Chapter 77
“……Why are you here?”
“I felt uneasy after leaving like that… and Somerset wanted to apologize too, so we came together. May we come in for a moment?”
The veins on Dedrick’s jaw tensed.
“I’m busy right now…”
“Hey, we’re here to apologize. Let’s talk inside.”
Without waiting for permission, Somerset shoved past him and entered the room—only to stop in his tracks.
“Mother.”
At Somerset’s signal, Delani stepped inside. She glanced around the spotless room, her eyebrows twitching slightly.
But she quickly composed herself and turned to Somerset.
“Go on, apologize, Somerset.”
“……Ha.”
With a sigh, Somerset strode up to Dedrick.
“Hey, I’m sorry.”
Dedrick simply stared at him in silence. Then, Somerset leaned in close and sneered.
“You really thought I’d say that?”
Predictable as always. Dedrick scoffed coldly, looking down at him with disdain.
“Your breath stinks, brother.”
Somerset’s face flushed red with embarrassment.
“You little—!”
“That’s enough. We should get going. Rest well.”
Without hesitation, Delani turned to leave.
As soon as their footsteps faded, Dedrick stormed out of the room.
‘Where… Where could she be?’
She would have moved the body alone, cleaned up the blood, and in the end, tried to burn the bloodstained carpet.
If she were as smart as he knew her to be, she’d stay behind to make sure it burned completely.
Dedrick hurried toward the incinerator.
But Marilyn was nowhere in sight.
Anxiously, he ran a hand down his face.
‘The next logical place….’
Water.
She would’ve moved the carpet away from prying eyes and needed somewhere to secretly wash the blood off her hands.
A suitable location came to mind, and Dedrick immediately took off, staying alert to any movement around him.
She had done all that just to protect him—he couldn’t let Delani see her in such a state. He wouldn’t let Marilyn’s efforts go to waste.
Easily shaking off the presence tailing him, he headed toward the secluded washing area.
As expected, a small, bloodstained figure was there.
He approached her quietly.
Marilyn didn’t notice his presence, too busy sniffling.
“You look like a crazy person.”
She ground her teeth, rubbing her tears away furiously.
Seeing her like that, Dedrick bit down on his lip so hard it bled.
A crushing sense of helplessness filled him.
While she struggled to handle everything on her own, he had done nothing.
“But still… did you really have to kill someone?”
She suddenly lashed out at the water’s surface in frustration. But then, her shoulders slumped.
“No matter how much of a monster I am… I was scared too….”
Before she could completely break down, Dedrick pulled her into a fierce embrace.
Her frail, small body.
The heavy scent of blood and roses swirled together, stinging his nose.
Just as he parted his lips to apologize—
SPLASH!
Marilyn hastily wiped her face—mainly her nose.
Dedrick couldn’t hold back his laughter. She had no idea how adorable her little runny nose was.
He smirked and gently rubbed her head.
“I already saw it, Mary. Your snot.”
Marilyn, red with embarrassment, grabbed his head and shook it furiously.
“Erase it from your memory!”
“Haha!”
His carefree laughter filled the air, but only briefly.
Catching her hands in his own, he slowly lowered them. Lowered his gaze.
“Mary.”
“……”
Her small hands trembled in his grasp.
“I’m sorry for leaving you alone.”
“Why is Didi sorry?”
Marilyn, determined not to let him feel guilty, grabbed his face and forced him to look at her.
In response, Dedrick gently pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
He apologized again.
“I’m sorry you had to see that. I only ever wanted to show you good things….”
Marilyn quietly stepped back.
“Wait. You have blood on you.”
Dedrick frowned.
“So what?”
Instead of stepping away, he pulled her tightly into his arms.
She yelped.
“I just cleaned everything up!”
“So what, you expect me to stay clean while you do all the dirty work?”
“That was the whole point!”
“Well, I refuse.”
Dedrick held her even closer.
“Mary… next time, don’t handle everything alone. I’m begging you.”
“But there wasn’t enough time to tell you—”
“It doesn’t matter if we get caught. Just…”
He gently wiped the blood from her cheek.
“No matter what happens, come to me first.”
“……”
“Mary, please.”
His voice carried a quiet desperation.
In the end, Marilyn had no choice but to nod.
Sniff!
Even then, she still sniffled.
Unable to resist, Dedrick pressed a kiss to the corner of her eye.
“Ah!”
Startled, she tried to pull away, but he firmly held her in place, licking away the stray tear.
“What are you doing?! That’s disgusting!”
“…I’m disgusting?”
“No, I mean I’m disgusting! You’re not!”
“Then it’s fine.”
He chuckled and continued planting tiny kisses along her tear-streaked cheeks.
She giggled, squirming at the ticklish sensation.
Dedrick loved that sound.
Adorable.
His chest felt like it might burst.
“Didi?”
“Mm. I’m listening.”
He nuzzled her gently, coaxing her to speak.
Marilyn hesitated before asking,
“What do you think would happen if I went in there?”
“There? The water?”
“Yeah. Would only the area around me stay still?”
The sudden, out-of-place question caught him off guard.
Dedrick covered his mouth, laughing.
Sweeping back her messy hair, he asked teasingly,
“That’s what you’re wondering about?”
“Aren’t you curious too?”
Seeing her distracted from the night’s horrors, he played along.
“A little. But I can see you, so it wouldn’t make a difference.”
“You could just check if the water moves funny!”
“Want to test it?”
Dedrick suddenly stood and lifted her into his arms.
“Ah! Hey!”
“Let’s go in together.”
“But it’s still spring! The water’s cold—”
“That’s why I’m holding you. You said I could hug you whenever I wanted if I was cold.”
“Well, yeah, but…”
Before she could protest further, Dedrick strode into the river.
“You’ll look weird suddenly dripping wet!”
“I’ll just say I took a cold bath to cool my temper. Besides, I have blood on me too.”
Marilyn fiddled with his black shirt.
“It won’t show much on black, though.”
“Which is exactly why I need to wash it off. What if someone touches my shirt?”
“No one would dare.”
“You never know.”
He walked deeper, stopping when the water reached his chest.
Marilyn, realizing she couldn’t touch the ground, clung to his neck in panic.
“I—I can’t reach the bottom!”
“It’s fine. I’ve got you. Trust me.”
“Of course I trust you, Didi!”
Such an obvious answer—yet it made his heart swell.
Unable to help himself, he kissed her forehead again.
“Enough already!”
“Just one more.”
Peck. Peck, peck.
“That was three!”
“Haha.”
As he carefully lowered her, he wrapped an arm around her waist.
Their stomachs pressed together.
Dedrick clenched his jaw, veins bulging.
‘…This is dangerous.’
Her warmth seeped through his skin, making his head spin.
“D-My feet aren’t touching the ground.”
“……”
He silently washed her hands, face, and hair.
Watching her tightly shut eyes, he traced her lips with his thumb.
His burning gaze lingered.
Marilyn peeked up at him—he quickly wiped his emotions away and smiled.
“All clean?”
“Mm.”
Then, suddenly—she vanished.
Marilyn had been teleported back to the wardrobe.
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• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
If you want to support the translation and the translator, you can buy a coffee~
Advance chapters of this novel are available of my kofi channel
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