A Wise Life in Captivity with the Mad Duke - Chapter 14

“Ugh! That bastard!”

“Scum like him should be castrated right away before they get the chance to try anything!”

Curses filled with rage and sympathetic hands toward the crying woman poured out from every direction.

“Hey, that lunatic came to my room too. I ran into him when I came out of the bathroom. What did he say again? Something about how Number 84 made it look like he was still under the blanket when he escaped, and that he was conducting an inspection under the director’s orders?”

“What? He didn’t come to my room.”

“Not mine either!”

“What about you?”

At the wave of questions, all the older women shook their heads in unison.

“What about the guys?”

When Joel asked the men at the next table, they looked equally puzzled, exchanging awkward glances.

Then, a woman who’d been hesitating cautiously raised her hand.

“He came into my room too.”

Right after her, other women in the back also began to timidly raise their hands one after another.

Looking around, I realized they were all young women.

‘Ah, my blood pressure’s rising.’

Anyone could see the so-called inspection was just a cover for his disgusting impulses. If I hadn’t woken up when he tried to pull off my blanket, I would’ve been one of his victims too.

Duris’s face flashed through my mind, the way he’d tried to lift the blanket that night.

‘That beast of a man.’

From the stories, it was clear he’d been prowling from room to room, hoping at least one person would fall into his trap.

‘How can I make him pay for this?’

I spent the entire time until the next meal locked in my room, consumed with that one thought. Then, I finally came up with an idea and walked to the cafeteria with grim determination.

After finishing my meal as usual, I discreetly wiped a fork with a napkin and slipped it into my pocket.

When I returned to my room, I immediately sat in a blind spot and practiced stabbing Duris’s arm with the fork over and over again.

It seemed unlikely he’d show up again so shamelessly after being caught for what he did just hours ago, but still, it didn’t hurt to be prepared. It was the only thing that could ease my unease.

‘I may just be a patient here, but that doesn’t mean I’m weak enough to be toyed with by a piece of trash like him.’

Tonight, I was going to make sure Duris remembered that very clearly.

***

Lights-out came before I knew it.

Clutching the fork tightly in my hand, I closed my eyes. My heartbeat thudded through my whole body, making it impossible to sleep.

I was usually calm about most things, but when it came to my own safety, I couldn’t help being sensitive.

More than anything, the weight of knowing that no one but me could protect my body in this place pressed down even harder.

‘That pervert. Just wait and see what happens if you show up.’

Despite my determination to stay awake, drowsiness crept in, and my eyelids began to droop. That was when I heard a faint click from the door.

I snapped my eyes open at once, heart pounding, gripping the fork tighter.

But unlike the night before, Duris didn’t come straight toward me. For a while, he wandered around the right side of the room.

‘What’s he doing?’

Before I could think further, the sound of his footsteps turned and came my way.

A shadow fell over my face, and then I felt a hand groping around under the bed.

‘Got you, you bastard.’

Without missing the timing, I sprang up and swung the fork toward where I felt his hand. But before I could even process the motion, my wrist was caught easily.

Panic flooded me. The realization that if I lost here, it could all be over.

I gritted my teeth and tried to force my arm free. My hand trembled, but no matter how much strength I put in, the grip holding me didn’t budge.

Just as despair began to sink in, a familiar voice reached my ear.

“Rosetta.”

I widened my eyes and looked up. Standing there was the last person I expected.

Eden Gray, frowning slightly, his expression as startled as mine.

“Aren’t you being a little too aggressive in welcoming your guest?”

Eden quickly erased the stern look from his face and curved his lips playfully.

I was still too stunned to respond, my lips twitching uselessly as no sound came out.

‘Why is Eden here?’

While I was still frozen, unable to gather my thoughts, Eden gently wrapped his hand around mine.

“Relax. You’ll hurt yourself like that.”

At his gentle coaxing, my grip loosened as if by magic. The strength drained from my hand, and I collapsed onto the bed, unable to stay upright.

‘…It wasn’t Duris.’

No wonder something had felt off. There was no way a brute who only swung a baton like an idiot could have grabbed my wrist so effortlessly.

After taking on an action role in a film, I’d spent every free day training at an action school. I might not have had brute strength, but when it came to speed, I was confident I could overpower anyone, especially someone caught off guard.

I’d aimed for that exact opening.

‘Just how fast are his reflexes?’

Judging by the lack of pain in my wrist, he hadn’t even used much force to stop me. I’d gone all in, but it was like he’d swatted away a fly.

I stared at Eden in awe. He was absentmindedly toying with the fork he’d taken from my hand.

“Why are you carrying this? You know it’s a restricted item.”

“Ah… well, there’s been a lot going on lately. I just thought it’d be good to have one for emergencies.”

“That might be true, but it’s still not allowed. It’s dangerous.”

Eden shook his head firmly and slipped the fork into the front pocket of his uniform.

Seeing him act so strict suddenly reminded me that he really was a caregiver. He usually looked so carefree that I tended to forget.

When I licked my lips in disappointment, Eden grinned. “I’ll get you something better instead. Something more useful than a fork.”

Yawning, I nodded automatically. My eyes were open, but I was barely conscious. The moment the tension faded, the exhaustion I’d been holding back hit me like a wave.

Still, there was one thing I couldn’t leave unasked.

“What are you doing in my room at this hour?”

“Now you’re asking that?”

Eden let out a small laugh and gestured toward the bed.

“I came to get my blanket. I didn’t want to wake you, so I tried to take it quietly, but I guess that caused some misunderstanding.”

“Oh.”

Letting out a soft sound, I hurried to pull out the blanket caught beneath my feet.

Before going to bed, I’d been practicing moves while wrapped in Eden’s blanket, and it must’ve gotten tangled up with mine when I lay down.

So that’s why he’d been pacing near the bed as soon as he came in, and groping under it earlier.

“I have to go on patrol soon, but the night air’s pretty chilly. Plus, it’s my favorite blanket.”

A grown man having a favorite blanket… should I call that cute or strange? The image of him patrolling the halls with it draped over his shoulders was oddly endearing.

“Here. Sorry for swinging at you without knowing what was going on.”

Feeling embarrassed, I handed him the blanket while avoiding his eyes. I’d almost stabbed an innocent person, after all.

“It’s fine. You missed.”

Even though nothing had actually happened, I still couldn’t shake the guilt weighing on me.

“Aren’t you going to ask why I thought someone was here?”

“I can guess. I’ve heard things.”

Tapping his ear lightly, Eden smiled faintly and spread the blanket over me.

“It’s late. Get some sleep. I should get going too.”

“…Ah, right. You should.”

I almost asked him to stay. If he left, I’d be defenseless again, without even a weapon.

But he had patrol duty to do, and I couldn’t just cling to him.

After making sure I was lying down, Eden left without delay. When the room fell silent again, the pounding of my heartbeat echoed loud in my chest.

‘It’s fine. By this time, Duris is probably asleep. He wouldn’t stay up all night roaming around just to harass a woman again.’

Of course, that was just me trying to convince myself. I couldn’t be sure. How could I possibly know what went on in a lunatic’s head?

Still, since I needed to sleep, I forced myself to think positively and lay down on my pillow.

Right then, I felt something soft under my cheek, much fluffier than before. The texture was so plush it made my face sink right in, and the fine, velvety fibers tickled my skin.

“…What’s this?”

When I reached around beside my pillow, my hand brushed against the blanket I’d given Eden earlier.

“Oh? He left it?”

He said he came for this.

Finding his first little mistake made me let out a quiet laugh as I turned on my side. Having something to hold in my arms made me feel just a bit calmer.

I hugged the blanket and buried my face into it. The faint scent of mint that always lingered on Eden wrapped around my nose. The deeper I inhaled that familiar scent, the slower my heartbeat grew, and my eyelids grew heavier.

“Goodnight, Rosetta.”

With Eden’s voice, so soft I couldn’t tell if it was real or a dream, I drifted into a deep sleep.

***

“I definitely need a weapon.”

According to Joel, Duris had been wandering the halls until late last night. He’d gotten up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and happened to see him lurking around.

“There’s got to be something useful somewhere.”

I stared at the door that hadn’t been locked yet, then got up and began rummaging through the drawers.

Sharp objects were completely banned from the ward, so of course, there wasn’t anything that could be used to seriously injure someone.

“This won’t do. Guess I’ll just use a book.”

If I hit someone with a corner, it’d hurt no matter what.

Decision made, I quickly shoved the thickest book I had under my pillow.

“There. Perfect.”

Satisfied with its placement, I turned my head—and froze.

“…Ah!”

They say when you’re truly shocked, you can’t even scream.

There he was, standing right in front of me before I even noticed him approach.

Clutching my chest, I let out a long, shaky breath.

“When did you get here?”

“Just now.”

Eden smiled softly and reached out his hand to play with a strand of my hair.

“Took a shower late? Your hair’s still damp.”

“Yeah. It hasn’t been long.”

For a moment, silence fell between us. Then, just as our gazes met and locked, the entire ward went dark as the lights went out.