After I Died, My Husband Went Mad - Chapter 185

The voice, laced with laughter, echoed eerily.

“If I had been the one to hear the horrific news that ‘my daughter’s body has disappeared’ and then had to dig up a grave with disbelief, no one would sympathize with me. They’d be siding with you.”

The eerie laughter filled the air. At the same time, the barrier began to glow more intensely, and it started to move closer. Only then did Ryan realize that the sorcerer’s barrier wasn’t meant to protect Silas.

It was meant to trap him.

“This is damn—!”

The glowing sword strikes repeatedly at the barrier, but it was futile. The barrier that trapped Ryan didn’t break until an hour later.

“Sir Ryan!”

It was after the knights, who had been scattered across the entire Hall, arrived at the graveyard to find him.

* * *

‘How did things get so complicated?’

The emotions that boiled from deep within him spilled out in a sigh that felt like a scream. Not only had he failed to capture Silas, but he had also discovered that Sebelia’s body was missing. It was the worst news possible.

Dehart sighed deeply, collapsing into the chair.

“Ha…”

The energy he had once thrown into the chaos of the situation faded. His fierce desire for vengeance, which had burned so brightly, was now pushed back by the need to protect Sebelia. It was only natural. Sebelia’s safety and peace were more important than dealing with the cunning and revolting Silas.

But the biggest obstacle he faced now was that he had to inform Sebelia of this.

“Damn…”

The flames that had been flickering sputtered and died out.

“Bad news, Duke? Should I head down and prepare for the journey north?”

Seeing Dehart’s demeanor more subdued than usual, Eli hesitated before speaking, but was quietly ignored. Dehart didn’t have time to explain the situation.

“Ha.”

Dehart let out a sigh before suddenly jumping to his feet. Eli, startled by the abrupt movement, jumped back in surprise.

“That’s enough. Go pack your things. And cancel the blockade.”

With those final words, Dehart stormed out of the office.

“What on earth…?”

Eli, watching Dehart leave with a frustrated face, looked down at the floor. There was a letter left carelessly abandoned where Dehart had left it.

“…”

Touching his superior’s items, especially a sealed letter, was a serious offense. But, he reasoned, reading the letter with his eyes without touching it couldn’t be wrong, right?

Slowly, Eli’s foot shifted sideways. After confirming the corridor outside the office was empty, he cautiously bent down.

“This damn…”

Eli covered his mouth with his hand as he raised his head.

In his mind, the image of Dehart running out somewhere… and the face of Bella, so much like the deceased Duchess, appeared.

“No way… it can’t be, right?”

Once again, Eli wasn’t an oblivious man.

* * *

Even as he went to find Sebelia, Dehart had no concrete plan. You could say there was no plan, or that he had quickly realized making one would be useless.

‘In the end, what matters is her will.’

It didn’t matter how Silas knew that Sebelia’s body was missing from the coffin and dug up the grave. No matter what Silas did afterward, Dehart had the ability to stop him with all his might.

But that, too, could only happen if Sebelia wanted it.

Dehart kept his lips tightly shut as he kept running into obstacles, then knocked on the door.

Knock, knock.

“Bella, are you there? Is it a good time?”

“……”

“Bella?”

There was no answer. Dehart knocked a few more times and then opened his eyes wide. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t feel anyone’s presence. He paused for a moment, then turned around. He had to get the key he had taken from the caretaker.

“Dehart.”

“…Claude.”

Had he heard the sound of knocking? Claude appeared from a room a few steps away and called out to him.

“What’s the matter? Are you here looking for Miss Bella?”

“No need to worry about it.”

Not in the mood to argue, Dehart tried to pass Claude. If Claude hadn’t said those words, he would have definitely done so.

“Well, Miss Bella seems to have gotten a fast-delivery letter earlier. She was going out to meet someone.”

“…What?”

“To be exact, I think she went to pick someone up.”

Claude spoke slowly, brushing his chin, and his eyes scanned Dehart up and down. It looked like he was weighing how much he could say. When Dehart glared at him, Claude shrugged.

Well, they seem to have made up somewhat.

Unfortunately for Dehart, Claude had accidentally overheard the apology Dehart made last night when he had cried. His room wasn’t far from Sebelia’s.

“That person, who Miss Bella says is her only family, was in Ersic just a while ago. I guess she was planning to come back after receiving a reply, but maybe she couldn’t wait, so she moved ahead. She sent a fast-delivery letter from a nearby city, so I guess Miss Bella went out to meet her.”

“S**t, this is just… great…”

Dehart swallowed his frustration and rushed out of the residence. He immediately knew who the person was when he heard Claude’s words.

Denisa, that woman.

It was a bad stroke of luck, adding to the already complicated situation.