After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 38

Dihart was puzzled. No, to be honest, he felt like he was going insane. He couldn’t understand why he had woken up perfectly fine. It felt as though he had been forcibly dragged back just as he was about to find peace at the end of his suffering.

His surroundings weren’t clear due to his blurred vision, but one thing was certain: he had escaped from the swamp-like nightmare. He was freed from the repeating hell.

‘Why?’

His eyes blinked vacantly. His well-shaped lips twisted miserably.

‘I thought it was the end…’

A sigh escaped Dihart’s lips. He groaned and closed his eyes. He couldn’t accept the reality he was given. This wasn’t what he wanted.

‘What I want is…!’

But he couldn’t dare to say it out loud. It wasn’t something light enough to be said so easily. So, he couldn’t do anything but close his eyes and isolate himself from the outside.

However, as soon as he closed his eyes, Sebelia’s image tormented him as if she had been waiting for it. Sebelia, stabbed to death by a spear; Sebelia, bleeding from every pore after taking poison; Sebelia, butchered by someone.

And Sebelia, hanging herself in the bell tower….

His heart throbbed, and his breath caught in his throat. He couldn’t understand why he had opened his eyes again. It would have been better if it had ended there. He wouldn’t have minded being trapped in a nightmare. An unhidden feeling pooled like poison and flowed in all directions.

“Ah….”

But he accepted the situation he was in. It was a habit, not a matter of will. Betrayal of expectations and hopes was his daily life. Dihart sighed and tried to get up, and then he realized something was wrong.

“Ugh.”

A cold light flashed across his golden eyes. He realized that his limbs were completely tied to the bed. And to make matters worse, he was gagged. It was strange that he was only realizing it now.

‘Why didn’t I notice?’

Sedatives came into view as his vision cleared. It was a drug usually given to subjects who were unaware of their situation and prone to rampaging.

‘So that’s why.’

No wonder his body felt heavy, and his perception of reality was slow. He had fallen into a trap, it seemed. Dihart’s golden eyes, calmly scanning the room, turned cold. He didn’t want to admit it, but Sebelia with the brown hair might have been a trap.

[Think carefully. Who would benefit from doing this?]

Ilay’s words before entering the sixth path came to mind. Dihart scoffed. There were too many who wanted to bring him down. Frankly, he could consider everyone except himself a suspect.

‘Even my own family stabbed me in the back.’

Dihart lowered his head and bit his inner cheek hard. The smell of blood stung his nose, and blood seeped through the cloth gagging him. Reality stung his skin. The time to wander in her death was over.

A cold and ruthless reality stared at him, arms wide open. Sebelia Inberness was dead; he had personally held her funeral, and chasing after her in the square had led him to a trap.

‘So, you must be… dead.’

The peaceful look on your face that day must have been the last. The you I met in the square must have just been an illusion created by my enemies.

Dihart groaned at the reality he wanted to avoid.

‘Yeah, my prayers will never reach the heavens.’

A selfish and ungrateful child who abandoned his family and ran away to survive alone. A monster who inherited the cursed Duke’s blood most strongly and had no compassion. There’s no way such a disgusting person’s wish would come true.

‘There’s no way such a ridiculous miracle, like you actually being alive, would be bestowed upon me.’

Forcibly convincing himself of the reality that she was dead, Dihart felt as if his insides were being torn apart. But he endured. If fate wouldn’t allow him a comfortable death, he had to endure.

And he had to make those who dared to steal and mock Sebelia’s image pay the price.

“…Khh!”

Frost formed in Dihart’s eyes. White mist spread over his bright yellow eyes. Small sparks flew as if electricity was flowing over his skin. However, the cracking sound he was waiting for didn’t come.

‘Could it be.’

He gritted his teeth and looked up at his clenched fist. It was as he expected. He didn’t even have the strength to create a small lightning bolt right now. He could barely create a small flicker, but trying to do more would mean enduring the feeling of his insides being squeezed.

‘I have no choice.’

Dihart admitted that the situation was unfavorable to him. But he couldn’t just give up. Even if it meant vomiting blood, he had to catch and kill those who used Sebelia’s death. Having made his decision, Dihart quietly regulated his breathing. He needed concentration to gather his strength.

It was then.

Click.

The door opened, and someone came in. Judging from the heavy footsteps, it seemed to be a well-built man. Dihart breathed calmly. The other person must have thought he hadn’t regained consciousness yet, as they approached the bed without hesitation.

“Oh, my.”

A faint sigh filled his ears. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, and Dihart frowned without realizing it. And at the following words, he widened his eyes in disbelief and looked up at the person.

“How did you grow up to be such a vicious man, nephew?”

Claude Inberness, the man who liked to be called Cardi, put down the soup and chided him.

* * *

Claude Inberness’s life was something to be proud of. Although his origins were not welcomed by everyone, his existence deserved to be loved.

[I’m glad your mother gave me you as a gift.]

To others, he was just a bastard, but to the Duke two generations ago, he was just a lovely late-in-life child. How adorable must that late child have been, showing his excellence not long after learning to speak?

[You are my child. Everything I was born into, learned, and grew up with, you should naturally receive as well.]

His father was affectionate, and his first brother was kind. His second brother looked at him with uncomfortable eyes, but he didn’t mind. He just thought they were jealous of him. Perhaps that was why: the child, born a genius and taking everything for granted, easily became arrogant.

Not knowing that his soaring arrogance would drive his beloved family to their deaths.

[No-!]

It was a day when rain was pouring like crazy. He was riding in a carriage with the family of his first brother, who had ascended to the Duke’s seat, passing through the mountains. Dihart was frightened by the rain hitting the windows as if trying to break them, and young Rosaline hid in her sister-in-law’s arms.

And in an instant, the world turned upside down. When he came to his senses, it was already too late. The guards were annihilated, and his sister-in-law was lying dead not far from him, her eyes wide open.

[No, no. No way. This can’t be happening. No……!]

Raindrops pelted his body. A scream that couldn’t become a scream, a choked sob, blocked his throat. His hands trembled, and his knees buckled. Only then did Claude realize that he was nothing more than an arrogant young master.

His arrogance and pride were now useless and weak.

[Hah… Hah.]

At that moment, the sound of swords clashing was heard in the distance. The sharp cracking sound awakened Claude. Someone was still fighting. If so…….

[Brother.]

Gilland Inberness, the current Inberness Duke and head of the family. It must be his brother. Only then did Claude come to his senses. His sister-in-law’s death was a tragedy too terrible to ignore, but now was not the time to be buried in her death.

The children. He had to find the children. He had to ensure the children’s safety while his brother confronted them.

[Dihart, Rosaline…….]

He carefully searched through the bodies, braving the pouring rain. Fortunately, the children were nowhere to be seen. Ah, a sense of relief washed over him. God. He almost knelt down and prayed on the spot.

It was then. In the distance, a faint call pulled him. Claude would never forget the thrill of that moment until he died.

“Claude.”

The child who was hiding under a stump, calling out to him without shedding a single tear. Dihart, who finally burst into suppressed sobs only when he came closer. Claude was filled with regret as he thought of that small, fragile child.

“I’m going to kill you, you bastard…!”

Where did that kid go, and why is there a ferocious man trying to kill him? Well, it’s not like he doesn’t understand. Rache must have taught him that he betrayed Gilland.

“Haa.”

No sooner had Claude sighed than a small beam of light slammed down next to his feet. The tree was charred black, and the smell of burning stung his nose. Claude frowned and clicked his tongue.

“Don’t waste your energy; you know it’s useless anyway.”

“Did you orchestrate all of this? Ha, I knew it!”

Dihart had been like that ever since he saw Claude’s face. Unable to suppress his excitement, he struggled like a mad dog to attack him.

“There’s no way someone who stabbed his brother in the heart with his own hands wouldn’t harm his nephew!”

He thought he might have something to say, so he removed the gag, but it was a complete waste of time. Claude repeatedly rubbed his face wearily. He had a hunch, but it was as he expected.

Dihart had completely lost his memory of that day.

Claude clicked his tongue, crossed his arms, and leaned against the wall. Only after several hours did Dihart finally calm down. To be precise, he had run out of strength to rampage.

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you my story now. So, I won’t waste my energy on pointless things.”

“…….”

“But keep one thing in mind: I’m not that great of a person. I’m not so free that I would set a trap to catch you.”

Fierce golden eyes glared at him as if to devour him. Claude chuckled and pushed himself off the wall. He too had once had such times, when he was wandering the back alleys, trying to find and kill those who had killed his family and framed him.

But nothing can be achieved with anger alone. Misguided hatred doesn’t show you the way; it only devours you. Now, he had something more important than revenge.

Claude said in a low voice.

“To be honest, didn’t you just foolishly get caught while chasing after my guest? Control your temper, Dihart.”

*I can see why the young lady was scared.* Dihart gasped at Claude’s coldly added words. Soon, his golden eyes sank into the darkness.