Chapter 27.2

Glenn reached out his arm and hugged Nadia’s small frame. Like a typical southern woman, her upper body was slender and it fitted just right in his arms.

He thought it was just a hug, but it felt different when he hugged her thin body.

The scent of perfume or soap tickled the nose.

‘And this woman, why is she so upfront and asks to be embraced?’

The soft touch on his chest disturbed his mind.

Just when he was contemplating over how to respond,

Clap, clap, clap, clap!

The applause coming from the side of the room caught the attention of the two.

That made Glenn and Nadia step back from each other.

When they turned their heads, they could see merchants clapping their hands hard.

The first to speak was Wayne of the Northern Merchants’ Union. He said with a cheeky smile.

“Uh…Congratulations to both of you.”

“What are you congrating for?”

“I just congratulate you.”

“For what exactly?”

“Uh…… congratulations on settling your debt. It has been a hard time for you, hasn’t it?”

“…….”

Looking at Wayne’s smiling face, he seemed to have a completely different reason, but Glenn couldn’t argue about it.

Eventually, Glenn had to turn his head to a chagrined face.

He instinctively realized that if they continued this topic, only he would be in an awkward situation.

He said to Nadia in a hurry to change the subject.

“That Shylock guy…”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He is sneaky and greedy, and he is a disappointment in the world of commerce.”

“No wonder he looked like one.”

“It’s not a joke. It’s going to be a blow for him since he is out of business, but it doesn’t change that he’s one of the top players in the northern part of the country. I’m afraid he has a grudge against you. Be careful not to get involved with him.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that.”

“?”

Glenn could not help but wondered at her confidence.

No matter how much he didn’t look like a capable man, Shylock was someone with a lot of fortune and henchmans.

Even Glenn, an aristocrat, couldn’t punish him as he pleased.

Nadia continued in a cheerful tone.

“My father hates him the most because he doesn’t pay his taxes properly. My father will take care of it.”

* * *

A letter arrived from Nadia for the first time since she got married.

Despite the fact that it was the first contact with his daughter in nearly four months, the Duke’s face was as stiff as a brick.

What was written in the letter was not good news.

As the father’s expression gradually hardened, Callaine, the second daughter standing next to him, asked in an impatient tone.

“Father, what did she say? What is it? What did she do with the dowry?”

“……She said she had no choice but to use the gold coins to purchase thorn herbs. Her reason for starting the herbal tea business was to make money and help the Winterfell family, otherwise it would be hard for her to convince them of her sincerity.”

When he first heard that Nadia was starting a herbal tea business, he thought it was a good excuse not to hand the dowry to the Winterfell family.

How could he express his opposition to the idea of helping his in-law family after he himself raised the dowry?

However, his decision at that time now put Nadia at a disadvantage.

There was no longer an excuse not to help Winterfell’s finances.

This not only helped the Winterfell settle their debts at once, but also gave the Winterfell a huge sum of money.

The strong military territory had recovered its financial stability.

The Duke of Balazit frowned and thought.

‘… It’s a little… No matter how lucky they are, there is no way it is a coincidence….’

They stocked up on thorn herbs, and an epidemic with the thorn herbs as a cure swept the southern part of the empire? It was too coincidental to be a coincidence.

The Duke of Balazit did not rule out the possibility that Nadia betrayed him.

The herbal tea business was just her trick, and it might have been hoarded in advance knowing that the cure for the Black Death was thorny herbs.

To help her husband, Marquis Winterfell.

Since the core of the business was Nadia, the Duke could not even accuse the Marquis for spreading the epidemic.

It would become a boomerang to him, and people would question whether the disease was related to the Balazit family.

However, the Duke somehow had an unresolved problem with this possibility.

How did she predict the Black Death before it happened? And how did she know that the cure for the Black Death was a thorn herb?’

No matter how many possible ways the Duke could think of, it only made sense to say that this incident overlapped with coincidence.

The Duke put down the letter, giving up his doubts about his daughter.

The Winterfell family temporarily had good news, but that’s all.

The North was a barren land with less economic power than the South.

It would be a natural procedure that over time,

and their finances would bottom out again.

‘I’m going to use this as an excuse to cut subsidies for the expedition.’

Then, Callaine’s voice interrupted his thought.

“Dad, did she say anything else?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… if the North are very scornful toward her, or if she wants to come back.”

The Duke replied with a short tsk.

“Do you think she will write such obvious words in her letter?”

There was no way that they would treat Nadia, the daughter of Winterfell’s political opponent, nicely.

Nevertheless, Nadia did not write a word of sorrow about living there.

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Even if she whined to her father, nothing would be solved because he would only feel annoyed with her.

‘As expected, she’s smart.’

Unlike her second daughter, who didn’t realize that she was pestering him.

Callaine shrugged her shoulders and continued to talk to her father with an irritated voice.

“No, I…… I’m afraid she is going through a hard time in a faraway place.”