While Others Became Female Leads In Romantic Fantasy Novels, I Became A Closet Monster
Chapter 26
Turning to face him with a smile, Dedrick avoided my gaze and looked down at nothing in particular.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“It really is quite cramped. You can go sleep on the bed now if you’d like.”
“I’m going to sleep now.”
He hurriedly closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.
How cute.
I patted his arm to reassure him that I wasn’t going to kick him out, then closed my eyes as well.
With our foreheads touching and warm, I fell asleep in no time.
Though his body was slightly uncomfortable, Dedrick opened his eyes feeling refreshed, perhaps because his mind was at peace.
He wanted to keep sleeping just like this, facing the girl, but unfortunately, he couldn’t.
Joanna would surely appear once more at dawn to speak with him.
Since Somerset had caused such a scene, she would use the time while he was asleep.
‘I have to reject her clearly then.’
So she won’t bother him again.
So his gray monster won’t have to worry.
Dedrick got up carefully so as not to wake the girl and opened the wardrobe door.
“……Are you going to exercise?”
The girl asked in a mumble, her eyes barely open.
Just seeing her like that made the corners of Dedrick’s mouth rise uncontrollably.
“I’ll be back soon, so sleep some more.”
“Come back safely……”
Soon, the sound of rhythmic breathing could be heard.
He reached out and gently stroked her hair.
“……I’m off.”
After washing up, Dedrick immediately changed into his training clothes and headed out.
He thought he would run into Joanna after he finished his workout, but she was already out waiting for him.
“Dedrick-nim.”
Her smile, softening beautifully amidst the light mist, was lovely, but it stirred nothing in Dedrick.
He approached her at a pace that was neither slow nor fast.
“I’m sorry about yesterday. I said something unnecessary……”
“Are you perhaps interested in me?”
“……That.”
Joanna’s face turned bright red, as if she hadn’t expected such a direct question.
Watching Joanna fan herself to cool down, Dedrick spoke firmly.
“Lady Primrose, you are in talks for an engagement with my older brother. I wish to avoid unnecessary friction.”
“If I speak well of it……!”
“Do you think that will work? You saw it yesterday, so you should know well enough.”
At that, Joanna bit her lip, unable to offer a rebuttal.
“And I have absolutely no intention of pursuing a relationship with Lady Primrose. You don’t truly like me either, My Lady.”
“What do you mean by—”
“Aren’t you only doing this because of my face?”
Joanna was momentarily lost for words. She bowed her head deeply, feeling as though her inner thoughts had been exposed.
“So, for your own sake, please give up.”
“……For my sake?”
Joanna blinked her large eyes, looking somewhat bewildered by Dedrick’s final words.
Leaving her behind, he gave a polite bow and departed.
Watching his retreating back, Joanna became lost in thought.
It wasn’t just a simple rejection.
‘For your own sake, please give up.’
Those final words lingered in Joanna’s head for some reason.
‘Mother and Father always said it was for the sake of the family.’
Whatever she did, it was for the future of the family.
Nowhere in that was Joanna’s own will.
Joanna frowned at the strange sensation.
Emotions different from when she read ‘The Orphan and the Prince’ surged through her.
“How annoying.”
……Was ‘annoying’ the right word?
She had no idea how to define this indescribable feeling.
Joanna stood there for a long while, trapped in an inexplicable emotion that oddly nagged at her.
I was transcribing a fairy tale book when, without fail, Somerset barged in.
“Does he never get tired……”
Dedrick said he had rejected her firmly this morning.
Seeing as Joanna hadn’t come by even though it was well past lunch, it seemed they had settled things through conversation, but Somerset was the problem.
“Hey.”
Somerset glared at him as if he wanted to kill him.
“Why were you with Joanna at dawn?”
“This gloomy bastard. He must have seen that too.”
“I told her not to come looking for me again.”
“Why at dawn……!”
“What was I supposed to do when she was waiting for me?”
Nothing to say to that, right?
Grinding his teeth, Somerset suddenly tilted his head as he looked at Dedrick.
Then, standing crookedly, he scanned Dedrick from head to toe.
As if he were measuring his height.
Somerset’s eyebrows arched in discontent.
Because fourteen-year-old Dedrick was growing rapidly.
He grows so tall that he’ll easily look down on someone like you.
I puffed out my chest with pride.
“I heard from Mother that you’re being trained by a Black Falcon knight?”
“Huh? !”
When I reacted in surprise, Dedrick brushed his hand over his face as if he were in a bind.
“It wasn’t running, it was swordsmanship training? !”
Why did he hide it?
Because he wasn’t good enough to show off yet?
No, more than that…… !
“I keep hearing it from other people……”
I was a little hurt.
I wanted to hear it directly from him.
“Why did you have to be the one to say it!”
I snapped at Somerset for no reason.
Dedrick probably didn’t intend to hide the fact for long.
He likely wanted to tell me after he could handle a sword to his own satisfaction, but Somerset spoiled the surprise.
Dedrick clenched his fists.
“……Brother.”
The momentum behind Dedrick’s cold words was quite fierce.
Pushed back by that pressure, Somerset stumbled half a step before biting his lip.
Then, as if unable to tolerate his own reaction, he twisted his face with all his might and pointed a finger at Dedrick.
“L-let’s see just how much you’ve improved!”
“I am not yet at a level to spar with you, brother.”
When Dedrick took a step back, Somerset grew arrogant and tilted his chin up as if he had expected it.
‘As I thought, winning against me back then was just pure luck.’
Somerset became even more triumphant and raised his voice.
“Come out. I’ll personally check for you. Right now!”
“If you don’t come, this won’t end quietly.”
After throwing out a threat that wasn’t scary at all, Somerset stomped out of the room.
Dedrick, unable to meet my eyes, rubbed his face and apologized to me.
“I’m sorry……. I wanted to show you once my skills improved.”
When my guess turned out to be correct, my hurt melted away.
I glared fiercely at the spot where Somerset, the one who ruins everything, had just been.
If I had found out later, I would have been so surprised and happy!
It was a shame, but it was still a relief.
A swordsmanship teacher, and a Black Falcon knight at that.
‘Is it the knight I have my eye on?’
I wanted to ask, but I decided to wait until he told me himself.
“You found a swordsmanship teacher! That’s wonderful! I’ll forgive you since you hid it to make me happy.”
When I spoke with exaggerated generosity, Dedrick looked relieved.
“Make sure you win again this time and come back!”
He only smiled without a word. Then, he spoke tentatively.
“I won’t fight back today.”
“Because it’s meant to humiliate me. In front of Lady Primrose.”
“But it’ll hurt if you just take the hits. You don’t have to endure it. Last time, you hid your injuries from me so carefully.”
I found out too late and couldn’t even treat them properly.
No, he had already treated them all before coming, so there was nothing for me to do.
As the hurt rushed back again, he grabbed my sleeve and shook it slightly. As if telling me not to be upset.
“It’ll be better if Lady Primrose is disappointed in me this time.”
“Then there won’t be any reason to run into her anymore.”
I looked at him with a bit of pity as he spoke calmly.
Still, getting hit isn’t an easy thing, yet he was so stoic.
It seemed useless even if I tried to stop him.
If that was the case…… I’d better treat him properly.
“Don’t hide it this time and come straight to me. Okay? I’ll treat you. I’m incredibly good at wrapping bandages. But it’ll hurt my heart if you’re too injured, so at least counterattack a little!”
“Promise!”
I suddenly stuck out my pinky.
“We make a promise by hooking them like this.”
When I showed him by interlocking my pinky with his, he beamed.
“Okay. I promise.”
It broke my heart to see the kid off when he was going to get hit…….
But Dedrick told me to stay here.
“Be careful.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
He headed to the training ground, and I went into the wardrobe.
I was going to bring every single medicine available in the Grand Duke’s Castle.
With a sinister smile, I worked hard at stealing the medicine.
No, I borrowed it.
Joanna was so conflicted that she stayed holed up in her room. Eventually, Somerset came to find her.
“I heard you’ve been in your room all day……”
“Ahem, ahem……”
Somerset cleared his throat unnecessarily as he approached her.
Somerset scratched the back of his head and glanced at Joanna. The moment their eyes met, his face flushed hot.
‘She really is pretty.’
Somerset still remembered the day he first met Joanna as if it were yesterday.
