IBACM Chapter 42

Chapter 42

“This time, I won’t let it slide! You always got beaten up and never said a word, but now you ran to Father and badmouthed about us? I won’t forgive you!”

“If you did something wrong, you should be punished! The one who hits is guilty, not the one who gets hit!”

Even though Axel couldn’t hear me, I still shouted at him.

“I’ll get revenge.”

“In what way?”

Tell me.

I need to know so that my Dedrick can prepare in advance.

But Axel didn’t answer. Instead, he showed me through his actions.

He pulled the string and called a servant into the room, and then gave him an order.

“Bring me a wasp. Hurry!”

“Wow… First a scorpion, now a wasp. What’s next, a lion?”

At least I knew about it in advance, so I could do something about it.

Before I hid back in the wardrobe, I scared the servant away and waited until Axel was alone. Then, I threw a book at his foot.

On purpose. With the sharp corner.

Thud!

“Argh!”

As he grabbed his foot and hopped around in pain, I stuck my leg out and tripped him. He lost his balance and crashed onto the floor with a scream.

“Wh-what? What’s happening?!”

“What do you mean? I’m a wardrobe monster, of course!”

Ugh, these two brothers are so annoying.

Just wait until my Dedrick grows up.

He’ll take care of everything.

---

The next day, I was completely shocked when I saw Dedrick return from sword training.

One of his arms was swollen as if he had been stung by a wasp.

Despite that, he looked as fresh as someone who had just gone for a casual walk.

“I got stung by a wasp. It hurts so much,” he said lightly.

That’s not the face of someone in pain.

I took a deep breath to calm down before asking,

“I—uh, I mean, I told you yesterday that Axel was going to release wasps! I warned you to be careful!”

What the heck!

“If you stay still, wasps won’t sting you! Were there a lot of them?”

That Axel!

I quickly checked his body.

Luckily, his face was untouched. Even the wasp must have known that his face was a national treasure. Instead, it had targeted his exposed arm.

Looking at his swollen arm, I couldn’t even touch it. My face scrunched in frustration.

“This is so upsetting!”

“…Are you really that upset?”

“Of course! Sit down.”

He hesitated for a moment, then leaned into me.

I couldn’t let this slide.

When I gently pushed him away, he let out a small groan.

“Ah!”

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“Yeah… it hurts.”

“That’s why I warned you in advance…!”

I was so frustrated. I patted his back and muttered,

“That Axel… I’ll make sure he has even worse nightmares this time…”

I wasn’t called a monster for nothing.

I helped Dedrick sit down on the sofa and brought back a firm, thin bookmark.

“…What’s that for?”

“You came straight to me after getting stung, right?”

He nodded.

I examined his arm closely.

“Does it itch?”

“It itches… and throbs.”

“Do you feel dizzy or have trouble breathing?”

I placed a hand on his forehead but sighed.

My hands were naturally warm, so checking for a fever like this wouldn’t work.

Seeing my worried face, he stifled a laugh and lowered my hand.

“I don’t have a fever, I’m not dizzy, and I can breathe just fine.”

“Good. If you ever feel those symptoms, you have to tell me immediately, okay?”

After he sincerely promised, I held up the bookmark.

“First, we need to remove the stinger!”

“Okay.”

“D-don’t be nervous.”

As I stared at his arm with shaky eyes, he sniffled and chuckled.

“I think you’re more nervous than me…”

Yeah.

This is my first time doing this.

I recalled my past life in the hospital. I had once seen a doctor remove a wasp sting, and they used something like a card to push it out.

If the situation was severe, I’d definitely call a doctor, but…

Dedrick didn’t seem interested in calling one.

I pressed the bookmark against his skin and slowly pushed.

And just like that, the stinger slid out.

Whoa. It worked!

I carefully grabbed it with tweezers and pulled it free.

“It’s out!”

“Wow…”

Dedrick looked at me with amazement in his eyes.

Feeling proud, I put my hands on my hips and struck a victorious pose for a moment.

“Now, stay still and rest. I’ll bring some ice.”

I tried to sound as cool as a doctor and disappeared into the wardrobe.

I sneaked into the kitchen, took some ice, and wrapped it in a handkerchief.

Then, I rushed back to Dedrick. When I opened the wardrobe door, I found him standing in front of it.

“You scared me. Why are you just standing there?”

“I was just waiting…”

“Come here. You need an ice pack.”

Luckily, the swelling wasn’t too bad. If we iced it, it would go down soon.

“It’s cold, but bear with it.”

“Okay.”

I carefully placed the ice pack on his arm, frowning.

“From now on, if those idiots try anything, I’m following them no matter what.”

Even if I have to hide in the wardrobe, I’ll stay right by his side.

“…Are You Really That Sad When I Get Hurt?”

“Of course, I am!”

For some reason, he smiled shyly.

“Are you… smiling?”

At my sharp tone, Dedrick looked flustered.

“But… you always tell me to smile.”

“I meant it looks good on you.”

When I finally relaxed and grinned at him, he smiled back.

I focused on the ice pack on his arm, watching to see if the swelling would go down. Then, he absentmindedly played with my hair and spoke.

“I found something special about the World Tree.”

“Huh? The World Tree? You already finished reading that thick book?”

“Not exactly…”

“Ugh, seriously!”

I scrunched my face in frustration.

“Didi, anything about me is really minor. I don’t want to make things hard for you.”

“No.”

His deep blue eyes looked straight at me.

“You’re not minor to me.”

“……”

“You’re more important than anything else. That’s why I did it. You feel the same way, don’t you?”

“Of course!”

My immediate answer made him chuckle softly and lean against me. His round eyes quietly watched me.

“…Are you going to scold me?”

How could I, when he’s being so cute?

I stared at him, then couldn’t resist rubbing my cheek against his head.

His laughter filled the room, warm and clear.

“So? What did you find out?”

Still leaning against me, he shared what he had learned.

“The book was thick, but most of it was common knowledge. Like how the World Tree shaped the world… but I knew that wasn’t what you were looking for.”

“I don’t care about the origins of the world.”

“I figured. But there were some other details.”

“Like what?”

“The World Tree has life energy. Because of that, it can restore dying life—except for humans. Its wood chips or leaves are used to cure diseases. And its flowers… are said to bring even the dead back to life.”

“Except for humans?”

“Yeah. It works on beings like fairies or spirits…”

“What about monsters?”

“Hmm… It did say ‘pure’ beings…”

I may be pure, but I’m still a monster…

Still, I got some useful information. So that’s why that woman asked me to bring a piece of wood.

It was like adding firewood to keep my dying flame from going out.

“Purity, huh…”

I lifted the ice pack and checked his arm again. The swelling had gone down nicely.

“Then, am I fully healed now? Since I grew up so well?”

“Do you feel any pain?”

“Not at all. I haven’t felt any pain at all this whole time.”

Before I met Dedrick, I had been wandering through dreams, not thinking or doing anything. But even then, I would have noticed if I had been in pain.

So, the day I met Dedrick and finally he noticed me—that must have been why I was so happy.

Thinking about the way he had recognized me back then made me smile without realizing it.

“Heh.”

“……”

Ah, I just smirked again.

 

Late at night, after confirming that Dedrick’s arm was fully healed, I lay down quietly inside the wardrobe.

‘A piece of the World Tree…’

Something that only responds to pure beings and grants life…

‘Even a single piece has such incredible power.’

Well, it is a primordial being. That makes sense.

So, I had survived thanks to the World Tree’s life energy—thanks to those two people.

If they really were Dedrick’s parents, it would explain how I ended up here.

But while the woman might be his mother, that man couldn’t possibly be the Grand Duke.

A divine agent couldn’t be human.

…This is getting more and more confusing.

As my thoughts deepened, a sudden knock interrupted me.

Knock, knock.