After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 104

Three days prior, Sebelia explained her plan to Dihart and Claude. She explained that Marquis Weden wouldn’t want her without a reason. Dihart, who had felt his serpentine nature several times, agreed.

“As far as I know, all you had to do was hold onto Nelia, spend time with her, and plant a spying illusion on her.”

“I’ve been doing exactly as you know.”

“Bella, I may always be ignorant and a mere sinner in front of you, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid enough not to grasp the situation.”

Dihart let out a short laugh and muttered in an even lower voice. He strode closer and grabbed Sebelia’s arm.

“You’ve been trembling since a while ago, you know.”

“…….”

Sebelia finally realized her condition. Her body, hidden under the thick cloak, was trembling slightly. She took Dihart’s hand, which was holding her arm, and groaned.

She didn’t remember, but it must have been like this from the moment she got into the carriage.

“To be so out of it that you don’t even know you’re shaking. What on earth happened?”

The heavy bass voice struck Sebelia’s eardrums. Golden eyes stared at her with a murky light. It wasn’t an accusing look, but for some reason, Sebelia felt parched by his gaze.

“You promised me that nothing would happen.”

“…….”

“I shouldn’t have believed you when you said you’d come back without a scratch.”

A dry voice echoed in her ear. Sebelia widened her eyes and shook her head. She had to say it was nothing, but why? It was hard to make a sound.

‘What’s wrong? My tongue is stiff and won’t move…….’

Moreover, her vision was blurring, and her whole body felt strange. Sebelia slowly blinked, feeling her senses gradually dulling.

‘Ah, come to think of it, I created a doppelganger [a duplicate or look-alike of a living person].’

Creating an illusion identical to a person required considerable power. She had already used most of her power to create and manipulate the spying illusion, and on top of that, she scraped together the remaining power to create a doppelganger. It was a wonder she hadn’t fainted in the carriage.

“Bella, are you really not going to say anything?”

Dihart seemed to be saying something, but she couldn’t hear him properly. More than anything, her body was too heavy to stand properly.

Sebelia leaned on Dihart without realizing it, and Dihart’s face became even more grim. Then, Claude, who had seemed to be watching quietly, stepped forward.

“You seem to be pushing her too hard. Even if they’re worse than family, it couldn’t have been easy to face them. She needs some time to rest.”

He took Dihart’s hand away and sat Sebelia down on a plush armchair. Dihart bit his lip at Sebelia’s exhausted face. Claude was right.

“I’m sorry. I was too hasty and pushed you again…….”

He was presumptuous and greedy without any right to be. Dihart’s face twisted with self-loathing. He felt so pathetic and ashamed that he couldn’t bear it.

“Get some rest.”

He spat out the words and was about to turn around and run out of the drawing room when Sebelia’s body, which had been limply slumped in the armchair, suddenly jolted up.

“Ugh.”

“Bella!”

Claude shouted in surprise. Sebelia didn’t seem to hear him, her eyes wide as she stared into the air. For a brief moment, a bright blue light lingered in her eyes. Then, she bit her lip tightly as if glaring at something.

“Ugh……!”

And a moment later, Sebelia let out a short scream like a moan and slumped down. Her limbs sprawled across the chair like a doll with its strings cut, and a terrible silence descended.

Bang! A roar echoed through the hallway.

“Get a doctor here now!”

“Wartz, where’s Wartz!”

The two men who burst out of the drawing room door smashed their way to Wartz’s room. Wartz, who had been reading news about Rookwood, was grabbed by the collar and forced to examine Sebelia, who was already lying on his bed.

* * *

On the left side of Grace Square, in the heart of District 3, the home of the high-ranking central nobility, stood the breathtakingly beautiful Weden Marquis residence.

The Weden Marquis residence, boasting a long and venerable history, was as grand as its reputation suggested, so much so that even the First Prince was impressed after touring the mansion.

And there was a man passing through the corridors of that beautiful and luxurious mansion without any emotion. It was Nathan Weden, the rightful heir to Silas, who would inherit all of this.

Step, step.

Nathan walked past rows of expensive paintings and reached the outskirts, which he didn’t usually visit, and opened a dusty door without hesitation.

“Father.”

“You’ve come.”

In the middle of the room, where not a single ray of sunlight entered, Silas stood blankly, looking down. At the end of his gaze was Sebelia, her face pale and her eyes closed.

“Seeing her like this reminds me of the funeral.”

Silas chuckled and stroked Sebelia’s cheek. She groaned something, then resumed breathing evenly. Silas tilted his head slightly and stared at Nathan.

“So, what did Her Highness the First Princess say?”

“She was pleased to hear the news. She’s been having quite a headache because of the Second Prince.”

“She didn’t know that an illusionist could be such a useful existence, either.”

Like me, Silas added in a low voice. His lips curved as he looked down at Sebelia. It was a look of satisfaction.

“To think that they’re much more useful than those northern shamans. If I had known this, I wouldn’t have told them to clean up the mess.”

“Are you talking about this one’s biological mother?”

“Yes. She was an illusionist too.”

Silas said with a hint of regret.

“Judging by the fact that she gave birth to the child and abandoned her, she must have survived the attack. If I had known this would happen, I would have coaxed her and kept her as a concubine.”

“…If that had happened, things would have been easier.”

Nathan nodded and continued.

“If we had the biological mother create a substitute for the Emperor, there would have been no reason to drag out the succession battle this far.”

“That’s probably not the case.”

Silas shook his head, looking at his still lacking son with a pathetic look. Nathan widened his eyes and stared at Silas.

“If that were the case, the Second Prince would have already gotten rid of the ailing Emperor. It seems that, like magicians, each of them has their own area of expertise.”

“So, you’re saying that this girl is the only one who can create human-like illusions?”

Nathan pointed at Sebelia in shock. His face showed that he didn’t want to believe it. Silas nodded.

“So, treat her well. We don’t know if Iji will come back or not, but there shouldn’t be any more of the mischievous pranks like before.”

Nathan turned his head instead of answering. Silas raised his eyebrows but didn’t bother to scold him. In the first place, if he had recognized Sebelia’s potential early on and managed her well, this complicated situation wouldn’t have arisen.

He had known for a long time that Sebelia’s ability was called illusionism. But unlike magic, little was known about illusionism in the world.

Because of this, illusionism had long been treated as something eerie and ominous, and even those who knew a little about illusionism found it difficult to escape that prejudice.

‘I was the same.’

Silas frowned. He had seen Sebelia’s mother often create things like butterflies and call them illusions, but he didn’t pay much attention to it. After all, it was just an ability that barely surpassed the level of apprentice magicians.

That was until he saw the young illusionist newly appointed by the Second Prince block all the assassins they sent and launch a counterattack.

‘Is this why information is so important? All this time, we thought of illusionists as nothing more than barbaric power, just like the northern shamans…….’

Silas clicked his tongue, feeling regret. If he had known that the scope of illusionism was so vast and elaborate, he wouldn’t have gotten rid of her, but would have captured and held her.

‘I should be thankful that I salvaged at least one, but it’s such a waste.’

While Silas was dwelling on the opportunities he had missed due to his own negligence, Nathan frowned and turned his head. Silas raised his eyebrows at his angry gaze.

“But Father, if it’s a human-like illusion, isn’t that a problem in itself?”

“What do you mean?”

“We have no way of knowing whether the one lying there now is an illusion or a person!”

Nathan pointed at Sebelia and raised his voice. Silas was struck with a strong shock as if he had been hit on the head with a blunt weapon.

* * *

“Huh…….”

When Sebelia woke up in a cold sweat, the time had already passed far beyond dawn. She shook her head from side to side without realizing it.

“I’m crazy, I’m really crazy.”

Sebelia trembled and had a dazed look on her face. She had overheard all of Silas and Nathan’s conversation through the connection with the illusion and learned of their intentions.

Using illusions to create a substitute for the Emperor. That in itself was already treason. But the fact that the First Princess was involved in the plan, what on earth was going on?

‘Succession battle……!’

To think they were planning something so big. No wonder they wanted her so desperately, almost shamelessly. Sebelia gritted her teeth and threw off the blanket.

Learning about Silas’s plan was a huge gain, but that wasn’t the important thing right now.

[We have no way of knowing whether the one lying there now is an illusion or a person!]

They had to get Sebelia out of the Weden Marquis residence as soon as possible, before it was revealed that she was a fake!