The Engagement of the Baron of Flowers and the Withered Tree Lady.

Chapter 43 Earl Hardis explodes

Julia’s remark was excessively accurate, leaving everyone, including her father, speechless.

The Count’s anger transformed into a gaze of envy mixed with jealousy as he looked at Rufie, and Romand understood those feelings well.

Both Romand and the Count had always wanted to protect Julia by their side, but in the end, they couldn’t accomplish that.

While he prides himself on cherishing her more than anyone else, it’s ultimately just his own self-indulgent sentiment.

In reality, if it weren’t for Rufie protecting her, Julia wouldn’t be here now.

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After being abandoned by his wife and children, Count Hardis Woodcliff desperately searched for them.

Hardis and Margaret were not married, but since Julia was registered under the Woodcliff family, he was able to exercise public influence.

However, that lasted only for six months, and afterwards, despite personal searches, he couldn’t find them at all.

He truly wanted to search for them himself, but as a highly occupied individual responsible for national defense, he couldn’t abandon his duties.

Instead, high-ranking noble friends and acquaintances who knew his circumstances actively cooperated with him.

In such a situation, Hardis found himself taking care of strangers’ children while being unable to do anything for his own daughter. This honestly pained him.

Furthermore, upon investigating the origins of the children, it seemed that except for the youngest, Kent, they were not his brother’s children.

Still, since they were the children of a woman who had a relationship with his brother, he couldn’t abandon them now. He assisted them as their guardian as much as possible.

Due to lack of time to meet, he regularly sent letters with advice, intending to help them.

However, his own intentions were magnificently betrayed.

His sister-in-law, along with the children other than Kent, had been mistreating his own daughter.

They treated Julia, the only legitimate daughter of the Woodcliff family, worse than a servant.

Of course, it was his sister-in-law, Cindy, who particularly infuriated him.

He finally found Julia and welcomed her into the mansion, hoping to establish some connection with his estranged daughter. He had been sending heartfelt letters.

But the replies were always brief and casual. Considering his past actions, he thought it was inevitable that his daughter wouldn’t open up to him.

Still, he held a faint hope that even a small part of his feelings would reach her.

However, his intentions had been trampled upon by Cindy and the butler, Virgil Hunt.

He learned of this through a letter from Baron Plant, Julia’s intended fiancé. Yes, along with the engagement certificate.

None of his letters had reached his daughter, and furthermore, the letters he had received up until now were not written by her.

Moreover, it was through those letters that he first learned about the fact that his daughter was being abused.

His daughter was deprived of proper food, wasting away, and apparently referred to as the “Withered Tree Lady” or the ” Withered Tree Girl” within the mansion.

When he learned about this fact, Count Hardis Woodcliff exploded with anger for the first time in his life. And it happened in a distant foreign land.

When the king was informed of what Hardis had done through diplomatic channels, he was taken aback.

That gentle, earnest, and honorable gentleman, driven by uncontrollable rage in a foreign country, unleashed the tremendous power of the kingdom’s highest secret, the “Green Spirit User.”

Furthermore, it was a personal matter, and there was no fault on the part of the host country.

In reality, it could have become a major international issue and even a cause for war.

However, in both countries, this incident didn’t escalate into a major problem. On the contrary, it became the catalyst for establishing friendly relations between the two nations.

The reason for this was that, despite momentarily unleashing his anger, Hardis was a remarkable “Green Spirit User” who was considered among the top in history.

Through careful selection of the target for his attack, instead of causing damage, he unexpectedly produced a valuable resource for the Western country.

During that explosion incident, Hardis was staying at a hotel in the desert country in the West.

Of course, he was there not as a government official but for personal investment purposes.

The desert country was abundant in underground resources known as the “Tears of the Black Spirits,” which constituted a significant portion of the country’s exports.

However, due to the diminishing reserves in the existing oil fields in recent years, the country was actively pursuing the development of new oil fields. And Hardis had invested in that development.

The investment Hardis made in that project was ostensibly personal, but in reality, he had been earnestly requested by the upper echelons of the Western country. It was somewhat akin to diplomatic support.

Lately, the hawks in the Western country had been gradually gaining influence and attempting to corner the dovish incumbent government. That’s why they wanted to develop new oil fields and acquire significant vested interests to contain the hawks.

Hardis didn’t want to get involved in the political struggle of the Western country, but it was inevitable that tensions among other nations would rise if the hawks grew stronger. It would be best if the situation could be peacefully resolved. Therefore, when the Western country requested investments for the successful development of the new oil fields, no country could refuse.

However, it was thought that it would be better for the country if the government didn’t overtly participate in supporting the Western country. Therefore, in the central nation, they maintained the facade that Hardis Woodcliff, a prominent merchant, was making personal investments.

Unexpectedly, the development of the oil fields encountered difficulties. Even after two years, they hadn’t found any new oil fields. And the reason was surprising: the “Black Spirit Users” were completely ineffective.

Normally, “Black Spirit Users” were masters of underground resources such as the “Tears of the Black Spirits,” “Black Spirit Gems,” and “Black Spirit Steel.” If there was a connection between the spirit users and the people, they should have been able to provide the underground resources people needed.

So why couldn’t the “Black Spirit Users” point out the whereabouts of the underground resources? Hardis, the “Green Spirit User,” concealed his true identity and asked the person in charge of the oil field development about this.

However, since information about spirit users was highly confidential in any country, he honestly didn’t expect a proper response.

As expected, the other party remained tight-lipped.

However, dealing with a government that was not getting along well with the “Black Spirit User” was a risky proposition, or rather, dealing with the country itself was questionable.

Hardis was beginning to consider withdrawing from this investment soon, so he decided to stay in their country to confirm the latest progress.

And it was there that Hardis received a spirit message from Romand.

A spirit message was a method of communication between contracted spirit users, allowing them to instantly transmit words, sounds, written messages, or documents through their spirits. It was the fastest, safest, and most reliable method.

When Romand expressed his desire to marry Julia, Hardis told him there were two conditions for approval.

The first, of course, was Julia’s consent.

And the second was joining the special forces as the “Green Spirit User.”

Romand accepted it on the spot without hearing the explanation of the special forces, causing his secretary Robert, who was standing next to him, to become quite flustered.

Since information about the special forces was highly confidential, Hardis asked Robert to leave the room and explained the nature of the work, honestly disclosing its arduous and challenging nature. However, he added the following:

The current situation, where only the “Green Spirit User” is burdened with sacrifices, has reached its limit.

There is an absolute need to change the current state. I will definitely carry out reforms and I want your cooperation.

At that moment, Hardis learned for the first time that the crown prince, whom he relied on as a supporter of the “Green Spirit User” reform, was desperately searching to use his daughter Julia as a sacrifice for the sake of that reform.

After finding his daughter Julia and welcoming her into the mansion, Hardis decided not to expose her to social events.

He thought that if Julia’s identity as the “Green Spirit User” were known, she could be manipulated by someone. And his concerns were not unfounded.

Moreover, the person targeting his daughter was none other than the influential and quite troublesome crown prince.

And now, he learned that the young man standing before him was a friend of that crown prince, who had been silently protecting his daughter.

Hardis believed that he could entrust his daughter to him.

Originally, the relationship with the Plant Barony had already become intimate through Robert. Hardis was well aware of the inner workings of the Barony and the character of Romand, who had become the head, as he had heard from Robert. He trusted the information he received.

Furthermore, Romand was a “Green Spirit User.” Since the spirit had bestowed its power upon him, there was no issue with his character.

Of course, if Julia were to refuse, Hardis had no intention of forcing the engagement. However, he thought it would be good to build a strong relationship with him.

That’s why he immediately entered into a spirit message contract with Romand and started maintaining regular contact.

It was for this reason that Hardis ended up receiving a long letter from the desert country in the west, along with his daughter’s engagement certificate and a detailed account of her situation…

And upon learning an unexpected truth, Hardis lost himself in anger and slammed his emotions against the window of the hotel.

As a result…