After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 68

“Bella.”

Dihart, unable to watch any longer, called out to her. His trembling fingertips were about to touch her shoulder.

“Let’s talk again later.”

That was all she managed to say between ragged breaths. Sebelia recoiled from him. Dihart swallowed hard, his blue eyes filled with an unreadable emotion.

“Then, goodbye.”

With a farewell that sounded almost like a dismissal, Sebelia opened the door and fled before he could stop her. Dihart stared blankly at her retreating figure.

Then, after a moment, a cautious voice roused him.

“Dihart.”

He looked up to see Claude standing there. Dihart’s eyes, which had been wandering aimlessly, hardened. He turned his back and said,

“Not now.”

“…….”

“Come back later.”

The door closed, and Claude fell silent. His eyes shifted between the empty hallway and the firmly shut door.

* * *

Sebelia’s cold words seemed to have brought Dihart back to his senses. A cool light settled over the golden eyes that had been clouded with worry and anxiety.

“Yes, I knew it too. That I didn’t necessarily need to go down to the bottom of the canyon.”

But despite that, Dihart felt it was something he had to do himself. Only then would he have the face to see her again, or rather, the right to stay here until she received proper treatment.

“Going crazy completely impairs one’s judgment.”

Dihart chuckled.

That was why Dihart had been so impatient. He had been vaguely aware that this might be the last time he could be with Sebelia. There was no chance the two of them would meet again after the treatment was over. She would never come near the North again, and he would rarely have reason to leave it.

“I couldn’t see or hear anything until she got angry at me.”

Claude, who had been listening to him calmly, shook his head.

“It’s good that you realized it now.”

“Yes. I’m very fortunate to have realized it before it was too late.”

Dihart shook his head and stood up. His face, as sharp as a well-honed blade, showed no sign of wavering.

* * *

Sebelia couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. After tossing and turning, she stared at the moonlight on the window for a long time before finally getting up.

“Haa.”

Her heart was still pounding like a stormy sea. She half-lay down on the daybed under the window and opened it. The cold night air caressed her cheeks along with the moonlight.

“What should I do now?”

She knew very well that she could no longer treat him with indifference. Now that her resentment towards him had awakened, it was impossible to be as cold as before.

Everything was a mess. Sebelia rested her arms on the windowsill and buried her face in them. The cool moonlight fell softly, as if caressing her hair.

Clatter. At some point, she heard the sound of the door opening. Lost in her dazed emotions, Sebelia slowly turned her head.

“Maya?”

In the darkness, a pair of bright green eyes glowed. As Sebelia reached out her hand, she heard the patter of paws, and a soft bundle of fur leaped into her arms.

“What did you steal this time?”

No wonder she hadn’t been making any whimpering noises. She was firmly holding something in her mouth. It was likely a toy that Claude had hidden or one of Wetz’s medical tools.

As Sebelia gently tried to take the object from her mouth, Maya made a grumbling sound of annoyance. But before long, Sebelia achieved her goal.

“Ah, Maya.”

A long sigh escaped her lips as she recognized what Maya had stolen. In her hand lay a silver cross necklace, covered in saliva.

“You seem to like this quite a bit.”

Sebelia gave a bitter smile and wiped the necklace with a handkerchief. The blue gem embedded in the necklace caught the moonlight and scattered a shimmering light.

Looking at it, a thought she had been trying to bury suddenly popped up.

‘You don’t mean to tell me you’ve been carrying this around ever since I gave you the necklace?’

Last time, she had been able to ignore it, pretending not to see it. She had been able to draw a perfect line, saying that the Sebelia of the past and the Bella of the present were different people. But not anymore.

The boundary line drawn between the past and the present had already become blurred, and even its traces were disappearing. The idea that she could completely abandon the past was a childishly naive thought.

“I thought you had thrown it away a long time ago.”

You made it so obvious that you didn’t like it, so why did you keep it all this time? Unresolved questions and resentment welled up in her throat. Sebelia clenched her fist.

‘I can’t understand you.’

In fact, I’ve never been able to understand you even once since we got married.

‘And that’s still the case now…….’

Sebelia swallowed a hot breath and opened her hand. The inside of her palm was stained red in the shape of the necklace.

She took a deep breath and carefully placed the necklace on the windowsill. The blue gem, shimmering in the faint moonlight, looked just like a rippling lake.

Like the lake he had wanted to take her boating on, it was sparkling beautifully.

“What am I really supposed to do?”

Sebelia’s blue eyes wandered into the distant space.

* * *

Sebelia spent the whole night tossing and turning, unable to sleep. She headed to the kitchen with faltering steps. She needed a hot cup of black tea.

“Where is it…….”

She was rummaging through the cupboard with half-closed eyes when she heard a noise from the living room across the hallway.

Until then, Sebelia had thought that Wetz, who had woken up early, was doing something in the living room. But soon that thought disappeared without a trace, like a sandcastle collapsing in the waves.

“You promised not to act recklessly.”

The voice was Claude’s. Sebelia, hearing his sharp tone for the first time, unconsciously held her breath. She carefully closed the cupboard door and leaned against the wall.

“I don’t see what’s reckless about this. I said I wouldn’t go down to the bottom of the canyon as promised.”

Then Dihart’s voice echoed through the living room. Unlike the voice she had heard yesterday, it was so cold and sharp.

“Don’t nitpick over every little thing when we agree that there’s no time. Claude.”

Sebelia leaned against the wall blankly, eavesdropping on their conversation. Claude was trying to stop Dihart from setting up a command post near the canyon and directing the operation from there.

“I didn’t realize you were this overprotective. Are you so blinded by worry that your head isn’t working? Are you telling me to entrust money and equipment to the herbalists and sit still like an idiot at the foot of the mountain?”

A chilling voice echoed through the living room.

Instead of going down into the canyon himself with the herbalists, Dihart had decided to set up a base nearby and take on the role of directing the situation. That was the best compromise. But Claude was still not happy with it.

“Since I can’t send a mage or shaman down into the canyon, I have no choice but to be in the canyon to exchange news. I can’t believe I have to explain this one by one?”

Claude sighed at Dihart’s irritated voice. He had secretly thought that he could completely break his stubbornness, which had been shaken by Sebelia. But that was overconfidence.

Dihart might waver for Sebelia, but he didn’t budge an inch for him. The only person who could break his stubbornness and conviction was Sebelia, and her alone.

“Don’t say anything more about this, Claude. Unless you want to make me angry enough to jump down to the bottom of the canyon.”

“Alright, alright.”

Claude raised both hands in surrender. Dihart scanned him with a fierce look and went up the stairs. A moment later, she heard Claude leaving through the back door.

‘The canyon is that dangerous.’

Sebelia crouched in the kitchen, repeating the story she had heard. Her blue eyes were lost in deep thought.

* * *

In the evening, Dihart finished preparing to leave the lab. He unconsciously groped his chest before realizing that Maya had stolen his necklace again the other day.

‘Oh, dear.’

He had deliberately held it in his hand and shook it, as if telling her to take it, but now he regretted it. If he had known things would turn out like this, he wouldn’t have tried to rely on such a flimsy trick again.

‘I can’t help it.’

Dihart blamed his past self for trying to confront Sebelia again using the necklace as an excuse and went down the stairs. Claude followed behind him. He hadn’t given up yet, and he was sighing heavily as he looked at his back.

“I have a bad feeling, a bad feeling.”

“Nonsense…….”

Dihart was fed up with the nonsense that had been repeated since morning. He was annoyed and was passing through the hallway when Dihart suddenly stopped abruptly. Claude, who had been muttering that he had a bad feeling with his head down, wondered what was going on and looked in the same direction. There was Sebelia.

“Lady Bella.”

“Are you leaving now?”

Claude blocked Dihart’s path. Dihart glared at him, asking what he was doing, but he didn’t back down. He opened his mouth with a face that couldn’t be more grateful.

“Thank you for persuading this guy, even though it’s late. Fortunately, this foolish guy said he wouldn’t go down to the canyon. So.”

“I decided to receive updates on how things are going nearby and provide support whenever needed.”

Dihart said in a low voice, taking Claude’s words.

“I won’t risk my life in reckless endeavors to ease my guilt anymore.”

“…….”

“I know my place now.”