After I Died, My Husband Went Mad

I have six months left.

It was a short time compared to the 27 years she had already lived, but it was enough for her to go on one last trip.

Sebelia smiled faintly as she looked down at the well-folded clothes in her travel bag. The one she had hidden under the bed in a not so secretive way, yet no one found it.

It was expected.

After all, none of the servants ever talk to her, let alone come in to clean her room.

Maybe they’ll notice it a month or so after I’m gone.

The people of Inverness never acknowledged her existence even though they all lived in the same estate. Here, in this house, Sebelia realized that indifference was more dreadful than hatred.

Yes, everyone was just like her husband.

“Hah……,” she sighed, closing the bag and pushing it back under the bed.

Knock, knock!

Startled by the unfamiliar noise, her whole body tensed up.  The hair on her body stood up just like the ruffled feather of a small bird that had been attacked in its nest.

“My lady.”

But when she heard the familiar voice that followed, Sebelia’s hunched shoulders loosened up automatically.

There was only one person in this cursed mansion who called her ‘My lady.’

 No, to be precise, there was only one person in this house who always addressed Sebelia in such a friendly tone.

“Come in, Denisa.”

When the door opened, a middle-aged woman with a warm aura entered, and unlike the other servants in this mansion, she did not wear a uniform.

Denisa was the nanny who took care of Sebelia from a very young age, and the only servant who followed her to the Duke’s house after the wedding.

“What’s the matter? Isn’t it already time for you to get off work?”

Due to some circumstances, Denisa lived outside of the Duchy. This was yet another form of discrimination against her, but Sebelia had no power to fight against it, and both women were well aware of that fact.

“I came here because I have something to tell you, My Lady.”

“What’s wrong? Did someone say something weird again?”

Denisa shook her head at her question before reaching out and grabbing Sebelia’s hands, “You weren’t going to tell me until the end.”

“What are you talking about all of the sudden?”

Denisa stared into Sebelia’s eyes intensely, making her want to turn her head away immediately, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so when she saw the affectionate and sad look in Denisa’s gaze.

She figured it out.

Sebelia gulped nervously, feeling a knot in her stomach.

She was the one who ask the doctor to keep it a secret.

Sebelia bit her lip, recalling the haggard-faced doctor the nanny had brought in with difficulty.

He diagnosed her with a rapidly progressing disease, stating that treatment was meaningless.

And the first thought Sebelia had after learning about her condition was:

 Denisa must never know.

The old woman was more like a mother to Sebelia than the one who gave birth to her, and whose face she had never even seen.

She was the only one who had followed her all the way to the far north.

She was a woman whose eyes turned red every time Sebelia was looked down upon, and if she were to hear that Sebelia had an fatal disease, she would most likely faint.

So, Sebelia begged the doctor to keep it a secret.

But it’s useless now.

When Sebelia dropped her head, unable to answer, Denisa spoke in an angry voice, “This is all because of the Duke.”

Pointing at the cold floor, and the unventilated room she shouted furiously, “I told you that if you stayed in a place like this you would definitely get sick. So please…….”

She stammered for a moment before caressing Sebelia’s face.

“I asked you to come live with me at my house.”

“You know I can’t do that,” Sebelia said, shaking her head.

She was the one who chose this room in the first place.

Because she couldn’t stand the gazes of the people who hated seeing her by Dehart’s side.

“And if rumors that they kicked me out of the mansion and made me stay with a servant were to spread……”

It would give the central nobles, who are at odds with Inverness, an opportunity to attack.

In the midst of this tightly woven political dynamic, the only thing she, an illegitimate child, could do was avoid getting caught in the storm.

“Still, I consider myself fortunate.”

“What on earth for? For marrying a man who’s no better than a dog, and getting bullied every day?”

Denisa was so angry that she was ready to snap Dehart’s neck if he were in front of her.

“They all deserve to die and rot in hell,” she exclaimed and Sebelia laughed at the bold curses.

“Haha.”

But it wasn’t a genuine laugh.

It was more like the pitiful imitation of one.

Cough!

Blood suddenly gushed out of Sebelia’s mouth as she forced herself to smile, making Denisa’s face turned pale.

“Miss!”

“Don’t worry too much. It’s not as painful as you think,” Sebelia said, casually wiping the blood off.

“Really. I’m fine, so don’t be sad. It’s surprisingly bearable,” She added.

She knew that Denisa deliberately made those comments to cheer her up.

In the past, she went along with the old nanny’s gossip and lightened her mood by calling Dehart a scumbag herself.

“Hah…….”

But what’s the use? No matter what she did now, it felt futile.

She felt like she was watching things unfold behind a veil.

Sebelia hugged Denisa, who was anxiously staring at her, and confessed, “I’m going to run away.”

“What?”

“I want to spend the time I have left freely.”

Denisa’s face distorted as she nonchalantly pointed out the bag under the bed.

“I will leave in a week,  so don’t come to the mansion after today. They might hurt you after I’m gone.”

Upon hearing those words, Denisa pursed her lips.

And for a moment, she looked like she was contemplating about something serious.

 “Denisa?”

Sebelia urged her to answer, but the old woman suddenly grabbed her shoulders and said: “Miss.”

 “Yes?”

“Please, do me a favor.”

Denisa paused for a moment, then added, “No, you must absolutely do what I ask of you after cruelly refusing my request to live together.”

“But…..”

“Think of it as granting the last wish of a poor old woman before you die,” Denisa pleaded, tightening her grip on Sebelia’s shoulders.

“If you leave like this, the Weddon Family will definitely not leave you be.”

Wait, Denisa is right; Sebelia thought.

She was like a war prisoner sent here to unite the central and northern regions. When her father hears the news of her escape, he will surely be angry and send people to drag her back.

“You shouldn’t spend your last moments as a fugitive,” Denisa said in a firm tone.

Sebelia bit her lip.

Yes, Denisa’s words were true.

Considering Sebelia’s current situation, if she were to leave without a plan, she would be easily caught.

Because I have nothing.

Denisa pulled Sebelia, who became limp from helplessness, closer, and whispered something in her ear.

“Actually, for the young lady…..”

But as Sebelia let out a shaky breath, her eyelids fell over her confused pupils.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

After Sebelia left, Dehart threw away the bouquet he was holding.

Thunk.

And the blood-soaked thorns sparkled under the thin sunlight coming through the glass.

Dehart looked down at the mess on the greenhouse’s floor, then raised his head as if he was overwhelmed.

There was a cold glow emanating from his golden eyes while he stared into space for quite a long time as if lost in thoughts before abruptly storming out of the greenhouse.

“Dehart.”

But as soon as he got out someone called out his name.

The person who stopped his angry steps was none other than his uncle Rash, and for a second, annoyance flashed through his eyes.

“Uncle,” he said.

“You were spending time in the greenhouse again,”Rash frowned as if he were scolding an immature child before brushing off the dust stuck on Dehart’s elbow with his hand.

“There is not much time left before departure. Hurry up.”

At his brusque tone, Dehart silently glared down at him.

“What made you so angry?” Rash asked as he tidied up his nephew’s disheveled clothes, and patted his chest with the back of his hand.

 But Dehart still didn’t respond.

 Instead, as if longing for something, his gaze intensely sought out the direction of Sebelia’s room behind his uncle.

That fucking prison-like room she entered with her own feet.

That desolate place with thick grey curtains pulled shut all year round.

Noticing where Dehart’s gaze was directed, Rash shook his head in disbelief.

There was an exasperated look in his eyes when he spat out, “You’d better leave her alone.”

Noticing the reluctance in his demeanor, Dehart asked, “What happened?”

He only stayed at the mansion for a few days every year. Therefore, he wasn’t really informed regarding anything other than major events.

Rash hesitated for a moment before confessing, “……That Weddon woman. No……There has been an unpleasant rumor going around about Sebelia.”

“What kind of unpleasant rumor?”

“I don’t want to say it, but there is a rumor that she’s been letting men into her room lately.”

As those words fell, the calm air instantly turned cold and shattered like glass.

“This is absolute nonsense! ” Dehart snarled, a dangerous gleam in his golden eyes. “I will let it slide this time and forget about it, but don’t ever call her ‘That Weddon woman’ in front of me again.”

After dismissing the subject as if there was no need to discuss it any further, Dehart tried to leave, however, Rash firmly grabbed him.

 “Uncle.”

And despite the warning in Dehart’s voice, Rash did not back down. Rather, he stared at him with a clear gaze.

” Listen to me! You should know that such rumors are rarely unfounded. And you should also have realized by now that she doesn’t fit into Inverness!”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

A sinister gaze fell on Rash.

He gulped nervously, but continued his speech.

“What I’m saying is that we need to take the situation seriously. For the sake of the family’s reputation…….”

“Ah, Uncle, “Dehart snorted, shaking his head.

Through the narrowly folded eyes, one could see his pupils radiating with a piercing glow.

“I don’t think anyone takes this situation more seriously than I do.”

Dehart’s golden eyes, which flashed like thunderbolts, curved as he leaned forward, forcefully pulling Rash’s hand off his sleeve.

“How can I not be serious about it when there is a vermin stirring up troubles regarding my wife’s chastity in my own courtyard?”

The growling voice was ominous.