Time moved quickly after that, and before long the day of the ceremony arrived.
At the centre of it all stood Marquis Glenn Winterpel, leading the grand procession as half the kingdom gathered to celebrate their victorious warriors. And as Nadia watched everything unfold, she realised something. So far, every detail was playing out exactly as it had in her previous life. Even the seating had not changed.
Corrine, seated right beside her half-sister, was clearly not pleased. Watching Nadia take on such an important role did not sit well with her at all. With a sharp glare, she made a jab, mocking Nadia for borrowing her jewellery. Except the necklace Nadia was wearing had actually belonged to her own mother.
Still, Nadia swallowed her irritation. No reaction. No argument. She simply steadied herself and waited for the Marquis to arrive.
Then, right on cue, the procession began. And of course, he was there too. Her ex-fiancé, the same man who had helped plan her downfall alongside her own family.
Even knowing everything he had done, seeing him again still stung. Because once, Nadia had believed there was something real between them. At the very least, she had thought he cared enough not to destroy her.
Up ahead, Glenn stepped forward and knelt before the king, who praised him for his victory. But the compliments did not stay kind for long. The king deliberately brought up Glenn's father, the former Marquis Winterpel, once a great knight who had been forced to retire due to failing health.
It was not praise. It was a provocation. A not-so-subtle reminder of loyalty to a royal family the north clearly resented.
Once he was done poking at old wounds, the king moved on with his speech, and the Duke followed, offering his own formal congratulations.
Finally, it was Nadia's turn.
She stepped forward, laurel wreath in hand. Glenn watched her carefully, already assuming the honour was meant for Ji-ho. After all, the Duke's favouritism was not exactly subtle. So when Glenn opened his eyes and found Nadia standing right in front of him instead, his jaw dropped in pure shock. He had come ready to face an enemy, not to be ambushed by a beautiful one.
For a second, Glenn genuinely thought it was a mistake. He even leaned in slightly, quietly telling her she had chosen the wrong person.
Nadia did not hesitate. She smiled gently and told him it was no mistake. With full confidence she offered him the wreath, claiming she had fallen in love with him the moment she first saw him.
Glenn lowered his voice, warning her about the weight of what she was doing. Maybe he thought she was being manipulated, or that she did not fully understand the consequences. But Nadia did not break character. She kept up her sweet, composed act and continued offering the laurel as the crowd watched, murmuring with excitement, until he refused.
Now, with the entire crowd watching, Glenn had no room to manoeuvre. The pressure built, and finally he gave in. He took the wreath, then immediately turned and walked off the stage, looking as moody as ever.
That was not exactly how Nadia had planned it. But a win was still a win. And judging by the satisfied look on the Duke's face, he was more than pleased, especially after witnessing Glenn's very public humiliation.
As the Valajet family made their way towards their carriage, they were suddenly stopped by a very upset Ji-ho. He had definitely not expected the ceremony to turn out like that. The Duke quickly stepped in, offering a smooth apology for the misunderstanding and assuring Ji-ho that he would arrange an even better marriage match for him.
The conversation escalated, voices rising, tension thick. But eventually the Duke managed to calm him down, promising future compensation.
With that settled, the half-sisters followed their father into the carriage. As Nadia stepped in, she briefly caught Ji-ho's expression. For a second she wondered what was going through his mind, but she forced herself to look away. Whatever he was thinking, it did not matter any more. She might have disrupted his plans, but he was the one who had betrayed her first.
Meanwhile, at the Winterpel estate, Glenn was still reeling from the chaos of the ceremony. It did not help that he had become the centre of everyone's attention. The entire kingdom was talking, and somehow people had already turned the story into a romantic tale. Nadia's bold move was being praised as an act of pure love.
If only they knew.
His advisor urged him to act quickly, but Glenn already understood the situation. It was too late. He handed over a letter from the royal family, an official command. He was to marry. It was not a request.
And really, what choice did he have? Refuse the king and risk sparking a civil war?
It felt like a slap in the face. The northern nobles had fought harder than anyone in the recent war. And this was how their greatest warrior was rewarded.
Glenn was not naïve. He knew the Duke was behind this. The tension between the north and the rest of the kingdom had not come from nowhere. The lands surrounding the Winterpel estate had once been independent, only falling under royal control a century ago. That sense of lost freedom had not faded. On top of that, their culture was completely different. The northern forces spent their lives battling monsters to protect the kingdom, and yet they were looked down on as savages and barbarians.
And if that was not enough, Glenn's mother, the former Marquis's wife, had died under mysterious circumstances tied to some hidden conspiracy.
Given all that history, Glenn quickly saw through the Duke's plan. Sending Nadia was not just a marriage proposal. It was a move to plant a spy inside his territory.
But for now, he had no choice but to comply. Besides, what could she really do alone in the north, with no allies and no support? She would struggle to even find someone willing to stand beside her.