While Others Became Female Leads In Romantic Fantasy Novels, I Became A Closet Monster
Chapter 42
“I’m not letting it slide this time! He’s been getting beaten every day without a peep, and now he suddenly goes and tattles to Father? I won’t forgive him!”
“If you did something wrong, you should obviously be punished! The one who hits is the criminal, not the one who gets hit!”
I shrieked at Axel, though my voice couldn't possibly reach his ears.
“I’m going to get revenge.”
“How?”
Tell me.
I need to know so our Dedrick can prepare in advance.
But he didn't say. Instead, he showed me through his actions.
Axel tugged the bell pull, and as soon as a servant entered, he commanded,
“Go get some hornets. Now!”
“Wow… this brat goes from scorpions to hornets. Next thing you know, he’ll be releasing lions.”
Still, knowing in advance meant I could prepare.
Before retreating into the wardrobe, I waited for the servant to leave, then dropped a book onto the top of Axel’s foot while he was alone.
I aimed specifically for the corner.
As he hopped around clutching his foot, I tripped him. Axel lost his balance, tumbled over, and screamed.
“Wh-what! What was that?!”
“What do you think! It’s the Closet Monster!”
Honestly, these two brothers are incredibly obnoxious.
Just wait until our Dedrick grows up.
He’s going to clean house.
The next day, I couldn't help but be horrified when I saw Dedrick return from swordsmanship training.
One of his arms was swollen thick, as if he’d been stung by a bee.
Looking at me, Dedrick spoke with a refreshed face, like someone who had just returned from a pleasant stroll.
“I got stung by a bee. It hurts so much I feel like I'm dying.”
That is not the face of someone who feels like they’re dying of pain.
I pulled myself together and asked,
“I—you—no… I clearly told you yesterday to be careful because Axel was going to release hornets!”
What happened?!
“And hornets usually just go on their way if you stay still! Were there a lot of them?”
That brat Axel!
I immediately checked his body all over.
Fortunately, he wasn't stung on the face. It seemed even the hornet recognized Dedrick’s face was a national treasure; it had avoided that area and vanished after leaving a single sting on his exposed arm.
I looked at his throbbing, swollen arm, not even daring to touch it, and made a tearful face.
“This is so upsetting!”
“…Are you very upset?”
“Of course! Sit here.”
He hesitated for a moment before leaning into my arms.
I shouldn't leave it like this.
When I hurriedly tried to push him back to get a better look, he let out a pained groan.
“D-does it hurt a lot?”
“It hurts…”
“That’s why I told you about the trap in advance…!”
I was so distressed. I patted his back and said,
“That jerk Axel, I’m going to give him a nightmare even worse than the last one…”
Vowing to show him that I wasn't a monster for nothing, I led Dedrick to the sofa and sat him down. Then, I brought over a thin, hard bookmark.
“…What’s that for?”
“You came straight to me after getting stung, right?”
He nodded.
I examined his arm this way and that.
“Does it itch?”
“It itches, and it throbs.”
“You’re not dizzy or having trouble breathing?”
I placed my hand on his forehead and then sighed.
My hands were hotter than most, so doing this was useless.
He looked at my face, stifled a small laugh, and then took my hand and lowered it.
“I don’t have a fever, I’m not dizzy, and I’m not having trouble breathing.”
“That’s a relief. If you feel any of those symptoms, you have to tell me. Okay?”
As he dutifully promised he would, I took his arm and raised the hand holding the bookmark.
“First, let's pull out the stinger!”
“D-don’t be nervous.”
He let out a tearful laugh as he watched me stare intently at his arm with trembling eyes.
“I think you’re more nervous than I am…”
That’s true.
It’s my first time, so I’m tense.
I recalled a patient who had come in for a bee sting during my hospital days in my past life.
Back then, the doctor said you could remove a stinger by sliding something like a card over it.
If the situation were severe, I would have recommended calling a doctor, too, but…
Dedrick seemed to have absolutely no intention of calling one.
I pressed the hard bookmark—the closest thing I had to a card—against his arm and pushed firmly.
The stinger slid out.
Ohh. It’s coming out!
I grabbed it with tweezers and plucked it right out.
“I got it!”
Dedrick looked at me with eyes full of admiration. Ahem. I placed my hands on my hips and struck a majestic pose for a moment.
“Rest for a bit. I’ll go get some ice.”
I spoke with the chic air of a doctor and entered the wardrobe.
I secretly grabbed some ice from the kitchen, placed it in a handkerchief, and rolled it up.
Then I went straight back to Dedrick. When I opened the wardrobe door, he was pacing around in front of it.
“You startled me. Why are you standing there?”
“I was just waiting for you…”
“Come here. Let’s apply a cold compress.”
Fortunately, the swelling wasn't too severe, so it looked like it would go down quickly with some ice.
“It’ll be cold, but bear with it.”
I carefully placed the ice pack on his arm. I said with a troubled expression,
“From now on, whenever those uglies plot something bad, I’m going to have to follow you out every time.”
Even if I return to the wardrobe, I’m going to stay stuck to you.
“…Does it make you very sad that I got hurt?”
“It does!”
For some reason, he gave a shy smile.
“You’re laughing?”
Dedrick looked flustered at my sharp question.
“No, you told me to laugh before…”
“I meant that it looks good when you do.”
When my expression softened and I gave a broad grin, he followed suit and smiled with me.
As I focused on whether the swelling was going down with the ice pack on his arm, he toyed with my hair and spoke.
“I found out something special about the World Tree.”
“Huh? The World Tree? You finished that thick book already?”
“Oh, honestly!”
I scrunched up my face in frustration.
“Didi, things about me are really trivial. I don’t want to make things hard for you.”
His blue eyes looked straight into mine.
“You are not trivial to me.”
“You are more important than anything else. That’s why I did it. You’re the same way, aren’t you?”
At my immediate answer, he let out a soft laugh and leaned against me. His round eyes looked up at me quietly.
“…Are you going to scold me?”
How can I scold him when he says it like that?
I stared at his adorable face before I couldn't take it anymore and rubbed my cheek vigorously against his hair.
Dedrick’s laughter rang out pleasantly through the room.
“So? What information did you get?”
Still leaning against me, he shared what he had discovered.
“The book was thick, but most of it was common knowledge. How the World Tree formed the world… But that’s not what you’re curious about.”
“I’m not exactly curious about the beginning of the world.”
“I thought so. But there were a few other characteristics mentioned.”
“What kind of characteristics?”
“The World Tree possesses overflowing life force. Because of that, it’s said it can breathe strength into the fading lives of young beings—excluding humans. By using things like pieces of wood or leaves, for example. It was written that the flowers of the World Tree can even bring the dead back to life.”
“Young beings excluding humans?”
“Fairies or spirits…”
“Monsters too?”
“Hmm… It did specify ‘pure’ ones…”
I’m pure, sure, but I am a monster…
Still, I had gained some information. I understood why that woman had asked for a piece of wood.
It was like adding firewood to keep the flickering embers of my dying life from going out.
“Purity, huh…”
I lifted the ice pack and checked his arm again. The swelling had subsided satisfactorily.
“Then am I fully recovered now? Since I’ve grown this well.”
“Does anything hurt?”
“Not at all. Nothing has hurt up until now.”
I couldn't be certain since I hadn't thought or acted at all before meeting Dedrick, as if I were wandering through a dream…
But even then, it wasn't as if I wouldn't have known if I were in pain.
That must be why I was so happy to finally feel pain on the day I locked eyes with Dedrick.
Recalling him recognizing me back then, I found myself smiling unconsciously.
“Hehe.”
Ah, I smiled creepily again.
Late at night. After confirming that the swelling on Dedrick’s arm had completely gone down, I went into the wardrobe and lay still.
‘A piece of the World Tree.’
Something that gives life by reacting only to pure beings…
‘That means the effect is incredible even with just one piece of wood.’
Well, it makes sense given it’s a primordial being.
So, I had been brought back to life by receiving the life force of the World Tree thanks to those two people.
If those two really were Dedrick’s parents, it made sense how I ended up drifting here.
However, while the woman could be Dedrick’s mother, that man couldn't possibly be the Grand Duke.
Because God’s Representative cannot be human.
…Somehow, it’s only getting more mysterious.
As my thoughts deepened, I suddenly heard a knock.
