Shadow Slave

After studying the beautiful psychiatrist closer, Mordret noticed how tired and worse for wear Dr. Saint looked. There were bruises on her eerily beautiful face, her clothes were wrinkled under the white lab coat, and one of her hands was bandaged tightly.

A concerned frown found its way onto his face against his will.

”I am sorry. Morgan, did she… were you hurt?”

Dr. Saint remained silent for a few moments, then cast a cold glance at the members of his retinue.

After hesitating a little, she frowned and said in a sonorous, enthralling voice:

”Can we speak in private, Mr. Mordret?”

It took him a few seconds to come to his senses after hearing her voice and realize that she had asked him a question. Mordret stared at the beautiful

psychiatrist for a bit, then looked at his bodyguards.

”Wait here.”

He gave the director a signal to remain in the lobby, as well.

Dr. Saint nodded.

”Then, follow me.”

Turning around, she headed into the depths of the hospital, unlocking several doors with her keycard as they went.

”Is something the matter, Dr. Saint? I am... quite concerned about my sister. I was under the impression that she had been receiving the best treatment here, but the next thing I knew, she vanished. What exactly happened?”

She glanced at him over her shoulder.

”Last night, Miss Morgan escaped after killing a nurse and three orderlies.”

Mordret flinched.

”What? That… why wasn’t I informed?”

Uncle Madoc had not mentioned anything about someone having been killed!

Dr. Saint sighed.

”She claims that they were assassins who infiltrated the hospital by posing as staff in order to kill her. Usually, I would have said that Miss Morgan

is suffering from paranoid personality disorder… and she might be... but in this case, I am really not sure.”

Still shocked, Mordret nodded.

”Yes. Morgan… Morgan is not someone who would hurt people. I mean, she has never hurt anyone. Are you sure that she… she killed someone?”

Then, his eyes widened a little.

”Wait, you said that she claims to have killed them? Meaning that you are in contact with her?”

Dr. Saint nodded again.

”Yes. In fact, I…”

She seemed to hesitate for a while, then added with a hint of reluctance:

”I can take you to her.”

Just then, Mordret realized that he had no idea where they were. He had been too distracted by Dr. Saint’s breathtaking beauty at first and the shocking news about Morgan later.The two of them had left the more crowded parts of the hospital and were now in some kind of service area. The air was cold and humid, and there was a thin layer of water on the floor. ＢЁṣ

Mordret looked around in confusion.

”I am sorry, but where are we going?”

Instead of answering, Dr. Saint simply beckoned for him to follow.

They took a few turns, ascended a set of stairs, and ended up in front of a chained door. There, Dr. Saint stopped and gave him a complicated look.

Suddenly finding himself face-to-face with her, gazing into her eyes, Mordret coughed and took a step back in embarrassment.

”Uh… I am sorry, but is there something on my face?”

She remained silent for a while longer, then said evenly:

”Mr. Mordred, I am a person who values orderly and reasonable things. However, the situation we find ourselves in is disorderly and irrational… distasteful, really. So, we can only follow our instincts and do what we think is best.”

Mordret blinked a few times.

’What is she…’

Dr. Saint sighed again.

”What I mean to say is that I will not let things get out of hand. If you feel too uncomfortable, give me a signal, and I’ll find a way to stop all of

this.”

Mordret stared at her silently for a few moments with no expression on his face.

Behind the composed facade, however, he was anything but calm.

Eventually, he asked:

”Do you mean… like… a safe word?”

The stunning psychiatrist frowned, looked at him for a moment, then turned away to unlock the door while ignoring his question completely.

Beyond it was the street running along the utility annex of the hospital. The rain was pouring from the grey sky, and streams of water were flowing through the small gaps in the hastily assembled sandbag barricade. The workers were hastily trying to plug the holes, and a lone security guard was hiding from the rain under the canopy.

Mordret looked past the barricade, though.

There, a ramshackle black car with a cracked windshield was parked in the middle of the street, with two people leaning against it leisurely.

The detectives.

Mordret raised his eyebrows.

”Detective Sunless? Detective Athena? What are you doing here?”

Detective Athena smiled.

”Oh, we just happened to be in the neighborhood.

Detective Sunless smiled, as well.

”We’re kidnapping you.”

His partner gave him a startled look.

”What? Hey, what happened to the plan? Weren’t we going to lure him into the car peacefully?”

He cleared his throat, then offered her a shrug.

”Well... he asked.”

Mordret stared at them with a odd expression.

’Huh? Wait, so Dr. Saint...’

Suddenly, he wanted to fall through the ground.

Mordret lingered for a few moments, then shook his head slightly.

”Oh… I am terribly sorry, detectives, but it would be very inconvenient for me to get kidnapped at the moment. I have to find my sister, you see. My parents are also visiting… there are floods in the city, and I need to plan a museum opening as well. So, with all due respect — once again, I am truly sorry — I will have to refuse.”

Mordret would have obliged the detectives some other time, but he was otherwise engaged today. So, he was not going to humor them.

’They could have just scheduled an appointment.’

Mordret offered them a polite smile.

…It was then that he felt something cold press against his back, and heard the sound of a pistol hammer being cocked.

Looking over his shoulder, Mordret saw Dr. Saint looking at him with her beautiful, glistening eyes.

One could drown in those eyes, but...

It seemed that she was holding a revolver against his back.

The beautiful psychiatrist sighed, then winced in displeasure.

”Really, now… I must have lost my mind, too.”

She took a deep breath.

”Anyway, please get into the car, Mr. Mordret. You are being kidnapped… we are kidnapping you.”

Mordret tilted his head a little.

’On second thought, I can go for a ride...’