After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 7

Flora barged in just as Sebelia was finishing her letter.

“Hey, Weden’s woman.”

The red-haired Flora burst through the door without warning. Then, she strode over and abruptly snatched the letter.

“…The head butler was right.”

Her low voice was laced with undisguised anger. She quickly scanned the letter, flipping to the next page roughly.

And then, she exploded with pent-up rage.

“What are you trying to pull this time… Ha!”

An unbelievable phrase caught her eye.

Asking to enter the vault to manage the ‘private property brought as dowry’?

“I can’t believe this.”

Sebelia was briefly taken aback by the sudden intrusion but quickly regained her composure.

“Flora, what are you doing?”

However, Flora simply waved the letter in Sebelia’s face, mocking her.

“Oh, Sebelia. Our precious spy from the Central [referring to the capital or central government]. Are you planning to squander our wealth this way this time?”

“Stop it and give me the letter.”

“Oh, are you feeling guilty now? Or are you afraid of getting scolded by your brother for causing trouble by trying to save refugees like last time?”

Sebelia’s face turned pale. What Flora mentioned was the second incident that had displeased Dihart, following the accusation of being a spy from the Central.

“I…”

Unwanted memories were forcibly dredged up.

Sebelia’s lips turned blue. In the past, like other noble ladies, she had tried to help the people affected by the disaster. She thought that helping those in distress would improve the reputation of the North and Dihart, and then he might look at her again…

It was because Flora’s mother, Gren, had persuaded her.

[I don’t believe you’re a spy. How could a weak child like you do such a thing?]

[I know it’s hard, but you have to be on his side. If he knows what you’ve done, he’ll realize your true feelings.]

Gren said, her eyes reddening, and she took my hand, encouraging me.

[You’re the only one who can do it.]

Ah, how deeply moved she had been by those words in the past.

How much she had wanted to cry at the sound of Gren, who was like a mother to him, believing in her innocence.

[Thank you… for believing in me.]

Loneliness and isolation. Contempt and resentment pouring out from everywhere she turned.

Isolated, she had accepted her advice too easily, and that’s how the incident had happened.

[Don’t ever do this again. Do you understand!]

Dihart, suppressing his anger, spat out those words and stormed out.

That cold back, the unreadable expression. The thorny voice and the hand pushing her away.

Sebelia realized that the terrible day of the past had been repeated.

Too foolishly, only after being betrayed once again.

[I’m… I, I.]

Leaving her to crumble inside, Gren skillfully evaded responsibility.

[Oh dear, it seems you were too hasty. You should have taken your time. Didn’t Weden teach you that?]

Ah, in the end, it was all because she was pathetic.

That’s how Sebelia was stripped of all formal duties as the Duchess. Even the right to approach the underground vault containing her dowry.

Tear-

Coming to her senses, she saw that the letter in Flora’s hand was already torn in half.

“Please don’t make Inverness [the region or estate] any more difficult than it already is.”

“…”

“Have you forgotten that staying still is helping? Just listen to Brother.”

Flora, feigning a sincere voice, tore the paper a few more times.

The letter, instantly shattered, fluttered down to the floor like dust. Just like her heart, shattered in front of Dihart.

“There’s a reason Brother told you not to do anything. He must have foreseen this.”

Flora sang as she gently waved her hand. Deep down, she hoped that Sebelia would fall into despair like this. Just like her mother had made her. But this time, it was different.

Sebelia’s blue eyes didn’t sink further inward, nor did they crumble into depression. They were dry and indifferent, like a wasteland where not a single breeze blew, staring at Flora’s pale wrist. To be precise, Sebelia was looking at the bracelet on Flora’s wrist.

‘Could that be…’

Sebelia ignored Flora’s words, which were full of ridicule, and blinked.

She couldn’t believe it. But no matter how many times she looked, what she saw was accurate.

‘That’s what I brought with me when I got married.’

Her blue eyes turned as cold as frost. Flora had stolen her dowry.

* * *

His mind was complicated. Dihart got up from his seat and threw open the window. The sea breeze from the harbor swept through the office. Then, a small sound came from behind him.

“…”

Turning his head, he saw a golden-feathered bird fluttering in its cage. It was a bird he had bought on a whim while strolling through the market a while ago.

[Are you going to give it as a gift?]

[No, I’ll put it in the greenhouse.]

Recalling his conversation with Ryan, Dihart ran his hand through his hair.

Right now, he had too many things to worry about besides that bird. Yes, like the tail that had suddenly died, or the telegram that had just arrived from the butler.

“Ha…”

His stomach churned again as he thought of the butler’s message.

[The Lady is showing strange behavior.]

He had urgently sent a telegram, worried that Sebelia was spying again. Along with the message that he would never allow her to enter the underground vault. But Dihart was certain that Sebelia would not dare to do that.

‘There’s no possibility of that.’

He leaned against the window with a whistling sound. He was the one who had pushed everyone away from Sebelia and taken away her authority as the Duchess. Although he had to leave that woman who was her nanny alone because she begged and cried…

“Wait.”

Staring blankly at the cold sea breeze, he straightened up at the suspicion that flashed through his mind.

The veins on the back of his hand, gripping the window frame, stood out.

‘Yes, she can never betray me alone. But…’

What if someone pushed her from behind? Especially if that nanny, who pitied her, shook her heart and made her think differently…

“Could it be.”

Then, the last image of her before he left flashed through his mind. The way she didn’t hold on to him or cling to him. And the way she looked at him with a distant smile.

At that moment, the butler’s telegram and her appearance overlapped, giving rise to a new suspicion.

“Is she abandoning even the last promise and trying to leave completely?”

Sebelia didn’t need a separate allowance. But why would she suddenly ask for her dowry?

“Something must have happened. Could meeting another man actually mean she was meeting those Central bastards?”

The seed of doubt planted by Rash was already taking root in his heart.

It was possible because he had already been betrayed once in the past. Thus, Dihart’s terrible wound too easily reopened its red scars even with a suspicious breeze.

‘Sebelia, you again.’

Dihart bit his lip without realizing it. His crimson lips tore, and blood dripped down. The wind carrying the smell of blood swept through the room.

“If that’s the case, I won’t let it go. There will be no forgiveness this time.”

Dihart clenched his teeth, gripping the window frame as if to break it. His eyes shone fiercely in the darkness.

“How dare you…”

Coldness and distrust. His attitude towards Sebelia could be explained by those two words. But it was she who had brought about the result. The punishment for betrayal was her share to bear.

“You can’t dare to do that.”

Dihart muttered as if casting a spell.

She had to stay by his side for the rest of her life. Even if he couldn’t love her, she shouldn’t leave. That was her duty.

As long as he remembered that bitter betrayal and the indelible wound. She, who had disguised herself with kindness, uttered love, and deceived him, deserved it.

[Will the day come when we can sleep together like an ordinary couple?]

Dihart recalled how she had changed after her betrayal was exposed.

[I’m sorry. I didn’t know you’d be here.]

Until then, she had been interested in various things in Inverness, but she quickly became submissive. As if she understood her situation, she began to act politely, like a tongue in his mouth, and watched his every move.

[If it’s okay… can I stay here until I finish reading the book?]

That figure, whispering softly and watching his every move. That weak face, unable to run away or come closer, cautiously circling around him.

Every time Dihart recalled that image, he felt as if a fire was rising in his chest, but at the same time, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

“You must continue to fear me and love me. You must live by my side for the rest of your life, atoning for your sins.”

Dihart said forcefully, as if brainwashing himself. Feel guilty towards me. Continue the lie of that love you easily uttered.

“That’s the punishment you must receive.”

As always, he fiddled with the cross necklace hidden inside his clothes and muttered to himself. But his agitated heart did not calm down.

He had to run to the mansion where she was. He had to go and check. That unforgettable expression on her face when he left last, that eye that felt so far away, did not leave his mind at all. That sad and faint face, as if she was saying goodbye to him…

At that moment, pain that felt like tearing his heart with cold hands exploded.

After a long time, with a pale face, he finally had to admit it.

“…I’ll have to return with the minimum number of people.”

He really didn’t want to admit it, and damn it, he was angry. But right now, he had to see Sebelia with his own eyes.

Only then would this agitated heart calm down.