After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 123

After revealing the shocking truth with confidence, Balak declared proudly:

“Bella, it’s absurd for you to stay in his house, of all places. I don’t know why you’re tolerating him, but you don’t have to anymore.”

Balak looked at Sebelia with pity, then opened his arms with a kind smile.

“Come to my house.”

“Pardon?”

“Let’s go home.”

‘Home, did he say home? Our home?’

Sebelia stared at him blankly, overwhelmed by a series of unbelievable shocks. Meeting her unexpected cousin, hearing stories about her mother from him, and even the fact that she was a member of the Lockwood family, none of it was as shocking as those words.

“Our, home…….”

Sebelia’s eyelids fluttered rapidly. She struggled to steady herself, her overloaded mind trying to comprehend Balak’s words. Dihart grabbed her wrist and pressed it against his cheek.

“Dihart?”

“How dare you act so shamelessly in front of me!”

Dihart ignored his cousin’s rage with a brazen face. He pressed Sebelia’s hand against his cheek for a moment, then suddenly raised his head.

“I expected as much.”

Dihart sighed softly and released Sebelia’s wrist. But Balak couldn’t relax. This time, he placed the back of his hand against Sebelia’s cheek instead.

The action seemed so natural and casual that Balak was burning inside. He was on the verge of tears, watching his cousin calmly accept Dihart’s actions.

Meanwhile, Sebelia, oblivious to his desperate feelings, blinked with suspicion.

“What’s wrong?”

Dihart looked down at her silently before turning his head. Shateian was slowly entering the drawing room. Dihart called out to him as if he had been waiting.

“Your Highness.”

“Hmm?”

“Since you’ve allowed me to meet such an unpleasant guest, I would be very grateful if you could provide one more room.”

Shateian asked, nonchalantly accepting the sarcastic remark. He snapped his fingers to summon a servant, but Dihart spoke first.

“Lady Bella is not feeling well. It seems the fever I barely managed to suppress is rising again, thanks to someone.”

At Dihart’s words, Sebelia belatedly covered her cheek and exclaimed. As he said, a slight fever was returning.

‘How did he know?’

Just as Sebelia was looking up at him with a curious expression, Balak groaned in disbelief.

“Then we can’t delay any longer. Shateian, have the carriage ready. I’m leaving with Bella right away.”

Dihart scoffed at Balak’s words. When Balak glared at him, Dihart spoke in a cold tone.

“It would be best not to come near until the fever subsides. You never know what kind of disease you might be carrying.”

“What?”

“Taking a patient away in a carriage? There’s a limit to how absurd a plan can be.”

Dihart passed the grinding Balak and spoke to Claude.

“Go and summon the court physician to the palace. Also, tell them that Bella’s condition is not good.”

“Understood.”

After Dihart disappeared with the servant, Claude glanced around the devastated drawing room. Balak and Shateian were having a serious conversation before they stopped and stared at him.

“Do you have anything to say to me separately, Appenz?”

“No, Your Highness. I’ll take my leave now.”

Claude left with an ambiguous farewell. He felt a sharp gaze on his back.

* * *

Back in her room, Sebelia leaned against a long chair instead of lying on the bed. Dihart raised his eyebrows, wanting her to lie down. Instead of nagging, he ordered the servants around and then returned.

“It’s not that bad.”

“It’s probably not yet.”

There was no room for compromise when it came to health issues. Sebelia looked at him strangely. He was a patient himself.

‘He doesn’t even take care of himself…….’

Sebelia swallowed the words that were about to come out and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Dihart, as if expecting it, placed the towel brought by the servant into the basin.

“You’re not thinking of doing it yourself, are you?”

“…Can’t I?”

How could she say no when he asked with such a dejected look? Sebelia sighed, holding the dripping towel in her hand and looking at Dihart’s face, which was staring at her with pitiful eyes.

Looking back, she should have stopped him from kneeling in the first place.

“Do as you please.”

Sebelia naturally reached out her hand to the man who knelt on one knee before her. He carefully wiped the back of her hand with the wrung-out towel.

The towel, which had meticulously wiped up to her wrist, seemed to linger in the air for a moment before slowly touching her forehead. She felt the heat subsiding as the breeze touched the spot where he wiped away the cold sweat.

“Ah.”

It was the moment Sebelia unknowingly exclaimed. Their eyes met. It was as if a spark had jumped in the air, making a crackling sound.

“…….”

Dihart clenched the towel, his dry lips parting slightly. A silver aura swirled in the center of his golden eyes. It was such a dazzlingly beautiful sight that Sebelia stared blankly at his eyes.

That’s why she missed his first words.

“…Are you going?”

“Pardon?”

Sebelia, regaining her senses, felt her neck growing hot again and blinked. Before she could feel embarrassed, Dihart asked again.

“Are you really going with him?”

Beneath his slightly furrowed brow, his trembling eyes looked incredibly pathetic and heartbreaking.

The hand that had been carefully wiping her forehead fell weakly. The sound of the towel dropping echoed, and Dihart’s arms braced her on either side of her knees.

“Bella.”

As if wanting to trap her in his arms, he exuded a desire to embrace her with his whole body, yet his golden eyes clung to her until the very end.

Sebelia silently stared at him. A dark emotion surged within her blue eyes. After a brief silence, Sebelia opened her mouth.

“He said he searched for me his whole life.”

“…….”

“He didn’t even know my name or what I looked like, but he held onto the faint hope that I was alive and searched for me endlessly. He endured… with only the thought that he would bring me back someday, Dihart. They endured too. Just like I endured that long time. Those people too.”

Her gentle voice warmly embraced Balak, making Dihart even more desperate.

Family, real family. Dihart couldn’t stand against them. He was once her family, but not anymore. Perhaps he would never be family again.

‘I lost her because of my mistake.’

Crack. The sound of fabric tearing echoed as the sofa crumpled beneath his hand.

As if flustered, his golden eyes blinked several times. The towel that had rolled off the sofa was already covered in dust.

“I’m sorry.”

Dihart whispered, picking up the dropped towel. His low, sunken voice sounded sharp. He bit his lip and stood up.

“I’ll get water, no. I’ll change everything.”

He didn’t want to show his face. Dihart lowered his head and was about to turn around when Sebelia grabbed his wrist. His firm wrist was trembling weakly, uncharacteristically.

“Let go. You might get dust on your hands. The towel is, dirty.”

Dihart didn’t even know what he was saying. He wasn’t in his right mind. Guilt and regret pierced his heart, making it difficult to even breathe.

But Sebelia didn’t take his circumstances into consideration.

“Dihart.”

“…….”

“Why don’t you say anything?”

“What can I say? I can’t even answer if you ask me if I have the right to say anything in the first place.”

The voice that fell was as cold as ice. His golden eyes, looking down at her grasped hand, were filled with a chilling light. It was a situation that could be easily misunderstood. But Sebelia now knew that the coldness wasn’t directed at her.

How could she not know? The pulse beating so strongly beneath her grasped hand was telling her his true feelings.

So Sebelia decided to take a little courage. No, it wasn’t courage. As Claude said, she decided to be brazen.

“I want to hear it.”

“Hear what?”

“The words you want to say.”

Sebelia added.

“The words you need to say to hold me back. I want to hear them.”

Dihart’s eyes widened. He gaped, unable to believe it, and shook his head from side to side, repeatedly closing and opening his eyes as if to see if this was real.

It was neither a delusion nor a dream. In the reality that surrounded him with clear shapes and outlines, Dihart felt his heart plummet.

“Did I hear correctly just now?”

“Unless your ears are as bad as Claude’s, you probably did.”

Sebelia smiled faintly and tightened her grip on his hand. It was a weak grip, like a cat holding on with two paws. But Dihart was gently pulled and sat down next to her.

“Bella, I.”

He sat on the crumpled sofa and was about to carefully turn his head towards Sebelia when.

“I’ve been waiting so long!”

With a boisterous noise, Claude burst open the door. Behind him were Wetz with a tired face and Balak with a sulky expression.

“…It seems we’ll have to talk after the examination.”

The voice that flowed gently into her ear was disgruntled. Sebelia swallowed her laughter and watched Dihart’s back as he went to greet her legal uncle and real cousin.

“Everyone except Doctor Wetz, please leave. And Appenz, no matter how worried you are about your niece, what is this behavior? Don’t you know that what a patient needs most is absolute rest?”

It seemed he was regaining his energy now that he had met his match. Sebelia put the back of her hand on her feverish forehead and slowly closed her eyes. The voice, full of energy, flowed into her ears.

Yes, that gloomy look didn’t suit that man.