After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 77

Thud, thud.

Covered in red flames, Dihart slowly walked between them. People stared at him with dumbfounded expressions, as if they were mesmerized. The knights were in awe, and the herbalists opened their mouths in fear.

Soon, a roar-like voice struck their heads.

“What are you staring at blankly? Do you want your comrades crushed to death down there? Move now!”

The threat swept through the canyon. People jumped as if struck by lightning.

“Pathetic.”

The voice, growling like a beast, scraped the ground. Wiping away the flowing blood, he spoke in a cold tone.

“To think I have to drag around those who spill not only their eyes but also their brains.”

The dust rising from the cliff below, the setting sun casting long shadows from above. Dihart, standing and bleeding against it all, was truly a terrifying sight.

“Lord Duke.”

But he was alive. That fact moved the knights’ hearts. They swallowed their surging emotions and followed Dihart’s orders. They quickly threw extra ladders down the cliff and checked on the people’s safety.

“Ilay, can you hear me?”

Dihart looked at them with cold eyes, then grasped the fading red flames in his hand. It was the remains of Allos.

[Dangerous…!]

The moment the canyon collapsed, Allos deployed a shield with his last words and disappeared. Recalling the red butterfly shattering before his eyes, Dihart clenched his teeth.

“Damn it.”

He carefully stroked the front pocket of his shirt and bit the tender flesh inside his mouth until it bled. The blue bird [familiar spirit] had been agitated since the moment Allos disappeared.

He raised his eyes and turned his gaze to the herbalists huddled together. The herbalists swallowed as his frosty gaze landed on them.

“Rochelle.”

“Yes, Duke.”

The knights no longer hid that he was the Duke. The herbalists clinging to the rock walls felt their bodies freeze at the merciless cry of “Duke” echoing inside the canyon.

The two stood close and whispered something. The names of herbalists, porters, and a name called Henkit seemed to be exchanged.

“Bring the list and the contents of the interrogation so far.”

A knight brought what Dihart had requested. His cold eyes scanned the list and the faces of the herbalists, one by one. The list soon left Dihart’s hand.

“He’s not on the herbalist list. Then there’s only one possibility. He must have come in mixed with the porters.”

A chilling smile touched Dihart’s lips. The knight named Rochelle turned pale and lowered his head.

“I’m sorry. I should have examined it more carefully.”

It was clear: Henkit had hidden his face and name and entered as a porter. Unlike the herbalists residing in the canyon, the porters only traveled between the city and the canyon, so hiring them without much verification was a mistake.

‘To think he would come in as a porter and mix in with the herbalist group.’

Rochelle clenched his fist tightly and lowered his waist even deeper. Dihart looked down at him with indifferent eyes and swept back his hair.

Lumps of dirt and blood dripped down his fingers. After roughly fixing his hair, Dihart moved towards the herbalists gathered near the canyon entrance.

Tap, tap.

With each step he took, bright yellow electricity bloomed like flower buds. The herbalists’ heads were filled with one thought as they watched the scene.

The Duke who brings lightning, the cursed Inverness.

“Heok…!”

“N, no way.”

Only then could the herbalist group see Dihart’s face in detail. He had been an object of no interest until now, but at this moment, his features were clearer than ever. His two eyes, shining brilliantly like the sun, were gradually turning white.

‘He was Duke Inverness? Damn it, what nonsense is this!’

If he had known this would happen, he would have pretended he couldn’t find the glass snowdrop and wouldn’t have planned anything else.

Sonsu, who was the leader of the herbalist group, turned pale first. He unconsciously looked for the place where he had hidden the secretly mined herbs, thinking he had to deal with that first.

So Sonsu didn’t notice that Dihart was walking towards him. By the time he belatedly realized that fact, the herbalist group surrounding him had already moved far away.

“You’re the leader of these trash, aren’t you.”

The golden eyes against the backlight shone fiercely like a beast. A clear smell of blood emanated from him as he approached. Sonsu was terrified.

“L, Lord Duke. I didn’t recognize you.”

“Yes, you’re the same as me in that you’re leading around these morons who haven’t accomplished anything for over two weeks. Although it’s different in that you’re the one who ordered that stupid짓 [Korean slang for ‘짓’, meaning ‘action’ or ‘behavior’, implying a foolish or pointless act].”

Dihart cut off Sonsu’s words mercilessly and continued. A savage smile was on his lips.

“And there’s one more difference. I don’t take in guys who I don’t know where they crawled out from under me. Thanks to that, my situation has become very ridiculous. I almost met a miserable end in this pathetic city.”

Murderous intent filled the air. Sonsu coughed and bent over at the energy that weighed down on his shoulders and invaded his lungs.

“Besides, you found the glass snowdrop and told them to postpone the collection?”

Dihart recalled the interrogation of a man named Driken that he had just read. It stated that Sonsu, the leader of the group, had ordered them to delay the collection to buy time to safely smuggle out the relic.

“I, I. I’m…”

Sonsu trembled with regret and fear.

Until a few hours ago, he had made light of Dihart and the knights. He ridiculed them, saying that they entrusted them with money and nightlights and could only stare blankly at the bottom of the cliff.

The entire herbalist group thought so. But that was a delusion. These people, full of vain dreams, were arbitrarily judging reality.

“Her life was in the hands of trash like you.”

Kwang!

A bolt of lightning grazed Sonsu’s cheek and struck down at his feet. His cheek burned black before blood could even flow from the wound. Sonsu couldn’t come to his senses.

“I, I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I’ll go down there right now and bring everything back. Everything we’ve brought so far…”

“I don’t need it.”

In Dihart’s hand, who answered coldly, were two glass snowdrops, perfectly preserved without a single scratch. Two pure white flowers, so radiant and noble, trembled delicately on his hand.

“Because I won’t entrust it to anyone’s hands in the future.”

The man covered in dirt and blood smiled coldly, holding the hope he had barely grasped in both hands. Between his narrowly folded eyes, golden eyes spewed cold anger.

“I, I.”

Only then did Sonsu realize that the other party was a man with such great wealth that he was scattering a large sum of money on them. He also desperately wanted the glass snowdrop to the point where he didn’t care about embedding nightlights in the canyon.

Gulp.

The sound of swallowing echoed in the silence. Dihart raised his hand towards the pale Sonsu. He closed his eyes tightly.

* * *

Bang-!

Another sound of something falling from afar was heard. Sebelia was so surprised that she almost fell.

“Ugh.”

When she got up, holding the ground, a cool scent of bushes brushed the tip of her nose. A wildflower that bloomed in the darkness snagged her ankle as she tried to get up.

Sebelia brushed away the bushes entangled in her ankle and climbed the mountain again. She seemed to have picked up quite a speed, but Claude was still nowhere to be seen.

“This is bad…”

Claude had thrown away the nightlight lamp and ran away. It was a lamp that only illuminated an inch ahead, but it was the only guide in the pitch-black darkness.

‘Judging from the fact that he’s still not visible, we might have gone different ways.’

Sebelia bit her lip and hurried her steps. Before long, a wind mixed with dirt and dust came down from the ridge. And at the same time, a buzzing voice was heard.

The massed noise instantly pierced Sebelia’s bleak heart.

“……!”

Beyond the dark forest, red light poured down through the cracks in the collapsed rock walls. The noise pouring out from the narrow passage swept away her thoughts.

“The road is open. Go down and contact them to bring the healers!”

“You bastards. You’ve hidden a lot. Are you thieves or herbalists?”

“Everyone except the guys being interrogated, gather here. We don’t have enough ladders, bring ropes or whatever and throw them down!”

The shouts pierced the sky and echoed through the canyon. Feeling the goosebumps on her neck, Sebelia took a deep breath. Soon, her figure, buried in the shadows, was revealed under the setting sun.

Step.

The knights who had escaped through the collapsed pile of stones discovered her the very next moment. The canyon, which had been filled with shouts and screams, was instantly plunged into silence.

Only then did Sebelia realize that the hood covering her face had come off. She bit her lip and gripped the hem of her clothes tightly. The decision was instantaneous.

“I’m from the medical center on the sixth street. Excuse me.”

She raised her head proudly and moved her feet into the canyon. She didn’t care what kind of eyes they looked at her with. Sebelia forcibly straightened her shoulders, which seemed to shrink, and raised her chin.

“The doctor will follow.”

“O, okay. Please pass.”

The knights, overwhelmed by her momentum, made way for her with dumbfounded expressions. Sebelia passed them with a kind smile.

“Thank you.”

The faces of the knights who received the smile turned red, but Sebelia didn’t see it. The path leading into the canyon was so narrow that she had no time to look elsewhere.

Whoosh-!

A cold wind scratched her cheek. It was such a strong wind that it was hard to keep her eyes open. Sebelia supported herself with her hands between the collapsed rock walls and took one step at a time.

She moved her steps towards him, who should be waiting for her with an indifferent appearance. Finally, a light as thin as a line spread widely as if tearing sideways. Through the widened field of vision, she could see the figures of knights going back and forth in a daze and dozens of tents.

Anyone could tell at a glance: a tall tent surrounded by black cloth. The black tent, which was clearly Dihart’s, was closest to the cliff and farthest from Sebelia.

“Organize everything you’ve hidden so that it can be taken to the medical center. And…”

“Lord Duke, please get treatment first.”

“Shut up unless you want to see the canyon below again.”

And below that, there was Dihart. He was giving orders without rest, covered in rubble and with blood dried on his neck. A cold light lingered in Sebelia’s blue eyes.