Translator: Nox

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

Chapter 22

“Please tell me your conditions.”

“Think of me as a close friend, and when we are together, I would like you to comfortably show me the girl.”

“I am very fond of you, and I find myself quite curious about that girl as well. Of course, I shall respect her as an individual!”

It wasn’t a bad deal.

In fact, it was quite good.

Perez seemed to want to maintain a long-term connection with Dedrick.

Becoming confidants who shared such a secret would certainly achieve what Perez desired.

“Didi, accept it. It’s fine.”

Dedrick’s eyebrows twitched slightly as if he wasn’t pleased, but he soon composed his expression and straightened his back from his bow.

“……I shall do so.”

“Then, shall we try making contact again? I won’t be so overbearing this time!”

Perez looked incredibly excited for some reason.

I made a request to Dedrick.

“Can I try touching the Prince?”

“……Why?”

“I want to be sure if I’m only visible when I’m in contact with you, Didi, or if I’m visible when I touch others too.”

“I think I’ll be able to be more careful if I know. But if you don’t want me to, I won’t.”

“……No, it’s fine.”

“Did the girl say something?”

“She asked if she could touch Your Highness for a moment. It seems she is curious if her form becomes visible when she makes contact with others.”

Despite the unexpected proposal, Perez nodded readily.

“Fine with me. She may touch me as much as she likes.”

I don’t really want to touch him that much, though.

I approached Perez and lightly took his hand.

Perez was surprised by the sudden contact, but he soon tilted his head.

“I don’t see anything. It seems she only becomes visible when in contact with you.”

Dedrick’s face brightened slightly. I let go of Perez’s hand and went back to sit beside Dedrick.

Perez stroked his chin for a moment, then asked with a serious look.

“By the way, there is something I am very curious about.”

“What does that monster eat to live? I would like to hear the answer directly from the girl herself.”

I took Dedrick’s hand and answered directly, just as he wished.

“I eat everything I’m given!”

His eyes sparkled with curiosity as he asked.

“Do you eat wood too?”

Would I? Really?

Click.

At the sound of the door closing, I poked my head out of the wardrobe.

Dedrick, who had been looking relieved, smiled when he saw my face peeking out.

“Did you see him off well?”

Perez, who had stayed up until last night chatting and grilling me with all sorts of questions, returned to the Imperial Palace early this morning.

He seemed reluctant to leave the whole time, but honestly, we felt more at ease knowing that the one person who knew our secret was gone.

We knew he wouldn’t tell anyone, but being around him was still uncomfortable.

“Anyway, Didi, look at this!”

I swung the wardrobe doors wide open for him to see. On the inside of the wardrobe, there was a piece of paper stuck there that read, ‘Didi, let’s be happy!’

“This is……”

“I thought it would be better to put it here. It would stand out too much anywhere else. I want you to feel happy every time you see this while you’re changing clothes, Didi.”

Just in case, I had hidden the paper behind the clothes. So it wouldn’t be seen unless someone was rummaging through them.

He stared at the paper in silence, then squeezed my hand and nodded.

“Yeah……”

Great. I scored more points with Didi.

I stepped out of the wardrobe happily, naturally holding his hand.

“And there’s something I want to check.”

“Check?”

“My face! I haven’t seen it once yet. If I’m visible to others, wouldn’t I show up in a mirror too?”

“……What if you don’t?”

“Then there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just have to live my life believing you when you said I’m pretty, Didi.”

I said it jokingly, but he gripped my hand tightly with a serious expression.

“It’s true, you are pretty.”

Hearing a compliment about my looks from the most beautiful person in this world’s setting was certainly a thrill.

I laughed and led Dedrick toward the mirror.

I stood Dedrick in front of the mirror first, then poked my head out beside him before quickly pulling back.

It was only for a split second, but I clearly saw it.

A girl with grey curly hair appeared briefly in the mirror and then vanished.

It was me!

“I’m reflected!”

Emboldened, I stood before the mirror.

In the glass, I saw Dedrick and myself.

For the first time since I started living here, I was able to see my own face.

My skin was as white as if it had been dusted with flour, and my deep gold eyes were round and large.

My plump red lips and…….

“My horns!”

“I never knew my horns were red!”

As I failed to hide my excitement, he slowly touched my horns and smiled.

“They’re like roses.”

Smiling like that is cheating.

The me in the mirror had a faint blush blooming on both cheeks from embarrassment.

I shook my head for no reason. The accessories hanging from my horns jingled.

“Aren’t these accessories pretty?”

“It’s my first time seeing them with my own eyes, and they’re blue just like your eyes, Didi. That makes me like them even more. And if you look closely at the horns, don't they look like coral?”

“Coral?”

When I looked at him with sparkling eyes, urging him to agree, he nodded blankly.

“I suppose they do……”

“Coral is in the sea! And the sea is blue! I found another thing that resembles you, Didi, didn’t I?!”

It was a bit of a stretch, but so what!

I looked at him with a beaming smile. Only then did he nod vigorously.

“Yeah, they resemble me.”

As we stood there smiling at each other, I suddenly realized that our eye levels had changed. I tapped his shoulder and marveled.

“Did you get taller?”

“I’m in a growth spurt.”

“What about my growth spurt?”

He only smiled without a word.

Are my growth plates closed or something?

I couldn’t even tell if I was growing or not.

Seeing me like that, Dedrick leaned me against the wall.

Then, he drew a line right above my head.

“Let’s measure your height. To see if you’re growing or not.”

“Smart. Let’s mark yours too!”

On the wall, horizontal lines marking both my height and Dedrick’s were carved side by side.

Looking at those marks, I squeezed Dedrick’s hand. For some reason, my heart felt ticklish.

It felt like I had finally confirmed my existence, which had always been so faint, with my own eyes.

The seasons were beginning to change, and the weather was gradually getting colder.

In the midst of that, Somerset was blooming with smiles that didn't suit him at all.

In particular, he was waiting for someone at the entrance, looking restless and anxious.

“Ugh, how annoying.”

I barely held back the urge to spit on Somerset’s smiling face.

“Is he that happy?”

“Because he likes Lady Primrose.”

Dedrick replied nonchalantly.

Well, even in the novel, Somerset’s love for Joanna Primrose was exceptional.

She was a supporting character in this novel, and she and Somerset were in talks for an engagement.

The engagement was being pushed forward due to the interests of their families, but Somerset truly liked Joanna.

However, Joanna did not reciprocate Somerset’s feelings.

Despite their frequent interactions, he never found a place in her heart.

Later, when they reached adulthood, she would fall in love with Dedrick at first sight and become a typical novel villainess who interfered between the female and male leads.

“Come to think of it, Didi, you don’t have a fiancée……”

“I don’t.”

I hadn't even finished my sentence.

Dedrick looked at me and added firmly.

“I don’t have one. And I won’t have one in the future, either.”

“In the future, too?”

“……Maybe not.”

Watching Dedrick mumble, I patted his shoulder.

I doubt it.

The appearance of a villainess meant that the female lead would soon appear as well.

At the party to be held soon, the female lead and male lead would have their first meeting.

It was a fleeting encounter like a dream, but Dedrick would open his heart to a single warm word from the female lead.

While someone else went through all sorts of hardships and even got struck by lightning.

The female lead really is something else.

Neigh!

The sound of horses came from outside. I snapped out of my thoughts and poked my head out the window.

A carriage bearing the crest of the Marquess of Primrose stopped in front of the entrance. The corners of Somerset’s mouth curled up to his ears.

He was so happy he didn't know what to do with himself.

‘Should I spit on him? No. If I do it from here, he’ll know it was Didi and bully him again.’

What a shame, what a shame.

As I was smacking my lips in regret, the carriage door opened, and a glimpse of a red dress appeared.

A moment later, Joanna slowly stepped outside, her pretty face illuminated by the sunlight.

Blonde hair braided into a single plait, green eyes that seemed to hold the lushness of nature, and sharp features.

Under the sunlight, Joanna sparkled.

“She’s pretty……”

The setting that she’s prettier than the female lead must be true.

“Didi, have you seen her before?”

“Once, from afar.”

“Isn’t she pretty?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

He didn't seem particularly interested; he gave a brief glance before hugging me from behind and pulling me away from where I was dangling out the window.

“Do you have to get on her good side this time too?”

There was nothing to lose by getting on her good side, but she was a character who could cause Dedrick nothing but headaches if they got unnecessarily involved.

‘In that case, it’s best not to get involved at all.’

While trials and tribulations were necessary between the female lead and male lead, there was no need for it to go in the direction of a love triangle.

“Let’s just rest easy this time.”

Since Joanna had arrived, all of Somerset’s attention would be focused on her.

That meant we could escape Somerset’s clutches, if only for a little while.

We had to rest while we could.

Because things would get chaotic again at the party to be held around winter.