Chapter 40 Lawrence’s Flower (1)
Ten days ago.
Lawrence’s foot was on fire.
“The Martell family has rejected our offer.”
“… The same goes for the Bartra family. Even though they said they would accept the establishment of the distribution network they always asked for, they expressed their position that they could not help with this problem. Lord. It seems that it will be difficult to get help from the people around you because of the pressure from the Barco family.”
bang!
“Damn you guys.”
At the report of his vassals, Viscount Lawrence could not hold back his anger and hit the table.
Before the dispute with Barco.
The Martel and the Bartras were flattering in order to establish a connection with Lawrence.
Lawrence’s fertile lands gave him power in the Northeast, and Viscount Lawrence had good relations with them.
So, I remembered the relationship at that time and asked them for a helping hand, but the owners of the two families, who always treated Lawrence with a smile, showed a cold attitude as if they had never done that.
I did understand.
recent.
Rumors spread all over the Northeast.
Rumor has it that if there is a force that intervenes in the conflict between Lawrence and Barco and interferes with Barco’s intentions, they will surely retaliate after Lawrence collapses.
Everyone knew that it was a rumor intentionally spread by Barco, but since it was intentional, the other families had no choice but to cower.
Barco cut off the possibility of an alliance.
Now that Viscount Lawrence was sentenced to one week’s probation, he felt as if his stomach was choking.
“Did you get a call from Golden Bank?”
“… yes. I said I would review the land mortgage loan, but I don’t think the review will be finished within a week. The Golden Bank is not a neutral power. They seem to have decided that it would be more beneficial for them to empower the Barco family rather than us, as they invested a large amount in the Barco family.”
“ha.”
I felt dizzy.
Golden Bank.
A force that boasts enormous capital power enough to influence the entire continent, not just a force limited to the Cairo Kingdom.
Their home base is said to be in one of the 2 empires, the Valhalla Empire.
In fact, they are a force that puts a neutral position as the first value, but in matters where their interests are at stake, like now, they blatantly sided with the side that benefits the most.
Barco and Lawrence.
The odds were high for Barco, so it was better to side with Barco than invest in both.
“Are you saying there is no answer after all?”
last few weeks.
Viscount Lawrence ran in all directions to solve the problem.
Due to the breakup with Dmitri, Lawrence was driven into a corner, and in order to survive somehow, he met many people, citing past ties.
Among them, contact with Golden Bank was a last resort that he tried even though he knew it would fail.
Like the Barco family, if they could borrow money, they were thinking of hiring mercenaries, but the foxes of the Golden Bank did not engage in business that could cause them to lose money.
I was driven to a dead end.
finished.
After a week, Barco will start attacking and Lawrence is powerless to withstand their attacks.
‘… I had to break Dmitri’s heart somehow.’
Dmitry.
Their existence became poison.
Even when preparing for the marriage with Dmitri, I wondered if all the problems would be solved, but rather turned my back on Dmitri and expressed my position that even the pro-Dmitri forces could not help.
The real power in the northeast is Barko and Dmitri.
As both families became hostile, Lawrence became a loner.
It was stifling.
A woman sitting at the far end of the conference room cautiously spoke at a situation where even the retainers were unable to open their mouths.
“father. May I say something?”
her body.
She was Lawrence’s forbidden jade leaf, Flora Lawrence.
Roman Dmitry.
Starting with meeting him, the realm of common sense that formed Flora’s world completely collapsed.
‘My judgment was wrong. I looked at Roman Dmitri with prejudice and the real jerk was me, not him.’
Roman’s actions.
It was shocking.
At first, I just thought that Roman had done something, but as time passed, I learned the details of the process.
Roman killed Blood Fang’s leader, Ben Miles, in front of many people.
It was done entirely with Roman’s power, and what was even more shocking was Roman’s justification for acting like that.
The purpose is to deal with Blood Fang, who harassed Dmitri’s people.
And knowing that Lawrence’s response was insufficient, he had the audacity to act boldly at the risk of punishment.
suddenly.
Flora felt ashamed.
Dmitri’s eldest son did things for the family even though he was called a jerk, but he put Lawrence in danger by mentioning that he had broken off the marriage.
If I could turn back time At least, he must have thought a little more about the extreme choice of breaking up the engagement that upset Dmitri.
‘I was stupid. Choosing to break off marriage without any countermeasures was a choice that would lead the family down the path of extinction.’
at one time
There was a time when I thought I was smart.
While completing the advanced academy course with good grades, seeing her father smiling brightly at her, she thought of herself as a good daughter.
I didn’t know then.
In the first place, the fact that he studied something while receiving support from his family is such that he does not know anything about the world, enough to be called a flower in a greenhouse.
outside the crest.
Barco was a wild predator.
They drool and show ferocious fangs, they didn’t care what kind of life Flora lived.
The fact of the breakup is known.
Flora locked herself in her room.
Although the fact that marriage must be with the person you love still remains the same, he did not dare to face his father in the terrible reality of having to pay the price for romance.
Due to his own mistake, his father went around begging for help every day.
The lights in the family meeting room never went out, and when the meeting was over, the vassals walked out with dead faces, and I couldn’t dare to approach them and tell them to cheer up.
Flora Lawrence.
It was a very harsh time for her, who was called Lawrence’s flower and always saw good things and experienced only good things.
I grunted.
I had a fever in the middle of the night, and waking up in a rain-like sweat from nightmares became a daily routine.
The more it repeats itself.
In Flora’s mind, Roman’s figure came to mind clearly.
‘How on earth could he have acted like that?’
in one’s own strength.
In a situation where no one expected anything from Roman, Roman boldly took action to make a choice for his family.
It was great.
Leaving the fact that such a thing is possible.
Just thinking about it made it look different.
It was from then.
Roman started to appear in Flora’s dreams, and her mind changed little by little as she dreamed of Roman.
Then one day.
Flora made a decision.
“Let’s not turn away from reality, Flora. If no one helps us. Just as Roman Dmitri personally subdued Blood Fang, we must find a way to solve the problem ourselves.”
Inside a dark room.
Flora came out of the cave.
With her hair tied back so she could move comfortably, she went to Lawrence’s library and picked up some books.
Just the type of book.
It was a military law book in preparation for war.
said Flora.
“We are now in a corner. Barko has cut off help from around him, and the difference in strength is obvious. That is why there is an opinion that the family land should be preserved even a little through surrender, but I absolutely do not think that is the only thing.”
“Why do you think so? Surrender may be an option for all rather than innocent soldiers dying.”
Viscount Lawrence asked back.
Flora looked at him with a calm face as he looked suspicious.
“Barco borrowed money from the Golden Bank using his connections in the central government. According to rumors, the loan process was carried out without collateral, so a loan without collateral would inevitably have a high interest rate. this war. Barko is not the only profitable business. Barco the borrower and Golden Bank the lender are both going to have to take Lawrence and tear the land apart completely in order to get a good deal. One half went to Barco and the other half to Golden Bank. Even then, their thirst hasn’t been quenched, so they have to scrape all the way to the bottom of the safe to respond that they are satisfied.”
“Kuhm.”
The retainers showed signs of discomfort.
It was a cruel remark, but no one denied that it was reality.
“Then what are we to do?”
“There is only one way. death-defying struggle. That’s the only way we can survive.”
“It’s a protest. Is that really the best you say?”
Viscount Lawrence responded with a collapse.
Moment.
Flora’s remarks raised anticipation.
I thought that the judgment that accurately penetrated the situation would tell me an extraordinary way, but in the end it was the realm of common sense.
locking the gate.
anyone can think
But Flora took a different approach than the others.
“It’s not just about holding on. Give up farming this year and set fire to the fields. And after stocking up on as much food as possible, we hold on. We just have to keep it from collapsing until winter comes.”
“Can I just hold out until winter?”
“yes. Barko borrowed a large sum of money for this war. Although they used the central government’s connections to make loans without collateral, in fact, the Golden Bank is not a force that can be pressured only with the central government’s connections. They are huge forces that influence entire continents. If the war does not end quickly and time continues to pass, the Barco family will inevitably be pressured by interest. The larger the loan amount, the higher the interest rate. That’s the only weakness we can exploit. Mercenaries run on money, and that money comes from the Golden Bank. When winter comes, which is unfavorable for siege warfare, they are bound to wither themselves.”
“Huh!”
“There was such a way!”
At Flora’s words.
The vassals of the family were amazed.
At first, they seemed puzzled, but the more Flora spoke, the more they became completely absorbed in her argument.
It made sense.
It’s a race against time.
Barco’s power had no substance, so if he endured the time the substance was revealed, he had a good chance.
‘When did my daughter grow up like this?’
Viscount Lawrence.
He looked at his daughter with a complicated expression.
only daughter.
Carefully raised so as not to break if squeezed, the plants in the greenhouse grew into Lawrence’s flowers and were in full bloom.
And when Dmitry’s case broke.
Viscount Lawrence thought he had raised his daughter too immaturely.
however.
The truth was different.
Flora showed her true face when she faced the situation of wallowing in mud.
‘You must have had a hard time because of your incompetent father.’
looked late.
Flora’s drawn face.
A shadow appeared on his face, no matter how much he suffered.
Geum Ok-yeop’s daughter.
He never wanted to see his beloved daughter destroyed by the Barco family.
Viscount Lawrence said.
“Flora is right. The Barco family is not a force that we cannot handle with the power of the family itself. So, prepare for a desperate fight right now. We will endure and endure and carry on the Lawrence family’s legacy.”
made a decision
will not surrender
I will not put up a white flag.
It was the judgment of the Lawrence family that they would fight and endure until the end, even if the castle wall collapsed and they died.
a week after that.
Finally, the day of the decisive battle that Barco predicted had dawned.
