After I Died, My Husband Went Mad - Chapter 311

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, sorry, Rosalyn. I got distracted talking with Dehart and forgot why I was here.”

Looking a bit sheepish, Sebelia explained that she had come to return a bracelet. But to her surprise, Rosalyn just looked puzzled.

“A bracelet?”

“Wait, isn’t this yours?”

Rosalyn admitted that although the bracelet was beautiful, she had never seen it before.

“There was something I thought Maya had stolen—a gold-foil bookmark I’d left inside a book a friend lent me. But I’ve never seen that bracelet before.”

Now it was Sebelia’s turn to be confused.

“Then where on earth did it come from…?”

A piece this valuable had to belong to a high-ranking noble. With her mind spinning, Sebelia trudged back to her own room, not noticing that Dehart, face pale, couldn’t take his eyes off the bracelet the entire time.

The next morning, Rosalyn knocked on Sebelia’s door.

“Bella, are you awake?”

Having barely slept all night, Sebelia was glad to see her.

“Oh, Rosalyn.”

“Goodness, are you alright? You’ve got dark circles under your eyes.”

“Ah…, I couldn’t sleep until dawn.”

Rosalyn looked as if she understood. She’d heard Sebelia spent half the night asking the knights and staff if anyone knew about the bracelet. But unfortunately, not only did no one claim ownership, no one even recognized it.

At this point, Sebelia was starting to suspect Maya might have actually raided another noble’s mansion for it.

Rubbing her tired eyes, Sebelia asked, “So what brings you here so early?”

“I wanted to ask you something about Maya.”

Oh, great. She’d hoped to focus on something else for a change, but here they were again. Doing her best to hide her exhaustion, Sebelia listened carefully.

“My friend—the one who lent me the book—said she’d stop by tomorrow at lunch to pick it up. So I was wondering: do you know where Maya usually stashes the things she takes?”

Rosalyn seemed a little anxious about the unexpected visit. Wanting to help, Sebelia immediately offered to lend a hand. If nothing else, maybe keeping busy would help shake her restless mood. And if they managed to find a clue, even better.

After parting ways with Rosalyn, Sebelia set off to search the guesthouse, thinking things through as she went. Maya liked to create little nests for herself all around the mansion, typically in breezy, out-of-the-way corners.

“Not here…”

But as far as height was concerned, Maya had no standards—sometimes she even nested inside the knot of a huge old tree, so Sebelia had to stay alert.

After searching for a while, she found some trinkets Maya had collected: a few lost thimbles and balls of yarn that must have belonged to the maids, but nothing especially interesting.

“Hmmm…”

Sebelia stood with her hands on her hips, thinking hard. Where else might Maya have set up a secret stash?

Rosalyn was going to check inside the mansion, and the staff would look around outside…

With a serious look on her face, Sebelia lingered for a moment, then mustered her courage and set off again.

Her destination was a small lake where construction was nearly finished.

The little lake was just a short walk from the guesthouse, surrounded by rose bushes, on the spot where a tiny old house had once stood behind the Inverness estate.

The house had long been overshadowed by the grandeur of Inverness mansion, so the owner had put it up for sale. Dehart had snapped it up, demolished it, and dug out a lake in its place.

Sebelia had been stunned by the audacity—no, the sheer force—of such a move, but the site had long since filled with water, so there was nothing more to be said. Dehart had seized the opportunity to landscape the area, shipping in beautiful trees from all over the Empire.

He says it’s almost finished now, so I suppose it’s alright to go down there.

She still couldn’t quite fathom how grand a lakeside retreat Dehart had in mind, but right now, finding the item Maya had stolen was more important.

Following the winding path from the guesthouse, Sebelia finally reached the lake. She immediately realized someone else was already there.

“Oh?”

It was Dehart. He stood at the water’s edge, near a stand of pink weeping willows, gazing intently at the base of a tree. He looked so focused and serious that Sebelia couldn’t bring herself to call out his name. Instead, she quietly approached, careful not to disturb him.

Snap.

Oops. She accidentally stepped on a twig. The sound seemed to echo loudly in the quiet morning.

Her heart leapt, but thankfully Dehart didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy examining something at the foot of the tree.

What’s he looking at?

Curious, Sebelia crept closer and peeked over his shoulder. She saw him kneeling before the tree, peering into a hollow in the trunk. Sebelia let out a silent sigh.

Even in the dimness, she could see the gleam of gemstones inside.

So this is one of Maya’s secret nests…

“Dehart.”

Now that she understood what was happening, Sebelia gently tapped him on the shoulder. The effect was immediate.