Eldritch Horror Theatre

The voice was gentle, neither rushed nor slow. It perfectly fit the style of Reginald and his ilk from the Order.

To Mr. Winslow's ears, however, the sound made his mind short-circuit all over again.

Fortunately, thanks to his prior experience, he recovered his senses in less than half the time.

His first instinct was to look back toward his daughter's bedroom.

Seeing that his wife and the doctor had already stepped out to stand behind him—even pulling the door shut in the process—he let out a faint breath of relief.

There was no room for wishful thinking. Their visitors had absolutely come with ill intent.

In all likelihood, whoever was outside already knew exactly who was in this room.

Under these circumstances, maintaining the calmest possible front was clearly the best approach.

It would even be best if the doctor didn't try to hide—wait, was he really not going to hide?

But this was no time to dwell on that. He took a deep breath to steady his emotions and quickly opened the door.

...

Aside from the butler he had seen earlier, a tall, red-haired man stood outside the door.

He looked significantly younger than Reginald, wearing the same dark robes and gold-threaded shawl. His face was completely expressionless.

"Excellency Olinter, please come in. My apologies for not coming out to greet you sooner."

Considerably calmer now, Mr. Winslow squeezed out a smile as he greeted him.

Since the man had clearly come with ill intent, Mr. Winslow did not act overly obsequious; that would only leave him entirely passive for the rest of the conversation.

"Not at all. I arrived quite abruptly. I was taking a stroll outside and decided to drop by on a whim."

Olinter clearly didn't mind the lack of a formal welcome. Offering casual pleasantries, he peered past Mr. Winslow and instantly spotted Fu Qian sitting there.

Mrs. Winslow subconsciously shifted to block his view, but the small gesture was entirely ineffectual.

As if noticing his gaze, Fu Qian looked up, smiled, and gave a nod.

This reaction clearly caught Olinter off guard. He looked Fu Qian up and down a few times before stepping through the space Mr. Winslow had yielded.

...

"Is there a specific reason you've come over so late, Excellency?"

After all, this was merely the sitting room outside a young lady's bedroom. It was not particularly spacious, nor was it equipped for hosting guests.

After inviting Olinter to sit, Mr. Winslow dispensed with any further empty pleasantries. He didn't even rush to introduce Fu Qian, choosing instead to ask the man's purpose directly.

Olinter's earlier excuse was obvious nonsense. Even if the members of the Celestial Sphere Cult enjoyed nocturnal activities, a stroll did not justify wandering into someone else's home.

Barging straight in to corner them here was far too deliberate.

"Nothing in particular. It has just been a while since my last visit."

Faced with the question, however, Olinter offered a half-smile and denied it.

"How have things been with you lately?"

It was clear from his tone that he and Mr. Winslow were normally fairly well acquainted.

"...Actually, I did have something I wanted to discuss with you."

Mr. Winslow withdrew his gaze, coming to a rapid decision.

"Oh? What about?"

"My daughter, Jane, has been feeling a bit unwell lately—"

"And the man beside you seems powerless to help, doesn't he?"

Before Mr. Winslow could finish, another voice chimed in. At the same time, the slightly ajar door was pushed open from the outside.

Recognizing the voice, Mr. and Mrs. Winslow stared in shock as Nathalie walked in.

Gone was her usual gentle and intellectual demeanor; her face was now masked in frost.

"My apologies, but I cannot sit by and watch you gamble with Jane's life."

Eyes filled with disgust, she slowly shook her head at the Winslows and pointed straight at Fu Qian.

"I cannot fathom how you could place your trust in a quack like him."

...

Was that any way to speak?

Extremely satisfied with his diagnostic work tonight, Fu Qian made no effort to hide his displeasure.

"Have you never heard that quacks cure the worst diseases?"

Heh...

Nathalie ignored him, merely offering a string of cold sneers.

"Who are you?"

Wearing an almost identical sneer, Olinter looked Fu Qian up and down.

"Didn't she just say it? A quack."

Before the shell-shocked Winslows could attempt an introduction, Fu Qian was already looking at the man with the pity one reserved for an idiot.

This elite from the Order had obviously been brought in by Nathalie.

Provoking her and driving her out earlier had been a deliberate play on her connections with the Order, meant to see if she could bring him any surprises.

As it turned out, the woman's resentment was indeed staggering. She had actually managed to drag someone from the Order straight over—even without much concrete evidence.

As expected, the power of hatred was highly reliable.

As for why Nathalie hadn't shown herself immediately, and where she had just been...

Fu Qian cast a peripheral glance at the room's third door.

Exactly. She had been holding her breath and hiding behind it this whole time.

The family teacher clearly knew the layout of this place. If anyone had tried to slip away, they would have been caught red-handed, severely undercutting any later attempt to play innocent.

Even with the situation being less than ideal, she was evidently doing everything in her power to squeeze the Winslow family's avenues of escape.

"Mr. Quack, is it? I understand."

Fu Qian's impolite remarks had clearly succeeded in drawing massive aggro. Olinter stared at him coldly, his gaze like a knife.

"So, what was your diagnosis?"

"Excellent. Quite ideal."

Facing such an intense glare, Fu Qian strictly adhered to his medical ethics, unyielding to martial might.

"Well, that is just wonderful... Would it be convenient for me to take a look?"

Although the strange wandering doctor's behavior was clearly unexpected, Olinter knew how to prioritize and did not continue to entangle himself with the man.

"Of course. That is exactly what I wanted to say."

Mr. Winslow had clearly been stunned by Fu Qian's words and actions as well, and only now found an opportunity to interject and establish his stance.

"Due to my wishful thinking, I caused some unnecessary risks earlier. I must apologize to you, Excellency."

"Understood. However, I have no way to accept that on behalf of the Order. Just take me to see Jane first."

Olinter did not equivocate any further.

His meaning was perfectly clear: You have indeed caused a disaster, and I cannot cover it up for you. Let us first see just how big of a mess you've made.

"And naturally, this Mr. Quack will absolutely be coming with me later."

"...Please come with me."

This development had caught Mr. Winslow somewhat off guard. He walked ahead and opened the door.

Through his almost exaggerated posturing, the doctor had managed to draw a considerable amount of aggro, which had conversely softened Olinter's attitude toward Mr. Winslow.

But just as the man had said, the actual situation was the main point. If it was proven that his actions had indeed caused irreversible consequences, then their fate would be anything but optimistic.

"This..."

Yet the next moment, looking at Jane lying there, Olinter didn't even enter the room, freezing stunned on the spot.

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