After I Died, My Husband Went Mad - Chapter 138
The two pieces of cloud surrounding the sun turned golden, reminding Sebelia of the shimmering golden eyes she had seen before. She turned her gaze away from the window.
“Maya.”
The soft touch of a paw gently tapped her hand. It seemed like Maya was trying to catch the snowflakes Sebelia had summoned with her illusion magic.
“Not too cold, right?”
With a soft grunt, Maya swiped at the floating snowflakes with her paw. Sebelia chuckled quietly and scattered dozens of snowflakes around Maya.
The reason Sebelia had suddenly created the snowflakes was because of Claude.
[This is your first task. Create something very small and delicate, and try to transform them.]
He had accepted Sebelia’s request to teach her illusion magic. However, he had firmly refused any form of payment. Instead, he insisted that Sebelia consider him as her mentor.
[You want a neat, transactional relationship, don’t you? But that’s not how teaching works, especially among illusionists. So, if you don’t want to regard me as your mentor, you can stop right now.]
But she couldn’t stop. Illusion magic had been the greatest help for her in overcoming hardships. Without it, she would never have escaped from Hillend Hall or made it to Surfredi.
And I would have died thinking I had leahies disease, wasting away in despair.
Ultimately, Sebelia agreed to Claude’s suggestion and accepted him as her mentor, learning illusion magic.
She hadn’t wanted to form such a mentor-student relationship, especially considering her connection with Dehart, but there was no other option. Perhaps sensing her hesitation, Claude had said something to ease her worries.
[From now on, I’ll treat you as my student, Miss Bella. I won’t interfere in your relationships with anyone else, so you don’t need to worry about that.]
His words were so clear and decisive that it eased all her concerns. It felt like everything would go smoothly, but that was until just yesterday.
“Why did I have to dream that dream?”
Sebelia sighed and laid her head on the table. She had dreamt again of boating on a lake. The person whose face had been obscured by mist was, inevitably… Dehart.
“Ha.”
Sebelia, normally so composed, felt lost in her emotions. She couldn’t make sense of her feelings. All she knew was that the situation felt confusing, and she couldn’t see a way forward.
I thought all I had left for you was resentment.
Sebelia lowered her head, fiddling with the silver cross necklace that she hadn’t returned.
When he was in front of her, the pain in her heart and the resentment made her think that it would be better not to look at him. But now, left alone, even that didn’t feel right.
“It’s been a week today, hasn’t it?”
It had been a week since Dehart left for the valley, yet there had been no news. Trying to ignore it was no longer an option. She had subtly asked Claude about it yesterday, but it was useless.
[Sorry. I haven’t heard anything either.]
“Yeah, things can’t possibly go that smoothly.”
Sebelia rested her chin on her hand. A deep sigh escaped her. She recalled the confident look on Dehart’s face as he left the lab.
“Ha…”
Maya, noticing something was wrong, looked up at her. But Sebelia just shook her head in silence.
“It’s nothing. Go play.”
Sebelia summoned a few canaries instead of the bluebird and sent them flying over Maya’s head. Soon, she heard the sound of wings flapping, and Maya was gone, far off into the distance. Sebelia tried to push her thoughts of Dehart away along with Maya.
It was time for her to focus on her own health. Yes, just as he had said.
[You should focus only on your health.]
At the time, those words made her so angry, she didn’t know what to do with herself. But now, after some time, she realized that he wasn’t wrong. After the herb storage burned down, she had neglected even her own well-being.
But Dehart, who had gone to find the herbs, hadn’t returned for a week. Sebelia hid a bitter smile with her hand and swallowed her sigh.
What should I do now?
There was something everyone had overlooked while fixating on the dangers of the valley. The valley might be a suitable place for the glass flowers to grow, but that didn’t necessarily mean the flowers would be there.
But what could be done? Dehart had already gone, and she hadn’t been able to stop him, even though she needed the medicine. All that was left was the growing anxiety, the passing time, and the steadily diminishing money.
I need to start thinking about reality.
She had to prepare for the possibility that Dehart wouldn’t be able to bring back the glass flower. She was thinking of persuading the optimistic Watts to help her get the flower from the mountains of Lockwood.
“Since they’ve recently opened trade routes, there’s a chance.”
The money needed to buy the herbs was, admittedly, something Sebelia felt guilty asking for, but Claude had offered to support her. She had initially refused, but Claude was insistent.
“Why are all the people from Inverness so stubborn?”
Sebelia sighed as she colored the transparent snowflakes with a touch. With a simple wave of her hand, dozens of snowflakes shimmered with brilliant colors, drifting slowly through the air.
