After I Died, My Husband Went Mad - Chapter 144

“Hoo…”

Thud!

With a heavy breath, a thick body dropped onto the valley floor. It was the herbalists. They skillfully used the walls for support and examined the faint glowstones arranged at regular intervals.

The dim light, no bigger than a palm, was all they had.

“Damn it, my eyes are going to pop out at this rate.”

One of the men muttered, shaking the dust off his gloves. Even in the narrow field of vision, they could see the dust falling. The leader of the group, Sons, reprimanded him.

“Quit complaining! Where else can you find a job this well-paying at a time like this?”

The man frowned at Sons’ words. He knew that despite the act, Sons had a shady past. Sure enough, once the herbalists had all settled into place, Sons issued his orders as usual.

“Alright, take the first three-fourths and the rest, follow me to the cave we scouted last time. Dricken, you stay by the ladder and deal with the butterfly when it comes down.”

Sons pointed to the grumbling man and gave the order. Dricken nodded silently. Although it was tiresome, as he had been assigned the same task for the past week, it wasn’t something he hated. If things went well, a bright future awaited him.

As though to prove his thoughts, Sons launched into his usual speech.

“Remember, even if we just find one artifact, we’ll never have to dirty our hands again. Those knights up there can’t even dream of living like we will.”

Under the faint glow of the light, the herbalists swallowed hard. Their wavering reason was quickly replaced with firm desire. Sons’ lips curled into a smile.

He made one last request to Dricken and then headed toward the cave, followed by the new herbalist.

“That guy again…”

Drciken frowned as he sent the other herbalists back to their positions. The newcomer, who had joined just a few days ago, was actually a porter. But the young man had clung to Sons, insisting that he wanted to become a herbalist, and through flattery, managed to get himself involved in the cave expedition.

Well, a guy who can’t even use his limbs properly has to rely on his tongue to survive.

Driken clicked his tongue and slowly took out a glowstone from his bag, pretending to search for the glass-flower. But with the limited light, he could only see a few steps ahead.

Once again, the valley below was so shrouded in darkness that nothing could be seen ahead.

* * *

He had a dreadful dream. A dream in which his arrogant choice led to the massacre of his beloved family. Claude woke up as he searched for Rosalind under the relentless rain.

“Ugh.”

When Claude opened his eyes, he was greeted not by the damp, gloomy forest, but by a soft bundle of fur. He carefully set Maya, who had been choking his airway, down and sat up.

It was his familiar room.

“Damn.”

Only then did Claude recall what had happened before he passed out. During his lesson with Sebelia, Alos had shown signs of distress, causing him to lose his composure.

I got too worked up.

His anxiety over not hearing from Dehart, combined with the sudden strange sensation, had mercilessly cut off his reason. After that…

“You’re awake.”

“Miss Bella.”

Claude, unknowingly turned his head away, feeling embarrassed but then looked back at Sebelia. He could feel his cheeks burning with embarrassment. Sebelia looked at him with weary eyes and then spoke.

“First of all, I apologize for using a hallucination on my own.”

“No, no, don’t apologize.”

“But it’s true that I acted recklessly with you.”

“That was understandable in the situation.”

Claude was actually thankful for Sebelia’s actions. He admitted that he had definitely lost his composure at that moment, and he expressed his gratitude for her stopping him. Sebelia briefly squinted her eyes before letting out a sigh and nodding.

“That’s true. You ran out of control like a wild horse with fire on its tail.”

With a cool tone, she crossed her arms and looked down at Claude. Since Sebelia had so willingly accepted it, Claude felt uncomfortable.

If this had been the old Sebelia, she would have apologized endlessly and been at a loss, but now there was a strange sense of confidence about her. She seemed like a teacher dealing with a disobedient child.

“Did you know? Mr. Claude and Dehart are very similar.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, especially in how you both suddenly lose control and go into a frenzy.”

“…”

“I can really feel the familial bond.”

Claude’s eyes widened in shock, and he dropped his head. Sebelia, remembering the first argument she had with Dehart, let out a quiet sigh.

[Think again. Were you worried about me, or the future pain I would bring to you?]

That was the first time she had shouted like that. It was also the first time she had spoken her raw, unrefined feelings so directly.

I never thought I’d do that.

In fact, Sebelia unknowingly began to berate herself, thinking that she had acted like her father. But afterward, as she saw Dehart coming to his senses, she realized something. Getting angry wasn’t as bad as she had once thought.