Chapter 14

The wedding was held soon after Nadia arrived at the Winterfell estate.

Even Nadia was a little flustered because she didn’t expect it to proceed this quickly.

‘I thought he’d drag on the wedding with this and that excuse….’

It seemed that he decided that it was meaningless to postpone any longer. Though it was a good thing from Nadia’s point of view.

She thought there wouldn’t be enough time to prepare dresses or ceremonies according to the tradition she had heard before, but it turned out that the solution was surprisingly simple.

“This wedding dress was brought by the previous Marchioness when she got married. There wasn’t much time left until the wedding, so please wear the late Marchioness dress.”

It had been common in noble families to inherit wedding dresses from generation to generation.

To be honest, Nadia didn’t even pay any attention to the wedding ceremony itself, even if it was omitted.

However, the maid, who didn’t know her true feelings, added an explanation, almost as if she was trying to make excuses.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard about it in advance, but the wedding will be held in a simple way. The situation of the people in this territory is not good due to the overlapping monster attacks and famine. In this situation, if the lord performs the wedding ceremony luxuriously, the resentment toward the lord will inevitably increase.”

“It’s okay. I understand.”

“Of course, in a once-in-a-lifetime wedding to be held this brief… Yes? What did you say?”

“I’m now the Marchioness of Winterfell, not the young lady of Balazit. So it is my duty to prioritize the people.”

“Oh my….”

There were no events more important than weddings in the life of noble daughters.

In a way, the wedding was considered more important than the funeral.

If a respectable noble young lady’s wedding were prepared sloppily, this issue would escalate.

There were dozens of scenarios, such as the bride would have a fit if the groom’s family disrespected her, or something like my father wouldn’t stay still.

How nervous this maid was for bringing this topic up.

However, while she was trying to overcome her nervousness, the bride-to-be wasn’t showing anything but composure.

Instead, Nadia asked her a question with an attitude of not knowing what to do because she was just too happy. She sounded like a girl having her dream come true.

“I understand that the Northern land’s resources are not as rich as the land in the Southern part. But I confessed that I fell in love with him; shouldn’t I endure this much?”

‘Ah… It’s tough to pretend to be a woman in love.’

Nadia was a little bit worried that she might have played the concept of a girl in love over the line. She should be careful.

In an instant, Nadia could hear a sound of a crackling laugh behind her back, in which the owner of the laughter immediately regretted her carelessness.

“Haha, you are saying something funny.”

“…Madam Grace.”

Looking back, Nadia could see a woman with grey hair. Then, she stood up from her seat.

Grace Greenwood. She was Glenn Winterfell’s aunt, and a woman would soon become an aunt to Nadia.

After the previous Marchioness passed away and the previous Marquis was in his sickbed, Grace Greenwood became the highest elder in the Winterfell family.

Her personality seemed to be reflected in her slim body and straight-looking lips.

Madam Grace approached Nadia and hit her shoulder with a fan.

“……If I made a mistake, please teach me generously.”

“You speak as if you were the wife of this family.”

“?”

Nadia looked puzzled. She had an expression that showed she didn’t understand what Grace was saying. However, she soon exclaimed, ‘Ah!’.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t made the marriage vow yet. Until then, my last name isn’t Winterfell. Thank you for letting me know.”

“You can’t twist words like that!”

Madam Grace, who raised her tone as she forgot to keep her composure, soon straightened her face.

She almost made a fuss in an undignified manner in front of someone younger than her.

“Ehem. I meant whether there would be anyone in our family who would recognize this marriage.”

Madam Grace didn’t know how much Nadia was doted in the capital, but now Nadia had a lower authority under her here.

She gave Nadia a glare that implied such meaning.

If she didn’t put Nadia in her place from the beginning, things would get problematic later on.

It didn’t matter if she was a loyal servants’ daughter of the royal family. Nadia had to know that she was in the middle of the enemy territory.

And that no one would protect her.

Since Nadia was still young, it wouldn’t be easy for Nadia to act however she wanted if she scared her a little bit.

As expected, the blood began to disappear little by little from Nadia’s face.

Nadia opened her mouth with a shocked face.

“Yes…? But this is a marriage decreed under the order of His Majesty. Is there anyone who wouldn’t accept it?”

“What?”

“P-Please don’t say that. I am afraid someone will hear it. The public would suspect that the Winterfell family is not loyal to the royal family.”

“What do you mean by not loyal?! When did I say that?!”

“If anyone doesn’t acknowledge this marriage if it doesn’t mean that they are challenging the His Majesty’s order, what should I call it?”

“Uh!”

The hand holding the fan was filled with strength.

Madam Grace quickly glanced sideways at the people in the room.

They were all loyal servants of the Marquis Winterfell, but she herself didn’t know if they could keep the words from leaking out.

‘This cunning girl….’

None of the Winterfell family members acknowledged Nadia as the hostess of the house.

However, as long as she brought the royal family’s name, no one would dare to defy her.

Glenn, his nephew, wouldn’t involve himself in women’s dispute, but he wouldn’t allow rumours that the Winterfell family was taking the royal’s order as a joke.

Madam Grace was at a disadvantage the more they continued the talk here.

Judging the situation rationally, it was only right for her to step down from this argument.

However, she couldn’t show the ugly appearance of running away with her tail rolled up in front of lowly maids.

Madam Grace raised her chin and shouted angrily to maintain her pride.

“No matter how much His Majesty adores you, he wouldn’t interfere with each of his servants’ internal matter! Even if Glenn accepted this marriage, do you think Glenn will protect you?”

“If I show my sincerity as a wife, he will care about me someday.”

“Let’s wait and see. Which one would come first; you to be kicked out or my nephew to accept you as his wife?”

Madam Grace stared bitterly at her and turned her back.

She seemed to be trying to maintain her pride, but the problem was that it wasn’t particularly threatening enough for Nadia to back off.

Bam!

Madam Grace left, slamming the door shut.

There was only awkward silence in the room after she left.

The maids didn’t know what to do, and they were looking at each other. Nadia, who noticed the atmosphere was getting stiff, said softly.

“Keep doing what you’ve been doing.”

“Y-Yes!”

There could not have been a bride who was happy to hear that her husband would treat her coldly.

The more concerning thing was that it was something that could happen.

From their point of view, as a maid, no matter how unbeholden their soon-to-be Madam was, she was bound to be afraid.

She may be beaten for no reason just to vent anger.

The maids had to work hard to relieve the tense atmosphere while measuring Nadia’s dress.

“Please don’t pay attention to what Madam Grace said.”

“That’s right, that’s right. You’re this pretty; how could someone… No, no! Which man could deny your beauty?”

“W-We’ll do our best to dress you up. So that the Marquis will fall in love with you at a glance.”

The maids began to flatter desperately to please Nadia. Without knowing at all what their Madam was thinking in her heart.

Nadia thought.

‘If what she said was true, I’ll welcome it with my arms opened anyway.’

Nadia didn’t mind spending the first night alone. The problem was that she had to sleep with Glenn.

If the man asks to spend the night with her, then…. Then…..

‘….What should I do?’

The problem was that no matter how hard she tried, there was no way Nadia could avoid it.

Nadia recalled the problem she had been trying to ignore because Madam Grace was making a fuss about it.

Nadia’s expression was gloomy, like she had come across a problem that was difficult to solve.

* * *

The time remained until the wedding ceremony passed like an arrow. When she realized it, there was only a few days away.

While the wedding preparations were going on, one question remained in Nadia’s head.

‘Do we have to share the first night together? Really?’

Whether directly or indirectly, Nadia had heard whether she could be acknowledged as Glenn’s wife more than 30 times.

No, it was either she could be accepted as the hostess of the Winterfell family or just skip their first night. How Nadia wished she could choose just one of the two options.

Nadia was stuck in a ridiculous situation, but on the other hand, there were also fuss about how Nadia said that she fell in love with Marquis Winterfell at first sight.

It didn’t make any sense for Nadia to refuse to share the first night with Glenn if she said she was in love with him.

At this rate, she was in a situation where she had to sleep with a man who she hadn’t talked to on more than a few occasions.

Nadia had a fiance in her previous life, but she couldn’t even get the chance to hold a wedding due to one reason and another. Therefore, of course, she had no experience with such a thing called the first night.

‘To be honest, it would be a lie if I’m not nervous…..’

As she had a frown on her face thinking of the possible embarrassing situation in the near future, Nadia clicked her tongue.

If it was inevitable, then she had no choice but to accept it as it was. What was so wrong with being a virgin?

Fortunately, the fact that Marquis Winterfell had no interest in her became a blessing for her.

Nadia waited for the wedding as she took good care of her body as customary.

And so, the day of the wedding ceremony came—Nadia, wearing an adjusted inherited dress, boarded into the wedding carriage.

Since no brother or father was to walk her down the aisle, Nadia had to head to the wedding hall alone.

Soon the carriage carrying her began to move.

Nadia calmly waited to arrive at her destination with a flower bouquet on her lap.

As she opened the curtain and looked out of the window, she could see the scenery outside the castle was passing by quickly.

Glenn did mention that it was an outdoor wedding, but it seemed to be held outside the castle.

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Nadia began to hear the sound of music little by little, meaning that she was gradually approaching the wedding ceremony venue.

After a while, the carriage stopped at a place where the river and fields were visible.

“We have arrived, Madam.”

Rattle.

The door of the wedding carriage opened, and a hand suddenly reached out to Nadia.