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

But the easiest method?

“The Viscount of Benneron offered a massive sum of gold in exchange for a political marriage with Lady Serapia…”

It was a political marriage.

Just like how second or lower sons of noble families would enter other noble houses as stewards and rise through the ranks,
daughters—especially second or younger ones—would contribute to their families through intermarriage with other noble houses.

Though she was adopted, Serapia was the eldest daughter of the House of Whitewolf.

And not just any eldest daughter—she was the next Count.
Not to mention, she was remarkably beautiful.

It was enough for the House of Viscount Benneron to covet her persistently.

“While the former Count was alive, we couldn’t even dare consider it…”

But a few months ago, her father passed away.
And with all the inheritance left to Serapia, they figured that marrying her would let them swallow the entire County.

“We were strongly against it, but…”

The County of Whitewolf had absolutely nothing to offer.
The people had to fight hunger and cold every single day.

Serapia must have believed that accepting the Bennerons’ marriage proposal would solve all those problems.

‘So that’s why she offered to return the Lordship to me?’

Serapia had given up all the inheritance passed down to her.
Back then, he wondered why she’d do such a thing—but now, it made sense.

Even if she were to be sold off in a political marriage, she wanted to keep the County from falling into the hands of others.

‘Hmph.’

In his previous life, he knew nothing of this situation.

He had left the family behind, after all.
Still, what’s done is done.

‘Not that it’s any of my business.’

To be honest, he didn’t care who Serapia married.
He looked again at the quest that had popped up before him.

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

[Objective] – Stop Serapia’s marriage.
[Reward] – Increase in Kai’s Affection
[Failure] – Awakening of the <Monarch of Frost>

The reward screamed sub-quest.
Kai’s affection.

Considering he lived and died for Serapia, that nutjob’s affection was the last thing he wanted.

In other words, it wasn’t a quest he was eager to do.
But the penalty on failure was critical.

In short, the consequences of not doing it were too heavy.

And the fact that this quest had suddenly appeared—

‘Does that mean they accepted the proposal?’

That would imply the County accepted the marriage proposal.

Which also meant Kai accepted it too.
That lunatic who lived and died by Serapia’s side.

‘If the quest popped now and not before…’

The House of Benneron had visited the County before, but the quest hadn’t appeared then.
So the quest didn’t trigger when the proposal was made.

Which meant it only activated after the proposal was accepted.

‘Suddenly?’

He really couldn’t wrap his head around it.

To be fair, when they had nothing, accepting the marriage offer might’ve made sense.

But not now.
With the supplies he was providing the people, they could endure even this harsh winter.

‘Don’t tell me… Serapia wants to marry him?’

If that were the case, he could understand.
If she loved Viscount Benneron, it made sense.
Even Kai accepting the marriage would be understandable then.

And in that case, it really wasn’t his business.

He could just go and kill both Serapia and her groom right now and be done with it.
Forget Ian’s regrets or whatever—the awakening of the Monarch of Frost was something he could never allow.

But then—

‘What kind of marriage is it if she’s not even conscious?’

He couldn’t even begin to guess what kind of nonsense was happening.

More importantly, in his memory, Serapia never had a husband.
There was no record of the Monarch of Frost ever marrying.

He even questioned whether a man who could handle her existed on the entire continent.

Just holding hands with her would probably freeze you to death.
Ian lost his left arm—he definitely wasn’t an option.

So really, no man on the continent could handle Serapia.

It was clear.

‘I need to go.’

He had to find out what was going on.
And quickly.

“You guys stay in Frecce and keep the business running.”
“Huh? U-us? On our own?”
“Yeah. If anything happens, go to the Merchant Guild and ask for help.”

They were sharp kids, so they could probably handle things without him—albeit clumsily.
Besides, once they opened a branch in Frecce, they’d have to operate on their own without him anyway.

“B-but…”
“Do you think we’ll be able to manage…”

Their faces showed clear unease, but this was something they’d have to face eventually.
Experience was a valuable asset.
He couldn’t stay by their side forever.

“Just keep doing what you’ve been doing. Even if you make mistakes, treat it as practice and learn from it.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
“We’ll do our best not to bring shame to you, Lord Adrian!”

Their enthusiastic replies were reassuring—but still, he felt uneasy.

Still, like he said—they had to face it someday.
Even if something happened, the Merchant Guild and the city council would step in.

“Alright. I’ll head to the County now.”
“Whaaat—?”

Before the merchants could even finish their surprised question…

◆ Activating Combined Skill: Metabolic Overdrive [U]
◆ Calories Consumed – 100,000 Kcal
◆ For [1,000 seconds], all of the player’s stats are increased by [+100%]!

An explosive surge in stats.

–Eh?

The merchant’s dumbfounded voice faded into the distance, leaving only a tiny dot behind.

The scorching heat in the room.

The burning-hot air pressed down like a suffocating weight.

The air against his skin felt like it would scorch his flesh,
and every breath seared his lungs like they were roasting from the inside.

It was as if the entire room was engulfed in flames.

No one could last even minutes—no, even seconds—in this heat.

Yet Serapia, limp on the bed, seemed completely detached from this world.

Kai closely examined Serapia’s condition.

Unconscious, she lay collapsed on the bed with no strength left in her body.

Even in this sweltering heat, her eyelashes were frosted over.
Her lips, turned a bluish hue, held not a trace of warmth.

Her skin was pale, her fingertips frozen solid—so much that she couldn’t move a single finger.

Her breaths were nearly inaudible.
Only the faint rise and fall of her chest revealed that she was still breathing at all.

Leaving Serapia behind, Kai quietly stepped out of the room.
As he opened the door, Bernard, who’d been waiting outside, spoke up.

“How is she?”

Bernard’s face was filled with worry and dread.
He clearly wanted answers—but Kai couldn’t respond.

He couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Serapia was dying.
She didn’t have long.

He just couldn’t bear to say it aloud.
But perhaps, some things didn’t need to be spoken to be understood.

Bernard slowly closed his eyes.

“We have to accept House Benneron’s proposal.”
“No!”

Kai instinctively shouted.

“He’s a greedy man! To someone like that—Serapia—!”
“But we have no other choice.”

At those words, Kai fell silent.
His chest felt crushed by grief, and he struggled to breathe.

Even though he understood…

“First, we need to save Lady Serapia…”

Accepting that truth was incredibly painful.
And that’s why now—ironically—one person came to Kai’s mind.

Adrian, who had departed for Frecce on a business trip.

Maybe Adrian could find a way to save Serapia.
He had the power to make the impossible possible.

And this time, maybe Adrian could do it again.

Just as Kai was wrestling with his thoughts—

“Yes, first things first. You should save your master.”

A voice came from one side.

Kai turned his head—and saw a man walking toward him.

His very gait reeked of arrogance.

Every exaggerated, slow step exuded a sense of disdain for everything around him.

His face glistened with grease, and his excessively flashy outfit and jewel-covered fingers didn’t scream dignity, but vanity.

From his appearance to his attitude to his clothes,
everything about him oozed greed and pettiness.

That man’s name was—

Alteron de Benneron.

The eldest son of the House of Viscount Benneron,
and the man currently engaged to Serapia.

Translatin_Otaku

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