After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 52

Sevelia had been helped back to a stable condition, and the two men who left the room walked down the hallway in silence. After a moment, Claude stopped Dihart, who was about to go up the stairs.

“Let’s talk.”

“…….”

“This can’t go on, you know that too.”

Claude felt that Dihart was wavering, whatever his decision was. Also, that he could no longer control himself.

Dihart listened to him and was silent for a moment. He murmured in a low voice.

“Later.”

“I’m not telling you to trust me and open up.”

Dihart, who was going up the stairs, looked down at him over his shoulder. The shadowed golden eyes were silently sinking. Claude held his gaze and continued.

“You said you wanted to know what her illness is.”

His hand gripping the railing tightened. Claude saw this and was convinced. Whether he was digging up the truth or lying, he was worried about her.

“Originally, Watts’ position is that he doesn’t disclose a patient’s personal information carelessly. But sometimes, that position has to be withdrawn.”

“When is that?”

The end of his questioning voice was slightly cracked.

“In the case of patients with serious illnesses, there comes a moment during treatment when their ability to take care of themselves is significantly reduced. But there are also cases where such patients don’t have a guardian. In that case, we have no choice but to inform close relatives or acquaintances.”

In case the patient’s condition suddenly worsens or they die, they need to ask for help with the aftermath. Dihart’s face froze at the following words. His expression was so precarious that it looked like it would shatter if you touched it.

‘Is it that serious of an illness?’

Dihart couldn’t believe it. Frankly, he thought the fake Sevelia was pretending to be sick even though she wasn’t.

In fact, while he was watching her, she didn’t act like a patient.

She just took medicine from time to time or took a walk, maintaining a healthy life. So Dihart thought she was lying about having a minor illness and staying here.

“Besides, while you were stuck upstairs, Watts couldn’t focus on treating her illness. Frankly, I feel responsible.”

“What does that…”

“I’m saying that even though I knew her illness was serious, I asked him to see you first.”

“What?”

Dihart almost collapsed on the spot. What he had refused to know, what he had subconsciously dismissed as nothing, came back like a boomerang.

“But she’s been fine so far. I mean, so.”

“You thought it wasn’t a serious illness. Or you didn’t believe she was sick. I can understand.”

Claude sighed in pity. Dihart couldn’t bring himself to look up. In fact, he thought Sevelia was even deceiving Watts. He had been dissatisfied with Watts and didn’t trust his skills.

So he was shocked when Sevelia collapsed.

It was also because the terrible memories he had been forced to experience in his nightmare came to mind, and perhaps because it occurred to him that she might really be Sevelia.

If she was really being manipulated by someone and wearing Sevelia’s shell, she should have tried to revive his memories. It was right for her to cry, appeal, or get angry. Not to collapse in front of him like this!

‘What effect would it have if she collapsed in front of me, who has no memory of Sevelia?’

He gnashed his teeth. The facts he had been forcibly ignoring were revealed one by one and struck his mind.

“She was really sick.”

He covered his face with one hand and muttered in disbelief.

“Yes, so that’s why she came here.”

Realization flashed through his mind. Why did she drag him all the way here? She could have appeared when he was at Hillend Hall without having to do this. Why did it have to be Supredi?

The question that had been bothering him was solved in such a terrible way.

“So you’re saying she didn’t deliberately drag me here. If that’s the case, then.”

Dihart couldn’t bring himself to continue. If she hadn’t set a trap, if she had really come all the way here because she was sick, then the story would be completely different. Dihart felt the strength drain from his body.

“Kuk…….”

“Dihart!”

Claude ran over and grabbed his collapsing body. Dihart gasped and grabbed his arm.

Sevelia really came all the way here to treat her illness, which meant that he was not her purpose.

The fact that she ran away after seeing him in the square, and that she used magic to do terrible things, was actually not a sinister trap but to run away from him.

‘She didn’t want to be caught alive. She didn’t want to meet me.’

It felt like a knife had been stabbed in the middle of his heart. He felt hot blood flowing out and soaking his body. He was miserable. He was sad. He didn’t want to believe it. It was too much pain for him to accept.

“Dihart, are you okay? Let’s go up to your room.”

“It’s okay. Just leave me alone. Please, just for a moment.”

Dihart shook his head and released Claude’s arm. He leaned against the railing and closed his eyes. Familiar darkness greeted him.

“Ugh…….”

But the pain didn’t go away. Rather, the whisper that she had abandoned him filled his head.

[She was alive. This is the truth, not a trivial trick. The truth you refuse to accept.]

[How terrible were you that she tried to get away from you even while preparing a corpse?]

Hahahahaha, a chilling laughter echoed in his ears.

“Shut up…!”

“Get a hold of yourself, don’t curl up and don’t bow your head. Breathe properly!”

As his mind became increasingly precarious, Dihart’s defense mechanism naturally raised its head. The stubborn prejudice that she was fake and that he didn’t have to think about it tried to cover his thoughts.

But Dihart knew he couldn’t. The moment he saw Sevelia lying in bed, he couldn’t think of anything. He was already subconsciously thinking that she might be real.

“Ugh…….”

It was just that everyone was saying that he was crazy, so he couldn’t accept his thoughts.

Fortunately, with Claude’s help, Dihart’s seizure stopped. His eyes, which had turned white, returned to their original color. Claude sighed in relief when he saw his golden eyes.

“Cough…….”

As Dihart let out a rough breath, Claude slowly stroked his back. He calmly continued what he had been saying, seeing that Dihart had calmed down to some extent.

“It’s not like her life is in immediate danger, but Miss Bella needs a guardian right now. But I’m busy, and so is Watts. Besides, for some reason, she doesn’t seem to want to talk about her family or acquaintances at all.”

“…So you’re saying I have to step in. Because I’m the only one who knows about her.”

Dihart spat out with a bitter face. Claude nodded. Dihart sighed deeply and ruffled his hair. He seemed to be quite conflicted.

“Okay. The conclusion of this long conversation is that you want to know what’s between her and me.”

Dihart washed his face a few times and got up from his seat.

“Okay. There’s nothing I can do right now anyway.”

The two went to Dihart’s room. And after a while, Claude’s lament filled the room.

* * *

The next day, Sevelia was sitting in bed with her back against the headboard, reading a book that Watts had given her. It was an in-depth version of the book she had read in the garden.

[Let’s call it advanced learning. You won’t be able to go out into the forest for a while, so let’s invest the remaining time in studying.]

Sevelia looked at the academic book full of technical terms with troubled eyes. It’s an in-depth version, but it’s too much. Her head throbbed as the tiny letters filled her vision.

“I think Mr. Watts is overestimating me too much.”

Watts was not a friendly and considerate teacher. Sevelia didn’t expect that from him, so the two’s classes went quite smoothly. The problem was that he had high expectations of her.

“Ugh.”

Sevelia opened the book again, then slammed the cover shut. It seemed like she had to stop here today. She put the book labeled under her pillow and lay down.

“…I’m bored.”

Sevelia unconsciously blurted out and widened her eyes. A playful smile hung on her lips.

‘I used to feel tired, lonely, and sad when I lay down like this.’

Now she was relaxed enough to complain that she was bored. Sevelia realized how much she had grown since leaving Hillend Hall. Her shoulders, which used to shrink, were now naturally straightened, and she sometimes stubbornly resisted Claude.

“I’m glad I left.”

It probably wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t have the ability of an illusionist [someone who can create illusions]. Sevelia thought she was very lucky. If it wasn’t an illusion, she wouldn’t have been able to erase herself from the world so cleanly.

Knock knock. Then someone knocked on the door. Sevelia raised her head and said that they could come in.

“Bella.”

Dihart was the one who opened the door and showed himself. ‘What’s going on so early in the morning?’ Sevelia’s question was answered when she saw the contents of the tray he was holding.

“I brought breakfast. I thought it would be hard for you to come to the dining room.”

Dihart carefully carried the tray across the room. Sevelia blinked at his precarious steps, as if he were walking on a cliff.

“…What is all this?”

The food on the table was too much for breakfast. There were three kinds of soup, five kinds of bread, and four kinds of salads made with fresh vegetables. Dihart was embarrassed when Sevelia looked at him with a tired face.

“Don’t you like it?”

“It’s not that, it’s too much.”

“Ah. That was the problem. I was surprised.”

Dihart said, stroking his chest.

“I prepared it so you can pick and choose what you want to eat, so it’s okay to leave it.”

Dihart smiled and handed her the cutlery. Sevelia looked up at him as if he were crazy.