IBACM Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Perez bent over slightly, his body trembling.

“Heh…”

After clearing his throat, he made me an offer.

“Why don’t you come with me? To the palace. I’ll treat you well.”

[No.]

That’s ridiculous.

What would you even do with me when you can’t even see me?

“I may not see you, but I enjoy being with you. I’m lonely… Stay with me for a while.”

[Didi is more important.]

I rejected him without hesitation.

What kind of cheap trick was this?

At least you have your mother.

Didi only has me!

I scowled at him and scribbled quickly.

[I’m leaving.]

Perez stared at my writing for a moment, then stood up with a disappointed look.

“I’ll take care of burning the paper so no one finds out.”

Oh, right. The paper.

I was about to snatch it from him when a sudden knock on the door made me freeze.

“Your Highness, young master Dedrick has come to see you.”

“Huh? D-Didi?”

I hurried to hide in the wardrobe, but Perez was faster.

“Let him in.”

Perez answered casually, and I panicked.

“I’m not in the wardrobe yet—!”

As soon as I opened the door, I locked eyes with Dedrick.

“Mary…”

“D-Didi.”

“I couldn’t find you in your room, so I thought I’d check here… Why are you here?”

Dedrick looked so disappointed. Feeling awkward, I quickly shut the wardrobe door and tried to explain.

“Uh, I thought the prince was bullying you, so I came for revenge!”

Dedrick turned to Perez to confirm.

“Is that true?”

I glanced at Perez, my eyes begging for help.

I can’t let Dedrick find out about his surprise gift!

Perez, of course, couldn’t see my desperate expression, but Dedrick still stepped in to block his view.

“Well, since I can’t see her, I wouldn’t know. What did she say?”

Dedrick hesitated, then lied.

“She said she came to play with you…”

That’s not true!

Ignoring my reaction, Dedrick looked at Perez for confirmation. Perez simply shrugged.

“No way. She only cares about you.”

I sighed in relief.

At least Perez has some tact.

But Dedrick still didn’t look convinced. He must have thought we had planned this in advance.

“Didi, let’s just go back to your room.”

“I’ll be leaving first.”

“Before you go, let me say goodbye to the wardrobe monster.”

I panicked, worried he’d say something else, so I quickly grabbed Dedrick’s hand and bowed.

“Goodbye!”

Perez finally looked satisfied, but Dedrick pulled his hand away.

“Let’s go, Mary.”

…Is he pouting?

That’s kind of cute.

I smirked and followed him.

---

Back in his room, I carefully watched Dedrick’s expression.

“Did you enjoy your walk?”

Instead of answering, he stared at my horns.

“Didi?”

He reached out and touched them, mumbling to himself.

“The gemstone is gone.”

“Huh?”

I pretended not to know and felt around my horns.

“The blue gem on your horn. It’s missing.”

“Oh, I must’ve dropped it somewhere.”

“Isn’t it important?”

“Of course! But it’s fine if someone else finds it. I’ll just take it back later.”

I reassured him, but he looked more upset than I was.

“Why do you look so sad? I really don’t mind!”

“…I just thought you’d feel empty without it.”

“I never even saw it. I just wore it.”

“Pfft.”

He chuckled softly, then suddenly looked embarrassed and stopped.

“It’s okay to laugh! Anyway, I wanted to ask you something!”

We sat on the couch, and I brought up something I overheard earlier.

“You really wanted to visit Count Silius’ estate? You were so eager, I was surprised.”

Dedrick scratched his cheek awkwardly and shook his head.

“…Not exactly. I just thought it was a good chance to see if your wardrobe could be moved.”

I blinked. That wasn’t the answer I expected.

Seeing my confusion, he explained.

“You can’t leave the duke’s castle on your own. But if we can move the wardrobe, then maybe you can.”

He had a point. I had never considered moving the wardrobe outside.

If we could move it, that meant I wouldn’t have to be trapped in this place forever.

Excited by the possibility, I shouted,

“That’s actually a great idea!”

Dedrick looked nervous at first, but when he saw my reaction, his face brightened.

“Right?”

“But why did you suddenly think of moving the wardrobe?”

“Well… if I don’t become the duke, I’ll have to live somewhere quiet. And I can’t just leave you behind… If I could take you with me, we could live together somewhere else.”

His voice was dreamy, like he was imagining it already.

But I just smiled.

He doesn’t need to worry about that.

I was sure he would be the next duke.

Not just because of the novel—but because there was no one else in Blackwood as capable as Dedrick.

Even if someone tried, they wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

Dedrick is the best!

But if he was worried, then planning ahead wasn’t a bad idea.

He quickly added,

“They wouldn’t suspect anything. If I pretend to give the wardrobe to Lady Silius as a gift, they wouldn’t pay attention to it. Then I’d just switch it back later…”

As I listened, a brilliant idea hit me.

“How about getting the prince’s help?”

“…”

Dedrick didn’t say anything.

Not interested?

His expression looked displeased. I tried to persuade him.

“What if the prince accidentally loads our wardrobe onto his carriage? Then he realizes the mistake and—”

Hmm.

Maybe that’s too obvious.

Even an idiot wouldn’t fall for that.

And Perez isn’t an idiot.

Okay, this plan was a no-go.

“Didi, we have plenty of chances. Let’s take our time and think carefully.”

“Yeah. I just really hope we can get you out of here someday.”

“You too? Me too.”

If the wardrobe could be moved, I could finally see the world outside.

Maybe even travel with Dedrick.

But first—I need to study!

I’d probably be talking to the prince more often, and I refused to keep getting criticized for my spelling.

I walked over to the bookshelf.

“But Mary, did you find out why the duchess suddenly arranged that dinner?”

I grabbed a fairy tale book and nodded.

“She wants you to get engaged to Ebony.”

“…What?”

I plopped down in my chair and opened the book, muttering,

“I think she wants to make you her son-in-law. That way, she can kick you out of Blackwood entirely.”

Dedrick was speechless.

I glanced at him and smirked.

“But I respect your decision! If you want to get engaged to Ebony, then—”

“I don’t want to!”

I was so startled by Dedrick’s loud voice that I jumped up from my seat.

“Uh…?”

“I… I never even thought about it, so why…?”

His blue eyes filled with tears. Panicking, I rushed to his side, unsure of what to do.

“D-Didi, I was just trying to respect your feelings! If you don’t want to, then don’t do it!”

Yeah, don’t do it!

“I hate misunderstandings…”

He clung to me, sniffling. I patted his back and nodded.

“I won’t misunderstand. I’ll ask you about everything before doing anything, so don’t worry.”

“We’ll talk things out?”

“Yeah!”

Only then did his crying start to calm down.

Then, as if realizing something, Dedrick muttered coldly,

“I must have been too careless before, that’s why people say things like that.”

“Huh? No, that’s not…”

It wasn’t his fault. He just hadn’t learned how to interact with people yet.

Besides, from what I saw, Ebony had also misunderstood things on her own.

If I hadn’t been here, this could have turned into a classic misunderstanding romance. But since Dedrick hated that idea so much, it wasn’t going to happen.

Just as my thoughts started drifting in a weird direction, he spoke again.

“I won’t get involved with that person anymore.”