After I Died, My Husband Went Mad - Chapter 119
“Even if you give your life for me.”
The once gleaming golden eyes slowly began to dry up. The eyes, which were about to wither and crack, looked up at her.
In that moment, a powerful impulse stirred inside Sebelia’s chest. She slightly leaned forward and whispered in his ear.
“Dehart, I am generous to those who know their place.”
His chest heaved sharply. Dehart looked at her with trembling eyes, and thoughts of the words he had once spat at her resurfaced in his mind.
[I’m generous to those who know their place.]
That was what Dehart had said to Sebelia the first time they met. And the next words were:
“And I want to believe that you’re such a person.”
[And I want to believe that you’re such a person.]
“Please don’t disappoint me, Mr. Dehart.”
[Please don’t disappoint me, Madam.]
With those last words whispered in his ear, Sebelia turned and walked away, leaving Dehart behind.
“Ha.”
Sebelia admitted to herself that she had ultimately been defeated by her emotions.
The specters of the past resurfaced and engulfed her. And yet, despite knowing this, she stood idly by. She had acted in direct opposition to her own resolve.
But strangely enough, instead of a feeling of defeat, a deep sense of satisfaction filled her chest.
It felt like the long-held tension inside her was finally released.
* * *
That evening, Claude returned to the research facility. Instantly, he realized that something had happened between the two. One was anxiously fidgeting, while the other remained perfectly composed.
Naturally, the anxious one was Dehart, and the composed one was Sebelia.
“Tch.”
After dinner, Claude called Dehart to his room, who, like a deflated puppy, slumped onto the bed with a darkened face.
“I can guess roughly what happened while I was gone.”
“….”
“You were caught, weren’t you? That you’re not suffering from amnesia.”
“To be precise, I wasn’t exactly caught. She suddenly asked me if I had decided to forget my past altogether. And I realized I couldn’t keep lying any longer.”
Dehart continued, looking down at his empty hands.
“If I say I’ve forgotten my past, I’m agreeing to her life as Bella, the person she has chosen. But if I say I haven’t, I’ll have to work to recover the past, and that would probably feel like a threat to her. In the end, if neither option would lead to a satisfactory result, I had no choice but to ask for her forgiveness honestly.”
But forgiveness wasn’t granted. Sebelia herself refused to be the one to offer it, and that was something Dehart couldn’t change.
“So this is what happened.”
In the end, all that remained in this situation was a foolish man begging for forgiveness that would never be accepted. Dehart muttered quietly as he leaned his head against the wall.
“Pathetic.”
Claude clicked his tongue as he pulled out Eli’s letter from his bag. His nephew’s heartbreak was pitiable, but that was all. He was a man abandoned by Sebelia, but he was also the Duke of Inverness.
“As a fellow man, I feel sorry for you, but as a member of the Inverness family, honestly, I think it’s for the best. We can’t waste time clinging to a problem that has no answer.”
Dehart’s eyes, which had been fixed on the ceiling, slowly lowered to meet Claude’s gaze. In his golden eyes, an intense emotion burned like a flame.
Claude threw Eli’s letter at him and said:
“You’ve gotten the answer you’ve been searching for, now it’s time to return to your duties, nephew. I brought a letter from Sir Eli, and I also brought some newspapers from the last few days. Take a good look and understand what has happened while you’ve neglected your responsibilities.”
Dehart stared at him with intense eyes, slowly tearing open the letter. The envelope was ruthlessly ripped apart and the thick pages of the letter turned one by one.
[May this letter reach the Duke.]
The letter, which began with this, was filled with secrets, painstakingly revealed despite Claude’s suspicions, yet there was no choice but to trust him. Anger surged through Dehart’s eyes that were as clear as the sun.
“Hah.”
The Marquis of Limms had defiled his domain. That arrogant old man had stirred up chaos as though he were the rightful owner of Hillend Hall, even recruiting surrounding nobles and inciting public opinion by claiming that Gren and Lash had been unjustly detained.
If things continued this way, Gren and Lash would emerge as innocent victims, proudly walking away from Hillend Hall.
“How dare he.”
With the sound of the letter crumpling, Dehart’s hand reached toward Claude. Claude didn’t hesitate to hand him the newspapers. They, too, met the same fate as the letter.
“Now you should have a better understanding of what’s going on.”
“…Right.”
“Then go back and do what you must, Duke of Inverness.”
Claude’s words were meant for him to leave behind his feelings for Sebelia and return to his duties. Dehart nodded in response.
“That’s what I’ll do.”
What Claude couldn’t have imagined was that Dehart had interpreted his words in an entirely different way.
