After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 73

No wild animals lived in the valley buried in darkness. Only the sound of cold water disappearing into the void and the sound of people carefully stepping on the cliff echoed through the silent space.

“The days are getting shorter.”

The boundary between morning and dawn was becoming increasingly blurred. Diheart raised his cool eyes and scanned his surroundings. The new laborers, brought in at Ilay’s insistence, were huddled together in the opposite tent, building a fire.

“But it looks like we’re slowly seeing the end.”

Ilay gestured towards the laborers coming up from the cliff. For the past few days, they had been suspended from ropes in the pitch-black darkness, throwing stones down the cliff. And just today, they heard the sound of the fallen stones bouncing off the bottom.

“We’ll have to make up for lost time with quantity. Get all the herbalists you brought ready.”

As Diheart spat out the words and turned away, a red butterfly hidden in his shadow revealed itself like a flame. Ilay flinched at the sight, which he could never get used to, no matter how many times he saw it.

[Don’t be surprised.]

“Umm…”

[The time has come for me to play an active role, don’t you think?]

“Well, maybe.”

Ilay awkwardly stepped back, unlike his usual self. The red butterfly fluttered behind him, following him.

* * *

Flap, the only sound in the quiet study was the turning of pages. Sebelia glanced at Claude sitting across from her, then turned her gaze out the window. The red sunset was settling over the sky.

It had been ten days since Diheart had left, and there was still no word from him.

“We’ll have a simple test tomorrow.”

Sebelia was startled by the sudden voice and turned her head. Claude, who had already closed his book, was pouring hot tea and looking at her. Caught daydreaming, Sebelia awkwardly accepted the teacup he offered. Warmth spread from her fingertips.

“You’re not going to ask me to disguise myself as an illusion, are you?”

Sebelia said, recalling the homework Claude had given her. He had been making her create various illusions to see how much potential Sebelia had.

Until then, Sebelia had been inwardly excited, thinking that her skills might be quite outstanding. But it didn’t take long for her to realize that it was arrogance.

There were types of illusion magic, such as ‘disguise,’ where the face and skeleton were completely overwritten like Claude’s, but Sebelia showed completely terrible skills in that area.

‘That’s when I realized that I’m not good at everything.’

When Sebelia asked with a sullen look, Claude widened his eyes. Realizing what she was worried about, he shook his head and said in a kind tone.

“Ah, no. I was just trying out various fields of illusion magic to see what Bella’s aptitude is. The test tomorrow will be basic.”

“Can I ask what it’s about?”

“Of course. It’s simple. Bella’s illusionary beast and…”

Claude, who was continuing to speak, suddenly grabbed his chest. And for a moment, he couldn’t breathe. Sebelia was so surprised that she froze in place.

“Mr. Claude.”

When Sebelia called him, having barely regained her senses, Claude had already come to his senses.

“Hoo, haa…. Damn, that was surprising.”

“I’ll go get Mr. Wartz.”

“No, it’s okay. There’s no need.”

Claude wiped away his cold sweat and took a deep breath. Sebelia was about to leave the room, but she went to his side. When she took out a handkerchief and handed it to him, Claude didn’t refuse.

“Haa.”

“Could it be that Mr. Claude also has an underlying illness?”

Come to think of it, she had never asked how he had met Wartz. Sebelia’s blue eyes were stained with anxiety. Claude smiled slightly at the sight of her face.

“No, it’s nothing like that. I’m a healthy person every minute and every second.”

“But you couldn’t breathe just now.”

“Ah, that’s not a disease, it’s… Damn it.”

Claude clenched his teeth as if he had remembered something he had forgotten. Intense emotions that had never been seen before were sparking from his wide eyes.

“I’m sorry. I’ll explain later. I have to go to the canyon right now.”

“Yes?”

Claude staggered to his feet. Sebelia also moved to follow him. She was in a state where she would follow him to the end if she didn’t get a proper explanation.

In the end, Claude had to explain the situation to her while holding the doorknob.

“Alos’s condition is strange.”

Sebelia’s eyes widened as she looked up at him.

“Alos, are you talking about Mr. Claude’s illusionary beast?”

“Yes. I don’t know why, but the connection is shaking. This is rare… I think I have to go. Bella, please wait here.”

Claude, who had spoken as if pouring out his words, immediately opened the door. Sebelia was horrified at the sight of him as if he was about to run away at any moment. This was the first time Claude had looked so confused since Diheart was sick. Sebelia unknowingly stood in front of him.

“Mr. Claude, calm down. You can’t go alone without any preparation. I heard the canyon is dangerous. You also stopped Diheart from going there.”

“That’s why I have to go.”

The words he uttered slowly had a heavy weight. Sebelia swallowed her breath at his uncharacteristic appearance. The golden eyes that were backlit were chillingly eerie.

“That guy has never been able to come to me, so I have to go.”

Sebelia clenched her trembling hands. He wasn’t in his right mind right now.

* * *

[I feel a strange energy.]

Darkness was thickly staining the sky. Diheart, who was watching the herbalists finishing their evening work and coming up from afar, turned his head. The red butterfly was slowly flying near his shoulder, scattering flame-like afterimages in the air. When Diheart raised his hand, Alos landed gracefully on it.

And repeated the same words.

[A strange energy has been shaking me since earlier. It’s a very scary and ominous energy. I almost got caught and shattered to pieces.]

Alos recited the gruesome words in a very clear voice. So, is it scary or what? A line was drawn on Diheart’s forehead.

“Stop talking nonsense and speak accurately.”

At his ruthless reaction, Alos fluttered his wings as if hurt. The color of the beautiful wings, like thin slices of jewel glued together, scattered in the darkness.

[Be careful below the canyon, Duke. The secret of God is sleeping there.]

“It’s become clear that the cockroaches sitting in the city didn’t do their job properly.”

Diheart frowned, recalling all the idiots who had gathered with their moldy heads to dig into the mysteries of Surpredi, the city of the god who had lost its glory.

The twisted nonsense of the red butterfly ultimately meant that the relics of a bygone era were sleeping below the canyon. And that had the potential to have a very negative impact on the collection of glass snowflakes.

‘If I give unnecessary attention, it will definitely backfire.’

Tsk, Diheart clicked his tongue and called Ilay. Ilay, who had been watching Alos warily from afar, looked deathly pale.

* * *

“Did you call me, Miss Bella?”

By the time Wartz followed the canary-like illusion and stepped into the third-floor hallway, the situation had already ended.

“What I’m seeing now is…”

“Mr. Claude fainted, and Maya is on top of him. That’s right.”

“…I see.”

Wartz nodded as if he understood roughly. Sebelia let go of her arms and explained the situation to him.

“Mr. Claude suddenly insisted on going to the canyon, so I had no choice but to…”

“Maya covered him?”

Wartz said with an understanding nuance and checked Claude’s pulse. Sebelia looked at the sight and shook her head with a bitter face.

“No, I did it.”

“Miss Bella?”

Wartz was surprised and looked up at her, still kneeling on one knee on the floor. Sebelia bit her lip slightly at his gaze. She had nothing to say.

“I’m sorry. I think I used illusion magic without realizing it because I thought I had to stop Mr. Claude.”

She recalled what had just happened. Sebelia thought it was dangerous to move right now anyway. It was already well past evening, and it would be dawn by the time they got down to Surpredi [a ruined city].

‘Besides, the knights of Inverness won’t take the doctor’s assistant, ‘Karl Offentz,’ to where Diheart is.’

It was a fact that she could easily understand if she thought about it a little. He could not reach the canyon as Claude Inverness or as Karl Offentz. But Claude would not give up until the end.

[I can’t leave that guy alone again!]

At that moment, Claude really looked just like Diheart. The glittering golden eyes staring at her, the shouts piercing her ears. Sebelia thought that was probably why she had lost her composure.

The rest was just fragmentary memories. Claude shook her off and ran towards the stairs, and Sebelia reached out with a desperate heart.

[Please calm down, Mr. Claude. At least after the morning is bright… !]

It was the moment she grabbed his shoulder. She felt like sparks were bursting from her fingertips. Claude also seemed to feel a strange sensation. He turned around and looked back at her with surprised eyes. Everything was flowing slowly, and the two people’s eyes met.

Whack-!

The hot flames that started from the tips of her fingers instantly engulfed her body. The heat wrapped around her heart. As if a storm was raging in a calm lake, the dormant power suddenly burst out. It wasn’t Sebelia’s will.

A huge illusion changed the world as if a tidal wave had swept over the two people.

‘And the hallway became a different space in an instant.’

The antique hallway had turned into a lush forest in the blink of an eye. It was also a rainy forest with the wreckage of a broken carriage still intact. Claude let out a short groan when he saw the sight and collapsed on the spot.

[What is this…]

Sebelia, who had come to her senses, was distraught and didn’t know what to do, and that’s when Maya appeared. Thanks to the calm and cool Maya, Sebelia was barely able to think of calling Wartz.

“So there were no traces of physical assault.”

Wartz said as he got up from his seat after finishing a simple examination.

“It’s a faint due to excessive stress. There’s no need to worry too much. To be honest, I want to thank Miss Bella for stopping this guy.”

Should I accept the thank you? Sebelia looked down at Claude, who was lying pathetically in the hallway with a worried face.

Maya was slapping him on the cheek.