IBACM Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Everyone there had attempted to speak to Dedrick at least once.

Soon, Dedrick appeared at the picnic spot.

The maids, itching to acknowledge him, gazed at him with burning anticipation.

Dedrick’s expression grew even colder under their stares.

“Come on over, Dedrick. I wanted to celebrate your mission with the Black Hawk, so I arranged this gathering. We didn’t get to properly congratulate you back then.”

Delani greeted Dedrick with a sickeningly sweet smile, naturally shifting her gaze toward the lake as she spoke.

“The spring lake is truly beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Dedrick replied flatly before taking a seat.

Somerset, as if he had been waiting for the chance, immediately picked a fight.

“Feels good, doesn’t it? Blaming your ridiculous act on me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. In fact, I should be asking you—do you feel good blaming Axel instead?”

“You son of a—!”

Somerset shot to his feet and grabbed Dedrick by the collar.

“Didi!”

As I rushed over in panic, Dedrick grabbed Somerset’s hand and twisted it back.

“Arghhh! Let go, damn it!”

Somerset howled in pain, and Dedrick easily let go of his hand.

Standing up from his seat, Dedrick turned to Delani.

“It seems I’m ruining the mood. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Dedrick, it hasn’t even been ten minutes since you arrived. Must you go? I put in great effort to prepare this gathering…”

“After seeing my brother’s behavior, asking me to stay here is nothing short of violence against me.”

“……”

Delani fell silent, seemingly at a loss for words.

Dedrick gestured toward me with his eyes, and without thinking, I followed after him.

Was it really going to end this easily?

That couldn’t be possible.

Glancing back, I checked on Delani—she was staring daggers at Dedrick’s retreating figure.

“Didi, something’s not right. I’ll go to the room first, so take your time—”

Swoosh!

Before I could finish speaking, I was suddenly transported into a wardrobe.

As I hurried to open the door and step out, a sharp metallic scent stung my nose, making me frown.

“What is this smell?”

A strange sense of unease washed over me. Slowly, I opened the wardrobe door.

Creeeak—.

A maid stood in front of the wardrobe.

Her entire body was drenched in blood.

“Kyaaahhh!”

A… a corpse…!

I turned my head away, unable to bear the sight of the dead maid staring at me with lifeless eyes. Pressing my face against the wardrobe wall, I trembled violently.

“S-Someone’s dead. A dead body… D-Didi… they’re trying to frame him for murder…!”

I clenched my teeth.

“They’re insane! How could they—?!”

No matter how little they valued human life…

But to frame an innocent person…

I squeezed my eyes shut. My body trembled uncontrollably, but I forced myself to regain composure.

‘I can’t fall apart now.’

There was no time to waste. I had to dispose of the corpse as soon as possible.

Suppressing my wildly pounding heart, I forced myself to look at the body again. Tears welled up so quickly that my vision blurred.

“What kind of monster is afraid of a corpse?”

I snapped at myself, roughly wiping away my tears and forcing my eyes open.

I had to get rid of it before Delani arrived.

“First… I need to move the body…”

I clenched my fists as I stood before the corpse.

I had seen Delani order people to be killed before, but I had never actually seen a dead body.

The gruesome sight made me want to turn and flee, but I bit my lip and thought of Dedrick.

Scolding myself, I muttered,

“Calm down. If you hesitate here, you’ll lose Didi.”

‘I’m fine.’

Repeating it to myself like a mantra helped ease the trembling in my body.

I hurried to another room and retrieved a large cloth, carefully wrapping the dead maid’s body to prevent the blood from staining anything else.

Then, I transported both myself and the corpse to the maid’s room, placing her onto her bed.

I had remembered her room because she had been particularly forward with Dedrick.

After ensuring her body was in place, I returned to Dedrick’s room.

‘I have to hurry before Didi gets back.’

I erased all traces left in the room. I even replaced the bloodstained carpet with a new one from the linen room.

Rolling up the stained carpet, I transported myself to a distant place and made my way toward the incinerator, careful to avoid any prying eyes.

Luckily, the incinerator was already burning. I tossed the carpet inside.

Crackle—.

The fabric was quickly devoured by the flames.

As the tension drained from my body, I collapsed onto the ground.

Slowly raising my hands, I saw they were still covered in blood, trembling violently.

“…I need to wash up.”

And then, I needed to act like nothing had happened.

I got up and headed to the riverbank where laundry was done.

‘I can’t risk washing in the bathroom and leaving a trace.’

The river was a bit far, but at least I hadn’t been transported elsewhere this time.

I knelt by the flowing water and vigorously scrubbed my hands.

‘I thought they’d just spread rumors… but to actually kill someone…’

They had never gone this far before.

‘More than anything, I had no idea they were planning something so extreme.’

After instructing them to fabricate a scandal about Dedrick and the maid, Delani had gone completely silent.

I had been watching her closely these past few days, but she had barely spoken a word.

That meant…

I buried my face in my hands and let out a pained groan.

‘The Duchess found out.’

She had figured me out.

Panic threatened to consume me.

I had managed to dispose of the body this time, but what about next time?

What if they continued pushing Dedrick into these traps, with plans I couldn’t predict?

If I hadn’t been randomly transported to that wardrobe, Dedrick would have been framed without any chance to defend himself.

Even in a strict hierarchical society, murdering a servant without cause was unacceptable.

It would have stripped him of his title and status as the heir.

‘Even Delani could’ve been implicated if this went wrong.’

She had taken that gamble—just to confirm my existence.

Despite knowing all this, I had no choice but to clean up the mess.

“Insane,” I muttered, wiping away the tears that dripped down my face.

“But did they really have to kill someone?!”

Even if they saw me as a monster…

“I’m scared too…”

I was once human, after all.

Sobbing uncontrollably, I suddenly felt strong arms wrap around me from behind.

I didn’t even flinch.

“…Didi.”

There was no one else who would hold me like this.

Dedrick’s signature cool scent enveloped me. His embrace was impossibly warm.

His familiar scent and body heat melted the tension that had seized my body.

‘Wait. My face must be a mess…’

I hurriedly wiped my nose with the river water.

Splash! Splash!

As I frantically washed my face, Dedrick let out a chuckle behind me.

“I already saw it, Mary. Your snot.”

“Erase it from your memory!”

I grabbed his head and shook it, while he just laughed.

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• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •

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Advance chapters of this novel are available of my kofi channel

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