After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 37

Sebelia’s heart nearly stopped when she saw him. Golden eyes and dark hair. A sharply defined nose and stubbornly closed lips that looked exactly like Dihart’s, as if they were twins.

However, upon closer inspection, the man’s hair wasn’t black but brown, and his expression was slightly softer and more gentle than Dihart’s. Moreover, there was one crucial difference.

He was looking at her with a constant smile in his eyes.

“I’ve come to greet you in place of Mr. Wartz. May I be of assistance?”

The light from the lamp illuminated Sebelia. Only then did she realize that the surroundings had once again been swallowed by darkness. The white lightning that had adorned the sky had long since vanished without a trace. Sebelia looked down at the unconscious Dihart and nodded.

“Please.”

“Then, just a moment… Could you hold this for me?”

The man handed the lamp to Sebelia, then hoisted Dihart up onto his shoulder. Contrary to his slender build, he seemed quite strong.

“Which way should we go?”

As Sebelia raised the lamp, orange light enveloped them. The man expressed his gratitude and turned his gaze towards her.

“If you shake the lamp twice, a light will appear and guide you. Just follow it.”

Sebelia shook the lamp as he instructed, and a thread-like line of light appeared, drawn above the light that had been dimly illuminating the surroundings. It was the same light that had emanated from the envelope containing the written opinion.

“So, this light was indeed meant to guide us to Mr. Wartz’s location.”

At Sebelia’s exclamation, the man’s gentle eyes curved into a soft smile.

“Now that I think about it, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. I’m Kardi, and I live with Wartz, assisting him with his research.”

It was a soothing voice that put the listener at ease. However, Sebelia couldn’t easily open her mouth, a strange feeling prickling at the back of her neck. It felt like facing Dihart pretending to be someone else.

‘How can they look so alike?’

Something felt off.

Golden eyes were a characteristic of the Inverness family, but that didn’t mean they were exclusive to them. There were quite a few people in the North with bright yellow eyes close to gold. But…

Sebelia swallowed the question that was about to burst out as she looked at Kardi, who was gazing at her with affectionate eyes.

‘Could this man be a member of Inverness?’

If he were from a collateral line [a relative not in the direct line of descent], it would be possible for them to look so alike since they shared blood. However, it was a rude question to ask upon first meeting, and it wasn’t something she necessarily needed to know. Sebelia suppressed her budding curiosity and opened her mouth.

“Please, call me Bella.”

She couldn’t give her real name, Sebelia. That was the name she had abandoned and left behind. Sebelia hid her bitterness and began to walk. The guiding light led them into the dark forest. Thus, the three of them shared their breath in an uncomfortable silence.

Then, Kardi suddenly spoke.

“Those who seek Wartz are usually one of two types.”

Startled by the sudden remark, Sebelia turned to look at him. Kardi continued, walking along the light.

“Desperate or arrogant.”

“…I can understand the desperate ones, but I don’t know who you’re referring to with the latter.”

Wartz was a pioneer in the field of researching rare and incurable diseases and developing treatments for them. So, it was plausible that someone desperate with a rare disease would seek him out. But arrogant people? What did that mean?

Sebelia’s question was soon answered.

“Those who think that even death should yield before them. Those who get angry, saying, ‘How dare such a ridiculous thing happen to me?’ In fact, there are more people who seek Wartz out of arrogance than out of desperation.”

“That…”

“Moreover, such people invariably think of Wartz not as a doctor but as a servant. A servant who is obligated to obey them, who must cooperate to make their lives peaceful again.”

Kardi added in a gentle voice.

“That’s why I created this trap for the poor young man. It’s effective to show arrogant people the most terrible reality they unconsciously reject.”

Kardi said that he usually showed them the sight of themselves dying in agony or watching their loved ones die helplessly before their eyes.

“Then they become a little more compliant. Well, there are some who don’t bend their pride until the end, though.”

“Ah.”

Sebelia exclaimed. So that’s why so many people were running out crying. And the most terrible thing for Dihart was to see her die before his eyes…

‘No, stop thinking about that.’

She deliberately averted her gaze and scanned Kardi’s profile. Looking at him this way, he didn’t seem to resemble Dihart much. Well, he was even considerate enough to explain things without being asked, unlike him.

Sebelia glanced at Dihart, who was hanging on Kardi’s shoulder like luggage, then looked away. Although he hadn’t come here seeking Wartz, his actions had ultimately backfired on him.

‘Even death should yield before them, huh.’

In a way, that was also true of Dihart’s current situation. The moment she encountered him in the plaza, Sebelia was certain. He had not accepted her death.

‘Otherwise…’

How could he have rushed towards her so unhesitatingly even after seeing her? Normally, when faced with someone they thought was dead, they would have been surprised, confused, and at a loss.

But he wasn’t flustered, and he even instantly discarded his confusion. He lunged at her as if he had been waiting for that moment, kicking off the ground to snatch his prey like a hungry beast.

Sebelia naturally rubbed her arms, which had broken out in goosebumps. The chilling sensation of that moment. Even recalling it now made her heart sink.

‘It was pointless to go to the trouble of creating a fake corpse and holding a funeral.’

People can’t easily reverse what they’ve buried in their hearts and affirmed as fact. The same was true of a person’s death. In fact, funerals were for the people who remained.

A ceremony to completely bury the departed in the past and make the living acknowledge their death. That was the function and role of a funeral.

But Dihart must have been secretly unwilling to accept her death, even though he had personally held her funeral. Sebelia was still incredulous at that fact. How on earth had a person grown up to think that way?

‘Could there be anyone more deserving of the epithet