IBACM Chapter 45

Chapter 45

“Why are you suddenly saying such pretty things?”

As I wondered, I suddenly remembered how Dedrick had been more hurt than me when he heard about my past.

‘…He was worried about me.’

Because I was abandoned due to my horn, which absorbed blood during the war.

‘He wanted to make sure I didn’t hate myself. He wanted to show me that my horn is more beautiful than anything else.’

Like a gift, he had come to me with a rose.

“Didi…”

Feeling touched, I softly called his name. He met my gaze again and smiled gently.

Suddenly, my cheeks felt hot. I cupped them and mumbled,

“Didi, you always say pretty things.”

“I only say them to you.”

That made me even more embarrassed!

I fiddled with the rose, feeling shy.

Dedrick let out a short exclamation.

“Oh…!”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Your horn sparkled again.”

“Really?”

Why does this keep happening?!

Just as I was panicking, Dedrick, just as surprised as I was, touched my horns.

“And some sparkling dust came out of them and got absorbed into the rose…”

“What? It’s not going to dry, is it?!”

No way!

I hurriedly tried to remove the rose.

“H-Hey, what’s going on?”

The rose stuck to my head and wouldn’t budge.

“Didi, help me take this off!”

I ended up asking him for help, and he effortlessly removed it—just like that.

“…Are you kidding me?”

“…No.”

No, I wasn’t talking to you.

“When I tried, it wouldn’t even move…”

“Want to put it back on?”

“Yeah, try it.”

He placed the rose back in my hair and stepped back.

Again, when I tried to remove it, it wouldn’t come off at all.

“Why is this happening…? It’s stuck so tight!”

“Do you want to take it off…?”

“It’s not that I don’t like it. I actually want to keep wearing it. But I’m worried if others can see it… Let’s test it out!”

I grabbed Dedrick’s hand and stood in front of a mirror.

In the reflection, a girl with ash-gray hair and a bright red rose in her hair looked back at me.

I let go of Dedrick’s hand—and instantly, my reflection disappeared. The rose vanished too.

Surprised, I shouted,

“The rose is gone!”

No matter how I moved, nothing showed up in the mirror.

“Did it become part of my body?”

I had no idea how this worked, but…

“You look just like a fairy.”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head, and Dedrick mentioned a story we had read about fairies and a princess.

“In that story, the fairy sprinkled fairy dust on a flower and wore it in their hair. To be noticed by the princess.”

“Oh!”

Now I remembered! In the story, the flower sprinkled with fairy dust never gets dried or falls off.

“The dust from your horn must be like fairy dust. And remember? It also healed before.”

“Yeah… Do you think I might be a fairy?”

“But you said fairies went extinct.”

It was an ancient race, only existing in fairy tales now.

“And I have horns! Fairies don’t have horns.”

“The pictures in books are just imagined. You never know.”

“Why? Do you want me to be a fairy?”

“I don’t care what you are.”

Dedrick answered seriously. I smiled and pulled him closer.

My reflection appeared again. But I needed more proof.

Was it just the mirror, or could people really not see it?

“I’m going outside! I need to be sure.”

“I’ll come with you. The servants are busy preparing for the banquet, so I’ll watch just in case.”

“Alright! Let’s go now!”

I grabbed his hand to rush outside but then hesitated.

Oh, wait. That wouldn’t work. They’d see me.

I started to pull my hand away, but Dedrick held it tighter.

“At least until we reach the door.”

“Okay. Just until the door!”

We walked out into the hallway, where servants were bustling around. I took a deep breath.

“I’m going now!”

“….”

I casually walked past one of the maids.

The rose was big, bright red, and full—it should have been impossible to miss.

But no one screamed, “A floating rose!”

Just like the mirror, no one could see it.

“Didi! They can’t see it!”

I jumped up and down in excitement. Dedrick just stood still, watching me with an unreadable expression.

His face looked a little strange, but I was too happy to think about it. I waved my hands at him.

“I can keep wearing your gift forever!”

The deep scent of a winter-bloomed rose filled the air beautifully.

---

It’s been two days since I started wearing the rose!

I smiled as I touched it.

It really seemed like my horn had the same power as fairy dust.

Even after two days with no water, the flower was as fresh and beautiful as the day Dedrick gave it to me.

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah! I think I even smell like roses now. Before, didn’t I just smell like an old wardrobe?”

“Not at all. You’ve always smelled like roses. A deep, overwhelming scent.”

Dedrick took my hand and smiled softly.

“I’m happy because you’re happy.”

“Thank you so much!”

I couldn’t just keep receiving gifts without giving something back.

I wanted to give him the best thing I had.

Then, I remembered the small gemstone attached to my horn.

It was small, but it was my most precious possession.

I felt like I should always keep it with me, but… I didn’t mind giving it to Dedrick.

But just giving him the gem as it was…

I wanted to make it into something beautiful.

I looked at him quietly, then reached out and touched his soft earlobe.

The earrings would look so good on him.

I wanted to turn it into an earring for him.

“…T-That tickles.”

“I don’t care. I’m doing it anyway!”

I started playing with both of his ears, making him burst into laughter.

We were having fun when suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

We immediately stopped laughing.

Dedrick’s expression turned serious, and a voice called from outside.

“Young Master, I have a message from Madam.”

“…Ugh. What is she planning now?”

Grumbling, Dedrick walked to the door, and I followed. When he opened it, Miranda, one of Delani’s loyal maids, stood there.

She smiled politely at him.

“Madam requests that you attend the banquet this time, Young Master.”

“…I…”

“Then I will inform her of your delight.”

Without waiting for his response, Miranda turned on her heel and left.

Rude. She was just like her mistress.

I glared at her as she left, then quickly pulled Dedrick inside and locked the door.

Just like in the novel… everything was happening as expected.

“I thought she wouldn’t invite me… I had so many plans to spend time with you instead…”

Dedrick mumbled, looking gloomy.

I grabbed his arms seriously and said,

“That’s not the biggest problem right now.”

“For me, it is.”

“No, it’s not!”

“Yes, it is!”

Oh? This kid was getting bold.

I was shocked, and Dedrick flinched.

“S-Sorry for yelling…”

“Hey, that wasn’t even loud! Actually, I kind of like hearing your voice louder… Wait, that’s not the point.”

I snapped back to focus.

“We have a big problem.”

“Because we can’t play together?”

Why is he so fixated on that?

“No! You don’t have a banquet outfit.”

A very serious issue, right? A terrifying crisis!

But Dedrick just casually replied,

“I got one last time, thanks to the Second Prince.”

“No! That one is way too small now! If you wear it, your ankles will be totally exposed!”

He had grown a lot since then!

“We need a new one.”

“You don’t have one either. Do I really need to wear one?”

“Of course!”

I wanted to show off my amazing Dedrick. Make everyone fall for him!

But then…

“…You said we shouldn’t stand out.”

“…Oh.”

I was an idiot.

Until I became an adult, we had to stay unnoticed. That was the plan.

I sighed.

But…

“If you don’t wear proper clothes, they’ll humiliate you.”

That, I couldn’t allow.

I wasn’t just sticking with him for survival anymore.

I had grown too attached to him.