While Others Became Female Leads In Romantic Fantasy Novels, I Became A Closet Monster
Chapter 44
Delaney finally looked away from the catalog and turned her gaze toward him.
Then, she spoke calmly.
“You aren’t the eldest, are you?”
Axel’s face contorted as if he were about to burst into tears.
Does Delaney seriously think the eldest son must be the one to carry on the lineage?
It’s been ages since primogeniture was abolished….
“I trust you don’t hold such narrow-minded views as thinking the eldest must inherit everything in this day and age.”
Oh….
That was the most eloquent I’d ever seen Axel be.
Axel’s sarcasm clearly struck a nerve, as the corner of Delaney’s lip curled upward.
However, deciding to take a step back for now, she tried to reason with him kindly.
“Why should brothers fight and feel slighted over such things? How wonderful would it be for you to assist your brother and work together once he becomes the successor? So, Axel….”
“I said I don’t want to! Why am I always an afterthought?!”
Ah, there it goes. He snapped.
Axel screamed until the veins in his neck looked ready to burst.
“It’s not my fault that Hyung is discouraged! What am I supposed to do if he keeps guarding against me on his own?! Do you even realize that I’m ahead of him in every aspect? What is it about me that’s inferior to him?!”
“Why is it okay for Hyung but not for me?!”
Honestly, it’s amazing how he doesn’t look even a little bit pitiable despite acting like that.
He’s being discriminated against himself, yet why does he treat Dedrick—the one suffering most from discrimination—that way?
I quietly raised both middle fingers at his shitty mindset of ‘it’s okay for others, but not for me.’
Meanwhile, Axel’s lamentation continued.
“Father even fairly listed us both as successor candidates. Just… give me a little support….”
“You cannot!”
Both Axel and I widened our eyes in equal surprise at the sharp shout.
It was the first time I had ever seen Delaney raise her voice like that.
“I don’t know why you’re even among the successor candidates, but the Grand Duke is clearly trying to pull something…!”
As I looked at Delaney in a daze, Gemma hurriedly tried to calm her down.
“Madam, please compose yourself!”
Only then did Delaney, who was gripping the sofa armrest as if she might tear it off, relax her body.
What was that? Is there a specific reason why Axel shouldn’t be a successor candidate?
And why bring up the Grand Duke…?
Quite a bit of important information had spilled out in an instant, but I couldn’t grasp any of it.
“What do you mean? Are you saying I shouldn’t have been made a successor candidate?”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“Axel!”
When she shouted fiercely as if refusing to back down, Axel flinched and took a step back.
Delaney glared at him with a face full of fury.
“Even now, you’re complaining over such a trivial matter. Do you think that habit will go anywhere if you become the Grand Duke? You don’t have the vessel of a head of house, so just focus on helping your brother.”
“If you’re going to put it like that, then Hyung also…!”
“I suppose you didn’t hear me tell you to get out! Do you want me to call someone to drag you out?”
At Delaney’s chilling gaze, Axel bit his lip with a wounded expression before turning around and storming out.
To be honest, Delaney’s cold eyes were so heartless it felt hurtful even to me.
A heavy silence hung over the living room where only the two remained.
Gemma was the first to break that silence.
“Madam… you should have endured just a little more.”
“That child touched upon that subject…. Ha.”
Delaney let out a deep sigh.
“Keep an eye on him, just in case.”
With those cryptic words, the only sound left in the living room was the flipping of the catalog pages.
When I returned and opened the door to the Wardrobe, Dedrick, who had been studying, hurriedly approached and opened his arms.
At his simple gesture, I obediently stepped down from the Wardrobe as if falling into his embrace.
“I can get down on my own.”
“I know. But it’s better to be careful.”
I’ve never once tumbled while coming out of the Wardrobe, though….
Anyway, while still in his arms, I found myself patting his back.
“You’re solid.”
Then I met his eyes. No, I looked way up at him. My eyes went wide.
“Your height… you’ve grown so much!”
I quickly took Dedrick to the wall to measure his height. He had definitely shot up in that short amount of time.
“But I haven’t grown at all….”
“You’re cute just the way you are.”
I’m not staying short just to be cute, you know.
Regardless, lamenting wasn’t going to make me taller, so I chattered away about everything I had just seen.
“…And so, Axel couldn’t say a single word and just left.”
Back to his own room.
After hearing the whole story, he tilted his head.
“But why would the Grand Duchess say such a thing? I heard the Grand Duke chooses strictly based on ability…. Axel-hyungnim isn’t bad at his studies either.”
“Call him Axel-nom.”
“Axel-no….”
Go on, do it.
But in the end, he couldn’t finish the word and added ‘Hyungnim’ instead.
This pathologically kind child.
I squeezed both of his cheeks. Looking at Dedrick, whose mouth was now puckered like a goldfish, I finished what I was saying earlier.
“He’s better than Somerset, right? There’s only a year’s difference between them. Is Somerset’s swordsmanship that outstanding?”
No, according to the novel, that wasn’t it either.
Both of them were merely mediocre with a sword.
Our Didi is the genius.
“Mmm….”
Even the muffled voice he made while thinking with his cheeks squished was cute.
He gently took my hands and lowered them as he spoke.
“They’re both similar. It’s just that the Grand Duchess deeply cherishes the eldest… I heard she went through a lot of trouble giving birth to him.”
“So her heart leans toward him more?”
Still, I couldn’t find any clue as to why she brought up the Grand Duke or why she was so displeased about Axel being a successor candidate.
“Is it possible he’s not her biological son?”
Haha!
As I laughed at my own joke, Dedrick gave a small laugh too. Then he immediately denied it.
“That can’t be. If he wasn’t the real son, the vassals wouldn’t have stayed quiet even if the Grand Duke did. There’s no way such a huge thing could happen in the Grand Duke’s Castle without anyone knowing. And I heard they record the dates so that such a thing can’t happen. I don’t know what dates they mean, though….”
Yeah, those are probably the dates they spent the night together.
But since I expected Dedrick’s face to go beyond red and practically explode if I told him, I kept quiet.
I wondered if he had even received proper sex education when they wouldn’t even give him a proper general education….
“I was just saying.”
No matter how much of a piece of work Delaney was, she probably wouldn’t have faked another person’s child as the Grand Duke’s.
The invitations were sent out and the banquet preparations were nearing completion, but Dedrick seemed uninterested as he stared intently at my Wardrobe and asked,
“Isn’t the Wardrobe too small?”
“Is it?”
I’d never once thought it was small.
“Is it possible to change the Wardrobe? If so, should I buy you one?”
What’s with him all of a sudden?
I wasn’t worried about his finances. The three children received a monthly allowance, and since Dedrick had never spent a cent, he must have a hefty sum saved up.
The Grand Duke was managing that account personally, too.
Which was a relief, if anything.
If Delaney had been in charge of it, Dedrick would have been penniless.
Or she would have used it as an excuse to frame him for spending money recklessly.
‘Normally, it would be the Grand Duchess’s job.’
I guess even the Grand Duke doesn’t trust her.
“How big can the Wardrobe be? About the size of this room?”
While I was lost in useless thoughts, Dedrick was already deciding on the size of the Wardrobe.
I stopped him.
“A wardrobe needs to be like a wardrobe. If it’s that big, it’s not a wardrobe anymore.”
“Ah… can you not live in it if it’s too spacious?”
“It’s not that…. It’s just that I can’t feel at peace if it’s too wide. It needs to be appropriately narrow, with lots of clothes and things that can hide me.”
When Dedrick looked disappointed, I stood on my tiptoes and draped my arms over his shoulders.
“And I can’t move wardrobes. I absolutely have to use that Wardrobe. I told you, it’s my heart. Can you just take your heart out and put it somewhere else?”
“I can’t.”
“Exactly. So don’t worry about the Wardrobe. I love that Wardrobe so much!”
Dedrick stared at me, a blush creeping up his face as he said,
“Me too….”
I see you’ve discovered the cozy charm of the Wardrobe as well.
“Ah, and this….”
He opened a drawer and took out two vibrant, luscious red roses.
“Roses in the middle of winter?”
“The Glass Garden blooms regardless of the season.”
The roses, packed thick with petals, were incredibly large and beautiful.
“Did you bring them to show me?”
Instead of answering, he tucked one into each of my pigtails.
“Because they remind me of you….”
“The roses? But I don’t have any color…?”
I was nothing but dull gray.
“Your horns are red.”
He smiled, caressing my horns.
“Remember what I said once? That you’re like a rose.”
“Yeah, you did.”
“I still feel the same way. Whatever your past was, your horns are truly beautiful.”
I stared blankly at Dedrick. With a tender light on his face, he spoke.
“Like a rose. No, they’re a color more beautiful than any rose.”
