The next day, I had Mathias plow a garden section and set up a flower bed.

‘Good thing I was possessed in the spring. What would I have done if it had been right after the harvest season in autumn?’

The sunlight was just right, the garden was spacious, and I had someone to do the hard labor. Even better, Dame Gwendolyn, who had taken charge of my education in this household, was teaching me the basics of farming.

‘Once the basil grows, I can make basil pesto, and in the summer, I can enjoy watermelon and melons. I could marinate tomatoes and—!’

Just imagining it made me happy. In my previous life, I never had the time or space to grow anything, let alone cook.

This possession tutorial was a dream.

I had plenty of time, plenty of money, and a house. Even my hobbies were cared for by others—I only had to pretend I was involved.

My sole contribution was greeting the plants and watering the herbs with my pretty watering can.

“Hello, little ones! Grow nice and strong today.”

After completing my task, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and stood up.

Wait—why is the ground rising… up…?

“Kyaa! My lady!”

“Sir Mathias! The lady—!”

Yes, everything was great—except for the fact that I kept fainting…

***

“Farming is fine, but you should start with light exercise, like walking.”

“It’s not farming…”

“It is for you, my lady. Your stamina is already low every day. Yesterday’s strength might not be today’s strength.”

Dame Gwendolyn spoke matter-of-factly as he handed me a cup of herbal tea brewed from various medicinal herbs.

If I had an HP bar above my head, it would be a debuff that caused my gauge to steadily drop daily.

‘Why do I keep losing the mana and holy power that everyone else supposedly has? Did someone curse me because I was too evil?’

From that day on, to build up the stamina needed for watering my garden, I started walking around the estate’s back mountain every morning and evening.

One lap along the forest path—once at dawn and once at dusk.

The mountains were beautiful, the air was fresh, the birds chirped pleasantly, and the sunlight was warm.

No matter how I looked at it, this world seemed to be rewarding me with a year of healing to make up for my exhausting past life.

“If you feel even the slightest bit dizzy, please tell me immediately. Dame Gwendolyn will scold me.”

Mathias firmly supported me as we walked.

I wasn’t sure if I could call this a “walk” when I was practically escorted…

At first, I could barely manage ten minutes before Mathias had to carry me back. But after two weeks, I could walk for thirty minutes without trouble.

And then, on the exact day that marked one month since I arrived in Meldorf—

“Mathias, that purple flower over there too.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Mathias’ duties now included collecting wildflowers.

Arranging the flowers I found along my walks had recently become another one of my hobbies.

It was just a clumsy attempt to mimic the florist arrangements I had seen on social media…

“I think the color would go well with lilies.”

“Right?”

“You have such an eye for these things, my lady. Even simple wildflowers look amazing! Oh, there’s some clover flowers too.”

“Let’s pick a few of those as well.”

As I strolled along, listening to Mathias’ loyal flattery—

“…Aeeeng.”

A faint cry came from somewhere.

Did I mishear it?

Just as I was about to ignore it—

“Waaah…!”

“Mathias, did you hear that?”

“…Could it be a cat?”

Mathias and I exchanged puzzled looks.

Had it noticed us focusing on it?

“Uwaah, aaeng…!”

The cry suddenly grew louder, and without needing to say anything, Mathias and I both sprang into action.

“Should we take a look?”

“Yes, let’s.”

Anything else, I might have hesitated.

But if it was a cat, then it was more than welcome.

With a cat in my peaceful countryside life, things would be absolutely perfect!

‘A tabby? A calico? A mackerel…?’

With that hopeful thought, I slowly followed the sound—

“My lady, over there…!”

“Oh my god.”

There, lying in the grass, was a baby.

Wrapped in what was unmistakably high-quality silk, the baby had skin so pale it looked out of place in this untamed forest.

***

“Oh my god, where did this baby come from?”

“What on earth happened, Mathias?”

When I returned from my walk with an unexpected baby, the Blue Roof Manor was thrown into chaos. Everyone gathered in the guest room where I had placed the child.

“Oh my, it’s not even crying.”

“Look at those golden eyes. So beautiful…”

“I’ve never seen silver hair before.”

“The baby’s skin is so fair… It must be from a noble family.”

“It looks like an angel…”

Completely unbothered by all the attention, the baby—fluffy silver hair atop its head, golden eyes rolling around curiously—really did look like an angel.

‘Who on earth would abandon such a beautiful child…?’

The baby was adorable, but the fact that it had been left in a place like that meant its story was surely a tragic one. My chest ached just thinking about it.

“Just in case, wash the baby thoroughly, and Paul, warm some milk to a suitable temperature. Mathias, head to the village and see if anyone has lost a child.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Understood!”

“I’ll check if we have fabric suitable for swaddling clothes!”

“Please do. I’ll go rest for a bit.”

“Leave it to us!”

I wanted to keep watching over the baby a little longer, but I had walked more than usual today while searching for it, and I needed rest.

Dame Gwendolyn had insisted I take a nap after every walk, and I intended to follow his advice.

‘Though the baby is so cute that I don’t feel as tired…’

But the moment I stepped out of the guest room—

“Uu, uwaaah…!”

The baby suddenly burst into loud cries.

“Baby, it’s okay, it’s okay.”

“Don’t cry, okay? We’re not bad people.”

“Waaah! Waaah!”

Mila and the nanny tried their best to soothe the baby, but there was no sign of the crying stopping.

‘Well, of course, it’s only natural to be startled by so many unfamiliar faces.’

Was it because Mathias and I, the only familiar ones, had disappeared?

I considered going back, but exhaustion hit me all at once, making my entire body feel unbearably heavy. I felt like I could collapse at any moment.

‘The nanny is a childcare professional. She’ll manage somehow.’

Staggering down the hallway, I made my way to my room.

Even compassion requires energy.

Following Dame Gwendolyn’s advice, I needed to recover from the aftereffects of my walk first.

I collapsed onto the bed and shut my eyes, hoping for a brief nap…

“Waaah… waaah…!”

The baby’s voice was so loud that even after a long time, the crying didn’t stop.

“Uwaaah…!”

Rather than calming down, the crying grew even more desperate, almost as if in protest.

I kept dozing off, only to be jolted awake by the baby’s cries over and over again.

‘Did they get hurt while I was gone? Do they not like the milk? What’s wrong?’

I reached for the servant bell to ask about the situation but hesitated, realizing something. With all the servants attending to the baby, I had no choice but to check myself.

“Oh dear, my lady, you should be resting.”

“The baby is crying too much…”

Hic.

The moment I stepped into the room, the crying stopped, as if it had never happened.

The baby, whose face had turned red from wailing, turned towards me and…

“Kyah!”

…laughed?

“W-Well, yes, baby. Our young lady is the most beautiful in the kingdom. You can see it too, can’t you?”

Even the experienced nanny, who had been trying to soothe the baby for a while, looked flustered.

“I came because I was worried something was wrong, but…”

“Well, now the baby has stopped crying.”

“I see. I’ll head back, then.”

The moment I stepped out of the room—

“Waaaah!”

…Again?

As if waiting for me to leave, the baby started crying at the top of their lungs.

“What’s going on?”

I peeked back inside, and the baby’s cries stopped with a small hiccup.

Could it be…?

“This baby, perhaps…”

“…likes the young lady?”

Mila and the nanny seemed to be thinking the same thing as I was.

To test the theory, I slowly stepped out of the room again.

“Waaaah…!”

As expected, the baby immediately burst into tears.

When I peeked my head back inside—

“Kyaha!”

They stopped as if we were playing peek-a-boo.

After repeating this several times, the nanny and Mila murmured in amazement.

“The baby really…”

“…likes you, my lady.”

And so, the baby and I became bedmates.

If I moved out of their sight, they cried as if they had lost their country. If there were even the slightest distance between us, they would fuss endlessly, so this was the only option left.

‘They really are like a little angel.’

Freshly bathed and wrapped in a clean cloth diaper, the baby looked as soft and fluffy as a model from a diaper commercial in my previous life.

Plump cheeks, glassy eyes, chubby arms and legs like a tire company’s mascot.

When I poked their cheek with my finger, they flailed their tiny hands, trying to grab it.

‘Ugh, so adorable!’

Looking at Odelia in the mirror was a visual treat, and so was Mathias, the servants, and even my little vegetable garden… But the greatest sight to behold was now this baby.

“Should we order a cradle?”

“No, it’s fine. The bed is big enough.”

“…Big enough?”

“Oh, that…”

Oops. Compared to the bed in the marquis’s estate at the royal castle, this one was indeed smaller.

But it was still at least twice the size of the bed I used in my past life.

“In comparison to the room, I mean. And don’t you think this is plenty of space for the two of us?”

I quickly came up with an excuse.

“Well… I suppose getting a cradle might lead to strange rumors.”

“Exactly, that’s what I meant.”

I nodded, relieved that the nanny had accepted my excuse so readily.

An unmarried woman living with a baby was bound to spark scandalous gossip.

Though, considering I had less than a year left, what did my reputation even matter?

Still, as someone inhabiting this body, I must respect its original circumstances.

Yes, I had less than a year left…

“We need to find the baby’s parents.”

“Oh dear. They might have really been abandoned, you know? Did you see? The baby has teeth.”

“What?”

Startled by the nanny’s words, I carefully pulled back the baby’s lips.

Sure enough, two tiny front teeth, on the top and bottom of their soft little gums, were present.

Even this was cute…?

“They can’t even hold up their head yet, but they already have teeth.”

“Maybe they just developed early?”

“You didn’t have this many teeth until you were a year old, my lady.”

“Really?”

Since I had no idea about a baby’s typical development, I could only tilt my head in confusion.

“And look at all this hair, even though they were just born. They might have even been born with teeth…”

At that, the nanny’s voice took on an ominous tone.

“They could have been abandoned because it was seen as a bad omen.”

“…Seriously? Over something like that?”

“It’s not ‘just’ something, my lady. They could be a demon’s child.”

Oh, right.

I had completely forgotten that this was a fantasy world, where divine prophecies existed and demons lived beyond the dimensional rift.

“Well, we have to try everything we can. They could have been kidnapped.”

“That’s true, but…”

Hearing my words, the nanny nodded in agreement. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she spoke.

“Come to think of it, the back mountain is strictly off-limits to outsiders, isn’t it? They even placed a barrier around it that time.”