Chapter 87
“Hey, wake up!”
Bang!
“Ugh…”
Pain spread all over my body as I groaned and opened my eyes.
Standing in front of the wardrobe was Somerset, his face one I always wanted to punch.
“If you’re awake, knock on the wardrobe.”
“…”
“Or I’ll just keep breaking it.”
Grinding my teeth, I weakly tapped on the wardrobe.
“Oh, you’re up.”
Annoying.
Somerset had been taking out his frustration on me ever since Dedrick left.
Even Delani had to tell him to stop breaking the wardrobe.
‘Not because she cares about me—she just needs me alive to keep threatening Didi.’
The helplessness of my situation made my eyes burn with frustration.
“Ah, crying again.”
Of course, you bastard!
How could I not cry?
Because I got caught by them, Dedrick had to go to the academy. Even after graduation, he wouldn’t be able to escape.
“Instead of crying, why don’t you just kill yourself?”
…Did he seriously just say that?
“Wouldn’t that be better than ruining his future?”
“…”
“Mother says to keep you alive, but I don’t see why. He’s at Herba Academy now—what’s there to worry about?”
I bit my lips hard.
Somerset was so confident because he knew that even if someone survived from Herba Academy, they never graduated with their sanity intact.
He thought he had already won.
According to the novel, Dedrick would graduate, destroy Delani and Somerset, and become the Grand Duke…
‘But now, I’m the being his thread.’
If I was still held hostage after he returned, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.
“Want me to help you die?”
“…”
“If that bastard comes back after graduating, I’ll fight him first. I’ll make sure he never recovers.”
“Don’t.”
“I’ll keep giving him hope that he can see you, but I never will. I’ll make him crawl under my feet every day. I’ll humiliate him in front of Joanna. I’ll carve up his pretty face—”
“Don’t, you bastard!”
I sprang up and punched him in the face.
But my weak punch didn’t even make him flinch.
“Hah, have you lost your mind?”
He raised his hand, and I instinctively shut my eyes.
Just then, a voice interrupted.
“Lord Somerset, the Second Prince has arrived.”
My eyes snapped open.
Perez was here?
Somerset lowered his hand and sneered.
“Hah, lucky you.”
Then he kicked the wardrobe hard before disappearing into the darkness.
Silence filled the room.
Panting, I looked around.
Shattered pieces of the wardrobe lay scattered everywhere, completely unrecognizable.
“Wouldn’t it be better if you just died?”
His cruel words echoed in my head.
Even without him pushing me, my life was already fading away.
Thanks to Somerset’s uncontrollable rage, the wardrobe was barely holding together. A few more punches, and it would be completely destroyed.
And my body, tied to it, was the same.
At this rate…
I might not be alive by the time Dedrick returns.
‘If that happens, I won’t even get to give him the gift I prepared.’
I really wanted to. I wanted to see his happy face…
Wiping away my tears, I took a deep breath.
‘The Second Prince is here.’
I needed to act fast. Perez was the only one I could trust.
‘First, I have to get my things…’
I peeled off a piece of paper from the wardrobe, the first one I used when learning to write. It had the words “Didi, be happy.”
At the very bottom, in tiny letters, there was something else written:
“Wardrobe Monster ♥ Didi”
Seeing those neat little letters, I let out a small chuckle.
“What the… When did he write this? Cute.”
Hugging the paper close, I leaned against the wardrobe.
‘I need to rest a little before I go.’
It would take a while to find Perez because of the barriers in the mansion. And more importantly…
I was exhausted.
Slowly, I drifted off to sleep.
Late at night.
Moonlight streamed through the large window, softly illuminating the room.
Perez gazed at the light before turning his attention toward the wardrobe.
“…She’s not coming.”
Or maybe, she can’t come.
After receiving Dedrick’s letter, Perez had come to the Grand Duke’s estate immediately.
The letter detailed everything that had happened.
It also described Marilyn’s condition—she was barely alive. Dedrick, usually so strong, admitted that he was terrified.
His despair was so raw that even Perez had nearly cried while reading it.
He desperately wanted to find Marilyn and take her away.
But he couldn’t just storm through the estate.
He couldn’t even guess where she was being held.
All he could do was wait.
“…Haah.”
Running a hand over his face, Perez sighed.
Everything had happened so suddenly.
It had torn Dedrick and Marilyn apart.
Having watched the two of them all this time, Perez couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain Dedrick was going through.
That was when it happened.
Screeeech…
At the small noise, Perez immediately reacted.
“Marilyn?”
There was no answer—only a box floating in the air.
But even that box wobbled, as if it was too heavy to stay up. Perez quickly grabbed it.
At that moment, Marilyn grabbed his sleeve.
Her trembling hand was cold. He gripped it tightly.
‘Cold…’
Marilyn had always been warm.
“Marilyn, how are you? Are you okay?”
His voice was filled with urgency, but Marilyn only tapped on a small letter inside the box.
And with that, the cold touch disappeared.
“Marilyn?”
He carefully called her name.
“Marilyn, if you’re still here, take my hand!”
But no hand reached for him.
His heart pounded with fear. Perez quickly unfolded the letter.
The handwriting looked just like Dedrick’s—but the letters were slightly shaky, as if it had been difficult to write.
Taking a deep breath, he started to read.
[To Prince Perez,
Please forgive me for keeping this short.
Inside the box is a pair of earrings to congratulate Didi on becoming an adult. Please make sure to give them to him when he comes of age.
There are also other things Didi and I used together—our favorite hairpin, a storybook we loved, dried petals from a flower that bloomed in the winter, a small bottle of rainwater from summer… Please make sure Didi receives them.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to give them to him myself.
If you do this for me, Prince Perez, I’ll like you a little more.]
Perez let out a quiet laugh as he read the last line.
“Haha… What an honor.”
At the very bottom, there was a postscript.
[P.S. My spelling is perfect, right?]
His vision blurred. He covered his eyes and let out a small chuckle.
“…I should’ve praised you for that.”
It was flawless. Not a single mistake.
Perez carefully placed the letter back inside the box.
“I’ll make sure to deliver your heart, your feelings.”
So please, please, just stay alive.
He bowed his head deeply.
Immersed in sorrow, Perez didn’t realize that the small dagger he always carried for protection was missing from his pocket.
After the prince left, things were quiet for a day.
But then, Somerset came back.
And as usual, he started talking about things I didn’t even ask about.
“Do you know what the prince said about me? He said I’m just and fair. That I wouldn’t harm anyone without reason.”
…That sounds like a polite way of telling him to stop bothering people.
But Somerset didn’t get it. He was full of confidence, rambling on and on.
“Do you know what that means? It means the prince acknowledges me now!”
“How ridiculous.”
I scoffed, but of course, Somerset didn’t notice my reaction. He kept bragging.
“I’ve been getting so many letters from people who want to meet me. They already treat me like the heir to Blackwood. Even if that bastard somehow graduates safely, there won’t be a place left for him!”
Hearing him talk like he was already the head of Blackwood made me sick.
I had enough.
I took out a pen and some paper I had hidden in the wardrobe. I had been saving them since I didn’t have many left, but listening to his nonsense was unbearable.
When Somerset saw the pen and paper, he looked a bit surprised.
“What? You can actually write, monster?”
Yeah, I can!
I started writing down everything I wanted to say.
At first, Somerset just watched curiously. But as the sentences took shape, his face twisted in anger.
[That’s funny. That’s not what I heard. The prince said you’re not fit to lead the family.]
“…What?”
[He said you can’t even understand basic conversations. He was so disappointed in you. I heard him talking with Dedrick about it.]
Somerset exploded.
“Hey, you—!”
I wasn’t finished yet.
I quickly wrote another sentence.
[You’re worse than Dedrick in every way. Looks, intelligence—you don’t even compare.]
“You little—!”
He snatched the paper and tore it to shreds.
That’s fine. I had more.
I grabbed a fresh sheet and kept writing.
[Even the servants who come to check on me say that Blackwood’s future looks grim. Some of them are thinking of finding new jobs.]
“Shut up! Stop making things up!”
[Oh, and they said that if someone had to take over, Axel would be the better choice. Better the lesser evil, right? But I’m a monster, so I don’t know what ‘lesser evil’ means. What is it? They were talking about you.]
His fist trembled.
“You… You haven’t suffered enough, have you?”
Somerset rolled up his sleeves and approached the wardrobe.
He raised his fist to strike—
Swish!
I quickly swung the dagger.
I didn’t want to just sit there and take it anymore. That’s why I borrowed the dagger from Perez.
“W-What?!”
Somerset flinched and stepped back in shock.
Drip.
But he had been too slow.
A thin red line appeared down the middle of his cheek.
His anger exploded.
“You dare raise a blade against me?!”
He drew his sword and swung it wildly.
He wasn’t skilled, but he was fast.
Slice!
I felt a sharp pain—
My horn.
My horn had been cut off.
“Damn it!”
But Somerset didn’t even notice what he had cut.
He must have thought I was dodging, because he suddenly changed his target.
Now, he was aiming for the wardrobe.
He was going to destroy it completely.
I used every ounce of my remaining strength to lunge at him.
“Stop it!”
Thud!
He crashed to the ground, hitting his head hard against the floor.
“Ugh…!”
Blood started to spread around his head.
I gasped for air, dropping the dagger.
My legs gave out, and I collapsed.
Somerset wasn’t moving.
I whispered to myself.
“…Am I going to die now?”
I had injured someone important. There was no way I’d be spared.
They might even smash this wardrobe into dust.
But I had no regrets.
“This is better.”
Living as Dedrick’s weakness would only bring suffering—to both him and me.
I picked up the dagger again.
“Before that… I should finish him off…”
I staggered toward Somerset, but suddenly, my body lost all its strength.
My vision blurred.
And then, I saw it.
My horn—cleanly cut and lying on the ground.
“Oh… It’s because of the horn…”
Clang!
The dagger slipped from my fingers.
And then, everything went dark.
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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 on my kofi channel
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