The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 73

Being a Royal Knight is the highest honor for a knight who serves the King.

Ventner said proudly, “Actually, offering someone the position of Royal Knight directly is very rare. Usually, you can only join the Royal Knights if you pass tests of character and skill given by the Royal Family. But, we’re willing to make an exception for Roman Dmitry. If you go to the capital now, kneel before the King, and promise to be loyal, you can join the Royal Knights without any tests.”

A young, naive man might have been thrilled by Ventner’s offer and accepted it right away.

However, Roman’s reaction was not what they expected.

“Is that all?”

“Are you, by any chance, refusing?”

Ventner was surprised.

Roman smiled and said,

“Isn’t it normal to refuse? I’ve never wanted to be a knight. As the eldest son of the Dmitry family, I have everything I need here in the northeast. Why would I go to the capital and make the sacrifices of a Royal Knight? Your offer was flawed from the start. If you knew the Dmitry family is the richest in the northeast, you shouldn’t have offered something that’s just an honor.”

This was an unexpected answer.

Ventner was speechless.

It was a great position that everyone wanted.

He thought the Dmitry family would be grateful, but Roman’s reaction was cold and cynical.

He almost turned to leave in anger.

But knowing the King’s situation, who had given him the order, Ventner swallowed his pride and said,

“Tell me what you want. The King wants to make you a Royal Knight. A noble title? If you’re loyal as a Royal Knight, the Dmitry family will get a new title. You’ll get a mansion in the capital, and you’ll have honor and many other things. Think about it. The moment you become a Royal Knight, you can live a life you could never have in Dmitry.”

He took a step back.

Ventner thought he had made the best offer he could. Yet…

“Is that the best the Royal Family can do?”

Roman still seemed cynical.

Ventner’s face hardened.

This was the first refusal.

He understood.

A simple offer to become a Royal Knight might not impress the eldest son of the Dmitry family.

But there was more to it.

He had promised wealth and honor for serving the King, but Roman’s eyes seemed to say, ‘Is that all?’ which annoyed Ventner.

Ventner said,

“You’re seriously mistaken. The King wants you because he sees your potential, not what you are now. Royal Knight, a new title, a mansion in the capital, those are all very generous rewards. And that’s your answer? Are you really so greedy that you think this isn’t enough!”

His patience ran out.

He thought Roman was arrogant.

Just because he was a 3-star at 20, didn’t mean he would become a 5-star swordsman or higher.

The Royal Knights were the best military force in the Cairo Kingdom, but Roman was overestimating himself.

The atmosphere turned cold.

Even with Ventner’s angry look, Roman’s face didn’t change.

“You’re the one who’s mistaken, not me.”

“What do you mean!”

“Five days ago, someone from the Gregory Earl family came to see me. He promised me a mansion in the capital, thousands of acres of land, and gold and silver, if I swore loyalty to the Gregory Earl family. He even wanted a political marriage to make us blood relatives.”

Gregory.

Ventner’s face twitched.

‘So, that Chronos Empire guy has already made a move.’

Gregory wasn’t loyal to the Royal Family.

He openly supported Chronos, and Ventner would have loved to tear him apart.

Roman wasn’t finished.

“Three days ago, the Denver family sent someone. They wanted to be my patron. They offered all the resources I need to become a great swordsman, and instead of a master-servant thing, they wanted a friendly relationship. Do you think that’s all? Last night, I met with someone from the Benedict family. They made an even more shocking offer than you. They offered a political marriage to connect our families and promised to make Dmitry a viscount family within a month. Of course, they also included a mansion in the capital and gold and silver, so much that it’s not even worth mentioning.”

The Denver family was from the Valhalla Empire group.

Everyone knew about the Benedict family.

They were the center of the aristocratic group and the biggest threat to the Royal Family, even more than the two empires.

‘The traitors are already here.’

He felt terrible.

Ventner felt like he was losing hope.

He thought he had checked everything and acted fast, but the traitors in Cairo were already moving.

Now he understood why Roman had refused the offer and hadn’t even reacted to it.

If he were Roman, the Royal Family’s offer wouldn’t seem very good.

Roman said,

“I’m not refusing the Royal Family just because the offer isn’t special. Three groups made offers, but the Royal Family made an offer that was worse than the others, not knowing what was happening in Dmitry. That’s why I asked. Is it really right to refuse those three offers for just the honor of being a Royal Knight?”

Ventner’s heart sank at those words.

It was over.

There was no way to persuade Roman now.

Ventner accepted reality, knowing he had failed.

“We were too late.”

He sighed.

Looking at Roman with a resigned face, he said,

“We admit we’re not good enough. But this was the best the Royal Family could do. The aristocratic group of Marquis Benedict, the Chronos Empire group of Earl Gregory, and the Valhalla Empire group of Earl Denver, they’re terrible traitors who want to take over the Cairo Kingdom. They’ve taken power in Cairo and blocked the Royal Family from knowing what’s happening. The only reason there hasn’t been a rebellion is because the commander of the Royal Knights is the best swordsman in Cairo, but no matter how hard we try, we can’t move faster than those three groups.”

Since it was already over, he told the truth.

His confident attitude was fake, and now he looked like he might cry.

“Cairo is a weak country. We don’t even know when we can give you a noble title because the aristocratic group will oppose it. But we came this far because only force can protect the King. I’ll make one last request. Can you help the King? If we defeat the traitors and the royal power is strong, we’ll never forget what you do today.”

It was a promise for the distant future.

Ventner had to appeal to emotions.

‘One kingdom, four groups.’

It was familiar.

The Heavenly Demon Church.

The great group that ruled the Demonic Cult was divided into many groups to fight for the top position.

The Heavenly Demon’s twelfth son.

Baek Jung-hyuk received offers from his brothers as soon as he showed his value.

They all made good offers and wanted to recruit Baek Jung-hyuk, and he had to choose.

At that time, what had Baek Jung-hyuk chosen to do?

Did he take the strongest offer?

Or did he rebel and act hostile?

Neither.

His past had taught him that problems would always come up.

Roman said,

“The three offers before, and the Royal Family’s offer, aren’t very interesting to me. So, I don’t want to accept any of them. If I ever choose a group and promise loyalty, it’ll be because I’ve seen it for myself and think it’s worth it. So, please leave today. If you want my loyalty, show me with actions, not empty promises you can’t keep. Then, I’ll visit the Royal Family and promise loyalty.”

Neutrality.

Roman refused all offers.

Since they weren’t enemies yet, he didn’t refuse them completely.

He left the door open for all four groups, including the Royal Family.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

Ventner’s face lit up.

The fact that they could still talk was good news.

Ventner, who thought it was hopeless, was thrilled and said,

“I understand. The Cairo Royal Family will keep trying to protect the country. So, I’ll wait. If you ever promise loyalty to the King, I’ll welcome you.”

Ventner didn’t give up.

Even with those words, Roman just smiled and didn’t take his hand.

Four offers.

Four rejections.

The others reacted differently.

Some were hopeful like Ventner, and others pressured him with threats.

But he stayed the same.

‘I don’t want to promise loyalty to any group. If we’re going to be enemies anyway, it’s better to have room to move, which is the only way to buy time. Until my goal is clear, I need to buy time with a vague relationship and get stronger.’

Leaving the door open for everyone.

The bad thing is that when one group is chosen, the others will be angry.

But that didn’t matter to Roman.

Even if they realized he was impossible to recruit, he would have finished preparing for war.

The political situation in Cairo helped Roman.

Even though Roman showed a bit of himself, they couldn’t attack him because they were watching each other.

It was a dangerous balancing act.

Roman took the stage.

People would try to persuade Roman, not knowing he was a predator.

The ranking had a big effect.

Even though he wasn’t an official ranker, Dmitry was full of people trying to recruit Roman, wondering how they knew.

That’s why people wanted to be rankers.

Because wealth and honor were guaranteed when they got on the ranker list, people tried hard to get on it, even at the bottom.

The commotion died down.

Not yet.

He thought there weren’t any shocking offers.

Everyone made reasonable offers, and no one risked everything on the chance alone.

A few days later, the person from Valhalla came to visit again.