After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 31

The ornate doorknob was carved from gold, and the clear glass was imported from the southern states. In every way, it resembled the door to Dihart’s greenhouse.

“Haa.”

Sevelia reached out and touched the door, drawing closer. The cold sensation of the glass against her palm sent a shiver up her wrist.

Cautiously, she peered inside the greenhouse. Vibrant flowers enveloped in wild colors, lush greenery exuding life, and, standing alone amidst it all, the man she always sought.

“……”

But as nightmares often do, her dream lacked what she desired.

Sevelia stepped away from the glass door, her handprint still visible. She retreated slowly, step by step, until she turned her back completely. And in that moment, she realized she had awakened from her dream.

“Not a pleasant dream.”

Reflecting on the dream, the trembling in her body had ceased.

Sevelia left her travel bag in the entryway and went to her bedroom, collapsing onto the bed. Even if Dihart had been inside, she wouldn’t have been able to open the door.

“The last time I was invited to the greenhouse… was then.”

Before she was framed by her father’s scheme. She had refused his invitation to learn about tea time in the greenhouse, all to meet with the jeweler her father had sent.

“Ha.”

Something, whether a hollow laugh or a sneer, escaped her lips. Sevelia rolled over and buried her face in the blanket. A sudden wave of fatigue washed over her.

* * *

Afterward, Sevelia spent some time mentally preparing before going out. She feared running into another man resembling Ryan without any warning and being startled again. Fortunately, that didn’t happen. Sevelia sighed in relief as she placed her items on the counter.

A thick coat, sturdy shoes, kindling tools, a light sleeping bag, groceries, and, for some reason, a bottle of strong liquor sat squarely in the middle.

“Looks like the young lady is headed there too.”

The general store owner remarked casually, looking at the items Sevelia had chosen.

“Pardon?”

Sevelia tilted her head, looking puzzled. The owner chuckled and scanned the items again before asking,

“Planning to go up Sixth Road?”

“I’m a stranger here, so I’m not familiar with the local place names.”

At Sevelia’s words, the owner nodded as if understanding.

“I heard there’s a doctor who lives hidden away there, or rather, that sounds a bit suspicious. I heard he likes to do research alone.”

“Are you talking about Mr. Watz?”

“Ah, right. That was the name.”

The owner grinned as he packed the items into a bag. Only then did Sevelia understand what Doctor Earlsick meant by [a fellow who doesn’t usually let people in].

‘I thought the supplies looked like camping gear.’

Sevelia sighed inwardly and took out her wallet. Befitting his reputation as an authority on incurable diseases, it seemed he wasn’t easy to meet.

‘Still, it’s fortunate I have a referral from someone he knows.’

At that moment, the general store owner looked Sevelia up and down, then said with a pitiful expression,

“I don’t know what the young lady wants from that doctor, but it won’t be an easy journey.”

“……”

“Don’t worry, you won’t end up with broken arms or legs. At most, everyone just ends up coming back crying……”

The general store owner clicked his tongue and glanced towards the outdoor cafe across the street.

Sevelia silently followed his gaze and spotted a man crying in broad daylight.

“That man bought the same things as you two days ago.”

“……”

“Anyway, good luck.”

Recalling the referral letter carefully kept in her room, Sevelia frowned.

[If it’s a patient I sent, he’ll let you in.]

‘……I have no choice but to trust it.’

Remembering Doctor Earlsick’s confident demeanor and trustworthy voice, Sevelia left the general store.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dihart stood on the steps of the plaza, filled with madmen pointing fingers at each other, scrutinizing each person.

“Peter Hanson, that damn rat, really picked a good place to hide.”

A murderous aura rose with a grinding sound. With the cooperation of Baron Supredi, he was searching for Peter Hanson and experiencing firsthand what it meant to suffer from pent-up anger.

“How can this moldy city have so many damn doctors and scholars rotting away?”

Supredi appeared to be an ordinary small to medium-sized city on the surface, but inside it was bizarre. Scholars, doctors, sorcerers, magicians, and other professions prone to mental instability were excessively concentrated there….

“And why are they still clinging to those dilapidated buildings, unable to let go of their attachments?”

Due to the city’s policy of preserving ancient architecture, there were many old buildings and equally old alleys. In short, it was a chaotic mess where urban development plans never existed from the start.

“I’m definitely going to tear all this down someday.”

The lord of the North, who had examined dozens of buildings without street numbers, muttered in a terrifying voice.

What annoyed him even more was that people didn’t even write their names properly, despite the lack of street numbers. Just today, he had kicked down the door of an inn where a man named Hanson was supposed to be staying, only to find a man named Rosan.

Ignoring his simmering anger, Illei suddenly appeared and spoke.

“It’s the perfect condition for a black market to thrive.”

“……”

“Although this den is currently occupied by madmen obsessed with knowledge and relics.”

“Did you… forget the order to keep your mouth shut?”

“I apologize. If I keep my mouth shut, I can’t report to you, Duke, so I had no choice.”

That was another way of saying he ignored the order. Dihart was about to strike him down with lightning but changed his mind. It was the moment he received a report from Illei about surveying another district.

“Oh, he’s doing it again.”

“……”

Illei muttered to himself, looking somewhere below the stairs behind Dihart.

“This time, he’s even dropping things.”

Dihart stared at Illei as if he were crazy. Illei shook his head, looking wronged.

“That’s not it. There’s something I didn’t mention last time, actually….”

“What?”

“Um……. Never mind.”

Dihart frowned at Illei’s hesitation and turned his head.

Silence flowed.

The two men’s eyes met.

Golden eyes widened and then narrowed. The pupils, which had been darting back and forth, fixed on one spot as if nailed to the wall.

“What…… is this.”

The documents he was holding began to burn in his hand, emitting a smoky smell. Thousands of sparkles danced across the fabric of his clothes, and his hand involuntarily reached out into the air.

“D, Duke.”

Startled, Illei unconsciously called him Duke. At that moment, Dihart gasped for breath as if he had been strangled until just now.

“Am I, am I seeing things again?”

But the pouring sunlight was too clear, and the noise tormenting his ears was excruciatingly sharp.

“Her illusion, no. Her ghost……”

Dihart coughed and exhaled. Even amidst the chaos shaking his head, he couldn’t take his eyes off her below.

A pale face, a round nose, soft lips, and eyes that seemed gentle like a deer but were slightly upturned.

And…….

‘Brown hair?’

Ah, only then did a powerful realization strike his mind. This wasn’t Hillend Hall, filled with gloomy weather and a persistent curse. She didn’t retain the last image he remembered.

“That’s not an illusion I created.”

A voice so clear he couldn’t believe it was his own reached his ears. The trembling in his body stopped at some point.

“Sevelia.”

The call was short, and the action was decisive.

He dashed down the stairs in an instant and reached her vicinity. Shaking blue eyes. A slender body stepping back. Dihart’s heart throbbed with certainty.

But the very next moment.

Whirr-!

It was as if flower buds were bursting open before his eyes. A strong gust of wind pushed him back, and something struck his body madly as it passed by.

“Ugh……!”

Dihart raised his arm to block the front, but it was useless. Barely opening his eyes to look through the gaps, he saw that it was hundreds of pairs of blue birds with beautifully shining blue wings. The small blue birds were born in the air, spread their wings, and flew in all directions.

‘What on earth……!’

“Sevelia!”

Amidst the confusion, Dihart shouted with all his might, reaching out to her.

But all he caught was a blue shining feather.

* * *

It was a momentary event. She couldn’t even remember what had happened. It was Dihart. She didn’t know why he was here, but it was definitely him. And he had found her, and in an instant, he had reached out to grab her…….

“What happened after that?”

Sevelia hid in an alley as soon as she left the plaza, pressing down on her racing heart. Did she use her ability? Or did she run away? Her jumbled mind couldn’t provide a proper answer.

But she couldn’t just stay hidden here. Sevelia hugged her luggage and ran towards the inn with all her might.

“But really…… it’s absurd. How could this happen?”

Sevelia muttered to herself with a dazed expression. The same scene kept repeating in her head.

The expression on his face as he looked at her with disbelief, the look in Dihart’s eyes as he reached out to her. His voice calling her name with a desperate, perhaps even urgent, face.

Just like in the past, like before the tragedy happened, he was to her…….

“No, no.”

Slap-!

The sound of skin striking echoed through the alley. Touching her tingling cheek, Sevelia bit down hard on the inside of her mouth. She composed herself and entered the inn. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice her strangeness.

‘It doesn’t matter what he looks like. What’s important to me…… isn’t him.’

Yes. What was important to her wasn’t him.

“And I’m no longer who I was back then.”

What good were those desperate faces that seemed to miss her, those distorted eyes, those painful voices?

“I already abandoned the life of Sevelia Inberness a long time ago.”

I abandoned it so I wouldn’t die lonely, so I wouldn’t writhe in solitude and die.

I ran away so I wouldn’t die by his side, the side of the man who didn’t believe in me, pushed me away, neglected me, and left me to be despised.

Repeating as if vowing to herself, Sevelia threw open the door.