The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 16

The moment arrived.

Following the servant’s guidance, Lord Lawrence and Flora made their way to the drawing-room.

“Flora,” Lord Lawrence said.

“Yes, Father,” Flora replied.

“This meeting has been arranged to fix our mistakes. Be especially careful in your words and actions,” Lord Lawrence instructed.

“…I understand,” Flora nodded, her face showing no emotion.

The day Roman had defeated the Blood Fang, Flora’s understanding of the world broke apart.

Roman Dmitry, once called Dmitry’s simpleton, was more remarkable than she had thought. The Lawrence family was in such a bad situation that they had to depend on Dmitry.

A moment’s choice.

The choice that Flora thought was right for her life had ruined everything.

Now, she understood the reality of their situation.

Her father, who had always been so kind and seemed to want to give her everything, had a reason for wanting this marriage, even knowing Roman’s bad reputation.

It was truly pathetic.

She didn’t regret that Roman was different from the rumors, but she hated her own actions for not facing the family’s difficulties and causing such a mess.

How hard must her father have had it all along?

The sight of her father, who had been so gentle, now spitting out the truth and scolding her, reminded her of him struggling to arrange the political marriage.

Even in that difficult situation, her father had given her a choice.

Now, Flora realized she hadn’t taken responsibility for her choice, and that’s why her father was angry.

‘This is a problem I have to solve,’ she thought. ‘It’s not just that Roman Dmitry is different from his reputation, but that Dmitry’s power is needed for Lawrence to survive the conflict with the Barco family. So, let’s accept reality. I am an adult, and I cannot remain Lawrence’s flower forever.’

She gritted her teeth.

In the meantime, they arrived at the drawing-room.

There was no host to greet them.

The drawing-room was large and empty. Dust motes danced in the weak sunlight coming through the tall windows. A cold draft snaked across the floor, making Flora shiver even in her coat. The silence was heavy, broken only by the faint ticking of a clock somewhere far away. A servant had shown them in, saying he would bring tea, and then left them alone.

“It seems we will have to wait,” Lord Lawrence said, his voice tight.

This meeting felt strange. Even though they came without warning this morning, Lord Lawrence was a Lord and Flora was supposed to marry into the Dmitry family. Normally, they should have been greeted right away. But to be left in this cold room, with no host to welcome them, and only the offer of tea… it felt like a clear message: the Lawrence family was not welcome here.

He sat heavily on the sofa.

They had expected it from the start.

Both Lord Lawrence and Flora knew how Dmitry would react. They drank tea in the silent space and waited endlessly.

However, there was a limit to waiting.

One hour, two hours passed.

As more time passed than expected, Lord Lawrence’s expression grew increasingly stiff.

He didn’t know how much time had passed.

What was certain was that they had arrived at Dmitry before the sun had fully risen, but now the sun was setting outside the drawing-room window. It was blatant disregard. Although Flora had committed an unforgivable wrong, it was not reasonable to leave guests sitting in the drawing-room for such a long time.

Eventually, he had reached his limit.

With anger bubbling inside, Lord Lawrence jumped up from his seat.

“I will go and find Lord Dmitry myself,” he declared.

Lord Romero’s office.

The firmly closed door opened.

Lord Lawrence, his face red with anger, burst through the door and shouted, “Lord Dmitry! What is this way to treat guests? Making us wait like animals! If you didn’t want us here, you should have just said so! I didn’t think the Dmitry family would be so childish!”

An indefinite wait had truly wounded his pride.

Thinking that Dmitry was deliberately retaliating, Lord Lawrence could not speak kindly.

Lord Romero put down his pen with a thud.

He, who had been reviewing payment documents until just now, looked at Lord Lawrence with a face that showed no embarrassment.

“I understand why you are angry,” Lord Romero said, “but was today’s meeting scheduled in advance?”

“I admit that we came without notice. But we told you we wanted to meet a week ago, and we came here because there was no news after you rejected that proposal, wasn’t there? If you had refused the meeting from the start and turned us away, we wouldn’t have been so upset,” Lord Lawrence retorted.

“How could I turn away a Lord like you? However, I would like to point out that this problem arose because it was an unscheduled meeting,” Lord Romero replied.

The reason for the delay was that a week ago, Roman had started training alone and away from everyone.

Lord Romero couldn’t schedule a meeting because of this, not because he wanted to avoid them.

“But then,” Lord Romero said, his face becoming hard. His calm voice changed, and the anger he had been holding back exploded.

“Are you so angry that you waited until the sun went down? The day the lady of the Lawrence family visited Dmitry, Roman came to me and said he wanted to end the engagement. At the time, I scolded Roman and held him responsible, but even a three-year-old child would know that Flora Lawrence’s visit was about the annulment. But I just let that issue pass. Thinking that Roman wanted it that way, I kept my mouth shut and pretended to be a simpleton who didn’t know anything.”

A few days later, Roman had defeated the Blood Fang.

Was he simply happy about that fact?

No.

His heart sank.

Until he received confirmation that his son was unharmed, Lord Romero could not maintain his composure.

And the culprit of all that was Lawrence, specifically Flora Lawrence.

If she had directly revealed the annulment, nothing like Roman being in danger would have happened.

“We were told about the annulment without any discussion. Lawrence was the one who wanted the marriage first, but regardless of our intentions, we had no choice but to accept the reality of the annulment. But Lord Lawrence is here, finding fault with me for such a trivial reason as waiting too long. Even though it was an unscheduled meeting from the start, you are coming out in defiance, forgetting your own mistakes!”

He slammed the desk.

As Lord Romero jumped up from his seat, his large body overwhelmed Lord Lawrence and Flora, who had arrived behind him.

“Are you trying to play with me right now?” he roared.

His face was ferocious, and his animosity was clear.

The atmosphere turned cold.

Lord Romero had crossed the line.

Even though the title represents a clear difference in status, he did not hesitate to express his anger.

“Lord Lawrence, what meaning do you think this marriage had? A marriage based on love? The union of two families? Such empty words have nothing to do with this marriage,” Lord Romero spat.

Lord Romero was a man who had barely entered the world of nobles.

However, among the nobles who had established themselves in the northeast of the Cairo Kingdom, no one could openly ignore Lord Romero.

That’s how the world is.

Power beyond status.

The owner of the iron mines possessed wealth.

Therefore, Lord Lawrence could not say anything.

The other party’s words were correct.

Lord Lawrence knew that Dmitry had power, so he first asked Dmitry if he was willing to proceed with the marriage.

If the marriage had proceeded with the second son instead of Dmitry’s simpleton, it would have been perfect, but even if that wasn’t the case, the union with Dmitry was necessary for the family’s future.

Therefore, Lord Romero’s anger was justified.

The voice that was calm at first had now turned ferocious, as if it would devour Lord Lawrence.

“Lord, you and I know very well what the essence of a political marriage is. This is not simply a matter of the children of both families forming a marital bond. The Barco family is constantly eyeing the fertile lands of the Lawrence family, and because the central government approved, the two families could start a war at any time. A month ago, I received a call from the Barco family. If we marry Barco’s direct line instead of Lawrence, they would not only provide connections to the central government but also give up some of Lawrence’s land. But I rejected the Barco family’s proposal. What do you think is the reason for that?”

“…Why did you reject it? The Barco family’s proposal would have been more beneficial to Dmitry,” Lord Lawrence asked.

“The reason is simple. The Dmitry family has power, and therefore, they simply chose what they wanted,” Lord Romero stated.

Barco is a dangerous enemy.

Joining hands with them means a peaceful future, but the choices of those with power do not only seek compromise.

“Roman wanted Flora. He said, without a care, that there was no one more beautiful than her in the world, and for that one reason alone—that Dmitry’s eldest son admired Lawrence’s daughter—we decided to wage war against the Barco family. There is no other reason. Even if Dmitry sheds a lot of blood because of this decision, we wanted Dmitry’s eldest son to get what he wanted.”

This deal was unilaterally a loss for Dmitry.

There were many rumors in the world that Dmitry made this choice to make a full-fledged entry into the world of nobles, and in fact, Lord Romero said similar things when he rebuked Roman.

But the truth was different. If it wasn’t a marriage that Roman wanted, Dmitry would never have accepted the loss.

A handshake even knowing the truth.

From the beginning, the Lawrence family was in a position of inferiority, but the hothouse flower did not know that fact.

And they spilled the water.

The annulment was a huge mistake.

From the moment Flora Lawrence mentioned the annulment to Roman, the Lawrence family had stepped into the mire.

‘…We made a big mistake,’ Lord Lawrence thought, his face turning pale.

A moment ago, he should have endured to the end.

Even if Dmitry refused the meeting and made him wait in the drawing-room until the sun went down, Lord Lawrence had to maintain his inferior attitude to the end.

It’s not a normal relationship from the start.

The Lawrence family was the one with a purpose to achieve through the marriage, and since they had mentioned the annulment first, they had no right to be angry.

It was foolish.

With his petty pride, Lord Lawrence thought that Dmitry was ignoring Lawrence.

‘I told Flora to be careful in her words and actions, but I made a mistake. Dmitry’s anger is justified. We unilaterally made a fool of them, so we should have had nothing to say no matter how Dmitry reacted,’ he realized.

A miserable reality.

Lord Romero told him the truth.

“Lawrence’s flower, Dmitry’s simpleton. We know better than anyone else that the reputations of the two men and women do not match. But Lawrence should have remembered what kind of place Dmitry is. Even if the lady of the Lawrence family is a flower that everyone desires, its value changes the moment Dmitry is attached to Roman’s name. Therefore, it is Lawrence, not us, who should be desperate and eager for this marriage.”

Dmitry’s simpleton.

The blacksmith family.

The nobles look down on Dmitry’s origins, but no one can openly say that fact.

Why?

Because Dmitry has power.

Even though he is a Lord, Dmitry was the top dog in the northeastern region.

His mood soured.

Lord Romero stopped his gaze on Flora, who was standing silently, passing by Lord Lawrence with cold eyes.

“Am I wrong?” he challenged.

A moment’s choice.

Because of that, Lawrence’s pathetic reality was revealed.