A Wise Life in Captivity with the Mad Duke - Chapter 12

‘…Seriously. Pretty, my ass.’

The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it felt, and a small laugh escaped me before I could stop it. But just then, I suddenly felt someone watching me.

My body stiffened as I turned my head, and sure enough, someone was pressing their forehead against the window, staring straight at me.

“You scared me.”

I flinched, my shoulders trembling as I frowned.

Was scaring people these caregivers’ hobby or something? In a room lit only by moonlight, having two floating eyeballs pop up like that… how was anyone supposed to survive the shock?

The blue eyes curved in amusement when they saw my reaction, then slowly retreated from the window.

‘It’s Eden.’

There was only one person in the ward who smiled slyly like a fox like that.

But what was he doing here at this hour? The doors should’ve been locked by now.

As I glanced toward the door in confusion, it opened just as it always did, and Eden stepped inside.

“…Wasn’t the door locked?”

“Caregiver privilege.”

Eden smiled roguishly and dangled a card key between his fingers.

So caregivers all had master keys. No wonder Cheon Go-eun used to steal them all the time.

“If you had that, you could’ve just come in. Why’d you have to sneak a peek and scare me?”

“I wanted to check if you were asleep. I couldn’t just barge into someone’s room while they were sleeping. I prefer doing everything wide awake, no matter who I’m with.”

With a calm expression, Eden said something that could easily be taken the wrong way, then smiled faintly. He really did have a knack for making his words sound strange.

“And that window’s there for observing patients. I was just using it for its intended purpose.”

“…I see.”

If that was what the window was meant for, there was no real way around it. I’d just have to brace myself every time I saw it.

“So, what were you thinking about before I came in? You were grinning like crazy when I saw you from outside.”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“So you were laughing then. I wasn’t sure if I saw wrong since I’ve never seen you smile before, Rosetta.”

Wasn’t that obvious? What was there to laugh about in this place?

Besides, I wasn’t the type who enjoyed mingling with other patients, and I’d never been the overly expressive kind, so of course I came off more reserved.

“Why were you laughing? Because I called you pretty earlier?”

“No. Who told you that? You’re too full of yourself.”

Not wanting to admit it, I quickly frowned and shot back curtly.

Anyone else would’ve taken offense, but Eden just met my gaze kindly as always.

“That’s a shame. I meant it when I said you’re the prettiest. You know me, I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

Why did this man have to show up at such an emotional hour just to say things that made the listener embarrassed out of nowhere?

Trying to act calm, I rubbed the corner of my lips and turned my head the other way. But the small upward curl of my mouth was beyond my control.

“Are you happy because I complimented you?”

“No.”

“Liar. You’re smiling.”

“Not at all.”

The battle between shield and spear was at a perfect stalemate when—

[Number 84. Code E.S.P.]

The sudden announcement made me glance at the clock on the nightstand.

1 a.m.

‘What kind of code gets announced at this hour?’

Unlike the soft, fluffy “cotton candy” code from before, this one sounded sharp and ominous.

‘What’s that supposed to stand for?’

[Caregiver Gray, please come to the first floor immediately upon hearing this announcement.]

“Guess I have to go.”

The warmth vanished from Eden’s eyes the moment his name was called. The unhurried way he stood up reminded me of a predator about to begin the hunt.

“Sleep well. See you tomorrow.”

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly, watching the door quickly close before I could even ask.

If they were broadcasting something like that at this hour, it had to be serious. Out of all the caregivers, they had specifically called Eden, so it must have been something that required magic.

‘I should just sleep. I can ask Joel about it tomorrow.’

I put on my earplugs to block out the patients’ murmuring restlessly after being woken up by the announcement, then forced my eyes shut.

***

I usually skipped breakfast, but today, I forced myself to get up and head to the cafeteria. There were too many questions I wanted to ask Joel.

If I wanted to clear up the confusion filling my head, I had no choice but to get answers from him.

“Noona! Good morning!”

Thankfully, Joel waved his hand first, making it easy to spot him.

I sat across from him, skipping unnecessary small talk, and got straight to the point.

“You heard the announcement last night, right? What does it mean?”

“Ahem. Full of energy as always, Student Rosetta. Code E.S.P. is the signal that a patient has escaped. Which means, that announcement at dawn was saying that Number 84 escaped the monastery.”

“Escaped? Someone escaped?”

His old-man impression was annoying, but I didn’t have time to complain. What I’d just heard was too shocking.

When I didn’t respond to his act, Joel scratched his cheek and switched back to his normal tone.

“Yeah. Apparently, he’d always been saying he wasn’t insane and that he had to get out of here no matter what. I heard his wife outside was having an affair with another man.”

“Oh! I know that guy.”

He was the one Eric Duris had beaten half to death. I’d wondered what happened to him since he hadn’t been seen after that day, but now I knew.

The announcement about Number 84 escaping went off around 1 a.m., which meant he’d been in his room until lights-out at 11.

‘Why would he try to leave in the middle of the night? Just because it’s dark?’

If someone wanted to escape Resipisco Island on their own, the only way was to secretly board one of the cargo ships that came twice a week to deliver supplies.

Even then, the ships only came during the day, so timing it right was crucial.

But to sneak onto a ship, you’d have to avoid being caught until then or find a hiding place somewhere. And the only possible places to hide were the dense forest on the opposite side of the harbor or the freezing waters.

Realistically, it was already a failure. He’d been discovered only hours later, and with Eden being dispatched, that sealed it.

“He’ll be brought back in.”

At my mutter, Joel shrugged casually.

“No one who’s escaped has ever come back, so I’m not sure if that means they succeeded. But who knows? Maybe one person out there did.”

“Ah.”

So no one had ever returned.

If escape failed, did they get killed on the spot? Maybe that’s why they sent Eden, to keep their own hands clean.

After finishing my meal, I trudged out heavily. They said ignorance was bliss, and it was true. The more truth I learned, the more uneasy I felt.

‘The difficulty of escaping is extreme, yet you only get one chance….’

Before, I’d told myself that even if I failed, I’d just rot in the monastery for the rest of my life. But knowing now that failure meant death, I realized how reckless I’d been to even consider it.

‘Since I can still handle things for now, I should play it safe and gather as much information as possible for about six months.’

Even I could tell I was far behind the others when it came to knowledge about this place. Then again, I was still technically a new patient.

“Haa. Half a year, huh. Honestly, I should be grateful if I even last that long….”

When I reached the main building, I went to the store and bought a bunch of snacks. When you felt down, the best cure was always junk food.

Feeling a little better, I stepped into the elevator, pressed the button, and stepped back to make room for others.

A woman got in right after me and pressed the button for the tenth floor. Then she let out a sigh so deep it sounded like her soul was escaping.

‘What’s wrong with her?’

I tried not to pay attention, but her sighs were so loud that I couldn’t help glancing at her.

Her name tag read: Number 187.

‘Rooms numbered in the 100s are on the fourth floor, aren’t they? Maybe she’s got a caregiver to meet. Or an appointment with the director.’

But then I realized it was still mealtime, so everyone would’ve been out of their rooms by now.

‘Then maybe there’s another reason….’

Even so, something about the woman’s gloomy aura kept bothering me, making it hard to ignore.

‘I’ll just check where she’s going.’

Maybe then the heavy, suffocating feeling in my chest would ease a little.

I got off first on the eighth floor and stood in the hallway, tilting my head up. Soon, I saw the woman from before walking slowly forward after getting off on the tenth.

After glancing around cautiously, she suddenly disappeared toward the staircase at the end of the tenth-floor corridor.

“…The rooftop?”

I bit my lower lip. A bad feeling settled deep in my gut.

‘Should I follow her? No, that’s not right. What am I even going to do if I catch up? It’s not like we know each other.’

But could I really just leave her alone? Pretend I didn’t see her when it was so obvious what she was about to do?

In the end, after wrestling with myself, I started running toward where she’d gone.

At the end of the tenth-floor corridor stood a massive door leading to the rooftop. The moment I pushed it open, a blast of wind hit me so hard it nearly knocked me off my feet.

“What the hell….”

The sight before my eyes made my mind go blank.

The rooftop was circular in shape, and every side was wide open, as if it had been built for someone to jump from any direction.

Number 187 was slowly walking toward the edge. The wind was strong enough to sway her body dangerously to the side, as though she might fall any second.

Snapping out of my daze, I hurried forward and grabbed her wrist.

She must not have noticed me approaching, because she jumped in shock, her face turning pale as she turned around.

“What are you doing? Were you trying to jump?”

Blinking sluggishly, the woman gave a weak smile, as if she’d already given up on everything.

“Yes. I think it’d be better to just die. I don’t even know what I’m living for anymore… and more than anything, I’m just so tired.”