I couldn't believe it at first.
Roman.
Did he deal with Blood Fang himself?
Baron Romero would have thought the other person was insulting him if it wasn't for the Knights' Commander, Jonathan.
"…I don't know how to explain this situation, but one thing is for sure, Young Master Roman seems to have changed. He executed Ben Miles, the leader of the Blood Fang, in front of everyone. And even when he met Viscount Lawrence, he showed an attitude of proudly explaining what he had done and why he had done so. That was not the Young Master Roman I knew before."
Jonathan is not a liar.
Baron Romero, who had heard of the situation, gained hope for his eldest son, whom he had given up on.
'Did Roman really change?'
Romero's three sons.
Among them, Roman was a sore thumb.
Roman experienced a time when he was a commoner like himself, so he was a crooked child trying to take care of himself.
It hurts my heart to look at him.
A long time ago, Baron Romero was working hard to secure the tunnels of the iron mines by putting in a great deal of his workforce.
It was such an important task that it would have taken Baron Romero's entire lifespan to finish, but at one point, he worked so hard that he lived in an iron mine all day.
Roman was only three years old at that time.
Roman, unable to walk, crawled over to his father and gave him a small cookie.
I still remember how cute it was.
Baron Romero, whose face had turned black due to the tunnel work, hugged Roman with a big smile.
Maybe that was why he wanted Roman to live a happy life.
Unlike the other two sons, he didn't know how to do anything properly, so he gave him a lot of pocket money, hoping that he wouldn't be looked down on anywhere.
He didn't know that it would become the start of the problem.
Roman resolved the grievances that had accumulated in his heart with luxury, and then Dmitry's Fool was born.
Baron Romero was an inexperienced father.
Although his son was not the best, the marriage with Flora Lawrence was a gift for Roman.
However, now it's changed.
He had no choice but to be happy.
The process didn't matter.
Even if Roman had hired people to bring down the Blood Fang with his own money, it was important to Baron Romero that Roman took the lead in doing something.
Baron Romero was ready to dedicate himself to his son at any time if his son showed him the slightest good change.
"I greet you, father."
Roman.
He showed his face.
It was hard to believe that a terrible incident had just happened because his expression was so calm.
He knew instinctively.
Roman has changed.
His gait, his attitude, and his expression; those things alone made him realize that his son had changed.
No, he may have anticipated the current situation from the moment he raised his voice proudly against himself.
"So, you dealt with Blood Fang by yourself?"
He blurted out those words.
Even though he knew it instinctively.
Baron Romero hoped to ascertain the truth from Roman himself.
The answer to the question is simple.
Yes or No.
Telling the truth is good enough.
He doesn't need to think about it, and if he tells the truth about what he's been through, this case will be resolved naturally.
His father's trust.
Roman could gain a lot from this.
However.
'Exceeding expectations will come back to hit me just like a boomerang.'
Baron Romero's expectations for Roman were literally zero.
However, if a person who would be amazed by even seeing one good result saw ten good results at the same time, it would be a tremendous event for them.
This would have a huge effect on his future as well.
What should I do?
Should I reveal myself or should I hide my capabilities?
In Murim, showing off your talent is extremely dangerous.
If he showed such prodigious talent, he would inevitably end up getting his head crushed by a hammer.
Only one in ten thousand.
People who survived the attention of those around them were called masters in Murim.
'I have not yet fully grasped this world. The guy named Roman Dmitry possessed an insignificant force like an ant compared to when I was Baek Joong-hyuk, and exposing myself too much would not be good for my safety. What I need now is time to be aware of this reality and grow up enough. Dmitry's reputation as a fool is very appropriate to buy time.'
Pfft.
Laughter came out.
A rational judgment.
He knew what was right, but from the first confrontation with Blood Fang, such a premise meant nothing.
I will reveal myself.
Roman didn't know how to hide it.
"Yes, I did."
The Heavenly Demon, Baek Joong-hyuk, was a person who could not live a normal life.
Everyone had a period when their parents protected them.
But Roman—No! Baek Joong-hyuk was different.
When Baek Joong-hyuk gained some strength to move his body, he was left on the cold cave floor.
While he was inside a dark cave, Baek Joong-hyuk's father said, "You are the son of the Heavenly Demon. If you are truly worthy as my successor, prove yourself from the cold bottom and survive. Listen carefully, I have 12 sons. If one of you dies, nothing will change, and even if all twelve of my sons die, I will just create another son. So, remember this. Domination is the only way to prove your worth to me."
The 12th son.
The life of Baek Joong-hyuk, the youngest of the 12, began like that.
He was desperate.
The children who lived together in the cave did not take care of each other because they were the sons of the Heavenly Demon, and they lived a life of brute force, competing by stealing each other's things.
At that time, Baek Joong-hyuk was very weak.
His dwarf physique made it difficult to win in competition with others, but Baek Joong-hyuk instinctively knew what to do.
To reveal his presence.
He knew that even though his strength was weak, he could reign if he inflated his body greatly and showed malice to others.
And just like that, Baek Joong-hyuk smashed the head of the strongest child with a stone.
Blood was dripping from the stone as it was struck several times, and the children around him looked at Baek Joong-hyuk in surprise.
The king of the 12 sons.
At that moment, Baek Joong-hyuk's position was decided.
Baek Joong-hyuk always revealed himself and survived to the end despite numerous threats.
The Heavenly Demon was born through adversity.
If he hadn't walked the thorny path, Baek Joong-hyuk knew he would not have ascended to the throne of the Heavenly Demon.
'There is no such thing as perfect preparation in the world. In the reality I know, it is only important to prove myself to the best of my ability.'
In the new life of Baek Joong-hyuk, his interests were familiar and far from ordinary.
But did he want his new life to be normal?
That's funny.
The life he has lived previously has made Baek Joong-hyuk who he is today, and now he has become a person who cannot live an ordinary life.
Roman.
With his new name, he had no intention of hiding himself at all.
For this incident, only a little explanation was needed.
Based on the information he had heard from Hans, Roman gave an answer that people could understand with common sense.
"Actually, I was doing swordsmanship training separately."
"Why were you hiding that? If you had told me, as your father, I would definitely have given you full support."
"I know. However, there was a time when I was distracted and wandered aimlessly, so I could not confidently ask for something from my father. People called me Dmitry's Fool. For my own greed, I wanted to show you that I could do certain things on my own, and although I was self-taught, I would be able to reach a certain level."
It was an ambiguous answer.
Are you saying you learned swordsmanship by yourself?
Given that Roman had the power to deal with Blood Fang with his swordsmanship, the question was not quickly resolved.
"How did you deal with Blood Fang?"
"According to my research, I found out that Blood Fang was not a group whose members had strong trust in each other. Intimidation and conciliation that started from the bonds formed a small organization, and a small number of leaders took full control of that organization. It was like a sand castle, and most of the members were scoundrels. I thought that cutting off its head would destroy it at once, so I lured them with a bait and attacked Ben Miles directly."
"Ben Miles? You mean you lured him in?"
"Yes. Blood Fang has shown a clear pattern of behavior in the past. A powerful noble family kept their notoriety by keeping their mouths shut when they touched a member of the gang, and by always retaliating for friction with a noble aristocrat. It's a bit embarrassing to say, but I'm called Dmitry's Fool. I was sure they would come after me. So I used myself as bait, and when the troops were dispersed, I attacked Ben Miles and cut off the head of the group."
"It was a very risky plan. If they had decided to take revenge, they would have given up on Ben Miles and tried to kill you anyway."
His heart sank.
Roman's plan.
It was extremely dangerous.
Baron Romero's eyebrows trembled at the fact that his son had made and executed it.
Roman said, "As father said, it was a risky plan. So, if father could grasp my actions, I thought that the Dmitry Knights would move. And such information must have been delivered directly to the Blood Fang's leader. Now, I ask you, father. If you were a member of the Blood Fang with no idea when the Dmitry Knights would arrive, would you risk your life to rescue the leader, Ben Miles? The premise of my plan was that they were sandcastles. There is no reason for them to risk their lives when they became a gang member through intimidation and pressure if they could regain their freedom by simply ignoring their leader's death."
The explanation was similar to reality.
Roman had attacked Blood Fang.
There was no inducement, and after slaughtering all the enemies that filled the space, he secured Ben Miles, who was about to run away.
Subsequently, the members of Blood Fang abandoned Ben Miles.
As Roman explained, in a situation where the gang members did not know when the Dmitry Knights would arrive, they couldn't delay themselves any longer.
Some of the explanation was true, but most of it was a lie.
Roman solved the situation with common sense.
The fact that Dmitry's Fool killed Blood Fang with pure force does not end with revealing himself but may raise suspicions about his existence.
So he gave a realistic answer.
It seemed plausible that he caught the leader himself, and he did not deny the fact that he had done it himself.
The explanation is over.
Baron Romero, who questioned it over and over, as if in disbelief, was unable to speak for a while.
"Son."
He was thrilled.
Roman.
The sore thumb.
The son he thought couldn't do anything had executed such a plan flawlessly.
Baron Romero had never given up on his son.
This feeling in his heart and his action of even striking his son across his face revealed Baron Romeo's true feelings.
"You did a really great job. My son has done what no one else in this land has been able to do."
Is it because of excitement?
He wanted to see his son's transformation for himself.
"Can I ask for something?"
"Yes."
"I want to check your swordsmanship skills. How my son has changed, what kind of sword he used to deal with Blood Fang. Knights' Commander, Jonathan, can you prepare a duel right now?"
"That is possible."
The gaze turned to Roman again.
A father's heart.
Roman understood it.
A son who was called a fool has accomplished something, and he must, of course, want to see it for himself.
Roman nodded.
"I understand."
A new life.
Roman was faithful to his new reality.