After I Died, My Husband Went Mad - Chapter 108
When Dehart returned after rinsing all five blankets, Sebelia was not there. He glanced at the half-empty cookie basket and went up the stairs, thinking she had returned to her room.
“I just hope he doesn’t get any more worked up after receiving that letter.”
Dehart frowned as he picked up a pen. He felt uneasy knowing that Eli would likely incite Baron Suffredi to invade the Sixth Road. But what could he do? It was his fault for having forgotten about them until now.
Scratch, scratch.
The content of the letter was simple. It ordered him to remain quietly where he was, as he was staying at the so-called Sixth Road and there was nothing to worry about.
“Hm.”
But just sending the letter to Claude would surely raise suspicions. After pondering, Dehart hesitated, loosening his pendant. He stared at Sebelia’s portrait for a while before ultimately placing the pendant inside the envelope.
If he can’t figure this out, he’ll be dismissed the moment I return to Hillend Hall.
Dehart took the envelope and went down the stairs, where he ran into Claude entering the foyer.
“You prepared it already?”
Claude looked surprised as he took the letter envelope from him.
“It’s not a long task, after all.”
“Right… So, I just need to deliver this to that knight Eli, correct? Let me double-check: light blonde hair, grayish-brown eyes, ornament at the waist, right?”
As Claude recited the description again, Dehart nodded silently. Claude also nodded and tucked the envelope into his pocket.
“Leave the rest to me. Oh, could you ask Bella if she’s okay with the dinner menu? We’re going to grill trout in butter, and I’m not sure if she’ll like it.”
“She’ll probably like it.”
Leaving Claude heading to the kitchen, Dehart knocked on Sebelia’s door.
Knock, knock.
“…….”
People have instincts. It’s a momentary sense honed by accumulated experience. In the brief moment the knock echoed in the empty room, Dehart instinctively felt something.
No way.
Click, he opened the door. Sebelia was not in the room. His eyes fell upon the neatly arranged bedding, a small table, and the wardrobe.
The sight was strikingly similar to her small room at Hillend Hall. Dehart felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. The trauma yawned wide and threatened to swallow him whole.
“Hah.”
He stumbled and leaned against the wall. For a moment, he thought he was back in Hillend Hall. An empty, desolate room without her, the charred furniture, and he was transported back to the moment he saw her illusion there.
Calm down.
This isn’t Hillend Hall, and she must be somewhere else. Does it make sense that she ran away just because she’s not in the room? Think rationally, Dehart. For heaven’s sake, stop making a fuss.
He took a deep breath, feeling the heated pressure of the restraint in his ears.
“It’s nothing serious. She’s here. She hasn’t disappeared. Nothing has happened. There’s no reason for her to leave, right?”
This was a side effect that had developed since he learned Sebelia was alive. He hadn’t been this obsessed when he thought she was fake. But after realizing the truth, his anxiety had intensified.
“Phew…”
His heart was racing like it might burst at any moment. He clutched his head and groaned before fleeing the room.
He forced himself to calmly search every room on the first floor. Watts, rummaging through something in the study, looked at him disapprovingly as he burst in, but Dehart didn’t care.
She’s not on the first floor.
Since Watts wasn’t in the basement laboratory, she wouldn’t be there either. Ignoring his pounding heart, Dehart climbed the stairs, holding back the urge to shout her name.
She might be asleep somewhere. I shouldn’t startle her by making a fuss.
He tried to act calmly and rationally. However, the movements of opening and closing doors became increasingly rough. Bang, bang! The consecutive slams of doors made Claude, who was preparing lunch downstairs, widen his eyes in surprise.
“She’s not here either.”
The anxiety was growing stronger. His mind, worn down by the loss of Sebelia, was easily shaken by the slightest jolt. With trembling hands, he gripped the railing and headed to the third floor.
She must be here.
But Dehart’s hopes were never meant to be fulfilled. He staggered toward the last door—his own—and opened it.
Whoosh. A chill breeze rushed in through the open window and brushed against his cheek. No one was there. She wasn’t here either. Dehart felt nearly dazed.
“I must have missed somewhere.”
Just as he squeezed his eyes shut and prepared to leave the room again, a small scream slipped through the open window, tickling his ear.
“…!”
It was the garden. Sebelia’s scream echoed from there. In the blink of an eye, Dehart vanished from sight.
* * *
Before Dehart could find her, Sebelia, having spent a short time in the woods and returning, noticed that the two of them were in the backyard and headed toward the garden.
She recalled Watts’s words telling her to stay inside for a while, but she didn’t want to go back in. The stifling atmosphere occasionally felt suffocating.
