Why are you obsessed with your fake wife?

Feeling all their gazes on her, Nadia laughed softly.

“Do I have to say it again? Saying it in a public arena will be very embarrassing……”

Not that it will be, it was indeed very shameful. Who wouldn’t find it shameful to have to declare their love for someone they didn’t have in their hearts in such a crowded space?

Feeling really embarrassed, she replied while avoiding their eyes.

“It’s because I love the Lord Marquis.”

“……!”

Dismay spread on the faces of the knights, including Giscard. They had forgotten about that. The reason Nadia had given for marrying away to the far North was that she had “fallen in love with the Marquis of Winterfell at first sight”. It had sounded like the most incomprehensible bullshit to them, so they had thrown it to the back of their mind and forgotten about it.

But now, with the way things had turned out, they could only have a change of mind.

‘Did she really fall in love with our Lord?’

‘Yeah, remember she even sold those thorny herbs to pay off the debt.’

‘That… I had thought it was because she had some other objective… is she really in love with the marquis……’

Even if they changed their perspective, they still found it difficult to understand. Even for warriors like them, they didn’t have the courage to follow a woman that they loved one-sidedly to the heart of the battlefield.

They didn’t know whether to call her reckless or brave.

They glanced sideways at Glenn, only to see that there was a flush on his face. Glenn coughed slightly, as if to cover up his awkwardness, and said.

“Drink up so that the next person can have their turn.”

“Ah, yes. It’s my turn.”

They had all made a show of being able to drink the whole basin in one gulp. So now, Nadia was adamant that they drink the whole thing without stopping, until even the center of the basin was dry.

Their logic had been ‘where in the world will you find someone who drinks punishment wine leisurely as if they are at some party?’ [4]

But it did make sense for one to take their time drinking. After all, alcohol was something that made you more drunk the faster you guzzled it.

However, since her goal was indeed to make them lose consciousness, Nadia did not try to stop them when they made their bluff.

And that was why, before even an hour had passed……

“I think… I think I’m going to throw up….”

“Why are there two of the Lord Marquis?”

It didn’t take long for the entire knights’ corp, all of them sturdy, robust men, to be knocked out. The sound of deep snores could be heard coming from all directions of the hall. Even the sound of someone throwing up could be heard at times.

Glenn covered her eyes before speaking.

“How about going in to rest, before you see something else unsightly. I don’t think they will be able to continue the banquet in their current state……”

“I should probably do that.”

The servants were carrying the knights out of the banquet hall, almost the entire weight of the knights on their backs. With how large the knights were, they needed two servants each to carry them out. There was no way one pair of hands could handle them.

The servants worked hard, running here and there to put the disarrayed hall back into order, and to send the men back to their rooms.

“Everyone looks busy, so I will head back on my own.”

“Will you be okay? It could be dangerous, so I’ll…”

“I will only be walking inside the castle, so what danger could there be? It only takes five minutes to get there. Don’t worry about me; I think it’s better for you to go see to the…”

“Bleurghhhh!”

“…others.”

The sound of vomit falling to the ground came from close by as she was speaking. Glenn had no choice but to agree to what she said.

“In that case, be careful as you go.”

“Alright. Take care.”

Nadia wrapped her robe tightly around her body as she hurried out of the hall. Having specifically chosen a dark robe, her figure soon melted into the dark shadows under the cover of night.

‘I have to finish as fast as possible before someone comes to find me!’

As she got farther and farther away from the banquet hall, her footsteps hastened. She wasn’t going back to her bedroom, but to the main office of the castle lord.

Reaching the second floor where the office was, she could see a dark corridor. The corridor was chilly and ghostly, but it was the only way through. She lit up a lamp and made sure its light was dim before walking to the door of the office.

Squeak.

The unoiled hinge made a loud noise in the quiet hallway. She jumped in fright, and looked around her before hurrying into the office.

Click.

The entire office was veiled in darkness, but she couldn’t light the torches in the office. She adjusted the curtains in the office to make sure the light from her lamp could not be seen.

Creak.

She opened a drawer and chose a piece of parchment, before taking out the quill pen and ink hidden in her robes. As she laid down on the floor to begin writing, she suddenly wondered what the heck she was doing.

‘Everyone in this family, even their ancestors six feet below, should get on their knees and thank me for this.’

‘Just try to stiff me on the alimony when we divorce, and see how I deal with you.’

Nadia thought to herself, pouting, and then began writing furiously.

_________________________

Four days later.

“Ahh! There is a document here that says they discovered a dragon lair!”

Notes:

[4] The ‘at some party’ phrase was not in the original text, but was added to make the meaning of the sentence more clear.