After I Died, My Little Groom

Chapter 3

Nadia’s first memory began when she was ten years old.

She had been abandoned in the middle of a forest with no memories of who she was.

After wandering for days, she was fortunate enough to be found by Baron and Baroness Hess.

The couple were kind-hearted people. They had longed for a child for years but had never been blessed with one.

To them, Nadia seemed like a daughter sent from heaven.

“My child,” the baron had said gently, “would you become our daughter? We may be nobles only in name, but we promise to cherish you with all our hearts.”

Having lost all her memories, Nadia had no reason to refuse their kindness.

The Hess Barony was a tiny territory with fewer than a hundred residents, but it was a warm and welcoming place.

No one rejected the mysterious girl who had suddenly appeared.

Instead, everyone addressed her as Miss just as the servants at the manor did, caring for her with genuine affection.

For ten years, Nadia had lived happily.

She enjoyed learning how to manage the barony’s affairs.

She enjoyed working alongside the villagers from morning until night without any sense of status between them.

She enjoyed picking tea leaves with her own hands, drying them herself, and sharing simple afternoon tea with her adoptive parents.

That happiness lasted…

…until Baroness Hess collapsed from illness.

Nadia, along with everyone in the territory, devoted themselves day and night to caring for her.

But the baroness showed no signs of recovering.

After painstakingly saving enough money, they finally summoned a renowned physician from the capital.

He identified the illness.

The problem was the treatment.

The Hess family simply couldn’t afford the medicine.

Holding Nadia’s hand tightly, Baroness Hess smiled weakly.

“When the time comes… people must leave this world.”

“Just as the right time brought you into our family.”

But Nadia shook her head.

“You and Father chose to take me in.”

“This time…”

“I’ll choose to save you.”

The very same day, Nadia searched desperately for a way to earn enough money.

The villagers would gladly help.

But there was a limit.

If they burdened the people of Hess just to save one woman, Baroness Hess would sooner take her own life than allow it.

She cared for her people that deeply.

Nadia spread a map across the table and examined every mineral vein within Hess territory.

Even this barren land had to hold something…

Somewhere…

Her finger drifted across the map as though guided by an unseen force.

The Hess Barony bordered the Baldwin Duchy to the north.

The instant her fingertip touched the Baldwin territory—

A violent headache struck.

“Ah…!”

She collapsed onto the floor.

The loud crash sent everyone nearby rushing into the room.

“Miss!”

“You’ve pushed yourself too hard!”

“Let’s get you back to your room!”

Everyone spoke at once.

But Nadia shook her head and crawled back toward the map.

The moment she looked upon the map of the Baldwin Duchy—

Every memory came flooding back.

She…

…had originally been a woman named Livenya.

She had entered a political marriage with a young boy and become the Duchess of Baldwin.

Then…

While traveling to attend her husband’s Academy graduation ceremony—

She had died in a carriage accident.

An overwhelming torrent of memories crashed into her all at once.

She staggered under the sheer weight of them.

Even as her sense of identity shattered and reformed, one image remained firmly in her mind—

Baroness Hess’s pale face.

Nadia pointed to a mineral vein lying close to the border of the Baldwin Duchy.

“Here.”

“There are magic stones buried here.”

The villagers exchanged doubtful glances.

“Miss…”

“We don’t mean to question you…”

“But we’ve only ever found a little coal around here.”

“It’s enough for us to live on, but certainly not enough to pay for Madam’s medicine…”

Although Nadia had often helped the miners with their work, she was still the baron’s daughter.

She had never personally swung a pickaxe or entered the mine itself.

There was no reason she should know where magic stones were buried.

But…

Livenya Baldwin was different.

She had once possessed knowledge that ordinary people could scarcely imagine.

“It’s true.”

“Please… trust me just this once.”

“If we mine the magic stones and sell them, we’ll at least be able to buy Mother’s medicine.”

Seeing the desperation in her eyes, the villagers nodded.

“Our young lady has always been exceptionally clever.”

“I’m sure she has her reasons.”

“Let’s repay Madam’s kindness!”

Everyone grabbed their pickaxes and headed toward the place Nadia had indicated.

The excavation progressed quickly.

At first, nothing appeared.

Hope began to fade.

Then—

The first magic stone emerged.

Soon another.

Then another.

Magic stones were valuable even before processing.

They could be sold immediately.

We did it.

This is enough to pay for the medicine.

Cheers erupted throughout the mine.

Standing nearby, Baron Hess looked as though he might burst into tears.

Throwing his arms around Nadia, he spoke with overwhelming emotion.

“You’ve saved your mother.”

“You are the miracle of the Hess Barony.”

Nadia smiled brightly, surrounded by her adoptive father and the villagers.

She was genuinely happy.

She had saved her mother.

The joyous atmosphere, however…

…lasted only a moment.

“Baron!”

“Miss!”

“A h-high-ranking noble has arrived!”

“They say this is Baldwin land and we weren’t supposed to dig here!”

“What do we do? Miss, you have to run!”

“That’s right!”

“Let’s save Madam first!”

“If anyone has to be punished, let it be us!”

At the frantic cries of the villagers, Nadia’s eyes widened.

“…Baldwin?”

It wasn’t fear.

The name Baldwin wasn’t terrifying to her.

It was…

…a name she missed with all her heart.

One that filled her chest with aching longing.

Taking a deep breath, Nadia steadied herself.

Someone like Highni wouldn’t personally come over something this small.

At most… perhaps the Knight Commander.

“Father.”

“I’ll handle this.”

“So don’t worry.”

As Nadia stepped forward, Baron Hess hurried after her in alarm.

He repeatedly insisted that he should be the one to speak instead.

But Nadia firmly refused.

“I started this.”

“So it’s only right that I resolve it.”

Baron Hess was a gentle and loving father.

Unfortunately…

He often made matters worse because he lacked practical judgment.

After reassuring him, Nadia stepped before the gathered crowd.

And then—

She froze.

Standing beneath the cold mountain air…

…was a man she knew all too well.

His hair was as black as a panther’s fur.

Below his smooth forehead gleamed crimson eyes that seemed almost frighteningly beautiful.

The sun shone behind him, casting him into shadow.

Even so…

His almost demonic beauty couldn’t be hidden.

The instant Nadia saw him—

Her vision blurred.

This year marked ten years since Livenya Baldwin had died.

It also marked ten years since Nadia had awakened in a new body.

Never, even in her dreams, had she imagined meeting Heinrich again.

She lowered her head deeply.

If she looked at him any longer…

She was certain she would start crying again.

How had I forgotten him for ten whole years?

The precious person who filled my life with warmth…

---

Not long after the disturbance at the border, a thick stack of documents arrived at the Baldwin ducal estate.

They contained evidence supporting every historical claim Nadia had made that day.

Heinrich handed the entire bundle to his secretary, Allison.

“Find out whether those magic stones truly belong to the Hess Barony.”

A capable secretary, Allison returned before two days had passed.

“If this were settled through a struggle for power, Baldwin would naturally win.”

“And if it’s judged according to law and reason?”

“Hess owns the land.”

“Relations between the two families ended two hundred years ago.”

“But there’s no record of Baldwin ever reclaiming that parcel.”

“I imagine no one simply cared enough to notice.”

Heinrich leaned back in his chair, deep in thought.

“No one paid attention to that land.”

“So how did that woman know magic stones were buried there?”

“You mean Baron Hess’s adopted daughter?”

“Yes.”

“I can understand her knowing the history of the Hess family after living there for ten years.”

“Even knowing events from three hundred years ago isn’t impossible.”

“But how…”

“…did she know there was a magic stone vein beneath what everyone believed to be worthless land?”

Allison smiled.

“I don’t know how she discovered it.”

“But it was an incredible stroke of fortune for House Hess.”

“Thanks to that young lady, Baroness Hess will survive.”

“Perhaps it’s true after all…”

“Heaven helps those with kind hearts.”

Heinrich let out a faint scoff.

“Impossible.”

“It was nothing more than luck.”

If heaven truly protected kind people…

Then there was someone who should have received far more of its blessings than anyone else.

Heinrich remembered the woman who had always smiled at him so gently.

A helpless duke who had been only eight years old.

A woman who had always cared for him, despite him being an utterly inadequate husband.

A woman who treated even those of low birth with dignity and fairness.

Livenya Baldwin.

His wife…

At least in name.

He had wanted to become her true husband.

If nothing else, he had wanted to become someone she could rely on.

That was why he had wished so desperately to grow up faster.

But now…

Livenya was no longer by his side.

“I’ve decided.”

“Transfer that land to House Hess.”

“Make the ownership official in the records to prevent future disputes.”

“And notify Baron Hess as well.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Allison bowed smoothly before leaving the office.

Silence settled over the spacious room.

Left alone, Heinrich suddenly felt exhausted.

That woman…

Nadia Hess.

He recalled her youthful face, barely twenty years old.

Her vivid red hair.

Her golden eyes that gleamed even beneath the blazing sun.

She had unquestionably been a complete stranger.

Livenya had possessed a far gentler appearance.

Soft golden hair like moonlight.

Calm blue eyes like a tranquil lake.

Even now, he could picture them perfectly whenever he closed his eyes.

And yet…

The moment he looked into Nadia’s tear-filled eyes…

His heart had tightened painfully.

It felt as though someone had seized it in their fist and raked it with sharp nails.

Perhaps…

It was because the way she silently swallowed her tears…

…reminded him of Livenya.

The thought was so absurd that Heinrich couldn’t help laughing bitterly to himself.

It’s already been ten years since my wife passed away.

Maybe that was why he had seen traces of Livenya in a woman who looked nothing like her.

He turned his gaze toward the window.

The moonlight reminded him of his late wife’s pale golden hair.

It stung his eyes.