After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 61

“Mr. Dehart, what are you doing….”

“I’m sorry.”

Dehart realized it then. From the beginning, he never had any say.

He was merely struggling to delay the inevitable fate of following Sebelia’s choice, even if only for a little while. Dehart knew he had cornered himself. Only now, with nowhere to turn back, could he face the reality before him.

There was nowhere to run anymore.

“I’m sorry, Sebelia.”

The voice, cracked with anguish, was swallowed by his panting breaths and barely audible. But that was enough. The changed tone, the desperate attitude, and finally, her own name being called.

Sebelia’s blue eyes froze like an ice wall.

“You.”

You remember everything. Dehart nodded, his eyes filled with tears, acknowledging her unspoken words.

“Yes, I have no right to answer your questions. I have never forgotten the past, nor have I been satisfied with the present to create a new future.”

“……”

“Because there hasn’t been a single moment when I wasn’t Dehart Inbernes.”

The distorted golden eyes looked up at Sebelia. Blue eyes, like frosted glass, and golden eyes, burning with fervor, met each other. And at that moment, Sebelia felt an unwanted thrill.

That nasty feeling that made her whole body shudder and her heart tremble was joy.

‘No.’

This couldn’t be happening. Sebelia tried to hold onto her reason. Was it because of Dehart’s sudden confession? She could feel a fierce storm raging in her heart.

‘I’m not angry because he deceived me.’

After all, she had never expected anything from him. Whether he had amnesia or not, she had resolved to do what she had to do. But the problem was the emotions that kept confusing her, emotions that didn’t move according to reason.

Not the innocent young man who knew nothing, but Dehart Inbernes. The husband who had treated her coldly, despised her, and ignored her was right in front of her. Just that fact alone made her feel that she was gradually becoming Sebelia Inbernes, not Bella. The emotions of those days—resentment and anger—swirled and burned in her chest.

“Ha.”

‘That’s why. That’s why I tried to leave before he regained his memory.’

Sebelia closed her eyes, placed her hands on her knees, and tried to swallow her trembling breath, to control the anger that seemed about to burst out of her throat.

A moment like an eternity passed for Dehart, and Sebelia’s cold, blue eyes reopened. Eyes as cold and ruthless as the winter sea poured down on Dehart.

He groaned.

“Sebelia……”

“No, no. Don’t call me that.”

Sebelia shook her head and continued calmly.

“You deceived and tricked me during all the time we spent together, but I never did.”

“Deception, that’s not it. I…”

“Unlike you, I have never been Sebelia Inbernes for a single moment.”

Not the unhappy, unfortunate, and pitiful Sebelia Inbernes, but Bella, full of hope for the future. That was the identity she had chosen.

“So don’t call me by that name. The person you’re looking for is already dead. She can never come back to life, nor can she come to your side.”

Words as sharp as frost fell. Dehart’s composure completely crumbled at that.

“Sebelia! No, Bella. I’ll call you whatever you want. So please, just don’t say you’re dead.”

Don’t tell me you’re dead. Dehart unconsciously tried to grab her sleeve. He was about to cling to her and beg. But Sebelia calmly reached out and took his hand away from her sleeve. Naturally, their eyes met.

“Ah.”

A low exclamation came from Dehart’s mouth. He saw his reflection sliding off the pale, smooth blue eyes. He realized that his appeal could never reach her.

Just like when he hadn’t listened to her words when she cried out that she was wronged.

While he remained in bitter realization, Sebelia straightened her body. Dehart’s empty eyes looked up at her.

“I clearly told you when we first met, Mr. Dehart. Call me Bella.”

The calm voice fell like a death sentence. Dehart froze in place, kneeling before her.

‘My fate was determined from the beginning.’

Dehart, with no way to escape, had to accept reality with the pain of thorns piercing his heart. She truly wanted to abandon the life of Sebelia Inbernes, including everything related to her life. Yes, even himself.

He lowered his head and whispered as if reciting.

“I can never call you Sebelia again?”

“That’s right.”

“Even if I kneel like this?”

“Even if you give your life for me.”

The golden eyes, glistening with moisture, gradually dried up. Eyes that had become parched as if they would dry up any moment looked up at her.

At that moment, an intense impulse resonated in Sebelia’s chest. She leaned slightly forward and whispered in his ear.

“Dehart, I am generous to those who know their place.”

Thump, his chest rose and fell sharply. He looked at Sebelia with trembling eyes. The words he had hurled at her in the past flashed through his mind.

[I am generous to those who know their place.]

That was what Dehart had said to Sebelia when they first met. And then.

“And I want to believe that you are that kind of person.”

[And I want to believe that you are that kind of person, madam.]

Sebelia, who had breathed the last words into his ear, turned away from Dehart and left.

“Haa.”

Sebelia admitted that she had ultimately succumbed to her emotions. The ghosts of the past had come back to life and swallowed her. And knowing that, she had stood by and watched. She had committed an act contrary to her resolution. But why? Rather than a sense of defeat, a deep sense of satisfaction filled her heart.

It felt like a long-standing knot was being untied.

* * *

Claude returned to the lab that evening. And he immediately noticed that something unusual had happened between the two. One was anxious and watchful, and the other was calm and composed. Of course, the former was Dehart and the latter was Sebelia.

“Tsk.”

Claude called Dehart, who was drooping like a wilted puppy after dinner, into his room. He sat heavily on the bed with a dark, lifeless face.

“I think I know roughly what happened while I was away without you having to explain.”

“……”

“You were caught not having amnesia.”

“To be precise, I wasn’t caught. She suddenly asked me if I had decided to forget the past altogether. So I thought I couldn’t continue lying any longer.”

Dehart continued, looking down at his empty hands.

“If I said I would forget the past, I would be affirming her life as the Bella she chose, and if I said no, I would have to try to find the past. And that would feel like a threat to Sebelia. In the end, if I couldn’t get satisfactory results either way, I had no choice but to honestly beg for forgiveness.”

But forgiveness was not accepted. It couldn’t be helped since Sebelia herself refused to be the subject of forgiveness.

“So this is how it turned out.”

In the end, all that remained in this place was a foolish man seeking forgiveness that was not accepted. Dehart leaned the back of his head against the wall and murmured softly.

“It’s pathetic.”

Claude, clicking his tongue, took out Ilay’s letter from his bag. His nephew’s heartbreak was pitiful and sad to see, but that was it. He was a man abandoned by Sebelia, but at the same time, he was the Duke of Inbernes.

“As the same man, I feel sorry for you, but as a member of Inbernes, I honestly think it’s a relief. We can’t waste time clinging to a problem that has no answer forever.”

The eyes that had been looking at the ceiling slowly lowered and stared at Claude. A flame-like emotion surged in the golden eyes, as eerie as those of a beast.

Claude threw Ilay’s letter to him and said.

“Now that you’ve gotten the answer you’ve been wanting so much, it’s time to return to your original duty, nephew. I received a letter from Ilay. And I brought the newspapers that have been published in the past few days. Examine them carefully and realize what happened while you neglected your duty.”

Dehart stared at him with intense eyes and slowly tore open the letter. The brutally torn envelope fell to the floor, and the thick letter was turned over one page at a time.

[I pray that this letter reaches the Duke.]

The letter, which began like that, was filled with secrets that Ilay had reluctantly revealed, as he had no choice but to trust Claude even while doubting him. Anger rose above the eyes as clear and vast as the sun.

“Ha.”

Marquis Lims had defiled his territory. The arrogant old man was not only stirring up trouble as if he were the owner of Hillend Hall, but also inciting public opinion by recruiting surrounding nobles, claiming that Gren and Rasch were being unfairly held.

If this continued, Gren and Rasch would become innocent and harmless victims and leave Hillend Hall with dignity.

“How dare he.”

With the sound of the letter crumpling, Dehart’s hand reached out to Claude. Claude handed him the newspapers without delay. And they all met the same fate as Ilay’s letter.

“Now you understand how the situation is going.”

“…Yeah.”

“Then go back and do what you have to do, Duke Inbernes.”

Claude was telling him to bury the matter with Sebelia in his heart and return to a life of fulfilling his duties. Dehart nodded at his words.

“I will.”

So Claude never imagined that Dehart had taken his words in a completely different meaning.