After I Died, My Husband Went Mad

Little by little, rumors of something ominous happening at the Inverness Duke’s mansion started to leak out.

At first, everyone was worried about the Duke’s family, hoping that they, who had every northerner’s affection, would be safe. However, when it became known that the main protagonist of the rumor was the shameless Duchess, people’s attitudes changed drastically.

“I knew this would happen. There’s no way the first Duchess would let that woman be.”

“It’s better to die because of a curse than having your throat slit after being caught as a spy, isn’t it? It’s a more honorable death.”

Gwen, on the other hand, spent each day with an excited heart as the rumors of increasing viciousness circulated.

 Even though she was worried about her husband’s unplanned long absence, things were falling into place quite nicely, so she was fine with the situation.

Stroking her daughter’s head, she said in a languid voice, “They say God loves those who work hard. It’s really true.”

“Huh?” Flora, who was eating fruit nestled in her mother’s arms, looked up with a puzzled expression. “What did you say?”

“It’s nothing. I was just saying how glad I am that our household’s troubles were dealt with,” Gwen answered as her gaze drifted to a drawer.

Inside that drawer was a letter destined to an assassin.

In fact, Gwen had planned to murder Sebelia and stage it as a suicide. All the preparations were already completed.  With just one letter, Sebelia would turn into the tragic Duchess who committed suicide due to all those horrible rumors.

But if she could go crazy and commit suicide because if the curse, it would be neater.

Since Gwen wouldn’t need to get her hands dirty, this was definitely more advantageous.

Smiling with satisfaction, she made eye contact with Flora, but she suddenly grabbed her head in pain, saying,

“But why do I still feel so uneasy?”

“Why are you so anxious for, mother? I’m here.”

Flora, who had been nestled in her arms, raised her head, and Gwen managed to smile at her daughter’s cute pouting face.

“Surely, you are not worried about the curse, are you? You’ve said you don’t believe in ghost stories, mother.”

“Ahah.”

The curse, yes. It was said the first Duchess became a ghost who drove people to their death.

Even after hearing it multiple times, Gwen still frowned at the bizarre tale.

And as if this wasn’t enough, the servants she sent to monitor Sebelia, anticipating when she would die, were all found unconscious.

They all claimed to have seen the ghost in broad daylight, but no such incident happened when Gwen visited the outbuilding herself.

Well, northerners are overly superstitious anyway.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared.

She would have just ignored it if the situation only affected that woman, but…….

“Don’t worry, mother. That bastard child will never be able to hurts us.”

Flora wrapped her arms around Gwen’s waist and snuggling into her arms. As Gwen looked down at her lovely daughter, she immediately made her decision. She had to believe in such nonsense for her daughter’s sake.

Then, taking Flora’s hands into hers, she said, “Speaking of which, I’ve heard there is a skilled sorcerer living not too far from here.”

“Really?”

“Yes. One who is especially knowledgeable about curses….” She smirked and lightly pinched Flora’s cheek. “I know you’re still frightened by this curse thing, sweetheart. You can’t sleep at night because you are afraid that wicked woman might come to drag you away, aren’t you?”

“Well, that’s,” Flora blushed in embarrassment, causing Gwen to burst out laughing.

“Don’t worry. I’ve already called for the sorcerer. He will set up a barrier to isolate the annex and keep the curse from leaking out,” Gwen said, kissing Flora’s forehead. “You’ll be safe.”

“Mother…….”

“So, wait a little longer. I will make you the mistress of Inverness.”

Flora was overwhelmed with gratitude.

“Thank you.” she said, hugging her mother with force, and dreaming of the day she would marry Dehart.

* * *

In the meantime, Denisa had safely sold all the jewels from Sebelia’s dowry.

And even though she had to sell them in a distant city through an intermediary, and for way less than their original price, Sebelia was satisfied with the money they were able to get.

 “You are not greedy enough, miss. That’s the problem.” Denisa sighed as she prepared the meal.

 Maybe because she always had to give up on everything from an early age, Sebelia was a child who was never greedy for anything. 

It was so heartbreaking to see the resignation, and surrender in the little girl’s eyes, Denisa reached out and held the dejected child’s hands without a second thought.

Yes, She, a mere novice maid, dared to sympathize with Sebelia.

Everybody asked if I was crazy back then; Denisa carefully poured the soup into the heated bowl as she reminiscent about the past.

She had even faced criticisms from her parents about how she was jeopardizing her future for the sake of an illegitimate child. But Denisa had no regrets.

[Sebelia deserves to be loved.] she declared then.

And that thought had not changed, even until now.

 In her eyes, no child in the world deserved to be despised and scorned simply because they were born out of wedlock.

Carrying the tray with care, Denisa made her way to Sebelia’s room.

The young woman was still lying in bed with her blanket pulled up to her face, and Denisa chuckled at the sight.

“You haven’t been up on time ever since you moved to the annex. Did you suddenly revert to being a child?” Denisa teased, pulling the blanket down, and sitting next to her on the bed.

“Oh my!” the nanny held chest down in surprise before taking a closer look.

And it was Belita lying there.

“Oh my God. Oh my God.” Denisa’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Denisa?”

“Miss!”

Sebelia appeared, drying her hair with a towel, as if she had just finished taking a shower.

“What’s going on? Ah.” Denisa asked as her gaze turned to Belita, who was still lying on the bed. 

Then, crossing her arms, she glared at the awkwardly smiling Sebelia.

“There is a perfectly logical reason for this,” Sebelia quickly interjected.

“What remarkable reason would justify her being in your bed?”

At Denisa’s sarcastic words, Sebelia hesitated for a moment before taking a seat.

The steam rising from the delicious soup filled the air.

She tried to pick up the spoon but was forced to explain herself first under Denisa insisting gaze.

“The plan is to create a fake corpse of myself and leave. So, I needed to see if the illusion would still work from a long distance.”

Everything Sebelia had conjured so far had never ventured beyond her immediate surroundings.

That was the flaw she found right before her plan truly started.

“Luckily, it seems to be working just fine.”

“If that’s the case, you should have told me beforehand. I almost had a heart attack from the shock.”

“I’m sorry, “Sebelia apologized before taking a bite of the potato soup, and a pleasantly fluffy texture immediately invaded her mouth.

The taste warmed her chest.

“But… it’s really over now, Denisa,” Sebelia said, looking out of the sunlit window with a gentle smile. “I’m finally getting out of this damn house.”

Her blue eyes glistened faintly in the sunlight.

 

* * *

The outskirts of the city, were nothing could be seen, were covered in a damp, and foul smell.

It’s enough to kill my sense of smell permanently.

The stench of blood was unmistakable.

Wearing a disguise, Dehart was still trailing Rash while maintaining a safe distance.

But who the hell made this damn road ?

The main path branched off into several others, almost causing him to lose sight of Rash.

After chasing after him for a long time now, his uncle suddenly disappeared behind an impressive, fortified fence with a thick iron gate.

Frowning, Dehart looked at the high gate.

“There must be a guard inside, or…”

 But he suddenly stopped talking as his eyes found something on it.

 “Oh-oh.”

His fingertips brushed the edge of the iron gate, then with a subtle vibrating sound, strange patterns emerged on it.

“It’s enchanted black iron.”

Well, in that case, there’s no need to hesitate.

With a sly grin, he suddenly raised his arms, startling Ryan into stepping away.

Kwang-!

Everything happened in a matter of seconds.

Golden-tinged white thorns cut through the air, splitting the iron gate in two.

Crash…….

Then, Dehart kicked the destroyed gate and stepped inside the enclosure with a weird expression on his face, while Ryan followed behind, swallowing a sigh.

“Wh…what’s going on?”

“It’s the entrance. Get moving!”

The sound of people moving in a panicked manner could be heard from afar.

Must be the filthy rats guarding this place, no doubt.

“We should clean this up before the commotion gets bigger.” Dehart declared, a white light starting to rise within his golden eyes, making Ryan clung to the fence even more desperately.

No matter how eager you are to go back, isn’t this a bit too much?

Although the complaint rose to the top of Ryan’s throat, it didn’t reach his master’s ears.

And soon enough, the noise that had been ringing loudly in DeHart’s ears turned to silence.

“Ahhh! Much better now. Look at this,” Dehart chuckled, turning his wrist to brush the blood off his sword, DeHart chuckled.

When he opened his eyes, which were now dyed white, Rash’s voice could be heard from inside the building.

“……Thank you for your work … Amazing skills……. As soon as possible . . .”

“…Then……. next time…while waiting….”

“I haven’t heard from my wife yet…”

Dehart, who had been concentrating on what was being said with his eyes closed, suddenly shook his head.

“Ha……. Haha.” An empty laugh echoed over the corpses.

He was struggling to make sense of the words he had just heard.

Scandals about her were spread throughout the Empire? There’s an assassin waiting to kill her and disguise her death as a suicide?

Am I hearing this correctly? he asked himself, burying his face in his hands, and letting out a tortured groan.

As realization settled in, white rays started to flicker uncontrollably from his back.

How dare they!

How dare they!

How dare they!….

A dreadful feeling was seeping into his body.

Seeping into his bloodstream.

Making his heart throbbed violently.

“……Ryan!” Dehart called.

Between his fingers, two pupils gleamed with madness. 

And before Ryan knew it, he found himself standing in front of the man.

“Go north at once. Go and get my wife to safety.”

His grim voice echoed through the blood-stained corridor.

“Don’t inform anyone…. Even my aunt and the butler. Don’t inform anyone about your intentions. Proceed quickly.”

Since even Rash stabbed him in the back, no one else could be trusted.

Dehart looked away from the retreating Ryan–who was trying to not make direct eye contact—he removed his blood-soaked gloves before tossing them away.

Sebelia…, please be safe; he pleaded in his heart.

But at that time, he couldn’t have known.

He couldn’t have known that his Sebelia had already left the mansion.