A moment's choice(1)

At that time.

Following the servant's guidance, Viscount Lawrence and Flora walked into the reception room.

"Flora."

"Yes, Father."

"This meeting is a place we have prepared to undo our mistakes. Be especially careful with your words and actions."

"… … Okay."

Flora nodded her head weakly.

The day Roman subjugated Blood Fang, the common sense that made up Flora's world collapsed.

Roman Dmitry, who was called Dmitry's nerd, was a far great man than she thought, and the Lawrence family was in such a dire situation that they had to cling to Dmitry.

A moment's choice.

The choice Flora thought was the right thing to do for her life ruined everything.

Now she realized the reality.

A father who was always kind.

The father, who seemed like he would pick the stars in the sky for Flora, had a reason to get his daughter married to Roman even after hearing about his reputation.

She was really sad.

It wasn't that she regretted the fact that Roman was a different man than the rumors, but she hated her actions for not being able to face the difficulties of the family.

How hard would it have been for her father?

The appearance of her father voicing the truth and yelling at her overlapped with the image of him talking about arranged marriage with difficulty.

But even in that difficult situation.

Her father didn't force it.

He gave her a choice, and Flora faced her father's angry face because she did not take responsibility for it.

'It's a problem I have to deal with. Not because Roman Dmitry is a man with a different reputation, but Lawrence needs Dmitry's power to survive the conflict with the Barco family. So let's accept reality. I'm an adult, and I can't always be Lawrence's flower.'

She messed it up.

Then she arrived at the reception room.

There was no welcoming host.

Only a cold wind blew in the spacious reception room, and the servant said that he would serve the tea and left the waiting room.

"It looks like we will have to wait."

This meeting.

Even though they came in the morning without notice, the fact that they were a Viscount family and the subject of an arranged marriage was enough reason to welcome the guests immediately.

However, they were guided to a waiting room without an owner.

And the servant's words that he would bring the tea first meant that Lawrence's visit was not pleasant.

She sighed and sat down on the sofa.

Both Viscount Lawrence and Flora had initially promised.

Knowing how Dmitry would react, they waited endlessly, drinking tea in the silent space.

However, waiting also has its limits.

One hour, two hours.

As more time passed than expected, Viscount Lawrence's expression hardened more and more.

They don't know how much time has passed.

It was certain that they had reached Dmitry before the sun had even fully risen, but now they could see the sun setting outside the living room window. It was an obvious disregard. Although Flora had made the unforgivable mistake in the first place, it was not common sense to spend such a long time sitting in the reception room with a guest.

'It's not like this.'

The limit has been reached.

Amidst the bubbling, Viscount Lawrence jumped up from his seat.

"I have to go find Baron Dmitry myself."

* * *

Baron Romero's office.

The tightly closed door opened.

Viscount Lawrence, a face flushed with anger, slammed the door open and entered, and spoke in a reproaching voice.

"Baron Dmitry! What kind of family etiquette is it to keep guests waiting this long? I didn't know that the Dmitry family could be so rude, that if you were not satisfied with our visit, we would have returned in the beginning!"

Unpredictable waiting.

His heart was broken right

Thinking that Dmitry was deliberately retaliating, even Viscount Lawrence couldn't stay well.

*tuk*

Baron Romero put down his pen.

He, who had just looked through the payment documents, looked at Viscount Lawrence without the slightest embarrassment.

"I understand why you are angry, but was today's meeting promised in advance?"

"I admit that we came unannounced. But, aren't we here because you said you wanted to meet a week ago, and you turned down the offer and there is no news? If you had refused to meet me from the beginning and treated me like you were supposed to, I would not have been hurt so much."

"How can I humiliate the Viscount? However, I just want to tell you that this is a problem because it was an unscheduled meeting."

A week ago.

Roman began training in closing.

It wasn't that he intentionally avoided the meeting, but he had no choice but to refuse even as Baron Romero.

The problem is.

"By the way."

Baron Romero's expression hardened.

His calm voice was distorted, and the anger he had struggled to suppress suddenly erupted.

"Are you so upset that you waited until the sun went down? The day the Lady of the Lawrence family visited Dmitry. Roman came to me and said he wanted to break up with me. At the time, I yelled at Roman and held him accountable, but even a three-year-old child could not be unaware that Flora Lawrence's visit was related to the breakup. Still, I just skipped the issue. I thought Roman himself wanted to do that, so I kept my mouth shut and let it go like an idiot who knew nothing."

A few days after that.

Roman subjugated Blood Fang.

Was he happy with that fact?

NO!

His heart thumped and fell.

He was afraid his son might get hurt.

Baron Romero couldn't keep his composure until he was informed that there were no problems.

And the culprit behind it all was Lawrence.

Flora Lawrence.

Had she revealed the fact of the breakup herself, there would have been no danger to Roman.

"We were unilaterally notified of the breakup. It was the Lawrence family who wanted the marriage first, but regardless of our will, we had no choice but to accept the reality of the breakup. But Viscount Lawrence is coming to me and rebuking me for the seemingly long-awaited reason. Even though it was a meeting that was not promised in advance in the first place, you completely forget your mistakes and come out at me like this?!"

*bang!*

Hit the desk.

As Baron Romero rose from his seat, his gigantic appearance overtook Flora, who had arrived behind with Viscount Lawrence.

"Are you kidding me now?"

A ferocious face.

It was clearly hostile.

The atmosphere instantly turned cold.

Baron Romero crossed the line.

Although the title was a sign of a stark difference in status, he did not hesitate to express his anger at all.

"What do you think this marriage meant, Viscount Lawrence? Marriage by Love? The union of two families? Such fancy words have nothing to do with this marriage."

Baron title.

Baron Romero is a man who barely made his way into the world of nobility.

However, among the nobles who settled in the northeast of the Cairo Kingdom, no one could openly ignore Baron Romero.

The world is like that, power beyond identity.

The great wealth of iron ore possessed by the big tycoon.

So Viscount Lawrence couldn't say anything.

The other party was right.

Viscount Lawrence knew that Dmitry had powers, so he first asked Dmitry if he was willing to proceed with the marriage.

It would have been a real bonus if the marriage with the second son, not Dmitry's nerd, had taken place, but even if it wasn't, the union with Dmitry was a necessary issue for the future of the family.

A heated moment.

Baron Romero's anger was natural.

His voice, which was calm at first, has now turned into a ferocious one that devours Viscount Lawrence.

"The Viscount and I are well aware of the essence of arranged marriage. This is not just a matter of ending the marriage between the children of both families. The Barco family is aiming for the fertile land of the Lawrence family, and with the approval of the central government, it is not unusual for the two families to wage war at any time. a month later from now. I have been contacted by the Barco family. If you marry Barco's direct lineage instead of Lawrence, he will give me some of Lawrence's land as well as give me a connection to the central government. Nevertheless, I turned down the Barco family's offer. What do you think is the reason, Viscount?"

"… … Why did you refuse? The proposal of the Barco family would have been more beneficial to Dmitry."

"The reason is simple. The Dmitry family has power, and that's why they chose what we wanted."

Barco was a dangerous enemy.

Holding hands with them means a peaceful future, but the choices of those with power do not seek compromise.

"Roman wanted Flora. He said that there is no one more beautiful than her in the world, and I decided to go to war with the Barco family for the sole reason that Dmitry's eldest son admired Lawrence's Flora. No other reason. Even if this decision sheds a lot of blood on Dmitry, we hoped that Dmitry's eldest son would get what he wanted."

This deal.

It was Dmitry's loss unilaterally.

There was a lot of talk in the public that Dmitry made this choice to enter the aristocratic world in earnest, and in fact, Baron Romero said a similar reason when he pushed Roman.

But the truth was different. Had it not been for the marriage Roman wished for, Dmitry would never have suffered any loss.

Hands holding hands despite knowing the truth.

From the beginning, the Lawrence family was in the position of Eul , but the plants in the greenhouse were unaware of that fact.

And the water was spilled.

Break up.

It was a huge mistake.

From the time Flora Lawrence mentioned breaking up with Roman, the Lawrence family has stepped into the mud.

'… … We made a big mistake.'

Viscount Lawrence's expression turned pale.

Just now.

He should have endured to the end.

Even if Dmitry refused to meet and made him wait for the sun to go down in the reception room, Viscount Lawrence had to maintain Eul's attitude until the end.

It's not a normal relationship in the first place.

It was the Lawrence family who had a purpose for wanting through the marriage, and there was no right to be angry because they mentioned the breakup first.

It was stupid.

In his humble pride, Viscount Lawrence thought Dmitry was ignoring Lawrence.

'I made a mistake after telling Flora to be careful with her words and actions. Dmitry's anger is understandable. Since we unilaterally made fun of them, we shouldn't have had anything to say about how Dmitry came out.'

A miserable reality.

Baron Romero told the truth.

"Lawrence's flower, Dmitry's nerd. We know better than anyone that the reputations of two of them do not match. But Lawrence should have kept in mind what Dmitry was. Even if the daughter of the Lawrence family is the flower that everyone wants, the moment Dmitry is attached to the Roman surname, its value changes. Therefore, it is Lawrence, not us, who have to hang on to this marriage and desperately need it."

Dmitry's nerd.

Blacksmith clan.

The nobles look down on Dmitry's roots, but no one can say that out loud.

Why?

Because Dmitry has power.

Even above the baron, Dmitry was the head of the northeast region.

The heart is twisted

Baron Romero passed Viscount Lawrence with cold eyes and stopped looking at Flora, who stood silently.

"Am I wrong?"

A moment's choice.

Now at this moment, Lawrence's pitiful reality was exposed.