Chapter 76

Chapter 76

The Head Nurse walked in.

Her body writhed as she moved, leaving a trail of sticky, slimy residue across the floor.

“Good afternoon, Head Nurse,” Tu Nan said, standing up and nodding to her.

The Head Nurse glanced at her before walking over to Eric’s bedside to check on him.

Seeing the empty tray in Tu Nan’s hands, she nodded in satisfaction.

“Patients are allowed to take turns visiting the garden to relax after one o’clock every afternoon. You are to accompany them, just in case.”

What a humane hospital.

“How are you feeling today?” The Head Nurse approached Eric. “Rest assured, as long as you cooperate with the treatment, Fairy Tale Hospital will surely cure you.”

Tu Nan gave Eric a strange look.

Eric’s eyes widened, and he began to struggle violently.

Though it was called struggling, his entire body was wrapped in bandages; he could only manage to shift a few inches with great difficulty. To her, it looked like a completely futile effort.

Why was Eric reacting so strongly?

And what exactly was this ‘treatment’ the Head Nurse mentioned?

“You can take Miss Maria out to relax first,” the Head Nurse said, glancing at her.

Tu Nan had no reason to stay. She nodded and left Ward 404.

When Tu Nan arrived at Ward 403, she found that Maria had already changed into a beautiful dress. It seemed she had anticipated Tu Nan’s arrival, as she stood up from the sofa the moment she heard the door open.

She looked straight ahead, appearing utterly arrogant and noble. “Let’s go.”

Tu Nan instinctively scanned the other people in the room.

Little Red Riding Hood was still sitting at the table playing with building blocks. Lepei, however, was finally no longer by the balcony. Not seeing her immediately, Tu Nan asked curiously, “Where is Miss Lepei?”

Maria gave a soft, dismissive huff and pointed toward the bathroom.

Every ward in Fairy Tale Hospital had its own private bathroom. Tu Nan walked to the door and, through a crack, caught a glimpse of Lepei washing her hair inside.

She was washing it with such intense focus that she hadn’t even noticed when Tu Nan entered the room.

“She won’t be out for at least two hours,” Maria urged impatiently. “Everyone only gets one hour of outdoor time per day. Please do not waste mine.”

“My apologies.” Tu Nan withdrew her gaze. “Let’s go.”

Maria took the lead and walked out the door.

As Tu Nan left, she glanced back at Little Red Riding Hood. The girl placed the final block in its designated spot, then suddenly swept them all down and began rebuilding from scratch.

“…”

The people here really are all sick.

Tu Nan felt this realization sink in deeply.

Maria walked ahead of her with elegant, unhurried steps.

The two soon reached the back garden. Tu Nan looked around, only to find that Hans was no longer there.

“Are you looking for that dog?” Maria asked casually, noticing her movements.

“Yes,” Tu Nan nodded. “You know about that dog too, Miss Maria?”

Maria arched an eyebrow. “He’s the Dean’s beloved pet. Who in this hospital doesn’t know him? No need to keep looking; he gets taken elsewhere after one in the afternoon. After all…”

Maria gave a meaningful smile. “We can’t have him staying here and biting people, can we?”

The back garden was opened to patients in the afternoon. If Hans remained there, it would indeed be easy for someone to get hurt.

The reasoning sounded sound, yet Tu Nan felt there was a hidden meaning behind Maria’s words.

If Hans wasn’t here, where did he go?

Maria walked over to a bench and sat down, closing her eyes to enjoy this rare moment of leisure.

Tu Nan hesitated for a moment before walking to her side. She asked softly, “Miss Maria, does what you said this morning still stand?”
Maria opened her eyes in surprise, observing her for a moment before asking nonchalantly, “So, you’ve already figured out why I was sent to this hospital?”

“I’m not entirely certain; I’m just guessing based on the limited information I have,” Tu Nan replied, neither humble nor overbearing. “If I’m right, that’s great. If I’m wrong, I haven’t lost anything.”

Maria covered her mouth and let out a soft laugh. “Then tell me, what is your guess?”

She even generously moved over to make space beside her, inviting Tu Nan to sit.

Tu Nan sat down next to her and said softly, “Your marriage to the Prince of the Neighboring Kingdom is common knowledge. At a critical juncture like this, the King and Queen would have no reason to send you away.”

“True, and yet, they sent me here anyway,” Maria said with a distressed sigh.

“I was lucky. Someone happened to tell me that before you entered the hospital, she overheard a few words of yours in the Dean’s office.”

“‘Give it up.'”

“‘I’d rather stay in a hospital for the rest of my life.'”

Maria’s eyes flickered.

“Oh? And what does that prove?” She propped up her head, looking at Tu Nan with a lazy gaze.

“It proves that you weren’t sent here because of some unavoidable illness,” Tu Nan said, pushing forward despite Maria’s flat expression. She wasn’t entirely sure, but she committed to her theory. “I can only guess that you were unwilling to go through with the marriage. To cover that up, the King and Queen had to lie about you being sick and send you here.”

Maria’s expression didn’t change as she stared calmly at Tu Nan.

Could she have guessed wrong? This was the most logical explanation she could come up with.

Tu Nan felt uncertain, but she did her best to maintain a composed exterior.

Suddenly, Maria laughed, though a shadow crossed her eyes.

“It really wasn’t a very difficult puzzle, was it?” she said, effectively confirming Tu Nan’s suspicion.

“But why?” Tu Nan was genuinely puzzled.

In fairy tales, the union of a princess and a prince was usually the perfect ending.

Why would Maria rather be committed to a hospital than marry the Prince?

“I know what you’re thinking.” Maria stopped laughing, her voice dripping with obvious disgust. “But being forced to marry someone I’ve never even met is something I will absolutely never accept.”

Tu Nan raised an eyebrow.

In the story of Snow White, the princess’s mother dies, the King marries a stepmother, and Snow White’s tragedy begins from there.

She began to wonder if the Dwarfs in Ward 404 had any connection to Snow White.

There were originally seven Dwarfs; why were there only five in Ward 404?

“Is the Queen forcing you to marry?” she guessed reasonably.

Maria let out a cold snort. “As much as I dislike her, this actually has nothing to do with her. My country is growing weaker by the day, and they need my marriage to sustain it.”

“That sounds… fairly logical, in its own way.” Tu Nan studied Maria’s expression. “But you refuse.”

Maria laughed disdainfully. “What is the point of a kingdom that has to be propped up by a woman’s marriage?”

“You aren’t naive enough to think that an unknown marriage can save a decaying kingdom, are you?”

Her eyes burned with a startling intensity. “The kingdom is decaying because it has a King who does nothing. What I want is certainly not to use my body to save a country that already has one foot in the grave.”

“Rather, I want…”