The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 58: I Object to This Marriage! (1) (Part 1)

Sub Quest [I Object to This Marriage!].

If it meant what I thought “sub” typically meant, it should be an optional quest—something you could do, or not do, no big deal either way.

A literal side quest, picked up just to kill time because knights, adventurers, and mercenaries had nothing better to do.

So naturally, no obligation.
A quest that didn’t matter whether you did it or not.

“…What the?”
“Y-Yes? What do you mean, sir?”
“Never mind. It’s nothing.”

I brushed off Adelon’s question and shifted my gaze aside, then reviewed the quest details again, one line at a time.

‘…What is this?’

It was seriously baffling.
Stop Serapia’s marriage?
Out of nowhere?
And the penalty for refusing was—

‘Awakening of the Monarch of Frost…?’

……I was momentarily speechless.

This was supposed to be a “do-it-or-don’t” side quest?
In what universe was this a sub quest?

Looking at the reward alone, sure, it seemed like a side quest.
Affinity with Kai.
Honestly, I’d rather not get any closer to that lunatic.

But the penalty for refusal was absolutely fatal.
No less than “Awakening of the Monarch of Frost.”

What kind of quest was this to warrant such a penalty?

‘Serapia’s marriage, huh?’

What the hell did that even mean?
Wasn’t Serapia still unconscious?

Something was definitely going down.

‘What the hell is happening back at the County?’

I needed to head back there right away and check it out for myself.

Forget about setting up a branch office or whatever—that wasn’t important anymore.
The awakening of the Monarch of Frost was a threat far more serious than any of that.

But before that—

I took out the last thirty platinum coins from my inventory—30,000 gold—and handed them to Adelon.

“Take this.”
“Whoa! Is there something else you need me to do?”
“No, it’s payment for your trouble.”
“Wha—?! No, sir, I can’t accept this!”

Adelon flailed his hands and took a step back.

“Just take it. You’ve been running all over the place for me.”

It wouldn’t be wrong to say he’d been handling everything for me behind the scenes.
Even during crucial business hours when he should’ve been boosting sales.

“Still, 30,000 gold is way too much!”

Well, yeah, technically he was right.
…but come on.
Now wasn’t the time to argue about something like this.

“Then I’ll just throw it away.”
“Wha—?! Why would you do that?!”
“Then take it.”
“B-But…!”
“Alright, I’m tossing it.”

I really did throw all thirty platinum coins onto the floor.

Only then did Adelon freak out and rush to pick them up.

And then he immediately dropped to the floor, bowing deeply.

“For life! I shall forever follow Lord Adrian with unwavering faith!”
“Don’t put your faith in me—put it in money. On this continent, nothing runs deeper than trust built on coin.”

Just as I turned to leave—

◆ Adelon’s Affinity with you has increased! ◆

A semi-transparent message popped up in front of me.

◆ Adelon’s Affinity with you has reached [Friendly]!
◆ Characters in [Friendly] state exhibit warm and positive attitudes toward you.
◆ Such characters are proactive in offering aid or cooperation and may support you during battle or critical situations, or assist in emergencies.

As expected.

He really was a talent worth grooming into a branch manager of Frecce.

After parting with Adelon—

I quickly summoned the other merchant members and soldiers.

Just in case, I asked them about Serapia’s marriage.

“Ah…”
“Knew it…”

The merchants and soldiers all nodded as if they’d been expecting this.

Their expressions made it clear—they felt the time had come.

“What do you mean, ‘knew it’?”
“Uh… you didn’t know, sir?”

Apparently, there was something going on that I didn’t know about.

“What do you mean I didn’t know? Know what?”

When I asked again, the members hesitated, avoiding eye contact.
But as soon as I furrowed my brow, they caved.

“Actually… the Viscount Benneron’s household has been pursuing marriage with Lady Serapia.”
“Viscount Benneron?”

Where had I heard that name before?

It wasn’t during the Allied Forces period… Ah, right.

After we took down the Ice-Drake, a guest from Benneron had visited the County.

And again, just before I left for Frecce, someone mentioned Benneron.

“They’re a neighboring territory to our County.”
“Their domain lies within the frigid zone…”
“They’ve been making regular visits to the County for a while now.”

So my hunch had been right.

And every time, they apparently made some sort of “proposal.”

“Don’t tell me, the proposal was for marriage?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”

So now I understood what the side quest meant by “Serapia’s marriage.”

However—

‘Never heard of the Monarch of Frost getting married before…?’

…Still didn’t know how this all connected.

“They’ve been persistently offering a marriage proposal to Lady Serapia.”

In plain terms, a political marriage.

But that was standard fare among noble houses.

In fact, almost all noble marriages were political.

So for a noble lady like Serapia, a political marriage was basically predetermined.

“…Hmm?”

Even so, something felt off.

Because the House of Whitewolf was a count family.
Meanwhile, Benneron was a viscount.

In the Battenberg Kingdom, noble titles were ranked in five tiers:

Duke > Marquess > Count > Viscount > Baron

So at a glance, a Count and a Viscount were only one step apart.

…But in reality, that wasn’t quite true.

Counts were firmly considered high nobility.
So the gap between Count and Viscount was really a matter of level.

Duke >>> Marquess > Count >>>>>>>> Viscount > Baron

That was the actual power dynamic.

Technically, Viscount and Baron weren’t even formal noble titles.
More precisely, they weren’t titles appointed by the monarch.

They were managerial roles assigned by higher nobles, especially Counts, to assist in administrative duties.

For example, Bernard, the Chief Steward of the House of Whitewolf, held no official title—not even Baron, let alone Viscount.

He could quit his job tomorrow, and no one could say anything.

In other words, Viscounts were just middle managers.

What people called a “Viscount’s territory” was land the Count designated at their own discretion.

Like saying, “Here, I’ll give you this territory—want to manage it under me?”

But if the Count were to suddenly die, or fail to leave an heir, or for any other reason vacate the seat, those Viscounts might simply seize the land for themselves.

That’s how so-called “Viscounties” or “Baronies” had emerged over centuries.

Eventually, due to long-standing tradition, even the royal family came to recognize Viscounts and Barons as nobles.

But strictly speaking, they weren’t appointed by the monarch.
So—

“There’s no real reason to agree to a marriage, is there?”

The House of Whitewolf had no obligation to agree to such a match.

After all, Serapia was the lord of the County.
In other words, the future Count.

There was no reason to marry her off to a mere Viscount.

“Well…”
“As you know, Lord Adrian, our County is kind of…”

The merchant trailed off, but I got the gist.

The County of Whitewolf had nothing.
The Viscounty of Benneron had plenty.

Nobles beneath the Count level often had a complex about not being formally recognized by the royal family.

So they were desperate to rack up achievements, hoping to be promoted and acknowledged by the crown as Counts.

Translatin_Otaku

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