After I Died, My Husband Went Mad - Chapter 262

The next day, Sebelia received an unexpected message. Still struggling with preparations for the interrogation, she stared in disbelief at a hastily delivered letter from Shateian.

“What is this…?”

Still overwhelmed, Sebelia went to find Claude. She knew this wasn’t something she could handle on her own.

She knocked and stepped into the room, where Claude happened to be deep in conversation with Watts.

“Could I have a moment of your time?”

Her tone was far more serious than usual. Claude, a little caught off guard, paused his conversation and gestured for her to sit.

Sebelia sank into the sofa with a heavy sigh and handed him the letter.

“Could you read this? I just received it from Prince Shateian. I think I’ll have to go to the palace immediately.”

Claude grimaced at the sight of the royal family’s ornate crest, but he read the letter carefully. Watts left to prepare tea for them.

As Claude read, he ran a hand through his hair and frowned.

“I’ve never heard of strange phenomena occurring at the palace before.”

The letter described a series of bizarre events taking place in the palace’s art exhibition hall. Shateian suspected it could be linked to Sebelia’s illusion magic, and asked her to come assess the situation and help resolve it.

“Judging by the letter, it hasn’t been going on for long. He mentioned that the First Queen’s faction may have caught wind of it, and requested we handle it quickly.”

“Makes sense. According to his note, illusions appearing in human form have been spotted… He probably decided it’d be better to quietly address things before any nasty rumors start spreading.”

It was a sound decision. If rumors of eerie apparitions in the palace got out, the First Queen’s faction would no doubt seize the opportunity to paint Sebelia’s magic as ominous and dangerous.

“It’s best if we check it out ourselves, then?”

Claude nodded, searching his memory for anything his master had taught him about such phenomena.

If a strong power leaves behind traces, strange things can occur… That sounds familiar…

Whatever the case, he’d have to see the site for himself. Claude turned to Sebelia.

“When was your first scheduled interrogation using illusions?”

“Tomorrow. I suspect Prince Shateian wanted to reach me before the First Queen’s people could start making a fuss.”

“Then we should head to the palace right away. Let’s get there before night falls.”

Sebelia agreed and stood up. Just then, Watts returned with the tea, blinking in confusion at the abrupt mood.

“Well… Safe travels, then.”

“Sorry, Watts. I’ll see you when I get back.”

Leaving the room, Sebelia naturally made her way toward Dehart’s office to bring him along, but stopped in the hallway. Claude, following, looked at her questioningly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Has there been any other event or exhibition held in the hall since the art show ended?”

Since the night the dead appeared as illusions, the exhibition hall had been sealed off, with palace guards standing watch at all times. There shouldn’t have been any way for strange occurrences inside to become public knowledge.

So how had rumors of these phenomena started spreading? The only explanation was that someone had managed to sneak in—or bribed a guard.

“Or someone was paid off…”

Sebelia muttered under her breath, brow furrowed. Even if the phenomena happened by coincidence, the fact they’d become known so quickly meant someone must be pulling strings.

But it’s not the First Queen…

If it were, she would have started stirring up public opinion long before Shateian reached out. That left just one likely culprit.

The new contender in the imperial succession war: Prince Hares Belkram, who until now had kept his head down, feigning harmlessness.

But why leave room for someone else to fix things?

Whatever his motive, it didn’t seem particularly good-natured. Still, they couldn’t just ignore it.

Having sorted out her thoughts, Sebelia bit her lip and pushed open the office door.

“Bella, is something wrong?”

“Sorry for dropping in so suddenly. Are you busy?”

“No, nothing urgent.”

“Then could you come with me to the palace? I’ll explain on the way.”

“Of course. I’ll have the coach prepared right away.”

Once settled in the carriage with Dehart, Sebelia stifled a sigh.

She had a bad feeling. Somehow, she was sure she would end up running into Rosalyn at the palace.

We’ll have to meet eventually, but now’s not the time. If things unravel any further, we might not be able to patch them back up.

She resolved to fix the strange phenomena as quickly as possible and come straight home. Gatheringg herself, Sebelia began explaining to Dehart why they were headed to the palace.

* * *

Thanks to the coachman’s efforts, they reached the palace in no time. Since Shateian had sent word ahead, the security checks were brief and efficient.