The rumors spread really fast.
The shocking news that Lawrence defeated Barco in Daejeon battle.
When people from the northeast part of the country got together, they naturally talked about what happened in the war between Lawrence and Barco.
"Really, it must be really frustrating for Barco. They made a fuss about it and lost to Lawrence."
"But is that really true? People are saying that Roman alone attacked the enemy's rear and slaughtered hundreds of soldiers of Barco."
"Of course it is! You know my relatives are Lawrence natives, right? I heard from these relatives, and from what they had witnessed vividly from there own eyes, Roman appeared appeared as the Lawrence's savior. In the emergency situation where the Lawrence wall could have collapse anytime, Roman Dmitry alone attacked the enemy's rear and slaughtered Barco's soldiers. Moreover he completely reversed situation of the war by destroying the flare. If Roman had not appeared in time, would Barco have captured Lawrence's land by now."
[ Rumors are always a mixture of truth and a bit of fiction, just like a heroic tale passed down from generation to generation.
Just like those two people were talking, many people in the North-East region praised Roman's achievements. ]
"Roman Dmitry ended the war between Lawrence and Barco. And this is the story and it is known by the people present only there, but after Chris who won the first battle, the people of Lawrence were in complete despair. Do you know who showed up? Homer, the 49th Ranker in the Cairo Kingdom, came out and represented Barco in the second battle in the Daejeon battle. The moment he revealed his name, the people of Lawrence fell into despair. To them it was a fight that none of them believe could be won, they thought Roman should step back and save his own life, at least. However."
The man speaking showed a complicated expression. He spread his hand acted in a way that he was Roman himself.
"Roman Dmitry no, the hero's judgment was different. He proudly declared that He would take part in Daejeon battle. And in front of so many people Roman Dmitry cut the body of Homer's into two pieces. Blood gushed out from the Homers body and got sprayed in the sky, Roman end this war between Lawrence and Barco in Daejeon battle."
" But you said you weren't there. "
"No I mean, that's what my relatives say. Anyway, to say the least, Roman Dmitry isn't the Dmitry nerd we knew. Firstly he subdue Blood Fang, blow the knight's cheek for his subordinate in Barco, and this time in the Lawrence's case. he's a hero The sleeping dragon, which Dmitry had kept secret, finally had ascended to the sky, and he is building up his own heroic story one by one."
[ Everyone was excited. Roman's actions were so great that they were impressive to everyone.
Rumour had spread so widely that one could see the children running on the streets playing the role of Roman Dmitry.
However, things didn't end just there. Lawrence had emerged victorious in all 3 matches in the Daejeon battle. Although Roman's impact was immense, there was also the critical point that the other two fights were won by Roman's soldiers, as well. ]
"Heroes are really born with good fortune on their side. Dmitry's genius swordsman like Chris defeated Janson, a 3-Star aura swordsman, and the child who hardly even looked like a soldier mutilated Barco's knight."
[ None of Lawrence's men even took part in the battles. Roman's soldiers were the ones who proclaimed the victory, and they proved their loyalty to Roman in front of everyone. Things will honestly get messy in the future. In the North-East region, a talented person who will shock the world is finally born after so long time."
Flora's predictions were correct. This war was won by the sacrifice made by Lawrence, but all the glory went to Roman; however, no one complained about it. ]
People of Lawrence didn't know how fortunate they were to remain victorious even if they had got hurt.
* * *
" I am completely finished now. "
[ No other words could describe the present situation.
Viscount Barco, who returned to the Barco as a defeated soldier, he did not except the reality that was right before him.
Sighhh!
Papers where piled up like a mountain on his desk.
Paper content where very clear.
Golden Bank asked how they would repay the principal scene they had lost in Territorial War, and the Cairo Mercenary Guild was angry at Homer's death and demanded a penalty for it.
Mercenary guild's reasoning was truly absurd, though-They said that Barco had informed them that the opponent would be a 2-Star aura swordman of Lawrence when they made their request for a warrior, so they shifted the loss of their man onto Barco now. In short, everyone utterly despised Barco. The fact that Barco would fall into the abyss with this defeat was known to everyone, and they all wanted something from him.
"Those fucking bastards."
It was a burdensome situation for Viscount Barco.
It wasn't just the two of nobles who ignored Barco.
Once the war was over, none of the nobles, who were earlier friendly with him and greeted him with a warm smile every time they met, did not answered his calls. Moreover, some rumors even stated they had sided with Dmitry now. It was the cold reality in front of him which he was facing.
Obviously, the current behavior of those who initially sided with Barco when he gained fame and became an influential leader in the North-East region seemed disgusting to him. However, he understood that power is what brings others interest in someone. Viscount Barco before was someone who lived on the edge of the cliff, but he can get only angry when he realized that he had been thrown off the cliff.
'What the hell does this even mean now?'
The burden of defeat was weighing down his shoulders. It was unsettling.
He was in a situation in which he could neither think of how to pay his debt off nor how he could recover from this defeat. Viscount Barco was certain of his victory. If only Roman Dmitry hadn't come between this war and shattered his plan, Barco would have been drinking champagne, enjoying the victory of the war.
"Yeah, it was all because of Roman Dmitry. Roman showed up with no reason and intervene in this war and ruined everything. It was really absurd. In an aristocratic society where a cause is important, Roman Dmitry has done something he shouldn't have done by intereptin in the war of Barco and Lawrence without any cause."
Viscount Barco thought, it all happened because of him.
In order to save the Barco family, who where driven to the edge of the cliff, to survive, Viscount Barco must hold onto the existence of Roman.
Jumped up from his seat he placed all the hope in it, 'this is our last chance.'
From now on, he had do to many work to survive.
* * *
Viscount Barco contacted the aristocrats in the northeast.
Some nobles still accepted. Although they were reluctant to talk to him, they accepted it due to his earnest request.
And a few days later, those nobles gathered in the Barco estate.
If it had been in the past, everyone except the Dmitry would have expressed their intention to attend it, but today, only ten nobles were seated at the huge round table. It was a scene that unquestionably showed who the weak side was. Still, Viscount Barco stood tall and said, "Before we start, I want to say thank everyone for coming to Barco. You all are true nobles. Despite those who turned their backs on us instantly and ignored our relationship according to their interests, I think the North-East region's future can still be considered bright because of nobles like you."
"Now let's begin the meeting."
The nobles attending the meeting didn't like the compliments from Viscount Barco. They were all here because they knew their relationship with Dmitry wasn't good; however, they knew how dangerous this move was.
Viscount Barco said, "I will tell you straight up. A cause is very important in a fight between noble families. In particular, in a situation where you do not know when a foreign invasion might strike, attacking a neighboring territory simply because you have greed is an act of violating the rules of the aristocratic world. Barco attacked Lawrence with good cause. It was to pay the price which there ancestors had taken from us, and the central government judged that our cause was right and sent us down to the judges. However, Roman Dmitry intervened in the war without any justification. In his surprise attack, Barco lost its flare and, furthermore, experienced atrocities in which there was not a single warrior from Lawrence in the Daejeon battle."
His voice rang in the conference room.
He demanded sympathy from the nobles, and strongly emphasized his thoughts on them.
"Does this make sense? Why did Roman Dmitry help Lawrence? There would have been no problem if the two families had been related by blood, but Lawrence made it clear that Flora Lawrence was responsible for the breakup. Roman Dmitry remains with Lawrence, and there is no cause in the world for Roman to help Lawrence. This is behavior that crosses the line. Even though we also had a lot of power around us to get help, we fought with Barco's power until the end to protect our pride good as a nobleman, so we have no choice but to experience the horror of defeat."
"That's right, Roman Dmitry has no cause."
[ Everyone agreed at the Viscount Barco point.
It wasn't wrong in the first place.
Intervention without justification deserves punishment, and this was an issue that had room for public discussion. ]
'I don't think this will destroy the Dmitry. But you can at least hold them accountable and demand large amounts of compensation from them. That's will be enough. With the wealth of the Dmitry family, Barck can pay off the money borrowed from the Golden Bank.'
[ Golden Bank, it was an urgent matter right now for Viscount Barco.
Arguments with the mercenary guild can be resolved with words, but Golden Bank is a strict group when it comes to recovering the principal of loan.
If Barco says they can't pay the principal, they will crush the Barco family down to the bone. ]
Then one of the nobleman asked.
"So what are we going to do?"
Everyone's opinion was similar. Just seeing the nobles who were interested and expressed their distaste at Roman Dmitry's actions, Barco understood that his words had worked. Viscount Barco was aiming to create a voice that would sympathize with him and put pressure on Dmitry with the people who had gathered here.
"First-"
And at that moment, the conference room's door was slammed open by a soldier. When Viscount Barco looked at the pale-looking soldier, who was nervous, the soldier spoke, stuttering, "R-Roman Dmitry. He has come to meet you Viscount!"
This was an unexpected situation that did not make any sense to Viscount Barco.
Roman Dmitry is the reason for their defeat, him setting foot here meant he had voluntarily stepped into a place in which everyone wanted him dead.
'What is he thinking?"
The gathered nobles looked at each other. This was an unexpected situation where everyone was confused about what to do.
"It seems everyone is already gathered here already." Ignoring the soldiers, Roman walked into the room with a calm expression on his face and said that.
At that moment Viscount Barco seriously though about killing Roman.
He wanted to get revenge by killing Roman, but if he did, his last hope of citing justification would be lost.
In was a situation in which he had to endure his anger.
Viscount Barco stared at him, struggling to contain his seething anger, Roman sat down opposite to him.
No one told him to sit down but he sat in front of Viscount Barco like it was natural.
Roman sat across from Viscount Barco, leaned his back on the chair and crossed his legs.
"I heard you had lot of complaints about me."
Roman smiled while seeing there faces.
Then, looking into the eyes of Viscount Barco with a smile, he said.
"Then tell me directly. For what reason Barco held a meeting like these."