Later that day, as Nadia walked through the halls, a loud commotion from downstairs caught her attention. Curious, she headed closer and found a group of merchants arguing with Gordon, the butler. They had come to collect their debts.
The moment they noticed Nadia, their entire attitude flipped. Suddenly they were all smiles and politeness, eagerly introducing themselves. Word about her dowry had clearly spread, and now they were hoping she would be the one to settle everything the Winterpel family owed.
And if not, they made their threat very clear. If the debt was not repaid within three months, they would seize the only fertile land the estate still had.
Things were even worse than they had looked.
Without panicking, Nadia stepped in and asked for a two-month extension. She promised that the debts would be repaid, but on her terms.
The merchants hesitated. Negotiating with a young noblewoman from the south was not exactly something they took seriously. Of course, Nadia quickly proved she was not someone to underestimate.
She explained that the merchants and the Winterpel estate relied on each other. If one side thrived, so did the other. It was a partnership, not a one-sided deal. With that in mind, she asked for time to restore the estate's profitability. In return, she offered them future benefits that would make the wait worthwhile.
And here was the clever part. The merchants were not actually risking anything. If Nadia succeeded, they gained a stronger, more profitable partner. If she failed, they still got the land. Either way, they won.
At that point it was hard to say no. They agreed to bring the proposal back to their guild for discussion, but judging by their expressions, the outcome was fairly obvious.
Once the merchants finally left, Gordon turned to Nadia, puzzled. Why would she risk something as valuable as that land on a gamble like this?
Nadia did not reveal her full plan. Not yet. She simply asked him to invite back only the merchants who had agreed to her terms. Those willing to wait and trust the Winterpel family during its lowest point.
Because that was the real strategy. She did not just want business partners. She wanted loyal ones. By filtering out the impatient and working only with those who believed in the estate, Nadia was laying the foundation for stronger, more reliable alliances.
For someone who had once been completely manipulated by her own family, she was playing this game remarkably well now.
After some time, Nadia met again with the merchants who had agreed to trust her. And this time she brought a proposal. She wanted to start a herbal tea business.
The key ingredient? Thorny vine herb.
The reaction was not great. The merchants exchanged uneasy looks. Thorny vine was not exactly prized. It was closer to a weed, something commoners used, not nobles. Hardly the kind of product you would expect to build a kingdom on.
On the bright side, it was cheap.
On the risky side, Nadia went all in. True to form, she used her very valuable dowry to buy up as much of the herb as possible, basically taking over the entire supply.
At this point the merchants were convinced she had lost her mind. Honestly, who could blame them? Nadia sweetened the deal by offering higher than usual brokerage fees. With her status and influence backing her, refusing was not really an option. So, reluctantly, they agreed.
Two months passed.
News of Nadia's tea venture reached Grace, and just like everyone else, she thought it was ridiculous. To her it looked as though Nadia had poured all her money into a foolish gamble while the estate teetered on the edge of collapse. She urged Glenn to step in and stop this before it was too late.
But there was a problem. Since Nadia was using her own dowry, Glenn had no authority to interfere.
Grace pressed the issue, reminding him that the debt deadline was fast approaching. And from the outside it really did seem as though his wife had prioritised a fantasy business over the family's survival.
Then Gordon burst in with news that changed everything.
Nadia had succeeded. She had not just made a profit. She had earned enough to repay the estate's debts on time.
So how had a simple, low-value herb suddenly become a goldmine?
Here was the twist. Across both the north and the south, a deadly black plague had been spreading, devastating families and leaving chaos in its wake. But recently a cure had been discovered. The thorny vine herb. That same worthless plant.
By the time the cure became widely known, Nadia had already secured nearly the entire supply of thorny vine in the kingdom.
And the reason she had moved so confidently? Nadia remembered. In her past life, she had already seen this happen.
Of course, Nadia did not exploit the situation. She did not hike the prices to outrageous levels. Instead she made sure the tea was distributed at fair prices, especially in the areas hit hardest by the plague.
Still, some of the Winterpel staff grew uneasy. If the north controlled the cure, it could raise suspicions. The southern nobles might start accusing them of spreading the plague intentionally for profit. Thankfully, no one would dare accuse the Duke's daughter of something like that.
They should have been grateful. In just two months Nadia had practically rescued the entire territory. Her tea business was thriving. The Merchant Guild now stood firmly on her side. And with the wealth she had generated, she secured powerful allies for the future.
Just like that, Nadia wiped out the estate's debts.
Meanwhile the merchants who had rejected her earlier offer were definitely regretting it now. They had seriously underestimated her.