Soon, the time for the banquet arrived.
At the banquet, Roman’s appearance was completely different from before. During the day, he was covered in dust from the mine, and then he and Chris spent time in the training ground right before the banquet, yet he appeared dignifiedly now.
The appearance of Roman, whom everyone had been waiting for, was magnificent. When he walked into the banquet hall, the people who were talking held their breath simultaneously.
“Young Master Roman Dmitry enters!”
Roman looked around and greeted people. There was not even the slightest stern look on him now. As this was a banquet being held for him, Roman understood and acted like the protagonist of the banquet, and despite being rejected by him earlier, the noble women still showed interest in him.
“Mr. Roman, why did you act like that during the day? I just wanted to converse a little before the banquet.”
“I had just finished my work in the mines, so I had no choice but to do that due to my shabby look. I hope you understand my desire to look a little good.”
“Ah, so that was the reason.”
Was it because they liked the answer of Roman? From then on, everyone smiled at Roman’s words.
Their intention was clear as crystal. They all wanted to make some sort of connection with Roman, and at some point, only women could be seen around him. Among them, Sylvia stood out the most.
“You certainly look like a wonderful person. Even though you are the heir to a noble family, you were working directly in the mines. My father always said that we should live longing to learn what happens below us, but unlike Mr. Roman, I couldn’t put it into practice. If I had someone like Mr. Roman as my spouse, wouldn’t that make it possible for me to change as I would see things being done by my companion?”
Hearing Sylvia’s blatant words, the people around them had no choice but to be stunned. However, Sylvia didn’t care the least. She was pretty. She knew well about her appearance and learned from her previous experiences that she should make the first move whenever she could to affect another’s mind. Honestly, it wasn’t a bad method—If it wasn’t that the other person was Roman, someone who wasn’t shaken even by the beauty of Flora Lawrence, the most beautiful woman in the North-East. If it wasn’t Roman, the method might have worked.
“Thank you for the undeserved praise.” That was all Roman said. With that, he ended the conversation. Although he kindly accepted questions from all directions, he never allowed much liberty to them.
How much time had passed?
Roman, who had been tormented by women for a long time, secretly moved away from the banquet, and just then, he heard a familiar voice from behind.
“You seem good at acting.” The owner of the voice looked at Roman. Obviously, it was Flora Lawrence.
Roman’s face didn’t look as kind as before. He didn’t have to put up a kind face in a place where no one was watching, so he spoke coldly, “I had to do it.”
“It is surprising. I didn’t think you were the kind to care about the relationships between people.”
“Normally, that is true. However, this is a banquet hosted by the Lawrence family for me, and my parents and their guests are watching. That means I must deviate from my usual behavior and act with minimal courtesy. And to say that it is surprising, I was the same when I first met you, as well.”
When Roman first met Flora, he was in robes. Thinking that the smell of blood wouldn’t be polite, he sprayed some perfume and went out. Roman was such a kind person. Still, even though he was acting all nice, he showed appropriate behavior when needed.
Flora said, “It is true. Rather, it was me who wasn’t polite.”
In her memory, Roman was a man of virtue. During the marriage talks, he kept his manners till the end, and it was only after the annulment was announced that he began to show a cold attitude.
Come to think of it, the change was all her fault. Roman had tried to keep a suitable distance as her partner, but Flora didn’t even notice it.
He was a consistent person, so she felt more curious.
How could Roman live like this? How could he be so firm in his character?
“But why are you working with miners? Others think that it is a play for obtaining the title of the heir, but I don’t remember hearing such things being done to become the heir. Wouldn’t blacksmiths make more sense for the Dmitry family, not the mines?”
Roman normally wouldn’t have answered Flora’s question. However, when he remembered her appearance on the battlefield, he wanted to answer her due to her efforts.
“How do you think Lawrence reached its current position?”
“…Uh?”
“People often think Lawrence was revived due to their crops and fertile soil, but that isn’t the case. The Lawrence family is one that succeeded in commerce. They knew how to use the crops that were grown and sold them for the right prices. Lawrence is now what it is because of that process. I heard that Viscount Lawrence’s younger brother also used that talent to succeed as a merchant in the capital.”
Hearing those words, Flora was utterly stunned. Lawrence’s origin? Few people knew about it for sure. Honestly, even Flora thought fertile land was all Lawrence had not long ago.
“What’s the significance of that here?”
“I thought the forge and the iron mine was the foundation of Dmitry. Dmitry wouldn’t have been successful like this today if it hadn’t been for the miners who went into the iron mines every day. So, I wanted to fully understand Dmitry’s land. I think it is the duty of one who has the name Dmitry attached to their name. If there comes a situation where I face one problem like Dmitry’s people, I am sure that my time in the mines, which others cannot understand, will be of great help in empathizing with them.”
Roman’s voice was firm. He said it as if it was something that was absolutely necessary. Seeing him come out assertively, Flora lost her words for a moment.
“…Ah.”
“Time is up. I need to go.”
Thus, the conversation ended as Roman Dmitry turned back without any more words.
Flora looked at him and felt as if she had been hit hard on her head.
Truly, Roman always astonished her each time they met.
People had recently begun to call Roman Dmitry the Man of All Men. Dmitry’s reputation of having a fool for a son was never brought up, and everyone looked up to him now.
What if she was in the position of Roman? Would she be able to work in a mine even if she heard praises from all directions?
‘No, I would never be able to do that.’
Honestly, anyone would’ve been like that. Sweet praises melt down the rationality in the brain, and even the most diligent person often falls due to them. They would try to enjoy reality from some point on. And it was especially true for someone like Roman. Even if he enjoyed the company of women, no one would criticize him.
However, Roman was different. He neither got drunk on reality nor enjoyed it. As soon as the war was finished, he grabbed the pickaxe and headed straight for the mine, and while others enjoyed their lives, the hero slowly dug up iron in the mine.
What kind of thoughts and mindset does he have that he lives and acts like that?
Even Flora was someone who didn’t waste time, but whenever she compared herself to Roman, she felt ashamed.
‘He’s such a great man.’
And he is respectful too.
She wanted to imitate his actions. Aside from the fact that he was a bit selfish, Roman was her ideal man.
Suddenly, Flora remembered what her father had said.
“…From now on, live for your dreams. I will not repeat the same mistake of dropping your value to the ground and will be ready to support you anytime.“
Viscount Lawrence said he didn’t want her to live as the Flower of Lawrence. He just wanted her to live as Flora Lawrence. Also, his words promising to support her in whatever way she wanted filled her head.
‘What is my dream?’
No matter what she thought, she didn’t have a clear dream.
Nevertheless, one thing was certain—while watching Roman’s progress, there was one thing she wanted to achieve.
‘I must be strong so that others can never look at Lawrence again and to never entrust the safety of Lawrence to others. I want to overcome those dangers by becoming stronger myself. That is the goal I want to achieve.’
She made a decision and now had a firm dream.
Her head, which was wandering around even after the war was over, had finally cleared up.
After that, Flora left the banquet. There was no reason to stay there anymore. Now there was no reason to hold onto the being known as Roman Dmitry.
A few days after, it was revealed that Flora had left Lawrence and had headed straight for the capital.
It was the moment the Flower of Lawrence, the plant in the greenhouse, left the greenhouse and stepped out into the world.
Time went by.
It was revealed to everyone within a fortnight that the Barco family was destroyed.
Today, a unique person visited the forge of Dmitry.
“Hendrick! Hendrick!”
“What is it?”
“What? I stopped by for a drink.”
The man with a small physique looked nervously at Hendrick as he left the forge and smiled.
Seeing the bottle in his hand, Hendrick started drooling. It was lunchtime, so Hendrick hurriedly removed the items on the table.
“After all, you are the only one who understands me, Jacob!”
“Right?”
The other man was Jacob. He, the overseer of the mine, poured alcohol into Hendrick’s glass.
“Ugh, this is good.”
“How was work today?”
“It was the same as usual. No matter how much we dig, iron keeps coming out. We have only touched the first part of the mountain, so it seems the Dmitry family will easily be able to run off the iron mines for a hundred more years. Ah, that is all. The life of Jacob The Miner is like that.”
Hendrick and Jacob—The two pillars of Dmitry often spent time together. Amid working hard, they often had a small break and took down the sweet drink.
How long did they drink?
Hendrick put down the glass and asked softly, “But, what about Roman Dmitry’s condition? A week back, there was a lot of talk about him working in the iron mine. But the mansion is quite silent about it, right? Did he quit the job?”
“Ah, Roman?”
Jacob smiled as he took down another drink.
“Don’t even ask. Far from quitting, he hasn’t missed a single day of work yet. At first, everyone was reluctant to have him as his intentions weren’t known, but no miner hates him now.”
“Really?”
Hendrick was stunned. Miners were as proud beings as blacksmiths. So how could they come to like Roman?
“What exactly happened in the iron mines?”
A lot had happened in Dmitry’s iron mine during the last full moon.
