The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 26

Roman was completely silent. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Antoni Barco had been sure of himself. When he learned Roman Dimitri would be at the party, Antoni hadn’t worried for a moment about things going this far.

To Antoni, this made perfect sense.

Roman had ended their families’ marriage plans.

Antoni thought his threats had worked. He believed he was in control now.

“Roman. From now on, you’d better think very carefully about every word you say. You haven’t just been seeing other women before our marriage; you’ve touched a woman of the Barco family. For you to become a man of Barco means you’re taking responsibility for your actions. The fact that I offered to have you marry my younger sister, a direct member of the Barco family, instead of a distant relative, was my final consideration for our relationship. And now, you dare say ‘such a ridiculous reason’ in front of me?”

His voice was filled with anger.

As if unable to control his anger, he finished the bottle of alcohol and spoke in a cold voice.

“Listen. I’m not like you. You are nothing in the Dimitri family, just someone they didn’t want to be the heir, but I’m the heir who will inherit everything from Barco. Do you think you’ll be safe after taking Laurence’s woman, the one I wanted, and then touching a woman of Barco? You’re making a huge mistake.”

His attitude changed completely.

The friendly act disappeared, and Antoni Barco held what looked like a knife right under Roman’s nose.

He thought to himself.

If this was the old Roman, he would look down and give in after hearing these words.

However.

Roman merely smiled coldly.

“Do as you please.”

The weapon he held wasn’t a real knife.

Roman wasn’t shaken by those words, which were, in reality, meaningless.

“I’m just known as Dimitri’s fool anyway. My reputation is already trash, so adding a rumor that I was seeing women even after a marriage agreement won’t change anything. Ah, as you said, Dimitri’s honor might be ruined. But, wasn’t I always that kind of guy?”

“You little…!”

“Antoni. You’re the one who needs to be careful.”

The Barco family was wrong about something.

The Barco family was influential in the northeastern region, but their power came from who they knew in the government, not just from their land.

Roman said.

“The reason I chose to end the marriage plans wasn’t because of your threats. I truly believed that this marriage wasn’t needed, so I made the decision despite what everyone said. Because of this, you got what you wanted. Now that Dimitri has turned his back on Laurence, Barco will be able to move forward with its plans more easily. But now, if you, the eldest son of Barco, show your anger towards me, what should I do? Even if it’s just to get back at you, wouldn’t I help Laurence and cause trouble for Barco?”

At that moment.

Antoni Barco felt a chill run down his spine.

With his threats, Roman had instead held a knife to Antoni’s throat.

‘…Was Roman always like this?’

No.

Roman was weak.

Even though he was Dimitri’s eldest son, there was a reason why people looked down on him.

Suddenly.

Antoni Barco remembered a rumor that had been going around.

“Roman Dimitri has defeated Blood Fang. Dimitri’s fool was, in fact, a hidden dragon hiding his strength.”

He had ignored that rumor as nonsense.

Knowing what kind of guy Roman was, he didn’t think he had the strength to defeat Blood Fang.

However.

It was different now.

The way Roman was looking at him and the pressure that made his mouth dry forced him to rethink his view of Roman.

‘It’s certain. Roman has changed.’

Dimitri’s fool was gone.

The silence continued.

Seeing Antoni Barco deep in thought, Roman’s eyes turned cold.

‘You don’t have a choice anyway. If you could have chosen from the start, you wouldn’t have needed to get me drunk and set a trap.’

This incident was simple.

Even though Dimitri openly took the goal that Barco had been hoping for, Barco had never officially protested.

Why?

Because Dimitri’s power was strong.

Knowing what would happen if they angered Dimitri, Barco couldn’t do anything.

Therefore.

Roman made him face reality.

Antoni Barco, his pride hurt and his face red, had no choice but to accept reality.

“…Alright. If we end things here, at least you won’t get involved in anything involving Laurence in the future, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s end this matter here.”

A compromise was reached.

Seeing Antoni Barco lower his head, Roman hid his true feelings.

‘In order for me to live as Roman Dimitri in the future, I can’t let Barco, who threatened me, get away with this.’

Barco was his enemy.

Barco stood on the opposite side of Roman.

Roman was generous to his people, but he showed no mercy to those who were hostile towards him.

It was no different now.

The reason he offered temporary peace to Antoni Barco wasn’t because he wanted peace, but because he knew there was no reason for Dimitri to waste resources on this fight.

‘The way to punish Barco doesn’t have to involve Dimitri. When Barco and Laurence are desperately trying to defeat each other, I will take the opportunity when Barco is weak and cut off their support.’

Before he reached the top of the Demonic Cult, Baek Jung-hyuk had been ambushed and had also used ambushes to defeat his opponents.

Just because he recognized Barco as an enemy, to get angry and fight right now would be foolish, like hurting himself for no reason.

Sometimes wearing a mask and sometimes saying the opposite of what he thought, Roman offered Antoni Barco a very brief moment of peace.

‘I’m thirsty.’

Roman grabbed a glass of alcohol.

Then, looking at Antoni Barco, who couldn’t lift his face because his pride was wounded, he slowly drank the alcohol.

He was thirsty.

Roman left the secret room.

Now that he knew the truth, there was no reason to stay at the party any longer.

‘I’m going to be busier from now on.’

He had a lot to do.

He had to fulfill his duty to the nation in six months, but before that, he planned to settle his score with Barco using his own strength.

He didn’t want to use his family’s power.

From the beginning, this problem started with Roman, and for his future, he needed to become self-reliant.

Luckily, Roman had gotten good terms from his father.

‘Father has given me the power to choose my own troops. Using that, I need to create my own force.’

Roman had begun a new life.

He didn’t yet have a clear goal of what he should do, but there was one thing Roman was sure of.

He wanted to be in charge.

That was how the Heavenly Demon had lived.

Because he couldn’t live an ordinary life, Roman knew that he had to prepare and complete everything from now on.

The conflict between Laurence and Barco was a good chance to gain experience, and he would use his duty to the nation as a way to grow.

On the way out, many nobles spoke to him.

Roman had become the star of the party, and many nobles were disappointed when he said he was leaving.

It was then that a loud noise reached Roman’s ears as soon as he left the party hall.

‘Kevin?’

The noise was coming from Kevin, who was surrounded by a group of knights.

Escort. Protecting someone.

Just hearing those words made his heart flutter, and Kevin, who had followed Roman, couldn’t hide his excitement.

‘I’m becoming a noble’s escort.’

And not just any noble, but Roman Dimitri.

The fact that he had become the escort of the person he respected made Kevin want to do his job better than ever.

So he got greedy.

He asked Hans to get him some fancy armor to wear, and he wore a helmet that didn’t even fit his head, trying to look serious.

Roman’s escort, Kevin, tried his best to look like someone who fit his role, following Chris’s advice to be careful with his words and actions.

However, others saw it differently.

No matter how hard Kevin tried, he still looked like a teenage soldier.

“What’s with that kid?”

“I heard he’s Roman Dimitri’s escort?”

“He really does all sorts of things. I heard rumors that Roman Dimitri was a rejected son of Dimitri, but even so, to bring a kid who doesn’t even look like he can hold a sword properly as an escort…”

“That’s what you’d expect from Dimitri, I guess.”

In front of the party hall’s door, knights with the Barco crest were talking about Kevin loud enough for him to hear, while each noble’s escorts guarded their positions.

Seeing them not lowering their voices, Kevin’s face turned red with anger.

“Endure it.”

It was Chris.

He had also heard the knights’ words, but he knew that it wasn’t good to argue with the Barco knights.

“Those are knights of the Barco family. We don’t know what kind of deals our lord has with the Barco family, and if we act without thinking, our lord might face problems because of us. I told you before we left that we are the face of Dimitri, and our lord’s reputation depends on our words and actions. So, no matter what they say, stay calm and show the dignity of an escort.”

“…I understand.”

He nodded.

Being ignored wasn’t anything new to Kevin, who had lived in the slums, so he tried to ignore the knights’ insults.

However, as time went on, it became too much.

They approached Kevin and looked him up and down.

“Wow. How could you even think of bringing a kid like this as an escort?”

“Look at this. The helmet doesn’t even fit his head. He must have found some armor that roughly fits from the smithy to use as an escort, but it’s really low quality. That’s why your lord is called Dimitri’s fool.”

Kevin glared at them.

He had endured the insults, but the moment they mentioned Dimitri’s fool, Kevin spoke angrily.

“Watch your mouth.”

“What?”

“Don’t talk about Young Master Roman like that. So, watch your mouth.”

“You little punk.”

The knights looked fierce.

Because of the Laurence incident, the relationship between the Barco and Dimitri families was not good.

Also, since Antoni Barco usually looked down on Roman Dimitri, his knights didn’t feel the need to treat the people of the Dimitri family well.

One knight, already annoyed by the Dimitri family, swung his large hand towards Kevin’s face.

His head turned from the force of the slap.

Blood burst from Kevin’s face, and at that moment, Chris reached for his sword.

However, he didn’t draw it.

He knew he should step forward for Kevin, but he worried about the damage that his actions would cause to his lord.

Kevin felt the same way.

He had learned in the slums that he had to repay what he had suffered, but when he made eye contact with Chris, he controlled his anger.

‘I am my lord’s sword.’

He was Roman’s escort and sword.

Because he had decided to become someone useful to Roman, Kevin looked away from the knights with a stiff face, as if he wouldn’t deal with them any further.

Seeing that, the Barco knights spoke angrily.

“Oh yeah, let’s see how long you can keep your pride.”

The knight raised his arm again, ready to slap Kevin’s cheek.

A loud slap echoed.

But the slap didn’t hit Kevin. Roman, who had appeared without anyone noticing, slapped the knight’s cheek with a cold look on his face.