A Wise Life in Captivity with the Mad Duke - Chapter 7

“…!”

If I hadn’t frozen on the spot, I probably would’ve screamed and thrown the jjondigi straight at him.

Whether it was because of the sudden burst of flames or the shock of almost embarrassing myself in front of everyone, my pounding heart wouldn’t calm down.

When I turned to the side with my mouth hanging open, still dazed, the duke rested his chin on his hand and gave a lazy smile.

“Eat it. It should taste better now.”

Ha. Just look at this insane man.

I’d known there was only one person who’d do something like this, but still, I hadn’t expected it.

“Excuse me, caregiver. A little warning next time would be nice. My heart almost stopped.”

“Were you scared? I thought you were asking me to do it.”

“Wow! Hyung, you’re a mutant? That’s so cool! Here, do this one too!”

Clapping like a seal, Joel handed all his jjondigi to the duke, who obediently lit them on fire just as Joel wanted.

Ignoring Joel, who looked like he was in heaven, I slipped a piece of the golden, perfectly roasted jjondigi into my mouth.

‘…Mm. It’s good. Not burnt, cooked just right. Which only makes it more annoying.’

I couldn’t describe exactly what I was feeling, but it was like being toyed with.

Even though I didn’t want to eat something connected to what that man had done, it was so annoyingly good that I kept reaching for more, chewing with conflicting emotions.

“Do you hate fire? Or is it just me you hate?”

The duke’s sudden question caught me off guard, and I blinked blankly.

Why would he ask that out of nowhere?

“Ever since you found out I’m a mutant, your expression’s been awful.”

…How awful had it been?

Feeling embarrassed by his blunt words, I quietly touched my face and answered, “It’s not that I hate either. I guess I just got scared. Fires tend to happen around me a lot. Because of that, a lot of people have died.”

“Post-traumatic stress disorder?”

“If you want to define it, sure.”

“Some traumas can actually be overcome by facing their cause repeatedly.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I could help you, Rosetta.”

Leaving me with that cryptic comment, the duke ended the conversation with a faint smile.

Even though he was smiling, it was clear he didn’t intend to continue the topic, so I couldn’t bring myself to ask for details.

“Noona! Try this one too!”

Joel, who’d already made a mess of the snack pile again, now held out some bread.

“I don’t like bread.”

Actually, I loved it too much.

But I’d given it up when I was managing my diet, and if I started eating it again, I knew I’d never stop, so I refused for now.

“This isn’t just any bread. It’s melon bread. It’s ranked third best-selling item in the shop! You really don’t want to try it?”

“…Is that so?”

I’d heard you were supposed to try the local specialties wherever you went.

Reading the conflict in my eyes, Joel tore the bread in half and handed me a piece. In the end, I couldn’t resist and took a bite.

“Wow.”

It was so good that the exclamation came out on its own.

‘This is insane. How can bread from a hospital shop taste like crème brûlée from a luxury bakery?’

The cream’s richness filled my mouth like a full dessert course.

I stared longingly at the unopened melon bread sitting in front of Joel.

Earlier, I’d seen that the bread shelf in the shop was almost empty. Should I ask him to share that one too? No, that would be too much. He bought it for himself. I should just wait until tomorrow….

While I was still lost in that cycle of indecision, the duke suddenly chuckled and placed the last melon bread into my hand.

“Here. Consider it a gift. Take it to your room and eat it there.”

“Hyung! That was mine!”

“I bought it with my money. Isn’t it up to me who I share it with?”

“Then what about my feelings? Are my feelings trash?”

“Take a second look. Who bought all this again?”

The duke calmly laid out the facts, unfazed by Joel’s tantrum. He was a perfect example of what they meant by a clear-eyed madman.

Taking advantage of the moment while the two argued, I quietly slipped the melon bread into my hands.

Maybe it was just because I’d managed to claim the bread I’d been craving, but an odd warmth bloomed in my chest, and before I knew it, a faint smile crept onto my lips.

***

[Cotton candy. Number 151. Rooftop.]

“I’m going to develop a cotton candy complex at this rate.”

In the middle of dinner with Joel, another announcement came blaring through the speakers, just as expected. Joel didn’t even flinch anymore, his ears apparently trained to tune out the sound on their own.

“Joel. You know about that woman who jumped off the roof this morning, right?”

“Yeah. I even saw the body.”

“You saw it? When? You were playing ball when I called you. Did you really see it and just go back to playing like nothing happened?”

“To be honest, people jump or get carried out every single day, so it doesn’t really feel like a big deal anymore. At first, I used to cry whenever someone died. But now, it doesn’t bother me that much.”

So this was what the duke meant when he said you could overcome trauma by facing it over and over. But even so, becoming numb to the deaths around you felt terrifying.

“If people are jumping that often, shouldn’t they lock the rooftop door?”

This place was full of fragile minds. What if someone copied the others and the impulse spread like wildfire?

“The caregivers don’t bother stopping people who want to jump. The announcements are just to clean up the mess afterward, not to prevent it.”

But why?

Why would the caregivers knowingly leave the rooftop open like that?

A disturbing theory suddenly came to mind. Someone had to die for a new patient to take their place, and only then would the monastery receive new funding.

And if the monastery didn’t inform the deceased patient’s guardians about their death, the family would keep paying the hospital fees without ever knowing.

‘Damn it. That’s just wrong.’

A chill crawled down my spine. At first, I thought it was an absurd leap in logic, but the more I thought about it, the more everything fit together.

This might only be the tip of the iceberg. Who knew what darker corruption was hiding beneath it all?

Before long, I spotted a small silhouette being carried away by the caregivers through the window. I bit down hard on my lip.

Maybe that was when I made up my mind.

I was never going to die as meaninglessly as they did.

***

“Hello there, little patient.”

Not long after lunch, while I was resting in my room, a familiar voice came from beyond the door.

‘That’s Duke Gray.’

I had no idea why he was outside my room during my precious free time, but from the sound of it, he’d run into a young patient in the hallway.

“Hyung. I jammed my finger in the door, and now it’s rotting. Look.”

“Oh dear. It’s bruised.”

The duke’s voice was gentler than ever. I’d thought he was incapable of empathy, but he clearly acted differently around children.

Their soft conversation drifted through the door like white noise as I started to drift to sleep.

“It’s going to take a while for that bruise to heal. If it bothers you, should I just cut that part off for you?”

“Huh? You mean cut my finger off?”

“Yes. But it might hurt a little.”

The chilling suggestion jolted me wide awake.

‘What the hell is that man saying to a child?’

After a brief silence, the sound of frightened crying quickly faded down the hall. The child must’ve run away after sensing danger.

Whoever that was, smart choice. That kid won’t get taken advantage of anywhere.

“Caregiver Gray.”

As soon as the child left, an elderly patient came looking for him this time. The old man said he hadn’t been able to sleep deeply these days and asked if there was any way to fix it.

I didn’t know why everyone ignored the wide open spaces and gathered right in front of my door, but before I knew it, I was listening again.

“They say drinking warm milk before bed helps, but it only makes my stomach feel heavy, and it doesn’t work for me.”

“Then should I tell you a method that actually works? You know the injection you get every morning, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Ask them to increase the dosage by 20 ml. That way, you’ll sleep soundly without ever waking up again.”

What the hell?

I shook my head and pulled the blanket over myself. The man’s way with words was so dangerously persuasive that I was scared I might end up agreeing without realizing it.

After that, the duke continued giving chilling advice to anyone who came to him for help.

I don’t know how much time passed, but just when I thought things had gone quiet, I heard a knock, and the duke opened my door and walked in.

Considering he’d been hovering around my room for a while now, it wasn’t even surprising anymore.

“Rosetta. I’m here.”

“I’m not rotten anywhere and I sleep just fine, so don’t prescribe me anything.”

A low laugh came from beside my bed at my immediate response.

“You heard everything?”

“How could I not? You were doing all that right outside my door.”

“I didn’t know. I thought you were asleep.”

Stretching lazily, the duke suddenly dragged a chair from the table and placed it right beneath the window.

“I’ll rest here for a bit. I’m tired of dealing with people.”

At his sudden declaration, I hurriedly pushed the blanket aside and sat up.

“Here? Wouldn’t your room be better?”

I’d said it casually, thinking he’d leave soon, but clearly, that wasn’t the case.

Ignoring my protest, the duke sat on the chair and closed his eyes like he was pretending to nap.

Seriously, he could at least lower the corners of his lips. The way he sat there with that faint smile was infuriating.

If the man in front of me weren’t a caregiver but just some stranger, I would’ve already picked a fight and kicked him out.

‘Forget it. He said he just wants to rest quietly for a bit. There’s no reason to get worked up and raise my voice.’

Building good relationships with the caregivers was also part of laying the groundwork for escape, wasn’t it? I calmed myself down and rationalized it that way.

Now that I thought about it, maybe he chose that exact spot because it was the one place that couldn’t be seen from the outside. If anyone looked in through the window, that corner was a perfect blind spot.

A dangerous person with a sharp mind really was the hardest kind of villain to deal with. He was a walking collection of risk factors.

But seeing him quietly sitting there with his eyes closed, he looked almost like a devout believer deep in prayer, his fine features softened by the sunlight.

Every time I saw him, his image felt completely different, and maybe that was why I kept feeling this confusing mix of emotions whenever our eyes met.

“Rosetta.”

“Yes?”

Startled, I quickly looked up.

Had I been staring too openly?

Just then, the duke asked an unexpected question.