After I Died, My Husband Went Mad - Chapter 4
Their marriage wasn’t entirely awful, absurdly enough. The bride the central nobility had given him was an illegitimate child, as if to stir up his trauma, but Sebelia herself wasn’t all that bad.
Dehart didn’t like that. After all, what was a peaceful present but a stepping stone for a future filled with trials and tribulations?
Especially for someone as unfortunate as himself.
At that moment, Ryan’s voice cut in as if to wipe away his worries. “You seem to be doing quite well.”
“Is it time to hire a new adjutant? You’re throwing jokes at me.” Dehart, staring at Ryan with deep regret in his eyes, twirled his pen.
“But don’t we have meals together every time, even today…?”
Ryan quickly finished his work and smiled kindly, looking at Dehart. “It’s good to see you working so energetically to finish work early.”
“It seems like it’s really time to hire a successor.”
Dehart clicked his tongue and rose from his seat, already pulling on his coat. To anyone who saw him, he looked like a newlywed rushing home from work to his eagerly waiting bride. Although he would never admit it and claimed it was for surveillance.
“That woman has peculiar tastes. She likes strange spices. I wonder where she picked up that habit…” Dehart was grumbling but also meticulously piecing together her tastes, all the while insisting that it was merely for gathering information on this untrustworthy woman.
“Anyway, we need to understand her intentions. Just because she brushes it off with a smile, doesn’t mean we should keep letting things slide.”
Ryan shook his head at his boss’s strange determination. But the strange peace didn’t last as long as he expected.
“Explain yourself, my Lady.”
“Dehart, I am… I…”
Her beautiful and gentle facade shattered into pieces, piercing his heart. Faced with that undeniable pain, Dehart had no choice but to admit it, albeit belatedly.
He’d been foolish enough to let her into his heart.
* * *
“Damn you.”
Dehart, having awakened from his slumber, covered his face and swore under his breath.
“Damn it.”
He gritted his teeth hard, clutching at his wildly beating heart. He blinked his eyes slowly, laughing at his own stupidity. Deceived by her innocent act, he found himself dreaming about, reliving it over and over again.
“Betrayed again, I have nothing to say.”
He looked out the window where dawn was breaking, smiling with a pale face.
* * *
BANG, BANG, BANG!
Waking up in a daze, Sebelia thought there was an earthquake.
Knock, knock, knock!
But it wasn’t an earthquake. It was a new visitor.
“Sebelia! Open this door right now!”
An unwanted visitor, too.
“Sebelia!”
A booming voice repeatedly pounded on the door, followed by words mixed with concern as if they were pleading with her.
“You don’t need to be swayed by dirty rumors, didn’t I say that? Hurry up and open the door. I, your brother, don’t believe in such things…!”
What nonsense is this… Wait.
Sebelia stiffened, realizing that the pretentious and ostentatious voice on the other side of the door was familiar.
Nathan.
Nathan, her half-brother, and Nelia’s twin. He was the one who advocated sending her to the Duke of Inverness as a replacement for Nelia.
[I think it would be better to send Sebelia up north rather than Nelia, she’ll fit in better there. Don’t worry about her getting into trouble. I’ll visit her often.]
Nathan said that in front of Nelia, who cried out that she didn’t want to go to the North, asking if he was asking her to die.
[Hmm.]
Nathan calmly stated his case, and their father seemed to accept his nonsense masquerading as logic.
And so, Sebelia’s marriage was decided.
Of course, naturally, Nathan didn’t keep his promise. He didn’t even set foot in Inverness, let alone the North. But what could she do? Sebelia had already become the Duchess of the North, and Nathan was destined to live his life in the capital.
So, Sebelia was never given the opportunity or the right to hold him accountable for his lies. Yet the very person who had traded her away was now calling for her from outside that door.
Bang!
“Are you planning to keep worrying our father like this… Damn it, please open the door!”
Nathan shook the door more vigorously as if it were an enthusiastic greeting. The latch finally started to rattle.
“Ha…”
Sebelia shooed the bird away from my bedside table once and pulled her cardigan over her nightclothes.
It was clear that Nathan wouldn’t wait long. There was no time for a casual change of clothes.
Besides….
The way he’s making such a fuss, it seems like he’s already spoken with the butler.
Seeing that none of the servants came running, it seemed like there was tacit approval.
That was when it happened.
Snap.
The door finally broke off its hinges and fell to the floor.
Thud!
“Cough…”
Dust floated in the wind. Sebelia stumbled backward, her hand casually covering her mouth. Nathan strode straight to her.
“Sebelia, there you are.”
