After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 82

Dihart, clutching his throbbing head as he walked down the hall, belatedly noticed the stares directed his way.

“Tsk.”

Already irritated from shaking off the persistent members of Baron Supredi’s family, he didn’t bother to hide his displeasure and raised his head. He immediately regretted it, his hand dropping from his temple.

“Bella.”

Her name escaped his lips in a flustered whisper. Sebelia, standing amidst a beautiful display of flowers at the end of the hallway, slowly approached him.

“You’re late.”

The calm voice held neither reproach nor rebuke, yet it made Dihart’s heart feel even colder. Her composed eyes sought simple answers from him.

For instance, why he was so late, why his complexion was so poor, and whether he remembered their promise to have dinner together.

‘Damn it.’

Dihart bit the inside of his cheek, hoping Sebelia wouldn’t notice. He had promised to return before dinner and then broken that promise. Shame and guilt pierced his heart.

“If you could spare me a moment…”

Dihart barely managed to part his parched lips, ready to string together some pathetic excuses, when the blue eyes that had been fixed on him shifted direction without hesitation.

Sebelia turned and breezily brushed past him. Then, a clear voice echoed through the hall.

“When you didn’t show up even in the morning, I assumed you were staying at the Baron’s mansion. You must have been busy, so go up and rest.”

Dihart was taken aback by her nonchalant attitude. He had expected a confrontation. Frozen in place, unsure of what to do, he soon followed after Sebelia.

“That’s not it. Staying over? I didn’t even touch the bedding in the Baron’s mansion.”

“Is that so?”

“Why don’t you believe me? I really didn’t even lay my head on the pillow. Of course, the dinner appointment…”

Dihart, trailing behind Sebelia and making excuses, shut his mouth when he saw Illei approaching from the opposite direction. With his index finger and thumb, he very slightly, almost imperceptibly, tugged on Sebelia’s sleeve.

“Ah.”

Startled by the sudden touch, Sebelia widened her eyes and turned around, about to call Dihart’s name without thinking.

“Oh!”

Illei, spotting the two of them, smiled brightly and hurried down the hallway. His hollow eyes and rough cheeks were no less weary than Dihart’s, who had been tormented by Baron Supredi and Licia all night.

“Good morning, Miss Bella. And Your Grace. My goodness, you’re back so early. After we spent all night moving and organizing the luggage and documents in the lodgings!”

“……”

Dihart’s golden eyes narrowed. He realized Illei was deliberately spouting nonsense.

“Shouldn’t you check if I’ve properly organized Your Grace’s office?”

Dihart, seeing the crazed look in Illei’s eyes, the telltale sign of someone who had stayed up all night, nervously swept back his hair. He was about to chase Illei away with a forced smile when:

“Sir Illei.”

Sebelia stepped forward as if to block him, meeting Illei’s gaze. His weary, grayish-brown eyes stared back at her. As he tilted his head, Sebelia opened her mouth with a soft smile.

“I’m sorry, but Your Grace has a prior engagement with me. It seems you’ll have to postpone looking around the office.”

A low, polite voice flowed sweetly into Illei’s ears.

“Looking around the office is something Sir Illei can do after getting enough sleep. Come to think of it, they’re making buttered lamb skewers for the knights who stayed up all night in the kitchen… Sir Illei, haven’t you heard the news?”

He, half out of his mind from sleep deprivation, widened his eyes at Sebelia’s words. He was already battling a ravenous hunger.

“Lamb skewers? Oh my…”

“The others are already waiting for the food in the dining hall. You should go quickly.”

Just then, a gust of wind swept through the hallway, carrying the tantalizing smell of meat sizzling in the oven.

“Those bastards left me out…! Thank you so much, Miss Bella. Your Grace, I’ll see you later!”

Illei, smacking his lips, barely managed a goodbye and energetically headed down the stairs. Dihart watched, speechless, as his knight was so easily manipulated by Sebelia. Turning to him, Sebelia said in a monotonous voice.

“Follow me.”

“……”

“There was something I was going to give you last night.”

When his eyes met her blue ones, Dihart unknowingly bit his lip. For some reason, he felt like his heart was constantly sinking.

* * *

Sebelia calmly walked away, listening to Dihart’s footsteps behind her. She deliberately chose the stairs at the end of the hallway, instead of the ones Illei had used.

The reason, of course, was to make sure the servants saw them. Dihart, like a large dog off its leash, chased after Sebelia, asking in an anxious voice.

“Can’t you listen to my story, even just for a moment?”

“Tell me what you want to talk about. I’ll listen and then decide.”

“About the Baron’s house…”

“That’s enough about that. I’m not curious.”

“Bella.”

Sebelia glanced back, tucking her hair, which shone like spun gold in the sunlight, behind her ear. Dihart was momentarily captivated by the sight, but he snapped back to attention when he heard Sebelia’s voice.

“Your Grace.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t you think this moment is quite… interesting?”

The whispered voice was as faint as fog. Her blue eyes stared at him, seeming to look right through him.

“What?”

“I guess you can’t hear me well. Then you should lower your head.”

It was a voice so soft it was barely audible unless you concentrated. But for some reason, Dihart heard it clearly. His golden eyes widened.

As he stood there blankly, Sebelia stepped closer and grabbed his collar. It was a light gesture, without any force, but Dihart lowered his waist as she intended.

A distance close enough to feel her breath. Her blue eyes looking at him in the warm sunlight. And even her beautiful smile, smiling brightly. In the hallway at noon, Dihart felt a strange sense of unreality.

He could see the figures of the servants passing through the hallway in his peripheral vision, but his senses were focused solely on her and himself.

It was as if only she and he were real, isolating them from the world.

At this moment, only she and he existed. Everything else was fleeting dust. Only the two of them existed in this world.

“Bel, la.”

Dihart struggled to contain the emotions swelling in his chest, his lips barely moving.

With the sound of shattering glass, the soft and sweet atmosphere that had enveloped him dissipated.

“I really find you amazing, Dihart.”

A sharp barb emerged from her full lips as she gave a short, mirthless laugh.

“I had to beg on my knees to get you to listen to me even once, but you shamelessly follow me around and offer your pathetic excuses.”

“……!”

“I don’t know if I need to remind you one by one of the words you said… but I can’t help it because it amuses me.”

Sebelia muttered something incomprehensible and released his collar. She brushed her hands together as if removing dust, whispering with a smile.

“Okay, I’ll listen to your excuses.”

“Bella.”

Dihart called her name in a choked voice. Sebelia shook her head and said with an exceedingly gentle and sweet expression.

“Of course, I hope that word is worth interrupting my time.”

The softly spoken words didn’t reach the ears of the servants who were watching them from afar, but they were loud enough to pierce Dihart’s heart.

[I hope that word is worth interrupting my time.]

“Ah.”

His karma had returned, aiming its blade at him once more. Whose blood was dripping onto the pale blade? He, blinking with a pale face, soon found the answer.

“Bel, la.”

Did you hurt this much too?

But the time to wallow in pain was only granted for a moment. Gasping for breath, Dihart forced himself to move. He swallowed his humiliating pain as he chased after Sebelia, who had left him behind.

And hearing the dragging sound of his footsteps, Sebelia slowly closed and opened her blue eyes.

‘It’s not just simple guilt after all.’

If it were, he wouldn’t have such a tormented look in his eyes, as if his heart was being torn apart. Sebelia swallowed a bitter smile and clenched her fist.

After gaining insight from seeing him injured in the canyon, she had been exploring the roots of his despair and regret. Was he simply being manipulated by guilt, or was it the sense of loss he felt when the person who had once filled his life disappeared?

Or perhaps…

‘Laughably, is it because you held me in your heart?’