After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 14

A day before leaving Inverness, she was overcome with subtle emotions.

“How strange.”

It was when she was inspecting the fake corpse for the last time.

Amidst dozens of medicine bottles—enough to surely cause a fatal overdose if consumed entirely—Sebelia’s illusion lay there, holding an empty sleeping pill bottle, a trickle of blood from her lips.

Denisa watched the scene, her fists clenched. It was a serene yet eerie sight. Sebelia straightened her bent knees and returned to Denisa’s side. The two of them, standing at the doorway, were thinking the same thing.

‘Milady….’

‘So, this is how I’ll look when I die.’

Sebelia shuddered, thinking about the future that would soon befall her. But strangely, it wasn’t just fear that made her tremble. Rather, Sebelia was filled with a strange anticipation.

The certainty of the future instilled confidence in her.

‘I don’t want to die like that in this stuffy, lonely mansion.’

A desolate and lonely death. A solitary end with no one by her side.

A life trapped in despair, ultimately cutting itself off.

Sebelia gazed at the fake Sebelia, who had met her end locked away in the detached residence, and steeled her resolve.

‘I will never die like that.’

I will escape this place and meet my end as a completely different person in a new place.

And by my side will be Denisa and many people I’ll meet there.

Sebelia clasped her cold fingertips together and took a deep breath. Denisa placed her hand over Sebelia’s. The two shared a faint smile.

“You remember the rendezvous point, right?”

Denisa, who had come downstairs, fastened her coat tightly and said.

“Yes. The forest path that turns right along the lake. Under the tree with the yellow scarf, right?”

“That’s right. You remember well, my lady.”

Denisa gently stroked Sebelia’s head as if rewarding a good child. Sebelia smiled without realizing it.

“I’ll follow after everything is done.”

Denisa looked up at Sebelia with firm, shining eyes. To ensure that Sebelia’s corpse wasn’t revealed to be an illusion until the funeral was over. That was Denisa’s duty.

“…You have to come.”

Sebelia embraced her tightly, whispering in a trembling voice.

“I’ll be waiting. I’ll believe that you’ll come to get me again.”

Sebelia still hadn’t forgotten. Denisa, who had come to find her trembling alone in the solemn and desolate monastery. Her red cheeks chapped from the cold, and her hands frozen stiff. But the moment she met her eyes, the embrace that followed was so warm.

Just like now.

“Of course.”

Denisa embraced Sebelia back, shouting in a strong voice.

“I’ll definitely come to get you after ten nights. So, don’t worry and go.”

With words that evoked memories of her childhood, Denisa threw open the door.

It was time to leave.

* * *

Back in the present, Ryan was in a very difficult situation. First, after learning that Sebelia had died, he immediately went to see the butler.

“How can you proceed with the funeral without the Duke’s permission! Stop it immediately.”

“We cannot interrupt a funeral that has already begun, Lord Ryan. You know that, don’t you?”

Grose was not at all intimidated by Ryan’s warning. Rather, he pressured Ryan, backed by Gren, who had effectively become the mistress of Inverness again.

“And how dare I handle the Duchess’s funeral on my own authority? Lady Gren has given her permission for this matter.”

“That means nothing. After all, the late Sebelia’s husband is…”

“Marquis Lims and Count Bainen have also given their permission.”

Grose stiffened his posture and puffed out his chest. Marquis Lims and Count Bainen were relatives whom even the head of the family, Dihart, could not control.

The great-grandfather of Dihart, the brothers of the late Duke. With power no less than the head of the family, they especially cherished the devoted Rasch and Lady Gren. It was natural for such people to take sacrifices for the family for granted.

“Lord Ryan, you must know that Inverness is in a precarious position right now.”

“……”

“Don’t you still understand that it is right to break free from the shackles of the center [likely referring to the capital or central government] as soon as possible in this situation?”

Ryan could no longer argue in the face of Lims and Bainen’s names.

“……I understand.”

“Don’t forget to greet Lady Gren on your way back.”

Grose did not abandon his attitude of giving him a final jab. In the end, Ryan had to clutch his burning insides and secretly write a telegram to send to Dihart.

[The Duchess has passed away. Please return as soon as possible.]

Putting down the pen, Ryan recalled the map of the lower village in his head.

‘Where was the post office?’

With an anxious heart, Ryan hoped that Dihart would remain in the village where they were staying.

‘We mustn’t be out of touch.’

If he, who had come running with only the thought of meeting his wife, without receiving any news, were to see the funeral, what on earth would happen….

“It’s chilling.”

Ryan made the sign of the cross without realizing it. That day might be the day a new bloodbath would blow in Inverness. He ran to the stables with a pale face and saddled a new horse.

He had to send the telegram quickly before the post office closed. At that moment, a coquettish voice caught him.

“Lord Ryan?”

“…Lady Flora.”

Turning his head, he saw Flora, her red hair beautifully styled.

“You should rest well after returning; where are you going again? That’s what knights are like.”

She must have heard from Grose that he had returned. Otherwise, why would a dozen knights have come with Flora behind her?

“This has become troublesome.”

Ryan frowned and took two steps back. Flora crossed her arms as if she had a headache and said.

“Ryan, let’s not make things difficult for each other, okay?”

“I’m sorry, Lady.”

“Not knowing that this is all for my brother, geez.”

Flora shrugged her shoulders and spat out in an overbearing voice.

“Arrest him. It doesn’t matter if he gets hurt a little.”

Looking at the junior knights running towards him, Ryan smiled bitterly.

“Those who don’t know what’s ahead.”

Soon, screams echoed from the stables.

* * *

At the entrance of a small village far from the north, a carriage led by two horses stopped on a quiet road.

“We have arrived, sir.”

“Thank you.”

With a simple greeting, Sebelia got out of the carriage alone. She looked around with lively eyes and picked up a few pieces of luggage, placing them on the road.

“Then have a good time.”

It was a flat voice. Sebelia almost inadvertently looked at the coachman’s seat, despite the promise. However, unlike her, the coachman, who had done this more than once or twice, immediately cracked the whip neatly.

Hee-heeing-

The horse’s cry echoed for a long time, and soon the carriage disappeared from her sight. Only then could Sebelia lift the hat that had covered her face.

‘Denisa said he’s a clean worker [trustworthy and discreet].’

Sebelia took a leisurely step, looking at the trees that had stretched their blue leaves to her waist. The coachman, who had never seen her face, never asked a question throughout the journey here.

‘Well, the inside stories of people on the run are all the same.’

Sebelia smiled bitterly and put strength into the hand holding the luggage bag. And she walked towards the address that Denisa had told her in advance.

“Ah.”

The smell of freshly baked bread was very pleasant.

* * *

Is it because it’s a place to stay for a while? As expected, the house was not cleaned at all.

“But this is where it is.”

Sebelia took a rag in her hand for the first time in a long time and did a big cleaning. Seeing the cleaned house, it seemed as if all the memories that had been blocking her chest had disappeared.

“……I can live here.”

It was just an old and dark wooden shack, but for some reason, it was a space that filled her heart. Sebelia smiled faintly, feeling that she had become generous to everything after leaving the mansion.

“Ugh.”

Although the pain was worse than before….

‘I can’t help it. It takes a lot of power to maintain the illusion from afar.’

Unfortunately, the floor was covered in blood, which made the cleaning worthwhile. Sebelia laughed helplessly and filled a bucket with water.

How much time has passed? The wind that came in through the open window frame tickled her cheeks and flew away.

It had been a long time since she had been able to afford to relax like this. Inside the mansion, she was too aware to open the windows for a long time and enjoy the sunlight.

‘Sometimes Dihart was staring at me.’

I thought my heart was going to drop at that time. Sebelia, who unknowingly sighed, enjoyed sunbathing for a long time.

Knock knock.

“Milady.”

At that moment, she heard Denisa’s voice, which she had been waiting for so long. Sebelia, who jumped up, immediately threw open the door.

“Denisa!”

“Milady…….”

Denisa, with watery eyes, hugged her tightly. Sebelia’s heart fluttered in her warm embrace.

“It’s over now. It’s really over.”

Sebelia shuddered at Denisa’s ensuing cry. Denisa whispered, hugging her trembling body tightly.

“There is no more unhappy lady now.”

“Ah.”

“Sebelia Inverness is no longer in this world.”

Four days since leaving the mansion. Four days of vomiting blood all night to maintain the illusion. Four days of listening to the voices of passers-by with an anxious heart, fearing that a funeral would not be held.

It was too short, but it felt like eternity….

This morning, Sebelia’s death was officially recognized. Sebelia sighed as she accepted the newsletter Denisa had handed her.

“Oh my god.”

[Sebelia Inverness, Duchess, died at the age of 29…Family attended…A wave of mourning continues….]

There, along with the majestic Inverness mansion, her death was clearly written in print. Tears welled up in Sebelia’s blue eyes as she stared intently at the paper. Soon her hands trembled.

“Finally…. finally.”

It was the word she had been waiting for so long. It was a moment she had longed for, trembling with fear that things might go wrong.

The simple word that Sebelia Inverness was dead. She made a fake corpse and ran away to this place, hoping only for that.

But why? It was something she had longed for and hoped for so much.

Why can’t she say that word, that she is dead, directly from her mouth?

“I, finally…….”

Even while shedding tears of joy, Sebelia was puzzled.

At that moment, the past flashed across her tightly closed eyes. The beautiful days when she dreamed of a future with him, and the days of infamy when that future fell into the mire [a situation or state of difficulty, distress, or suffering from which it is hard to extricate oneself].

A brilliant and terrible past like broken jewels.

The tragedy stemmed from her father.