After I Died, My Husband Went Mad [EN]: Chapter 87

“Hmm……”

“Mr. Claude?”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Sevelia frowned at the constant, worried sounds. Claude acknowledged his mistake and raised both hands in surrender.

“I’ll be quiet from now on.”

Sevelia stared at him with a furrowed brow. She wasn’t very trusting, but there was nothing she could do. Even if he was unreliable, he was still her teacher.

“Please do.”

Sevelia sighed and lowered her head again to finish the letter to Denisa. Claude closed his mouth, keeping his promise, and turned his gaze out the window.

‘It’s quieter than I thought. Lizia’s matter also passed without much trouble… Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like I need to intervene.’

In fact, Claude had subtly sensed that Dihart’s mood had been at its worst lately.

‘But I should still carry the control device, just in case.’

He may be in a sorry state now, but he was once called the genius of Inverness. If he concentrated hard enough, he could sense the power fluctuations emanating from his bloodline.

Dihart, as he sensed, was like a glass of water about to overflow. He was barely controlling his power, but the problem was beneath the surface. Unable to contain his fluctuating emotions, even his power was becoming unstable.

However, his power was directed inward, not outward. Instead of raising prickly thorns like a hedgehog, he was wielding sharp spears against himself.

The reason Claude hadn’t visited him was because of this.

‘He should have experienced this ten years ago.’

Among the Inverness bloodline, those born with a strong affinity for lightning often lose control of their powers and go on rampages in their youth. Usually, such rampages involve power erupting outward, which is actually easier to manage.

In this way, they undergo repeated small rampages from a young age, managing and learning from them, while simultaneously experiencing mental growth. They achieve mental maturity by seeing how their unrestrained power and arrogance based on that power hurt their family and trouble those around them.

It was a kind of growing pain, a coming-of-age ceremony unique to Inverness.

However, Dihart did not go through that process, and his strength was constantly fueled as if it were the only truth. His arrogance grew endlessly, and there was no one to stop him.

Moreover, Claude heard from the Inverness knights a few days ago that he didn’t trust people in the first place, so when people suffered and left him, he would scoff and say he knew it would happen.

As a result, Dihart ultimately failed to cherish the one he loved and was now experiencing belated growing pains in regret and self-reproach. It was a foolish and bitter end.

“Because of me……”

Claude bit his lip, startled by the sincerity that had unintentionally slipped out. A fleeting sense of guilt crossed his golden eyes.

‘If only my brother were still alive.’

If I hadn’t done such foolish things, Dihart would have grown up normally. He suppressed the surging emotions and swallowed a cold breath.

‘But I don’t need to worry anymore.’

Feeling the power fluctuations gradually subside, Claude sighed. Whatever happened with Lizia, the violently swirling power had been gradually calming down since he kicked her out.

But the curiosity remained.

‘What on earth broke your arrogance?’

Even when he met his wife again, whom he thought was dead, his power was never directed at himself. What happened that made him unable to forgive himself and draw his sword against himself?

How much of a shock did he receive that shattered your small, narrow world?

Claude rested his chin on his hand and gazed out the window. Across the courtyard, he could see Dihart’s office. He thought he caught a glimpse of Dihart’s profile standing blankly by the half-open curtains.

* * *

As time passed, it was evening. Claude returned to his room early. Sevelia fiddled with the letter she would send tomorrow before getting up.

It seemed Dihart would be holed up in his office again today. Sevelia glanced out the window and left her room, where she encountered an unexpected person.

“Mr. Wartz?”

“Ah, good. I was just on my way to see Miss Bella.”

It was Wartz. Sevelia couldn’t hide her bewilderment at his earlier-than-expected visit, so he calmly explained the situation.

“The medicine was made earlier than expected, so I came down early to talk to Miss Bella. If you don’t have any dinner plans, I would like to ask for some of your time.”

“I don’t have any other plans. I can always request a meal later… Um, come in for now. We can’t keep talking in the hallway.”

Sevelia frowned as she noticed a gaze glancing at them from the corner of the hallway. Whoever it was, it was definitely one of the mansion’s servants. Perhaps sensing her gaze, the eavesdropper was startled and hid.

“Come in.”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

The door clicked shut. A moment later, a maid emerged from the shadows in the corner of the hallway. It was the maid who had once been fooled by Sevelia’s illusion.

* * *

“Let me give you the medicine first.”

The vial placed in Sevelia’s hand with a nonchalant remark was small and light. A strange emotion filled Sevelia’s heart as she held the cold vial.

‘Is this the weight of my life?’

When she shook the vial, the pills collided with each other, making a small sound. To others, it would clearly be just a small pile of medicine that could fit in one hand. But to Sevelia, it was like a key to unlocking the future.

“Finally……”

Sevelia let out a trembling breath and leaned her forehead against the hand holding the vial. The tension that had been subtly tightening her body was released, and she felt dizzy.

“I’m sorry it’s so late.”

“No, no. It wasn’t Mr. Wartz’s fault.”

Sevelia shook her head vigorously. Her hair, which now slightly covered her shoulders, rippled with the movement.

“Let’s bury the past, shall we? It’s all over now……”

Sevelia couldn’t continue speaking due to the overwhelming emotions. The twists and turns she had gone through flashed through her mind.

“Hoo, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. I understand well enough. Would you mind if I made some tea?”

“Yes. What you need is over there.”

Sevelia pointed with difficulty to a simple cooking device made using a magic-infused stone slab. Wartz nodded and got up.

While Sevelia calmed herself, he boiled water and brewed tea. Only when the steaming vapor filled the room and Wartz placed a cup in front of her was Sevelia able to return to her usual self.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. It’s what I always did at the lab.”

“I guess so……”

With a faint smile, Sevelia took a sip of the tea. A pleasant aroma filled her mouth and flowed down her esophagus with the hot warmth.

It was the moment when Sevelia let out a low moan at the feeling of her whole body warming up. Wartz brought up his second purpose. It was the reason he had moved up the date and come down from the lab.

“Now that the medicine is complete, I think we should revisit the promise we made before.”

“Promise?”

“I’m talking about the promise we made in case we couldn’t find the glass snowdrop in the canyon.”

“Ah.”

With the teacup in her hands, Sevelia’s eyes widened. She had followed Claude, who had lost his reason, all the way to the canyon, and after that, her mind had been filled with thoughts of Dihart, so she had completely forgotten about it.

“You’re talking about the trade with Lockwood. That’s right, we did. I asked for Mr. Wartz’s help to secure the glass snowdrop.”

“To be precise, it wasn’t a request but compensation for my immature sense of responsibility.”

“You’re being too harsh on yourself.”

“I deserved it.”

“We decided to bury the past, Mr. Wartz.”

Sevelia shook her head, releasing her grip on the teacup. She paused for a moment, then clasped her hands together and said cautiously.

“If it’s okay, could I have some time to think about that matter?”

“Even though the cure is complete, you still want to pursue acquiring the glass snowdrop?”

Wartz blinked slowly at the unexpected words. Sevelia shook her head slightly and replied.

“That’s not it. But… um. This is the first time I’m saying this directly.”

“Miss Bella?”

“You said my illness originated from my mother, right? Actually, since then, I keep thinking that I might have relatives there. I’m sorry to say this, but the trade with Lockwood wasn’t just about finding medicine.”

“Ah.”

Wartz finally understood the meaning of what Sevelia was trying to say. Now that the cure was complete, what was important to her was not the glass snowdrop.

In the ‘trade with Lockwood,’ the emphasis was now on Lockwood itself. The hometown of her mother, whose name she didn’t even know. The land where relatives she had never seen lived.

“Now the trade is just an excuse… but I still want to open the doors of Lockwood. I want to find any possible family.”

“Do you want to know about your mother?”

“Ah, no. That’s not it.”

Sevelia denied Wartz’s words with a firm attitude. Wartz’s mouth fell open, thinking it was because of her longing for her mother. Sevelia smiled slightly at the sight. She knew he saw her as more fragile than she actually was. But this time, he was wrong.

“It’s not for sentimental reasons. Above all, I don’t want to find a mother who hasn’t looked for me even after I’ve become this old. I just… I just want to know how the people who are my family lived and passed away.”

Sevelia, who had murmured quietly, added in a dry voice.

“As Mr. Wartz said, family history has a big impact on illness. I don’t want to face a serious threat to my life without any preparation.”

Sevelia’s gaze drifted past Wartz towards the side table behind him. Inside the drawer of the side table was the letter to Denisa.

“I have to do it, even for my only family.”