CWMBR 76

Chapter 76

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"No, we were just………………."

The woman pushed the hesitant man aside with her arm and stepped forward. She seemed just as flustered as the other men, but she seemed to have regained her composure more quickly. With a stiff expression, she said in a businesslike voice.

"I'm sorry, but Lord Wise. We're here to take the patient home at the request of the patient's family."

"Didn't I tell you? I never made such a request."

"But......."

"If you have any sense, you'll back off now."

Apparently fed up with repeating himself, Ain frowned and arrogantly lifted his chin. His eyes scanned the letters on the woman's gown.

"Oltenbir Mental Hospital's... Doctor Sala?"

The woman hastily covered her chest, but it was too late. A sneer flashed in Ain’s eyes.

"Eldhart was the director of Oltenbir Mental Hospital, right? If you're identified as the culprit who nearly shut down the hospital trying to make a quick buck, Eldhart won't take it lying down."

Sala fell silent, seemingly speechless at Ain's threat. She glanced between Bridget and Ain, then reluctantly stepped back. The men, too, slowly backed away at Sala's glance.

"My apologies. It seems there was a mistake on the list after all."

It was a flimsy excuse. Sala, her pride wounded, flushed red and forced a bow before turning away.

The men followed her retreat. Once they were completely gone, Ain crushed the syringe lying on the floor under his foot. Then, keeping one arm around Bridget's shoulder, he lifted her by the crook of her knee with his other arm.

Bridget, who had been busy trying to grasp the situation, was startled by the sensation of her body floating and flailed her numb limbs.

"I can walk………………."

"If you move, the drug will spread faster. Just stay still."

Ain cut off Bridget's words coldly, then firmly held her and began walking. Bridget stared at Ain with an uncomfortable expression, then finally resigned herself and settled quietly into his embrace.

Her thought processes remained sluggish. The sensations in her body felt strangely detached, as if floating somewhere else. Perhaps that was why reality felt unreal, like she was caught in some kind of dream. Bridget focused on the sensation of her legs dangling in midair. Simply because her feet were in the air, she felt as if she were flying.

The unidentified drug in that syringe must have been the stuff that turns people mad.

Meanwhile, Ain entered the mansion through the broken kitchen door. Bridget glanced at the kitchen, now a complete mess, and said in a weary voice.

"Put me down on the first-floor sofa."

"Isn't your room on the third floor?"

Bridget, barely lifting her half-closed eyelids, frowned and glanced up at Ain.

"How would you know that?"

"Because I came by a few days ago."

Ain replied nonchalantly, rolling his eyes as he looked down at Bridget.

"When you collapsed. Who did you think brought you here?"

Anyone. Anyone but Ain.

She never even imagined Ain himself would carry her and move her to the bed. Bridget looked at Ain, unable to hide her genuine surprise. Then, her expression turned skeptical as she asked.

"How did you know to come here today?"

Ain set Bridget down on the first-floor sofa. The very same sofa where she had slept so peacefully just a few hours ago.

The blanket she had dropped earlier, unable to pick it up, still lay on the floor.

Just as Bridget slowly reached for the blanket, Ain swiftly snatched it up and handed it to her.

"I saw your uncle darting around like a poisonous toad."

"What?"

Bridget paused mid-reach for the blanket. A poisonous toad?

Stunned by the unexpected description, she froze for a moment. Ain, meanwhile, took off his coat and slung it carelessly over a hanger as he spoke.

"It's a pretty common tactic. First, they become the guardian or whatever. Then they find some excuse to lock the kid away in a hospital. Label the kid crazy, and they can take a lot away from the kid. Once the kid is branded like that, it's hard to recover."

Bridget found herself gaping. Come to think of it, hadn't that woman who came earlier said she was a psychiatrist? Ah.

Bridget suddenly understood everything.

"In this situation, wouldn't it be a good method for your uncle to use too? Usually, forced hospitalizations happen before dawn, when they storm in and take them away in an instant."

Ain peeked outside through the curtain and plopped down on the sofa.

Bridget stared blankly at him as he arrogantly crossed his legs and leaned back, then muttered absentmindedly.

"You know a lot."

"Yeah. I've seen it a lot."

It was a rather chilling remark, yet Ain said it in an utterly matter-of-fact tone. What kind of twisted world did this man inhabit that he'd seen so many people forcibly committed to mental hospitals?

Feeling inexplicably sickened, Bridget reluctantly averted her gaze. Whatever his world was like, who cared? He'd soon be someone completely irrelevant to her anyway.

She tried to maintain her usual distance, but somehow it was harder than usual to cool her heart. Staring blankly at the fireplace where barely a spark remained, Bridget remembered that Ain had saved her just moments ago. Come to think of it, that was true. On that foggy street, on that deserted pavement.

What if Ain hadn't appeared? What if the drug in the syringe had been fully injected into her body? Even now, her thoughts were slow and her senses dull. Had she taken the full dose, her body might have turned to stone. Then they would have dragged the helpless woman into that huge black carriage. Was the destination Oltenbir Mental Hospital? Oltenbir Mental Hospital? She didn't even know where that was.

If she'd been dragged there... She couldn't imagine what would happen next. She didn't know exactly what a mental hospital was like.

Bridget, who had been slowly blinking her eyes and repeating 'if she'd been dragged there' like a broken record, suddenly let out a laugh.

At first, it was faint, barely noticeable, but gradually her smiling mouth became distinct.

Ain, who had been slumped on the sofa resting, raised his eyebrows at the sight.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because it's funny."

Bridget now openly giggled. Then she glanced at Ain.

"Aren't you laughing?"

She sat up on her knees, wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, pulled it close to fill her arms, and buried her face in it.

"My uncle, my only remaining blood relative, is trying to lock me up in a mental hospital because I'm crazy, and my ex-husband is the one saving me from that."

Her muffled words were partially blocked by the blanket, making them hard to hear clearly, but not completely inaudible. Worried something might be wrong, Ain looked at Bridget seriously before pointing out in a cold voice.

"I’m not your ex-husband."

At those words, Bridget peeked out just her eyes to look at Ain.

"Oh, sorry. You won't be my husband much longer either. I'll call you a stranger."

"Nothing's been decided yet. We're still married."

Bridget buried her head again as if she hadn't heard Ain. Ain, looking at Bridget with a puzzled expression, decided he should take her back to the third floor. She was probably stiff from the medication anyway; it would be better for her to lie down, relax, and rest.

But before Ain could get up, Bridget spoke first.

"I owe you."

The faint smile that had flickered briefly had vanished as if washed away. Bridget lifted her head again, her face returning to the usual expressionless, lifeless look Ain knew well. She unfolded the blanket she had briefly rolled up and draped it over her knees before addressing Ain.

"Be careful going back."

"Where am I supposed to go?"

Bridget narrowed her brows in apparent discomfort at Ain’s reluctant retort.

"I'm grateful you saved me, but I can't offer you tea. As you know, my condition is poor."

"Who asked for tea?"

Wasn't boldly claiming a spot on someone else's sofa an unspoken demand for something? Bridget stared at Ain, who sat as naturally as if it were her own home. Ain seemed to catch the thought behind Bridget's gaze and clicked his tongue sharply.

"Staying all peaceful and alone in a wooden house with a broken door? Isn't that like telling the whole neighborhood to kidnap you?"

He was consistently so blunt. Even if she wanted to appreciate the kindness, that habit of his made it hard to hold onto gratitude. At this point, she could almost call it a God-given talent.

Whether aware of Bridget's thoughts or not, Ain continued nonchalantly.

"Since they didn't inject the full dose, the effects should wear off within half a day at the earliest."

"That's a relief."

"Yeah, I'm willing to stick around for about half a day."

"………………That's not a relief."

"Security here is utterly pathetic overall."

"You're not listening."