After I Died, My Husband Went Mad - Chapter 146

The herbalists sent down at lunchtime returned. They hadn’t gathered any glass flowers; instead, they’d spent their time staring into the cave. Now, they were met with some ridiculous news.

“Damn it, has everyone gone mad? Why the hell are we doing this?”

The voice was barely a whisper, as they were still scared of the knights. Dricken glanced at Sons with a look of disdain and shook his head.

Just earlier, the herbalists who had come up for their shift were told to halt the gathering. Their progress had been so slow that it was practically nonexistent.

“This is ridiculous! It’s not what we were told at the start!”

“Did I come all this way to be treated like this?”

Complaints erupted from all sides. The knights remained stoic and returned the angry herbalists to the tent. Sons, who had held out until the last moment, reluctantly turned away.

I said we should take it slow and observe the situation…

Dricken clicked his tongue and sat down heavily. But what could be done? The arrow had already been shot. The herbalists who returned to the tent, uneasy, secretly tried to hide the rare herbs they had gathered from the cave.

“Tch.”

Dricken shook his head when suddenly, someone threw open the tent flap and called out the name Leo. When no one responded, the person frowned and left to find the next one.

‘What’s going on?’

Leo had been the new herbalist who had followed Sons. He should have come back with him. But Dricken didn’t have time to dwell on it.

“Dricken!”

A knight called his name. Driken scowled and went out of the tent. As he followed the knight, his eyes caught sight of Dehart, standing at the edge of the valley in the distance.

* * *

The vast valley was filled with deep darkness. Dehart stood at the edge of the cliff, silently staring into the abyss.

“Are you really going down there?”

Eli spoke with a nervous tone, trying to stop him once again. But Dehart didn’t move. Even Alos had to step in to try and convince him.

[This is reckless. My master will be furious if he finds out.]

“Let him be.”

Dehart let out a short laugh and spoke with a mocking tone.

“Everyone seems to think I’m worse than the herbalists. I guess them not being able to even read numbers properly means the Duke is just some weakling, right?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I didn’t give you permission to speak, Eli.”

With a sharp retort, Eli bit his lip in frustration. Alos fluttered around Dehart, scattering sparks as it buzzed nervously.

[Please think again. If you wait and calm down, maybe…]

“That would only make her life more dangerous.”

Dehart’s gaze was unwavering as he looked directly at Alos.

The red butterfly flapped its wings slowly, almost as if it was captivated by his gaze.

“If you’re not hanging on like this just because you want to come along, I wish you’d all just leave me alone. I don’t intend to go down there weighed down by useless baggage and die.”

“…”

Eli, with his lips tightly pressed together, stood right behind Dehart, making a final effort to keep his composure.

In truth, his words were correct. He had been pretending to stop him all along while actually trying to find a way to go down to the bottom of the valley with him.

[…]

Alos watched him with a look of disdain. Whether a magic butterfly could even see, Eli wasn’t sure, but he could feel it.

[Ha. Right. If my master can’t stop you, there’s no way I can persuade you.]

The butterfly calmly folded its wings and slipped into Dehart’s front pocket. A deep crease appeared in Dehart’s brow. But Alos had already settled beside the blue bird.

“We leave in an hour. You can decide who will come along.”

Dehart said, turning toward Eli. A flash of current from his eyes melted the snowflakes.

* * *

The mountain beyond the third hill was eerie, unlike the sixth path. The shadows of tall coniferous trees fell dark and sharp, blocking out the sunlight. Without realizing it, Sebelia shrank back.

“It’s a bit creepy here. I thought it was the valley that was blocking the view, but I didn’t expect it to get this dark already.”

Watts whispered as he came closer to Sebelia. The wind was so strong that they had to speak close to be heard. Sebelia nodded and raised the glowstone lamp. Unlike an oil lamp, it couldn’t shine far, but in these harsh winds, it was the only choice.

“So, this is why it takes a whole day just to go up.”

Sebelia tightened her scarf and glanced at Claude, who was ahead of them. Despite the cold wind brushing his cheeks, he walked steadily up the narrow mountain path without hesitation.

“We need to hurry.”

His muttering voice was heavy.

“Ugh.”

Claude suddenly stopped halfway up the path, kneeling as if overwhelmed by dizziness. He let out a heavy breath.

“Cough.”

The knight ahead, noticing the lack of sound from behind, quickly turned around. The glowstone lamp illuminated Claude’s pale face. The knight, looking down at him, spoke in a serious tone.

“Be careful. The ground is full of loose roots, you might trip.”

Instead of acknowledging the knight’s words, Claude stood up and brushed himself off.