After I Died, My Husband Went Mad

TLN: [..] Those are for flashbacks.

 

 

 

Oddly enough, Dehart’s married life with Sebelia wasn’t that terrible.

 

Although the central nobles sent him an illegitimate child as the bride, almost as if to intentionally stir up his trauma, her personality was not bad.

 

And Dehart didn’t like that at all.

 

After all, a seemingly peaceful present was just a springboard for a future full of trials.

 

Especially for an unlucky soul like himself.

 

This doesn’t suit me; he ruminated as his eyes darkened.

 

Just as he was entertaining those thoughts, a lively voice broke in, as if to dispel his concerns.

 

“You seem to be doing quite well.”

 

It was his deputy Ryan.

 

“Maybe it’s time to hire a new lieutenant seeing how you keep making fun of me,” Dehart joked, staring at Ryan with feigned regret in his gaze, and twirling his pen.

 

“Don’t we always share a meal everyday? But today……”

 

Ryan smiled kindly, observing the completed work in Dehart’s hands. “You worked so diligently to leave early, it’s truly admirable.”

 

“I really think it’s time for me to hire your replacement,” Dehart clicked his tongue disapprovingly before standing up from his seat.

 

He was already wearing the coat he had taken off earlier.

 

To onlookers, he might look like a normal newlywed rushing home to his wife.

Although, he himself would never admit it, insisting it was for surveillance purposes.

 

“That woman has peculiar taste. She has a penchant for strange spices. I wonder where she got this habit from?” Dehart grumbled, revealing that he knew his wife’s preferences well, all the while claiming he was just collecting information about a woman he couldn’t trust.

 

“In any case, I need to know what her true intentions are. She keeps laughing the matter off, so I continue to let it slide,” he added.

 

Ryan shook his head as he observed his superior who was burning with a strange enthusiasm.

 

However, that fragile peace did not last like the knight had hoped.

 

“Explain yourself, madam.”

 

“Dehart, I… I…….”

 

One day, her beautiful and kind mask shattered, piercing Dehart’s heart.

 

Faced with undeniable pain, he could only admit, albeit belatedly, that he had foolishly let her into his heart.

 

 

 

* * *

 

“Damnit.”

 

Awaking from his sleep, Dehart cursed while covering his face.

 

 “Damnit all.”

 

Clenching his throbbing heart, he gritted his teeth hard. He then blinked slowly before laughing at his own foolishness.

 

After being deceived by her sweet performance, he was stupidly dreaming about that time again.

 

“I have nothing to say even if I were to get betrayed again,” he joked as he stared at the dawning sky, out of the now opened window, smilling with a pale face.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

 

Waking up in a daze, Sebelia thought that an earthquake was taking place in her room.

 

Kwaang! Bang!

 

However, it wasn’t an earthquake, but rather an unexpected guest she was facing for the first time.

 

“Sebelia! Open this door right now!” And this was the arbitrary demand of that uninvited guest.

 

“Sebelia!” the thunderous voice echoed from behind the door, followed by words filled with concern, “There’s no need to be swayed by malicious rumors. Hurry up and open the door, this older brother doesn’t believe in such words…!”

 

What nonsense is that… Wait; she silently pondered, then stiffened as she recognized the pretentious voice on the other side of the door.

 

It’s Neithan.

 

Her half-brother, and Nelia’s twin, Neithan.

 

He was the one who suggested that sending Sebelia to the Duke of Inverness would be in her best interest.

 

[Wouldn’t it be better to send Sebelia to the north instead of Nelia? The atmosphere there would suit her perfectly. Don’t worry, I’ll visit frequently.]

 

Neithan confidently uttered those words in front of Nelia, who adamantly refused to go to the north, claiming she didn’t want to die.

 

[Hmm,] her father had grumbled at Neithan’s eloquently embellished nonsense, pretending to seriously consider the matter when everyone knew he already agreed to Neithan’s input.

 

That’s literally how Sebelia’s marriage was decided.

 

And naturally, Neithan didn’t keep his promise.

 

He never set foot in the North, let alone Inverness.

 

But what could have been done about it? Sebelia had already become the wife of the northern Duke, and Neithan was to live his life in the capital.

 

As such, She was denied any chance or right to hold her brother accountable for his lies.

 

But now, the very person who traded her for political gain was calling out to her on the other side of this door.

 

It was then….

 

Kwaang!

 

“Are you going to keep worrying your brother like this? For God sake, open the door!”

 

Neithan shook the door even more violently, while pretending to plead with her.

 

What an intense way to greet his little sister.

 

Before long, the door’s hinges began to creak.

 

And as she let out a heavy sigh, Sebelia sent the bird chirping next to her bed back to nothingness before throwing a cardigan over her nightgown.

 

She knew that given Neithan’s personality, he wouldn’t wait long, so there was certainly no time to change clothes.

 

And besides….

 

Seeing him make such a fuss, it seems he already talked to the butler.

 

The absence of servants rushing over to stop him also suggested an implicit approval from the staff.

 

Then, in that moment…

 

Snap!

 

Finally, with a thud, the door collapsed on the floor as the hinges gave way.

 

“Cough, cough……”

 

Dust floated in the air as Sebelia instinctively covered her mouth, taking a step back.

 

And as if he was here to apprehend a fleeing criminal, Neithan ran straight to her.

 

“Sebelia, YOU!”

 

With a flushed face resembling a demon, he charged at Sebelia, causing her body to reflexively stiffen in response.

 

The image of a young Neithan dragging her by her wrist during her childhood overlapped with the present.

 

And as she was being dragged away by her enraged and shouting brother, the adults passing by pretended not to see while Nelia peered through a door, muffling her laughter.

 

“I left you alone for a moment, and you start acting up?” His menacing voice whispered in her ear.

 

Before she knew it, the door was back up and firmly locked.

 

When did he get so close?

 

Sebelia looked up at him with a pale face as Neithan tightly squeezed her wrist.

 

“Let go of me… Ugh!” She cried.

 

“Didn’t I clearly warn you not to resist me, my sweet little sister,”

 

His voice crept through her ears.

 

Neithan’s face, adorned with a false affectionate smile, was utterly disgusting.

 

This was his true self.

 

To outsiders, he looked like an exceptionally kind yet stern brother, but in reality, he imposed himself on her, suffocating her.

 

“Ugh…”

 

“I told you not to be rude!” He shouted.

 

And Sebelia, who was attempting to pull her arm back, instinctively flinched at the sound of his loud voice.

 

It was a conditioned response ingrained in her during her childhood’s strict disciplinary lessons.

 

Seeing her reaction, Neithan laughed, and pulled something out of his pockets before throwing it on the floor.

 

And at the banging thud, Sebelia shuddered once again.

 

“News of your indecent behavior has spread all the way to Weddon,” the man coldly remarked, pointing down with his finger.

 

“What…….”

 

“If you have eyes, see for yourself. People are spouting all kinds of vulgar rumors about you and Weddon!”

 

Sebelia blinked, startled by the thunderous voice.

 

Then, she slowly read through the scattered papers on the floor.

 

“Oh.”

 

Within those pages, it was written that a Duchess, left alone while her husband was away, succumbed to loneliness and engaged in illicit escapades with other men.

 

Although there was no mention of her name or Dehart’s, the implied subject was obvious.

 

“Even my friends at the college wrote to me, asking if the rumors were true,” Neithan roared with a flushed face. “What the hell did you do?”

 

As the conversation progressed, Sebelia finally understood what was really going on.

 

Neithan was a man who valued reputation above all else.

 

To him, receiving letters from friends askng whether his younger sister was truly luring men, aside from her husband, into her bed must have been an intolerable insult.

 

“Sigh….”

 

As her thoughts reached that point, Sebelia felt exhausted.

 

Yes. There’s no way this guy would have come this far just because he’s worried about me. The only thing he cared about was his family’s reputation and honor.

 

Moreover, the magazine he brought along was famous for spreading all kinds of unfounded rumors and not taking responsibility for their lies when they got caught.

 

To believe in this and come all the way here…

 

Someone who hadn’t stepped foot in here even once ever since she got married.

 

In that moment, intense fatigue and emptiness enveloped her, and simultaneously, the fear that had paralyzed her entire body disappeared in an instant.

 

Letting out a languid sigh, Sebelia slowly closed and opened her trembling eyelids.

 

How absurd.

 

This whole thing was so ridiculous.

 

“Sebelia, pull yourself together and answer me,” growled Neithan, but for some reason, he didn’t seem as scary as before.

 

The man standing in front of her was no longer the oppressor who had terrified her throughout her life, but just……

 

 A self-centered, opportunistic, and petty man.

 

 Yes, the brother she had feared so much was that kind of person.

 

And as she realized this, the stone that had been weighing heavily on her chest became as light as a feather.

 

“Sigh? You dare to sigh in front of me now,” the man persisted.

 

He seemed to think that she would get down on her knees as easily as she used to.

 

Well, Truthfully, just moments ago, Sebelia had almost succumbed to the helplessness and fear they had long implanted in her.

 

But….

 

Why should I do that?

 

She has changed.

 

She no longer wanted to kneel and beg for forgiveness. There was no reason nor necessity for her to do so.

 

In her younger days, being hated by her family was the most terrifying thing, and living as the bastard child of a Marquis was like walking on thin ice every day.

 

 Well, things were different now.

 

I’m going to die anyway. What’s the point of worrying about you hating me?

 

As that thought settled in, even the tiny bit of residual fear at the bottom of her heart vanished completely.

 

And Little Sebelia, who had been hiding there for a long time, realized that Neithan was no longer a threat.

 

With her head hung low, Sebelia grinned.

 

Ah, the freedom and relief that death brought her was so sweet!!!

 

By that point, Neithan had already realized that something was amiss. And instead of shouting again, he grabbed Sebelia’s face, forcing her to meet his gaze.

 

“You…What exactly do you think you are doing?”

 

His distorted face openly displayed his inner thoughts: Act as you normally would. Drop to your knees, beg for forgiveness. Cling to my feet, and bark like a dog.

 

However, his arrogant and shallow expectations were effortlessly shattered.

 

“Shouldn’t you be the one explaining what you are doing, dear brother?” Sebelia retorted in a lazy voice wrapped in annoyance.

 

“What?”

 

Neithan, caught off guard by the unexpected question, had his mouth wide open.

 

His eyes, widened to their limit, gave him a rather foolish look, which made Sebelia wonder if he had always been such an unremarkable individual.

 

I used to be so terrified to even meet him in the hallway.

 

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with a newspaper article that doesn’t even have a name in it.”

 

Neatly delivering her words, Sebelia left Neithan momentarily speechless.

 

“I- ha. Are you trying to stand up to me now?”

 

 And in an attempt to regain control, he reflexively resorted to raising his voice, a tactic that had always worked well in breaking Sebelia’s resistance.

 

Only this time it didn’t work.

 

“Trying to stand up to you? No.”

 

“Then, with those useless eyes of your-”

 

“We’re not in the same position,” she interrupted. “After all, you are not a Marquis yet, Brother.”