Chapter 53: If it has begun, it must be seen to its end (3)

The choices Roman presented.

Both were bad moves.

Barco, knowing he shouldn't move according to the opponent's intentions, found that Roman gave him no chance to escape.

"I clearly presented two choices. There are no exceptions. If you do not choose the first option here today, I will tell your father about the blackmail as soon as I return to the family. Then, there will be no avoiding war with Dmitri. The atrocities of Anthony Barco have provided ample justification, and I have no intention of backing down unless the Barco family shows a clear attitude of repentance."

He cut off any retreat.

With a firm statement that left no room for delay, Barco wanted to turn away from the reality before his eyes.

'The second option is absolutely not acceptable.'

War with Dmitri.

The outcome was clear.

Even with the loan from Golden Bank, they had lost the war, and Barco did not believe they could defeat Dmitri, the powerful magnate of the northeast.

They would likely be defeated overwhelmingly.

Already in a dire situation, if they were to face Dmitri's attack, the Barco family would face the threat of annihilation.

In the end.

There was only one choice.

Roman knew this and offered the only proposal Barco could accept.

'What you want is for Dmitri to make the Barco family kneel. If you boldly enter the Barco family's inner chambers and punish Anthony Barco, the eldest son, it will cause a huge stir in the noble society. The Barco family, having lost the war and their reputation, will have no way to recover.'

It was devastating.

Right before the eyes of the Barco family's last connections.

Roman was mocking and strangling the Barco family.

'Cruel boy.'

Seppuku (ritual suicide).

Roman extended the hilt of the sword.

Discarding his pride.

Bowing his head to the ground.

Taking responsibility for the defeat, he was forced to bring his eldest son to receive the Barco family's punishment.

The words wouldn't come easily.

His eyebrows trembled.

Barco, the viscount who once wielded absolute power in the northeast, could not bow to the young Roman Dmitri.

There was only one way to preserve his pride.

Prepare for the annihilation of the Barco family and execute Roman, who boldly entered the Barco family's inner chambers.

But.

He couldn't.

Because he still wanted to live.

The viscount's strong desire for life eventually made him accept the reality he didn't want to.

"Anthony Barco's matter is not something that should escalate into a family issue. I will have Anthony Barco apologize directly. Is that enough? By making the eldest son of the Barco family kneel, will your anger be appeased?"

He shouted in frustration.

The chance for redemption was gone.

The viscount, who had lost everything, said with bloodshot eyes.

However.

"When did I say Anthony Barco should kneel?"

"…What do you mean by that?"

"If you want punishment, the method is my choice. Who in this world would let the perpetrator choose the method of punishment?"

Roman's voice was cold.

Even as he pushed Barco to the brink.

Roman, unsatisfied, bared his fangs.

"I propose a judicial duel with Anthony Barco."

Judicial duel.

At those words, the viscount's expression turned to shock.

A judicial duel is not a common method.

Public execution.

It forces the wrongdoer to the brink of life and death, to atone for their sins with blood and death.

If Anthony Barco were to engage in a judicial duel.

The chances of surviving against Roman were slim.

'Could he mean to kill the eldest son of Barco right before my eyes?'

No, that couldn't be.

Otherwise, Roman wouldn't survive either.

Roman showed that he could not forgive Anthony Barco simply for kneeling and, if he accepted the judicial duel, he might have to be prepared to be crippled.

He was truly a cruel boy.

Even after Barco had discarded his pride and bowed first, Roman still wanted Barco to receive the 'price of sin' in reality.

Dizziness set in.

Roman's message was clear.

Would the Barco family stake their fate, or abandon their son?

The answer was already there.

No matter how much Anthony Barco was the eldest son to continue the Barco lineage, if they could avoid war with Dmitri by sacrificing one of his arms, it was a deal they had to accept.

He closed his eyes tightly.

After losing the war with Lawrence and facing a mountain of debt, pushing the eldest son of Barco to the brink of death was a choice that couldn't be easily made.

But.

It was reality.

After much deliberation, the viscount accepted Roman's proposal and left the meeting room.

And.

He told his son, who had yet to grasp the reality, about his future.

"Father!"

"I'm sorry."

"Absolutely, absolutely not! Roman Dmitri is a swordsman who defeated Homer, isn't he? Are you really going to entrust the life of the eldest son of the Barco family to someone else's hands? Please, reject Roman Dmitri's proposal. That boy will never let me live."

Anthony Barco knelt.

Terrified, he wept and clung to the viscount's trousers, begging desperately.

He knew.

Even if he survived the judicial duel, he wouldn't return with an intact body.

The eldest son of Barco, who thought he had grown up properly, was now throwing a tantrum like a three-year-old, refusing to face reality.

Seeing this.

The viscount spoke in a stern voice.

"Pull yourself together. You are the eldest son of Barco. From the moment I said I would pass the heir position to you, you became someone who must do anything for the family's fate, even if it endangers your life. Roman won't kill you. If he wanted to kill you, he would have brought guards to ensure his safe return. Accept the reality. Get stronger. Look Roman Dmitri in the eye and never forget this humiliation, so you can take revenge on him in the future."

"Father, please…!"

"Anthony!"

The viscount was resolute.

Only then did Anthony Barco realize.

The judicial duel was an unavoidable reality.

Sitting on the ground, Anthony Barco looked up at the sky with a pale face.

'Oh God.'

From now on.

All he could do was hope that Roman would show mercy.

The situation was settled.

Anthony Barco.

He stood on the platform in front of the viscount and the nobles of the northeast.

Shivers ran through his limbs.

His face was as pale as a corpse, and his sword shook visibly.

The duel was essentially meaningless.

Roman had proven his overwhelming skill by defeating Homer, and Anthony Barco, who didn't even know how to use magic, had no way to win and survive.

All he could do.

Was not to try to strike Roman with his sword, but to appeal to his humanity.

"R-Roman. I'm really sorry for what I did. I didn't mean to be malicious. As you know, I admired Flora Lawrence so much that I lost my sanity when I found out she was marrying you."

His voice was desperate.

He showed a willingness to do anything if asked, even though he didn't kneel.

"We are friends, right? Although things went wrong over Lawrence, we had some good times together. Roman. No, Lord Roman. Please, spare me this once. If you forgive me this one time and let it pass as if nothing happened, I, Anthony Barco, will never forget this favor for the rest of my life."

It was pitiful.

A behavior the eldest son of Barco should not show, and the nobles watching felt uncomfortable.

They glanced at the viscount's expression.

The viscount's face, red with anger.

Watching his son being pushed to the brink of death, he seemed to be imprinting this moment in his mind.

"To repay a favor for life."

Roman drew out his words.

As he slowly approached Anthony Barco, Anthony Barco, startled, clutched his sword close to his body.

He knew Roman wouldn't kill him.

But.

He didn't want to be crippled.

His pale face showed he wasn't ready to accept the pain.

Roman said.

"How exactly do you plan to repay me? The Barco family is finished. The connections with the central government won't be able to clean up your mess, and you'll lose everything just by repaying the loan from Golden Bank. Why should I forgive you? You openly ignored me in front of people and trapped me with a despicable plan."

Suddenly.

The viscount sensed something strange.

A strong warning in his mind.

Just as he was about to stop the duel, Roman turned to the viscount and swung his sword.

"There's no reason to forgive you."

Swish!

The wind blew.

The sensation of the blade.

The blood splattering in the air, the viscount's expression turned to despair.

Once.

Baek Jung-hyuk engaged in a family feud.

There was no other way to survive.

He endured the nightly assassination attempts from his brothers and, in turn, stabbed them in the heart to cut off their breath.

One day.

As Baek Jung-hyuk was systematically eliminating his opponents, the eldest son, a likely successor to the cult, said this.

"Jung-hyuk. Do you know what your problem is? It's that you don't compromise. Once you see someone as an enemy, you don't think of using the relationship and always push it to a disastrous end. This will eventually trip you up. Even if they are weaker than you, you don't give them any leeway when they are cornered. That is your fatal flaw."

The eldest son, Baek Ho-yeol.

He was strong.

Not just in terms of great martial prowess, but in his ability to accept and integrate the enemies he defeated.

He was a truly remarkable person.

Even Baek Jung-hyuk had to acknowledge Baek Ho-yeol, but he didn't agree with his words.

Drenched in blood.

Baek Jung-hyuk looked up at Baek Ho-yeol and said.

"Compromise is necessary, as you say. But for those who show me hostility, I believe the only way for me to survive is to crush them completely. So don't argue with my methods. I've lived this way from the bottom of the cult, and I will continue to live this way."

To reach the top.

There are many enemies lurking.

If you kill them all, the karma will come back to you, so leaders like Baek Ho-yeol always emphasized the importance of acceptance.

I don't think it's entirely wrong.

In fact, those who were once Baek Ho-yeol's enemies became solid allies after turning to his side.

But.

Baek Jung-hyuk's method was different.

There is no reason to spare an enemy.

Death is the only way to eliminate the possibility of variables, and Baek Jung-hyuk mastered the use of fear.

It was no different now.

Barco.

They would consider him their mortal enemy.

If they were someone who would seek revenge at any time, Roman had no reason to spare them.

Therefore.

Swish!

"…Gasp."

He beheaded Anthony Barco.

His face turned to shock.

Looking at Roman with an expression of disbelief, he desperately tried to stop the gushing blood with both hands.

Thud.

He knelt.

Then, he fell to the ground, face down.

The death of Anthony Barco.

It was an ending no one in the room had expected.