Chapter 13: The Uninvited Guest in the Sickroom

Clint sat down slowly at the table and flipped open a book.

“We don’t have a single request right now. You can spend your time reading the books you brought and head home when it’s time to clock out.”

“Uh… no work? Nothing at all?”

“None. Not a thing.”

Simon was taken aback. Clint, however, seemed used to this; he pulled out a deck of cards he had kept ready and began practicing card tricks. If he had a glass of whiskey next to him instead of water, he would have looked like the perfect idle wanderer. He was handsome enough to make even that look like a scene from a painting, but it wasn’t exactly the detective life Simon had envisioned.

“Staring at me like that isn’t going to make a request pop out of thin air,” Clint remarked.

“Yes…”

Simon picked up a book and returned to the sofa. Is it really okay to just sit here? He glanced at Clint before opening his book. It was the page where his favorite episode of Detective Sevardo began. The story started with the detective visiting a tycoon’s mansion after receiving a request. It was an episode where the detective’s wit and resourcefulness shone as he resolved a case swirling with tangled love, hatred, and conspiracy.

After losing himself in the thrilling development for a while, Simon looked up. The office was silent. The only sound was the rhythmic shrrk-shrrk of Clint shuffling cards. Looking at the clock, the hands had moved only a tiny fraction.

Is this the gap between fiction and reality? Reality is quite harsh…

Simon felt the bitter taste of reality, but he had no complaints. Stealing glances at Clint’s face was so entertaining that he lost track of time. Clint’s profile, with a slight furrow in his brow as he shuffled cards, was ecstatically handsome. As he was admiring Clint again, the man suddenly turned to look at him.

I must have been staring too obviously. Simon quickly shifted his gaze back to his book, pretending he hadn’t been looking.

“Bored, aren’t you?”

“No! I’m fine!”

“You must be bored.”

Clint assumed Simon was just being polite. Simon was truly enjoying himself, but since he couldn’t say he was having fun just looking at Clint’s face, he simply nodded.

“But is it usually like this?”

“Yeah. Always like this,” Clint answered nonchalantly. “What kind of incidents would happen in a rural town like this?”

“Ah, it is a quiet neighborhood.”

That was why everyone had looked at Clint strangely when he first opened the detective agency.

“Then how do you usually spend your time?” Simon asked, suppressing his racing heart. He had to try hard not to let his desire to know more about Clint show.

“I kill time like this, or… recently I went to the racecourse, but it was closed.”

“Why?” Simon asked to keep the conversation going, even though he didn’t care much about the racecourse.

“They said the horse that always took first place died suddenly. Apparently, the horse’s carcass was found with no head, just the body, and it caused quite a stir.”

“Oh, that was in the newspaper. It sounded chilling.”

“That’s right. I heard it was a small blurb. Do you read the paper, Mr. Grayan?”

“Yes. Every day. I started out imitating Detective Sevardo, but now it’s a complete habit.”

Simon slightly lifted the Detective Sevardo book. Clint let out a “Haha” and laughed. Simon’s ears turned red.

“I used to imitate Sevardo when I was a kid, too. I still like the series.”

“Really? Wow, to think I have something like that in common with you, Mr. Clint…”

Simon felt a bit moved and continued talking about the novels. Suddenly, Larry—Rhett’s nephew—burst into the room.

“What’s wrong?” Clint asked.

Larry gasped for breath, barely able to speak. “Soniya… huff… at the hospital… something… big happened!”

“At the hospital?”

“Let’s go to the hospital, quickly! Please?”

Clint stood up and looked back at Simon.

“It will be faster to take my carriage,” Simon said, standing up immediately. It was a distance they could run, but taking the carriage seemed better to get there as fast as possible. Above all, Simon was worried about Soniya and couldn’t stay still.

Rains General Hospital was famous for being the largest and most skilled hospital in the area. Soniya was recovering her health quickly under the devoted care of the talented medical staff. She had regained consciousness on the evening she was admitted, and by this morning, she was able to move her body on her own. By mid-morning, her friends came to visit—schoolmates like Larry. She had a pleasant time talking with them while sharing the snacks they had brought as gifts. Although she had been cowed at the charity party, her naturally cheerful personality remained bright despite the accident.

However, there was someone watching Soniya with disapproval. It was a middle-aged patient admitted across from her. With her leg wrapped in bandages, the woman glared at Soniya with sharp eyes before abruptly asking:

“Hey, girl. Are you an orphan?”

Soniya and her friends fell into a sudden, awkward silence.

“I’m asking you. Are you an orphan?”

“…Yes. Why do you ask?” Soniya replied cautiously.

At that, the middle-aged patient’s face turned red with rage.

“My goodness, I can’t believe this! Nurse! Where is the nurse?!”

She began to scream and rings the emergency bell incessantly. A nurse came running in surprise. Sensing the atmosphere was grim, Soniya’s friends quickly slipped out of the room.

“What is the matter?”

“What is the matter? Can’t you see? She says she’s an orphan!”

“Yes? I don’t see what the problem is…” The nurse was puzzled.

“How can you admit an orphan here? It’s filthy! If I catch some strange disease from her, are you going to take responsibility?”

“Patient, please calm down,” the nurse tried to soothe her.

Soniya realized why the middle-aged patient was angry. It was due to the prejudice that children without parents are foul and ill-mannered because they aren’t properly cared for. Most people try to hide such prejudices, but occasionally, there were those who displayed them openly.

“She might steal my money! How am I supposed to sleep with this anxiety?”

The more the nurse tried to stop her, the louder the patient yelled. Soniya said nothing, simply clenching her hands.

I’m so ashamed.

She could see her friends standing outside, flustered and unsure what to do. Soniya’s face burned red. She was used to being treated this way, but showing it to her friends was another matter. She was so embarrassed she wanted to crawl into a hole.

When the patient finally stopped shouting, the argument hit a brief lull. However, a crowd of onlookers, having heard the commotion, was already gathering at the door.

“What’s going on?” “Why is it so noisy?”

As more people watched, the middle-aged patient grew even bolder.

“You! You! Why don’t you say something too!”

The patient pointed a finger at Soniya. Soniya looked at her with a terrified face.

“Things have come to this point, and you still want to stay here? Eh?”

She spoke as if Soniya were the one being stubborn and causing this mess. Soniya’s eyes trembled. She didn’t know what to do. Should I leave? Am I a child who shouldn’t be in a hospital? She was confused.

“That’s… I…”

The nurse looked at Soniya as well, looking troubled. Fragments of the onlookers’ whispering reached Soniya’s ears.

“She isn’t even crying in that situation. How cold.” “I know. Is it because she’s an orphan?”

The casual words people tossed out stabbed into her chest. Her heart hurt more than her torn and bleeding scalp. Soniya looked at the scene inside and outside the room.

The middle-aged patient was looking down at her with contempt, and the nurse looked exhausted and drained. Many people had gathered to watch the disturbance, but they all just looked on with curiosity. Soniya realized there was no one to help her. Being an orphan had always brought sorrow, but a loneliness and misery incomparable to any other time washed over her. It felt as if she had been thrown out into the world alone. Even in a hospital where every life is said to be equal, she could not receive care in the moment she needed it most.

Soniya lowered her head. Her eyes held a familiar sense of resignation.

“I-I’m sorr—”

“What are you sorry for?!”

The moment Soniya tried to apologize, a man’s voice cut in. It was a pleasant tenor, but it was laced with fury. The owner of the voice emerged through the crowd.

It was a dapper gentleman in a high-end suit and a silk hat. He looked sickly due to his pale cheeks and thin frame, but his well-dressed presence was second to none. It was Simon Grayan.

When the middle-aged patient first started getting angry at Soniya, Larry had anticipated things would get bad and went to fetch Clint. Simon, who happened to be with Clint, arrived at the sickroom and was angry to the top of his head. The bandage wrapped around Soniya’s head showed clearly how much danger she had been in.

To try and kick a child like that out of her room!

Simon couldn’t stand it and stepped between them. The original Simon usually avoided such commotions. He didn’t want to waste energy and found it tiring. But this time, he couldn’t just let it go. Soniya being alive was the first event Simon had changed since returning to the past. Although he hadn’t even shared a word with Soniya herself, in Simon’s heart, she was no longer a stranger.

“What did you do wrong that you’re apologizing? Don’t do it! Lift your head!”

Simon wrapped his arm around Soniya’s shoulders. Soniya’s eyes went round as she looked up at Simon in surprise. Clint, following the Simon who had dashed ahead, entered right behind him. He stood in front of Soniya and Simon as if to protect them. The middle-aged patient was flustered by the appearance of these tall, striking men.