After I Died, My Husband Went Mad - Chapter 7
“Departing!”
“Hey, don’t dawdle. There’s a mountain of cargo still to load!”
A bustling port, filled with the raucous cries of seagulls and sailors, assaulted Dehart’s eardrums.
“So noisy and filthy.”
Dehart squeezed his throbbing head between his fingers, forcing his eyes open. Everywhere he looked, it was chaotic and dirty.
And the horrendous smell. His vision was already compromised, and if he stayed any longer, he’d lose his sense of smell.
“Damn it…”
However, despite cursing under his breath, Dehart didn’t leave his spot, and for good reason. Just recently, information had come in that the stolen ore from the mine had made its way here.
[Are you alright, Duke?]
Ryan had been worried that the news would make him feel betrayed, but…Dehart only laughed.
[Yes, there is no way anyone would betray me.]
He said dryly, and Ryan gave him a look.
I don’t know.
Dehart shrugged and clenched his fist. The wind, heavy with a salty scent, brushed past his shoulders.
“Ha.”
He didn’t trust anyone anyway. It was in his nature. He felt no particular guilt.
But betrayal? Feeling that from someone he never trusted in the first place? That was ridiculous.
“It was bound to happen sooner or later.”
Dehart twisted the corners of his mouth as he gazed at the restless sea. In the end, this incident only confirmed his suspicions.
Anyone, no matter how long they stayed by his side or sacrificed for him, was someone who could turn their back on him at any time.
Yes, just like she had betrayed him.
“…”
Dehart’s face sank as he remembered Sebelia.
His once firm face turned as cold and sharp as a frozen ice wall. Seeing him from a distance, the women who had been shyly admiring him were taken aback.
“Oh my, that man…”
“Something bad must have happened. Let’s just go.”
His black tousled hair and languid golden eyes exuded a sudden venomous energy. Especially his once gentle golden eyes darkened as if veiled by somberness.
“Sir.” Ryan approached, purposely calling him something other than Duke. “We’ve caught their trail. What do you want to do?”
“I can’t keep them waiting.”
“Then…”
“Let’s go. If they’re so easily tracked, leaving it be will only invite further misunderstandings.”
“What kind of misunderstanding are you talking about?”
Dehart smirked as he slipped on the black leather gloves Ryan handed him. “The only traitor I leave alive is my wife.”
“Ah.”
“I can’t let a bunch of lowlifes walk around like they’re my wife, can I?”
Dehart looked up at the shadows overheard. Dark clouds were rolling in from offshore.
“Perfect timing.”
* * *
When will you learn?
Sebelia looked down from her window at Nathan, who was being led to the carriage, shouting incoherently.
If he goes back like that, he’d most likely be in trouble with their father. After all, Nathan’s inclination to obsess over reputation was something he inherited from him.
“I used to be like that as well.”
In truth, she feared abandonment more than any humiliation from anyone smearing her honor.
“I wonder why I wanted to be loved so badly.”
Her father had never spared her one warm glance. Her knuckles turned white on the windowsill. “Why did I want to be accepted so badly…”
She couldn’t help but let out a pained smile. Being called unable to learn was one of the things she heard most in the manor. Her father had always locked her in a closet, calling her a useless brat who will never learn. Each time, Sebelia questioned herself from within the wardrobe about what she had done wrong.
[I should never take a bite of food again.]
[I’ll use the silverware properly this time.]
[Don’t disappoint Father…]
After repeating these phrases a thousand times, Denisa would eventually pull her out of the wardrobe, crying.
But in the end, I was driven away even from the dining table.
Every time she saw her father’s face, she would tremble and lose her grip on her cutlery. She couldn’t reconcile with her family until she married Dehart.
Well, she ultimately ended up in the same situation even after her marriage.
“Ugh!” Perhaps it was the memory, or perhaps it was just her body warning her, but she felt as if someone was striking her chest with a sledgehammer, that claws were digging into her organs.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, she lay down on the floor, hunching her body as if trying to contain the pain, swallowing it down as if managing her sorrow. “Ha…”
By the time the pain subsided, her back had gotten damp from cold sweat. Sebelia slowly opened her eyes. When she was young, Nelia used to come and find her in this position under the bed.
She used to tease me, telling me that it was such a silly way to cheer myself up.
[If you feel bad, just buy some jewelry.]
She would say that, genuinely puzzled. But only Nelia was allowed to do such a thing. Sebelia took a deep breath to distract herself.
Come to think of it, she also chose the jewelry I brought as a dowry.
Originally, Nelia was the one betrothed to Dehart, so everything had been tailored to her taste. Realizing that, Sebelia blinked as if she had an idea.
“…Then they must be quite expensive.”
She hadn’t considered them as hers until now.
“It’s fortunate I didn’t leave that day.” Sebelia sighed, grateful to Denisa. If she sold Nelia’s jewelry, she wouldn’t have to worry about money.
“I’ll have to ask the butler for the key to the underground vault.” Sebelia smiled, still damp with cold sweat. “Be—”
Suddenly, a bluebird approached and leaned against her cheek.
