Chapter 58

I Object to This Marriage! (1)

Subquest [I Object to This Marriage!].

If “sub” meant what I thought it did, this was a quest I could take or leave. Literally a side quest, the sort knights, adventurers, and mercenaries undertook to fill their spare time rather than sit around doing nothing.

In other words, it wasn't mandatory. A quest I could take or leave.

“What the hell?”

“Pardon? What is it, my lord?”

“No. It's nothing.”

I brushed off Adlan's question and glanced aside. Then I went through the quest details again, one by one.

'... What the hell?'

Seriously, what was this? Stop Seraphia's marriage? Out of nowhere?

And the penalty for refusing the quest was—

'The Sovereign of Bitter Cold awakens...?'

... For a moment, I was speechless. This was supposed to be a quest I could take or leave? What part of this qualified as a “side” quest?

Judging by the reward alone, it certainly fit the bill. Kai's affinity. Frankly, I'd rather not have that lunatic's affection.

But the penalty for refusing was fatal. Nothing less than “the Sovereign of Bitter Cold awakens.”

Even as I wondered what kind of quest warranted a penalty like that...

'Stop Seraphia's marriage?'

What was all this about her getting married?

She hadn't even regained consciousness yet. It seemed...

'What the fuck are they doing back in the county?'

I needed to head back right now and see for myself.

To hell with setting up a branch. That wasn't important now. The awakening of the Sovereign of Bitter Cold was more serious than anything else.

But first, I took the last thirty platinum coins—30,000 gold—out of my Inventory and handed them to Adlan.

“Take these.”

“Oh! Do you have another request for me?”

“No, it's for your trouble.”

“What?! I couldn't possibly!”

Adlan backed away, waving his hands in refusal.

“Just take it. You've worked hard running around on my behalf.”

It was no exaggeration to say he'd practically been attending to my every need, sacrificing valuable time he should have spent making sales.

“Even so, 30,000 gold is far too much!”

Well, he wasn't wrong, but... Damn it. I didn't have time to argue over this.

“Then I'll throw it away.”

“What?! Why would you throw it away?!”

“Then take it.”

“B-but...!”

“Then I'm throwing it away.”

I actually tossed all thirty platinum coins onto the floor. Only then did Adlan scramble in horror to pick them up. Once he'd gathered them, he prostrated himself right there.

“For the rest of my life! You alone will have my faith and loyalty, Lord Adrian!”

“Don't put your faith and loyalty in me. Put them in money. Nothing on this continent commands deeper trust.”

Just as I turned to leave...

◆Adlan's affinity toward you has increased!

A translucent message appeared before my eyes, announcing the increase in affinity.

◆Adlan's affinity toward you has entered the [Friendliness] state!

◆A person in the [Friendliness] state treats you in a friendly and positive manner.

◆This person is eager to offer you assistance and cooperation. You can receive their support in combat or certain situations, or ask them for help in a crisis.

Just as I'd thought. He was worth grooming to become the Frecce branch manager.

* * *

After parting ways with Adlan, I hurriedly gathered the staff and soldiers. On the off chance they knew something, I asked about Seraphia's marriage.

“Ah...”

“So it finally...”

The staff and soldiers nodded as though they'd expected this. Their expressions seemed to say the time had finally come.

“What do you mean, finally?”

“Er... You didn't know, my lord?”

Apparently, there was something I didn't know.

“Didn't know what? What are you talking about?”

At my question, the staff hesitated, reluctant to speak. But a single frown from me soon loosened their tongues.

“The truth is, House Veneron has been seeking a marriage with Lady Seraphia.”

“House Veneron?”

Where had I heard that name before? Not during my time in the allied army... Ah, right. The guest who'd visited the county after we'd slain the Gelu Drake. And the guest who'd come again before we left for Frecce had been from Veneron or something, too.

“Their territory borders our county.”

“It's located in the tundra region...”

“They've been visiting our county regularly for some time now.”

Just as I'd thought. And I'd heard that each time, they'd come with a certain “proposal.”

“Don't tell me that proposal was a marriage proposal?”

“Yes, my lord.”

Now I understood what the subquest meant by “Seraphia's marriage.” But...

'I've never heard anything about the Sovereign of Bitter Cold being married.'

... I still had no idea what was going on.

“House Veneron has been repeatedly proposing marriage to Lady Seraphia since their earlier visit.”

Put simply, it was a proposal for a political marriage. Such marriages were common among noble houses. In fact, almost all marriages between nobles could be called political. For a nobleman's daughter, a political marriage was practically a foregone conclusion.

“... Hmm?”

Even so, something was strange. House Whitewolf was a count's house, after all. House Veneron, on the other hand, was a viscount's.

The Kingdom of Battenberg's nobility was divided into five ranks.

Duke > Marquis > Count > Viscount > Baron.

That meant the comital House Whitewolf and the viscomital House Veneron were only one rank apart... or so one might think. But that couldn't have been further from the truth.

Counts belonged squarely to the high nobility. That single rank separating a count and a viscount put them on entirely different levels.

Duke >>> Marquis > Count >>>>>>>> Viscount > Baron.

In practical terms, that was how wide the gaps were.

In that sense, viscount and baron weren't official noble titles. More precisely, they weren't titles bestowed by a monarch. They were administrative posts assigned by high nobles of count rank or above to manage their territories.

House Whitewolf's head steward, Bernard, was just such a case. Except my father hadn't even granted him a barony, let alone a viscounty. We would have had no grounds to complain if Bernard had declared he'd had enough and quit on the spot.

At any rate, a viscount was a middle manager, not the one in charge. The so-called viscounties were also territories carved out at a count's discretion. A count would hand over a piece of his county, effectively saying, “I'll give you this land. How about working for me?”

Then the count might suddenly die for some reason, or fail to leave an heir. Whatever the cause, with no count left in the county, those subordinates would simply swallow up the lands they'd been assigned. Those were the territories now called “viscounties” and “baronies.”

After hundreds of years of this, the royal court had eventually included viscounts and barons among the nobility as well. Strictly speaking, though, they hadn't received recognition from the monarch—that is, from the royal court.

“Is there any reason to go out of our way to arrange this marriage?”

As a count's house, House Whitewolf had no reason to pursue the match. Seraphia was its ruling lady, after all. In other words, the next countess. There was no reason for her to enter a political marriage with a mere viscount's house.

“Well...”

“As you know, Lord Adrian, our county is rather...”

The staff trailed off, but I got the gist. Whitewolf county had nothing. Veneron viscounty had plenty.

Nobles of viscount rank and below had an inferiority complex about not having the royal court's recognition. They were desperate to distinguish themselves, and quite a few had won their monarch's approval through their achievements and been elevated to count.

But the easiest method was, of course...

“Viscount Veneron offered an enormous sum of gold in exchange for a political marriage with Lady Seraphia...”

A political marriage.

It followed the same principle as second and younger sons of noble families entering other noble houses as stewards to advance in the world. Second and younger daughters aided their families by marrying into other noble houses.

Though adopted, Seraphia was House Whitewolf's eldest daughter. And not just its eldest daughter, but its next countess. On top of that, she was exceptionally beautiful. It was no wonder House Veneron was watching for an opportunity to claim her.

“They never dared suggest it while the previous count was alive, but...”

But my father had died a few months ago. And since he'd left his entire estate to Seraphia, they must have thought that claiming her would let them swallow up the entire county.

“We were adamantly opposed, but...”

Whitewolf county didn't have a damn thing. Its people battled hunger and cold every single day. Apparently, Seraphia had thought she could solve all those problems simply by accepting House Veneron's proposal.

'Is that why she said she'd return the lordship to me?'

She'd relinquished her entire inheritance. I'd wondered what she was up to at the time, but now I thought I understood. It seemed she'd been trying to keep the county out of their hands, even if she herself was sold off in a political marriage.

'Hmm.'

I'd known nothing about any of this in my previous life. I'd left the family, after all.

Still, that was a separate matter.

'It's really none of my business, though.'

Frankly, who Seraphia married was none of my concern.

I checked the quest floating before my eyes once more.

==[I Object to This Marriage!] ==

[Details] - Prevent Seraphia's marriage.

[Reward] - Increased affinity with Kai

[Failure] - The <Sovereign of Bitter Cold> awakens.

The reward certainly suited a subquest. Kai's affinity. Given that he lived and died for Seraphia, it was hardly surprising, but I'd rather not have that lunatic's affinity.

In short, it was a subquest I didn't particularly want to undertake. But the failure penalty was fatal. In other words, I couldn't bear the consequences of choosing not to do it.

And the fact that this quest had suddenly appeared meant...

'Why did they accept the marriage proposal?'

It was as good as confirmation that the proposal for Seraphia's marriage had been accepted back in the county.

Which meant Kai had accepted it, too. That lunatic who lived and died for Seraphia.

'It can't just be a quest appearing for no reason...'

No quest had appeared when House Veneron visited the county. In other words, merely receiving the proposal hadn't triggered it. It made more sense to assume this quest had appeared because the proposal had been accepted.

'Just like that?'

I couldn't make sense of it. Frankly, I could have understood accepting the proposal before, when we hadn't had a damn thing. But that wasn't the case anymore. The supplies I was providing the people were already enough to see them through the bitterly cold season.

'Does Seraphia actually want to get married?'

That would explain it. If she was in love with Viscount Veneron, I could understand. I could even understand Kai agreeing to the marriage.

Then it really was none of my concern. Marriage or no marriage, I could just go there right now and kill him along with Seraphia. To hell with Ian's regrets. I absolutely could not stand by and let the Sovereign of Bitter Cold awaken.

But...

'What fucking marriage? She isn't even conscious.'

I couldn't begin to guess what the fuck they were doing.

More importantly, as far as I remembered, Seraphia had never had a husband. There had been no information whatsoever about the Sovereign of Bitter Cold having been married.

For starters, I doubted there was a man on the continent who could handle the Sovereign of Bitter Cold. Just holding her hand would freeze him to death. Even Ian had lost his left arm, so he was out. In that case, it was safe to say no man on the continent could handle Seraphia.

It seemed...

'I'll have to go.'

I needed to find out what was happening. And quickly.

“You lot stay in Frecce and keep the business running.”

“Pardon? A-all by ourselves?”

“Yes. If anything happens, go to the merchants' guild and ask for help.”

They were a quick-witted bunch, so they should be able to keep things going without me, even if they stumbled a little. Once we established a branch in Frecce, they'd have to lead trading expeditions on their own anyway.

“W-well...”

“We're not sure we can do a good job...”

They looked uncertain, but they'd have to face this sooner or later. Experience was a valuable asset, too. I couldn't stay by their sides and guide them forever.

“Just keep doing what you've been doing. It's fine to make mistakes. Think of it as gaining experience and give it a try.”

“U-understood!”

“We'll do our very best not to disgrace you, Lord Adrian!”

Despite their spirited replies, I was still uneasy. But as I'd said, they would have to face this eventually. Even if something happened, the merchants' guild and city council would step in, so there shouldn't be any major problems.

“Then I'll head back to the county now.”

“Wha—?”

Before the staff could even finish voicing their confusion...

◆Activating combination skill ‘Metabolic Overdrive[U]’!

◆Calories Consumed - 100,000Kcal

◆All player stats increase by [+100%] for [1,000 seconds]!

My stats surged explosively.

“Huh?!”

The staff member's bewildered voice had already dwindled to a faint speck far behind me.

* * *

Heat blazed inside the room. The scorching air exerted a suffocating pressure. It felt hot enough to burn the skin it touched, and every breath seemed to cook the lungs whole.

It was like being trapped in flames. No one could endure this heat for minutes, or even seconds, yet Seraphia lay limp on the bed as though she were isolated in another world.

Kai examined her condition closely. Still unconscious, she lay collapsed on the bed, utterly without strength.

Even in this scorching heat, frost coated her eyelashes. No trace of warmth remained in her blue lips. Her skin was pale, her fingertips frozen cold, and she couldn't move so much as a finger.

Her faint breathing was almost inaudible. Only the slight rise and fall of her chest revealed that she was breathing at all.

Leaving Seraphia behind, Kai quietly stepped out of the room. As he opened the door, Bernard, who had been waiting outside, asked him a question.

“How is she?”

Bernard's face was filled with worry and anxiety. He desperately wanted an answer, but Kai couldn't give him one. He couldn't bring himself to speak.

Seraphia was dying. She didn't have much time left. Kai simply couldn't bring himself to say those words aloud.

But perhaps some things could be understood without words. Bernard slowly closed his eyes.

“We must accept House Veneron's proposal.”

“Absolutely not!”

Kai shouted before he could stop himself.

“He's a greedy man! To hand Lady Seraphia over to someone like him—!”

“But we have no other way, do we?”

Bernard's reply silenced him. Pain seemed to crush his heart, leaving him struggling for breath. He knew they had no choice, but...

“First... we must save Lady Seraphia's life.”

Accepting that fact was unbearably difficult.

And so, ironically, one person came to Kai's mind at that moment. Adrian, who was currently away on a trading expedition to Frecce.

Could Adrian find a way to cure Seraphia? He had the power to make the impossible possible. Could he do it again this time?

It happened just as Kai was considering that possibility.

“Indeed. Surely saving your mistress must come first.”

A voice came from one side. Kai turned to see a man approaching him.

Arrogance permeated even the way he walked. His exaggeratedly slow steps were unpleasant to watch, as though he held everyone around him in contempt.

His face had a greasy sheen, while his overly elaborate clothes and the expensive jewelry on every finger displayed vanity rather than refinement.

The man whose appearance, manner, and even attire openly proclaimed his greed and baseness was named Alteron de Veneron. He was House Veneron's eldest son—and the man at the center of the marriage negotiations with Seraphia.