Eldritch Horror Theatre

"...I will remember this gift of yours forever."

Fu Qian's reliably optimistic bedside manner had clearly struck a nerve with the former medical consultant.

His carefully maintained air of aloofness instantly shattered. Olinter's face twisted with emotion, his words grinding through clenched teeth.

"No need to thank me. Scars are a man's Badge. I am equally gratified to see how much you've grown."

Fu Qian sighed and waved a hand, gesturing for him not to take it to heart.

"My handiwork isn't bad, is it? I didn't even scratch your cornea."

He even took a moment to look his work up and down, offering a sound of admiration.

This was no baseless boast.

That strike of the Compassionate Ice Face-Breaking Fist had been impromptu, yet the calculation of force, the angle of impact, and the cleanliness of the debridement had absolutely reached the pinnacle of surgical perfection.

Just as he had noted before, the true issue had always been the trace of Dimensional Poison lingering within the wound.

The most expected outcome before coming here was that, post-treatment, Olinter would recover his missing half-face but be left with a permanently bloody scar.

Yet the sight before him was the exact opposite.

The ruined flesh hadn't been mended in the slightest, while every trace of the Dimensional Poison had been thoroughly erased.

It was surprising, but by no means difficult to understand. With the Dimensional Poison cured, Olinter had actively chosen to keep this mangled appearance.

As for the reason, anyone could guess it in their sleep. Emotional trauma. People acting as if their lives were over from a broken heart was a common enough sight; what was a mere scar in comparison?

Especially within this tangled relationship, Olinter clearly held a far superior status.

As a recipient of the Boon of the Stars, his rank within the Church couldn't be low. Yet he had stooped to pine after an ordinary mortal woman, only to be used as an absolute pawn.

Judging by his reaction upon hearing the word 'pregnant' back then, he clearly harbored zero illusions about being the father. It was highly likely his relationship with the governess had remained entirely chaste.

And yet she had ended up pregnant—not by the man she desperately wanted, but by some other pawn she had used for revenge.

The whiplash of that revelation destroyed far more than just his romantic ideals.

One could easily imagine how thoroughly his worldview and self-esteem had shattered in that single moment.

Choosing to keep the scar to temper his mind and sever his worldly attachments wasn't exactly a bizarre move.

That was exactly why Fu Qian so calmly accepted his thanks. It was the simple truth—he really had helped the man grow.

Unfortunately, the man's gratitude didn't seem entirely genuine.

"Heh..."

Lightly stroking his exposed eyeball, Olinter let out a loaded sneer, making it quite clear he hadn't eradicated his inner demon at all.

Snatching up the Lantern beside him, Olinter finally rose to his feet, stepping closer through the flickering shadows.

"Indeed. The Saints of The Order marveled at that exact same thing while treating me."

"I admit I misjudged you, Mister Herbert."

"You are far more terrifying than anyone imagined. That night, I must have looked like an absolute clown in your eyes."

Stopping right in front of him, Olinter slowly took a seat. He made no effort to hide his ruined cheek from Fu Qian, the flickering lamplight making his features look all the more hideous.

"But do you know? It's for that exact reason—even when the others refused to believe it—that I was absolutely certain you would come."

"You are so proud and conceited. You look at everything with a mocking gaze, you despise the thoughts of others, and you loathe being predicted—just as you proved that night—"

"That night, I cured the patient."

His resounding yet endlessly mournful accusation was brought to a dead halt by Fu Qian's single sentence.

Facts speak louder than words. The beauty of the medical profession was that the results always surpassed a thousand words.

"...I don't deny that. The subsequent examinations the personnel from The Order ran on Jane also proved that she no longer harbored any anomalies. She has completely recovered."

Olinter finally spoke after a stretch of silence, sounding rather straightforward and sporting.

"And though he wouldn't say it out loud, I can tell her father is deeply grateful to you as well."

"However... I've been pondering a question for the past few days. Why exactly did you show up there?"

Unsurprisingly, his tone took a sharp turn. He pointed straight at Fu Qian's eyes, his accusations suddenly flowing smoothly.

"Until you walked in just now, and I saw those eyes. That was when I finally figured it out—the Blood Clan."

"Such a mysterious and elegant moniker. Much like the others, I used to think it was nothing more than a delusion born of a fractured mind."

"But once I accepted that possibility and looked at your actions, the answer to my question suddenly became clear. Your goal was incredibly simple: to plunder a boon, just as your kind plunders blood in the legends."

"My initial judgment wasn't wrong at all. What afflicted poor Jane wasn't a disease; it was the side effect of the Boon of the Stars, and that was your true target."

"The only reason her symptoms looked so strange later on was because you got there first. Not only did you confirm its presence by tasting her blood, but you also cleverly manipulated the situation to force my misdiagnosis."

"Through all that manipulation, you finally got what you wanted. You extracted that boon right out of Jane's body and claimed it for yourself, all while making everyone else sing your praises and thank you for it."

To be perfectly honest, his logic was incredibly smooth, and his conclusions even matched the end results to a certain extent.

Listening intently to the accusation, Fu Qian couldn't help but offer him some silent applause.

After all, he literally had a Fine Vintage tucked into his jacket right now—the physical manifestation of a plundered boon.

Even though he had earned it through fair and legitimate labor, Olinter's theory was more than solid enough to serve as the guiding manifesto for a medical malpractice dispute.

"That all sounds very reasonable. Are you planning to share these insights with Mister Winslow?"

Fu Qian asked with a bright smile.

Seemingly triggered by that name, Olinter's breathing hitched.

Considering he couldn't even stomach hearing Mister Winslow's name, his desire to communicate further with the man was undoubtedly close to zero.

However, admitting that out loud would completely deflate the imposing momentum of his accusation.

"So you admit it, then?"

Ultimately, his choice was exactly as expected: he deflected the question with righteous indignation.

"I won't deny it. You're welcome to share that piece of information with Mister Winslow as well."

Fu Qian answered without missing a beat, smiling from ear to ear.

"That idiot... just let him wallow in the satisfaction of his own self-deception."

Forced to confront the issue once again, Olinter stared at the dim Lantern and finally spoke through gritted teeth.

"To be completely honest, you look a lot more prone to self-deception."

But Fu Qian didn't let him off the hook. Staring into the dancing flames alongside him, he offered a casual critique.

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