While Others Became Female Leads In Romantic Fantasy Novels, I Became A Closet Monster.

Chapter 5

I immediately returned to the Grand Duchess’s wardrobe.

From the crack in the door, I could hear the voice of a woman.

“So, you’re saying there’s nothing wrong with the anti-theft magic?”

“Yes, Madam. It seems someone must have touched it to trigger the magic. Otherwise, there would’ve been no reason for it to activate…”

“……”

Even after the maid Gemma finished speaking, the Duchess remained silent for a while.

Peering through the gap, I couldn’t help but admire the Duchess’s presence.

“Wow…”

She truly resembled Somerset. The only difference was the undeniable elegance that radiated from her even as she sat still. 

The way she held her teacup was graceful, and even when Gemma spoke about the necklace causing chaos, there wasn’t the slightest change in her expression.

Without a sound, the Grand Duchess lowered her teacup onto its saucer.

“So, we don’t know who this ‘someone’ is?”

“No, Madam. That much is still unclear.”

“Hmm.”

“All that boasting, yet these so-called magicians are quite useless, aren’t they? They’ve figured out nothing.”

Her words were followed by a heavy silence. Slowly, the Duchess’s gaze lowered, her eyes clouding as she stared at the teacup in her hands.

I clasped my hands together in the wardrobe and silently prayed. 

‘Please, please, let the anti-theft magic be lifted now, please!’

Finally breaking the silence, the Grand Duchess spoke in her usual calm tone.

“What is Dedrick doing these days?”

“The youngest master is the same as always, Madam. He stays holed up in his room studying or occasionally goes for walks but otherwise does not come out.”

“Do you think it’s possible that he’s the culprit?”

“……”

“No, I suppose not.”

The Grand Duchess let out a self-deprecating chuckle, as if mocking herself for even considering the idea.

“I’ll have the anti-theft magic removed. This commotion is making it impossible to live in peace.”

“Yes, Madam.”

“Finally!”

Without realizing it, I let out a loud cheer.

The moment Gemma picked up the necklace and started heading out, I quietly stepped out of the wardrobe to follow her.

But then, the door suddenly opened, and a pale-faced maid entered the room in a rush.

“Ma-Madam… His Grace, the Grand Duke, is…!”

Before the maid could finish her sentence, the heavy sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway and reverberated into the room.

Thud. Thud.

The maids in the room swallowed nervously.

Even though everyone lived in the Grand Duke’s castle, seeing him in person was rare for anyone who wasn’t part of his inner circle.

Even for me.

I hadn’t expected to see him here…

Creak.

The door opened slowly, revealing a towering man who stepped inside.

His jet-black hair, the same as Dedrick’s, was slicked back neatly, and his sharp eyes were deeply set.
As his cold, lowered gaze swept across the room, a suffocating silence settled in, along with an overwhelming sense of intimidation that seemed to radiate from his mere presence.

Instinctively, I shrank back like a turtle retreating into its shell and took a few steps backward.

“…”

“…?”

For a brief moment, I felt like as if the Grand Duke’s gaze met mine.

Hesitant, I whispered quietly, “C-Can you see me?”

But instead of answering, his piercing, indifferent eyes shifted back to the Grand Duchess as if nothing had happened.

‘Was it just my imagination?’

Carefully, I edged closer toward him.

Delani, the Grand Duchess, rose from her seat, pretending to be calm and composed. She greeted him with a soft smile and delicate eyes.

“Welcome home, dear.”

The Grand Duke, however, did not respond to her greeting.

His blatant disregard caused the Grand Duchess to clasp her trembling hands together in an effort to conceal the shaking.

Meanwhile, I couldn’t hide the glint of excitement in my eyes.

‘This is my chance!’

I hadn’t expected the Grand Duke to show up.

Delani quickly signaled Gemma with her eyes, silently instructing her to take the necklace and leave the room as fast as possible.

If another lightning strike occurred here, the Grand Duke would become aware of the necklace’s existence.
And that couldn’t happen.

Why?

Because if the Duke didn’t see something with his own eyes, he wouldn’t acknowledge it. If it was visible to him, however, the situation would change.

There was an incident like this once before:

The Grand Duchess had repeatedly insulted Dedrick’s mother. Unable to endure the constant humiliation, Dedrick confessed everything to the Grand Duke.
But the Grand Duke coldly responded to young Dedrick with this:

“Bring me proof. I only believe what I can see with my own eyes.”

And he didn’t stop there.

The Grand Duke believed that only visible evidence could resolve everything. It was almost an obsession.

Maybe he had a history of being falsely accused due to a lack of proof.
In short, he didn’t care if the evidence was fake. As long as it was something he could see with his own eyes, he was willing to act.

And I planned to use that to my advantage.

‘Visible proof!’

Without hesitation, I approached the maid carrying the necklace and touched it.

Zap!

As always, lightning coursed through my body.

“……”

The Grand Duke’s gaze shifted sharply and landed directly on the necklace.

Even though Delani frantically called out to him, but the Duke blocked the maid’s path as she tried to rush out.

“W-Wait!”

“D-Dear!”

Maybe I’d been struck by lightning too many times, or maybe I’d built up some resistance, but this time, I neither passed out nor was forcibly summoned back to the wardrobe.

It seemed forced summoning only occurred if I was injured so badly that I couldn’t move.

As long as the wardrobe’s fine, I don’t need to worry about dying.

Cough…

The lightning had caused me to cough, and black smoke billowed out of my mouth.

“Eek!”

The maid gasped as the smoke materialized in the empty air, but the Duke didn’t even glance at it, still holding the necklace in his hand.

“This keepsake… didn’t they all go to Dedrick?”

The Duke’s presence grew more ominous. The atmosphere in the room turned cold, and everyone present trembled in fear.

I felt it too. The killing intent in the air made my body shake uncontrollably, something I had never experienced before. I didn’t want to feel this way, but my body was reacting to the pressure.

For a brief moment, though, I felt the killing intent lessen as if it had been momentarily subdued.

“I’m curious to see what kind of excuse you’ll come up with this time.”

His icy voice made Delani stiffen for a moment, but she quickly composed herself, clasping her hands together and lifting her chin.

“Yes, that necklace is indeed a keepsake of Amelia’s.”

She didn’t even try to hide it.

Her face, smiling as if nothing was wrong, answered with a somewhat feminine grace.

“I found it late, and I was going to bring it to you, but it seems you noticed it first.”

“What’s the magic on the necklace?”

Now that I thought about it, the Duke had touched the necklace, and yet no lightning struck him. He was still holding it, unaffected by the magic.

“Impressive, the Blackwood Duke…”

I was struck hard by the lightning, yet he seemed untouched. I was fascinated and couldn’t help but glance around him.

“It’s a magic spell to prevent theft.”

“Was it really necessary to keep it on?”

“Because it’s Dedrick’s precious possession.”

Delani’s response was smooth, almost like she had a serpent hidden in her mouth.

I almost found myself admiring the smooth lies coming out of her.

“Then this magic wouldn’t work on Dedrick, would it?”

Despite the accuracy of the question, Delani answered calmly.

“…That’s because Dedrick needs to be present. I was about to place the magic again, so only he could touch it.”

“…”

In the heavy silence, I saw Delani nervously biting her lip as the Duke’s cold gaze bore down on her.

He looked at her for a moment, then nonchalantly added,

“You’re quite good at avoiding the truth.”

“….”

“If there are any other keepsakes, bring them all to me. I’ll let this go for now.”

It was clear he knew she was lying. But he still chose to let it slide.

It was disappointing, but I understood. 

In this situation, it was better to find the keepsakes and return them to Dedrick rather than questioning Delani one by one.

If Delani had hidden them deliberately, even the Duke might not be able to find them.

While physical threats were an option, she was still the Duke’s wife, and the Duke made sure to show her basic respect.

Yet, she didn’t move from her spot.

The Duke gripped the necklace tightly.

A small magic circle appeared above the necklace, inscribed with runes. Then, with a crackling sound, it shattered and disappeared.

“…”

Was he capable of doing that too?

As I carefully tried to touch the necklace, the Duke’s hand lowered slightly.

It seemed as if he was adjusting it to be in line with me.

This was the second time he had acted as though he knew I was there.

I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously.

“… Can you really not see me?”