The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 42

They spoke using magic messages.

Roman’s image floated in the air. Flora sat across from it, asking with a serious look, “How can you help Lawrence in this crisis? Tell me exactly.”

She got straight to the point.

Lawrence’s soldiers were dying outside, and she needed a solution quickly.

“I’ll be blunt. I plan to get revenge on the Barco family for my own reasons. I’ve already decided, and now I’m just waiting for the right moment. That’s why I contacted you. If the Lawrence family agrees to work with me, I’ll speed things up and destroy the Barco family with you.”

That was Roman’s offer.

It was unexpected.

For Lawrence, it was like finding water in the desert, but Flora suspected a trap.

“What do we have to do for this plan?”

“It’s simple. Sacrifice for the plan. If the Lawrence family is willing to shed blood first and set the stage, I, Roman Dmitry, promise to do everything I can to help you. To continue this conversation, you must agree to that part first.”

Sacrifice.

It was a loaded word.

Flora’s eyebrows twitched.

Roman Dmitry was a man who said what he meant.

He had readily agreed to end their engagement, and now, as an outsider, he said he would never sacrifice himself.

Deep down, she didn’t want to accept Roman’s help.

Roman’s presence felt like a stain on Flora’s reputation, and even talking to him stirred up uncomfortable feelings.

But there was no choice.

She was already in a desperate situation and had to be ready to sacrifice.

‘He must have known our situation and made this offer. Even though Roman Dmitry bluntly asked them to sacrifice, he was the only one offering help. We can’t refuse his offer.’

She clenched her fist.

She had long given up her pride.

Flora valued her family’s safety above all else. She looked straight at Roman and said, “I promise. If it protects my family, I’ll help in any way I can.”

“One more thing. You must promise me something else.”

“Tell me.”

“My involvement will cause a lot of trouble later. Because we broke off our engagement, I don’t have a good reason to get involved in the war. The central government, which supports the Barco family, might make an issue of it. So, you need to do something in the future. If you truly want the Lawrence family to be safe, give me a reason to step in.”

A reason.

She didn’t understand what he meant until Roman explained, and then Flora was shocked.

The conversation ended.

She hadn’t accepted the offer yet.

Roman said he would wait only 30 minutes. Flora walked weakly toward the castle walls.

‘Is it right to accept Roman’s offer?’

Roman.

His explanation was shocking.

“The Barco family plotted to separate Dmitry and Lawrence. While I was drunk, they put me in a room with Emily Barco, a distant relative of the Barco family. They used that to pressure me to break off the engagement. This is my reason for wanting revenge. Now, you can use it to give me a reason to act. Claim that Antony Barco harassed you. Even if nothing happened between you and him, if you say you broke off the engagement because of his harassment, your reputation will be ruined. The ‘Flower of Lawrence’ will be tarnished, and the events surrounding the broken engagement will be very damaging in the noble world. But if you give up your reputation as a noble’s daughter, you can save Lawrence from this crisis.”

Her hands trembled as she heard those words.

Flora didn’t want to believe it, but she couldn’t look away like a coward.

She wasn’t a delicate flower in a greenhouse.

Facing the harsh reality, Flora was ready to give up everything.

“That’s the reason I’ll step in. I won’t forgive anyone who hurts my people. Blood Fang learned that lesson, and it’s the same now. If the harassment happened before the engagement ended, then Flora Lawrence, you are also my person. If you promise me this, I’ll make sure Antony Barco never looks at you with lust again.”

My person.

Her heart sank.

Even though it was a deal, Roman said that if they were still engaged, Flora would have been his.

He was impossible to understand.

Roman was willing to risk a dangerous conflict with Barco for that reason.

Bang!

Rumble!

“The castle walls have collapsed!”

“Quick, bring the iron fence!”

When Flora returned to the castle walls, chaos exploded around her. A huge section of stone had crumbled, ripped apart by the Flares’ fire. Through the gaps, she saw Barco’s soldiers swarming closer, like ants to sugar.

Hope seemed to drain away. Without the high walls to protect them, Lawrence soldiers were fewer and weaker.

It was only a matter of time.

The air choked with smoke, and orange flames licked at the wood and stone. Flora grabbed a bow and ran to stand with the soldiers, pulling back the string and firing arrow after arrow into the enemy.

Thud!

“Ugh.”

A soldier running toward the walls collapsed.

Flora quickly loaded another arrow. Her fingers ached, a reminder of how much she had practiced recently.

But that didn’t matter now.

Flora roughly tore off her cumbersome skirt, stood ready to fire, and shouted to the soldiers, “Attack! We will never fall!”

At that moment, Flora realized that her life as a sheltered noble’s daughter was over.

“Handel!”

It was her maid’s name.

Seeing her running with a frightened face, Flora said, keeping her eyes on the target, “Contact Roman Dmitry right now. Tell him I’ll agree to anything he wants, just deal with those Barco bastards. I don’t want to end up as Antony Barco’s concubine.”

She had made her decision.

From now on, Flora would live a new life.

Plop.

He ended the magic communication.

Chris, who had been watching, asked Flora’s acceptance, “Are you going to attack now?”

Roman and his soldiers were close to Lawrence.

He could order an attack immediately, but Roman didn’t want to rush.

“No. We’ll watch a little longer.”

“If we wait, Lawrence might fall. Barco has brought in the Flares for the attack. Lawrence can’t withstand that firepower. If you really want to help Lawrence and stop Barco, you need to attack the enemy from behind to give them a chance to breathe.”

It was good advice.

Chris had studied military strategy and knew Lawrence was in danger.

But Roman saw things differently.

“Why should I worry about that?”

“Yes?”

“Whether Lawrence falls or not isn’t important. Even if the castle walls fall and Barco’s forces take over Lawrence, Lawrence will fight to the death and hold out for at least an hour. I want to get the most out of the conflict between Lawrence and Barco with the least amount of damage to myself.”

It was a cruel statement.

He ignored any sense of conscience and only cared about what he could gain.

“Chris.”

“Yes.”

“Remember this as you follow me: I care more about one of my people not getting hurt than hundreds of strangers dying. Many people in Lawrence will die because of this. But that’s because they followed someone who wasn’t capable. I won’t force my people to make pointless sacrifices. So, get some rest. When we have to step in at the cost of Lawrence’s sacrifice, then we’ll shed blood.”

“I understand.”

Chris nodded.

Now he understood.

Roman Dmitry might be ruthless to others, but he was someone worth following.

On the castle walls, the situation changed quickly.

With Barco’s army closing in, Flora went to Lord Lawrence and said, “Father! Open the castle gates now and face Barco’s army!”

“What are you talking about!”

Opening the castle gates was unthinkable to Lord Lawrence.

But Flora didn’t have time to explain, so she spoke firmly, “Roman Dmitry promised to help through magic. The Flares are why we can’t hold off Barco. If we open the gates and draw the enemy’s attention, Roman Dmitry will lead his troops and destroy the Flares.”

“Why would Roman Dmitry do that?”

“There’s no time to explain. Just know that Roman Dmitry keeps his promises.”

Lord Lawrence’s mind raced.

Roman Dmitry, whom he had briefly met during the Blood Fang incident, was no ordinary person. He was confident and seemed like someone who would do what he said, as Flora claimed.

The problem was that he had no reason to help Lawrence.

Even if he was angry about the broken engagement, Lord Lawrence couldn’t see why Roman Dmitry would help Lawrence.

‘Is it right to trust Roman Dmitry and open the castle gates? My daughter says Roman Dmitry plans to help on his own, without the family’s power. But the Barco family is the enemy. Even if we draw their attention, it will be hard to defeat their troops and the Berge Mercenary Corps and reach the Flares. And without Aura, we can’t destroy the Flares in the first place.’

He couldn’t decide.

It was a matter of life and death.

Lord Lawrence was weak.

He was easily scared, and the more dangerous the situation, the harder it was for him to make a decision.

Then, Flora pleaded desperately, “Father, Dad, we’re losing this fight anyway. We bet everything on this fight, and if we can’t defeat Barco, the Lawrence family will disappear. Trust me. Getting help from Roman Dmitry and destroying the Flares is the only way we can survive.”

Finally, Lord Lawrence saw Flora’s condition.

Her armor was blackened by flames, and her skirt was torn.

And she held a bow in her hand.

The head of the family couldn’t make a decision, but Flora had found a way.

He trusted his only daughter.

Lord Lawrence overcame his fear and shouted to the soldiers, “Open the castle gates now! Roman Dmitry will help us. Go out and punish Barco’s villains!”

The castle gates opened wide.

As Roman planned, Lawrence chose to sacrifice to set the stage.