40fury
40Laurence's Flower (1)
ten days ago from now.
Lawrence's feet were on fire..
“The Martel family has rejected our offer..”
“……The same goes for the Bartra family. Even though they said they would accept building the distribution network they had always been asking for, they said they could not help with this problem. My lord. It seems that it will actually be difficult to get help from those around you due to the pressure from the Barco family..”
bang!
“damn guys.”
Upon hearing the reports from his retainers, Viscount Lawrence could not hold back his anger and slammed the table..
Before the dispute with Barco.
The Martel and Bartra families used to flatter Lawrence in order to connect with him..
Lawrence's fertile land gave him power in the northeast, and Viscount Lawrence maintained an amicable relationship with them..
So, I recalled the relationship back then and asked them for help, but the owners of the two families, who always treated Lawrence with a smile, showed a cold attitude as if they had never been like that before..
I understood.
recent.
Rumors spread throughout the northeast.
There are rumors that if there is a force that intervenes in the dispute between Lawrence and Barco and interferes with Barko's intentions, they will definitely retaliate after Lawrence falls..
Everyone knew that it was a rumor intentionally spread by Barco, but because it was intentional, other families had no choice but to flinch..
Barko blocked the possibility of an alliance.
Now that he had been sentenced to a week's probation, Viscount Laurence felt trapped..
“Did you get a call from Golden Bank??”
“……yes. I said I would look into a land mortgage loan, but I don't think the review will be completed within a week. The Golden Bank is not a neutral force. Since they invested a large amount of money in the Barco family, they seem to have decided that it would be more beneficial to empower the Barco family rather than us..”
“ha.”
I felt dizzy.
golden bank.
It is not a power limited to the Kingdom of Cairo, but a power that boasts enormous capital power to the extent of influencing the entire continent..
Their home base is said to be in the Valhalla Empire, one of the two empires..
In fact, they are a force that promotes neutrality as their top value, but in issues like now where their interests are at stake, they have shown themselves blatantly taking the side of the side with the most benefit..
Barco and Lawrence.
The odds of winning were high for Barco, so it was better to take Barco's side than to invest in both..
“In the end, does this mean there is no answer?.”
last few weeks.
Viscount Laurence went to great lengths to solve the problem..
After breaking off her engagement with Dmitry, Lawrence was pushed into a corner, and in order to somehow survive, she met many people, citing past relationships..
Among them, contact with Golden Bank was a last resort measure attempted even though it was known that it would fail..
If they could possibly borrow money, they planned to hire mercenaries like the Barco family, but the foxes of Golden Bank did not engage in business where they could incur losses..
I'm stuck in a dead end.
finished.
After a week, Barco will attack, and Lawrence will not have the strength to withstand their attacks..
‘……I had to somehow ease Dmitry's mind..’
Dmitry.
Their presence has become poisonous..
When she was preparing to marry Dmitry, she thought that all problems would be resolved, but instead she turned her back on Dmitry and stated that even the pro-Dmitri forces could not help her..
The powers in the northeast are Barko and Dmitri..
As the relationship between both families became hostile, Lawrence became a loner..
I was at a loss.
In a situation where even the retainers could not open their mouths, a woman sitting at the far end of the conference room spoke cautiously..
“father. May I say something??”
her identity.
She was none other than Flora Lawrence, Lawrence's golden jade leaf..
Roman Dmitry.
Starting with meeting him, the realm of common sense that made up Flora's world completely collapsed..
‘My judgment was wrong. I had a prejudiced view of Roman Dmitry, and it was I who was the real jerk, not him..’
Roman's actions.
It was shocking.
At first, I simply knew that Roman had done something, but as time went by, I learned the details of the process..
Roman executed Ben Miles, the leader of the Blood Fang, in front of many people..
It was something that was done entirely through Roman's own power, and what was even more shocking was Roman's justification for doing so..
The purpose is to deal with the Blood Fang who have been harassing the residents of Dmitry's territory..
And knowing that Lawrence's response was inadequate, he had the audacity to act boldly, risking punishment..
suddenly.
Flora felt embarrassed..
Dmitry's eldest son did something for the family even though he was called a fool, but he put Lawrence in danger by mentioning that all he did was break off the engagement..
If I could turn back time. At the very least, he would have thought a little more about the extreme option of breaking off the engagement, which would upset Dmitri..
‘I was foolish. Choosing to break off the engagement without any measures was a choice that led the family down the path to extinction..’
At one time.
There was a time when I thought I was brilliant..
As she completed the academy's advanced course with good grades, she saw her father smiling brightly at her and thought of herself as a good daughter..
I didn't know at the time.
The fact that he studied something while receiving support from his family in the first place shows that he knows nothing about the world to the extent that he is called a flower in a greenhouse..
outside the family.
Barco was a wild predator.
They were drooling and showing fierce molars, but they did not care about what kind of life Flora lived..
The breakup of the engagement became known.
Flora locked herself in her room..
The fact that marriage still has to be with the person you love still remains the same, but the miserable reality of having to pay for romance made me not dare to look my father in the face..
Because of his own mistake, my father was running around every day begging for help..
The lights never went out in the family's meeting room, and when the meeting ended, the vassals all walked out with dead faces, so I didn't have the courage to approach them and tell them to cheer up..
Flora Lawrence.
It was a very harsh time for her, who was called the flower of Lawrence and always saw good things and experienced only good things..
I groaned..
I developed a fever during the night, and waking up in cold sweat from nightmares became a daily occurrence..
The more that happens again and again.
Roman's image appeared clearly in Flora's mind..
‘How on earth could he do something like that??’
with my own strength.
In a situation where no one expected anything from Roman, Roman took bold action to make a choice for his family..
It was amazing.
Apart from the fact that such a thing is possible.
Just because I decided to do that made me look different..
It was from then on..
Roman began to appear in Flora's dreams, and as she dreamed of Roman, her heart changed little by little..
Then one day.
Flora made a decision..
“Let’s not ignore reality, Flora. If no one helps us. Just as Roman Dmitri took down the Blood Fangs himself, we must also find our own way to solve the problem..”
In a dark room.
Flora came out of the cave.
After tying her hair up so she could move comfortably, she went to Lawrence's library and picked up a few books..
The type of book is.
It was a military law book to prepare for war..
Flora said.
“We are now in a corner. Barco blocks help from those around him, and the difference in power is clear. Therefore, there is an opinion that we should preserve a little of the family's land through surrender, but I think that is absolutely not acceptable..”
“Why do you think so? Rather than letting innocent soldiers die, surrender may be a better option for everyone..”
Viscount Laurence asked:.
Seeing his suspicious look, Flora faced him with a calm face..
“Barko used his connections in the central government to borrow money from the Golden Bank. 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. Barco is not the only business that benefits. In order to make a satisfactory profit for both Barco and Golden Bank, the land must be completely torn apart after the capture of Lawrence. Half of it goes to Barco and the other half goes to Golden Bank. Even then, if their thirst is not quenched, they will be satisfied only if they scrape to the bottom of the safe..”
“Hehehe.”
The retainers looked uncomfortable..
It was a cruel statement, but no one denied that it was reality..
“So what do you mean we should do??”
“There is only one way. Fight to the death. That's the only way we can survive.”
“Resistance. Is that really the best you say??”
Viscount Laurence reacted in despair..
Moment.
I got excited about Flora's remarks..
I thought that my ability to accurately see the situation would reveal an extraordinary solution, but in the end, it was the realm of common sense..
locking the gate.
anyone can think.
However, Flora had a different approach than others..
“I'm not saying you should just hold on. Give up farming this year and set fire to the fields. And then you hold out after storing up as much food as possible. We just have to wait until winter comes.”
“All I have to do is hold on until winter?”
“yes. Barco borrowed a large amount of money for this war. Although he used his connections in the central government to issue unsecured loans, the Golden Bank was not a force that could be pressured with just his connections in the central government. They are a huge force with influence across the continent. If the war does not end quickly and time continues to pass, the Barco family will inevitably be pressured by interest. As the loan amount is large, the interest will also be significant. That's the only weakness we can exploit. Mercenaries run on money, and that money comes from the Golden Bank. If winter comes, which is unfavorable for siege warfare, they have no choice but to wither away..”
“Huh!”
“There was such a way!”
In Flora's words.
The family's vassals were impressed..
They seemed puzzled at first, but the more Flora spoke, the more they became completely absorbed in her argument..
It made sense..
it's a race against time.
Since Barco's power is intangible, there was a good chance of victory if one could hold out for the time for its true nature to be revealed..
‘When did my daughter grow up so much?.’
Viscount Laurence.
He looked at his daughter with a complicated expression..
only daughter.
I grew them carefully to avoid breaking them if I held them in my hands, and the plants in the greenhouse grew into Lawrence's flowers and bloomed in full bloom..
And when Dmitry's incident occurred.
Viscount Laurence thought he had raised his daughter too immaturely..
however.
the truth was different.
When faced with the situation of rolling in the mud, Flora showed her true colors..
‘You went through a lot of trouble because of your incompetent father..’
It seemed too late.
Flora's drawn face.
How much I suffered, I saw a shadow on my face.
Geumjiokyeop's daughter.
I never wanted to see such a lovely 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 hold on, we will hold on, we will continue the Lawrence family..”
made a decision.
will not surrender.
I will not raise a white flag.
The Lawrence family decided that they would fight and endure until the end, even if they died when the castle wall collapsed..
a week after that.
Finally, the day of the decisive battle predicted by Barco has arrived..
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