The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 160

The morning air in Castle Adelian was still cool and quiet. But the peace was broken when the Captain of the Guard rushed in, his face serious. This was how the trouble began – with the Captain’s report.

“My Lord,” the Captain said, bowing to Count Adelian and his advisors. “Early this morning, after I opened the castle gates, people from Roman Dmitry’s group arrived.”

Count Adelian raised an eyebrow, a flicker of worry in his eyes. “Roman Dmitry’s people? What do they want?”

“They say they are here for a birthday, My Lord. One of Dmitry’s servants, a man named Hans, has a granddaughter. She lives in Adelian lands and today is her birthday. They have brought gifts and food for a party, saying they are here to celebrate.”

Count Adelian leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowed. “Hmm.” Suspicion filled his mind. *A servant’s granddaughter? Why would Roman Dmitry send people all this way for such a small thing?*

Hans was just a servant.

Sending people to take care of a servant’s granddaughter seemed strange, even for a kind nobleman.

‘But I can’t just ignore it.’

Roman Dmitry.

A powerful figure in the northeast.

By taking over the Northeastern Alliance, the Dmitry family had become very powerful.

Roman Dmitry had recently been acting as the Lord’s representative more often.

Everyone knew power was shifting. Even if they pretended not to care, they watched Roman Dmitry closely.

And he had sent people.

Count Adelian felt that something was wrong.

‘The northeastern territories are united under the Dmitry Alliance. The nobles of the provinces, who felt ignored by the central kingdom (Cairo), aim to protect each other, but the alliance exerts a kind of binding force. Forces that have fallen out of favor with the Dmitry family cannot actively receive the alliance’s help.’

Adelian was located on the edge of the northeastern territories and was the center of commerce because of its location.

But this also meant that they were the most at risk in a civil war.

Count Adelian knew this and always paid attention to his relationship with Dmitry.

This time was no different.

He focused on a detail that could have been easily missed.

Thirty minutes later, the Captain of the Guard returned with details about Hans.

“Hans has practically raised Roman Dmitry since he was young. He stayed by Dmitry’s side even when he was called Dmitry’s fool. Because of their years together, he has some influence within the Dmitry family. They really want to take care of Hans. Roman Dmitry has always been generous to his people, so it’s not surprising that he would take care of Hans.”

“That’s it!” His mind cleared.

If Roman Dmitry valued him, then the Adelian family actively stepping up to take care of him was a great chance to impress Dmitry.

His status as a servant didn’t matter.

If Roman thought of Hans as important, then Hans was not just a servant.

“Summon the family’s retainers immediately. From now on, we will consider what we can do for Hans. Make sure Hans is comfortable and that Hans’s son, Harrison, is pleased. Their happiness will reach the Dmitry family, and Roman Dmitry will think of us positively!”

Five hours before the party, the Adelian family was the quickest to take advantage of the opportunity.

The Adelian family wasn’t the only one watching Dmitry.

The Laurences.

They got the information later than Count Adelian.

“Lord! I heard from someone working for the Dmitry family that the servant Hans has decided to leave Dmitry early today because of his granddaughter’s birthday. What should we do? You have always tried to report all major and minor events related to the Dmitry family, but I’m not sure if we need to take care of a servant’s family event.”

The information wasn’t perfect.

Adelian had confirmed why they were visiting through the Captain of the Guard, but Laurence didn’t know.

Even so, Lord Laurence didn’t miss the chance.

‘Hans is the man who only takes care of Roman Dmitry. Even if Roman doesn’t think of Hans as important, it’s still important to manage Roman’s people carefully. People’s feelings come from small things. If everyone who follows Roman has good feelings towards the Laurence family, then it will eventually reach the very top.’

Over the past year, Lord Laurence had taken care of all of Dmitry’s events, big and small.

At first, he hadn’t paid attention to people like Hans, but he always showed up at the family events of key people such as Baron Romero, Rihanna, and Knight Commander Jonathan.

And now, he had expanded his focus.

Knowing that Roman Dmitry cared about his people, Lord Laurence didn’t want to miss out, even though Hans was just a servant.

Taking care of a birthday didn’t take much effort.

He believed that a friendly relationship with Dmitry was built from small efforts.

“Hans is worth taking care of. Find out what his granddaughter likes and prepare a gift for her.”

“Understood.”

It started with Adelian.

Then came Laurence.

They thought they were moving in secret, but the nobles of the northeast knew about the suspicious movements.

The nobles who heard the news late felt pressured.

Those who hadn’t been as careful as Lord Laurence quickly prepared gifts, not wanting to be left out.

A gift craze spread quickly.

Two hours before the birthday, Lord Conrad, who had been sleeping in after drinking too much the day before, heard the news about Dmitry.

“What?! Why are you telling me this now!”

“I couldn’t wake you because you were sleeping, Lord.”

“Ugh, you fool. I’ve always said, if it’s related to Dmitry, report it no matter what, even if the sky falls apart. We need to impress him, but how can we if we’re behind others!”

“I’m sorry.”

The knight lowered his head.

There was no time to scold him now.

Lord Conrad, with a pale face, quickly thought hard.

‘What kind of gift should I give?’

There was no time.

He wanted to prepare a special gift for the granddaughter, but with only two hours left, there was barely enough time to deliver the gift.

In the end, he ran to his wife’s room.

His wife smiled brightly, but he didn’t even look at her as he raided her jewelry box.

“H-Honey?!”

“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!”

A few days ago, he had given his wife an expensive ruby ring.

Thinking it would be the perfect gift, Lord Conrad took out the ruby ring and ran without looking back.

At that sight, his wife threw things at him from behind.

“You crazy husband!”

But what could he do?

The family’s future was at stake.

Not even thinking that Hans’s granddaughter was six years old, Lord Conrad, who had stolen an adult-sized ruby ring, felt triumphant.

‘With this, I can completely win at the birthday party.’

This birthday party and the nobles’ gift-giving frenzy came from wanting to impress Dmitry.

The gifts before him glittered under the light. There was a ruby ring that shone like fire and silk scarves in rich colors.

Harrison was confused.

‘What is all this?’

He was grateful for the thought behind the gifts.

However, Harrison had always been taught to know his place.

This was something that Harrison and many common people had heard so often that it was a part of them.

Wanting things that weren’t yours could bring trouble.

Worry came before joy.

‘I don’t know why the nobles sent these gifts, but except for a few, they are not for my daughter. If I want these things too much, I might pay a big price. For now, I’ll be happy in front of them since they gave us gifts, and later I’ll return them all.’

He organized his thoughts.

Because his father had been a servant, he knew how dangerous it was to want the things of nobles.

“I will open the last gift.”

It was a small envelope.

Because it was so small, it didn’t seem like a gift from a noble.

Harrison, who had been expecting a small gift like a letter, widened his eyes as he checked the contents.

“Gasp!”

A single sheet of paper.

The words written inside caught his attention.

[Glory Academy Admission Recommendation]

His hands trembled.

Glory Academy was the best school a commoner could dream of, besides the Cairo Royal Academy, where only the children of nobles could go.

It was hard to get in, even with money.

Harrison had hoped that his daughter would enter Glory Academy and have a better life than him, but he knew it wasn’t easy.

But then, he received an admission recommendation for Glory Academy.

It was different from the other gifts, and he saw that Roman Dmitry had sent it.

“Roman Dmitry has written an admission recommendation for Glory Academy for my daughter.”

Silence fell.

People were shocked.

The previous gifts were great, but they knew that the Glory Academy recommendation was much more valuable.

‘Could it be?’

Harrison suddenly had a thought.

A month ago, he had talked to his father about his daughter’s future.

He had mentioned Glory Academy, and he thought that maybe his father had used his influence.

He looked at his father, who was just as surprised as him.

The fact that his father didn’t know either made him emotional.

‘Thank you, thank you so much.’

Roman Dmitry’s gift was a surprise that even Hans hadn’t expected.

That day, the party was a success.

Hans, who had returned to Dmitry early and was worried about Roman, went straight to him and said,

“You have given too much. I don’t expect any special gifts from you, Master. Just knowing that you remember me is enough.”

His voice was soft.

He tried to speak calmly, but Hans seemed moved by Roman’s honest feelings.

Roman looked at Hans.

‘Hans is someone from Roman Dmitry’s past.’

Roman hadn’t planned their relationship.

Hans had stayed by Roman’s side when he was called Dmitry’s fool, and he always took care of Roman, even when he was treated badly.

Because he remembered that, Roman accepted Hans’s feelings, even though he hadn’t experienced it himself.

Because he was the first person he had brought into his group as Roman Dmitry, Roman didn’t think of Hans as just a servant.

“Hans.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t remember everything, but when I think about my childhood, I spent more time with you than with my father. Back then, my father had just become a noble and was busy, and my mother couldn’t take care of me because of childbirth. That’s why you are special to me. It’s more than just our different positions.”

“Master.”

Hans’s eyes turned red.

This wasn’t a big deal.

Roman had simply taken care of his people, and because he was powerful, the nobles sent gifts.

Roman let it happen.

He wanted his power to bring good things to his people.

“People’s feelings go both ways. Hans, you are my person. You have given me pure feelings, so you deserve to accept what I give you.”

Hans looked at Roman.

Roman smiled.

“I congratulate you on your granddaughter’s birthday.”