After dropping off Gabriella, Quash went straight to the Inn. He wouldn’t lie, he was very tempted by her offer, but he felt that he would be taking advantage of her. Since she thinks he just wants her money and all.

​And besides, psychology says sex with a person you love feels a thousand times greater than just hookups... probably. Hopefully.

​So he will try to connect their hearts before going further. And she is going nowhere. She is a loyal girl.

​But he wondered if he had been hasty. But on second thought, the decision made the most sense. If he had rejected the warden’s offer, he was sure that the warden certainly wouldn’t have liked him as much as he does now.

​Nor would Gabriella be this compliant. By breaking their expectations, he secured respect from them. Weird but that’s how he felt it went.

​The warden offered because he was the grandson of his friend. That is all.

​Or was there more?

​"Hold on."

​Quash suddenly sat up on his bed, his eyes frowning. He realised that the offer from the warden isn’t as simple as it seemed. There must be something he wasn’t aware of. But what could it be?

​And he remembered that the warden also wanted to talk a bit more. So there’s definitely a greater reason than a simple whim.

​"Did I get played?"

​Quash couldn’t help but murmur. This sudden thought crept in and wouldn’t leave. But what will the warden get from tying him to their family?

​What special thing did he have? The warden couldn’t [see] him because of the ring so he was sure that the warden wasn’t aware of him having two lifetimes of memories.

​But why would a Spatial Ring have such a function?

​"...Unless..."

​A terrifying thought emerged in his mind which sent chills down his spine. The good kind. The kind that makes one feel awe instead of fear.

​The possibility is, his grandfather knew of his Reincarnation since his birth. He foresaw the possibilities and left that ring.

​And maybe even had some hand in this abrupt decision to marry Gabriella.

​"Pfff-hahaha!!"

​He couldn’t help but laugh out loud. It sounded absurd but if his cheap grandfather really was that strong as the Warden said, then it wasn’t far off.

​And since they left him a ring, it must mean that his grandfather was someone who excelled at crafting. Since he never heard of any Spatial Ring or artifact having absolute time stop. Nor any defence mechanism that can block the Vision of someone of the warden’s caliber.

​He wondered if the inheritance in Dafoe Forest is related to that or not?

​And since his grandfather was so strong, he definitely should have had at least a Legendary Tier Bloodline.

​But he doesn’t. Another mystery.

​"Heh. You’re cheap to the very end, grandpa. The warden was right. You did have some screws loose. Instead of handing me the whole stuff you want to make me work... why!?"

​Quash couldn’t help but scream at the air because stuff got more complicated than it seems. He called out his grandfather for the nth time and completely ignoring the fact that the warden had included him in the insult as well.

But there was nothing he could do at the moment other than to prepare to the best of his ability.

​He will deal with the trouble of the outside world when he gets outside. And now that he thinks about it, getting married to Gabriella wasn’t a bad thing because since he was actively abandoning the Knight Path, he needed someone to protect him.

​And there was no one more suited other than Gabriella. Because she is the strongest among the weakest. And when she becomes strong, she will become the strongest among the weakest. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

​But that raises a concern. What if she gets bored with him and she creates a harem instead? That’s a massive concern. And he needs to consult with Gabriella as soon as possible.

​Since he promised that they should embrace each other’s flaws, he will take the initiative to show her that he is committed and share his insecurity.

​But if stuff doesn’t work out and he sees that there are chances of him having to deal with mockery from her, walking out is still an option.

​No matter how beautiful a person is, if their character is garbage, they will be garbage as well.

​With that plan set in his mind, Quash tried to go to sleep because he somehow felt tired. Probably because of the hyper-focused state he was in the morning to beat the Barbarian. And he hasn’t rested properly.

​"BASTARD!! OPEN THE FUCK UP!!! HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT!?"

​Just as he was about to fall asleep, Alan’s aggressive banging on the door sounded. He got up begrudgingly. Opened the door and Alan stormed in, with Elina in tow. He sat on the bed and looked at Quash, demanding answers.

​Quash unhurriedly closed the door behind him and then took a chair to sit. He looked Alan in the eyes. His eyes drooping, still half asleep.

​"What do you want to know?"

​"Everything!! How the hell did you go from just a famous guy to no. 1 enemy of the male populace!? And how the fuck did you manage to get THE Vampire Princess to act as your girlfriend!?"

​"It wasn’t an act though?"

​Quash said and showed Alan the left side of his neck where a beautiful red-coloured flower mark had appeared.

​Alan didn’t need to be a scholar to know what that was. The Partnership Mark of a Vampire. He looked like his brain was buffering as his mouth was closing and opening repeatedly. But no word came out.

​Quash dozed off in the meantime. He was really sleepy. He could become alert anytime he wanted but he wouldn’t be able to go to sleep after that.

​So he just waited for Alan to throw the next question. And after a while, Alan did. He asked Quash to explain everything.

​And Quash did which left both Alan and Elina in shock. Unable to formulate any cohesive thoughts that will make them understand the absurdity of the situation. But Quash kicked them out and they didn’t resist even though they wanted to talk more. Because they saw how sleepy Quash was. They left him be, they will get plenty of time to ask questions.