While he was waiting for Hendrick to arrive, Baron Romero recalled his past memories.
3 years ago, in the meeting to decide the successor of Dmitry, Hendrick reacted furiously to the vassals who said Roman should be given a chance as he was the eldest son.
“Is being the eldest son important enough to throw away the future of the family to the ground? Right, Roman is the eldest son of Dmitry. But if you go out on the streets and ask what kind of person Roman Dmitry is, everyone will tell you he is a jerk. And you want such a guy to become the successor? Is that brain there for decoration?!”
He was furious and even made a remark to silence their words.
“My Lord, the roots of Dmitry lie in the forge. Most of the Lord’s followers either work in the mines or are blacksmiths, but what would everyone think if the successor of Dmitry could not even handle a piece of iron? There is nothing more funny than that. And it isn’t like we don’t have an alternative. There is Rodwell Dmitry, who has learned and done his chores at the forge from an early age. He has outstanding talent and has proven his talents even in the capital. I think that allowing Roman Dmitry to become the successor will put the future of this family at risk.”
Hendrick spoke his words harshly.
This was something everyone was careful about. However, when the discussion about removing the eldest son from the position of successor finally began due to Hendrick, the vassals supported him.
And just like that, Rodwell was chosen to be the successor. Unaware of that fact, Roman continued to act like a fool and tried to convince all the vassals that they had made the correct judgment.
‘Now, three years have passed, and Roman has changed. Even vassals who supported Hendrick back then are now telling me to consider making Roman the successor. Obviously, the public sentiment of the workers in the iron mine and the other people is no different. However, that doesn’t mean I can exclude the opinion of Hendrick. As he said, Dmitry’s roots lie in the forge, so it’s natural for him to not support Roman, who neglected his duties.’
His head started aching. His son’s growth was quite literally amazing. Still, it would have been easier to solve the problem of succession if he had proven his worth a bit sooner, but thinking about it now was a pain.
Roman being in good form recently was a different matter. Although Roman showed tremendous growth in his swordsmanship and daily actions, what Hendrick considered important for Dmitry’s successor, in the end, was whether he understood the work of a blacksmith. There was no doubt that it was the basic knowledge of the Dmitry family. If Roman became in charge of the family, he would have to manage the work of the blacksmiths, but it didn’t seem like Hendrick would follow the guy who didn’t know the slightest of things about forging and the smithy.
Hendrick was the master of the forge and a companion of Baron Romero. Even the Baron himself could not force it if such a person objected to it.
‘Perhaps Hendrick will be against this. Still, I must ask him since many people now like Roman. And if Hendrick still opposes it, then I must discuss the current issue again.’
He was sure of it. Having seen Hendrick for a long time, he knew how he would react. However…
“Of course, I agree. If it is Young Master Roman Dmitry, I think he is qualified to be the successor of Dmitry.”
Hendrick, to whom Baron Romero asked the question, gave a different answer than expected. Baron Romero was in disbelief. Hendrick was the master of the forge. Obviously, it would have been normal if he ran wild once the Baron asked him if Roman becoming the successor was something good.
“…Are you being serious?”
“Would I dare to mess around with the Lord? There was a time when I felt he was unworthy of being the successor. But now, it has changed. As demonstrated in the recent war with Barco, Roman has worked hard on important things while we didn’t pay attention to him, shedding blood and sweat continuously. As a result, he grew into an Aura Swordsman and even showed an attitude to understand Dmitry enough to work in the iron mine by himself, without anyone forcing him to.”
He couldn’t believe it despite hearing it from Hendrick himself. Hendrick defended Roman? And as if his words were still not finished, Hendrick recalled what happened in the past.
“There was an incident with Roman not long ago. Roman sent the blacksmiths a request for ironworks to equip his soldiers with, and I told him to take those that were not good because of my bad relationship with him. Do you know what Roman said to me back then? He glared at me while telling me that my act of handing over those items to soldiers was no different from murder. Actually, he was correct. It was a violation of my values as a craftsman, and that night, I carefully reflected on my actions while thinking about it a lot.”
And today, Hendrick saw the true face of Roman.
Memories of the past were now glorified, and even his fight with Roman was now interpreted as a good memory in his mind.
“Young Master Roman has an eye worthy of the Dmitry family. Otherwise, it is impossible to accurately determine the condition of objects with the general eye. And today, I witnessed it directly at the forge. I saw him concentrating on the work while facing the scorching heat in front of the fire… Haah… That was a look I couldn’t help falling in love with.”
Once upon a time, he thought of him as bad luck. Nevertheless, from the moment he received the gift from Roman, Hendrick fell in love with him.
Hendrick handed Baron Romero the sword Roman gave him as a gift. At the sight of the sword shining brilliantly under the light, Baron Romero, who was flabbergasted, asked, “What is this?”
“This is a sword that Young Master Roman made. As it is the Lord, I believe you can recognize it at once—How great the value of this sword is. At first, I didn’t believe it to be forged with the skills of Young Master Roman, but after seeing him working in the smithy today, I understood it was the truth.”
Baron Romero was stunned while he observed the sword before him. Undoubtedly, it could be considered a famous sword. Just like Hendrick, Baron Romero recognized the value of the sword at a single glance and couldn’t even hide his shock.
“…This is?”
How can Roman make such a sword?
While he was watching Roman’s recent actions, Baron Romero had a slight regret in the corner of his heart. Although he was growing amazingly as a swordsman, his father regretted that Roman did not work in the forge.
He thought that as he was his son, the eldest son of the Dmitry family, he should at least show interest in the forge, as Hendrick insisted strongly too.
However, Hendrick now revealed the shocking truth. This wasn’t simply a result of interest but proved that Roman was qualified enough to fight in the race of succession.
Hendrick said, “The roots of Dmitry lie in the forge. 3 years ago, Young Master Rodwell was selected as the next heir, but now, Young Master Roman is proving his worth, so we must reconsider our decision.”
The situation had now changed. Hendrick initially opposed making Roman the successor. However, now, contrary to Baron Romero’s intention to persuade him, he was trying to persuade Baron Romero.
“It is true.”
He smiled.
Hendrick—The last one Baron Romero was worried about was rather an easy hurdle.
In the office.
Baron Romero, who sent Hendrick back, stayed in his office and reread the letter he received a year ago.
[Father. This is Rodwell. Not long ago, I was promoted to S-Class in the Cairo Royal Academy. From now on, it seems that I will not just take theory classes but also move to practice and gain experience as a commander on the battlefield. I know that you want the Dmitry family to seek peace on the outskirts, but my dream is different, father. After graduating with the highest grades from Cairo Royal Academy, I will surely visit you as a proud son and show you the future of the new Dmitry.]
It was Rodwell Dmitry’s second letter. He was Dmitry’s child. Still, unlike Baron Romero, who wanted a simple life, he was quite ambitious. And he actually produced good results. Cairo Royal Academy was the highest educational institution representing the Cairo Kingdom, and being promoted to S-Class, the highest class there, meant that Rodwell’s talent was being recognized even in the best academy.
At one time, receiving such a letter made his heart pound. He hoped that Rodwell would have wings that would work to strengthen the foundation he built, but recently, Roman’s growth complicated this.
Both Roman and Rodwell were excellent sons. Still, looking at the recent actions, Roman wasn’t someone who could be considered just talented.
‘Roman has a marvelous talent that can take Dmitry’s fame to the entire continent, not just Cairo. Rodwell clearly showed he was faithful to his duty as the successor of the family, but even Rodwell, who is a genius, cannot be compared to what Roman is now. So what decision should I make for my sons?’
His worries were deep, and he finally made a decision. The people now wanted Roman to become the successor. The vassals of the family, the servants who followed Roman, the workers of the iron mines, and even the blacksmiths were no different. They all wanted Roman to be the successor, but that didn’t mean he could just push Rodwell aside.
‘There is still time. Once Rodwell graduates from the academy and Roman fulfills his duty in the military, the race for succession will be declared. There will be no disparity between the eldest and the second son. If either of them shows qualification to lead Dmitry, I will select and support them as the successor to the family.’
The worries which had been giving him a headache for quite a long time were finally gone.
Then, he left the office. After a long time, it felt like he could finally get a good night’s sleep next to Rihanna.
Last month, what were the priests of Valhalla doing? Willas, who had to go to Dmitry, spent much time elsewhere.
“Priest. The results of this ranking match seem shocking. Bertov, who was Rank 99 just a year ago, won against Rank 30, Fernando. Once the ranking list of Cairo is announced this year, everyone will be shocked. Bertov is still not known, right?”
“Right.”
Willas reacted bluntly to the words of the apostle.
He received an official ranking match request the same day he was going to leave for Dmitry. Rank 99, Bertov, had applied for a ranked match against Fernando, who accepted it without much thought.
And finally, after quite a bit of time, the match was held. The result was the defeat of Fernando, and the resulting administrative action forced Willas to waste a lot of time on it.
Willas said, “Actually, the defeat of Fernando was foreseen. People revere Fernando as the gatekeeper of the 30th rank, but even after reaching the status of a 4-Star Aura Swordsman long ago, he never made it into the top 20 of the rankings. It seems he eventually reached his limit. Nevertheless, we wasted too much time because of the ranking match. We should have reached Dmitry by now if things went as planned.”
“You want to see Roman Dmitry so much?”
“Of course I do.”
Why was he being this blunt? It was because of Roman. Rumors continued to go around. Most didn’t believe that Roman had defeated Homer. Nevertheless, Willas still wanted to see Roman.
‘It is obvious that a variable occurred which helped Homer’s defeat. The problem is that Roman Dmitry is the protagonist of the rumors, and isn’t he a person who is called the fool of the family? Even if the rumors about the battle are exaggerations, it must mean that there has been a huge change in him that will shock everyone soon enough.’
Life in Cairo was quite boring for him now. As a priest of Valhalla, Willas was on a dispatch mission. Now halfway through his time, he wanted something interesting. Then he heard about Roman. Obviously, most people were enthusiastic about the battle of Bertov and Fernando, but Willas wanted to glimpse at the truth of the North-East region with his own eyes.
He hurried his steps. Now, all the work he needed to do was finished. Thus, it was time to leave for Dmitry.
“Let’s head to Dmitry. Since Homer was Rank 49 and got killed in an unofficial showdown, shouldn’t we check if Roman Dmitry is even worthy of getting into the rankings?”
And after a few days, they began to see the gray walls of Dmitry.
