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Chapter : 58
Sub-Quest [I Object to This Marriage!]
If the “Sub” here meant what I thought it did, then this quest was optional—something you could do for fun when knights, adventurers, or mercenaries had too much time on their hands.
A literal sub quest—optional, non-essential.
So naturally, there was no obligation.
You could do it, or not.
“What the hell?”
“Eh? What do you mean, sir?”
“Nothing. Never mind.”
I brushed off Adellun’s question and turned away, scanning the quest’s details again.
‘…What is this?’
Seriously, what was this?
Stop Seraphia’s wedding?
Out of nowhere?
And the penalty for rejecting it…
‘Awakening of the Lord of Permafrost…?’
I was momentarily speechless.
This was optional?
What part of this was “sub”?
Sure, looking only at the reward, it did seem like a sub-quest:
Kai’s favorability.
To be honest, I’d rather pass on earning that crazy guy’s favor.
But the penalty for refusal was brutal.
No less than the “Awakening of the Lord of Permafrost.”
What kind of quest came with a penalty like that?
‘Stop Seraphia’s marriage?’
What marriage? She wasn’t even conscious right now.
‘What kind of nonsense is going on at the County?’
I had to go there. Immediately.
Forget establishing a new branch. This took precedence.
The awakening of the Lord of Permafrost was a catastrophe beyond any other.
But first.
I took out the last 30 platinum coins—30,000 gold—from my inventory and handed them to Adellun.
“Here. Take it.”
“Huh?! Is there something else you need me to do, sir?”
“No. It’s payment for your work.”
“Eh?! No way!”
Adellun waved his hands and stepped back in shock.
“Just take it. You’ve been running around for me nonstop.”
It was no exaggeration to say he’d been doing everything for me lately—even at the cost of his prime sales hours.
“Still, 30,000 gold is way too much!”
Well, maybe. But—
Damn it. I didn’t have time to argue about this.
“Then I’ll throw it away.”
“Whaat?! Why would you do that?!”
“Then take it.”
“B-But…!”
“I’ll throw it.”
And I did. I actually threw the 30 platinum coins to the ground.
That finally got him scrambling to pick them up in a panic.
Then, Adellun dropped to his knees.
“I’ll follow you forever, Lord Adrian!”
“Don’t follow me. Follow the money. On this continent, nothing builds trust like gold.”
Just then—
◆ Adellun’s favorability toward you has increased!
◆ Favorability status: [Friendly]
◆ Friendly characters treat you with kindness and positivity.
◆ They will actively assist and cooperate with you. You may request help in battle or emergencies.
As expected.
Adellun was worth grooming into the branch manager of Preche.
After parting ways with Adellun,
I quickly summoned the merchants and soldiers.
Just in case, I asked about Seraphia’s marriage.
“Ah…”
“I knew it…”
They nodded knowingly, like they’d expected this.
Their expressions seemed to say, “Finally, it’s happening.”
“What do you mean, ‘you knew it’?”
“Uh… you didn’t know, sir?”
Apparently, there was something I didn’t know.
“What are you talking about?”
They hesitated, but once I frowned, they caved.
“The House of Baron Beneron has been seeking a marriage alliance with Lady Seraphia.”
“Baron Beneron?”
Where had I heard that before?
Not during the Allied Army days… Ah, right.
After the Gelu Drake subjugation, some visitors came to the County.
And again, before I came to Preche, someone from Beneron had visited.
“It’s a neighboring domain.”
“It’s located in a cold region…”
“They’ve been visiting frequently.”
So I had been right.
And each time, I’d heard they were making certain “proposals.”
“Don’t tell me those proposals were marriage?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Now I understood what the quest meant by “Seraphia’s marriage.”
But—
‘The Lord of Permafrost got married? That’s news to me.’
I still didn’t know what was really going on.
“The Baron of Beneron has been persistently proposing a marriage with Lady Seraphia.”
A political marriage, in short.
Such arrangements were common among noble families.
In fact, nearly all noble marriages were political in nature.
So for the daughter of a noble family, a political marriage was more or less a given.
“…Hmm?”
Still, something didn’t sit right.
Whitewolf was a Count’s house.
Beneron was merely a Baron’s house.
In the Kingdom of Battenberg, noble ranks were divided into five tiers:
Duke > Marquis > Count > Baron > Baronet
So technically, Count Whitewolf and Baron Beneron were just one rank apart.
Or so it seemed, but in reality, the gap was enormous.
Counts were considered high-ranking nobility.
So that single step down from Count to Baron was more like a cliff.
In practice:
Duke >>> Marquis > Count >>>>>>> Baron > Baronet
In other words, Barons and Baronets weren’t even official noble titles.
They weren’t appointed by the monarch.
They were more like managerial positions appointed by high nobles.
For example, Bernard, the head butler of House Whitewolf.
My father hadn’t even granted him the title of Baron or Baronet.
If Bernard quit tomorrow, we couldn’t complain.
So Barons weren’t rulers, but middle managers.
Even “Baronies” were territories assigned by Counts.
“Hey, I’ll give you this land. Work under me, yeah?” That sort of deal.
Then if the Count died unexpectedly, or failed to name an heir, or vanished for any reason…
The manager kept the land and became a de facto lord.
That’s how today’s “Baronies” and “Baronetcies” came to be.
Centuries of this led the royal family to eventually include Barons and Baronets as nobles.
But technically, they weren’t recognized by the crown.
“So why even consider the marriage?”
There was no need for House Whitewolf, a Count’s family, to agree to it.
After all, Seraphia was the Count’s heir—the next Count.
There was no reason to tie her to some lowly Baron’s house.
“Well… as you know, Lord Adrian, our county is a bit…”
They trailed off, but I understood the implication.
Whitewolf had nothing.
Beneron had everything.
Lesser nobles like Barons were deeply insecure about not being recognized by the crown.
So they were desperate to achieve something worthy of promotion to Count.
And the easiest way was…
“Baron Beneron offered a massive sum of gold in exchange for the marriage…”
A political marriage.
Just like second or third sons of noble houses took butler roles in other families to rise in status,
So too did daughters serve their families by marrying into other noble houses.
Though adopted, Seraphia was Whitewolf’s eldest daughter.
Not just the eldest—she was the next Count.
And stunningly beautiful on top of that.
No wonder Baron Beneron had his eyes on her.
“They never dared suggest it while the late Count lived…”
But my father had died a few months ago.
And he left everything to Seraphia.
Baron Beneron probably thought if he could get her, he could take over the entire county.
“We all opposed it, of course…”
Whitewolf County had nothing.
Its people lived in hunger and cold.
Seraphia likely thought that accepting the proposal would solve all of that.
‘So that’s why she tried to give me back the lordship?’
She gave up everything she inherited.
Back then, I didn’t understand why.
But now it made sense.
She was willing to be sold off in a political marriage—but not hand over the County.
‘Hmm.’
In my past life, I knew none of this.
I’d stormed out of the house, after all.
Still, all things considered—
‘It’s really none of my business.’
Honestly, I didn’t care who Seraphia married.
I checked the quest again:
==[I Object to This Marriage!]==
[Objective] – Stop Seraphia’s wedding.
[Reward] – Increased favorability with Kai.
[Failure] – Awakening of the <Lord of Permafrost>
The reward was definitely fitting for a sub-quest.
Kai’s favorability.
He lived and breathed for Seraphia.
I didn’t want his favor.
So, yeah—I didn’t want to do it.
But the penalty for failure?
Too severe to ignore.
And the timing of this quest popping up now—
‘Does that mean the proposal was accepted?’
It had to.
Kai must have agreed to it.
That lunatic, who would kill or die for Seraphia.
‘This quest didn’t appear when the proposal was made…’
So this must have triggered because they accepted the proposal.
‘Out of nowhere?’
I didn’t get it.
Before, they might have accepted out of desperation.
But now?
With the supplies I’d provided, the County could survive the winter just fine.
‘Don’t tell me… Seraphia actually wants to marry him?’
If she was in love, that would make sense.
If Kai agreed because of that, I’d understand.
In that case, it really wasn’t my concern.
I could just go kill them both and be done with it.
Forget Ian’s regrets—there was no way I’d allow the Lord of Permafrost to awaken.
But…
‘You can’t marry someone who isn’t conscious.’
What the hell was going on?
As far as I remembered, Seraphia never had a husband.
There was no record of the Lord of Permafrost ever marrying.
Was there even a man alive who could handle her?
You’d freeze just from touching her hand.
Ian lost an arm—so not even him.
Basically, no one on this continent could handle Seraphia.
Looks like—
‘I’ll have to go.’
I needed to find out what was going on.
Fast.
“You guys stay here in Preche and keep the business running.”
“Eh? Just us?”
“Yes. If something happens, contact the Merchants’ Guild.”
They were quick-witted, so they could manage without me.
Besides, once we opened the Preche branch, they’d have to run things alone anyway.
“But… we’re not sure if we can handle it…”
They looked nervous, but this was something they’d face eventually.
Experience was invaluable.
I couldn’t babysit them forever.
“Just do what you’ve always done. It’s okay to make mistakes—think of it as training.”
“Understood!”
“We’ll do our best not to disgrace you, Lord Adrian!”
They shouted enthusiastically, but I was still worried.
But like I said—this was inevitable.
Even if something happened, the Guild and City Council would step in.
“I’m heading to the County now.”
“Wh-What?!”
They barely had time to respond when—
◆ Activating combo skill: ‘Metabolic Overdrive [U]’!
◆ Calories burned: 100,000 Kcal
◆ For [1,000 seconds], all your stats are increased by [+100%]!
My stats exploded upward.
“H-Huh?!”
Adellun’s dazed voice faded as I vanished into the distance.
Inside a burning hot room—
The heat was suffocating, the air thick like molten iron.
Every breath seared the lungs. Every moment felt like being scorched alive.
No one could survive this heat for more than seconds.
And yet, Seraphia lay limp on the bed as if removed from this world.
Kai watched her closely.
Still unconscious, Seraphia lay motionless.
Even in this blistering heat, frost clung to her lashes.
Her lips were a frozen blue.
Her skin was pale; her fingers frozen stiff.
She didn’t move a muscle.
Her breathing was faint—barely perceptible.
Only the slight rise and fall of her chest proved she was alive.
Kai quietly stepped out.
Bernard, waiting outside, asked:
“How is she?”
His face was a portrait of worry.
But Kai couldn’t answer.
He couldn’t bring himself to say the words:
Seraphia was dying.
She didn’t have much time left.
He just couldn’t say it aloud.
But sometimes, words weren’t needed.
Bernard quietly closed his eyes.
“We have to accept Baron Beneron’s proposal.”
“No!”
Kai shouted instinctively.
“He’s a greedy man! We can’t give Lady Seraphia to someone like—!”
“But we have no choice.”
Bernard’s words silenced him.
His chest ached with helplessness.
Even though he knew it was true.
“First… we have to save Lady Seraphia.”
It hurt too much to accept.
And ironically, one person came to mind.
Adrian—currently away in Preche.
Maybe Adrian could save her.
Turn the impossible into possible.
Just like always.
As Kai struggled with his thoughts—
“Exactly. You need to save your master first.”
A voice came from nearby.
He turned and saw a man walking toward him.
Every step oozed arrogance.
His deliberate pace reeked of contempt.
His face glistened with grease. His outfit was gaudy, his fingers adorned with jewels.
Not noble grace—just gaudy vanity.
This man, embodying greed and sleaze—
Was Alteron de Beneron.
The eldest son of the Baron of Beneron—and Seraphia’s would-be fiancé.
