After I Died, My Husband Went Mad

“Let’s give it a try.”

Dehart frowned and flicked the necklace with his fingertips.

It was such a exquisite and saintly design for such a simple stone.

“I wonder if she’s aware that she married a cursed Duke. Tsk,” Dehart clicked his tongue disapprovingly before letting out a heavily sigh.

His emotions were shifting so rapidly and dramatically, it would have surprised even Ryan, if the knight was there.

After a moment, he reluctantly took the necklace out of the box.  Then, with delicate movement, he put the necklace on and carefully tucked it inside his shirt where it would remain invisible.

It was like a child who hated onions but forced himself to eat them to not disappoint his favorite teacher.

“Does it suit me?” Dehart asked aloud, intensely staring at himself in the mirror, before shaking his head at his own ridiculousness.”

No matter how much he thought about it, Sebelia and himself didn’t have compatible tastes.

From their preferences to the way they saw things, they were undoubtedly polar opposites. However, he didn’t dislike her to the point of refusing the offered gift.

“……Hmm.”

Then, after tapping the table a few times, he abruptly got up from his seat.

Perhaps because she was from the capital, she often had trouble sleeping if the room wasn’t warm enough.

* * *

Time flew by quickly.

And Dehart unexpectedly realized that his wife wouldn’t have the chance to look inside his shirt.

“Damnit.”

Coincidentally, the weather gradually got warmer, so Ryan recommended a boat ride to him.

But although Dehart had thought about doing it for a moment, an incident that made boating seem undoable soon occurred, chilling him to the bone.

“……Explain what you mean by that again,” Dehart asked.

“There is undoubtedly a mole within our ranks,”

The man, with his head lowered, said with an infuriated expression.

“Most of the people we recently came in contact with have either been injured or turned against us. It seems our secrets are being leaked out.”

At those words, Dehart chuckled briefly as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Suspend the operation, and… make sure you find out who the bastard is,” he ordered, his golden eyes tainted with a chilling light.

* * *

Sebelia had immediately felt that the atmosphere in the mansion was a bit off.

However, she refrained from hastily blurting out her suspicions.

“We won’t be able to go boating. I’m sorry.”

And she was also vaguely aware that Dehart was at the center of the gloomy mood.

He had suddenly begun to dress up impeccably since last time. And while his new appearance felt unfamiliar, Sebelia’s gaze was still so easily distracted by him.

Just like right now.

“Madam, are you listening to me?”

“Oh, yes.”

Sebelia, who had come back to her senses, turned to face Dehart.

His eyes were slightly narrowed as he looked at her. For some reason, it felt like he was being considerate.

“Alright. Then, refrain from any outside activities for the time being, and stay in the mansion. If you get bored, Aunt and Flora are here to keep you company, so don’t worry.”

“I understand,” Sebelia nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”

Dehart, who was observing her with complex eyes, seemed like he was about to say something, but pursed his lips with hesitation.

She waited for the words to follow, but he swallowed them, and instead said goodbye to her in a gentle voice.

“Take care, Madam.”

After that, Dehart didn’t show himself for days.

Troubled, Sebelia tossed and turned several times in her sleep, but she did not look for him.

Then, that day finally came.

* * *

That morning  had felt ominous, Sebelia belatedly realized as she reflected on that day.

“Explain yourself, Madam.”

The room was thrown into chaos as if it had been bombed.

Dehart, dressed immaculately with not a fold out of place, greeted her.

However, his seemingly perfect sleeves were covered with bloodstains of unknown origin.

And, in his hand, was a familiar box.

“Tell me they are things you’ve never seen before. Things you didn’t even know existed.”

The air was suffocating, and his demeanor hostile.

Taken aback, Sebelia had been unable to gather her thoughts properly.

“What is this……” she mumbled.

The box containing the letters she exchanged with her father was in Dehart’s hand, half broken.

The pendants and necklaces inside of it were swaying with each of his movements.

Unable to make sense of situation, Sebelia lowered her head in confusion.

“Dehart, I have no idea what is going on.”

“Hah,” Dehart let out a scornful laugh as he ran his palm over his face.

His laugh felt like he was letting go of something he had been holding back for a long time.

And seeing him in this weird state, Sebelia hesitated to approach him.

“Oh, Madam…if you wanted jewels and silk, you only needed to say so. If the money I gave you wasn’t enough, it would have been more efficient to throw tantrum and smash some porcelain.”

Sebelia’s face turned pale, and stiffened at his cryptic words, but Dehart’s abusive tirade did not stop there.

Oh, no.

His golden eyes persistently stared at her, as if he enjoyed the sight of her wounded and tearful expression.

“It must have felt delightful, selling the secrets of your neglectful husband to furnish yourself with Jewelry. Getting revenge and money in one go…ah, how clever and cunning of you, my wife.”

Only then did Sebelia realize that she was in a terrible situation.

Wait, me? Selling my husband’s secret? Sebelia thought, snapping her head up, her eyes widened with shock.

“This, this is…I’m being framed. I would never do such a thing.”

“Oh, you are being framed. How typical.”

“Why on earth would I do something like that? Dehart, please think about it again. You know I would never do that to you.” Sebelia pleaded, clasping her trembling hands together.

She met his eyes, trying to appeal to the memories they had recently built together.

“ I didn’t plan to confess at a time like this, but…”

“You love me, is that what you’re going to say? You better not try to use that excuse.”

His emotionless voice and piercing gaze tore at her heart.

And Sebelia’s eyes, staring at him, were shaking, unable to believe this was happening.

But Dehart shook his head, only finding her futile efforts to deny the accusations pitiful.

Then, he scattered the proof he had collected in front of her.

“What you love is not me, but your father, lovely youngest daughter of the Weddon family.’

With a sarcastic voice, he spread thick white papers across the room, covering it like a snowstorm.

“Well, let’s see if you can still pretend not to know anything. These are confessions from the servants you brought with you, and an interpretation of the secret code used by the Weddon family.”

“……”

Sebelia anxiously  picked up the papers, and as she read their contents, she felt as if her insides were being ripped out.

“This is ridiculous.”

There, in those papers, were the detailed contents of the letters she had written at the request of her maidservants.

And underneath them, in tiny handwriting, were annotations..

“This….What on earth is this….”

Everything she had believed to be ordinary and trivial everyday life greetings was encoded messages.

Messages containing secret informations about Inverness.

Detailed informations about important figures entering and leaving the manor.

Sebelia was shocked to the core; it was as if her world had been turned upside down.

All this time, the maidservants and her father had been conspired together to deceive her.

“Thanks to you, everything happening in Hylend Hall was being leaked to the capital.”

Dehart looked at the pale, trembling Sebelia, and smiled coldly.

“I… I. I was deceived too. Dehart, I…”

“Oh, it’s okay. There’s no use to deny it anymore.”

Dehart slumped down, and grabbed her trembling chin, his eyes sweeping over her tear-streaked face.

“Even though you stabbed me in the back, you’re still my wife. A noble bride bestowed upon me by the mighty capital; even if it was by force.”

“Dehart…

His thick finger touched her tear-stained eyes.

And with quivering lips, Sebelia watched her husband wipe her tears with his own hands.

“Don’t be too upset about getting caught. It’s natural for people to make mistakes in their lives.”

“…….”

“But…if you had properly  listened to my words about knowing your place, this wouldn’t have happened.”

His hand gently cupped her cheeks.

“Isn’t that right, Sebelia?”

In that moment, Sebelia felt as though she had been struck on the head with a hammer.

Know my place; she repeated inwardly .

Oh, could it be this man…

Was he waiting for this to happen from the very beginning?

Yes, he must have.

A man capable of becoming the Duke of the North wouldn’t have taken me in without a second thought.

As realization sunk in, Sebelia felt the anticipation for their marriage in her chest crumble completely.

If that’s the case, then was him slowly opening up to her all a lie?

Was he just accommodating her for this moment?

Ah, what the hell was I supposed to do…?

Overwhelmed by self-loathing, Sebelia’s shoulders were shaking.

Her tears fell without end while Dehart continued to wipe them away. And then his cool, golden eyes met Sebelia’s blue ones.

“…….”

He silently stared at her.

Sebelia, not knowing what to do, turned her eyes away and lowered her head.

A low sigh was heard above her head.

“You don’t need to come down for meals anymore,” Dehart stated, gently brushing her shoulders as he stood up.

After hearing this, Sebelia quickly lifted her head to look at him, but his expression was obscured by the chandelier’s light.

“De…….” She tried to say.

“Because I have a delicate stomach.”

“……!”

She earnestly outstretched her hands, trying hold onto him, but he politely avoid her, and turned away.

And that was the end of it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After belatedly coming back to her senses, Sebelia sought Dehart out, but was repeatedly rejected.

In the meantime, the mansion had completely turned hostile towards her, and all the servants from Weddon were driven out.

All the evidence, confessions, and witnesses were pointing at her as the culprit.

And having completely lost her husband’s trust, the only thing she could do was beg him to at least let Denisa, the only person  she could trust, stay.

“Dehart, as you know, Denisa had nothing to do with this incident. It’s all my fault, so please don’t send her away.”

“………”

“She’ll live outside the mansion. Just let me keep Denisa, and I promise I won’t get involved in anything related to this place.”

Sebelia, who had barged in during his meal, pleaded for mercy with a heartfelt tone.

And Dehart, wearing an cold expression, let out an annoyed sigh.

Then, after a moment of apparent contemplation, he finally nodded.

“Alright. However, there will be restrictions on accessible areas.”

“……Thank you.”

Glancing at Sebelia, who had a relief expression on her face, Dehart asked in a somewhat Impatient tone, as if questioning what she was doing.

“Is there anything else you need to say?”

“Yes?”

And when Sebelia looked back at him with confusion , he angrily scraped his plate with the edge of his knife.

Screeekk.

A chilling sound echoed throughout the whole dining room as he spoke with a low and commanding voice.

“I told you I had a fragile stomach.”

“……Oh.”

“So, go ahead and leave.”

Was there a more cruel dismissal than this?

Sebelia still couldn’t forget that cold voice.