电视剧上海王

[As you’re asking me that directly, I will be honest and tell you. I intend to take revenge on the Barco family for my own personal reasons. The decision has already been made, and from now on, it is a matter of timing on when to take revenge. So, I contacted you. If the Lawrence family says they will go along with what I came up with, I will advance the timing of my actions and bring down the Barco family for you.]

What Roman suggested was unexpected. For Lawrence, it was like finding an oasis in the desert. However, Flora knew that there was a trap in his words.

“…What do we have to do in your plan?”

[It’s simple—Sacrifice for my plan. If the Lawrence family shows their willingness to be the first to bleed and lays down the plates, I will do my best to help you. This is a promise in the name of Roman Dmitry. In order for our conversation to go forward, this promise needs to be made.]

Sacrifice—It was a sensitive word. Hearing it, Flora’s eyes twitched instantly—Roman Dmitry was a clear-cut man. She did go ahead and break up with him, but she couldn’t sacrifice herself for the sake of others. It seemed as if she didn’t want to hold that man’s hand. Roman’s existence was complicated for Flora. Continuing to be close to him and around him brought up unknown emotions from within her.

However, she had no choice. In the first place, after being pushed to the edge of the cliff, like in the current situation, she was ready to put herself on the line.

‘Perhaps he suggested it because he knew about our current situation. Nevertheless, Roman Dmitry is the only one who moved and offered to help Lawrence. We cannot turn down his offer now.’

She clenched her fist. Self-esteem had been thrown out the door long back. Flora’s first priority was her family’s safety, so she looked at Roman and said, “I promise. If it means you will protect my family, I will do anything to help.”

[One more thing. I need you to agree to something.]

“Say it.”

[Because of my participation in the war, words will definitely go around in the future. As our marriage is already broken, I have no reason to intervene in the war, and that is something the Barco family and the Central Government will also raise questions about. Therefore, there is something you will have to do with what comes next. If you want the Lawrence family to be safe, give me a justification to intervene in the war.]

Justification—Until then, she didn’t know what he meant. However, as Roman continued speaking, Flora couldn’t control her expression. Finally, the conversation was over. She hadn’t accepted the offer.

At Roman’s words that he will wait only for 30 minutes, Flora headed towards the wall with weak footsteps.

‘Is it really the right thing to accept Roman’s proposal?’

Roman—His words were shocking.

[The Barco family had concocted a plan to split Dmitry and Lawrence. While I was drunk, they made me stay in a room with Emily Barco, a child of the Barco family, and they forced and pushed me to break the marriage, having that as an excuse. This is my personal cause to take revenge on them, and this is why I plan to punish them. Anthony Barco—Claim that he molested you. I have nothing against him, but the fact that he did something like that made it tough for the Dmitry family to promote the marriage. Perhaps, it will cause your value to plummet. The reputation you hold as the Flower of Lawrence will be shattered along with the story of the marriage being called off, and that is a fatal hit in the noble society. However, if you are fine with giving up the status of a noblewoman, you can get one important thing in exchange—Me solving this crisis of Lawrence.]

At those words, her hands trembled. It was a reality that Flora couldn’t accept, but she didn’t want to avert her gaze. She was no longer a flower in the greenhouse. In the face of the harsh reality, Flora was ready to give up everything.

“This is precisely the justification for me to intervene in the war. To not forgive those who touched me—the same happened with Blood Fang, and it will not be different this time, either. If the time of molestation was before the break-up, Flora Lawrence, you were mine. So, if you can promise me that, I will ensure that Anthony Barco will never look at you with those lustful eyes ever again.”

You were mine—Hearing that, her heart skipped a beat. A mutually beneficial deal—However, Roman said that if their marriage wasn’t called off, Flora would’ve been his.

Right—She was someone he didn’t even know. However, Roman was trying to do something dangerous and face Barco based on that sole reason.

Bang!

Rumble!

“The wall has fallen!”

“Put up the iron fence!”

After her short absence, she came to know the wall had fallen. Part of the wall collapsed due to the constant attacks from the Flare, and Barco’s soldiers could be seen marching forward. They wouldn’t last long. It was only a matter of time before Lawrence collapsed, and due to the opponent’s power, they had lost their advantage.

It was dark. With flames burning the place and smoke rising up, Flora ran to the wall.

Puck!

“Kuak!”

Under the wall, one of the soldiers who was running fell down. Flora quickly used her arrow to help them out. She had been practicing for a few days, and the faint pain was still felt on her finger. However, that didn’t matter. Flora tore her skirt, stood in a comfortable position, and shouted loudly for all the soldiers to listen.

“Attack! We will never fall!’

At that moment, Flora acknowledged that when she entered the battlefield, she gave up the role of the noblewoman, which she had been living as all this while.

“Handel!”—The maid’s name.

Seeing Handel run toward her with a frightened face, Flora spoke with her eyes fixed on the target.

“Call Roman Dmitry right now. Tell him—I will do anything he wants, so get rid of those Barco bastards right now. I know for sure that I do not want to be Anthony Barco’s concubine.”

She made her decision. From now on, Flora would live a new life.

Tuk.

The magic communication was cut off. When Flora said she would accept the offer, Chris, watching from the side, asked, “Are we going to attack right away?’

Roman and the soldiers—They were far from Lawrence. Even if he gave the order now, they would go to help immediately, but Roman didn’t want to overdo it.

“No, we are going to watch for a little more.”

“If we hold back, Lawrence’s defense might collapse. Barco has managed to get access to the Flare weapon after all. It has firepower that Lawrence cannot withstand. If you really want to help Lawrence and break down Barco’s plans, we should attack the enemy now, making it tough for them to breathe and recover.”

This was the right advice. Chris had studied warfare, so he knew what Lawrence was capable of handling.

However, Roman had different thoughts.

“Why do I have to care about that?”

“…Huh?”

“It doesn’t matter if Lawrence collapses. Even if the walls fall and Barco continues to attack, Lawrence, who is desperate to fight, will be able to last an hour. What I want the most out of the fight between Lawrence and Barco is a good amount of damage to them.”

Those were cruel words—He considered just the practical gains and excluded his emotions completely.

“Chris.”

“Yes.”

“There are a few things to keep in mind if you want to follow me in the future as well. It is more important to me that one person I know doesn’t bleed, even if hundreds of those I don’t know have to die. Obviously, a lot of people from Lawrence will die due to this. However, it is their problem because they followed an incompetent person, and I don’t intend to force myself to become their shield and sacrifice the lives of those who swore their allegiance to me. So, get some rest. When we decide to move for Lawrence earnestly, there will be a lot of bloodshed.”

“…I understand.”

Chris nodded his head. Now he knew for sure—Roman Dmitry—He might look cruel to others, but he is at least a man worthy to swear allegiance to.

Above the wall, things were changing rapidly.

With Barco’s army getting closer, Flora approached Viscount Lawrence and said, “Father! Open the gates right now and face the army of Barco from the front!”

“What do you mean?!”

Open the gates?—That was something Viscount Lawrence couldn’t understand. However, Flora didn’t have the time to explain this in detail and just persuaded her father.

“I just made a deal with Roman Dmitry through a magic device. The reason we cannot stand Barco’s attack is due to the presence of the Flare. If we open the gates right now and distract the enemies, then Roman Dmitry will appear with his army and destroy the Flare.”

“Why will Roman Dmitry do that?”

“I don’t have time to explain. What is certain is that Roman Dmitry isn’t the man we thought he was.”

At that moment, Viscount Lawrence was utterly confused.

Roman Dmitry—After the Blood Fang incident, he clearly didn’t seem like a normal guy. There was a sense of dignity around that man and the way he carried himself. Also, he didn’t seem like a person who would say one thing and do another. However, the problem was that he had no reason to help Lawrence. Naturally, he should be angry because the marriage was called off, so he couldn’t think why that man would want to help them.

‘Is it even right to trust that man and open the gates? From what my daughter says, Roman Dmitry is probably going to help with his own strength and not the help of his family. Moreover, the opponent is the Barco family. No matter how much we aim to distract their attention, it is difficult to defeat their troops, who are elite mercenaries, only using our soldiers. Also, without Aura, the Flare cannot be cut down.’

His judgment wasn’t wrong. He was at a crossroads now. Viscount Lawrence felt weak. He was a typically docile person, and the more dangerous a situation was, the more his ability to make the right judgment would diminish.

“Father—No, dad. This is a fight in which we are at a disadvantage either way! The moment we choose to fight back, we get to bet a lot on this fight, and if we fail to take down Barco, we lose Lawrence, our family, and our name will get wiped out of the history of the Cairo Kingdom, dad. So trust me. Destroying the Flare with Roman Dmitry, who is on his way to help, is the only way we can survive.”—Flora said eagerly.

Viscount Lawrence looked at her. The armor over her body, the tanned skin due to intense flames, the torn skirt fluttering in the wind, and the bow in her hand—While the man known as the Lord was weak and unable to make a decision, Flora was able to find solutions. He believed in her—his one and only daughter.

Viscount Lawrence overcame his fear and shouted to the soldiers.

“Open the gates now! Roman Dmitry has agreed to help us. Get out of the gates and slay those evil bastards of Barco!”

The gates opened wide. Following Roman’s plan, Lawrence was ready to make sacrifices.