The day Kevin was summoned by Roman, his family were rid of the threat of the Blood Fang in their lives and cleaned up their messy house.
“Damn those guys. They have completely messed up our house.”
“Well, at least we made it back home. If it hadn’t been for Young Master Roman’s actions, I don’t know what we would be going through now.”
His wife, Michelle, optimistically answered the words of her husband—Clark. Back then, the Clark family had a hellish day. They were robbed of their savings, and the nasty men who visited them every day were screaming and breaking stuff all around the house. Clark always had a bruised face, and Michelle could only sit down on the ground and weep. Nevertheless, he still said he would watch over his daughter even while suffering from such circumstances, so she always clenched her teeth and endured the pain.
Due to a single transaction, a farmer’s dream of cultivating his own land had gone to hell because he met a vicious criminal group.
“…Is it really true that Young Master Roman subjugated the Blood Fang by himself? The young master I know is not a person who can do that. Kevin made a lot of fuss and told me that Young Master Roman was a great man, but I can’t believe it because of what I’ve seen and heard about him.”
The last few days had been unbelievable for Clark. As if it wasn’t enough that Roman Dmitry rescued Kevin; he even went to Lawrence and subjugated the Blood Fang. The hell they had been experiencing for such a long time was finally over. And Roman’s servant, Hans, also came to take care of the Clark family, which allowed them to return home safely.
Roman was undoubtedly their benefactor. Nevertheless, they were doubtful and anxious because their only son had left the house to follow Roman.
Dmitry’s Fool—Knowing how such a reputation had been built, they were worried about whether it was worth it for their son to dedicate his life to him.
Michelle said, “The truth is not important to us.” She squatted down on the floor and cleared the messy and shattered bowl pieces. Those shattered pieces clearly represented the hard times they had been through until now.
“As rumors say, the Dmitry family may have manipulated the situation to control Young Master Roman’s reputation. However, the important thing is that we got help from him. If Young Master Roman hadn’t helped us, we don’t even know what the Blood Fang would be subjecting us to right now. So the truth doesn’t matter. We have been greatly blessed by Young Master Roman, and no matter what the world says about him, we must live with gratitude for Young Master Roman for the rest of our lives.”
She trusted Roman—For the single fact that he blessed their family with help, Michelle was wary of anyone bad-mouthing Roman. Also, he was the one whom her son would be following in the future. Indeed, her trust was well-founded. Naturally, Michelle herself would also do anything for Roman.
Just then,
Knock knock.
“Are you there?”
A man’s voice was heard from outside the house.
For a moment, the members of the Clark family were nervous. The memories of bad guys storming into their house surfaced back in their minds, and they feared something like that would happen again.
However, when they opened the door, they were greeted with a warm and kind smile. Hans said while smiling, “This is an order from Young Master Roman—I will guide you to the new house you will be living in in the future.”
Hans’ words were like a blessing that had come down from the heavens.
They were stunned—At the sight unfolding before their eyes, Kevin’s family could not come back to their senses.
“…Are you seriously telling us to live here from now on?”
Clark’s voice was trembling as if he would burst into tears. The house in front of his eyes was utterly different from the shack he and his family had lived in earlier. Seeing the natural reaction to the beautifully built wooden house, Hans smiled and explained, “Of course. Also, this isn’t Young Master Roman’s only gift for you. A part of the land owned by Young Master Roman will be leased to Mr. Clark. Of course, you don’t need to pay any additional charges for that. The young master had made a promise to Kevin to look after his family, so you can think of the house and land as him keeping that promise and rewarding you.”
A good house and land—That was what they had been dreaming of all their life. Suddenly being in a situation where it had been accomplished instantly, Clark spoke cautiously while suppressing his trembling emotions, “We already received a lot of grace from Young Master Roman just by him subjugating the Blood Fang. Nevertheless, may I ask you the reason why he is being so gracious? If we are receiving this in exchange for the sacrifice of our son, I cannot accept this. So please tell me the truth.”
Roman’s gift was seriously too excessive—Kevin was just an ordinary boy, and his father knew he didn’t deserve such a great reward.
Why?
He couldn’t understand why Roman was being so good to them.
Hans simply laughed, “Even I cannot fully understand the intentions of Young Master Roman. However, what is certain is that the young master intends to raise Kevin as his own person in the future. That’s the only reason for such a reward. As he intends for Kevin to be his own person, Young Master Roman ordered me to help the rest of Kevin’s family live a peaceful life as well.”
“…I see.”
Still, what he couldn’t understand remained the same—However, Hans’s smile and his words of raising Kevin as his own person calmed his anxious heart, albeit only a little.
Afterward, Hans left quickly. Then, Kevin’s family members, who had been staring at the house for quite a while, sat down and wept, regardless of whoever saw them.
A comfortable house—How hard had they been working to achieve that? And seeing that they finally received it, Clark wept as he held his wife and daughter in his hands. Of course, for a while, their crying didn’t stop. And not long after, the news began to spread, although little by little, throughout Dmitry.
Rumors naturally circulated—The Clark family from the slums succeeded in entering the castle.
“Did you hear that rumor?”
“What rumor?”
“The Clark family—The family that had caused a stir by misusing money taken from the usury group Blood Fang was called by Roman Dmitry to enter and live inside the castle. Moreover, the rumors say they got the land for free!”
“Really?!”
The man was startled. His reaction was natural. Entering the castle was a symbol of risen status. People without exceptional wealth had no choice but to live in the slums outside the castle. And the Clark family, who were not very rich, had succeeded in entering the castle. Of course, at first, most people didn’t believe it. They didn’t think there was any reason for Roman Dmitry to treat the Clark family like that, but as time passed, the rumor started popping up more and more.
“The rumors were true. The Clark family not only lives in a good wooden house on the outskirts of the castle now, but they were also leased land to farm on. You can trust me because I only said it after seeing it myself.”
“You really never know what’s going to happen in life. The Clark family, who almost completely ruined their lives due to usury, succeeded in turning their lives around in a totally unexpected way. By the way, the recent actions of Young Master Roman are also shocking. In the past, I only heard rumors of him causing an accident somewhere, but after the subjugation of Blood Fang, he even invited the Clark family to the castle. He’s definitely different from before.”
Roman—Once again, he had become the protagonist of the rumors. Simplu due to the fact that Kevin’s whole family’s status had risen because he decided to follow Roman, the way people looked at Roman instantly changed—Kevin was an ordinary boy. As he was given a house and land just because he swore allegiance to Roman, that meant the others had a chance as well.
Was that why? As the Clark family’s story spread across Dmitry, people started clamoring that becoming a part of Roman Dmitry’s life and swearing allegiance to be a jackpot. Indeed, it wasn’t a false rumor. In fact, that was the obvious result. However, some people still spoke negatively of Roman because of his reputation as “Dmitry’s Fool.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, you idiots. You have lived in Dmitry for several decades and are still excited about the rumors. Do you seriously see Roman Dmitry as someone who will treat you that way? Of course, the subjugation of the Blood Fang was a setup by the Dmitry family! I bet Kevin will appear dead before us all soon enough.”
Even then, there was power in the remarks of those who spat out negative comments toward Roman Dmitry. However, after some time and finishing touches, something that completely changed Roman Dmitry’s reputation happened.
After Barco’s banquet, immediately after returning to the Dmitry estate, Roman said, “You should go on a vacation for three days.”
“…A vacation?”
Kevin rubbed his eyes. A vacation? And that too for 3 days? He couldn’t easily accept it—The poor had no vacation. While in the slums, on sunny days, he went out to work no matter what his condition was, and only when there was no work or the weather was terrible could he relax at home. Thus, the word vacation was very unfamiliar to him.
As he looked at Roman with a blank expression on his face showing he did not know what to do, Roman said as if it was nothing special, “Getting a good rest is also a part of training, Kevin. You’ve worked hard all this time, so go and have a good time with your family.”
“…I understand.”
Just like that, Kevin took a vacation. Naturally, he was stunned. Kevin, who had earlier cut off contact with the outside world and focused only on his training, was not accustomed to going back to meet his family.
Honestly, it’s funny even if you think only a little bit about it—Kevin has lived with his family all his life. However, the short time he lived with Roman now occupied a huge place in Kevin’s life.
‘Is this the real Roman Dmitry?’
Roman Dmitry was like an onion. Like the different layers in an onion, when dealing with foes such as the Blood Fang, he let out his cruel side, showing no mercy; however, to his own person, he was unbelievably kind and devoting. Of course, he wasn’t warm to everyone. As his past actions clearly showed, whenever he moved, he didn’t move without any purpose, and he did not recklessly consider just anyone as his own person.
A person who made and followed his own rules—That was Roman. Kevin didn’t know what the real Roman was like, but there was one thing he was sure of.
Before Kevin went on vacation, Hans came over and said, “You haven’t seen your family in a long time, so how can you go visit them while looking like that? Young Master Roman has prepared clean clothes for you, so change into them before going to meet your family. And don’t you need money to buy gifts for your family? From now on, you will be paid 30 silvers every month, so go and have a good time. He doesn’t care whether you buy a gift or luxuriate with it.”
Clean clothes and money—Those were Roman’s gifts to him. Kevin cried. Wow, he was such a meticulous person. Despite always keeping a cold expression, Roman always knew what Kevin needed. ‘His cold expression doesn’t matter to me. My liege treated me preciously, and that is enough for me to follow him.’
Then, Kevin started laughing. He went to the shower room, washed, and changed into the clothes Roman had prepared for him beforehand. Now, he had a different set of clothes from the loose-fitting ones he usually wore. The soft feeling of the luxurious clothes wrapped around his body made him ecstatic, and as the silver coins clanked inside his pocket, he began to feel excited as he would see his family in a different form today. However, back then, Kevin had no idea what had happened to his family—They were living a much better and more luxurious life than before, just like he had changed into the clean clothes given to him by Roman.
