"No! Father, you can't do this to me!"
Jeremy fell to his knees before the Baron and clung to his legs. But the man remained unmoved.
"Silence!" the man growled, "Or have you already forgotten what position you hold in our house? How dare you talk back?!"
"But, father... I am your son...!" the youngest offspring of the Seybel family sobbed desperately.
"If I had known you would turn out to be such a worthless thing, I would have disowned you that very day."
Uttering such ruthless words, contempt was evident in Rowen Seybel's tone.
While Jeremy pleaded with all his might for his father to reconsider and cancel his decision, the man merely disgustedly pushed his hands away. That look... As if the Baron was looking at a stray mongrel from the street, not his own child.
The guy trembled under that gaze.
"If it works out, our family will become one of the richest in the empire. And if not... Well, no great loss."
With these words, the Baron made it clear that his decision was not up for discussion. As a result, Jeremy threw a tantrum in his father's study, after which he was forcibly seized and locked in his room. Tomorrow, a carriage with him was to depart for the northern region.
The guy couldn't believe that all this was really happening to him.
Lying in his cold bed at night (the servants didn't heat his room), Jeremy literally "wiped his snot on his fist." The horrifying thought that his father had actually discarded him wouldn't fit in his head. Apparently, despairing of forming an alliance with other ladies from noble families, Baron Seybel decided to resort to extreme measures.
To send his son to the selection for the ice witch. And to be precise, to certain death.
Selina de Lun was the last descendant of the magical Lun clan, whose main element was cold and ice. It was a very wealthy family, and also the only one possessing magic on the entire continent. Since magic was becoming an increasingly disappearing phenomenon with each generation, people possessing it were automatically elevated to the rank of
"elite."
The de Lun family was so powerful that they completely controlled the entire northern region. Although this territory was part of the Ruwens Empire, the Emperor himself actually had no power over it. These lands were completely controlled by the heiress of the Lun family, who was also called the "ice witch."
All because this woman was as cold as a piece of ice — both inside and out. Eliciting any emotions from her was practically impossible. In fact, if she wished, the Lun family had enough power to stage a coup and seize power in the empire. This would pose a serious threat to the imperial family.
But... Selina, like her descendants, remained completely uninitiative in this matter. Power and money didn't interest her at all, and according to rumors, she never even left her own residence. After the death of her father, Duke de Lun, no news had come from the northern region for a long time.
At least, until recently.
Despite the fact that, thanks to magic, the descendants of the Lun family lived longer than ordinary people, she still needed to leave an heir. Especially since Selina was her father's only daughter, and without her, the ancient clan would simply die out.
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Therefore, to solve this problem, the princess's servants decided to organize a selection throughout the empire.
Any son from a noble family of the empire could submit his candidacy. Everything further depended on the sorceress's own decision. Since her wealth equaled (if not exceeded) the imperial treasury, power and influence didn't interest her at all. Selina chose her life partner based on other preferences.
When Jeremy learned that he was being married off to a woman who, according to rumors, was about two hundred years old, he was instantly paralyzed with terror. And that wasn't all...
There was something much worse.
The fact was that "losing" in this selection was impossible. Even if the young man didn't please the princess, he wouldn't be sent home, but... executed. According to the latest rumors, more than several dozen people had already died during this selection. And considering that the event was still ongoing, the princess still hadn't chosen anyone.
Only the lazy hadn't heard about the "bloody selection" in the northern region. Jeremy, having ended up in this world, learned about this commotion within the next week. Of course, everyone was outraged, but could do nothing about what was happening. The traditions of the northern people were extremely cruel.
And quarreling with the ice witch was even less desirable.
Of course, Jeremy himself didn't think that such a fate would somehow touch him. After all, the Baron wouldn't be so cruel as to send his own son like a calf to the "slaughter," would he?
But, as it turned out, he was wrong. Baron Seybel had indeed sent him there — where others like him, outcasts and worthless sons of their families, were to risk their lives in attempts to win the princess's favor.
After all, no noble family in their right mind would send their heir to such an ordeal. Burning with resentment at the injustice that all his other brothers, unlike him, would be safe, Jeremy decided he couldn't just leave it like that.
That same night, Jeremy made an unsuccessful escape attempt. Tying a rope from the curtains, Jeremy intended to descend to the street and run away. After all, even a life of poverty and homelessness would be better than such an unjust death at the hands of a witch.
But...
The guards caught him just as he was about to throw the rope he had made from the balcony. As it turned out, the Baron had specially placed guards throughout the estate for such an occasion. So Jeremy was in for a very unpleasant surprise.
"Young master, what are you doing?"
The guards were patrolling right under the windows of his room. Realizing he was in an awkward position, Jeremy tried to justify himself.
"Oh... I... I just wanted to take a walk."
"'Take a walk'?" the guard frowned, "His Lordship has forbidden you to go outside until tomorrow's departure. We cannot ignore the order. Please, go to sleep and don't make our task more difficult."
So, even a rootless knight treated him with contempt. Jeremy felt like a child caught in petty hooliganism. He sighed heavily.
"Alright..."
In the end, Jeremy resigned himself to his fate. His father strictly controlled everything. One way or another, he wouldn't be able to escape before he got into the carriage and headed north.
This was terrible. Couldn't be worse.
The guy had never felt so helpless. He literally couldn't do anything to oppose his fate. So this was his end? Jeremy grinned sadly, not imagining that such a miserable fate truly awaited him.
Jeremy couldn't sleep and stared blankly at the wall all night. Occasionally, he sobbed.
And the next morning... They came for him.
"Young master, pack everything you need," his father's butler dryly informed him, not even knocking, entering the room, "In an hour, a carriage will escort you to the northern region."
"..."
"Do you understand me?" the butler asked irritably.
"Thank you, Sir Felton. I heard everything perfectly."
"Hmph..."
The door closed, and Jeremy didn't even know what to take with him. Maybe he could secretly bring a knife to defend himself against the witch? Although it was unlikely to be useful.
She wields magic, after all.
Sighing heavily, the guy decided to take nothing with him. After all, he would soon die anyway. There were dark circles under his eyes from fatigue after a sleepless night.
Early in the morning, Jeremy went outside, where a prepared carriage was to escort him to the selection ceremony. Neither his father nor his brothers came out to see him off.
Quite likely, they were still asleep, not caring at all about the fate of the youngest.
Raising his head, Jeremy looked at the still dark dawn sky, drizzled with light rain. As if this was the last moment of freedom before an infinitely difficult future.
"Camilla, I hope your life turns out better than mine."
He smiled sadly as the guards reminded him it was time to depart.
Jeremy Seybel took a deep breath before getting into the carriage. The vehicle immediately started moving.