Chapter 48.1

“Oh, I forgot to tell you earlier.  You will enter with me at the forefront.”

“I knew you would say that, that’s why I want to tell you in advance.  I will enter in a carriage.”

“What?”

“It doesn’t have to be a flashy carriage. I won’t show myself in the middle of the march.”

“But… You are the biggest contributor to this Territorial Battle.”

“That’s what I mean!  I can’t let the news spread that I contributed to the victory!  I have to become an immature woman who was blinded by my love for Your Grace and followed you to the battlefield.”

“…?”

Glenn frowned slightly.

He couldn’t understand why she was trying to receive such notoriety even though she had made a contribution worthy of praise.

As if noticing his question, Nadia quickly added an additional explanation.

“My father still believes in me as his ally.  But if the news spread that I returned proudly with you, wouldn’t my father be suspicious of me?”

“….”

“You could also call me a double agent.  One day, the fact that my father trusts me will come in handy. I can’t throw away the advantage I have just because I’m afraid of being criticized a little.”

“….”

Glenn took a moment to sort through what Nadia just said to him.

Duke Balazit believed that Nadia was his ally.  So that must be why he agreed to marry her off to the north.

But in fact, Nadia was in love with Glenn wholeheartedly.

All the actions she had shown so far, which was, the efforts to make Winterfell rich and strong were a start.

However, she had never directly harmed her parents, the duchy of Balazit.

Of course, Glenn didn’t want Nadia to prove her sincerity by doing such a thing.

Growing up in a harmonious family, he couldn’t imagine that sometimes there are families worse than enemies.

It was enough for her to prove her love by helping Winterfell.

Hence Glenn didn’t want to force her to stick a sword in the back of the family she grew up with.

“You… don’t have to do that.  It’s true that there is bad blood between Duke Balazit and me, but I hope we can just quietly maintain our family rivalry like now…  If it’s too cruel for you…”

“No.”

Nadia shook her head resolutely.

“There will be a big dispute in the not too distant future.  In fact, even Your Grace could guess it.”

“….”

In fact, it was the future that Glenn, too, had instinctively vaguely guessed.

Someday, the South and the North would collide greatly. That meant Nadia had to choose between her husband and her father.

‘So if she had to choose between the two, I wonder if she would choose me….’

At that moment, Glenn felt something overflowing from the depths of his stomach.

He had to keep his mouth shut for a while to calm his pounding heart.

Finally, Glenn spoke again.

“For me… Are you prepared to abandon your family?  Just for me?”

Nadia thought.

It was true that she betrayed the Balazit family, but not specifically for his sake.

‘Wouldn’t I sound like a crazy woman if I said that I wish both my father and younger sister would go to hell?’

No matter how blinded by love I was, there was a line not to cross.

Glenn didn’t have to know how gruesome and insulting the way Nadia’s family killed her in the past.

At the end of her thoughts, she hesitantly lowered her gaze.

She said, then, with her fingertips, she held Glenn’s hem of her robe lightly, very lightly.

“I hope that wouldn’t ever happen, but…  There may come a situation where I have to choose one or the other.”

“….”

“I’m a part of Winterfell now.”

“….”

As she just said, she was now the lady of the Winterfell family.

And that meant that Nadia became the person Glenn had to protect.

Realizing that fact anew, his eyes began to sway with various emotions.

And Nadia, who was receiving that gaze from Glenn, was-

‘Did I say too much…?”

Nadia was heaitated at the thought that her words might have been too much.

No matter how crazy the pretense of being in love was, she might have just sound a little bit strange.

Nadia had finally won the Winterfell’s trust, but if an incident that could raise suspicion ever happened again….

Grab.

“….!”

But then, Nadia felt something grabbed her shoulder.  It was Glenn’s hand.

Unexpectedly, Glenn grabbed her by the shoulders and spoke in a choked voice as if he was overcome with emotion.

“Even if you don’t do that, now I trust that what you say is the truth.”

“Huh? W-Wait…”

“If I ever hurt my family directly, it will remain like a thorn in my heart for the rest of my life.  I don’t want you to suffer with such guilt for the rest of your life.”

Want to read more chapters and support us? Please consider becoming a patron to read up to 2 chapters in advance!