After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 39

While the uncle and nephew enjoyed their quiet reunion, Sebelia waited for Wartz in the living room, sinking into the plush sofa and cushions.

The relief she’d initially felt began to give way to a wave of tension.

“Oh, dear…”

Sebelia felt her fingertips tremble. Now that she was in a safe place, the stress she had suppressed came rushing to the surface. She belatedly realized how incredibly tense she had been.

‘My arms and legs are throbbing.’

Sebelia bit her lip. She hadn’t even realized how much she had been pushing her body. The harsh reality of life as a fugitive washed over her again.

Running from someone chasing her was far more brutal than escaping from the mansion.

“Hoo…”

Sebelia held the teacup Cardi had made, trying to steady her trembling hands. Thankfully, it wasn’t fear that caused the shaking.

She had pushed her body to its limits to survive, and this was simply the backlash.

“It’s okay, everything’s okay now…”

She tried not to think about Diheart, but the situation forced her to. If he hadn’t chased her, none of this would have happened.

Sebelia looked up at the ceiling. He was probably lying unconscious somewhere upstairs, tied to a black iron bed.

But that didn’t frighten her as much as it used to. Unlike Diheart, who had surrounded the inn with knights to capture her, he was powerless now. And…

“He’ll go back.”

He has no choice but to return. Mr. Wartz will send him away. Sebelia murmured confidently. It was just a guess, but she felt sure of it.

After all, unlike her, Diheart wasn’t a guest who had come through proper channels.

‘He’ll probably send him back as soon as he recovers.’

Judging from what Cardi had told her on the way to the lab, Diheart wouldn’t be able to stay long. Wartz was said to avoid taking in people unless they were desperate patients like her.

Setting up a lab in a remote mountain range and creating a barrier that manifested nightmares made it clear he disliked people. He probably wouldn’t accept someone like Diheart, who had entered the barrier for other reasons.

‘Yes, things will go back to normal.’

He would leave. Back to Hillend Hall, to that lonely mansion he seemed to love. Back to his home, where there was no annoying illegitimate wife.

As her thoughts cleared, her heart felt lighter, and the trembling gradually stopped. Her stiff lips relaxed, and she finally felt calm enough to take a sip of tea.

“Hoo…”

It was a pointless wish, but Sebelia hoped he would feel as detached as she did when he left. She didn’t know why he was chasing her and denying her death, but she hoped he would accept that it was irreversible.

‘I’m already dead.’

The Sebelia Inbernes who would accept his regrets and forgive him was no longer in this world.

‘I’m not the person I once was. So, I have… no right to do that.’

Sebelia sank deeper into the cushion, closing her trembling eyelids. A gentle darkness enveloped her.

* * *

Wartz, having finished his research and left the basement, stopped abruptly as he passed the living room. His eyes fell on the woman nestled among the cushions.

It was Sebelia, asleep.

“…”

The indifferent black eyes mechanically scanned her. Her sickly complexion, bony wrists, and the trembling beneath her eyelids were instantly assessed and registered in his mind.

‘A patient.’

Judging by the fact that she had made it all the way here in good health despite her obvious illness, she had probably been guided by one of his few friends. Wartz acknowledged his limited social circle and continued across the living room.

Just then, he ran into Claude, who was coming down the stairs.

“Oh, Wartz. Are you done for the day?”

“Cardi.”

Wartz’s eyes turned to him, then to Sebelia. Claude shrugged, understanding the unspoken question.

“I didn’t get a proper explanation either. I was told to wait until you came out, but she must have gotten tired and fallen asleep.”

“…”

“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t do it on purpose. There was a good reason.”

Claude protested as he followed Wartz, who glanced at him with displeasure and headed to the kitchen.

“Do you know that the barrier almost broke while you were locked in the lab?”

Wartz’s hand, which had been reaching for a jar of jam, stopped. His black eyes turned to Claude. Claude grinned and snatched the jar from Wartz’s hand.

“Lightning was striking like crazy. It looked like it was going to burn down the actual forest beyond the illusions, so I had no choice but to intervene.”

“So, you’re saying…”

“Yeah. I had to deal with that person, so I didn’t have time to pry into the patient’s personal information.”

Wartz stared at Claude, his eyes narrowed. Knowing Claude’s background, his words carried weight.

‘Someone who unleashed lightning that could break the barrier….’

Excluding natural phenomena, the word “lightning” usually referred to one thing in the Empire: the cursed Inbernes family. Specifically, the current duke, who was said to have incurred the wrath of God [a reference to a divine punishment or curse].

And the current duke was Claude’s nephew. Wartz let out a low sigh.

“Is he okay?”

Claude chuckled, noticing the worry beneath the indifferent voice. Wartz seemed uninterested in everything, but he was surprisingly caring. Of course, he was also kind.

‘That’s why he took me in and saved me.’

Claude nodded to Wartz, who was looking at him with concern, and boasted in a pretentious voice.

“Of course, I’m fine. That young duke is no match for my experience. While he was being raised preciously in Hillend Hall, I was scraping by at the bottom.”

“But he seems to have quite the temper.”
Wartz said, recalling the power that had nearly burned down the forest.

“Like uncle, like nephew, huh?”

Then Claude frowned. He opened the jar with a flourish and handed it to Wartz, who was about to leave the kitchen when he said:

“By the way… did they arrive separately?”

Wartz asked, glancing at the living room where Sebelia was sleeping. Claude stopped abruptly. Wartz tilted his head, sensing Claude had something to say.

“Well, it seems like my nephew was chasing after that patient…”

“What?”

“If not, there’s no reason for him to come all the way here. As far as I know, he has pretty bad insomnia, though.”
Wartz frowned as he spread jam on his bread. Was it normal for a duke to chase a woman with an incurable disease all the way here? Something didn’t feel right.

“You don’t know exactly what their relationship is?”

“Not yet. I subtly probed, but he clammed up. At least he stopped cursing me…”

Claude sighed with a complicated expression.

“But it didn’t seem like they were in a serious relationship. He didn’t refuse to come here with her. In other words, they’re not on such bad terms that he would leave her to die.”

“Hmm.”

“But if you’re still concerned, you can ask the patient directly.”

Wartz frowned at the mention of Sebelia. However, he wasn’t one to pry into a patient’s personal affairs so soon after meeting them.

“I suppose I have no choice.”

In any case, that nephew would be leaving soon. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about this anymore.

Wartz decided to eat his bread with plenty of jam and speculate about what disease Sebelia might have.

* * *

How long had she been asleep? A slight hunger began to stir her awake.

“Umm…”

A soft, savory smell tickled her nose. Sebelia opened her eyes. Drawn by the delicious scent, she turned her head and met the eyes of a man sitting at the kitchen table.

“You’re awake.”

A man with long green hair tied back approached her. Sebelia recognized him by the white gown he was wearing.

“Ah, that is…”

The innovative pioneer in the field of incurable and rare diseases. The person who might cure her and give her a future she had given up on: Wartz.

“Hello. I’m, well…”

Sebelia blushed, realizing how rude she had been, sleeping in the living room before even greeting her host.

This was their first meeting, and she should have been making a good impression. Sebelia looked up at his cold face and lowered her head, filled with regret.

But he didn’t scold her.

“You don’t have to push yourself. Let’s start with introductions.”

“Ah, thank you. I’m Bella.”

“Okay, Bella.”

Wartz sat down opposite Sebelia, his expression indifferent. Sebelia gradually regained her composure at his nonchalant attitude.

Sebelia’s breathing calmed. Wartz scanned her once more and got straight to the point.

“So, what’s your illness?”

Sebelia swallowed at the direct question. Black eyes stared deeply at her. The reality that she had reached a point of no return washed over her. There was no escape now.

Is it Lich’s disease, or not?

Can I live, or not?

The answer would come soon. The man in front of her would tell her when her life would end, his face impassive.

Although the answer might not be what she wanted… she decided not to regret coming all the way here.

Sebelia opened her mouth, her face calm.