After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 137

Wedden Manor hadn’t changed in decades. A chilling light settled in Gren’s eyes as she passed the stone statues and decorations that guarded the old traditions and honor.

‘After so long, even your traces are gone, Eile.’

The past overlapped like a mirage over the resplendent hallway. She vividly recalled the day she first visited this place to celebrate her friend’s wedding, a memory now faint.

[Gren, thank you for coming.]

[Surely you didn’t think I wouldn’t attend, Eile? I’d be disappointed if you did.]

[You always say that. Still, thank you.]

Eile, who had been so happy before her marriage to the man she loved, passed away after suffering from childbirth complications with her twins.

After her death, Silas must have been in deep thought. By marrying Eile, he could have naturally integrated into the Eastern aristocratic forces, but that connection had been severed.

Gren immediately made it known to the Eastern nobles that he could take a new wife at any time. Suspicion quickly turned to him, and eventually, Silas had to make a vow not to remarry and sign a written oath.

Everything seemed to be going well.

She had married Rasch Inverness to swallow the North, and the First Imperial Consort had eliminated the Empress to solidify her control over the Crown Prince’s position. But…

‘Everything went wrong the moment that girl appeared.’

Sevelia Wedden. She was the illegitimate offspring of the Marquis Wedden and proof that he disregarded his oath.

[Wasn’t it enough not to take a wife? You even swore an oath as you wished, yet you’re still acting so pathetic. Don’t bother me with things that even Her Imperial Majesty doesn’t care about.]

‘I should have killed her back then,’ Gren muttered silently. A murderous aura flickered in her green eyes as she swept through the hallway.

But she couldn’t because she was concerned about the twins who resembled Eile. It wasn’t out of sympathy or pity for Eile. It was simply because she didn’t feel like it.

‘I was too soft.’

Why did she do that? She regretted it now. Eile was already dead, so why did she spare Silas, only leaving a warning because her children mattered?!

She didn’t realize that the things she let go of one by one would grow and come back. She didn’t realize that those who didn’t know their place would dare to stand against her!

“Madam, the Marquis is not ready yet…!”

“Get out of my way.”

As she reached the office, the butler blocked her path. But Gren wasn’t one to be intimidated by such a thing. She knew how to get rid of the butler without raising her voice.

“Do you want to see the Imperial Security Bureau [the Empire’s intelligence and security agency] turn the Marquis’s residence upside down tomorrow?”

The butler’s face stiffened at the mocking voice. Instead of the butler, who was frozen by the threat, it was a subordinate who opened the door, who was with Silas.

“He says you may enter.”

“It’s fortunate that your master isn’t as stupid as you, at least. Move aside.”

Gren scanned the butler up and down. The butler’s face turned red at the cold, contemptuous gaze. Gren snorted and raised her head, stepping into the office.

“I can’t say you’re welcome, Gren.”

“I don’t want to talk to you either, Silas.”

The gazes fixed on each other were fierce. The subordinate swallowed hard without realizing it due to the intense tension. Gren grinned crookedly at the sound of swallowing in the silent room.

“Did you think you couldn’t handle me alone? Two men against a frail woman. What pathetic courage.”

“I’ve had enough of your sarcastic remarks in letters, so get to the point. I clearly told you that I would take care of Duke Inverness. Why did you come down to the capital?”

Gren chuckled at the accusing tone. ‘Who dares to glare at whom?’

“If you hadn’t acted so foolishly, I wouldn’t have had to step in. There’s a limit to dawdling. If you had killed Dihart sooner, you wouldn’t have had to deal with that Rosalyn.”

“Ha! So that’s what it was about. You were so scared of a girl the Third Prince picked up that you came all the way to the capital.”

“Don’t act so smug, Silas. Your situation isn’t much better, is it? Everyone in the Empire knows that Nathan is locked in the tower in your place.”

They hadn’t drawn their swords, but the atmosphere in the office was no different from a battlefield. A thick murderous aura emanated from the two, who used their tongues as weapons to target each other’s weaknesses.

But at the same time, they knew they couldn’t completely harm each other. The oath bound them, and the evidence they shared strangled each other’s necks.

In the end, this mess could only end in a tiresome deal. After arguing for a long time, Silas raised both hands and called for a truce.

“Isn’t this enough? I don’t have the energy to shout anymore. Sit down. Let’s talk sitting down.”

“Send that rat hiding in the corner and glancing at me out first.”

“Willingly.”

At Silas’s gesture, the subordinate ran away with his tail between his legs. The office door was closed by the butler, and silence settled heavily in the room.

Silas looked at Gren, who was sitting on the sofa, and let out a low sigh.

“…Okay. Tell me what you want. I don’t want to see the request forms with my signature in the hands of the Imperial Security Bureau either.”

“Hmph.”

Gren snorted and leaned back on the sofa. A short sigh escaped through her lips. The green eyes, which had been deeply flushed with excitement, took on a calm light and stared at Silas.

“As planned, you take care of Dihart and Sevelia. I’ll take care of Rosalyn.”

“Are you saying to take care of both of them at once? That’s difficult for me too. It takes so much time to plan the elimination of one Duke.”

“Don’t think I don’t know why you’ve been holed up in the mansion, dragging your feet, Silas. I know it’s not difficult to kill the Duke, but you’re taking your time racking your brains to kill him without leaving a trace.”

‘I can’t say anything.’ Silas frowned and sat down in his seat. It was definitely inconvenient to have known each other for so long.

“Okay, if you’re going to barge into my mansion like a tyrant and give orders, you must have a proper plan. Tell me, Madam Gren.”

Gren ignored the sarcasm and rested her chin on her hand. Her green eyes, naturally lowered, scanned the floor once before rising to stare at Silas.

“You must have heard the news that the Emperor is preparing something in the near future.”

Silas frowned and crossed his arms. He had heard about it.

Along with the rumor that an important figure from another country was coming as a guest, the Emperor had ordered a grand welcoming ceremony for him. And information came into his hands that most of the manpower guarding the capital that day would be concentrated in the Imperial Palace.

It was the perfect day to kill the eyesore.

But the specific date of the event, whether it was just receiving the visitor or including a banquet, had not been announced, so he had been postponing the work until now.

‘To think she’d choose the same day.’

She was a woman he didn’t like anyway. Silas clicked his tongue and gestured for her to say more. Gren carefully examined him with her narrow eyes and continued.

“The specific date is out. It’s in a week. Finish all the preparations by that day and capture and kill Dihart Inverness and that girl Sevelia.”

“You’re not saying you’ll just be watching, are you.”

“Of course not. We’re in the same boat anyway, aren’t we? Although we don’t trust each other.”

Gren folded her eyes and smiled kindly.

“I have something else to do. I don’t need to explain the details, do I.”

“That’s too one-sided. Won’t you add a condition in exchange for not asking?”

As Gren raised her eyes, Silas leaned back in his chair with a lazy smile.

“Let’s send Nelia and Flora to each other. I’m not saying to keep them by your side. I just need to have a card in case you betray me, don’t I? As you said, we don’t trust each other.”

Gren gritted her teeth. She wanted to get angry, accusing him of holding her daughters hostage, but she couldn’t. The other party had also offered his only daughter.

“Okay. But if anything happens to my daughter, I won’t let you get away with it.”

“A clean and satisfactory deal. Ah, I’ll send a carriage tomorrow morning, so tell me the address of where you’re staying.”

Gren glared at him until the end, then got up and left the office without answering. Silas snorted at her attitude of not bending her pride until the end.

* * *

A few days after successfully concluding Nathan Wedden’s first interrogation, Sevelia received an unexpected letter from Shateian.

The information obtained from the first interrogation was accurate, and the bodies of several victims who had been missing had been found. Along with this news, there was positive talk about her abilities within the Security Bureau.

“That’s good news.”

In addition, Shateian said that the date for the second interrogation had been set. And that date was the day of the welcoming event that the Emperor was directly overseeing.

‘The day the important guest from another country arrives.’

There was nothing to worry about. According to what she heard, only the imperial family and central nobles would attend to welcome the guest. As a commoner, she had no obligation to attend.

“I’ll have to prepare hard until then.”

Even without that, she was beginning to grasp the sense of her ‘specialty’ as she repeatedly delved into Nathan’s memories.

‘The memory of the desired time came out when I searched the third time.’

She wanted March of two years ago, but by chance, the memory of May of two years ago came out. She tried a few more times after that, but the results were similar.

‘Maybe that’s the limit of what’s possible.’

It would be surprising if Shateian or others knew, but Sevelia was relaxed. As she strengthened her resolve for the second interrogation, Dihart pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Well, it’ll be noisy because of the welcoming party, so even if some noise is heard from the tower, it’ll be buried.”

Turning around, he was smiling fiercely. Sevelia stared at him for a moment before speaking.

“By the way, is that still in a stalemate?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Inviting Rosalyn.”