After I Died, My Husband Went Mad - Chapter 296

“So, in the end, Silas Wheddon, who dared to try and kill a member of the Ashrent family, will be handed over to Lockwood. Really, it was just that His Majesty and the ambassador both wanted to secure more rare medicinal herbs, so their interests aligned.”

“…What?”

Did I hear that right? Sebelia quickly swallowed the bitter herbal jelly and stopped Claude just as he was about to change the subject.

“W-wait, just a second. Did you just say my father is being sent where?”

“To Lockwood. You look confused. Did you not hear a word I said?”

“Sorry, I’ve been a bit out of it. Can you explain everything from the beginning? Oh, and did you get your name and status back?”

The man before her wasn’t Karl Appenz anymore, but the real Claude. He’d even been wandering the estate with Rosalyn and chatting with Eli, so she could hardly be blamed for being stunned.

“So I’m right, aren’t I? Somehow your name was cleared, wasn’t it?”

Hearing the tremble in her voice, Claude paused, as if gathering his thoughts, then pulled a chair closer to her bedside.

“Alright, let me start from the beginning. There’s something you should know about how my name was cleared, anyway…”

So Claude told Sebelia about the trials that shook the capital while she was unconscious. Trials he had, in some cases, attended as a witness. The details were vivid and dramatic, but in summary:

“In the first trial, they exposed the collusion between the Eastern faction led by the First Queen and Setaar. The First Queen’s accomplices were identified as Mrs. Gren and Marquis Wheddon.”

On that day, Dehart presented the materials recovered from Setaar’s headquarters—enough to leave everyone speechless. On top of that, oaths found in the First Queen’s palace and the Wheddon estate listed everyone plotting to install Prince Dillion on the throne.

“The most memorable part was His Majesty. For someone who’d been gravely ill, he got so angry it was terrifying.”

With Watts’s help, the Emperor had recovered enough to regain the force of his youth, and he bore down on the accused with terrifying energy.

All the sordid crimes committed over the years to assassinate the Emperor and place Prince Dillion on the throne were laid bare.

The First Queen and Marquis Wheddon protested vehemently, but it was useless. The very oaths they’d made, unable to trust each other, became their undoing.

“The First Queen was sentenced to death and is now in the underground prison. The prince is still confined to the palace, but who knows how long he’ll survive…”

Claude’s voice was calm as he met Sebelia’s gaze—almost as if to suggest they could continue the story later.

But this wasn’t the heart of it yet. Sebelia urged him with her eyes, and Claude sighed quietly.

“One of the First Queen’s plots using Setaar was…the assassination of the previous Duke and Duchess of Inverness.”

“…Wait. Are you saying—?”

“It was a meticulously planned scheme. Mrs. Gren gave their schedule to the First Queen, who used Marquis Wheddon to win over my friend.”

Sebelia fell silent, watching him quietly. Claude gave a bitter, self-mocking laugh as he raked a hand through his hair.

“Fool that I was, I had no idea my friend had betrayed me. I led my whole family straight into the trap, not knowing it was bait. But their plan only half-succeeded.”

“Because you, Dehart, and Rosalyn survived.”

Claude nodded in answer to Sebelia’s soft words.

“They realized early on that my body wasn’t found, so they feared I’d come back to expose the truth and framed me for the crime. For Dehart… He tried to bury those memories.”

When the truth was finally revealed, it was brutal.

“When it came out that they’d murdered the previous Duke and Duchess, Prince Shateian himself offered to restore my status. That’s how I became Claude Inverness again and testified at the other trials, like the one after rescuing Rosalyn at the welcome banquet.”

Sebelia had been gripping her hands tightly as she listened. Suddenly, a terrible realization dawned on her, and she looked up.

“Claude. If I understood right, the person who bribed your friend was…”

Claude met her eyes with a sad smile and nodded. Sebelia felt as if a spear had pierced her heart.

“So my father… He’s the one who killed Dehart’s parents.”

“Bella…”

Claude called her name anxiously, sensing what she was about to say, but Sebelia just shook her head.

It was true that Setaar carried out the murder on the First Queen’s orders. But it was also undeniable that Marquis Wheddon had played a part in killing Dehart’s family.

“The one who killed his parents… ha.”