After I Died, My Husband Went Mad - Chapter 43
“Hmm…”
Beneath his stoic face, Dehart resisted the urge to burn everything to the ground.
I can see now why I neglected my uncle for all these years.
The moment he met those innocent eyes, he felt an overwhelming urge—a selfish and intense desire to burn everything to ashes, destroy it all, and then die himself.
Maybe I just erased it from my memory because I couldn’t control it.
Dehart took a deep drag of his cigar, calming his merciless mind. Since Sebelia’s death, a fiery pain had periodically surged through him from his chest to his throat.
“Whoa…”
And that fire wanted nothing more than to engulf the entirety of Hillend, burning it to cinders. He wanted to turn every place without her into ashes, to make all those who tormented her moan in agony.
“No, no, not yet.”
That could wait until after he uncovered the truth about Sebelia’s death.
So, not yet. Not yet…
“That would be too easy an end.”
Muttering incomprehensible words, Dehart paced around his study in a manic frenzy. Roger watched him, his eyes wide with horror.
* * *
Baron Wheddon, who had been eager to gain entry to Hillend Hall, was disappointed.
“Oh, no.”
He clicked his tongue and remembered the Inverness mausoleum on the manor grounds.
“I’ll have to check it to be sure…” Lord Wheddon frowned and sighed.
Then, Nathan whispered into his ear, “I have an idea.”
Silas’s eyes fixed on Nathan, his admiration for his son’s cleverness gleaming in his gaze.
“That bastard’s nursemaid,” said Nathan. “She must know something.”
“I’ll take it upon myself to find out,” he added confidently.
* * *
News of Roger’s arrival spread throughout Hillend Hall immediately.
“My god, how could you do this!”
Glenn, who had been waiting for news of her husband, finally appeared. Dehart wondered momentarily if he should be pleased that he finally managed to catch the elusive woman who had been scurrying around like a mouse.
“Roger, what’s going on here?” Glenn asked as she untied the ropes that bound him. “Are you alright?”
Roger looked up at Glenn, his face a mix of emotions. “D-darling.”
“I can’t believe he’s put you through this torture…Unbelievable.”
Glenn cupped Roger’s cheek with a trembling hand and kissed his forehead, praying to the gods. Then she glared at Dehart with fury in her eyes.
“You no longer recognize even your own family and rampage like a thunderstorm. Aren’t you afraid of how Lord Rems might react if he knew of this?”
“I admit, Auntie, it’s hard to recognize my uncle in his current state.” Dehart’s mocking response made Glenn’s eyes widen. “Yet, was it wrong for your nephew to bring his uncle home?”
“You didn’t have to bring him in bound like a criminal!”
“Ah, but you see…”
Dehart dropped his polite tone for a moment, leaving Glenn’s face tinged with confusion.
“I simply gave him the treatment that he was befitting of. What’s the issue?”
“I…I can’t stand this anymore.” Glenn shivered with indignation. “I’ve tolerated you shutting down the manor and ransacking the house on your own terms. But enough is enough, and our family will leave Hillend Hall as it is.”
It was something she had been planning the entire time Hillend Hall had locked down, but Glenn spoke as if the idea had just occurred to her.
“To be treated like this, after raising you like my own child, I can’t take it anymore.”
Glenn intended to leave alongside Roger like wounded parents. Her intentions, however, were entirely different.
Dehart is unpredictable right now. We have no choice but to evade him and plan for the future.
Let him continue to rampage as a lunatic. That way, his reputation and influence would naturally diminish. His capability as a Duke will be questioned and more dissidents will inevitably surface.
That is the day we must reappear.
Glenn, having finished her calculation, maintained her adult demeanor until the very end, feigning composure.
“Farewell, Dehart. Should you ever need my help in the future, let me know and…and we’ll talk again.”
With a bitter smile, Glenn placed her hand on the doorknob.
Click, click.
“…?”
However, the door to the study had long been locked from the outside. Glenn turned her head in surprise only to see Dehart staring at her with an impassive face.
“You…”
“Why are you in such a hurry to leave, Auntie? You’ve been avoiding me for four days now.”
“Dehart, please have some compassion. I have no strength to talk now. I must care for my wounded and sick family.”
Glenn pleaded, her arms wrapped around Roger. “Just let us go.”
But Dehart only shrugged.
“I’m sorry for not meeting your expectations,” Dehart said flatly, gazing at the empty cage on his desk.
“Unfortunately, since you’re the only family I have left, Auntie, I can’t easily let you go.” His tone was one closer to sincerity than sarcasm.
“Now, since you’re here, why don’t you reminisce with me about how things were before Sebelia died?” His golden eyes emitted a cold gleam as he stared at her. “Because I’m very curious about those last few days before she died, those last few days that I know nothing about.”
The moment her eyes locked with those icy golden ones, Glenn realized he wouldn’t let her off so easily.
