Viscount Lawrence's office.
A meeting was being held there for quite a while.
"What are the movements of the Barco family?"
"I think they made a decision. According to recent information, the Barco family commissioned the Golden Bank to get a large loan. The only thing the Barco family, who has no special source of income, could be preparing for is war. We need to make sure to secure skilled mercenaries before they can recruit all of them. Now, war is only a matter of time."
"…Huuu."
At the words of Doppler, a family vassal and a strategist, Viscount Lawrence could not hide his troubled expression.
"To think it would end in a war."
It was a year ago.
The conflict had started back then.
Lawrence and other families were located in the North-East of the kingdom of Cairo, but there was not much land for farming due to the mountainous nature of the country.
At least Lawrence had a lot of fertile lands compared to other estates, and it was even said that most of the crops produced in the North-East came from Lawrence.
Then one day, the Barco family presented them with a document.
It turned out that the ancestors of the Lawrence family were in debt to the Barcos, and fertile land was at stake as collateral.
Due to this, a conflict between the two families began.
Being the Viscount of Lawrence, he insisted that he could not fulfill the promise of the document as it couldn't be accurately authenticated. In contrast, the Barco family insisted on the document's authenticity and tried to pressure Lawrence.
In fact, even back then, Viscount Lawrence didn't think the situation would get as bad as it was now.
The authenticity of the documents of the Barco family was unclear, but the problem was that a relative of the Barco family occupied a place in the central government.
Due to that, the rights of the Barco family were eventually recognized.
At the choice of either paying off a huge debt or giving up the land, the Lawrence family locked their doors and raised their voices of protest.
However, even then, the trouble was not resolved.
Now, there was only one way to solve this problem.
War.
The Barco family prepared for war.
Lawrence had heard several conversations about them, and now he even heard rumors that they had borrowed money from the Golden Bank.
Doppler said, "War is now inevitable. If the Barco family's request is accepted and the family pillar is to be pulled out at the roots, it is better to be prepared for war and fight a desperate struggle. Fortunately, Miss Flora will marry Roman Dmitry of the Dmitry family. Although Dmitry is originally from a family of commoners, isn't he now a rich man known throughout the North-East? I don't know how much the Barco family borrowed from the Golden Bank as collateral, but I seriously doubt they have more money than the Dmitry family."
"That's probably right. Only because of that, I sent my sole daughter to Dmitry's Fool."
"Lord, it was a decision for Lawrence. You have made the right decision as a lord, so you need not blame yourself."
"…I know."
However, his expression was different from his answer.
Thinking about the future of her daughter, Flora, his heart was broken.
'The moment we give the land to Barco, our family is over. Different families will try to bite us from all sides. This is the right decision for my daughter as well. The moment the status of the family falls, the future of the beauty that everyone admires is bound to be hopeless. At least if she gets married in a situation where the family is strong, my daughter will be treated well even in Dmitry.'
He swallowed the pain.
This was reality.
There were times when he had to make a decision, even though he knew it would be painful, just in order to solve the problem in front of him.
The meeting soon finished.
After the marriage with Dmitry takes place, we will get mercenaries and prepare for war.
No matter how strong Barco was in the northeast, Dmitry's support could never be ignored.
However, it was then.
*Bam!
*
The door swung open!
"Lord! There is a big problem!"
A soldier walked past Flora and stormed into the office.
The news he delivered to Viscount Lawrence was genuinely shocking.
"…Is that really true?"
"Yes."
"Hmm."
He couldn't believe it.
Roman Dmitry.
It is said that there is no silkworm under the hood1, but rumor has it that Roman was even worse than a typical supremacist bastard.
But then, how did he get rid of Blood Fang?
It didn't make any sense.
First of all, it's hard to believe that Roman had enough power, and even then, Blood Fang was an organization whose base had not yet been revealed.
If it had been an organization whose identity could be revealed so easily, Blood Fang would not have survived until now.
He asked the soldier in detail.
He wanted to know from start to finish, just what exactly the soldier had seen.
"When Young Master Roman Dmitry visited the estate, nothing special happened. He was promised to marry Miss Flora, so I allowed him to enter the estate without any questions. However, it was about an hour later. As I was returning to my quarters for a shift, I witnessed Roman grabbing a man's hair and dragging him away towards Lawrence Square. Later, he revealed that that man was the leader of Blood Fang, Ben Miles. I don't know what happened between Roman and the Blood Fang, but Roman dragged the leader of the Blood Fang in front of the people of Lawrence and finally executed him."
It was beyond common sense.
It was unbelievable.
The execution of the leader of the Blood Fang was definitely something to be proud of and glad of.
However, the situation was not so simple.
Even though Roman was Flora's fiancée, he acted hastily while dealing with Blood Fang on Lawrence's land.
Just as Viscount Lawrence expected, Doppler said sternly, "This is a murder committed without the permission of the Lord, the owner of Lawrence. This is an issue that cannot be overlooked."
A resolute voice.
Viscount Lawrence's expression turned complicated.
A problem with an order?
Right now, that wasn't important.
It's his own future son-in-law.
He wanted to see the face of Roman Dmitry, who was said to have dealt with Blood Fang single-handedly.
"Call Roman Dmitry right now. I will see him face-to-face and hear the circumstances of this incident."
It wasn't long before Roman was brought in.
Lawrence's guards were securing Roman's troops, so he showed up in the office as soon as he was called.
Roman was not alone.
Viscount Lawrence showed a sign of disappointment as he walked along with the Dmitry Knights' Commander, Jonathan.
'As expected.'
This case was not a problem that an individual could solve.
Judging by the fact that the commander of the knights of Dmitry was following along, it seemed that Blood Fang had been dealt with with his help.
"I, Roman Dmitry, greet Lord Viscount Lawrence."
"Forget the formalities. Explain to me in detail. Why the hell did you come all the way to Lawrence to do such a cruel thing?"
A sharp and straightforward question.
Nevertheless, Roman's expression remained calm.
There was no tremor in his voice, even when those around him were staring at him.
"To explain the situation, I need to go back a few days from now, to the beginning of the problem. The Blood Fang members were persecuting the innocent citizens of Dmitry, so I executed them on the spot. Then, Blood Fang eventually came after my life. I attacked them after luring them in on purpose and later decided that I couldn't leave them like this. That's the whole story of what happened in Dmitry. After hearing that Blood Fang had a central base in Lawrence, I rushed here and executed the leader, Ben Miles."
"What I want to ask is who gave you the right to do such a thing in Lawrence. You have no right to execute anyone here."
"I know."
Rights.
They were important.
It was just for a cause, and even Roman had no intention of crossing the line.
However, that was until he dug up Blood Fang's information and confirmed one fact.
"But I had my doubts about whether I should be the one to punish Blood Fang in Lawrence properly. Ben Miles is not a faceless figure. He was not identified as the leader of the Blood Fang, but he was quite famous in Lawrence for all kinds of charges. However, how did Lawrence deal with it? I was on guard. Although Ben Miles has been caught in several incidents, he has been released on massive bail on several occasions. So I just made a decision. I didn't believe in Lawrence's method, so I had to do it my own way."
"How dare this guy?!"
"Young master!"
He was making extremely bold remarks.
Doppler shouted, hardening his face, and Jonathan stopped Roman in embarrassment.
The opponent is Viscount Lawrence.
A Viscount family is higher than the Dmitry family.
However, even with such a person in front of him, Roman did not admit his guilt but showed that he believed he was right.
Roman said, "To be honest, I was a little disappointed. I thought you would congratulate me for dealing with Blood Fang, but I didn't know that you would punish me for a problem with the procedure of things. I solved the Blood Fang problem that was being discussed as a problem not only in Lawrence, but in the whole North-East area. I put my own life at risk to solve the problem while Larence was sitting around. I ask you, Viscount Lawrence. Did I really do something wrong?"
Viscount Lawrence's expression hardened.
He saw Doppler.
"Is that true?"
"What are you talking about…"
"Ben Miles is a known figure. I asked if that was really true."
Doppler was stunned.
Ben Miles.
He knew it too.
I didn't know he was the leader of Blood Fang, but he was so notorious that I remember hearing his name.
Doppler started murmuring his response in hesitation. Seeing this, Viscount Lawrence was sure that no more questions were needed.
Viscount Lawrence's gaze turned to Roman, who was looking at him.
"I will not take this issue any further. Although you don't have the right to execute anyone in Lawrence's land, this wouldn't have happened if we had done things right in the first place. In this regard, we will compensate separately later."
"Thank you."
"Then, you may go."
"Yes."
Roman bowed his head.
Jonathan, who had seemed to be walking on thin ice until just now, hurriedly followed Roman and left the office.
The moment they left and the door closed.
Clack.
"Kahahahahahahaha, I took a solid blow. That guy is really Roman Dmitry, right?"
Viscount Lawrence.
A smile bloomed across his face.
Like father like son.2
Looking at Roman's dignified attitude, Viscount Lawrence evaluated him from the perspective of his son-in-law.
"Right. It is natural for a man to have such courage. An heir that got blood on his hands for the sake of his citizens. Who the hell is calling that guy a fool? He is a badass man."
Laughter came out.
Roman's words were sophistry, and he should have been punished.
Still, he didn't punish him.
Thinking that a man like Roman would be his future son-in-law, a bond formed that he didn't know yet existed, and he couldn't stop smiling.
His eyes were looking straight at me.
A dignified attitude.
He was so fucking cool.
When he heard that he was called Dmitry's Fool, he imagined a miserable image, but when he saw him in real life, he was totally different.
"However, my lord. You cannot overlook this incident."
"Where would something like this not be allowed? He's going to be Flora's husband soon. In order for a man to do big things, he needs that kind of determination and attitude. And he didn't kill innocent civilians either. Since he has dealt with the Blood Fang problem that has been tormenting us for so long, wouldn't it be right to congratulate him as he said?"
"However…"
"Let's overlook this situation. I'm in a good mood. Roman will be a great fit for Flora."
He was excited.
Earlier, an arranged marriage with Dmitry broke Viscount Lawrence's heart.
But now, he was on cloud nine.
Flora.
He wanted to see his daughter.
He wanted to tell her what a great man Roman was.
"Call Flora right now."
However, he didn't know back then that the marriage of two families was, in fact, already over.