After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 58

The day after Claude left, Sebelia went for a walk with Maya again. Dihart still looked displeased, but he couldn’t argue since Worts had allowed it.

“To leave her with an animal that could harm someone again… Everyone is too soft.”

Sebelia found it a bit strange, as she didn’t expect him to feel threatened by a mere cat.

‘Is he afraid of cats?’

Dihart would be very upset if he knew, but there was no way for him to find out. Sebelia reached the clearing and took out the blue bird struggling in her sleeve.

Chirp-!

Then, she saw Maya’s eyes widen as she walked beside her. She looked ready to pounce at any moment.

Nyaak!

Maya liked being with the blue bird. It was a bit too violent to say she liked playing, and she didn’t seem to dislike it, as she lost energy when the blue bird wasn’t around. So, she could only say she liked being with it.

Therefore, she decided not to send the blue bird back for the time being. It could also be seen as a reward for Maya, who allowed her to practice illusions.

Chirp-! Myaulp!

“Okay, okay. Just wait a moment.”

Sebelia released the blue bird and Maya in the clearing. The blue bird quickly fluttered up and landed on Maya’s head before running away. Its teasing skills were improving day by day.

“Don’t go too far.”

Maya looked back at her once, met her eyes as if to say not to worry, and then darted off to catch the blue bird again. She smiled faintly and sat on the stump.

Soon, Sebelia’s illusion appeared with a flash of light. It seemed to fade slightly in the middle, but the form became clearer as she put more power into it.

She whispered something to the illusion that looked exactly like her. Soon, the illusion’s eyes fluttered and stopped. Sebelia stared at it for a moment and then asked a few questions.

“Bella, would you like to take your medicine?”

“I have a headache and want to rest.”

“Is trout okay for dinner?”

“I’m fine, so please leave me alone.”

It was a bizarre exchange. So, it doesn’t work after all. Sebelia groaned, crossed her arms, and sighed deeply.

“Hmm… It seems difficult after all. Is it impossible to make it give natural answers according to the situation?”

‘I have a headache and want to rest,’ and ‘I’m fine, so please leave me alone.’ These were the two phrases Sebelia had just instilled in the illusion. This way, she could make the illusion speak at specific times.

The problem was that she couldn’t choose which words it would say.

“So, illusions aren’t omnipotent after all.”

She didn’t realize these problems when she was scaring Flora and keeping Dihart away. Back then, she just had it curse or say a few words and disappear.

But this time, the situation was different. The illusion that would remain in the mansion couldn’t disappear until she returned, and its identity couldn’t be revealed. It had to be natural enough to deceive the three men’s gazes, at least for a while.

“Ugh.”

A soft touch brushed against Sebelia’s ankle. She looked down and saw Maya looking up at her with the blue bird on her head.

“Has it already been that long?”

Just one hour for the walk. That was the condition Worts had set in exchange for allowing her to walk with Maya. Sebelia sent the illusion back with a regretful look.

“…Okay, let’s not be impatient. The treatment isn’t over yet anyway.”

The Thorn Tree Disease was curable, but the method was tricky. From the raw materials for the medicine to the complex process, most of them were from Mount Rookwood, so Worts spent every day in the lab.

Sebelia suppressed her anxiety and picked up the blue bird.

Chirp-

Soon, Maya stood proudly in front of her and met her eyes as if telling her to follow. Sebelia nodded slightly and walked into the forest.

* * *

In the research institute’s mansion garden, all sorts of wildflowers grew wildly, forming a thicket. The sight of various wild roses, small violets, and nameless white flowers all clumped together was not very pleasing to the eye.

A man stood in front of it with pruning shears. It was Dihart, who had been kicked out by Worts.

“…….”

He scanned the flower bed with sunken eyes and began to pull out the nameless wildflowers first. The wildflowers were mercilessly uprooted by his emotionally charged gestures.

“If he wasn’t a doctor…”

Dihart’s eyes glanced up at the second floor where the study was located, then back down. The reason he was kicked out of the study was that he was distracting. Of course, Dihart couldn’t accept it.

He was only standing by the window to make sure Sebelia returned on time. He couldn’t calm down unless he saw her return with his own eyes.

It was an obsession that had arisen after finding Sebelia in the garden, who he thought had disappeared. He had to have breakfast, go for a walk, and see her return with his own eyes to feel at ease.

‘Could this also be called a disease?’

To discriminate against patients just because he’s a doctor. Dihart growled, stopping his wildflower plucking. Besides, the reason for the distraction was absurd.

He was just standing by the window, breathing, and that bothered him. The added remark was also shocking.

[Claude told me you value efficiency, so instead of wasting time waiting for Bella, why don’t you do some work.]

Worts said that and gave him a pile of things needed for gardening.

[No one likes a gloomy man.]

[…….]

[At least you should show that you’re doing your job properly, tsk.]

It was a very frustrating moment. But there was nothing to refute. As Worts said, he did nothing but wait for her. Like a loyal dog waiting for its owner.

‘Still, I don’t like that guy.’

If he wasn’t the only doctor who could cure Sebelia’s illness, he would have already been half a corpse.

“That doctor should know how much I’m holding back. Too bad.”

Dihart wiped his sweat with a handkerchief he had taken from Worts. A pile of white wildflowers had already accumulated at his feet. It was the moment he picked up the pruning shears to thin out the wild roses.

From the other side, he heard a rustling sound and an unpleasant cat meow.

“……!”

Dihart tried to maintain his composure. I’m just out here to tidy up the flower bed. I wasn’t gloomily waiting for you. He wielded the shears diligently, as if he hadn’t noticed Sebelia’s return.

Snip, snip.

Perhaps it was because he was nervous. Unlike his plan, his hands trembled every time he thinned out the roses. It was a moment when his pride was deeply cracked. Meanwhile, the sound of footsteps quickly grew closer. Dihart suppressed his pounding heart and tried to breathe calmly. Pitter-patter. The light footsteps became clearer and clearer.

‘Is this enough?’

The key was naturalness. He had to greet her naturally, as if he had just noticed her presence while engrossed in his work. Dihart’s anxiety didn’t subside because Sebelia seemed to be distancing herself from him lately.

‘Damn it, how am I supposed to know the right timing?’

There wasn’t much time left. He couldn’t keep killing innocent roses like this. If he didn’t acknowledge her first, Sebelia would surely go straight inside. Then, all day today, he would suffer from anxiety and try to stay by her side.

‘I can’t do that.’

Dihart looked for Sebelia’s shadow out of the corner of his eye. There was still some distance left. But he couldn’t let his guard down. He didn’t know when she would change direction to chase that damn cat.

Determined, he cleared his throat and turned around to face Sebelia as naturally as possible. And the next moment, he froze in place and couldn’t say a single word properly.

“…….”

“…….”

Black darkness surged in the blue eyes looking at him. Dihart could tell instinctively. Those eyes, as if wandering in a distant place, were not looking at him.

‘Where are you looking?’

A question like a streak of fire struck his chest and scorched his throat. But he couldn’t bring himself to part his lips. Because he wasn’t Dihart Inverness, her husband.

‘What are you thinking while I’m standing in front of you?’

The result of denying the past in order to stay by her side, who had left him behind, was returning like this. Dihart could literally be by her side, but that was it.

“Bella.”

Dihart could do nothing but call her name. Bitter water surged up to his throat, but there was nothing he could do. Dihart, an ordinary young man with no connection to her, couldn’t ask Sebelia who she was looking at instead of him.

“Bella, are you okay?”

Dihart asked again, taking a step closer. Only then did Sebelia snap out of it. She looked momentarily embarrassed, but soon regained her composure.

However, Dihart did not miss that brief moment. A painful light flashed in his eyes. Sebelia, who was trapped in the memories of the past, naturally didn’t see it. She smiled softly and said as if nothing was wrong.

“I’m fine. I was so lost in thought that I didn’t even realize I was home. That’s why I was a little surprised.”

Sebelia picked up Maya, who was reaching out her arms to be held, and continued.

“But what were you doing here, Dihart?”

“…I was tidying up the flower bed. The weeds were growing tangled together.”

“Really? You’re amazing. I can’t tell the difference between weeds and flowers.”

An awkward atmosphere enveloped the two. Dihart was completely dejected and lowered his eyes gloomily, and Sebelia just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

“Then I’ll go in first. Good work.”

“Okay. Go in and rest.”

Sebelia nodded as if she understood and slowly moved her feet. She felt his golden eyes follow her before returning to their place without energy.

‘I almost turned around and ran away.’

Sebelia took a deep breath as she entered the front door.