The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 144

Roman slowly sipped his tea, the bitter taste sharp on his tongue. He put down his cup on the wooden table, his eyes fixed on Lucas. The room was dimly lit, with only a small lamp casting shadows on the walls.

Lucas stood across from him, his face serious. “It happened just as you said, my lord,” Lucas began, using the formal title. “As soon as we used Black Moon to spread the news, Count Douglas called the Northeastern Alliance. He wants war. He’s even getting the northern lords to bring their armies together. This is not just anger; he really means to fight.”

“Count Douglas is very stubborn,” Roman replied. “Even if he was just angry at first, he will never change his mind now that he has spoken.”

Roman had found someone he could use.

When Roman brought Black Moon into Hao Gate (his group), he learned about secret, hidden money. He also found out about the connection between Count Douglas and the Northeastern Alliance. This gave him an idea.

From that moment on, Roman let his imagination run wild.

At a time when the Northeast needed to be reorganized, he thought about how to use this information.

The moment he met the farmers of Dmitry, Roman’s plan was completed.

Everything clicked into place, and Roman envisioned a scheme to bring down the Northeastern Alliance.

Every word and action was part of the plan.

The provocation at the social party.

He deliberately made aggressive remarks in front of everyone, knowing that Baron Conrad would get angry.

Hao Gate’s report told him about Conrad’s tendencies.

Baron Conrad was proud to be part of the Northeastern Alliance. So, he could not accept the rude things said by Roman, who was just the son of a normal noble.

He understood Baron Conrad’s personality.

Baron Conrad was a key figure in the Northeastern Alliance, and his personality was bound to have a significant impact on the alliance’s decisions.

From beginning to end, things went as expected.

As Baron Conrad reacted to the provocation, trouble began between the Northeastern Alliance and Dmitry. The moment Roman declared the competition, the Northeastern Alliance naturally fell into the trap.

The same was true of the problem with Count Douglas.

If the Northeastern Alliance had given in from the start, Count Douglas would have had a reason to calm his anger. But they tried to gain small advantages, only to worsen the situation.

Did they know that the personality of one person is, as time goes by, leading the Northeastern Alliance to ruin?

Roman said, “So far, the situation has progressed as planned. However, unlike Count Douglas, Baron Conrad does not just attack without thinking when he is in trouble. That is why he apologized to me at the social party and did not raise his voice even after the competition. It will be the same this time as well. If Count Douglas comes on strong, he is likely to give up first.”

It was obvious.

He is brave when facing weaker people, but weak when facing stronger people. That is what Baron Conrad is like.

His courage wasn’t enough to fight to the end against the Beast of the North.

Therefore,

“From now on, spread the rumors as planned, so it’s too late to fix things. No matter what methods the Northeastern Alliance uses to smooth things over, create a situation where Count Douglas’s anger is not calmed down. Only when they have no way out will they forget their foolish pride.”

“Understood.”

Suddenly, Lucas felt sorry for the opponent.

Like a snake slowly wrapping itself around its prey, Roman’s plan did not allow the opponent any room to escape.

The rumors started from small things.

Douglas Territory.

A merchant doing business there handed goods to a customer, muttering in a sighing voice.

“I probably won’t be able to do business properly for a while.”

“What do you mean by that?” the customer asked.

“What else could it mean? I receive supplies from the Northeast, but this time, the situation between Count Douglas and the Northeastern Alliance is very worrying. At first, I thought it was just a simple problem, but the Northeastern Alliance is gathering weapons and supplies for war and preparing to attack Douglas Territory. So, I have to close my business for a while. I can’t receive supplies, and I can’t do business in the middle of a war, can I?”

“…Is that really true?” The customer was shocked.

War news was not something to be taken lightly, and as soon as he returned home, he told his family everything he had heard.

The wife, having heard her husband’s words, passed the news on to the neighboring women, and those women told their families with serious expressions that Douglas was in danger.

As the saying goes, rumors spread quickly.

The rumor, which started from a very unimportant thing, began to spread throughout Douglas in an instant.

That was not all.

The servants working in Douglas Castle quietly spread rumors while working.

“I heard from a servant working for Conrad that Baron Conrad contacted Count Douglas and expressed huge anger. He apparently smashed all the furniture and caused a scene. This isn’t for sure, but it seems he’s planning to get revenge on Count Douglas.”

“Baron Conrad is like a snake. He may try to pretend to be friendly but still cause trouble, but he will definitely try to get revenge on Count Douglas. Otherwise, there’s no way rumors would be spreading that the Northeastern Alliance is getting soldiers ready. According to what I’ve heard, he really wants to destroy Count Douglas. Aren’t we going to be involved in the war if we stay here?”

The servants’ words, normally, are nothing.

But while rumors were spreading throughout Douglas, the words the servants were saying could not be ignored.

The rumors increased quickly.

At first, it was simply a rumor predicting war.

From some point on, rumors spread that the Northeastern Alliance had bad feelings towards Count Douglas.

The merchant who started the rumor and the servants who made the rumor stronger were all members of Hao Gate.

Hao Gate.

People who live at the bottom of life.

People thought they were not important, but everything they said finally shaped what everyone believed.

And the rumors that had grown bigger and bigger like that…

The shout crashed like thunder.

“How dare you think you can threaten me?” Count Douglas roared. “Send out the order to gather soldiers *now*! I was going to forget this if you had come crawling back to beg forgiveness. But you have spread lies! You will be punished. I swear on the Douglas family name, I will never forgive you, you rats!”

They called him the Beast of the North, and now, the beast was unleashed. His face was red with fury.

Soon after their first talk with Count Douglas, the leaders of the Northeast Association met. They talked for a long time and finally decided.

“Fighting Count Douglas will get us nothing,” one leader said. “We are already fighting Dimitri for power here. We cannot lose soldiers in a war that means nothing. We need to be strong to face Dimitri later. Even if we have to give in to Count Douglas and lose some money, we must save our strength for the real danger.”

“Let’s wait a few days before we talk to him again,” another leader suggested. “We have some pride to keep, right? If we give in right away just because he is angry, everyone will laugh at the Northeast Association.”

So, they waited.

The leaders of the Northeast Association did not know that in the next few days, terrible rumors would spread like wildfire.

“Count Douglas! This is slander! War? The Northeast Association has no intention of starting a war. We are even thinking about paying money to make up for this. Please, calm down. The rumors are not true.”

Suddenly, Count Douglas’s angry face appeared on the screen.

Baron Conrad tried to explain quickly, but Count Douglas would not listen.

[True intentions? Do you think I am stupid, Baron Conrad? I hear what people are saying. Everyone knows the Northeast Association is planning something. Rumors don’t start for no reason. You are getting ready for war!]

He was furious.

Seeing the other side making excuses made Count Douglas even angrier.

[I never trusted you people. I always thought you were like snakes, only caring about yourselves. I knew you would turn on me one day. I didn’t call to talk nicely. Stop pretending! When we meet in person, I will crush you and wipe that smile off your face forever!]

CLICK! The screen went black. Count Douglas had hung up.

It was a declaration of war.

Panic filled the room in the Northeast Association. They had to stop this war somehow, but Count Douglas’s words were like a hammer blow. There was no turning back now.

“This is terrible,” one nobleman cried out. “Count Douglas never says things he doesn’t mean. I heard he is calling on other lords from the North to join him! We are too weak to fight them alone. If war is truly coming, we need to find someone stronger to help us!”

“What about the Central Government? Let’s ask them for help!”

There was no other choice.

It would be great if they could get help from other nobles like Count Douglas, but because of their bad relationship with Dimitri, no one wanted to help the Northeast Association.

So, the only way was to ask for help from outside.

Their last talk had not gone well, but they contacted Count Fabius, hoping for the best.

[Yes, yes. I understand your problem, but the Central Government cannot get involved in these things. And didn’t the Northeast Association do something wrong? You made a mistake first, so don’t blame others.]

Since their last talk.

Count Fabius’s voice was like ice.

Baron Conrad put down the phone. He turned to the other nobles, his face pale and empty of words.

“It’s over. We can’t stop the war now.”

Hope vanished. Every path was blocked. Baron Conrad felt a heavy weight in his chest, crushing his breath.

The war with Count Douglas.

He didn’t think the Northeast Association would lose for sure, but they would lose a lot in the war.

Silence fell over the room, heavy and thick like a blanket. No one spoke. They were trapped.

Suddenly, the door burst open. A messenger rushed in, breathless. “Lord! Roman Dimitri wants to speak with you!” Every head in the room snapped up. All eyes turned to the messenger.

Why did he want to talk?

It was clear.

He probably wanted to make fun of the Northeast Association.

Baron Conrad didn’t want to talk to him, but he took the call, feeling hopeless.

[I heard you are having problems with Count Douglas. Can you tell me what happened?]

Roman’s question.

It was unexpected.

Roman’s voice was calm, surprisingly calm. Baron Conrad, without thinking, poured out his anger and frustration.

“I know I shouldn’t be saying this to you, from the Dimitri family,” Baron Conrad began, “but… we were owed money by the Barco family. Count Douglas tried to take all of Barco’s hidden money for himself. We found it first and took what was ours. That’s it. Now, Count Douglas is angry and blames us, even though he was trying to steal it in the first place! We are the ones who are treated unfairly!”

He wasn’t asking for pity.

The other person was Roman Dimitri.

He knew they wouldn’t understand, and he just said what he felt because he was upset.

But.

[So, what will you do now? We can’t just sit here and watch Count Douglas and his armies march into the Northeast, can we?]

Right away.

He looked at Roman.

Roman’s words.

What did he mean?

“Are… are you saying you will help us?” Baron Conrad asked, his voice shaking.

[“That depends on you,”] Roman replied calmly. [“But know this: Dimitri will not stand aside and do nothing while the Northeast is in danger, no matter what.”] These words hung in the air. It was a twist no one could have predicted.