After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 120

[To Bella Apennz,] I’ve heard you’re not feeling well, but isn’t it about time you kept your promise? I hope you’ll visit soon. If possible, please reply to this letter within three days to set a date.”

The tone felt light for the Second Prince of the Empire. However, it didn’t feel rude. The sentences, stripped of heaviness, held a distinct sense of intimacy.

Therefore, Sebelia couldn’t hide her bewilderment. Shatayan Belkram, with hair as white as clouds and eyes as red as a rabbit’s. She had had no contact with him until their meeting at the exhibition hall.

‘Was he more easygoing than I thought?’

But no matter how she thought about it, he didn’t seem like that kind of person. Sebelia frowned, recalling the red eyes that had maintained their composure even in the midst of chaos.

A person with an ordinary personality couldn’t have such cold eyes. It was suspicious. Sebelia didn’t let her guard down and continued to read the letter.

“Hmm.”

The letter maintained the same tone until the end, which made Sebelia uncomfortable. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out the source of this subtle favor that permeated the letter.

Perhaps that’s why she felt relieved when she reached the postscript.

[Ah, one more thing to add. Besides you and me, there will be one more person filling the seat, so I hope you won’t be surprised. It will be a helpful meeting for you, so don’t worry.]

All the friendly, almost presumptuous, words that had been going on and on were just a stepping stone for this. Sebelia felt the discomfort that had been building up disappear in an instant.

“What’s in there that makes your expression change every second?”

“Ah.”

Claude was looking at her with eyes full of curiosity. Sebelia thought about handing him the letter but stopped. She didn’t know how he, who was already overprotective these days, would interpret the Second Prince Shatayan’s intimate tone.

“It was about setting a date to enter the palace and requesting a reply within three days.”

Sebelia said, putting the folded letter back into the envelope.

“Bella, if you’re going to lie, you should do it more brazenly.”

“…Was it obvious?”

“Your fingertips are shaking. You’ll cut yourself on the paper.”

Sebelia sighed and put down the envelope. Whether it was her teacher’s intuition or something else, Claude was more accurate at figuring her out than anyone else. It felt like Denisa had doubled, which made Sebelia a little creeped out.

“There’s going to be another guest at the meeting. And he said that guest would be helpful to me, but he didn’t write down the reason. That’s all.”

“A helpful guest? Hmm…….”

Claude, who she thought would jump up and down, was surprisingly calm. He rested his chin on his hand and pondered something deeply.

Sebelia’s eyes widened at the unexpected reaction. She thought Claude would burst into flames and make a fuss, saying he had to go to the palace with her. Lately, Claude and Dihart had been extremely sensitive about her safety.

[Don’t take a single step outside the mansion. No, you can go out, but you must be accompanied by one of us.]

She was dumbfounded by the way they treated her like a three-year-old child being taken to the water’s edge… but she couldn’t say she didn’t understand their feelings.

No one had predicted that the First Empress’s side would bring in a sorcerer to set up a double trap. But the two men’s self-reproach only deepened without end.

Even yesterday evening, Dihart had been frantic because she suddenly had a fever, and he had almost carried Wartz to her. Before she could even say it was just because she had overused her abilities, he had run out, which had startled her so much.

‘Come to think of it, where is Dihart?’

Sebelia frowned at the sudden anxiety. She slowly turned back time [mentally retraced her steps].

She had breakfast with him, briefly ran into him in the garden in the morning, and hadn’t seen him since. Neither Claude nor Wartz had said where he had gone.

‘Did he go out without saying anything again?’

The moment she encountered him in the hallway at dawn naturally came to Sebelia’s mind. Then she couldn’t calm down at all.

That shameless figure that couldn’t be hidden by ordinary clothes. An intense and overwhelming aura that would break through even if buried in a pile of documents. And even the impure feelings that the bizarre combination elicited.

‘How could that look blend in with ordinary people?’

He had brought Roden in a guise that was too assertive to be called a disguise. Even in the back alleys of the night, full of bars.

But now it’s broad daylight. A dazzling sun is high in the sky, and the streets are full of people on a sunny weekend afternoon.

“…No way.”

She couldn’t let that man loose in the streets like that. It was like a walking trap. Sebelia rose from her seat, hoping her guess was wrong.

At that moment, Claude, who had finished thinking, opened his mouth.

“I think I know who that guest is.”

“Yes?”

Sebelia, who was lost in the thought of catching Dihart, didn’t hear Claude properly. When she asked him again, he tilted his head and said.

“It’s a rumor that’s been spreading, but I’m pretty sure it’s true. There’s been talk of an illusionist being by the Second Prince’s side for a while now.”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that.”

Sebelia looked back and forth between the door and Claude, then sat down again.

“Do you think the Second Prince will have him accompany me at our meeting?”

“It’s very likely. If you think about it that way, it makes perfect sense why the Second Prince took your side back then.”

“That’s true. He was too friendly to me to simply keep Nathan, who is on the First Empress’s side, in check.”

If someone had faced such a hellish scene without prior knowledge, they would have been displeased with her. Even if that terrible sight was brought up by the perpetrators, it was her ability that made it a reality.

“If you think about it that way, Second Prince Shatayan’s calm reaction and response are understandable. At the time, I just thought he was trying to send people back quickly.”

“In any case, he’s the First Empress’s biggest enemy, so I don’t think you have to worry too much.”

Claude said, leaning back in his chair with a much more relaxed face.

“Oh, of course, I won’t let you go to the palace alone.”

“I knew it.”

Sebelia shrugged and replied. Claude gave a bitter smile at her nonchalant reaction. He knew he was being sensitive, but he couldn’t help it.

He didn’t want to experience that sense of helplessness again.

It was the moment he was about to get up with his heavy body. Knock, knock. Illei’s voice was heard along with the sound of knocking on the door.

“Duke, are you here by any chance?”

“There are only me and Miss Bella here. Did the Duke leave his seat again?”

“Ah, he didn’t go out on business. He always takes me with him for such things.”

Claude was a little embarrassed by Illei’s firm answer.

“Well, that’s right. The last time I saw the Duke was in his office. If he’s not there, you should look somewhere else. But is it urgent?”

While Claude was talking to Illei at the door, Sebelia sat in her seat and quietly eavesdropped on their conversation.

“Ah! Then could you help me?”

“Hmm?”

“Actually, I have something to stop by at the Capital Defense Force right away. If you don’t mind, I’d like you to deliver this to the Duke. It’s okay if you deliver it by the end of today!”

“If it’s okay with me… I understand.”

“Thank you!”

With a cheerful farewell, the door closed and Claude returned with something in his arms. Sebelia forcibly fixed her head, which was about to turn away, and drank her tea with an elegant attitude.

“This is something.”

It was only after Claude sat down and poured them out on the table that Sebelia could naturally turn her gaze towards him.

What formed a mountain on the table were invitations that looked gorgeous and beautiful.

“Are these from Dihart?”

On the envelopes of unpretentious colors, splendid names were engraved in various inks. They were all sent from prominent families in the capital, and…….

“There are a few familiar names.”

They were the young ladies who had been considered as objects of political marriage between the North and the Center in the past. Sebelia felt a little strange because she never thought she would see their names again in this way.

Being the mistress of the Northern Duke’s family was more coveted than she thought. To go to such lengths for that indifferent man.

Sebelia, who had only seen Nelia refuse marriage with a shudder, felt like she had been hit on the back of the head. And she felt anew that Dihart and she were no longer a couple.

There were so many women who wanted him. There were greedy people all over the world who were blinded by the wealth and honor he possessed and reached out their hands.

Without knowing anything about him. Not knowing what pain he had endured, what scars his terrible past had left on him.

‘I’m the only one who knows Dihart’s true self.’

I’m the only one who can make him kneel, make him cry, and make him worry so much that he can’t sleep at night.

“……!”

“Bella, what’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing. I, I’m a little hot. I’ll go out first. I’m sorry.”

“Bella?”

Sebelia, who had jumped up from her seat, ran out into the garden, hiding her flushed face. The cold wind hit her cheeks and went into her mouth, causing her to gag.

“What are you thinking…!”

The true feelings that came out unintentionally. The selfish greed that had been hidden deep in her heart. Sebelia couldn’t come to her senses after meeting it.

“Hoo…….”

She reached the fountain and slowly moved her steps. Water droplets splashed up to her face and fell on her flushed cheeks. Sebelia, who was sitting under it to cool off, soon had to let out another low scream.

The greenhouse was built small beyond the fountain. Dihart, who was trimming flowers inside, turned his head as if he had received a revelation. And Sebelia saw it.

The sight of joy filling his indifferent and cold face, the sight of his golden eyes filled with blind affection for her.

“Ah…….”

She shouldn’t have known until the end.

But it was already too late. Sebelia slowly closed her eyes as she looked at him approaching her, opening the door of the greenhouse. A bouquet of roses remained vivid inside her eyelids.

“Bella.”

The sweet scent of flowers filled the air.