Chapter 51
After I Die, the Little Groom
Originally, Nadia had planned to leave Heinrich in the care of the servant and then follow behind to observe the situation.
However, an overwhelming drowsiness hit her, so intense it became impossible to stand any longer.
Resigned, Nadia returned to her room and collapsed onto the bed.
As she pressed her heavy eyelids shut, she felt an odd sensation, as if her body was being pulled somewhere.
“Am I falling asleep?”
“Was I really this tired?”
Though curious, Nadia let herself be carried away by the sensation. Somehow, it didn’t feel unpleasant.
At some point, she realized she was no longer sleepy. She wasn’t tired, and the slight headache she often felt had cleared.
With her mind sharper than ever, Nadia opened her eyes.
Beneath the dark night sky, a familiar scene stretched before her.
It was the Baldwin family cemetery where she had just been.
The strangest part, however, was that the Nadia who had been lying in bed was now kneeling before a gravestone.
Yet, at that time, Nadia felt no sense of confusion about the situation. She simply didn’t care to question it.
Like someone under a spell, she knelt on both knees in front of a particular gravestone.
She traced the engraved letters with her fingertips.
―Baldwin’s eternal mentor, eternal companion. Rivenya Baldwin.
“So that’s what it says.”
Nadia genuinely admired it.
Rivenya was not of the Baldwin bloodline and had borne no heir for them. Yet, this degree of praise had been left behind, and Nadia sincerely appreciated it.
Rivenya had never been anyone’s “true” person in her lifetime.
At the Countess Psillin household, she always felt like an outsider, believing she wasn’t their “true daughter.”
At the Baldwin estate, the relationship had been contractual, so she wasn’t their “true wife” or “true daughter-in-law” either.
Yet even in a life of pretense, she had been sincere, and someone had recognized her effort.
That fact was a great comfort to Nadia.
Nadia woke to the sound of clattering.
“…Was that a dream?”
Of all things, she had dreamed of reading Rivenya’s epitaph—had she wanted that recognition so badly?
Embarrassed at such a childish thought, her cheeks burned.
She covered her eyes with her arms and let out a soft groan.
“Miss, are you awake?”
“…Yes.”
“Goodness, having a fit of sleepiness like that. Were you that tired?”
Vivian approached, holding a glass of water. As Nadia brought it closer to drink, it smelled pleasantly sweet.
Nadia looked at Vivian with a puzzled expression.
“They say you had a drink with His Grace last night?”
Apparently, the servants had been gossiping.
“I just stayed by his side.”
“Is that so? I thought perhaps something had progressed between you two.”
“Progress…”
Nadia muttered the word absentmindedly, though she would normally have denied it outright. Vivian blinked and sat beside her.
“Miss, what is it? Did your relationship really change in some way?”
Relationship. They had moved from a one-sided reporting dynamic to a cooperative partnership. If Nadia weren’t trusted even a little, she wouldn’t have been brought to confirm the body buried beneath the grave.
“Hm… I suppose you could say that.”
It was a vague answer, yet Vivian excitedly grabbed Nadia’s arm.
“Really? What kind of change? I knew it! In contract romances, the latter part is more important than the beginning.”
Nadia, taken aback by the fuss, instinctively leaned back.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? In a contract romance, isn’t the beginning naturally the important part?”
“You really are something, Miss! Then in arranged marriages, would the arrangement be more important than the marriage itself?”
Nadia recalled her arranged marriage to Heinrich.
Though that period had been the happiest in Rivenya’s life, it had been more business than marriage. It was simply… a workplace with a true family-like atmosphere.
“Probably the arrangement is more important. I’m not sure why this came up, though.”
Nadia answered seriously, making Vivian even more flustered.
“Ugh, our smart Miss. So pretty, and yet…”
Vivian shook her head as if utterly baffled.
“What’s wrong? Even if it’s a contract romance, being closer can only be good. Ah… you don’t mean you were worried I actually became romantically involved with His Grace, right?”
Nadia chuckled at such an absurd notion.
Considering that she had previously drawn a strict line, declaring such a thing impossible, it seemed true that she had become somewhat comfortable with Heinrich.
Yes, if the master is at ease, so too are the subordinates.
“It’s nothing! Now, let’s go eat. We’ll be bouncing in the carriage for a while yet.”
Nadia refrained from mentioning how secure Baldwin’s carriage actually was. For some reason, she felt Vivian would nag if she said it.
Nadia gulped down the honeyed water in her hand and prepared to leave for the dining room.
As she moved to leave, Vivian fussed over trying to adjust the earrings at Nadia’s ears one last time.
“Just keep it neat.”
Eventually, Nadia evaded Vivian and grabbed the door handle.
She never imagined a tall man would be standing right in front of the door.
“Miss, was your sleep comfortable?”
Heinrich looked impeccably refined, as if attending a formal banquet.
In contrast, Nadia had been squabbling with her maid over earrings, far from the same composed image.
“Uh…”
Nadia hesitated, waving a hand over her shoulder. Vivian, not foolish enough to fuss further, stepped back politely.
Nadia, now composed, smiled faintly and inquired:
“Thanks to you, I rested well. His Grace drank quite a bit last night. Are you feeling all right?”
“Yes. I am fine. That maid seems to have chosen suitable pearl earrings as well.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Weren’t you in the middle of adorning yourself? When you finish, I will escort you to the dining room.”
Nadia looked at Heinrich in a daze.
Could this polished gentleman really be the man who dug up his deceased wife’s grave last night?
Given what happened, she thought Heinrich might have been in a bad mood. Perhaps that was why he drank alone in the dim dining room.
Seeing him appear so composed left her unsure how to console him.
“…Thank you for choosing the adornment. Vivian, could you help with the earrings?”
Vivian carefully approached and attached pearls to Nadia’s ears. Their milky clarity suited her pale skin perfectly.
Heinrich observed quietly, neither hot nor cold, yet not empty like staring into the void.
The straightness of his gaze made Nadia self-conscious, so she looked down and fiddled with her earrings.
After Vivian finished the other side, Heinrich extended his arm to escort her.
Nadia placed her hand on his arm, feeling slightly awkward.
Considering the Baldwin estate’s size, it wasn’t especially large. The distance from the guest room to the dining room was close enough that even a servant’s guidance was almost unnecessary.
Nadia assumed Heinrich might have something to say, but he remained silent until they reached the dining room.
“Or perhaps he wants to request something during the meal?”
Yet, even during the meal, Heinrich spoke only briefly.
It was only then that Nadia considered the possibility he had come simply to escort her.
It was precisely then that Heinrich spoke.
“How much of the books owned by the late Count Crimson have you read?”
“Oh, all of them. Some parts are still ambiguous, but for certain sections, I think it would be fine to consult an expert.”
“Impressive.”
“Yes. Bern helped me a lot.”
Heinrich looked up at the unfamiliar name.
“Bern?”
“The librarian. He seems to know which books are in the Baldwin estate from his long service there.”
“I am aware. I recall my wife liked him as well.”
Heinrich said this, then drank from his glass. Oddly, the sound of swallowing seemed unusually loud.
“Was there any useful information?”
“Well, the entire text was about black magic. How to save or kill people, give someone nightmares, ruin crops—things like that. It was purely theoretical, with no practical suggestions.”
“So it’s confirmed that Count Crimson had an interest in black magic.”
“Yes. But that’s all. Whether the Count truly murdered the Duchess, or used black magic in doing so, remains unknown.”
Nadia, of course, believed Rivenya’s death was linked to black magic. She had to find the connection.
“I want to investigate further. Your Grace, is Baron Varden still alive?”
