Chapter 1 - Chapter 1

Translator: Nox

While Others Became Female Leads In Romantic Fantasy Novels, I Became A Closet MonsterChapter 1

Chapter 1.

“Ugh….”

A faint groan drifted through the gap in the wardrobe.

As soon as I arrived at the wardrobe, I heard the groan and stealthily opened the door.

Creeeeeak….

Through the small crack in the wardrobe door, I saw a boy curled up and trembling.

‘That boy is…’

Why is he here?

While I was wondering, the faces of two boys, thick with greed, flashed through my mind.

My brow furrowed instinctively.

‘Those brats must have bullied him again.’

Normally, I wouldn't have been able to bear the sight of the collapsed child and would have moved to another wardrobe, but today was different.

I carefully opened the wardrobe door and stepped out.

Then, I slowly approached the fallen boy. I stopped when I was about one step away from him.

As if possessed, I looked down at the boy without realizing it.

Though he was a mess, covered in dust and dirt, his face was beautiful even when contorted in pain.

Just then, the sunlight passing through the transparent window gently enveloped the boy.

‘Wow….’

In that light, the boy's face became even clearer.

Deep black hair that looked like it would leave a stain if touched fluttered near his shoulders.

His long bangs, which covered his eyes, were disheveled to the side, revealing his closed eyes.

Tears faintly pooled in his long eyelashes, sparkling like jewels.

Delicate facial lines that looked as if they were meticulously carved, and plump lips. And even the red scab beside them.

I took in the sight one by one, then snapped back to my senses when his body moved slightly, as if in a convulsion.

“Now is not the time for this.”

I didn't hesitate this time and closed the remaining one-step distance with a stride.

Up close, his black hair looked even more lustrous. Suppressing the urge to touch it, I crouched down in front of him.

The boy's clothes were a disaster, with footprints here and there.

My face contorted at the signs of a severe beating.

“Those bastards….”

Just then, a hot breath escaped from the boy's lips. Looking at his face, a faint flush rose over his injured cheek.

‘Does he have a fever?’

I raised my hand to check his temperature but hesitated.

‘I've seen him passing by, but this is the first time I'm actually touching him….’

Let's just touch him lightly so he doesn't wake up, just to check if he has a fever.

With great caution, I slowly reached my hand toward his forehead.

It was then.

The boy's long eyelashes quivered, and then his eyes snapped open.

“…!”

“…?!”

Our eyes met directly.

The boy's eyes widened in surprise. As his gaze traced my face and reached the horns on my forehead, his blue pupils shook violently.

It's a bit embarrassing that he's that surprised.

In the awkward situation, I rolled my eyes and slightly raised my hand.

“Uh, um. Hello…?”

It was a friendly greeting.

But as soon as I spoke, the boy startled and jerked his upper body up.

Thump!

Suddenly, my forehead collided head-on with the boy's. Unable to withstand the force, I fell backward and landed on my butt.

“Ack!”

A sharp pain surged through my backside. I rolled around, clutching my forehead where we collided.

After becoming a wardrobe monster, the pain I felt for the first time was excessively vivid. It was enough to bring a tear to my eye.

“Ouch….”

With tears in my eyes, I peeked forward, and he was looking at me with a bright red forehead, as if he couldn't believe it.

Blue eyes that held the deep sea stared straight at me.

The boy's wavering eyes were definitely looking at me.

‘As I thought, he can see me.’

The moment I realized that, a faint sense of joy tickled my heart.

Since becoming a wardrobe monster, this was the first time I had made eye contact with someone like this.

I was happy that someone was looking at me.

I was so happy that it showed on the outside.

“Hehe.”

Seeing me laugh while clutching my forehead, the boy's face began to turn pale.

Was my laugh that weird?

I quickly wiped the smile off my face.

And I hurriedly made an excuse.

“Sorry if I scared you. It's just that you're the first human who's ever seen me.”

The boy became even more frightened and recoiled from me.

“Ah, is it because I said you're the first human? That's…”

Jump!

Before I could even finish my sentence, the boy stood up and ran out of the room without looking back.

I muttered while rubbing my stinging forehead.

“Hey, kid, you should at least give me a chance to explain….”

***

As for me, it seems an explanation is definitely needed.

To put it briefly, I wasn't human.

I was a monster that lived off a wardrobe.

To explain in detail, I read a novel in my past life, and I was the wardrobe monster that briefly appeared in that novel.

The wardrobe monster was one of the many reasons that made the childhood of Diedrich, the third son of the Blackwood family and the male lead of the novel, difficult.

The wardrobe monster becomes obsessed with the male lead, the only one who can see it, but the problem was that it manifested in a way that tormented him.

It had a track record of intentionally leading him into traps, making him get picked on by his half-brothers, causing him to fall out of favor with Grand Duke Blackwood, and even seriously injuring him.

‘The half-brothers bully him. The father stands by. The wardrobe monster draws aggro…. It was a total disaster collaboration.’

The wardrobe monster caused all those accidents, but the male lead took all the blame and was eventually kicked out to the remote Herba Academy.

The wardrobe monster gets bored because there's no one to see it anymore, but….

‘It dies, eventually.’

Taking advantage of the male lead's absence, his half-brother Somerset, who wanted to erase all traces of him, burns all of his belongings.

That included the wardrobe, which was no different from the monster's heart.

And so, the wardrobe monster disappears into ashes.

‘And that's me?’

Damn it.

Just yesterday, as soon as I regained the memories of my past life, I was in despair, but there was still hope.

As long as I protect the wardrobe in the male lead's room, which is connected to my heart, I won't die.

So, there's only one thing I need to do.

Unlike the novel, I won't bully the male lead; I'll help him with all my heart!

If I help him diligently, he won't be kicked out to the academy, and when he becomes the master of Blackwood in the future, he won't forget my contribution.

‘Male leads are all about loyalty.’

But as if to make that resolution meaningless, it seems making the male lead my ally won't be easy.

“Hey, Diedrich?”

“…….”

“You can see me. Hello?”

“Didi!”

Even though I called him by the nickname only his mother used to call him, Diedrich never looked at me.

Is he afraid I'm a ghost?

Isn't there a superstition like that?

If you answer the words of something that isn't human, you'll be possessed and disappear without a trace one day.

He's still young, so he must believe in that superstition.

I spoke with sincerity.

“I don't possess people. I'm not a ghost.”

“I'm a monster.”

Diedrich covered his ears altogether.

Hmm. Is it not time yet?

‘Well, it's only natural to be surprised by my sudden appearance.’

For today, I decided to back off.

Instead, I placed an ointment on his desk and said,

“Don't endure it if it hurts.”

I quietly moved to another wardrobe so he could apply the ointment comfortably.

In the quiet room, Diedrich slowly lowered the hands that had been covering his ears.

The voice that didn't seem to belong to a human and the face as white as flour, which he had been hearing and seeing, wouldn't leave his mind.

Diedrich tried not to think of the monster's appearance, but his mind was already filled with the image of the girl.

Her gray, curly, voluminous hair was so long it dragged on the floor.

The two adorable horns on her head, the small teardrop-shaped blue jewels hanging from them, the large golden eyes—the monster with a round impression looked quite cute rather than scary.

She looked soft enough to make even a wary person lose their strength, but he couldn't bring himself to acknowledge her.

Because it seemed like that monster was only visible to him.

If he were caught talking to someone….

‘I'll be treated like a lunatic. Just like Mother….’

Not only would he be locked in a spire like that, but in the end, he would be brutally killed just like his mother….

Diedrich stared at the ointment placed beside him, then finally turned his eyes away.

Just as he picked up his pen, praying that he would never hear that voice again.

The wardrobe door burst open, and the girl's urgent cry was heard.

“Diedrich! Didi! Somerset is going to ask you to eat with him right now!”

“Don't ever eat the meat with sauce there! Somerset poisoned it!”

As soon as those words ended, the door slammed open.

A boy with navy hair stepped into the room triumphantly.

Diedrich's half-brother, Somerset, said with a mean smirk.

“Hey, vermin. Today, I'll personally dine with you.”

Diedrich's pupils shook.