Conrad had once been a secret shadow under Rivenia’s command—her trusted hand when she was still the Duchess of Baldwin.
Sold off at a young age to an illegal gambling den, where he was worked day and night, Conrad had been saved by Rivenia. Out of gratitude, he had pledged unwavering loyalty to her.
Rivenia had relied on him for countless tasks. Conrad excelled at gathering information from places most couldn’t reach.
He was a clever boy. With just that brief letter, he must have sensed much.
The handwriting identical to Rivenia’s, and the mention of the “key”—he would have understood immediately.
Of course, he wouldn’t have believed Rivenia had truly come back from the dead. He’d probably thought someone was impersonating her.
“How dare you impersonate my master,” he said.
Just as Nadia expected, Conrad’s face was twisted with fury.
“I don’t care how you forged her handwriting or how you knew about the key. You’ve sullied her name—I’ll kill you right now.”
Actually, it was worse than Nadia expected.
The Conrad she remembered had flaws, yes, but he had been diligent and methodical. He wasn’t the kind to recklessly threaten someone with death.
Was ten years really that long?
As she stared at Conrad’s now gaunt face, Nadia calmly reached toward his blade with one finger.
“Raising a weapon to your master… how disgraceful, Conrad.”
A sudden tension gripped his brow. With a twisted smile, he narrowed his eyes, his ashen irises glaring sharply at her.
He looked ready to slit her throat any second. Still, Nadia spoke evenly.
“You were sold to the gambling den at five to pay your father’s debts. You worked yourself half to death until, at fifteen, desperate to save your sister, you threw yourself into gambling. You lost an eye and were dying… and someone saved you, didn’t they?”
Conrad, still on the bed, slowly rose to face her. The look in his eyes shifted—from pure hostility to one of doubt and sharp analysis.
“No one… no one knows that shameful memory.”
“Oh, but one person does.”
Nadia’s voice grew softer as she recalled the past.
“‘You have to tell me. Why are you in this filth? Was it greed? Or just one moment of weakness?’”
Conrad’s lips trembled in disbelief. Nadia continued for him.
“And you said it was greed. That even a worm like you wanted to try living at least once. That you were greedy for life.”
“…That’s impossible.”
“No, it’s not. If I really am Rivenia.”
Conrad’s pupils shook violently.
“Rivenia died ten years ago. I saw her body…”
“She did die. I died. And somehow… I came back. I can’t even call it reincarnation. I only remember everything from the age of ten.”
The soul of a person living in another body, with all their past memories intact—it made no sense.
But the calm, almost indifferent way she spoke of the unbelievable reminded him of Rivenia.
Not to mention, she knew secrets only the two of them ever shared.
Conrad muttered helplessly, “You’re really… Lady Rivenia…”
“I’m not Rivenia anymore. I go by Nadia now. I died and somehow got a second chance, so I figured I’d try living a new life.”
When she said it so plainly, Conrad let out a dry laugh.
“Now I’m convinced. You really are Rivenia. As unbelievable as it sounds.”
“Now?”
Nadia blinked in confusion. She had expected to need much more persuasion. What gave her away?
“If you were a fake trying to impersonate her, you would’ve used me to reclaim the duchess title. What other goal would you possibly have?”
“Fair enough.”
“But you didn’t do that. You never had any attachment to that title. So this makes sense.”
Conrad lowered his blade completely and dropped to one knee before her.
“It’s truly an honor to see you again, Lady Nadia.”
“You’re calling me Nadia already?”
“Your name doesn’t matter. What matters is you. If you want to be called Nadia, then Nadia it is.”
As expected, Conrad didn’t care whether she was Rivenia or Nadia—he was loyal to her.
Nadia smiled and helped him to his feet.
“I called you here because I need your help.”
“Just give the order.”
His loyalty was absolute.
Nadia sat comfortably, swinging her legs down from the bed, then lit a candle. Conrad grimaced.
“You’re using such low-grade candles?”
“Don’t say that. If Baron and Baroness Hess hadn’t taken me in, I’d be begging on the streets. I’m truly grateful to them.”
“I meant no disrespect to them. If they’re your benefactors, then they’re mine too.”
“I know. You’re just worried.”
“But if I know you’re living like this, I can’t let it slide. You don’t even seem to have proper maids. I’ll send someone tomorrow. And a mana lamp. It’s bad for your health to sit by candles like this.”
Conrad really was full of worry. Nadia gave a helpless little nod.
“But that’s not the urgent matter. You still have my key, right?”
He nodded.
“Of course.”
“I want it back.”
The “key” she meant wasn’t a literal key.
Back when she was the Duchess of Baldwin, she had to deal with countless criminal organizations that leeched off the territory. Some had to be rooted out immediately, others required watching and waiting.
To be ready when the time came, she had collected extensive evidence. She and Conrad had called those files “keys.”
“I can return it, but much of the evidence has degraded. It’s been ten years.”
“But not all of it.”
“No, not all. But what do you plan to do with the keys?”
To his polite question, Nadia gave a relaxed smile.
“Catch criminals and collect bounties.”
“Bounties?”
“Yeah. I’m not the Duchess of Baldwin anymore. I’m just the daughter of a tiny barony with less than a hundred people in the whole territory. No one will care if I get paid by the crown for turning in fugitives.”
“Anyone who belittles you for catching criminals is a fool. And with all the evidence we have, catching them won’t be hard. But… why do you need the money? How much?”
Nadia stood up, picked up a prescription from the tea table, and handed it to him.
“A lot. My mother—Baroness Hess—is very ill. The medicine is expensive.”
Conrad examined the paper thoroughly.
“It’s a large amount, far too much for the barony.”
“It’s more than just large. If we keep going like this, we won’t last. We already had to mine from a mana stone vein I kept hidden in my past life. It wasn’t as rich as I’d hoped—just enough to get us by. A few days ago, I really thought we’d lose her.”
She ran a hand through her hair and sighed deeply.
Conrad watched her closely, then hesitantly opened his mouth.
“Nadia… are you blaming yourself for the Baroness’s illness?”
Conrad was one of the few people who truly knew Rivenia—her past life, her burdens, and even her nightmares.
Nadia fell silent for a moment, then gave a bitter smile.
“If I went back to the Baldwin estate and revealed I was Rivenia, this kind of expense would be nothing. So yeah, the thought crossed my mind—I must be a beast who can’t even repay a life debt.”
“You are not that kind of person, Lady Nadia.”
“I was just anxious. But see? I found a way.”
She gave Conrad’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze, then let go.
“Go through the keys. See what’s still usable—especially anything we can act on right away.”
“Yes. I’ll get started immediately.”
“Thanks, Conrad.”
“This is my duty.”
He bowed deeply, then exited the way he came—through the window.
This should be enough to cover Mother’s medicine.
Nadia’s heart pounded fast… then slowed to a near stop, like that of the dead.
She wiped the sweat from her palm with a handkerchief and lay back down in bed.
It’ll all be okay now. Nothing will go wrong.
