After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 40

Hearing Sebelia’s words and reviewing the medical opinions she provided, Worts stared at her silently, then muttered to himself.

“Leigh’s disease… I see.”

Worts’s dark eyes fixed on her intently. Sebelia felt a sudden sinking feeling in her chest.

His gaze was so intense she almost believed he could diagnose her simply by looking. But then, seeing the stethoscope emerge from his inner pocket, Sebelia dismissed the fanciful thought.

“Open your eyes wide, and look where I tell you to.”

“Yes…”

Throughout the examination, following Worts’s instructions, Sebelia’s neck was stiff with tension. He checked not only her eyes but also the inside of her mouth, her heartbeat, and so on.

“Good. Now, let’s go over these medical opinions together.”

Sebelia retrieved the documents from her bag and handed them to Worts. He read the opinion from the physician of Earlsick with a serious expression, then fell into thought.

After a moment, he asked Sebelia how her condition had changed since arriving and if any new symptoms had appeared.

“Nothing particularly different. Except my hands and feet feel weak when I wake up, and I occasionally vomit blood…”

Worts nodded, making eye contact with Sebelia.

“There are a few inconsistencies with Leigh’s disease. Frankly, if it were Leigh’s disease, you’d be having significant difficulty moving around by now.”

Sebelia’s eyes widened. Worts continued.

“But you traveled all this way without issue. That alone is telling. So, maybe Luce’s—ah, Luce is the physician who wrote that opinion—maybe he’s right. You came to the right place.”

Worts was an excellent physician, delivering difficult news with refreshing candor. Sebelia clasped her hands together and took a deep breath.

“Then, I am…”

“Yes, it’s likely another disease, not Leigh’s. There aren’t many conditions that are easily mistaken for Leigh’s… Hmm. Let’s find out what it is.”

Her head spun. Sebelia swallowed hard and leaned back against the chair. The possibility that it was another disease… she’d heard that from the physician in Earlsick, too.

But this time, the weight of the words was different. These were hopeful words from the only person who might be able to cure her. It was enough to shake her barely-calmed heart.

‘Oh my god.’

Sebelia exhaled slowly, her eyelids fluttering. She thought she was prepared to calmly accept her fate, but her trembling hands betrayed her joy.

‘This much…’

Looking down at her shaking hands, Sebelia slowly closed and opened her eyes. Her hidden feelings, buried deep in relief, were now exposed.

‘Thank goodness.’

I’m so glad. Sebelia buried her face in her trembling hands. Something welled up inside her. She swallowed a hot breath and smiled faintly.

‘I’m glad I won’t end up resenting myself.’

What would have happened if I hadn’t come here, Sebelia wondered. Denisa told me to go somewhere else, and I probably would have listened and gone somewhere unknown.

‘And I would have spent my time anxiously waiting for Denisa there.’

Then, occasionally, I would recall the words of the physician of Earlsick and wonder if I could have been cured.

And when the end came, I would probably regret it then. Ah, I should have gone to Supredi [likely referring to the location of the doctor] as the physician said, without being afraid. If I knew it would end like this anyway, I should have at least been brave.

‘I’m glad it didn’t turn out that way.’

I’m glad I was brave. I’m glad I didn’t just give up, and I’m glad I trusted my choice.

Sebelia swallowed her overwhelming emotions and rubbed her hot eyes with her palms. Something kept welling up, making it difficult to breathe.

“Hmm, then…”

Worts wasn’t fazed by her emotional display; he’d seen it many times before. He continued with his work.

He organized the medical opinions and then discussed the next steps.

“First, let’s draw some blood for final confirmation. In the meantime, take the medication I prescribe. A room on the first floor is ready for you. Please stay there and try to avoid stress as much as possible, just in case.”

Worts, reciting his instructions, glanced up at the ceiling at the last word. Sebelia, who was watching him intently, also looked up.

As if on cue, a deafening roar crashed down.

Bang!

* * *

One, two, three…

“Why do you keep doing this when I’ve told you it’s useless?”

Dehart sighed and glared at Claude, who was forcing the door open. After expending his energy to create a small flame, it took Claude about twenty seconds to arrive.

The wall isn’t strong, and sound travels easily. This doesn’t seem like a deliberately fortified base.

‘And I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. It’s at least on the second floor or higher.’

Unaware of Dehart’s thoughts, Claude picked up the broken drawer with a troubled expression.

“No need to show off, I know you’re talented, nephew. I suggest you stop, unless you want to become a living corpse from draining all your strength.”

His tone was that of someone dealing with an angry child. Dehart’s insides churned at his nonchalant demeanor. He was furious at being captured, especially with his parents’ enemy in front of him, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.

‘Getting information is more important now.’

He hadn’t been able to calmly look for opportunities from the start. Initially, he’d been consumed by anger upon learning Claude’s identity and had acted rashly. There was another reason he was now able to regain his composure.

It was the word ‘Lady’ that Claude had mentioned.

[I can see why the Lady was scared.]

Claude had said he was chasing a guest and was caught in a nightmare, and then implied that the guest was the Lady. He chased after the brown-haired Sebelia and arrived here. So…

‘If I’m right, this is her destination.’

It was highly likely that this place was the final destination of the sixth path that the brown-haired Sebelia sought. He never imagined he would meet his damned uncle, the kinslayer, here.

‘Could it be that she came here to meet Claude? If so, how long have they known each other? Could she have been involved in my parents’ incident…’

Dehart knew his thoughts were spiraling and clenched his jaw. He had to control his racing mind.

‘Damn it.’

He closed his eyes and tried to regulate his breathing. Like a cornered beast, he felt anxious and desperate. He knew he needed to be calm, but his heart wouldn’t listen.

‘In the first place, I don’t even know if she’s the real Sebelia or not. If Ilay is right, she’s a fake created to manipulate me.’

The problem is, what did that fake bring him here for?

Dehart gnashed his teeth. If he wanted to learn anything about her identity, her purpose, or anything else, he had to meet her first. But he was captured by Claude and was in this state.

“Damn it…”

Without realizing it, a curse escaped his lips. He heard Claude scoff as he cleaned the room. Dehart’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re energetic, that’s good. It’s still a while until dinner, so don’t waste your energy unnecessarily. There’s no use crying if you’re hungry.”

“…”

“If you want to conserve energy by keeping your mouth shut, you can do that too.”

Claude shrugged and left, closing the door. Alone, Dehart gnashed his teeth and buried his head in the pillow.

“Damn it.”

Everything was uncertain and chaotic. A new layer of chaos had descended before he could even sort out the first. He closed his eyes to calm himself, and the remnants of the nightmare reached out, waiting.

Sebelia appeared in the darkness behind his eyelids. At first, it was Sebelia in the happy state he longed to see. But soon her appearance began to change.

Sebelia lying peacefully in a coffin, running away in surprise when she saw him in the square, jumping from the inn…

“Ugh!”

He felt nauseous, and his head throbbed. Dehart assumed it was just a simple migraine, that familiar pain that always tormented him. But it wasn’t.

Soon, a tingling, burning pain began in his arms and legs. Dehart bit down hard against the unfamiliar sensation.

‘What is this?’

“Keuek…!”

The pain spread like a seizure, dominating his entire body. His golden eyes turned pure white. At the same time, white flames flickered into the air and vanished without a trace.

“Dehart!”

Shortly after, Claude, arriving with dinner, rushed to him in a panic.

* * *

It was the first time in years that Claude had opened the door to the underground laboratory without knocking.

“Worts.”

At the firm call, Worts put down the reagent bottle and turned around. He was conducting several experiments with Sebelia’s blood, specifically screening for diseases she might have.

Taking off his protective glasses, Worts looked Claude up and down. His chest was heaving as if he’d run down here in one breath.

Claude, agitated? That was unusual. Worts began to take the situation seriously.

“Did Miss Bella’s condition suddenly worsen?”

Claude shook his head but didn’t speak. He repeatedly opened and closed his lips, as if unsure how to express himself.

He seemed less concerned with the difficult words he was about to say and more concerned with accepting the reality before him. But Worts was a patient man.

He waited quietly for Claude to sort through his confusion and finally get to the point.

“Dehart is acting strange.”

It wasn’t exactly exciting news, though.

Worts tilted his head, puzzled.

“…Everyone in the Empire knows he’s strange.”

Claude realized his words were open to misinterpretation and shook his head.

“No, that’s not what I mean. It’s not just simple exhaustion. I think I missed something.”

Accumulated fatigue, lack of sleep, exhaustion, and malnutrition due to excessive use of power. That was Dehart’s diagnosis. But Claude now seemed to have discovered something more serious.

“Take a look at him, Worts.”

There was an unusual desperation in his golden eyes.

‘This is going to be a headache,’ Worts sighed.