family he was about to marry into.”
“……!”
Roman’s actions.
They weren’t reckless.
Roman had accurately assessed the situation and made statements he could back up.
“From the start, even something as significant as the annulment wasn’t properly communicated. Do you think I needed to seek forgiveness from them? I solved a problem they couldn’t, and I deserved praise, not reprimand.”
His confident attitude and voice.
At that moment.
Jonathan was convinced.
‘The young master has changed.’
Roman Dmitri.
He was no longer the fool he once was.
Roman arrived home.
He immediately soaked in the bathtub, letting the warm water wash away the bloodstains.
‘Even in this new life, my core remains unchanged.’
He had killed people.
At least dozens.
Blood Fang had been wiped out, but he felt no guilt.
‘It was necessary.’
Roman, no, Baek Joong-hyuk.
He had lived in a world of survival of the fittest.
If he had hesitated to kill when necessary, Baek Joong-hyuk’s life would have ended long ago.
So once he made a decision, he acted on it.
He cut down those who stood in his way without hesitation, and if necessary, he resorted to torture.
That was Baek Joong-hyuk’s life.
Becoming Roman didn’t change that.
If someone showed hostility toward him.
He would deal with them by any means necessary.
That was how Baek Joong-hyuk had lived.
If the same situation arose again.
Roman would make the same decision.
Whether the opponent was Blood Fang.
Or someone even greater.
Roman lived the life of a predator, devouring others to survive.
“Young master, the lord is calling for you.”
It was just as he finished showering.
At Hans’ words, Roman changed into clean clothes and headed out.
Arriving at the office.
But instead of the expected reprimand for his reckless actions, Baron Romero was looking at him with bright eyes.
Unable to hide his great expectations.
Baron Romero spoke.
“So, you personally dealt with Blood Fang?”
Jonathan, standing beside him.
He must have reported the situation.
The meaning of the question was clear.
Roman’s father.
Before being the lord of Dmitri, he was a father to his son, and he couldn’t hide his anticipation that his eldest son had changed.