It was around the time when the topic related to Barco where still buzzing.
Rihanna Dmitry went to a party after a long time.
"Oh, you are here?"
"I was waiting for you to come!"
At her arrival, all the noble wives from the northeast area, who had gathered in advance, stood up from their seats.
The organizer of this party was Helena of the Meloch family.
From the beginning she was famous as a person who sided with Dmitry, but when the Barco family collapsed and Dmitry's name rose significantly, she quickly organization a party, it was a kind of show off. To show the fact that the northeast area will dominate by Dmitry, wives from many noble family came to attend the party.
[ But there also something unexpected happening in the party, since there were also new faces that were not existing members of the group.
There where many wives from noble family who before sided more towards Barco than Dmitry welcomed Rihanna's appearance with a fake smile on their face. ]
"Somehow, I think you are getting prettier day by day."
"Rihanna, I have prepared a special wine for you. Think of it as my gift for you for our first meeting, and please enjoy it comfortably."
Their intention was clear after the fall of Barco.
The wives of the noble families who where supporting Barco had fallen apart expressed their intention to attend this party in order to somehow form a relationship with Dmitry.
Their pride didn't matter for them now.
Every day, they visit Helena of the Meloch family and tried to form a friendship with her, and after achieving that, they asked for a chance to meet Rihanna Dmitry, even if it was just once.
Rihanna was informed about the situation in the party in the advance, She wasn't a fan of talking with strangers, but she knew what she had to do now.
"Thank you."
[ She received their gifts and compliments as if it was natural to do that. There is something that people often misunderstand about Dmitry family. They believe the Dmitry family has reached their current position and status due to the enormous wealth of Baron Romero. However, those who worked behind the scenes with Dmitry knew that it was only possible due to Baron Romero and Rihanna's devotion.
Rihanna created her own power by attracting wives from the North-East. It was a political move that Baron Romero couldn't do. And Rihanna was able to form a group which sided with Dmitry with the wives she hung out with. If she hadn't assembled the board in advance, Dmitry might have collapsed long before they could even rival Barco as a powerhouse.
Baron Romero wife Rihanna, came in the party and the reaction from the people present in the party proved that status of Dmitry had changed.
"Thank you, all of you for gathering here. The reason we came together isn't because of some special reason but because we thought that as people living in the same region, we should at least get to know each other well. Of course, not all of us have been looking in the same direction till now. However, as the situation has changed, we must also change with the changed happening around."
[ It could be believed those words were said sarcastically. However Rihanna secretly touched those people who before sided with Barco, and at the same time, she told them she would accept them. As a result of that, after the meeting, all the wives from the nobel family return to their families and told their family members, that they should act friendly with the Dmitry.
It was a small move made by her but it can give very big gain to Dmitry .
Rihanna knew all too well from her experience that if she had a friendly behaviour towards wives of nobles family who before sided with Barco's can give them room for cooperation, and can get them great results in future.
The Dmitry family became a powerful force in the northeast area because of Rihanna's help also. In the eyes of others, it may seem that them wives are just having gathering and talking with each other.
Like that they chatted for a while and enjoyed some refreshments.
After a while wives, who were sipping tea while asking each other's well-being, began to focus on there one concern. ]
"Rihanna, what do you think of my Veronica? I think she would be a good match for Roman."
At what Helena's had said, in an instant all the ladies present there hardened their face.
Arranged marriage in the aristocratic world, was quite common.
But where does the arranged marriage idea come from?, It came most of time from these type of party.
No matter what other people's reactions were, Helena, who was lucky to hit the conversation first on this topic, added immediately.
"Roman is already twenty-five. And had a bright future ahead, I think it is necessary to quickly find a wise wife and start a family. And although it's embarrassing because it's a compliment to my daughter, I think Veronica would go well with Roman. I am being too confident on my daughter? Ha ha ha"
Helena covered her mouth and smiled, the atmosphere became strangely chilly.
[ 6 years ago.
Roman Dmitry was a major topic of discussion in the aristocratic world. As he was from the Dmitry family, many wanted to form a connection; however, knowing that he wouldn't be the successor of the family despite being the eldest, they halted.
At that time, apparently, Helena said, "Veronica is bit too young to be with Roman. It will be better once she is a bit older, and maybe I will think about the marriage then."
She was also a person who sided with Dmitry. However, she was reluctant to let her daughter get married to Roman. No family wanted to give their child to Roman in the past to the point that they talked about marrying to the second son of Dmitry.
However, but now these people, who had similar attitudes as Helena in the past, where showing there discomfort after hearing her words. ]
"Hey, aren't Veronica and Roman different, though? I heard that Veronica got arranged with another family heir not long ago. Helena, I understand your greedy, but that is too much for Roman," said one lady. She was someone who earlier had a character who would insult Roman right in front of Rihanna, She would even call him 'trash' in front of her, but now, she was appreciating Roman's value.
Another lady said, "That's right. The marriage of Roman has to be done carefully. Don't limit the options, Rihanna. It is good to meet with variety of people. In that sense, please visit our family once in the future, as well. I didn't tell you this earlier, but my child said she fell in love with Roman at first sight,"
She too would often insult Roman in past. However now she had completely forgotten her past actions and was asking for Roman's hand in marriage.
These fight was started due to Helena.
The wives who attended the party showed their greed for Roman. It wasn't just about there. Ladies who attended the party and didn't have a daughter also coveted Roman, trying to introduce Rihanna with there relative.
[ It was really a funny sight, due to Barco's collapse.
Roman's value in the eye of other people increased.
They had no choice, but to do so.
Roman proved his potential as a 4 star aura swordsman by defeating Homer. It means he has a solid futur ahead, and if he inherited the Dmitry, he will become more powerful.
Not long ago, people thought Roman Dmitry breakup with Flora Lawrence was a big blemish, but now they where not all concerned about it, rather they thought they were really lucky that Lawrence didn't snatch Roman. ]
"It makes me feel very good, that everyone thinks so well about my son."
Rihanna put down her teacup, current atmosphere in the party wasn't bad.
However, she had no intention of using her son for political benefit.
"Roman had been through a lot of pain recently. He was promised the daughter of the Lawrence family, but for bad reasons, they had to break it down. And then, I had this thought I shouldn't allow Roman to go through the same pain again. Thus, talking about arranged marriage makes no sense to me. I hope he finds someone he truly loves and who loves him back the same way. That is all I want from Roman's better half."
Rihanna drew a clear line between them and her, there will be no arranged marriage.
Still the problem was that her words ignited rivalry among the wives.
'In other words, regardless of the status, the one who captures the heart of Roman wins?"
Then everyone can have chance on him.
Because of the greed for Roman, expressions of the wives of noble family changed instantly.
* * *
After the war was over, Flora had locked herself in her room.
Fortunately, Lawrence survived the crisis, but her experiences on the battlefield shocked her.
' I need strength to survive in the world.'
The war between Lawrence and Barco was one where it was natural for them to have lost. Lawrence couldn't even afford a single Flare or someone like Homer.
She had advised the Viscount to stock the food and last all the way through the winter because she read it in the books, but that was nothing like the reality she saw.
The helplessness she felt at that time was horrible. As she watched the troops of the enemy rush in like ants, Flora felt her mind shatter. However, Roman was different. Due to his strength alone, Barco was defeated, and the war was won.
All this time she only though about only one thing, 'How in the world can he be that strong?'
It was majestic for Flora, It was not just about personal power.
Roman showed the audacity to attack Barco's rear with a small force, and even after hearing the name of the 49th ranker Homer, he said he would deal with it.
For Flora, Roman was like a person who was overflowing with courage
The confidence and strength somehow looked different on Roman. Still, he was now the ideal type she dreamed of. The imaginary being who was confident in everything, began to overlap with Roman at one point.
She shook her head, "No!"
She didn't like Roman. She couldn't believe that someone who was selfish and only cared about their own interest could be her ideal type.
However, she wanted to know a bit more How could Roman be so strong? What kind of person is Roman?
The only problem is that her relationship with him was broken, and she had no way of seeing Roman again.
She thought, 'I have to focus on my life."
She turned her attention to the book. She wanted to be strong like Roman.
She hoped for the power to solve any problem in any situation. So, even after the war was over, she stayed in the room with piles of books. Obviously books didn't have perfect solution for everything. However, she at least wanted to relive this feeling of being stuck in a maze, even if it was only for a while.
'How many days passed?' she thought about it, after she came out from her room to get some fresh air after many days, and saw an unexpected visitor.
"Sister, it has been a while!"
"Silvia...?"
She know who she was a woman with the typical beauty features with her sky-blue hair, which was like the real sky.
It was her cousin Sylvia.
'What is she doing here?'
She was surprising by her unexpected visit.
Sylvia's father was the younger brother of Viscount Lawrence, who ceded the title of Viscount to his brother, and established himself in the capital as a merchant.
Sylvia who had almost spent her all childhood in the capital, hated coming down to her hometown Lawrence.
Like Flora, she inherited the bloodline of Lawrence and had a pretty appearance, but she was also called Lawrence's witch due to her picky side.
Knowing how much Sylvia hated Lawrence, Flora's thought it was abrupt for her visit.
"What happened to you, to visit Lawrence so suddenly?"
She glanced at her from top to bottom, looking at the beautiful dress, Flora didn't think she was visiting for an ordinary purpose.
Flora asked her, "What with those dress?"
"What do you mean? I was told that a banquet was being thrown for the eldest child of the Dmitry family. Uncle told me that I should brighten up the place, so I came running here."
"However sister is Roman Dmitry really so great and handsome man? Everyone is speaking so many things about him that why, I am so curious about him," said Sylvia.
When Sylvia showed off her appearance and talked about Roman, Flora felt uncomfortable.
"A banquet for the eldest son of Dmitry?"
This wasn't a piece of small news. She should have known this. As Sylvia had already come to Lawrence, it should have been obvious that Flora should have being preparing for the banquet.
'Why am I hearing about it, for the first time?'
But Flora didn't know anything about it.