A marriage between the family of the Duke of Balazit and the family’s enemy, the Marquis of Winterfell.

Would this historical marriage help the two families reconcile?

The majority of the public answered yes.

Now that they have become in-laws, they would put the old bad blood behind them. However, if they could see the scene in the reception ceremony, they would immediately realize that their thoughts were completely wrong.

At the wedding party venue to celebrate the birth of newly-weds. The place that was supposed to be full of joy was filled with only a cold atmosphere.

And then, the cause of such an atmosphere was neither due to the weather outside nor ice, but due to one particular person.

“Newly-wed room?”

The groom, who had a sour look on his face throughout the reception, raised his eyebrows.

Anyone would notice his displeased tone, even though he only spewed out two words. He turned to the butler sharply.

“Did you say newly-wed room? As in sharing a bed?”

“Yes, now that you are legally a married couple–“

“Are you saying I am going to share a bed with a woman who might have come to this family to assassinate me?”

“Oh, my, what do you mean by assassination!”

The bride raised her voice, shocked at the unexpected word.

Her beautiful face quickly turned into tears. Her pale complexion could not be concealed by makeup.

But Glenn, the groom, didn’t trust her at all.

From Glenn’s point of view, it was just a despicable act. He burst into laughter as her show dumbfounded him.

“Well, Nadia Balazit, let me ask you a question. Why did you want to marry me? You’re spying, or you’re trying to counterfeit a copy of the treasonous document? You’re going to put treason on our family?”

“That’s…”

“Speak the truth. There’s no one here who would help you.”

Anyone could hear intimidation in his voice.

The terrified bride’s body began to tremble. She finally opened her mouth after contemplating for a long time.

“Well, I’ve been admiring the Marquis for a long time.”

“Nonsense!”

Grit.

The sound of grinding teeth could be heard.

“Do you want me to believe such a lie?”

“I do! Please believe me. I fell in love with you at first sight.”

Nadia, the bride, answered with her sad eyes lowered. Her trembling eyelids were about to burst into tears.

It was such a realistic performance that Glenn would have been fooled if it wasn’t because she was his enemy’s daughter.

Maybe that’s why he felt disgusted.

‘I’m sure her father made her say it.’

Including the nonsense of loving him.

Glenn was not a fool enough to believe that his enemy’s daughter happened to have a crush on him at first sight.

All of this was just a trick for the Duke of Balazit to plant spies in the static territory.

The King, the Duke’s puppet, actively promoted the marriage.

“Have you ever spoken to me before? Are you telling me to believe that you fell for a man you hadn’t talked to before to the point that you followed him to the North? “

“Do I need a reason to fall in love?”

“You’re crazy–“

“I love you! Please accept my heart!”

He gnashed his teeth as he stared at Nadia, who was still shivering as if she were scared.

Glenn was very suspicious of her intention of willingly walking into this family, but he couldn’t even question the bride.

He couldn’t do her any harm at the moment.

His fist was shaking.

Glenn reminded himself to be patient over and over again and not to act impulsively.

‘There is a very limited amount of things that a vulnerable woman can do in an enemy land without any allies anyway.’

Especially if she was a wife who was not acknowledged by her husband, her range of movement would be restricted.

It wouldn’t be long until he could dispose of an unwanted wife after dealing with his political opponent.

He had to avoid the suspicion that the North was seeking independence until the day he could build his strength.

Glenn clenched his teeth and said.

“Fine. We’ll see how long you can lie about love.”

“…!”

Nadia’s face brightened up when he said she would tolerate her existence. However…

“But you’d better not dream of being recognized as my wife. There is no way I would have a successor with Balazit’s daughter.”

“But, I’m not my father’s spy! How could you doubt my true feelings?”

Nadia cried at Glenn’s warning.

She covered her mouth and buried her face in her palm as if in despair.

It was because she almost responded the same thing.

‘Keep your word, Marquis.’

She was somewhat worried that she might be kicked out if she refused to share a bed with him. She couldn’t believe her ears when he came at her like that.

With the sound of shoes hitting the marble floor, the cold-blooded man becomes distant.

The sound of servants rushing out of Glenn was heard in her ears. Possibly leaving his seat.

Nadia asked with her head down, pretending to be heartbroken.

“Marquis… Did he leave?”

“T-That’s…”

The maids were nervous and began to look around.

One maid replied with a cautious voice.

“Yes… He just left.”

Hooray! Her voice roared in her heart.

Glenn couldn’t take what he said back because he had declared that he wouldn’t sleep with her with this many witnesses.

Wasn’t it the virtues of men of this era not to take back what he said?

‘Don’t ever come. I am going to use the bed for myself.’

Nadia Balazit was married out of the blue to a long-time enemy family.

By long, how long exactly was it? It’s long enough that she had to go back to the first generation to explain it.

Nadia’s life, born a daughter of a Duke, seemed to sail smoothly.

Though she was a child born out of wedlock, no one made a big fuss about it.

Nadia never crossed the line, while the Duchess wanted to play the role of a great woman who even embraced her husband’s illegitimate child.

Although her half-sister, who was about the same age, quarrelled with her all the time, it was within tolerable limits.

It was pretty bearable, considering the small amount of annoyance in exchange for a comfortable life.

In the end, she was used for a political marriage as soon as she reached adulthood, just like the usual case with other women in the family.

It would be a waste if they didn’t marry her off, and thus they sent their daughter to the enemy family.

On the day before the engagement ceremony, her half-sister came, and her sarcastic voice was still vivid in her mind.

‘So what if he was a saviour of this world? You don’t know where he’s from. What if he was born in the countryside? If I were you, I wouldn’t live with such a man.’

Of course, she would have said that and mocked me.

Nadia replied, holding back the laughter.

“Are you saying you don’t want to waste him now? Didn’t you say that he is just a dirty, lowly man?”

“Watch your mouth. You are the lowly one.”

In front of Nadia was a blonde woman in fine fur standing in a striking dress. Her face, which looked down on Nadia, filled with a sense of victory and superiority.

She was the only daughter and half-sister of the Balazit family, Calaine.

She was grinning with joy.

“For someone who played dirty with another man behind your fiancé’s back, you are good at talking back.”

“Your head who came up with such an idea is way dirtier.”

“Oh, my! There are still a few witnesses, and you’re making excuses!”

It was something that happened at the masquerade.

Due to the nature of the masquerade party, the atmosphere was more free than regular banquets, and therefore, many people offered drinks to Nadia.

It would be ridiculous to attend such an event without knowing your drinking limits. The number of glasses Nadia drank that day was clearly less than half of her limit.

Nevertheless, she lost consciousness at some point, and after she barely came to her senses, everything had already happened.

When she opened her eyes to the people’s buzz around her, Nadia found herself half-*****, rolling over a stranger male on one of the sofas in the lounge.

What’s worse was that countless people witnessed the scene.

Rumours spread quickly that she spent a one-night stand with another man while she was engaged.

She didn’t know that something that could reach a thousand miles that fast actually existed.

‘Her mother also seduced the Duke and got herself a better life. She can’t even live without a man. Gosh… Like mother, like daughter. TSK, tsk. What did Duke Balazit say again? If an illegitimate daughter had disgraced the family’s reputation, she would have nothing to say if she got kicked out of the house *****. He was so generous that he just punished me with house arrest in a separate house. Oh my, he sure is merciful.’

Nadia wasn’t stupid enough to think that her father loved her and wouldn’t throw her away.

He just didn’t want to be called a heartless father.

Anyone could tell from the fact that he locked Nadia up in a basement, not in a separate house. It was so frustrating and ridiculous that she couldn’t help but laugh.

She never thought that he would put honour preciously to the point that he would throw her aside like that.

“I wondered who made this ridiculous script up… Of course, it was father and you, Calaine.”

“Me and father?”

At that moment, a smile spread over Callaine’s face.

“You are so naive. Do you really think your fiance doesn’t know about it? You don’t think it was planned by only me and father didn’t you?”

“…What?”

It was the first time Nadia had a crack in her expression.

There was nothing to be disappointed about her half-sister and her father because there was nothing to expect from them in the first place, but her fiance was different.

She couldn’t believe he agreed to this stupid scheme. She couldn’t believe it.

Looking at Nadia’s shocked expression, Callaine was becoming more pleased.

“What’s so surprising about it? Shouldn’t you have expected it?”

“There’s.. No way…”

“Things got different after you got engaged to him. He will become one of the most important figures in the country. The fact that such a man is getting married to an illegitimate child… Well, I am sure you got the idea.”

Lee Jiho was no longer a nobody compared to when he got summoned to this world before. Throughout the war against the demons, his fame rose to heaven.

Callaine laughed mockingly at her half-sister’s engagement yet coveted her position at the same time.

‘So… That’s the reason he didn’t come to see me after that day?’

Instead of blindly denying the reality, Nadia’s head thought that that could happen.

Sir Jiho often told her about the hardships he had gone through when he was first summoned here, and how he vowed to himself that he would rise and made sure that no one ignored him.

That’s probably why he made such a significant contribution in the wars against the demons.

Nadia couldn’t have imagined that the man was far from a “warrior” image in public.

Turned out, the power of a wife’s family also made a significant contribution for him to go up to a higher position.

It was less likely that he would refuse to have someone better as his wife.

No, maybe he considered his engagement with an illegitimate child as ‘discrimination against stranger’ from the beginning.

‘He is a man who put his career first in this world.’

If he had told her to cancel their engagement, she would have stepped down…

No, probably he didn’t want to be known as a coward for abandoning his fiancee after rising to the top, right?

Then, Callaine continued to talk to her, who was frozen like a statue.

“Who wouldn’t look at a man if he turned into someone with a higher class? A wife’s status also represents a man’s dignity. This is the difference between you and me. Do you understand?”

“…”

It was funny. Everything was ridiculous.

A very selfish fiancé. A father who uses his daughter as a horse and abandons her. And a half-sister who came all the way to this dirty place in excitement.

Nadia asked, holding back her laugh.

“That’s why a noble lady like you came all the way down here to talk about it?”

“No way.”

Callaine’s eyes were bent sharply.

How annoying it was for her that an illegitimate child to be treated like a Duke’s blood.

She should be the only one to be treated as the daughter of the Duke of Balazit.

Callaine couldn’t help but laugh at the miserable sight of her half-sister, who has been tormented all her life.

Now it was the time to execute the highlight of this brilliant ploy.

Callaine continued talking as if she weren’t done singing.

“I am here to help you. Which noble family would accept a woman who got dumped from her engagement because of seeing another man behind her fiance’s back? Not to mention that you are an illegitimate child… It would be too hard for you to get married unless with a commoner. Wouldn’t it be better to die honorably than ended up like that? Therefore, I will help you just this once.”

Clap, clap, clap.

Right after she clapped three times, the basement door opened, and the male servants came in.

What was in their hands was a thick rope.

A rope that was so thick that it looked like it wouldn’t break even if a person got hung with it.

It wasn’t so hard to predict what was going on after seeing the item.

Nadia could feel the goosebumps on her back.

“You ····!”

“Our father tried to accept that her daughter is a fool, but you are too ashamed of yourself that you committed suicide, and Sir Jiho lost his fiance. Wouldn’t this keep our family’s honor and his honor? It’s only your name that gets dirty. Still, at least people will remember you as a woman who knows shame.”

Callaine relaxed gesture was followed by the servant’s movements. Rigid-looking men tied Nadia’s arms and legs while holding down on Nadia.

Nadia desperately resisted, but there was no way she could overcome the power of several men.

“Let me go!”

“There’s no use to resist.”

Soon after, a knot in the rope was tied around her neck. There was no hesitation in the hands of the men who tied her to the ceiling.

“Cough!”

Nadia’s throat was choking. She couldn’t breathe.

She struggled with her tied feet, but her feet couldn’t touch anything. Even though she was confused, she could still think how unfair it was.

‘Is it really going to end like this?’

Nadia lived her whole life obediently following her father’s orders.

When she was young, she never breathed comfortably because her stepmother was watching her.

Everything nice was always taken away by the half-sisters.

She couldn’t believe she was being used as a pawn all her life, and then now she was framed to death until her last minute.

It was such a cruel fate.

Nadia could see my half-sister smiling joyfully beyond the blurred vision.

Callaine’s eyes were smiling, and she waved her hands.

“Goodbye, Nadia. I will watch you until your last second in this world. Afterall, aren’t we sisters?”

Nadia Balazit’s life was cut off as she heard a giggle. It happened when she was 24.

As soon as she realized that she had returned to her past, Nadia’s first thought that came to mind was she would betray them before they could betray her in this life.

Four years before her death. When she was 20 years old.

Nadia murmured, stroking the neck where the thick rope had been chocked her tight.

“I’m back…”

She contemplated whether she was really back in time, or it was just a long dream?

‘It was too real to be a dream.’

The moment when she was losing her breath came to flash in her mind.

In her blurry vision from tears, her half-sister smiled as if she was having fun.

Nadia had to listen to her long-time enemy’s laughter until the moment she lost her life.

The misery of being ridiculed to death.

The helplessness of being unable to do anything in the face of death.

Nadia tightened her jaw.

‘This time, I will never–‘

“Get out of the way, miss! What are you doing standing there when I am cleaning!”

Bump.

Someone pushed Nadia’s body hard, and her delicate body wobbled like a reed.

“Stay out of the way until I am done cleaning. You’re only disturbing me.”

It was Amber, the maid of the Balazit family, who pushed Nadia.

She brushed the shelf behind Nadia with a dusting cloth while pouring out complaints from her mouth.

“If you could clean up your room by yourself, can’t you just leave the room? Huh? How many times do I have to tell you, tch.”

“…”

Initially, they were ordered to clean the room only when the owner was away.

If this was Callaine’s room, not Nadia’s, Amber wouldn’t dare to step in.

‘It seemed that you aren’t afraid of a girl without any backing.’

The father, who was the Head of the household, was indifferent toward house chores matters.

He had the mindset that if he was involved in housework management, which was supposed to be the Hostess of the household’s responsibility, it would make him lose face.

That was why the maids had no reason to be polite to Nadia.

As for Callaine’s case, she always took special care of the maids who were rude to her half-sister; therefore, there was no reason for the maids to be friendly to Nadia.

Still, most of the maids felt sorry for her poor situation and treated her considerately nice.

Except for the clown-like Amber.

‘That’s the face that brought me a cocktail on the day of the masquerade party.’

Nadia lost consciousness after drinking the alcohol that Callaine’s maid brought me.

It was too coincidental to be a coincidence.

Nadia’s gaze at the foolish maid went cold.

“W-what? What are you going to do looking at me like that?”

“…”

Amber, who got stared at, shivered while opening her eyes ferociously.

Like she didn’t want to admit she was scared by the first young lady of the house whom she thought was easy.

‘What should I do with this kid?’

Nadia was lost in thought for a moment and then smiled.

“Nothing. I’ll be out now. Clean up hard.”

“Ah….”

Then Amber’s expression, which seemed to be scared for a moment, went relieved.

That’s right.

There’s no way the unassertive first young lady would get mad.

“I was wondering what you were going to say. Hurry up and go out. I will call you back when I’m done cleaning up.”

Amber sighed briefly and turned.

Because of that, she couldn’t see.

The unassertive young lady who was passing by her put something shiny in the back pocket of her apron.

After leaving the room, Nadia sat by the window in the hallway and killed some time.

This was a hallway where people come and go frequently.

It wouldn’t be long before someone else came.

“Oh, my lady? Why are you here?”

Sure enough, a maid appeared at the end of the hallway in less than ten minutes.

Nadia guessed the maid came because she had a message for her.

“It’s because the bedroom is being cleaned.”

“Pardon? But you don’t have to wait in the hallway….”

“Amber said that she won’t be able to relax while cleaning, so she said it would be better if I get out of the room. I really don’t mind…”

“But there’s a living room next to the bedroom.”

Nadia replied, shrugging her shoulders.

“I guess she just mind about me being around. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Hmm…”

The maid had a doubtful expression on her face.

A maid kicked the room owner out of the room for cleaning. It was a case that she had never heard or seen before.

“By the way, what’s going on? Didn’t you come to see me?”

“His Majesty will come to see His Grace in a moment. You need to get ready to see His Majesty.”

“What a great timing. I will get ready quickly.”

“Yes. Please go to the main building.”

By great timing, Nadia didn’t mean to say it because she was glad to have a schedule when she was bored.

Nadia realized she returned to 20 years old self, but she didn’t remember exactly what had happened around this time.

No matter how trustworthy the Duke family was, it was unusual for royalty to visit his servant’s home.

The King’s visit would help her to remember what happened during this period.

Nadia was lost in thought as she walked along with the maid.

‘If the King came to father around this time of year… Oh, it must be because of the problem of the progress of the Karla’ai expedition triumph.’

The Karla’ai expedition team made a contribution to drive out the immigrants and stabilize the western border.

The problem was that one of the expedition commanders was the Marquis Winterfell, the Northern Territory.

The Southern-based Balazit was blatantly at odds with the Northern Lords.

As much as Nadia’s father hated the Northern Lords, they naturally hated the Duke of Balazit just as much.

What kind of local lord had the authority to manipulate the King and control the affairs of the state?

Even the stupid King was wary of the North after falling for Balazit’s lies.

At the same time, they had to fulfil their obligation as vassals, so it was obvious that no one expected them to fight tooth and nail, and they did a great job.

‘The King doesn’t want to give his enemy the honour of a triumph ceremony.’

It was not the time to feel sorry about the Marquis of Winterfell, who had to fight with the King after the victory.

Around this time, the matrimonial alliance with Lee Ji-ho, her fiancé who betrayed her in her previous life, was decided.

If Nadia remembered correctly, there would be news about her engagement today.

‘I am running out of time. It would have been better if I could have gone a little far back…’

Nadia thought as she walked nervously.

When Nadia headed to the main gate after fixing her appearance, a carriage with a royal symbol already arrived.

Nadia guessed that it was the one that the King rode. She walked faster as her father was seen across from her.

“Why are you so late?”

“I’m sorry. I tried to prepare faster, but–“

“You should be glad that His Majesty is still looking around the garden. More than that, I have something to tell you.”

It seemed that Nadia didn’t remember it wrongly that there would be a talk about her engagement today.

Sure enough, the Duke of Balazit brought it up.

“I’m sure you’ve heard that you and Callaine are going to enter the marriage market, right?”

“Yes, the housekeeper* said.”

“Today there will be talk about the triumph ceremony. There will be a talk that you should bestow a laurel wreath to Sir Jiho, and you just have to agree that it is a good idea. Do you understand?”

“……Yes.”

A marriageable woman bestowed a laurel wreath to a hero in a triumph ceremony.

What was the meaning? It was basically a love confession.

They couldn’t omit a triumph ceremony for the expeditionary who have driven out the western immigrants.

However, they didn’t want the most notable war hero, Marquis of Winterfell, to be the centre of the triumph ceremony.

A beautiful young Lady of a Duke, who was at her marriageable age, publicly confessed to a promising knight.

And the young knight was willing to accept her courtship and promised to marry her.

It was a perfect romance that the public would cheer for.

All those who were absorbed in the heroic story of the Marquis Winterfell would be distracted by it.

‘To solidly tie the matrimonial alliance.’

Nadia’s father wanted to make Lee Jiho completely his people, but it wouldn’t be suitable if he gave him to his legitimate daughter, Callaine.

The Duke must have decided so and made a plan to marry his illegitimate daughter to him.

The mention of the laurel wreath from the Duke’s mouth meant that his mind was set. He wouldn’t listen if Nadia said she didn’t want to get married.

‘I wished I had gone back to being a little younger. There is not much time left until the engagement. …Should I accept the engagement and find a way to break up the marriage later?’

Let’s say they broke up the engagement anyway. What would Nadia do after that?

The fact that her fate rested within her father’s hand didn’t change.

It was not easy for a woman with no maternal family, wealth, or lineage to stand on her own feet.

While Nadia was nervously chewing on her lips, the two had reached the garden before she knew it.

She could see the King looking around the garden a few steps away. And next to him was Callaine, who seemed to be his companion.

From her long blonde hair, Nadia could recall a bit of her face from her last memory.

Nadia’s expression was slightly distorted when she saw her half-sister. But she soon managed to pretend to be calm.

“I greet Your Majesty the King.”

The first person to greet the King was Duke Balazit.

Nadia also followed her father and offered a formal greeting to the King.

“‘I greet Your Majesty the King.”

“Oh, you are the first young Lady of Lord Balazit. You are beautiful as the rumour says.”

The King was a middle-aged man in his late 40s, a figure that unexpectedly looked ordinary for someone who led a country.

‘My father’s stupid puppet.’

It wouldn’t take much to make the Northern Lords hate such a man as Nadia’s father. The Duke of Balazit said,

“Your Majesty, my daughters knew you were coming, and they would like to treat you with some refreshments. Please allow my daughters to join us.”

“Why would there be any reason for your daughters not to join us? Aren’t they more trustworthy than anyone else? Hahaha. It’s chilly outside, let’s go inside.”

“Thank you for your generosity.”

The King urged loudly as if to hurry them in. Once he’s inside, he walked on the carpet that the servants’ had prepared.

The destination was the drawing-room attached to Duke Balazit’s study.

It was mainly a room used for secret talks.

The King and Duke Balazit, Callaine and Nadia went into the drawing-room together.

When the King settled down on the sofa in the drawing-room, Callaine began to take out the refreshments first.

Because of that, it naturally became Nadia’s responsibility to brew the tea. She took this chance to listen carefully to the conversation between the two, pretending to prepare the tea leaves.

“As you already know, the Karla’ai expeditionary has requested for a triumphal celebration.”

“Isn’t holding a ball good enough?”

“I know that! But the Marquis of Winterfell is the biggest contributor among the expedition commanders! He will get the most attention if the triumphal celebration is held. He just inherited the title, so he will take this opportunity to establish himself.”

“But we can’t ignore their request. The expedition supported not only the Marquis Winterfell but also other Lords. If we don’t hold a triumphal celebration, there will be criticism from all over the country toward the royal family for neglecting veterans.”

“But can’t you do something to those Northern people? Do you have any idea?”

“I have an idea. A plan to shackle the northern people’s necks by turning the hero of the triumph to someone else.”

“As expected from Duke Balazit. What is it, how do we do that?”

The plan to make the main character of the celebration another person meant Nadia and Lee Jiho’s engagement.

‘But what is their plan to shackle the Northern people’s necks?’

Nadia focused more on the conversation between the two.

“Marriage.”

“Marriage?”

“Yes, a couple of marriages. Foremost, let’s talk about Marquis Winterfell’s marriage. Use your authority to urge him to get married. Of course, the marriage partner should be a woman from your loyal aristocrat.”

There was one thing that came to mind when Nadia heard that.

Marquis Winterfell’s wife was a woman from a family that was sponsored by her father.

‘So their intention was to put spies in the enemy’s den while preventing the Northern Lords from establishing power through marriage.’

In fact, Duke Balazit’s ulterior motive could only work to some extent.

Until Marchioness Winterfell was caught leaking the internal situation in the North to the outside.

This would make the relationship between the Northern Lords and Duke Balazit worse, and the Marchioness Winterfell was expelled from the North.

‘Marquis Winterfell’s wedding is probably… after my engagement with Lee Jiho?’

Apparently, the scheme that cost Nadia her life was a part of her father’s scenario to shackle the Northerns.

Nadia felt sorry for the women who had to marry into the Winterfell family at such a young age only to be not welcomed…

‘Wait.’

Something flashed through Nadia’s mind.

‘Can’t I replace that role?’

Marquis, who protected the North, and a daughter of a Duke.

In terms of status, it was a pretty good combination, and their age was similar.

Moreover, Nadia was nothing but an obedient daughter to her father. He wouldn’t mind sending Nadia to the North, as he would never have imagined that his daughter, who had always been well-behaved, would betray him.

There was no one more suitable than Marquis Winterfell to avenge her previous life, and she could avoid her engagement with Lee Ji-ho.

In a hopeless situation, it felt like a rope of salvation had come down for Nadia.

(*Housekeeper refers to the title of the head of all female employees in a noble house.)