Chapter 103
“Fine, let’s skip the formalities.”
Delani stepped forward and slapped him hard across the face.
Slap!
Dedrick didn’t even flinch. He just stared down at her with cold eyes. Furious, Delani shouted at him.
“How dare you come here?! If you had just kept your mouth shut and stayed away, I would’ve—”
“Hah.”
So now she was acting like this? After all the times she tried to have him killed?
His voice turned icy.
“And what exactly would you have done for me?”
His piercing blue eyes locked onto hers.
Delani hesitated, instinctively taking a step back. She had always used fear to control him when he was younger, but that wouldn’t work anymore.
Years of fear and anxiety had tempered her sharp mind, just like it had with Somerset.
Dedrick clenched his fists. The veins on the back of his hands bulged with tension.
At last, the rage he had held back for so long exploded from his throat.
“I begged you!”
“…….”
“I pleaded with you to just give me the wardrobe! That was all I wanted! I promised to leave and never show my face again!”
Step.
He took a slow, deliberate step forward.
Delani retreated but soon found her back pressed against the wall.
A suffocating pressure filled the space between them. She gasped for breath.
Dedrick’s voice came out in a chilling whisper.
“You were the one who refused.”
“…….”
“And then you killed my beautiful monster.”
The moment he realized that his world—the gray monster that had been everything to him—was gone, something inside him had shattered.
“I lost the only thing that mattered to me, and you knew exactly what that would do to me, didn’t you?”
“I-I…”
Delani stammered, pressing herself harder against the wall, desperate to put distance between them.
But Dedrick only stepped closer.
Then, with a sudden move, he wrapped his fingers around her throat.
“Ugh! Ghhkk! L-let go…!”
“You must’ve been prepared for the consequences.”
“Kh—!”
“Or did you really think I would just sit back and take it?”
Terror filled Delani’s eyes. She struggled desperately, but his grip only tightened.
He leaned in, his whisper dripping with venom.
“You took everything from me…”
Her feet lifted slightly off the ground as she kicked and thrashed, but it was useless. Panic overtook her.
Dedrick watched her coldly, his grip unyielding.
“Now, I will take everything from you.”
A man who had lost everything was now ready to destroy it all.
Later that night
Dedrick arrived at the burning site—the place where Somerset had burned the wardrobe.
He gazed at the filthy surroundings and muttered under his breath.
“Disgusting.”
To think… you were left alone in a place like this.
Taking a deep breath, he rolled up his sleeves.
He couldn’t stand the thought of this place being left in such a state.
So, he began cleaning.
Even as his hands and clothes became covered in dirt, he didn’t stop.
By the time the sun started to rise, the burning site was spotless.
A servant, arriving early for work, gasped in shock when he saw Dedrick standing there. He hurried over, bowing his head.
“L-Lord Dedrick! W-why are you doing such work…?”
“Move the incineration site somewhere else.”
“Excuse me?”
Dedrick’s sharp gaze shot toward the servant, making him flinch.
“No one is to come near this place again. If anyone dares, even the Duchess herself, report it directly to me.”
“Y-yes! I understand!”
Terrified, the servant scurried away.
Only then did Dedrick turn away from the site and leave.
As the cool morning air brushed against him, he quietly made his way to his room.
Inside, he removed the small vial necklace from his neck and took off his shirt.
His body was covered in scars—evidence of battles fought and near-death experiences. A particularly deep scar ran dangerously close to his heart, where a sword had once nearly taken his life.
The sound of running water filled the air as he stepped into the bath.
But just as he started to wash away the grime, he heard the door to his room open.
Someone had entered.
Dedrick remained still, his eyes locked on the bathroom door.
The intruder stood just beyond it, waiting.
There was no killing intent.
Sensing no immediate danger, Dedrick finished bathing, wrapped a robe around himself, and stepped out.
A man stood there, watching him.
Dedrick’s voice was calm but firm.
“What do you want at this hour?”
“You already know why I’m here.”
“Ah. Should I be expecting a thank-you, then?”
Dedrick smirked, but his gaze remained sharp.
“You can try exposing me as the one who leaked information about the Grand Duke’s household, but it won’t change anything. I have nothing to say to you, Axel.”
Axel let out a short sigh.
“I never gave you information out of kindness.”
He studied Dedrick closely.
The boy he once knew was gone.
In his place stood a man—one far darker and more dangerous than even the Grand Duke himself.
And he had played a part in creating him.
Unable to meet Dedrick’s piercing stare any longer, Axel finally spoke.
“But the information helped you, didn’t it? Especially what I told you about my mother and Somerset.”
Dedrick, who had been about to pour himself a drink, paused.
After a moment, he set the brandy aside and poured himself water instead.
He had more work to do. He needed to return to the burning site and plant roses there.
As Axel fidgeted slightly, clearly unsettled by the atmosphere, Dedrick suddenly spoke.
“Did you ever send me a blue letter?”
“That never happened.”
To be honest, Dedrick didn’t believe that the person who sent the blue letters and Axel were the same. Axel had always sent letters in black envelopes.
More importantly, the way they provided information was completely different. He was sure they were different people—he just needed confirmation.
“There was someone else giving information besides me?”
“You don’t need to know that.”
“…Fine. The reason I came here is to collect payment for the information I gave you.”
“Speak.”
“At the same time… I also want to ask for forgiveness.”
The moment Dedrick’s gaze met Axel’s, Axel dropped to his knees.
Pressing his forehead to the floor, he sincerely apologized.
“…I’m sorry for everything. I know it’s no excuse, but I needed my mother’s approval. I wanted to prove my worth by earning my brother’s recognition.”
“So?”
“I regret every single day I treated you badly.”
“Are you trying to trade my forgiveness for the information you gave me?”
“…That’s not it.”
Axel lifted his head and looked at him.
“I’ll let you use me however you want. The Grand Duke handles most of the affairs, but I’m in charge of a significant portion, taking Somerset’s place. So use me. It’ll make it easier to bring those two down. No—”
His voice turned dark, filled with deep hatred.
“You could even kill them. Cruelly. Without dirtying your own hands.”
“So, what do you want in return?”
“Let me be part of your revenge. I’ll take the lead in everything. I’ll handle all the dirty work. I’ll be your puppet.”
Axel begged desperately.
After Dedrick left, Axel hadn’t lived an easy life either.
Being constantly compared to others and treated with disdain, he had learned what true misery was. He realized his own insignificance and felt deeply betrayed by his mother.
He was sick of cleaning up Somerset’s messes, of trying to please him, of enduring his mother’s coldness.
He loathed them both—those who saw him as nothing more than a tool.
“Please, I’m begging you. Mother and Somerset trust me more than anyone. If you use me, you’ll be able to destroy them completely.”
