After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 16

“What a taste.”

Frowning, Dihart flicked the necklace with his fingertip. It was such a simple jewel, yet the design was incredibly devout.

“Does she even realize she married into a cursed duchy…?”

Tsk, Dihart clicked his tongue and then sighed deeply. It was a rapid and intense emotional shift that would surprise Ryan.

He reluctantly took the necklace out of the box, as if forced to do something he loathed. With slow, deliberate movements, he put on the necklace and tucked it inside his shirt, concealing it from view.

It was like a child who hates onions reluctantly eating them to avoid disappointing their favorite teacher.

“…Does it suit me?”

Dihart stared intently into the mirror and then shook his head. No matter how he considered it, he and Sebelia had clashing tastes. From food to aesthetics, they were polar opposites. Yet, he didn’t dislike her enough to reject a gift she had taken the time to give.

“……Hmm.”

Dihart tapped the table a few times and then rose from his seat. Perhaps because she was from the Central region, she was accustomed to warmth and might have trouble sleeping without it.

* * *

Time passed quickly. Dihart reasoned that she wouldn’t have a reason to look inside his shirt.

“Damn it.”

Just in time for the weather to get warmer, Ryan suggested a boating trip.

Dihart hesitated for a moment. But soon, an incident occurred that chilled him more profoundly than any boat ride could.

“…Explain to me again what that means.”

The man who bowed his head spoke with a frustrated expression.

“Most of the people we recently contacted have been harmed or, conversely, have been turned. We can only assume that information has been leaked.”

Dihart chuckled humorlessly and swept back his hair.

“Suspend the operation, and… find out exactly who is responsible.”

His golden eyes gleamed with a dangerous light.

* * *

Sebelia had noticed the unusual atmosphere in the mansion lately, but she refrained from mentioning it.

“We can’t go boating. I’m sorry.”

She vaguely sensed that Dihart was at the heart of the unsettling atmosphere. Since their last encounter, he had suddenly begun dressing in impeccably formal attire. Sebelia found the sight unfamiliar, yet captivating, just as she did now.

“Madam, are you listening to me?”

“Ah, yes.”

Sebelia, snapping back to attention, faced Dihart. His eyes were slightly narrowed, as if he was barely tolerating her.

“Good. Then, for the time being, refrain from any external activities and remain inside the mansion. If you’re bored, Flora or my aunt are here, so you won’t be lonely.”

“I will.”

Sebelia nodded.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”

Dihart, looking at her with a complex expression, moved his lips as if to say something.

Sebelia waited for the words to follow, but Dihart swallowed them back. Instead, he greeted her in a soft voice.

“Stay well, Madam.”

After that, Dihart was absent for several days. Sebelia tossed and turned, resisting the urge to seek him out.

And then that day finally arrived.

* * *

Sebelia would later reflect that the day had felt ominous from the very beginning.

“Try to explain, Madam.”

Inside the room, which was in complete disarray as if it had been bombed, Dihart greeted her. He was dressed impeccably, not a single piece of clothing out of place. Yet, on his sleeves, which seemed more perfect than ever, were drops of blood that must have belonged to someone….

He held a familiar box in his hand.

“Tell me these are things you have never seen. Tell me these are things you don’t even know exist.”

A suffocating murderous intent and harsh demeanor filled the room.

Sebelia was already reeling.

“What is this….”

The box containing the letters she had exchanged with her father was in Dihart’s hand, half-broken. The pendants and necklaces that had been inside were scattered at his feet. Sebelia, completely bewildered, shook her head in confusion.

“Dihart, I don’t know what this is all about.”

“Ha.”

Dihart swept his face roughly and burst into laughter filled with contempt. It was a laugh as if he was releasing something he had been holding back for a long time. Sebelia hesitated to approach him, seeing him like this for the first time.

“Ah, Madam… If you needed jewels and silk, you should have said so. If the allowance I gave you wasn’t enough, it would have been more straightforward to break pottery while complaining.”

Sebelia’s face paled at his incomprehensible words, but Dihart’s abusive language continued.

As if he wanted to see her hurt and cry, his golden eyes stared intently at Sebelia.

“You must have felt very good selling your husband’s secrets to get jewels. To get revenge and money at once… I have gained a very wise and clever wife, haven’t I?”

Only then did Sebelia realize the gravity of her situation.

Sell my husband’s secrets? Me?

With wide, shocked eyes, Sebelia shook her head.

“This is… this is a setup. I would never do such a thing.”

“Ah, a setup. That’s a very common excuse.”

“Why would I ever do that? Dihart, think again. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Sebelia pleaded with him, clasping her trembling hands together. She tried to convey the memories and connection they had built together.

“I didn’t want to say this at a time like this. But I….”

“You’re going to say you love me. You shouldn’t make excuses like that.”

The emotionless voice and fierce eyes tore at her heart. Sebelia stared at Dihart with trembling eyes, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. But Dihart shook his head, as if he felt sorry for her futile efforts. He simply scattered the evidence he had collected at her feet.

“What you love is not me, but your father. The lovely youngest daughter of Weden [Sebelia’s family].”

With a sarcastic voice, thick papers covered the messy room like white snow.

“Well, here are the confessions I got from the servants you brought and the interpretations of the ciphertexts used in the Weden barony. Let’s see if you can still pretend you don’t know.”

“……”

Sebelia, picking up the paper scattered at her feet, felt nauseous.

“This can’t be.”

The contents of the letters she had written at the request of the servants were written there in detail, including how they obtained them.

And the comments written in tiny letters below….

“What, what is this all about?”

The contents, which she believed to be ordinary greetings and trivial daily life, were all ciphertexts [coded messages].

Ciphertexts containing secret information about Inverness [Dihart’s territory] and detailed information about key figures entering and leaving the mansion.

Sebelia was shocked, as if the world had turned upside down. In the meantime, the servants and her father had been plotting together to deceive her.

“Thanks to you, everything in Hillend Hall [Dihart’s mansion] was flowing into the Central region.”

Dihart smiled coldly, looking down at Sebelia, who was trembling with a pale face.

“I’m… I… I was also deceived, Dihart. I am.”

“Ah, it’s okay. You don’t have to argue anymore.”

Dihart grabbed her chin as she sat down and cried, and met her eyes.

“Although you stabbed me in the back, you are my wife. A noble bride that the arrogant Central region forced upon me.”

“Dihart……”

Thick fingers touched her tear-stained eyes. Sebelia trembled as she looked at her husband wiping away her tears.

“Don’t be too upset that you got caught. People can make mistakes while living.”

“…….”

“But… if you had properly remembered what I said about knowing your place, this wouldn’t have happened.”

His gentle touch caressed her cheek.

“Right, Sebelia?”

At that moment, Sebelia felt like she had been struck in the head with a hammer.

‘Know your place.’

Ah, could it be that this man…

‘Had foreseen this situation from the beginning?’

That’s right. There’s no way someone who is even a Duke of the North would have accepted me without any thought.

Sebelia felt that some kind of expectation that had been rising in her heart was completely collapsing. Then, was it all a lie that he was gradually opening his heart to me? Was he just accommodating me for this moment?

‘Ah, what should I have done….’

Sebelia trembled with self-loathing. Tears continued to fall, and Dihart continued to wipe them away. His cold golden eyes met Sebelia’s blue eyes.

“…….”

Dihart stared at her silently. Sebelia didn’t know what to do and turned her eyes away, dropping her head. A low sigh was heard above her head.

“You don’t have to come down for meals anymore.”

Dihart gently stroked her shoulder and got up from his seat. Sebelia hurriedly raised her head, but his expression was hidden by the light of the chandelier.

“Dihart……”

“I don’t have a strong stomach.”

“……!”

Dihart turned his back, politely refusing Sebelia’s desperately outstretched hand.

That was the end.

Belatedly regaining her senses, Sebelia went to find him, but was repeatedly turned away. The mansion had completely turned hostile to her, and all the servants from Weden were expelled.

All the evidence, confessions, and witnesses pointed to her as the culprit. All she could do after losing trust was to beg to leave even Denisa alone.

“Dihart, as you know, Denisa was not involved in this incident. It’s all my fault, so please don’t send only her away.”

“…….”

“I’ll have her live outside the mansion. I will never let her know anything related to this place…….”

Sebelia, who had burst in during the meal, pleaded for mercy in a desperate voice.

Dihart looked at her with an expressionless face and sighed as if he had a headache. He seemed to be thinking about something for a while, but soon nodded.

“Okay. But there will be restrictions on accessible areas.”

“……Thank you.”

Dihart, glancing at her as if she was relieved, said as if asking what she was doing.

“Is there anything else to say?”

“Yes?”

Dihart scraped the plate with the tip of his knife while staring at Sebelia, who was asking back. Squeak. A chilling sound echoed in the dining room. Dihart said in a low voice, as if teaching.

“I said I have a weak stomach.”

“……Ah.”

“Then go out.”

Could there be a more cruel eviction order in the world than this?

Sebelia could not forget that cold voice.