Chapter 23.1

If Nadia bought herself jewelry or dresses, he had no reason to stop her from doing it as her husband.

But what reason could Glenn have to stop her from starting a business with her dowry?

When she claimed that she wanted to make money and help the Winterfell financial situation.

Nadia and the Duke must have planned this from the beginning.

A dowry was given only for the face of the Duke, not to be spent on the Winterfell.

‘She’d rather throw money on the street than spend it on her family. What a waste of money.’

Where did all that money come from? The answer was rather simple.

This was due to the Duke of Balazit’s control over the King, which allowed him to take bribes and gain himself fortunes.

Glenn couldn’t believe she wasted the money her father squeezed out of their people.

It made him clench his teeth in anger.

“Everything won’t work out anyway.”

“I’m sure… Someday we can overcome this, my lord.”

Glenn’s mouth was filled with bitterness.

He tried to settle the debt with the war trophies from the expedition, but instead of gold coins, all he got was a wife, whom he was sure that she came here as a spy.

Not enough for his wife to openly act as a spy, his aunt was fretting because she couldn’t steal.

Glenn felt uncomfortable like he had a stone weighing down his chest, but he forced himself to straighten his back.

The repayment due date was approaching day by day.

At times like this, he should take the role of the head of the family and overcome the family crisis.

Just like his father asked him to.

“Take the paper and the envelope from the drawer over there.”

“Do you have a letter to send?”

“…We have to catch a straw.”

(*Catching a straw: Your last hope to achieve something. It implies how desperate Glenn is.)

Asking for money would harm the face of a lord, but Glenn had no other way.

The only way was to explain the situation to the allied lords and turn around the debt.

Glenn could feel how heavy his hand was as he started writing the greeting.

Two months later.

Failed, failed, failed.

Everyone had at least one plausible excuse, but the fact that the conclusion was a rejection remained unchanged.

No, it wasn’t even a plausible excuse either.

The fact that there was a boom throughout the North.

“Haa…”

A long sigh broke out of Glenn’s mouth, the young lord of Winterfell.

Still, he wasn’t lying when he said that he expected at least one person to help him.

Even if they tried to make a deal in the favor of the Northern lords’ alliance, Glenn would still take it.

But everyone refused.

Glenn’s eyes were open, but he couldn’t see anything.

‘This is crazy. If I don’t look for a way out, the  plane will be taken away.’

What happened after that was obvious – The Winterfell would lose their most productive land.

The fief would gradually decline, and even his status as the leader of the Northern region would be shaken.

He might witness his position as the leader be handed to another territory even before he could lose his status.

Glenn had received strict successor education from an early age. It was such a nightmare that the decline of his family might begin in his era of leadership.

As he was sighing, his aide asked him carefully.

“I guess it’s not a positive answer.”

“There’s been a bad harvest all over the North, so there’s probably no room to discuss.”

“The situation has become very difficult.”

“There’s nothing we can do. I have no choice but to find another way.”

Though it was questionable whether any alternatives would even exist.

Such ideas struck into their heads at the same time.

“Since there’s nothing else I can tell you to do, you may go. I need to think alone.”

“…yes, my lord.”

As his lord said so, it was best for the aide to just stay out of his sight.

The aide sneaked out of the office.

When Glenn was left alone in the office, he buried his face in the palm of his hand and thought in silence.

He felt suffocated under the pressure.

‘Father, I really don’t know. How can I protect my territory? Should I not have gone on the expedition in the first place? Do I have to live with the reputation of a lord breaking the contract with his vassals? I really don’t know, father.’

It was completely different from the days back when he was in his youth–when he was undergoing a successor education under the protecting wing of the previous marquis.

Had all of the previous Winterfell leaders endured this pressure? With no one offering a helping hand.

No one that he could ask for advice.

Everything had to be decided by himself, and he had to take responsibility for it.

Countless lives would be lost at one bad decision he made.

What he felt was the loneliness and the dread of being left alone in the open sea.

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Although Glenn was educated as the next family leader from an early age, he was still an immature young man in his mid-20s.

He couldn’t help but be afraid of the situation where he had to decide and take responsibility for everything on his own.

Glenn couldn’t lift his head for a long time with the heavyweight on his shoulders.

But it was then.

Bang! Bang! Bang!