Chapter 84
A small, dark room with no light.
In one corner, Dedrick sat with his head hanging low.
Then, the door suddenly opened, and he quickly looked up. Delani walked inside.
She examined his condition.
His eyes were badly swollen, his fingernails were broken with dried blood stuck underneath, and his wrists were bruised and cut from the metal cuffs that chained him.
Delani looked at him with a face full of fake pity.
“They put chains on you…”
“He kept trying to escape, so we had no choice.”
The knight guarding the door answered apologetically.
Dedrick’s wrists were red and swollen, covered in wounds.
“Leave us alone for a moment.”
“I will be waiting right outside. Call me if anything happens.”
The knight stepped out and shut the door, leaving just the two of them in silence.
Delani sat on a chair nearby and smirked.
“You look good, Dedrick.”
“…Where’s Mary?”
“That monster in the wardrobe? Hmm, I don’t know. I can’t see her.”
“Where is the wardrobe?”
Dedrick gritted his teeth as he asked. Delani smirked, tilting her head.
“You shouldn’t be looking at me with such hatred. If you want something, you should be begging on your knees.”
Dedrick’s jaw clenched, his blue eyes filled with rage.
For a brief moment, Delani felt fear.
‘Am I scared of him? No, impossible.’
She clenched her hands to hide her unease.
“You were asking about the monster, right? I have it.”
Clank!
Dedrick jumped to his feet, trying to lunge at her, but the chains stopped him just before he could reach her.
“Leave her alone!”
“No, Dedrick.”
Delani smiled as she looked up at him.
“You’re not in a position to demand anything.”
She had expected him to fight back.
She had killed his mother. There was no way he would kneel before her.
But—
Thud.
Without hesitation, Dedrick fell to his knees and looked up at her.
“I’m kneeling.”
“…”
“If I am your target, you have already won.”
“You’re giving up the right to be the heir?”
“I’ll do anything. Just…”
He didn’t stop at kneeling. He bowed down completely, his forehead touching the ground, and pleaded.
“Just give me Mary. I’ll leave this place forever. I’ll disappear. I’ll live as if I’m dead. If you want, I’ll leave an arm behind. Just… just let me have the wardrobe. That’s all I need.”
He begged desperately, as if he couldn’t live without that monster. His broad shoulders looked pitiful.
Delani couldn’t hold back her laughter.
“Pfft!”
“…”
She was enjoying every second of this.
All her past failures no longer mattered. She had finally won.
How pathetic—
He was breaking down over a monster.
She suppressed her laughter, afraid the knights outside might hear, and stood up.
“Fine. If you never come back, I suppose I can allow it.”
Dedrick lifted his head in hope. But then—
“You don’t actually believe me, do you?” she whispered.
“…What?”
“As long as you’re alive, you’ll always be the Grand Duke’s son! So choose—die here, or go to Herba Academy! Either way, I can’t promise you’ll ever see that monster again.”
Hearing this, Dedrick lost control of his rage.
“I’ll kill you!”
He shot up, his fury exploding, but Delani had been waiting for this moment.
“Ahhh! Guards!” she screamed.
The door burst open, and knights rushed in, grabbing Dedrick.
“My lady, step back!”
“I’m sorry, Dedrick.”
Delani smirked as she stepped outside.
Behind her, Dedrick struggled violently, nearly ripping the chains from the walls, but the knights barely managed to hold him down.
She placed a hand over her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.
If she had been even a little slower—if his sword skills had been fully developed—
‘I would’ve been the one begging for my life.’
The thought sent shivers down her spine.
She quickly left the room.
Dedrick sat in his dark cell, staring at the small window where the night sky was barely visible.
‘I have to fix the wardrobe. I have to… If Mary falls asleep, she’ll be in pain…’
Mary couldn’t handle pain well.
He had to be there for her. He had to hold her.
“I miss you, Mary…”
He clutched his head and wept. His cries echoed through the empty room.
Creak.
Just then, the door opened cautiously, and Jacob stepped inside.
Seeing Dedrick’s ruined state, his chest tightened.
He bit his lip and walked closer.
“My lord.”
“….”
Dedrick’s lifeless eyes briefly met Jacob’s before falling back to the floor.
“In two days, you will be sent to Herba Academy.”
Dedrick’s broken voice came out rough and strained from his torn throat.
“Where’s Mary?”
“The monster—no, that child… the Grand Duchess has taken her.”
Dedrick grabbed Jacob’s arm.
“Do you think I’m crazy too?”
Jacob immediately shook his head.
“Of course not, young master. Never.”
“Then please, help me get her out. The wardrobe is Mary’s real body. If it breaks, she’ll die.”
Jacob wanted to help him. But he couldn’t. Hogan had failed to get control over the wardrobe.
Jacob and Hogan had tried to steal it in secret, but…
“It’s gone…”
“What do you mean, gone?”
Dedrick’s voice trembled miserably. Jacob lowered his head in shame.
“It seems the Grand Duchess has already taken care of it. The wardrobe is nowhere to be found. She even used a magician to hide it… we can’t locate it.”
Dedrick’s eyes shook violently, like a stormy sea.
“No… If she isn’t treated, what will happen to her? What will happen to Mary?”
“She… won’t be killed. I can promise that.”
“Yeah, of course. She’s holding onto Mary so she can control me… She won’t kill her easily. But still!”
Jacob firmly grabbed Dedrick’s shaking shoulders and said,
“The Black Hawks have acknowledged you.”
“What does that matter now?”
“We can’t interfere directly…”
“…”
“But we can wait for you. The road to Herba Academy is dangerous. The Grand Duchess will surely send assassins after you.”
“…”
“We will protect you on the way. And until the day you return, we will do everything we can to find that wardrobe.”
“…Please. Please, I beg you.”
As Dedrick cried desperately, Jacob clenched his teeth and gently patted his back.
Because of this incident, the Black Hawks had completely turned against the Grand Duchess.
They hadn’t just trained with Dedrick all this time.
They had seen his sincerity, his effort.
They knew better than anyone that he wasn’t someone who would do such a thing. And for something like this to happen just before the monster hunt—it was too deliberate.
It had happened to every heir who had ever participated in the hunt. They knew it was all a setup.
Dedrick clung to Jacob with desperation.
“Mary is everything to me.”
“…I understand, young master.”
“If she’s gone… I’ll die too.”
Dedrick wept as he begged.
“Please, save her.”
Save her.
No matter what.
Thud. Thud…
A faint noise made my heavy eyelids slowly lift.
The unbearable pain in my body was still there, but my mind was becoming clearer.
The broken wardrobe door had been fixed.
But everything else was still a mess.
“…Where am I?”
I tried to step out of the wardrobe, but pain shot through my entire body, making me curl up. In the end, I collapsed onto the floor.
“Ah… ugh…”
I lay there for a while, shaking and gasping from the pain.
Dedrick wasn’t here to hold me and comfort me anymore.
“Didi…”
Tears welled up instantly. I clearly remembered the last moment when he fought desperately to protect me.
It was my fault. All because of me…
A single tear slipped down my cheek.
“I ruined everything…”
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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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