After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 111

While a cousin she didn’t even know was worrying about her safety, Sebelia was focused on figuring out the blue bird’s name with Claude.

“Pirit!”

“Ah, no!”

The blue bird, who had been trying to connect with her, suddenly became interested in the world outside the window and flew towards it as if captivated. Sebelia stared at the bird, who was pecking at the glass and clearly wanted the window opened, with a blank face.

“Let’s stop here for today.”

“But…”

“No. Do you think I don’t know you didn’t sleep properly yesterday and practiced until dawn? Stop now and rest. The phantom beast’s name will come to you naturally, when the time is right.”

‘I wish that time was right now,’ Sebelia thought, frowning as she considered the upcoming art exhibition. Claude, noticing her troubled expression, comforted her in a soft voice.

“Don’t stress too much. Maybe that’s why the name isn’t coming to you. Relax, and don’t worry.”

“Haa, I wish it would work as I want it to.”

Sebelia sighed and shook her head.

“I keep feeling like I’m lacking. The spying phantoms only have one use left, and I haven’t caught any signals. And I fainted just from creating a clone…”

“Stop, that’s enough. You’re doing well. In the first place, the mental strength to create such a sophisticated clone and run away is a talent worthy of praise.”

Claude gently caught the blue bird, which was now beeping and circling in the air, and held it in his arms as he continued.

“Worrying about whether you can do well, feeling inadequate, and not being able to sleep at night because of bad thoughts are all natural. But remember one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Even if you feel lacking, remember that there is someone by your side to fill that void.”

Claude handed the blue bird back to her and turned his gaze out the window. A man with golden eyes, standing motionless in the distant garden and watching them, was out of Sebelia’s sight.

“Just remembering that will be enough.”

Claude, standing with his back to the window, smiled brightly.

* * *

“Is gardening always this endless? You’ve been taking care of it bit by bit for the past few days, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference at all.”

Dihart, who was trimming the thorny flower stalks, turned his head to look at Ilay. Dark golden eyes scanned him silently before returning to their task.

“You don’t need to tell me that you know nothing about gardening in such a pathetic way.”

“Umm, I didn’t mean that.”

“I don’t want to know.”

Snip. The words he spat out as he cut off a badly grown branch were quite sharp. Ilay blinked blankly before noticing the dark circles under Dihart’s eyes. He lamented his own lack of awareness.

‘He’s so irritable because he hasn’t been sleeping well!’

Indeed, in the past few days, his superior had been working tirelessly to investigate the Empress Dowager’s power, sacrificing his sleep. As if that wasn’t enough, he had to sift through all the disgusting news coming in from the spy attached to Nathan to understand the nature of the trap, so even having two bodies wouldn’t have been enough to handle the workload.

Ilay belatedly felt a sense of awe, bordering on sympathy, for Dihart. Sensing that annoying gaze, Dihart couldn’t stand it and turned his head.

“If you’re not here to report, either help moderately or get out.”

“Ah, I am here to report.”

Dihart’s eyes narrowed. This was because the news Ilay brought was mostly related to Nathan. Ilay felt a pang of sympathy and handed him the letter.

“…”

“Is it similar content this time too?”

“Yes.”

Dihart sighed, threw off his gloves, and moved to his office. As Ilay said, the report sent by the spy attached to Nathan was similar to the last one, but with more specific details.

Nathan Weden was constantly going to bars and enjoying the nightlife, had terrible manners, and was fond of women. Up to that point, it was nothing special, but it was suspicious that the whereabouts of some of the women he had been close to were unknown.

‘But it’s all unrelated to the exhibition.’

Opening the door to his office, he slumped into his chair. Nathan’s scandalous behavior made him frown, but it wasn’t immediately helpful information.

‘I guess I have no choice but to wait for news from the spy attached to Silas.’

Dihart turned his body and cast his gaze out the window. Sebelia, who had finished her class and was out for a walk, and the blue bird sitting on her shoulder were visible. It certainly couldn’t be, but it felt like he had made eye contact with the tiny bird’s button-like eyes.

“…Tsk.”

‘I have no choice.’ Clicking his tongue, he picked up his coat and left the office. Ilay, who arrived a moment later, followed with sparkling eyes.

“Are you going to take action yourself? I knew you couldn’t just sit still with your personality, Duke.”

“You’re definitely going to be ruined by that mouth someday.”

Cursing his adjutant, who he couldn’t tell if he was loyal or just plain stupid, Dihart left the mansion.

* * *

It was already evening. Sebelia waited for Dihart in the dining room, only to realize his absence after some time.

“Without a word…”

“It must have been something important. Seeing that he left without contacting us, he must be planning to return soon. Let’s eat first.”

Claude cut his steak with an indifferent expression. Worts, sitting next to him, was already quietly enjoying his meal.

Sebelia lowered her eyes, looking at the two men who seemed unconcerned, unlike her.

‘It would have been nice if he had left even a note.’

If he had, she wouldn’t be so worried. Sebelia moved her knife slowly, picking at her food. Claude, noticing that she wasn’t eating properly, widened his eyes and asked.

“Bella? What’s wrong? Is the food spoiled?”

“Ah, no.”

Sebelia hurriedly waved her hand, stopping Claude from getting up. And she had to stop Worts, who was trying to take out a bottle of medicine from his pocket with a serious face.

“I was just worried about when I could give the blue bird a name, so my mind was elsewhere for a moment.”

“Really… you worry too much. Just relax and enjoy today without thinking about anything.”

“I’ll try.”

Sebelia forced a smile and nodded. The dinner ended in such an ambiguous state. Claude went up to his room, and Worts locked himself in the study as always.

And Sebelia moved aimlessly.

“Where should I go today?”

The Inverness mansion, located in the capital, was not as majestic and historically significant as Hillend Hall, but it was a grand mansion and excellent in terms of size. I looked at the study yesterday, so should I look at the studio today?

Sebelia forcibly directed her steps, trying to prevent her thoughts from constantly focusing on Dihart. The problem arose there. Dihart’s office, which he preferred to be in a place with good lighting, was near the studio.

Sebelia hesitated. If she searched the office, she might find out why Dihart suddenly left.

‘But can I do that?’

In fact, after breaking into Dihart’s bedroom early in the morning a few days ago, he had given her permission to enter his office and bedroom whenever she wanted. But since that day, she had never even approached the office, let alone the bedroom.

The reason was simple: Dihart and she weren’t on good enough terms to act so intimately.

‘Besides, even when we were married, I never went to Dihart’s office myself.’

Sebelia slowly recalled the past. She couldn’t do something now that she was someone else that she hadn’t done back then. That was unacceptable in light of Sebelia’s common sense.

‘I can’t help it…’

I’m curious about why he left, but I’ll have to wait. Sebelia turned around, leaving with a little regret and lingering feelings. The moment she hesitated and tried to take a step, she sensed a presence.

“Oh my.”

The shadowed blue eyes widened in an instant. Claude was standing in the dark hallway, arms crossed, looking at her.

“It really takes a lifetime [an idiom meaning ‘it takes forever’].”

“C, Claude?”

“You still don’t listen to me and just call me Claude. So, do you want to go in? Or not?”

Sebelia couldn’t answer the direct question. Then Claude sighed and straightened up. He slowly walked out of the shadows, put his hand on the office door, and looked down at Sebelia.

“Bella.”

“Yes?”

“I inadvertently realized that I haven’t taught you anything other than illusion magic as a teacher. At this rate, I’ll be stripped of my teacher qualifications. Maybe it’s my fault that you can’t find the name of the phantom beast.”

Sebelia stared at Claude with eyes that saw something strange. He lightly ignored Sebelia’s gaze and raised his finger to emphasize.

“Bella, remember: Impudence and boldness are the most powerful weapons for an illusionist.”

What on earth does that mean? Sebelia began to distance herself from him little by little.

“Claude, I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about right now.”

“Hmm, I’m sorry. Was I talking too long? I just wanted to teach my only disciple that when things are ambiguous, it’s a pretty good answer to just do it.”

Sebelia frowned and looked up at him. He was already wearing a mischievous smile. Clank, the sound of the key turning in the lock and the doorknob turning was heard.

Creak….

The door opened behind Sebelia. A cool breeze brushed past the back of her neck, as if she had left the window open. Claude whispered in a voice full of amusement.

“Oh, the door opened. What should I do?”

“Uh…”

“Oh my, aren’t those papers flying away now?”

Sebelia, who had turned pale, jumped into the office as if propelled. It was too late when she realized she had fallen into Claude’s trap.