After I Died, My Husband Went Mad

“Please, I beg you. I don’t know anything. I’ve never been to that place. AHHHHH!”

With a frustrated look in his eyes, Dehart crossed his arms.

Although half a day had passed since they caught the tail, the man remained silent, refusing to divulge even a single word.

I can’t let it end here.

Dehart clicked his tongue and raked his hand through his hair. Then, with a simple gesture, he commended his subordinates to stop torturing the captive.

“Do it in moderation and keep him. And…….”

In that instant, an unpleasant odor coupled with stifling heat spread through the blood-scented room.

Turning around, Dehart noticed that Ryan was holding something, and as Dehart stared at it, Ryan extended his hand as if he was waiting for that moment.

“It’s not good to keep skipping meals,” Ryan commented impassively.

And beyond the absurdity of the situation, Dehart identified the cause of the sudden unpleasant smell. He frowned as he looked at the wrapped reddish meat in Ryan’s hands, and the pungent smell of spices assaulted his nostrils.

In the mist of the lingering silence, Ryan calmly added, “it was being sold at a nearby market. It seemed quite popular among the customers.”

“Do you think I’m curious about that now, Ryan?” Retorted Dehart, raising his eyebrows as he stood up from his seat. “Eat that if you want. I don’t understand your weird taste. You or her……”

Dehart, who was complaining, abruptly stopped speaking.

And after briefly going over what he had just said, he couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

“Well, they say the smell of blood drives people crazy,” he muttered with his hand covering his mouth, before walking out the room with rough and heavy footsteps.

And Ryan, left in there, silently stared at his retreating figure.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sebelia was engaged in an argument with the butler.

“That’s my right, Gross,” she stated in cold tone.

“Even if you say so Madam, there is nothing I can do.”

The two of them were in conflict over her entering the underground vault, and when she refused to back down, Gross showed signs of displeasure.

Honestly, he couldn’t understand why Sebelia was behaving in such a manner.

Is she trying to act like a proper mistress now? he asked inwardly.

Even prior to this recent situation, Gross had sensed that something was off about her lately, especially with those eyes that glared at him in front of the greenhouse.

There’s definitely something going on.

The butler scanned Sebelia suspiciously.

Her statement about only wanting to look at her dowry felt like nothing more than an excuse.

“The underground vault contains not only the madam’s dowry but also various other valuable assets. So…….”

As Gross was vaguely stretching out his words, Sebelia interjected,

“Are you saying you are worried that I might steal something?”

Sebelia’s face was rigid.

And deliberately acting surprised, Gross shrugged his shoulders.

“Hehe, you are taking my words too seriously. Anyway, Madam, you’re always overly sensitive about everything,” he sarcastically expressed, as if for their previous encounter back at the greenhouse where he was obviously pressured by her.

Sitting in his chair, he leisurely crossed his legs and toyed with his mustache before speaking his next words, “Well, to be honest, I can’t say that I’m not worried.”

“…….”

“And I’m not doing this on purpose either. I’m sure you understand.”

Sebelia’s eyes, which had been looking down at him, became colder.

“Isn’t it all because of Madam’s rash actions that things turned out like this in the first place?” he continued, looking up at Sebelia with a sneer. “So, if you want to enter the vault, please get permission from the master.”

After his last words fell, he immediately picked up his pen and engrossed himself in his paperwork.

It was a blatant disregard.

Sebelia stared at him for a while before returning to her room without a word.

“Hah,” she chuckled angrily.

She then walked straight to her desk and opened the drawer.

Having witnessed the butler’s arrogant behavior, she was inspired, felt the need to elevate her game.

* * *

“It smells good.”

In a lavish and opulent room quite different from Sebelia’s, Flora was indulging in a leisurely teatime in a place reminiscent of an actual Duchess’s chamber .

“I can’t understand why elder brother would allow such a splendid place go to waste,” she lamented.

Being Dehart’s cousin, Flora possessed an arrogant and cocky personality, and the bigger issue was that people around her were well aware of her nature but chose to tolerate it.

“Huh, I miss him,” she muttered to herself, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

This camaraderie between them was possible because she and Dehart grew up together like siblings.

After losing his parents, his uncle Rash, Flora’s father, raised him like his own son.

“When he comes back, I should ask for the Duchess’s room. It would be a shame to let it gather dust, wouldn’t it?”

Of course, Flora viewed Dehart as more than just a cousin.

He should be back soon; she thought to herself.

Humming a tune, Flora carefully poured milk into her rich black tea, her hand delicately stirring the spoon with evident pleasure.

And dreaming of the day when the stupid central village girl would leave the mansion on her own feet, she savored a short moment of pure happiness.

Upon completing her milk tea, she was about to take a cookie with her slender fingers, but the door opened cautiously, revealing a maid with a familiar appearance.

“Miss,” the servant said, stepping inside.

And Flora grumbled, “Seeing you first thing in the morning doesn’t actually brighten my mood.”

And while those words could have been mood-dampening, the maid nonchalantly greeted her before getting straight to the point.

“Just a while ago, Lady Sebelia visited Mr. Gross’s office.”

“……What?” Flora’s face contorted as if she had heard that the sky had turned upside down.

Seeing her distress, the maid quickly added: “It’s still just a rumor… but according to people’s talk, Lady Sebelia allegedly demanded access to the key for the underground safe.”

“What did that illegitimate Weddon child asked for? Am I hearing this right?”

Following those words, as if she had just heard the most amusing news, Flora burst into laughter. And the red hair she inherited from her mother swayed gently with her movements.

“it’s been a while since something this funny happened. Ahaha.”

Gasping for breath, she then inquired, “So what happened next? Did our infamous illegitimate child get access to the safe.”

In response to her question, the maid lowered her head and replied, “That’s not the case. Steward Gross refused the lady’s request, insisting that she needed the Duke’s permission.”

“Well, of course, that’s how it should be.”

“But Miss Flora….” the servant trailed off.

Despite Flora’s obvious nonchalance, the maid’s face was harboring an underlying worry. She was genuinely concerned.

“It might not be a problem now, but if Lady Sebelia were to find out that someone had tampered with her dowry, things could get serious,” she added.

However, dismissing the premature concern, Flora waved her hand with an air of absolute confidence, “No need to worry about that. Besides, who said anything about tampering with her jewelry? I merely borrowed something no one else was using for a moment that’s all.”

Then after calmly sipping her tea, Flora took a bite of a cookie as if she had nothing to hide. Thus, because of her brazen and confident attitude, the maid momentarily forgot all her worries.

“And who would dare to scold me anyway?”

In fact, there was a valid reason for Flora’s extremely audacious and selfish attitude.

It was initially Dehart who entrusted the underground vault key to her father and explicitly asked him to take care of the estate when he wasn’t around.

Doesn’t that mean her father could use it as he pleased?  Furthermore, she and her mother were the ones managing the entire duchy in place of that wretched illegitimate girl.

So, she was, in many ways, the true lady of the house.

“She can retrieve it whenever she wants so what’s the big deal.”

“But Miss, what’s down there is something only the Duchess can dispose of.”

The vault housed jewelries traditionally owned by the Duchesses through generations, along with the dowry Sebelia brought with her. By strict standards, Flora should not have access to that place.

“You… Whose side are you on?” Flora glared at the maid; her eyes narrowed. “Anyway, there’s no way brother would allow that woman into the vault.”

After straightening her posture with a determined look, Flora brushed her disheveled hair back and said with a chuckle, “After betraying my brother, there’s no way that foolish girl who tried to squander the duchy’s wealth on the poor would be allowed to do such a thing.”

The revelation of Sebelia’s betrayal had transpired some time ago and caused her to be cast aside as the legitimate mistress. And even though she tried to fulfill her duties as the Duchess later by engaging in charitable work for the poor, her goodwill only exacerbated the unease in Dehart’s heart.

Silly woman. Who asked you to do that? Flora thought, scoffing at Sebelia’s naïve idealistic notions.

“The butler is merely executing my brother’s wishes, so there is no problem. Everything is under control,” she spoke with assurance, lifting her chin high. “So, you go and keep a close watch on that stupid girl. Understood?”

She then opened a drawer, took out a handful of gold coins, and dropped them in the maid’s hands.

 And the maid, whose face lighted up with avarice at the sight of the gleaming gold, replied, “I will follow your orders, Miss.”

However, the next day, Flora was choked by the urgent news the maid hastily brought.

“She dared to send a letter to my brother?” Flora exclaimed.

“Yes, this morning.  I tried to go to the post office, but Steward Gros stopped me…”

Flora, infuriated and dumbfounded by the woman’s outrageous act, was unable to voice her thoughts.

 Looking at her bewildered expression, the maid said, “What now, Miss? If by any chance the Duke allows it-.”

“……Is it true that she is going crazy?” Flora muttered, cutting off the servant’s words.

She did hear that Nathan was yelling that Sebelia had gone completely insane while being carried away the other day.

“I thought it was just a bunch of nonsense spoken out of resentment….” Flora mumbled, biting her fingernail as she realized the seriousness of the situation.

“This won’t do.”

“What do you mean, Miss?” the maid asked.

“I’ll have to go see for myself,” Flora replied.

She didn’t have a good feeling about this.