After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 112

While Claude rummaged through the crumpled documents with glee, Dihart discreetly scanned the exhibition hall before heading downtown. Fortunately, there were no suspicious devices or traces anywhere.

“What will you do now? Shall we return?”

Dihart frowned, his arms crossed as he glared at the square, which was beginning to be tinged red by the sunset. The reports from the spies attached to Silas and the eastern nobles would arrive at dawn. There was still time.

After some thought, Dihart loosened his tie and beckoned Ilay. Ilay approached without suspicion and immediately shrieked as Dihart’s fingers ruffled his hair.

“Ugh, what are you doing!”

“It suits you.”

Dihart, having messed up Ilay’s hair, looked at him with satisfaction before turning and entering the clothing store in front of him. Ilay grumbled but followed him inside.

“Hmm.”

A moment later, Dihart emerged, wearing a hat pulled low, looking like an ordinary office worker. The problem was that his unique, intense aura still lingered.

“Let’s go.”

Dihart strode purposefully towards the Marlen district in the 4th sector, commonly known as the mecca of artists. Ilay, belatedly realizing where he was headed, asked,

“Are you going to check out the exhibition participants?”

Dihart nodded instead of answering. This exhibition was mainly an event for artists from the east, favored by the Empress. If they had done something sneaky, taking a look at the overall atmosphere wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Besides, it was a place Sebelia had wanted to visit for a while. Dihart swallowed the second reason and slowly moved forward.

Soon, the Marlen district came into view. Open-air cafes and bars lined the streets, welcoming customers, and the signboards proudly displayed prices that were unbelievable for the capital. Ilay was impressed and followed Dihart.

The street, lively with artists and young thinkers with light pockets, was crowded with people. It took more than a few minutes to pass one block, a testament to the Marlen district’s popularity.

“Tsk.”

Dihart clicked his tongue at the people who kept bumping into him. The crowd was certainly excellent for hiding one’s identity, but he found the discomfort irritating.

Dihart walked slowly, identifying the artists who had their names on the exhibition among those sitting in the open-air cafes. They were in the middle of heated discussions on various topics.

“I wonder how the Third Imperial Prince is doing these days. He is the one who has a soul like ours.”

“Are you talking about our Third Imperial Prince, who wastes his time wandering around the suburbs? I heard he’s having an affair with a beautiful woman in the countryside.”

“Such… a romantic thing!”

‘They don’t seem to be up to anything.’

The atmosphere was so peaceful that it was almost lazy, and Dihart was about to move on, planning to head to the place where Nate was enjoying a night out with his gang, which was nearby.

One of the people passing by caught Dihart’s eye.

“…….”

It was a man who looked like he had several grandchildren. The man, who had dyed his white hair dark, was moving slowly, constantly checking the signs on the street, as if his eyesight was failing.

Dihart’s gaze on him was purely coincidental, but recognizing who he was felt like intuition. Dihart had already pulled his crooked hat low, hiding his fierce smile.

“What luck.”

Langue Elisa, far from the north, especially in the unique Marlen district with its exotic beauty. He never dreamed he would see that man here.

Loden Aldright.

He was the very person who had been giving Dihart drugs with serious side effects for a long time.

“Ha.”

The man, walking with a pale face as if he was busy with something, presented a completely different impression from when he last saw him. Well, it had been six or seven years since they had met face to face, so if he had suffered a lot during that time, he might not have recognized him.

But Loden Aldright was quite neatly dressed on the outside, though the outfit wasn’t fitting considering his former job as a doctor.

Ilay, noticing Dihart’s changed atmosphere, leaned in and whispered while drinking his beer.

“Shall we chase him?”

“Follow him, keeping your distance.”

Dihart smiled coldly, got up from his seat, and followed Loden. He didn’t mind the people who brushed past him, bumping into his shoulders this time. No, it was rather thrilling enough to make his spine tingle.

Thump, thump. Dihart chased Loden, keeping a certain distance. Loden stopped several times and looked around, and soon, as if he had found his destination, he moved his legs without hesitation.

Dihart followed him, holding his breath like a beast chasing its prey. It was an area slightly off the center of the Marlen Hill, crowded with people.

Shadows fell overhead. It was already the beginning of the night. Feeling the temperature drop rapidly, Dihart’s eyes gleamed in the darkness.

‘This is…….’

Familiar signs were all around. They were definitely places that had been mentioned in the report once.

While Dihart scanned his surroundings with his now calm eyes, Loden stopped walking. He calmly looked around. Of course, Dihart and Ilay, who were hiding in the darkness, were not visible to him.

“Hmm.”

Loden combed his hair back with his hand and opened the door of a seemingly ordinary bar. A boisterous noise and warmth suddenly burst out into the damp street.

However, as soon as the door closed, they disappeared like a mirage.

“Aha.”

And Dihart hid in the shadows and burst into a cold laugh. It was because he thought it was a good idea to take action himself without sitting still and waiting for the report.

“Did you see him?”

“Yes.”

Dihart spat out the answer and immediately turned around. Entering a narrow alley, he soon found the back door of the bar Loden had entered.

Pulling on the handle of the old iron door, he recalled what he had just seen.

A man sitting near the entrance, hugging a woman and drinking merrily. But as soon as the door opened, he turned his gaze towards Loden as if he had been waiting, as if he had never been drunk.

He was none other than Nate Weden.

* * *

Dihart had not returned even after a long evening. At first, Sebelia had stopped Claude from rummaging through the office out of guilt, but as time passed, she gradually began to feel an inexplicable anger.

In fact, it was the result of Claude’s constant instilling in her the importance of audacity and boldness.

“I didn’t know Nate was doing such things.”

“Are you okay, Bella?”

“Oh, I’m not shocked. It’s just that I can’t believe that a person who values honor so much would do such things.”

Sebelia recalled Nate, who had come to her in the past, saying that she had tarnished the family’s honor and tried to lay a hand on her. It was ridiculous.

“He did that to me and was doing such dirty things….”

The documents Claude had found did not tell her where Dihart was, but they revealed in detail how hypocritical her brother was.

‘He deliberately seduced only naive young ladies who had just come up from the countryside and then abandoned them miserably.’

The spy wrote it as a rumor, but if he was reporting it as an important matter, it must have been somewhat credible information. Sebelia groaned, holding her head.

To innocent and kind young ladies who had just entered society, the heir to the Weden Marquisate would certainly have been an attractive husband candidate. And sadly, Nate was a fairly handsome man compared to his ugly heart.

Sebelia felt depressed at the thought that the young ladies would have been helplessly caught in his clutches.

The problem was what came next.

“It would be fortunate if it ended there…. It seems a bit serious to me. In cases where the parents of the other party came out strongly, the victims suddenly disappeared without a trace.”

How could it have been so quiet until now? Claude muttered as if he couldn’t believe it.

Sebelia sighed. There was only one case where parents would strongly oppose a man who had molested their precious daughter. They demanded that Silas marry their daughter to Nate.

And soon after, their daughter suddenly disappeared. Without a trace, like a ghost.

Sebelia groaned, holding her throbbing head. Something didn’t add up. They must have been up to something.

‘But how?’

As Claude approached her, worried, Sebelia suddenly raised her head. An assumption came to her mind.

“That drug.”

“Yes?”

“The drug they were trying to give me, maybe they were using it on others first.”

The colorless drug that made you lose your mind and obey the orders of a specific person. To create such a powerful effect, they would have gone through several tests.

‘And they would have needed test subjects for that.’

If they had given them the drug and ordered them to commit suicide. Sebelia gritted her teeth and staggered to her feet. Claude, who barely caught her as she was about to fall, said in a surprised voice.

“I wish I hadn’t let you come in if I had known this would happen.”

“No. No.”

Sebelia shook her head vigorously. If Claude hadn’t forced her into the office, she would have never known this fact.

Sebelia decided not to regret entering the office. Like Claude said, there were times when you had to be brave even if you knew it was reckless. Audacity and boldness are dangerous, but… there are things in the world that you can only know by taking risks.

Sebelia slowly took a breath and turned to Claude. In a voice filled with determination, she said,

“Thank you for pushing me, Claude. I almost passed by without knowing.”

“The expression is very bold, but I like it.”

Not far from where the teacher and disciple were happily joining forces, in a narrow alley.

In the darkness, Dihart was returning to the mansion, carrying a sack large enough to hold a person.