After I Died, My Little Groom

Chapter 4

The medicine slowly trickled past Baroness Hess’s pale lips.

The physician looked back and forth between Baron Hess and Nadia before giving a satisfied nod.

“You can finally breathe a little easier. She’ll still need to continue taking the medicine regularly, but her life is no longer in immediate danger.”

The moment he heard those words, Baron Hess’s eyes welled with tears.

Holding his wife’s thin hand tightly, he said,

“Thank goodness… Thank goodness.”

“My dear, our daughter saved you. You have to wake up soon and praise her yourself.”

Nadia pulled over a chair and sat beside the bed.

As time passed, the Baroness’s complexion gradually became more peaceful.

Turning toward Nadia, Baron Hess spoke excitedly.

“Let’s spend all the money we have left on more medicine. If we do, your mother will recover completely.”

Nadia shook her head without hesitation.

“No.”

“N-No?”

“I know it’s the money you earned, so your opinion matters most, but…”

The baron faltered.

With a gentle smile, Nadia placed her hand over the back of his.

“Father, don’t worry.”

“I’m not saying we shouldn’t buy Mother’s medicine.”

“But what happens after we spend everything?”

“What if Mother doesn’t recover quickly?”

“What if her illness lasts one year… two years… or even longer?”

“We won’t have any money left to pay for the medicine.”

“…You’re right.”

The baron sighed.

“But do you have another plan?”

Nadia nodded.

“I’m going to buy a magical mining tool.”

“A magical tool?”

“Yes.”

“One that can detect mineral veins.”

“We probably won’t be lucky enough to discover another magic stone deposit like before, but it should help us locate gemstone ore.”

“The age of magic stones has arrived.”

“We can’t keep surviving on coal forever.”

“But…”

Baron Hess hesitated.

“Who knows whether there are even gemstone deposits in Hess Territory…”

His concern was only natural.

The Hess Barony had survived by selling coal for generations.

Not once had any valuable gemstones ever been discovered.

But Nadia—

Who had once governed the Baldwin Duchy as Livenya—

Was certain.

There had to be gemstone veins near the border.

After all, gemstones had also been mined on the Baldwin side of that very same border.

She even remembered their approximate locations.

That meant they could conserve a great deal of the magic stones needed to power the mining device.

Taking out a worn, crumpled map, Nadia marked several locations.

“If we use the magical mining tool around this area…”

“It should pinpoint the exact location.”

“I-I understand.”

“We’ll do as you say.”

Finding the magic stones that had saved Baroness Hess’s life had been entirely Nadia’s achievement.

Without her…

The Baroness would already have passed away.

At this point, Baron Hess looked as though he would support Nadia even if she declared she intended to pluck stars from the heavens.

Still…

As trusting as he was, there was one thing he couldn’t help wondering.

“My daughter…”

“How do you know all these things?”

Nadia answered as though it were perfectly ordinary.

“I read about them in books.”

“I spent so much time reading in the manor library that I eventually pieced everything together.”

“The books tell you where mineral veins are?”

“Not directly.”

“But if you study what kinds of minerals were mined in the past and how territories supported themselves…”

“You can make reasonable guesses.”

It shouldn’t have been convincing at all.

Yet Baron Hess simply laughed.

“Is that so?”

“Your old father is too foolish to keep up with you.”

Smiling warmly, Nadia wrapped him in a hug.

“Please don’t say that.”

“If you and Mother hadn’t rescued me from that forest…”

“I wouldn’t be here today.”

In her previous life—

As Livenya—

Her parents had never given her a sense of security.

Her mother had been too frail.

Her father had been despicable.

As for her stepmother…

There was no need to mention her.

But the parents she had gained in this new life were unimaginably warm-hearted.

They weren’t clever.

They never wished to inconvenience anyone.

Even when they themselves lacked something, they still wanted to give to others.

Many people might call them fools.

Nadia loved them precisely because they were that kind of people.

“I’ll always stay by your side.”

“So don’t cry alone beside Mother’s bed every night anymore.”

“We’ll get through this together.”

She gently patted the baron’s back.

He nodded repeatedly.

Then, as though reminding himself that he had to stay strong, determination returned to his eyes.

“Nadia.”

“You should rest now.”

“You’ve worked hard enough.”

“I’ll take care of buying the magical mining tool.”

“After all, you’ve already shown us where to search.”

It was an unfamiliar side of Baron Hess.

Yet it was also the side expected of a man responsible for leading an entire territory.

Nadia smiled and nodded before quietly leaving the couple’s bedroom.

---

The hallway outside was dim.

As she walked through it, the brightness vanished from Nadia’s face.

Even if they bought the magical mining tool and increased their profits…

There was still a limit.

The doctor had already made it clear that Baroness Hess’s illness couldn’t be cured overnight.

They would need several times more money than they had now.

Unfortunately…

Nadia no longer knew the locations of any additional magic stone deposits.

From now on, they would have to survive by mining ordinary gemstones instead.

That still won’t be enough.

The entire territory can’t devote itself solely to paying for Mother’s medicine.

She leaned against the hallway window and gazed outside.

A full moon shone brilliantly, its light blending silver and gold together.

“My lady… your hair looks just like moonlight.”

The words of her young husband came back to her.

Nadia touched her crimson hair before letting out a quiet sigh.

If I revealed that I was the Duchess of Baldwin…

I could save Mother.

I could also help the Hess Territory prosper.

But she couldn’t return.

It wasn’t a matter of whether Heinrich would believe her.

She simply…

Never wanted to become Livenya Baldwin again.

---

“Livenya… please…”

A frail voice echoed through her mind.

“Your father is trying to kill me.”

“He wants to marry that mistress, so he’s trying to murder me.”

A hand so thin it was little more than bone seized her wrist.

“Please save me, Livenya…”

“Please… save your mother…”

Livenya couldn’t pull her hand away.

Then another hand grabbed her ankle.

Another clutched her calf.

Another tangled itself in her hair.

Finally—

Cold fingers wrapped around her throat.

Dead…

Pitch-black eyes stared into hers from only inches away.

“You wicked child…”

“You let your mother die!”

“N-No…”

“I didn’t…”

Nadia awoke to the sound of her own voice.

She gasped for breath.

It felt as though someone had truly been choking her moments before.

Clutching her throat, she struggled to breathe.

Fortunately…

The sun was already beginning to rise beyond the horizon.

The dawn quickly steadied her nerves.

Had it still been the middle of the night, she would have spent hours forcing herself back to sleep through that nightmare.

---

Early that morning, Nadia washed herself and visited Baron and Baroness Hess.

The Baroness was still resting in bed, chatting warmly with her husband.

The moment she saw Nadia, she smiled brightly.

“Nadia.”

“I’m so happy to see your face first thing this morning.”

She reached out her hand.

Seeing the frail, bony fingers instantly reminded Nadia of the nightmare.

A chill ran through her body.

She pressed a hand against her forehead.

“Nadia!”

Baron Hess hurried over to support her.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

“I think I just didn’t sleep very well.”

She smiled as though nothing were wrong.

But Baroness Hess still looked worried.

“I heard you’ve been working yourself to exhaustion to pay for my medicine.”

“You’ve been pushing yourself because of me, haven’t you?”

The concern in her eyes was completely genuine.

Thanks to that warmth, Nadia gradually forgot the nightmare and took the Baroness’s hand.

Again and again, the Baroness reminded her,

“Take care of yourself before anyone else.”

“You’re the future heir of the Hess Barony.”

“You must always put yourself and this territory first.”

“Do you understand?”

“The smaller the territory…”

“…the more everyone has to work together.”

Speaking at length exhausted her.

She coughed softly.

Even so…

Her eyes remained as gentle as ever.

“I won’t be at peace until you’ve recovered, Mother.”

After chatting with the couple for a while, Nadia excused herself, saying she had work to do.

Outside the room, she leaned silently against the corridor wall.

They’re different people.

Mother… isn’t someone who deserves revenge.

She’d never blame me for her own death…

She rubbed her cold neck several times before looking straight ahead.

That’s exactly why…

I want to save her.

I refuse to let her die.

Even so…

She still had no desire to become Livenya Baldwin again.

That life had been filled with betrayal…

Revenge…

And lies.

Even the happiest days of Livenya’s life—

The time she had spent with Heinrich—

Had been built upon a marriage that was always destined to end.

After thinking for a long while, Nadia hurried back to her room.

She had no intention of returning as Livenya.

But…

There was one person for whom it didn’t matter whether she was Livenya or not.

Nadia selected the finest sheet of paper she owned and began writing a letter.

I want the key I entrusted to you returned.

After carefully writing the destination, she handed the letter to a maid for delivery.

About a week passed.

Nadia was asleep when she suddenly felt a cold presence at the back of her neck.

Her eyes flew open.

A tall man stood beside her bed.

Ten years had passed.

The youthful features she remembered had matured into those of a grown man.

But those cynical gray eyes…

They were eyes Nadia knew all too well.

“It’s been a long time…”

“…Conrad.”