Chapter 20.1

“I-I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. Really.”

It was true. She just stopped walking when she heard they mentioned her on her way by chance.

However, whatever she said had long lost their trust.

Glenn frowned slightly.

“I believe the main building is a long way from here.”

“I took the duty to manage the house affairs. So, to tour around the castle… it’s a given.”

To solve a problem, one needed to know what the exact situation was.

Though given the Winterfell financial situation, she expected that the condition wouldn’t be fine either.

As she thought, there were places that needed to be repaired. It was as if they didn’t even have the money to retouch them.

She came to this place after walking around the castle in dismay. The knights’ quarters were also getting old.

Rather than the fact that they were talking about her behind her back, she felt sorry for the knights living in such a place.

Glenn frowned slightly and asked.

“Looking around the castle? Aren’t you just spying?”

“What do you mean by spying? Why would I do such a thing?”

‘I was only looking around for holes that could be the way for money to come in, you rascal.’

Instead of speaking out her mind, Nadia gave a slightly terrified look.

She even teared up like she actually felt hurt by Glenn’s harsh tone.

If she was being suspected by a man she loved, she should show some sadness.

Also, she looked down to show how frightened she was. Both of her hands gently gripped the skirt of her dress pitifully.

Nadia was able to act naturally because she had practiced in advance, in case Glenn threw harsh words at her.

However, Glenn’s expression didn’t soften in the slightest.

On the contrary, his tone only grew harsher as if her pitiful look was abominable in his eyes.

“Since you achieved your purpose, there is no need to continue acting, isn’t it? Stop your pretense.”

‘Ah, I knew he wouldn’t buy it.’

Nadia sighed and clicked her tongue.

Didn’t people say that he was too young to be the head of the Winterfell family? He turned out to be an unfriendly fellow.

But she couldn’t reveal the truth here.

There was no other way than to stick to the initial plan.

Nadia’s trembling eyelids began to get wetter.

To act like she was in tears, she had to think of her deceased mother in her head. She once again immersed herself in her plausible acting.

“You know how much I love you, Marquis… How could you say such harsh things to me?”

“…What?”

Glenn opened his mouth slightly when he heard her absurdity.

The knights’ reaction beside him was no different either. Their jaws were hanging.

There was nothing wrong with the ‘how could you say such harsh things to me’ part.

Those lines were something that would be likely to come out of a romance novel.

Of course, Glenn, who had no immunity to this kind of situation, had no choice but to be perplexed.

He started to stutter and answered.

“D-Don’t joke with me. You know I wouldn’t be fooled by that kind of acting…”

“Boohoo.”

“No, wait.”

Glenn’s golden eyes swayed for no reason.

Having spent most of his life in the midst of rough Northern men, it was unlikely that he had any experience of soothing a crying lady.

A bullet of cold sweat dripped down his forehead.

It was clear that Nadia was pretending…

He couldn’t believe that the daughter of the vicious Duke Balazit would be so weak…

He tried to think rationally, but he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable deep down his conscience.

Glenn took a few steps closer to her without realizing it.

But Nadia backed away as he approached.

“I-I should get going. I swear I didn’t mean to overhear your conversation.”

“Wait–!”

Then Nadia wiped her tears and ran away.

It happened so fast and Nadia’s tiny figure disappeared out of Glenn’s field of vision.

“Sigh…”

Glenn stiffened when he tried to reach out to her.

Next to Glenn who hardened like a statue, the knights whispered to each other.

“Just now… Did she cry?”

“W-We didn’t say anything, but why did she cry?”

“Who knows? Maybe she might have been thinking of giving up her dowry.”

“That’s impossible.”

Would it be possible for Duke Balazit’s daughter to think like that?

It was good enough that she didn’t use the dowry to secretly mess up the Winterfell family.

“Normally, there is no way for us to welcome the people from the Balazit family, right? Isn’t that a given?”

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“Is it because she has no interest in politics, therefore she doesn’t know that the relationship between the families isn’t good?”

“I mean, not knowing who your father’s enemy is… Does that even make sense?”

The thorny comments came out of the knights’ mouths one by one.

In contrast to their harsh tone, Glenn’s expression on his face was sour like he had just eaten an unripe persimmon.

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