Chapter 17.1

When Nadia opened her eyes the next morning, she was first aware that the bedroom was full of the smell of alcohol.

‘W-What should I do?’

It was fortunate that the smell of food didn’t mix with the alcohol smell.

Nadia hurriedly opened the window to ventilate the air in the room.

In the meantime, her head was busy rolling to squeeze out excuses.

How about saying that she was so heartbroken that she indulges herself in alcohol?

It would look plausible if she could make a desperate look on her face.

As soon as she had just found an excuse, a knock could be heard.

The maids could hear rustling from the room.

“Are you awake, Madam?”

“Yes. You can come in.”

Click.

The maids brought in a tray as if they had waited in front of the room in advance.

Anastasia, one of the maids, was at the forefront.

Along with three young maids lined up behind her.

Looking at their high-quality uniform, it seemed that she wanted to introduce Nadia, her personal maids.

Sure enough, Anastasia opened her mouth with her knees slightly bent.

“Now that Madam has officially become a hostess of Winterfell, I thought it would be right to introduce your personal maids. They are all the maids who served the previous Marchioness. As of today, we will be serving you. Hurry up and greet her.”

There were a total of three maids Anastasia brought, from the left, Lisa, Aidyn, and Erin.

“We will do our best to serve you.”

The three maids politely -of course, Nadia didn’t know how they felt inside- bowed down and greeted Nadia.

The maids were only able to straight up their backs after Nadia told them that they could do so.

So far, their behavior toward their master wasn’t bad.

“But, why does the room smell like alcohol…”

But the problem occurred when they looked up after they finished greeting her.

One of the maids muttered at the strong smell of alcohol tickling the tip of her nose.

“Aidyn!”

Anastasia raised her voice.

What else could be the reason why the room occupied by the bride, who was rejected from the first night, smelled like alcohol?

Anastasia was usually slow-witted, but there was no way she didn’t know what caused such a thing to happen.

“You talked too much in front of Madam! Hurry up and apologize! Hurry!”

“F-Forgive me, Madam!”

The maid, called Aidyn, knelt down and begged for Nadia’s forgiveness.

Only then did Aidyn realize her mistake.

It wasn’t that difficult to imagine how a noble woman, who had been rejected by her husband from the first night, would feel.

It was already embarrassing enough for Nadia that she cried all night to the point where she hurt her face*, but Aidyn made it clear.

(*Face as in dignity, honour, etc.)

If she behaved like that, it wouldn’t be weird if Aidyn was punished for no reason by her master.

“I apologize on behalf of this child, Madam. If you want, I will replace her with another maid.”

“I didn’t mean it! Please forgive me!”

The notoriety of Duke Balazit passed by Aidyn’s head, who begged on the floor.

A manipulator who controlled the King.

A devil crazy about power.

If it were the daughter of such a person, it wouldn’t be hard to guess.

However, the voice heard from above Aidyn’s head was so peaceful.

“It’s okay.”

“…Huh?”

“It’s understandable if you were surprised. I didn’t know I drank this much either. I couldn’t sleep without borrowing the energy of alcohol..”

Aidyn was surprised and looked up.

Her eyes looking up were as big as a plate.

Nadia looked out the window sadly and continued.

“Because the heart of a leaving man will eventually come back.”

Yuck.

Nadia said it herself, but it sounded cringy to her. She had to struggle not to distort her expression.

‘How long do I have to stick to this concept?’

Would she be able to quit after gaining the trust of the Winterfell family?

Nadia was calculating the time to quit acting in her head.

While she was thinking about something else for a while, she could feel the atmosphere surrounding her change.

“Why are you–”

“Ah….”

“Ah…”

When Nadia turned her head, the maids were looking at her as if they were looking at something very pitiful.

One of them even raised her hands over her mouth to cover it.

They seemed to buy that Nadia came all the way to the North because she loved their lord.

They heard that Nadia insisted on marrying a man to a place where she had no family or friends.

Yet she was rejected by that man.

Oh, my.

Their eyes shook violently.

What could they say to comfort her?

They were worried that if they opened their mouth recklessly, they might accidentally pour salt on her open wound.

The maids, who had been speechless for some time, soon began to sympathize with what Nadia had said.

“That’s right. That’s how men feel..!”

“Someday, the sun will shine on you, Madam.”

“Do you think so?. Thank you.”

Nadia replied puzzled. she  didn’t expect such enthusiastic responses.

“Then can we get water for us so I can wash my face first?”

While Nadia was washing her face, Aidyn even brought her a glass of drink that was good for hangovers.

Thanks to that, Nadia’s senses came back by the time she finished having her breakfast.

The maid said while brushing her hair.

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“You must have been tired from eating. Please have a good rest in your bedroom today.”

“No, at times like this, I have to be more faithful to my duty.”

Nadia’s goal was not simply to avoid engagement with Lee Jiho.

If she only focused on avoiding engagement, there would be a long way to get revenge on her family and ex-fiance.

After such a miserable death, would Nadia be satisfied with just being alive again in this lifetime? It wasn’t enough for Nadia.