Eldritch Horror Theatre

Though he was universally recognized as a refined and easygoing man, his willingness to rest in such a distant room was certainly not because Winslow's private collection tasted so good.

While resting and waiting just now, he hadn't merely been watching for new changes in the patient, but more importantly, for the conditions that triggered them.

At first glance, thanks to his intervention as a miracle doctor, the situation was progressing quite smoothly—

Miss Winslow had recently come into contact with the Mist outside the city and was subsequently entangled by the legendary Outcast of the Stars.

This caused her physical mutations to become increasingly impossible to ignore. Fraught with worry, Mr. and Mrs. Winslow were forced to seek out a specialized medical professional like himself, hoping to handle the matter privately to avoid alarming The Order.

Though his methods were bizarre, he hadn't disappointed them. Not only had he quickly provided a diagnosis, but his miraculous touch had also successfully offered them a glimmer of hope.

—At least, that was the version of events in Mister Winslow's eyes.

He had rushed over just now because they had evidently discovered new symptoms for a second time, hoping for another miraculous cure.

But that wasn't Fu Qian's version.

It was just like the assessment he had made after learning Jane had come into contact with the Mist—wasn't all of this a little too smooth?

Truth was often stranger than fiction. If a sequence of events seemed overly logical, you were better off factoring in an omniscient pair of eyes.

It was just like his first encounter with the concept of a commandment.

Originating from that massive tree of flesh inside the Volcano, the Law sheltering Ill Omen had formed an omnidirectional defense system. It had made the target incredibly slippery, forcing even a professional like himself to expend a considerable amount of effort.

Memories were precious wealth, and wealth was a precious tool.

And humanity's greatest advantage was its ability to use tools.

Ever since his initial realization that the Star Law felt somewhat familiar, Fu Qian hadn't stopped making comparisons to verify his theories.

His findings had been significant.

Since arriving for this house call, he had already taken two breaks, and both times the reasoning had seemed perfectly natural and logical.

But upon closer thought, he found two anomalies.

First, for an on-call doctor, the resting room they arranged for him was much too far away.

Secrecy alone was not a convincing enough reason for the distance.

Second, the patient—Miss Winslow—hadn't been the deciding factor in either of those choices.

In other words, even if that invisible discarded piece could influence her behavior through whispers, it shouldn't have been enough to dictate his rest schedule.

Her parents were the ones making those decisions.

Rather than the discarded piece possessing all three of them one by one just to drive him away to rest, Fu Qian leaned toward the belief that the extra pair of eyes wasn't "it," but an entity hidden even deeper behind the scenes.

That naturally led to a question—what was the purpose?

If it had been the discarded piece's doing, it could vaguely be explained as sensing danger and wanting to push him further away to create an opportunity to escape.

But why would a deeper hidden mastermind do that?

This exact question was why Fu Qian had accepted the arrangement for a second break.

...

As it turned out, Jane had undergone another change.

It seemed that every time he was sent away, the hidden mastermind briefly emerged to do something to the patient.

The mastermind might not even be formless and incorporeal like the discarded piece, considering that even an ordinary middle-aged female spectator was sent away each time.

"So how long were you gone this time?"

Fu Qian looked at the horrified Mrs. Winslow with a smile.

"Only a few minutes... and I came right back."

Mrs. Winslow glanced at her daughter, a look of bewildered uncertainty on her face.

"And Jane wasn't the one who asked me to leave this time. Is there a problem?"

"No problem. And your daughter is fine, too."

Fu Qian's tone was easygoing. He didn't even ask why she had left the room.

"Just listen. Her voice has completely returned to normal."

"Judging by the current situation, I'm highly confident that she'll be perfectly fine before dawn."

Fu Qian stuck to the explanation he had given Nathalie.

...Are you sure?

The moment those words left his mouth, even the usually silent Mister Winslow gave him a look that seemed to say, Are you joking?

Earlier, when her eyes had recovered but her voice turned strange, it could barely be written off as an improvement.

But now her feet had twisted into that state. No matter how you looked at it, this was worse than when it had first begun, wasn't it?

Staring at Fu Qian's deadpan expression, Mister Winslow felt his newly established confidence being sorely tested.

However, he wasn't a shallow man. He immediately shot his wife a look to stop her impulse to question the doctor. Just as he was mulling over how to phrase his own concerns, a string of knocks suddenly rang out behind them.

Startled, Mister Winslow exchanged a glance with his wife before slowly turning around.

It was obvious he had left strict instructions not to be disturbed.

The knocks were actually coming from the outer door. When the butler had first brought Fu Qian over, he had used the exact same method to announce their arrival.

His smile never wavering, Fu Qian kept his thoughts to himself.

Amid Mr. and Mrs. Winslow's alarm, a second barrage of knocks echoed through the room. Whoever was out there clearly wasn't going to stop until the door opened.

"Apologies, please give me a moment."

After excusing himself, Mister Winslow didn't hesitate any longer. He stepped forward and opened the door to enter the outer room.

"What is it?"

Rather than immediately opening the second door, he asked the question in the most normal tone he could manage.

"Sir, His Excellency Olinter from The Order is here to see you."

The butler's voice filtered in from outside, sounding as if he were trying his hardest to remain calm.

Unfortunately, his report frightened Mister Winslow out of his wits.

He had done everything in his power to keep this hidden from The Order. Yet now, past midnight, when his daughter's condition was at its absolute worst, a member of The Order was at their door?

It was completely illogical—an unimaginable crisis.

"Can you stay by yourself for a while?"

Withdrawing his gaze from Mister Winslow, who had practically frozen in place, Fu Qian glanced at Jane and asked out of the blue.

"I can..."

Miss Winslow's face was deathly pale. She clearly understood the gravity of the situation, yet she couldn't hide her confusion over Fu Qian's sudden question.

The doctor had clearly seemed to mind her being left alone, so why would he suddenly suggest it?

"Your husband might need some help."

But Fu Qian had no intention of explaining himself. He turned to Mrs. Winslow and gestured toward the door, which had deliberately been left slightly ajar.

The shock Mrs. Winslow had received was visibly greater than her husband's; she was completely flustered.

Barely managing to register what Fu Qian had said, she saw him head straight out the door. Without a second thought, she instinctively followed.

"Please take His Excellency Olinter to the reception room... I'll be right there."

Finally snapping out of his profound shock, Mister Winslow remained oblivious to the scene unfolding behind him and called out through the door.

"Mister Winslow, I'm already right here. Please open the door."

However, the voice that answered him was entirely unfamiliar.

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