The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 218

Dust and dirt clung to the ragged clothes of the common people gathered outside the tall gates. Most faces were confused, unsure who stood before them. They had heard whispers of Roman Dmitry, the Earl of London, but rumors were different from reality, especially here in Redford. Then, a voice, sharp and angry, cut through the murmur of the crowd.

“It’s him! Roman Dmitry!”

Another voice joined in, louder now, filled with hate. “That’s right! The Earl of London and Roman Dmitry! Working together to steal Redford’s wealth! Traitors! Have you no shame, living like kings while we starve?”

A few people in the crowd started shouting.

Jacqueline felt uneasy about the situation.

He recognized Roman Dmitry from the party, but he didn’t want to cause any trouble.

Roman Dmitry was known as an Aura Swordsman.

Jacqueline had planned to avoid Roman Dmitry as much as possible, even in difficult situations, knowing how strong he was.

But that plan was ruined by the sudden outburst.

With the crowd provoking Roman Dmitry, Jacqueline couldn’t back down or react, which put him in a tough spot.

All this happened very quickly. Roman Dmitry looked at the people who were shouting.

‘There are agitators mixed in,’ he thought.

This was a commoners’ rebellion, an expression of built-up anger.

However, Jacqueline’s reaction and the way they recognized and specifically provoked him suggested that someone was stirring them up.

It was just as he expected. The Cronos Empire had prepared ways to attack the Earl of London.

In Cairo, they used traitors to try and take over the country. Against him, they used assassins called Shadows. And to bring down the London family, they were using the angry public.

It was amusing.

The Cronos Empire spread chaos in different ways across the continent.

Without directly using their own power, they created situations where their enemies would fall apart on their own.

It was like using someone else’s knife to kill – making others fight their battles for them. That was the empire’s way.

Roman Dmitry spoke.

“A traitor who sells the country. Is there any real proof of that?”

“Proof isn’t needed! Roman Dmitry! If you really care about justice, don’t get involved and just leave Redford! The wealth of Redford that you’re trying to take is what the people have earned through hard work. The evil London family keeps all the wealth for themselves and lives in luxury. If that’s not a traitor, what is?”

They were very angry.

Now that things had gone wrong, Jacqueline didn’t back down.

The situation was like a fire about to explode, and a fight could break out at any moment.

Roman Dmitry looked around at the people, taking in their words and expressions.

Dealing with ignorant people who couldn’t see the truth wasn’t a big problem, but whether it was worth getting involved in Redford’s issues was another question.

Actually, calming the angry public that had turned against London was very simple.

The truth was all it would take.

If he told them what London had been doing, they wouldn’t call him a traitor anymore.

However, the door creaked open.

A knight from the London family came out and said quietly, so others couldn’t hear, “Lord Roman Dmitry, the Earl of London hopes you won’t get involved in our problems. Please come inside. We’ll take care of the public’s anger.”

With those words, Roman Dmitry no longer had any reason to confront the commoners.

As they went inside, the Earl of London said with a slightly sad look, “I’m sorry for getting you into this trouble. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Hungry people have attacked my trading company a few times. It’s never been as extreme as storming the mansion, but it seems people have finally reached their breaking point.”

This time, he wanted a peaceful solution.

London’s knight went outside and offered the remaining food from the party and some money as a compromise. The public, having achieved their goal, had no choice but to calm down.

Except for the agitators, no one wanted things to get too extreme.

If a real fight broke out, they didn’t know what would happen at the hands of the famous Roman Dmitry, so they decided to retreat after getting some of what they wanted.

London’s way was truly foolish.

If it were Roman Dmitry, he wouldn’t have let those who had drawn their swords go back so easily, no matter the reason.

However, this was Redford.

Since he wasn’t a Dmitry, he would follow Redford’s ways.

Roman Dmitry asked, “Why didn’t you tell the truth? The London family isn’t responsible for Redford’s poverty. Even if you’re being targeted by traitors, isn’t revealing the truth the right thing for the London family to do? I’m sorry to say this, but the King of Redford needs to take responsibility for this.”

Roman’s words were a common-sense reaction.

Everyone who knew the truth said the same, but the Earl of London couldn’t bring himself to tell the truth.

“I know what’s best for London, but I don’t think it’s what’s best for Redford. We’re living in a time of hatred. When problems happen, people look for someone else to blame. If it’s revealed that all the problems started because of His Majesty the King, what do you think will happen to Redford?”

From then on, the problem would be different.

If people’s anger turned to the royal family, they would fall into a deep hole.

“If people who can only feel better by blaming someone target His Majesty the King, I don’t know what will happen to this country. People will start a revolt, and maybe they’ll collapse from the inside even before fighting the Cronos Empire. That’s why I can’t reveal the truth. If people’s anger is directed at a noble like me instead of the royal family, their anger will only go as far as disrupting business and attacking the mansion. After all, I’m just a subject under the royal family. Their anger won’t spread to the entire kingdom.”

He was also human.

He didn’t want to be blamed.

Looking at the people cursing him, he wanted to tell the truth many times a day.

However, the benefits of doing so were small.

People would praise the Earl of London as a hero, but the anger towards the royal family would shake the foundations of Redford.

If that happened, what would be the point of being a hero?

If the country collapsed, if a revolt broke out, all the efforts made so far would be pointless.

He kept the truth hidden.

Roman Dmitry forced a smile, though it felt stiff. He looked at Count London, whose face was etched with worry.

“It’s not just the King’s fault that Redford is in trouble,” Roman Dmitry said, keeping his voice calm. “Even if we blame the King and get rid of him, the problems won’t disappear. The people who pushed him to do bad things are still here, and so are those who stood by and did nothing. Redford will still be in danger. It’s better if I take the blame for now. I can handle it. Until Redford is strong and stable enough to survive on its own, the people must not know the full truth.”

Count London’s shoulders were slumped, and his eyes looked heavy, like he carried the weight of the entire kingdom. He sighed deeply, and Roman could see the worry lines etched around his mouth. It was a heavy burden he carried.

Watching him, Roman Dmitry remembered someone from his past.

Maestro Yu Hyun.

He was a truly unique person.

In a world that talked about the survival of the strongest, he believed that people were born good. Unlike Roman, who was going to be the head of a powerful family, Yu Hyun didn’t care about power.

Maybe it was because he lived a very different life from Baek Jung-hyuk.

The two felt drawn to each other and spent a lot of time together.

Baek Jung-hyuk asked,

“I heard you went to the slums to help people. Why did you do that? You might have been trying to be nice, but now people will always expect you to come back. And if you don’t, they’ll be angry and say you were just showing off.”

People often misunderstand things.

They think that poor people are good and rich people are bad. They think being poor or rich makes you a certain type of person. But that’s not true.

The world Baek Jung-hyuk knew wasn’t like that.

Some people said that poor people always helped each other and that rich people were evil and took advantage of the poor.

But was that really true?

Being rich didn’t always make you evil, and being poor didn’t always make you kind.

In the slums, people’s selfishness showed clearly.

Baek Jung-hyuk saw people fighting over a single rice ball, willing to kill each other. He saw the worst parts of humanity.

Poor or rich, people were just people.

Even when people were in the same situation, they had different personalities. Baek Jung-hyuk didn’t judge people based on their situation.

He judged them based on what he saw and felt. Only the people he trusted were the ones he accepted.

Yu Hyun said,

“…Well, like you said, people might get mad at me, but I’m just doing what I want to do. If there are people like you in the world, shouldn’t there be people like me too, to… you know… balance things out?”

He smiled brightly.

But Baek Jung-hyuk couldn’t smile back.

Yu Hyun and he had lived very different lives.

He was the son of the powerful and feared Heavenly Demon, and he had started at the bottom. Yu Hyun was born into a rich family and had only seen good things.

Maybe that’s why he was so kind. If he had lived like Baek Jung-hyuk, he wouldn’t have thought people were born good.

Still, he liked Yu Hyun.

Spending time with him was like a light shining in his dark life.

Then, a year later,

Yu Hyun was found dead in the slums, his body stripped bare. The place was a dark alley, smelling of waste and despair. The image haunted Baek Jung-hyuk – Yu Hyun, who believed in goodness, ending his life in such a brutal, forgotten place.

Yu Hyun and Count London were similar.

They lived their lives believing in things that were more important than their own safety.

After leaving Count London, Roman Dmitry went outside and looked at the pitch-black sky.

“Foolish bastards,” he muttered.

The day Yu Hyun died, Baek Jung-hyuk turned the slums upside down.

He found everyone who had been in contact with Yu Hyun and killed many of them until he found the person who had killed Yu Hyun.

It was a boy, barely a teenager.

Looking at the boy, who was bleeding with both ears cut off, he asked why. The boy said, terrified,

“…I was afraid you wouldn’t come to see us again.”

Yu Hyun had visited a month before.

The starving people didn’t remember his kindness.

Instead, they noticed that Yu Hyun’s clothes looked expensive. So, they hit him in the head with a rock as he walked away.

Even as blood splattered, the boy grabbed Yu Hyun’s clothes, his eyes full of greed.

That boy and Jacqueline were the same.

If they had been a little smarter, they would have known what Count London was doing for the people.

Not knowing the truth wasn’t an excuse.

Jacqueline should have been grateful that she was invited to the party to work and that she was given food afterward. Instead, she was angry that the nobles were having a good time.

Jacqueline was being used by troublemakers.

Maybe she came to Count London’s house because she knew he was forgiving.

Yu Hyun and Count London were people others wouldn’t even dare to look up to.

They were forced to sacrifice themselves for the people.

Stupid.

He didn’t like it.

But it wasn’t his problem.

In his past life and now, Roman Dmitry didn’t want to force his beliefs on others.

If Count London wanted to sacrifice himself, Roman wouldn’t stop him, even if it was foolish.

His job in Redford was to solve the problems of Golden Bank.

He turned and walked away, looking at the sky, his mind full of thoughts.

And so, the night went on. As the first light of dawn touched the sky, he knew the day of the Golden Bank meeting had arrived. He had a job to do, even if the world was full of foolish bastards.