While Others Became Female Leads In Romantic Fantasy Novels, I Became A Closet Monster
Chapter 3
He didn’t seem to have any intention of opening the door, so I lay down quietly inside the wardrobe.
There was no need to force my way out and sour Dedrick’s mood.
Since I was a closet monster, being locked in like this didn’t scare me at all; in fact, it felt quite cozy.
With my body and mind at ease, I sank into thought.
‘The reason Dedrick is so wary of me.’
…It was because he didn’t know anything about me.
Right, I hadn’t explained who I was.
It was only natural to be full of suspicion toward a stranger.
In that case, wouldn’t it be fine if I just explained who I was?
The wardrobe was closed anyway, but since he seemed to be able to hear my chatter, I decided to give a grand speech about myself.
I had to introduce myself. It was something I should have done during our first meeting.
I sat up from where I had been lying and, facing the closed wardrobe door, began my introduction.
“Hello, Dedrick. I’m a closet monster.”
“I’m called a monster, but I don’t just go around eating people. I’m a monster who lives quietly inside wardrobes.”
A monster who can survive without eating anything at all.
“But if you give me food, I’ll eat it. I can still taste things, you know.”
It was quiet, but seeing the scratching sound of his pen stop every time I spoke, it seemed he was listening.
“I really want to eat meat right now…”
My inner thoughts slipped out before I knew it.
The thought of a thick slab of meat drizzled with savory sauce made my mouth water automatically, but I snapped out of it and finished my introduction.
“I can move between wardrobes. But only the ones I’ve seen before. That’s why I can travel almost anywhere in the Grand Duke’s Castle, except for a few places.”
“And while I can come out of the wardrobe, I sometimes get forcibly summoned back at random. Like just now. When that happens, I’m moved back here, to this wardrobe. This wardrobe is basically my main body.”
“I’m invisible to others, and it seems I’m only visible to you. I’m not really sure why. But I can touch anything that’s physical.”
Since I wasn’t a ghost, my hands didn’t pass through objects when I touched them.
Instead, if I touched something where people were present, the object would look like it was floating in mid-air, which could give them quite a fright.
I’d done that a few times unintentionally…
“…That ghost scare from before, was that you?”
He asked me a question!
If I looked too excited, I might ruin things, so I answered as calmly as possible.
“Yes, it was me!”
Was I a bit too excited?
“I didn’t scare them on purpose. Every time I was holding something, I just happened to run into the servants by chance…”
The sound of the pen, which had stopped, began to be heard again.
My introduction isn’t over yet, you know.
I resumed the story I had briefly paused.
“I like being inside the wardrobe. If I stay outside for too long, I lose my strength. I have to sleep inside the wardrobe, too. Otherwise, my energy just drains away!”
Hmm, what else should I explain?
“I’m not sure how old I am. Since I don’t reflect in mirrors, I don’t even know what I look like. I only know I have gray hair and small horns. Still, I’m probably around your age, right?”
Dedrick was fourteen years old.
Because he didn’t eat well, his growth was slower than others; he was much shorter than his peers and bone-thin.
However, as he gets older, he will grow to be a head taller than the average adult male and possess such striking looks that rumors of Dedrick’s beauty will spread across the continent.
I’m already looking forward to that day.
I continued my explanation while indulging in pleasant imaginings.
“I don’t know how long I’ve been here, either. One day, I just felt very strongly that I was a closet monster and that I lived in this wardrobe.”
Other than that… there isn’t much else, right?
If there’s anything he’s curious about, I can just tell him then.
“That’s it for my introduction. I’m definitely not a monster that intends to harm you. I don’t eat humans.”
Despite my lengthy introduction, Dedrick said nothing.
Instead, with a rattling sound, the wardrobe door opened just a tiny crack.
As I carefully pushed the door open a bit more, I realized only then that he had pulled back a long wooden stick.
I called out to the round back of his head.
“Thanks, Didi!”
I casually used a nickname, but he didn’t say anything.
I should keep calling him by a nickname and just let it slide.
To get closer to him.
Fortunately, as I watched over him all night, Dedrick didn’t fall ill.
‘I was a little worried when I told him to eat the meat.’
It seemed it wasn’t laced with poison.
I breathed a sigh of relief and stared intently at him as he read a book.
Even though it was early dawn before sunrise, Dedrick woke up without a trace of fatigue and opened a book.
He was truly diligent.
‘Isn’t he even sleepy?’
I rested my cheek on the table and let out a long yawn. Even if I didn’t need to eat, I still needed to sleep.
Normally, I would be asleep by now, but I hadn’t slept a wink because I was watching over Dedrick.
I blinked my heavy eyes, trying to ward off sleep, but in the end, I couldn’t escape the encroaching drowsiness and my eyes drifted shut.
When her breathing became steady as she fell asleep, Dedrick put down the book he was holding.
The pages hadn’t turned once since he first opened it.
He had been mindful of this girl who kept watching him. Dedrick also knew that in the middle of the night, the girl had carefully crept out of the wardrobe to check on his condition.
He knew how she had occasionally placed her hand on his forehead—which ran a bit warmer than others—and let out a groan, crying out in frustration.
‘My hands are so hot that I can’t tell if you have a fever or not!’
She had said.
Because he had been so preoccupied with her, he had ended up staying up all night as well.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Dedrick recalled what she had said yesterday.
‘I have to sleep inside the wardrobe, too. Otherwise, my energy just drains away!’
“…She definitely said that.”
After a moment of hesitation, Dedrick saw the wide-open wardrobe and carefully picked the girl up.
The girl was small and very light. Even though Dedrick’s own body was on the smaller side, she fit perfectly in his arms.
At the same time, the warmth where they touched was so pleasant and cozy that he felt like he wanted to keep holding her.
Since his mother passed away, this was the first warmth he had felt against his skin.
At the sensation, which was hot enough to feel unfamiliar, Dedrick bit his lip slightly.
His grip tightened for a moment, but he made an effort to relax.
Dedrick carefully placed her inside the wardrobe.
As he brushed aside her messy gray hair, he saw her long eyelashes.
Dedrick’s gaze drifted down and landed on her horns.
Looking at the small, adorable red horns perched on her head, he couldn’t overcome his curiosity and, after some hesitation, lightly touched them.
Tap.
At that, the horns twitched slightly.
Startled, Dedrick quickly closed the wardrobe door and opened his book.
However, the pages didn’t turn until it was almost time for breakfast.
“I fell asleep, so I didn’t see if they put anything weird in it.”
“I’m sorry.”
As the youngest, Dedrick was at the very end of the line of succession.
To make matters worse, his mother, who should have supported him, had passed away, so there was no one to protect him.
It just so happened that his mother was the daughter of a fallen noble family, so he couldn’t even seek help from his maternal relatives.
Thus, the only person Dedrick could trust in this Grand Duke’s Castle was himself.
‘But now you have me, too.’
I stuck even closer to Dedrick’s side and looked down at the table.
A sigh escaped me at the sight of the meal, which could hardly be called well-prepared.
The servants were busy walking on eggshells around the Grand Duchess, Delaney. Delaney utterly loathed Dedrick, who was an illegitimate child.
Because of that, Dedrick’s treatment couldn’t be called good.
‘Besides, Somerset and his younger brother Axel often played pranks on the food.’
But I had no intention of letting him deal with those pranks anymore.
“They probably didn’t poison it. Doing something so senseless first thing in the morning…”
“Is exactly what those people would do.”
“I’ll try eating it. I’m sure it’s not enough to kill you, but I can detoxify things that are harmful to the body!”
It might hurt a little, but that would go away quickly if I stayed tucked inside the wardrobe all day.
Unless the wardrobe was burned or smashed to pieces, I wouldn’t die.
That was information I had come to know as if it were natural when I was reincarnated as a closet monster.
‘To be honest, I’m not sure if it’s reincarnation or possession.’
The only memories I regained were of a long, difficult struggle with illness in a past life, so I wasn’t sure if I had finally ended that life and died or not.
‘My memories are a jumble, too…’
I had no idea where I, a closet monster, came from or why I was born.
Perhaps I was just born suddenly, like a fairy.
“It’s true.”
However, Dedrick remained silent.
If you won’t give it to me, I’ll just lick it with my tongue.
‘Because Dedrick mustn’t get sick!’
As I flicked my tongue and moved toward the plate from the side of the table, Dedrick hurriedly covered the plate with his hand.
Because of that, the tip of my tongue ended up pressing once against the back of his hand.
A short cry of surprise escaped Dedrick.
“Ah!”
