The Coldhearted Chancellor Falls for the Frontier Princess - Chapter 1

The royal council chamber was as cold as if it had trapped the frigid air from outside.

Despite the thick carpets and the flickering flames of the candelabras, the breath of those inside nearly turned white.

The nobles gathered around the heavy marble table all wore grim expressions.

“…Due to the effects of the cold damage, this year’s harvest is thirty percent below average. Even with our reserves, it will not be enough. A significant decrease in revenue is unavoidable,” reported the official with a pale face as he laid out the ledgers on the table.

The red marks spread over the map like frozen soil, covering the names of the territories.

“Thirty percent?!”

“My lands have lost over fifty!”

“We won’t survive the winter like this!”

Their shouts were either born of fear or an attempt to evade responsibility.

There was no trace of statesmanship in their agitated faces.

Kairos quietly picked up one of the ledgers and skimmed through it.

The southern granary regions, the western trade cities, all devastated by the losses.

But, there was one exception.

Freudenberg.

A frigid land, the farthest of the frontiers.

A place that should have been the first to freeze and the last to recover.

Yet it alone had maintained nearly the same income as the previous year.

A contradiction.

That was what he thought.

“Unnatural,” he murmured, too softly for anyone to hear.

A gentle smile played at his lips as he set the ledger facedown on the table.

To those who knew him well, that gesture was as good as a warning.

Kairos the Cold Chancellor, he earned that name because, though he always wore a smile, his hands moved with ruthless precision behind the scenes.

“To begin with!”

A factional noble’s angry voice shattered the silence.

“I’ve heard the lady of Freudenberg has been appointing commoners! Mixing common folk into territorial governance is nothing short of madness!”

“Exactly, it disrupts the order!”

“Just because it’s the frontier, she thinks she can do as she pleases…”

The murmurs spread like waves.

They were trying to shift the blame to cover up their own failures.

Pathetic.

That was what he thought.

Whether the commoner appointments were true or not was trivial.

What mattered was how Freudenberg had maintained its income despite the cold.

Their refusal to see that was the very foolishness rotting this kingdom.

He felt eyes on him.

From the corner of the room, members of the rival faction were watching him.

They were the ones who still whispered, “A bastard prince sits as chancellor.”

Without the backing of a mother’s lineage, he had no choice but to remain cold and calculating.

To survive.

Then this time would be no different.

“A frontier territory spared from the cold damage. That logic needs verification,” he announced in a calm tone, as if making small talk.

But inside, his resolve was icy.

Solving this contradiction could change the kingdom’s very future.

And he alone would be the one to seize it.

That was what he thought.