While Others Became Female Leads In Romantic Fantasy Novels, I Became A Closet Monster
Chapter 27
After seeing Joanna approach him at a social party and greet him warmly, his unrequited love had begun.
He thought he hadn't made it obvious, but his mother had noticed his secret admiration for Joanna and had even gone as far as to push for an engagement with her.
His mother always told him he could have anything he wanted, and he never harbored a single doubt regarding those words.
'I was so angry yesterday that I shouted at Joanna, but it'll be fine once I apologize.'
He was the eldest son of the Blackwood family.
Everyone admired him, and everyone wanted to exchange even a single word with him.
He had no doubt that Joanna felt the same way.
Somerset felt terribly awkward apologizing to someone. Unable to keep his body still, he managed to squeeze out the words in a crawling voice.
"I-I'm sorry. I was too worked up yesterday..."
"So if something happens to upset you in the future, you'll just scream at me again."
Somerset flinched at Joanna's cold retort.
When things didn't go as expected, a surge of irritation rose within him.
Since he had come all this way to apologize first, shouldn't she obviously accept it?
"...I'm saying I'm sorry."
Joanna pressed her lips thin as she looked at the pressuring Somerset.
She didn't want to bicker with him any longer.
She was simply filled with the desire to go back as soon as possible.
Being rejected by the person she fell in love with at first sight was upsetting enough, but his words wouldn't leave her mind, making her even more confused.
Yet Somerset wouldn't leave her alone for even a moment.
"What brings you here?"
"Do, do you want to see the training ground?"
"No, thank you. It's just full of dust..."
Ah, I want to go home quickly.
I want to read a book...
'I want to read something other than romance this time.'
Joanna wanted to identify this emotion blooming in a corner of her heart.
Watching the indifferent Joanna, Somerset's lips twitched.
"I'm going to have a sparring match with Dedrick. Don't you want to see?"
"Come watch. That brat knows how to handle a sword well enough."
Seeing him praise Dedrick so uncharacteristically, Joanna guessed he had some ulterior motive.
However, in her honest heart, even though she had been rejected like that, she wanted to see Dedrick one more time.
And the way he swung a sword as well.
"...Fine."
After a moment of deliberation, Joanna finally accepted.
Jacob stared with anxious eyes at Somerset and Dedrick, who stood facing each other in the middle of the training ground as if in a standoff.
He recalled the conversation he'd had with Dedrick just a moment ago.
『Even if I'm being hit, do not step in.』
『Pardon? You won't be one-sidedly beaten. With your skills, Young Master, you can fight on equal footing.』
『I'm not saying this because I don't know that. What I mean is, I have no intention of fighting back.』
『Why on earth...』
『I'll tell you later. Even if I get hit badly, pretend you don't see anything.』
He had definitely said that.
Somerset glared at Dedrick while warming up, looking as if he had come prepared for this.
Then, glancing at Joanna, he squared his shoulders confidently.
However, Joanna's gaze was fixed only on Dedrick.
While the closet monster was busy raiding all sorts of medicines, Somerset signaled the knight with his eyes.
It was the signal to start.
Tweet!
The sharp sound of a whistle echoed through the training ground, signaling the start of the match.
Somerset charged at Dedrick as if he had been waiting for this moment.
Clack!
Dedrick blocked his sword. For a brief second, Dedrick's eyebrows twitched.
'Ha. I knew it.'
Dedrick looked at him with contempt, but Somerset sneered openly.
"Let's see how long you can last. Did you think you could beat me with those meager skills you barely picked up?"
Their swords separated, and Somerset's wooden sword lunged at Dedrick once more.
And he did not dodge.
Thwack!
The wooden sword struck his face hard.
It was a blow strong enough to make his head spin.
Dedrick's vision shook momentarily. Feeling his brain rattle, he stumbled and collapsed to the ground.
Somerset laughed meanly at the sight. In truth, Somerset had sneakily embedded iron cores into the wooden sword without Dedrick's knowledge.
Dedrick had realized it the moment the swords touched, but there was nothing he could do.
'Who would believe your words?'
Somerset looked down at Dedrick and sneered.
"That's why you shouldn't have been so cocky."
"So that day really was just a fluke, wasn't it?"
Drip.
Drops of blood ran down Dedrick's forehead and fell to the ground.
Joanna gasped and covered her mouth in shock at the sight.
And then it began.
The one-sided beating.
Somerset did not hide his cunning smile.
'I knew it.'
Just because he had learned the sword didn't mean he had changed much. Somerset swung the wooden sword with all kinds of jealousy—for the moment he had been overwhelmed by Dedrick's momentum, for the fact that Dedrick dared to look at Joanna.
As if his long-suppressed anger was exploding, he trampled over Dedrick with utter cruelty.
"That's! Why! You shouldn't touch! What belongs to others!"
Thud, thwack!
Dedrick clenched his teeth to keep from groaning.
Instead, he constantly brought the closet monster to mind.
The girl who would fill her mouth with whatever she was eating and move her puffed-out cheeks.
The girl who would look at him lovingly and smile no matter what he said.
The girl whose body temperature was warmer than others, making him feel naturally comforted just by holding her tight.
My ash-colored monster, more beautiful and lovely than anyone else.
Just by thinking of her, the heavy pain vanished like a lie.
'...Damn it.'
Jacob barely restrained himself from jumping in immediately.
'He put iron cores in the wooden sword!'
That was foul play, but the White Hawk Knights were busy pretending not to see it despite witnessing everything.
In the end, Jacob gritted his teeth and spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear.
"So this is the kind of lot the White Hawk Knights are."
They flinched, knowing exactly what he meant, but they couldn't bring themselves to retort.
This was an act against chivalry, a shame so great they couldn't speak of it anywhere.
Something a knight must never do.
"Your honor is going to hit rock bottom."
The White Hawk knights clenched their fists and glared at him, but Jacob looked ready to leap onto the training ground at any moment.
However, Dedrick signaled him not to, and he bit his lip until it bled.
At the same time, Jacob was puzzled by how Dedrick's face remained perfectly serene despite being beaten like that.
The sound of the beating continued to cut through his brief thoughts.
Thud, thud! Crack!
Unable to bear the repeated sounds, Joanna screamed.
"Stop, stop it!"
Somerset stopped his raised wooden sword in mid-air. Dedrick's blood, smeared on the sword, dripped down.
He wiped the blood that had splattered on his face with the back of his hand.
'I got worked up and did it without realizing...'
He breathed heavily and stepped away from Dedrick.
'But now that she's seen my superior skills, her mind must have changed a bit.'
However, contrary to Somerset's expectations, Joanna's expression was strange.
She was glaring at him with a face full of loathing. There were even tears pooling in her eyes.
"What do you think you're doing? What on earth were you trying to show me?"
"Well, a sparring match..."
"That is not called a sparring match. It's one-sided violence!"
The White Hawk knights all hung their heads in shame. They had all known and pretended not to, but Joanna had pointed it out.
In the end, Somerset's face turned red and blue with rage.
How dare she lecture him as if belittling him in front of everyone?
Somerset shouted back, refusing to back down.
"Joanna! Even if it's you, you have no right to speak to me like that. This was a fair and square match! Getting hurt during a match is a common occurrence among knights! Though I suppose a lady who has never even held a wooden sword wouldn't know that."
Watching Somerset not only use nonsensical logic but also sneer at her, Joanna wiped away the tears in her eyes and spat out through gritted teeth.
"You're the worst."
Joanna knew that no matter what she said to Somerset, it wouldn't get through.
Further conversation was meaningless.
"Joanna!"
Somerset called her name sharply.
Anger had already been piling up because of Joanna's continued indifference even when he tried to treat her well.
He didn't hide his rage at her attitude of defying him without knowing her place, after he had lowered himself to cater to her whims.
Leaving Somerset behind, Joanna turned around without hesitation.
'I cannot waste my life on a man like that.'
It was cruel and terrifying.
Joanna could not forget Somerset's face as he smiled while striking.
Not only that, he couldn't stand being ignored in front of others and vented his anger without restraint.
It was only for a moment, but her heart had pounded wildly at that voice.
Placing a hand over her heart, which still hadn't calmed down, Joanna ran away quickly.
'I have to go back.'
She didn't want to be in this place for even a single second longer.
