In her childhood, Flora attended a prestigious academy.
Lawrence’s name value and wealth were derived mainly from their fertile land. Due to their power, Flora was served by servants every morning, and she quickly developed her skills as a noble. Honestly, her memories of that time were nothing special.
However, a memory of her time at the academy came flooding back in that situation.
‘He was from the Joel family.’
The Joel family were almost imaginary nobles in the North-East, as only their name was known.
In fact, considering the lackluster reputation of their family, admission to a prestigious academy should have been impossible. Still, somehow, a member of the Joel family attended the academy at the same time as Flora.
Flora didn’t look at ‘him’ with a particularly biased gaze.
She got along quite well with all her classmates. However, not everyone in their class felt like that towards the boy of the Joel family.
The fence named prestige was separating them.
Joel was an outsider that nobody wanted to befriend in a world where people considered themselves noble.
One day, Joel made a minor mistake.
Whenever the children of the prominent families caused a huge problem, nothing happened to them. However, when Joel caused even a small problem, he was severely punished for it.
There was even the danger of expulsion. While the teachers were shouting at Joel, a man who appeared to be Joel’s father came to the school in dull clothes and lowered his head.
He requested them to forgive him just once and promised to make sure his son would be more careful in the future.
Looking at the middle-aged person earnestly asking for forgiveness, Flora indirectly experienced the harsh reality of the world.
‘Pitiful.’
If only the status of the Joel family was great, if only they had power, would Joel’s family head need to bow his head?
Of course not.
It wouldn’t have been considered a problem in the first place.
They would have taken care of Joel’s child just like everyone else.
However, since he had no power, Joel’s family head had no choice but to apologize.
And…
The situation right now wasn’t so different.
In front of Baron Romero, who was expressing his anger, Flora’s father resembled the Joel family head to her.
“…As the family head of Lawrence, I have no excuse for what I have done. What Baron Dmitry said is true, even if it’s repeated a hundred times. It was I who put forward the marriage proposal in the first place, but my daughter made a big mistake because she was still immature. I should have started by apologizing for my daughter’s actions, but I sincerely apologize for making you angry with my negative comments.”
Viscount Lawrence bowed his head.
Lawrence didn’t have the strength to handle Dmitry’s wrath.
The fact that Dmitry was the way to settle the dispute with Barco meant they had immense power.
Viscount Lawrence faced reality. He had no other choice but to apologize.
Flora felt a twisting knot form in her stomach as the tears she couldn’t shed collided with the overflowing emotions bubbling inside her.
’…It’s all because of me.’
Joel.
He was a pitiful kid.
He was pitiful, so I wanted to treat him as well as possible.
However, she was now in the same position as the one whom she pitied back then.
It was stupid.
I was pathetic.
Even when she was in the academy, she showed kindness to others, but with the downfall of the Lawrence family, she realized not everyone was like that.
From her childhood memories, she now realized that while looking at the Joel family’s situation from a distance, she didn’t know what the responsibilities of nobles were.
‘I never thought my father would be treated like this because of me. It’s my fault. If I had fully taken on the responsibility of the breakup rather than shifting the blame to Roman Dmitry, we wouldn’t have made the Baron this angry. I’m really sorry, father. I shouldn’t have judged Roman so hastily, and I should have taken responsibility for my actions.’
Grip.
She tightly clenched her fist.
She had realized the root of the problem was her.
Along with that, she realized this problem couldn’t be solved with her father’s apology alone.
“Lord Dmi—”
Clack!
“Lord.”
It was then.
Just as she was about to open her mouth, a soldier came in and announced, “Young Master Roman has arrived.”
She felt like the situation was getting worse with each passing moment.
When Roman Dmitry entered the office, Flora took a deep breath unknowingly.
’…This is Roman Dmitry?’
In front of her, there was a man who was completely different from what she remembered.
Her first meeting with Roman was as bad as it gets.
Although it might have been like that because of the public rumors of Dmitry’s Fool, his unmanaged looks and dreadful perfume made Flora frown.
Of course, it was only later that she found out that perfume was out of consideration for her; but even then, she was stricken with prejudice and did not think well of Roman.
But now…
Now he looked like a completely different person.
Roman’s gait was charming, and his body gave off a fragrant scent that was not artificial. He had changed entirely from his toes to his head.
He now looked taller than before, with his posture straight as a renowned warrior. Moreover, his face, which had plenty of blemishes earlier, was now as white as white jade, and his dark hair and red lips looked particularly prominent because of his skin.
Previously, he had a normal appearance, but now he looked good enough to be called handsome.
However, what truly surprised Flora the most was the unique aura of Roman Dmitry.
‘It’s like meeting a warrior.’
He looked confident.
It’s like he’s looking down on everyone else and saying he has no reason to be afraid of anything.
Right, he was now like a sharp-edged and well-maintained sword.
Her first meeting with him was surprising, the second was shocking, and the third was mesmerizing.
Just now, she had a thought. She knew it was pathetic, but…
Roman’s figure looked very similar to her ideal type.
Tap.
He stopped walking.
Roman, who was not shaken in the slightest while receiving all the gazes on his body, looked up at Baron Romero and spoke calmly, “I, Roman Dmitry, greet you, father.”
It had been just one week.
However, the results of the closed-door seclusion were enough to shock everyone.
Even Baron Romero was equally flustered. His son’s appearance had dramatically changed.
He had a lot of things he wanted to ask, but right now, he had others watching him, so he tried hard to maintain a calm face.
“Did you finish your training well?”
“Yes, father.”
“We’ll talk about that separately later. The reason I called you here is because the Lawrence family wishes to forget about the breakup and proceed with the arranged marriage again. As a father, I have no desire to continue the relationship with the Lawrence family, who took our relationship so lightly, but this problem started with your decision. As your father, I will accept whatever choice you make.”
If it was a month ago, Baron Romero would have proposed marriage to the Barco family, intending to oppose and retaliate against Lawrence.
However, now, he trusted his son.
He believed that if he was the same son who subjugated the Blood Fang by himself, he would be able to make the right choice for himself.
“…I understand what you mean.”
With the awkward atmosphere around him, he quickly realized the situation.
He presumed that although they wouldn’t have fought in the beginning, after some time passed, Baron Romero lost his patience, and things escalated between the two family heads. The stern expressions on Viscount Lawrence and Flora’s faces made it even more apparent.
The Dmitry family, which Roman knew, had immense power.
He didn’t like to cause problems, so he didn’t use their family’s power often, but Dmitry is by no means a weak family.
It was one of the strongest forces in the North-East area of Cairo.
Whatever choice he would make, he was sure Dmitry could handle it.
Roman said, “I know what the union of Dmitry and Lawrence means. When the Lawrence family considered me as their marriage partner, they didn’t want a man named Roman Dmitry but instead needed Dmitry’s wealth. In a situation where the Barco family threatened Lawrence, Dmitry’s wealth would have ensured Lawrence’s safety.”
“…Did you want to go through with the marriage even though you knew that?”
“Yes. At that time, I thought the marriage was worth it.”
At Roman’s words, Baron Romero was utterly surprised.
He thought that his immature son had thoughtlessly wished to marry Flora.
Although he never explained the situation to him, he never thought Roman would grasp the complicated relationship with the Barco family.
It was just as Baron Romero had said earlier. Roman had already figured out what was going on just with the atmosphere, so he would choose the right answer himself.
“The union with Lawrence comes at the expense of Dmitry. As the central government has already approved the Barco family, Dmitry’s participation in the war will not cause them to back off. Then, the woman I have to marry should be worth at least that much. Leaving aside our families’ benefits, this is someone to whom I need to devote my life to. Of course, Flora is known as Lawrence’s flower. However, the very first time I met her, she told me she didn’t want to marry me. At that moment, my image of her completely changed.”
Both the parties for the marriage didn’t know each other.
The two of them imagined an image of each other in their heads based on the rumors, but it was only an illusion, not the person’s real nature.
Nevertheless, Flora had made a hasty decision.
She thought that the perfume he sprayed out of consideration for her was proof of him playing around with women, and the lousy skin on his face was a look that suited Dmitry’s Fool.
Flora was too hasty with her choices.
She believed information she didn’t confirm for herself and ruined her relationship with an unwise attitude, even though she hadn’t talked to her partner herself.
“What was Flora thinking before deciding to nullify the engagement? She must have heard the rumors that I was Dmitry’s Fool, and would’ve concluded that she could not marry such a person. However, the real problem was her thought process. She was unwise in handling her family’s critical issues and judged someone she had never met solely on the basis of rumors. Marriage is about finding one’s lifelong partner. I cannot live a happy life with my partner simply because she is pretty or her family is great. What matters is her wisdom. How she deals with the challenges that come her way in life matters a lot. Understanding that gives me the confidence to believe that person and the promise she makes to spend the rest of her life with me.”
Roman’s words were relentless.
Every time he said something, Flora’s face flushed red, and she couldn’t dare to look straight at Roman.
She was still young.
She made a mistake because she had no experience with the world of nobility, but as it was a serious problem, she could not easily be freed from the responsibility of her choices.
“I am proud of the Dmitry family. Starting as a blacksmith, my father built the base of the family and crossed the wall of status that others would not even dare to touch. And I wish to marry a woman like my mother, who was always proud and supportive of my father. No matter how the world thinks of Roman Dmitry, I hope to find a companion who believes in what she sees and judges for herself.”
The question had been finally answered.
Roman then looked at Flora.
Just as Flora had unilaterally notified him of the breakup in their first meeting, Roman left no room for compromise or retaliation from Flora.
“Thus, I wish for the breakup to continue without any changes.”
Now, the cup has been wholly spilled.
That’s it. The water was now completely scattered on the floor, and there was no way to put it back in its original state.
