The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

Page 55

While at the Shisham Asylum, Heda spent most of her time in a deep sleep, and even when she did awaken intermittently, she was unaware of her own existence. She would either frantically scribble words or stare into a deathly silence in the shadows.

Requests such as "I want to go out for a walk" sounded like heavenly music to Ms. Marian's ears, so she agreed without any hesitation.

With Marian's help, Heda walked through the corridors, stairs, and main hall, and then into the flower-filled courtyard.

She hadn't worn a skirt in so long that she found it difficult to adjust to the cool sensation beneath its soft hem. Although the funeral maid's robe also had a hem, she wore trousers underneath for ease of movement…

"call."

Pedestrians smoking pipes and reading newspapers, vendors hawking trinkets, missionaries distributing pamphlets, and a constant stream of carriages and horses...

The streets before her were so familiar, almost identical to Norrington in Haida's memory. This place seemed no different from the world she had once inhabited, except for the absence of evil offspring and cults.

Haida closed her eyes slightly and stood quietly in the courtyard for a long time.

She vaguely glimpsed a clue, but couldn't quite make it clear. ＄《〓】÷⊙?▲↓

A sense of danger quietly arose from the depths of my heart.

Those involved are often blinded by their own perspective; perhaps my thinking has been eroded by that unfamiliar memory without my realizing it. Perhaps all the sense of harmony and security I feel now stems from this girl from the Shisham Mental Hospital…

Haida originally thought that time was not urgent and that she could collect information in detail before making a plan.

But given the current situation, she must act immediately, or she may lose her chance.

“Ms. Marian, I’m a little tired. Could you help me back to my room to rest?”

"Hmm, you lazybones. You really need to get some rest."

As she followed Marianne back into the mansion, the solemnity in her grey-chestnut eyes vanished for a moment.

Instead, there was a faint, almost languid smile, much like that of a certain doctor.

—If Fran were in this situation, what would she do?

Heda doesn't know the answer, but she is able to mimic Dr. Fran's personality model to some extent through her talent for profiling.

Even if the simulated personality is incomplete, has some flaws, and greatly increases her mental burden... psychology is one of the few abilities she has not yet been affected by.

"~"

Haida took a light sniff of the subtle, rich incense in the house, then keenly surveyed the furniture and decor of the main hall, a slight smile playing on her lips.

She returned to her bedroom in silence.

"Haida, call me if you need anything, I'm always here."

After covering Heda, who had gone back to bed, with a comforter, Marian casually took the tray of food that was on the bedside table and gently closed the door as she left the room.

Heida, wrapped in a blanket, initially pursed her lips tightly, as if trying to suppress something, but it was a morbid smile that was rising wildly.

She desperately wanted to laugh out loud, but she had to hold it in so as not to disturb Marian.

How absurd, how ridiculous! The influence on me is so profound, it's like I'm terminally ill, yet I haven't felt anything amiss from beginning to end. (玐)

She stretched out her body freely on the bed, to the point that it appeared somewhat unseemly.

It should have been obvious the moment I stepped into the courtyard. This enormous house felt so familiar because it was number 11 in the North District, 131 Hongzhi Street.

That's Ms. Solani's mansion... *smack*

Why would there be hawking, sales pitches, and proselytizing outside a high-end residential area? That's clearly a scene from the North District market, yet the two have been inexplicably intertwined.

And the incense in the room, though faintly discernible, clearly carried the fiery scent characteristic of Attilius.

Furthermore! The milk-white porcelain cup that Ms. Marianne presented to herself was clearly identical to the skull cup sculpted by Solanie using the [Flesh and Blood Shaping] ritual.

Even if this were truly a reflection of her own world, there would be absolutely no way Ivanie's name would appear here. Having already traveled far from the borderlands to the Dark Stars, she should have no connection with Norrington whatsoever.

Everything was chaotic and mixed together, yet it was stitched together in a seemingly harmonious way.

The truth then becomes clear—this place is pieced together from one's own memories. Is it a dream, a hallucination, or some kind of regional contamination of relics?

"Cough cough..." Haida coughed violently, and her face, which had been maintaining a professional smile, gradually became distorted.

Her mental state had reached its limit, to the point that if she continued to maintain Fran's personality model, she would succumb to it.

"Even though I know this place isn't real, I still have no way to escape... Does that mean I have to wipe everyone out?"

"Boom, boom."

Just as the weakened Haida was pondering her next move, she heard two taps coming from inside her suitcase, like the light tapping of knuckles.

Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Human Head Lamp [The Last Nun]

The gentle tapping sound came rhythmically and continuously, seemingly full of patience.

Haida lifted the blanket and gently slipped her bare, slender feet into soft slippers.

She tried her best to keep her movements quiet. But because she was too weak, she had to crawl almost on her hands and knees to the suitcase covered in crayon drawings.

The simulation of Fran's personality had severe aftereffects, which worsened Heida's already poor health. She could probably not even stand up for a moment before collapsing.

What should have taken less than two steps felt like an eternity to Haida. After several missteps, she finally managed to unlock her suitcase.

A nimble little thing darted out from it, seemingly bursting with energy.

Haida narrowed her slightly unfocused pupils and stared intently... Standing before her was a hand covered in stitches.

Judging from the slender knuckles and fair skin, it belongs to a woman. The index and middle fingers are currently standing upright on this hand, like a little person.

She even poked Haida's cheek with her little finger; no one knows what keeps this thing moving after it leaves the human body.

The glossy nail of her little finger brushed against Haida's cheek, making her feel a little itchy.

But soon, Heda understood the other person's intention. The characters she swiped together formed a word representing a name—"Franc."

In fact, judging from the characteristics, it is not difficult to determine who the owner of the palm is.

"Dr. Fran, is that you? But... why do you only have one hand left?"

"This is a dream made up of memories."

He used his little finger to write several words on Haida's cheek.

Fortunately, using touch to urgently transmit information was also part of the Hunter's advanced course. This allowed her to understand what Fran was trying to convey.

"I already know that."

Fran patted Heda on the hand encouragingly, with a sense of inexplicable relief, as if praising her for doing a good job.

"Your self-awareness has awakened further, and awakened me."

"I am only, Fran, a part of the memory."

For some reason, seeing this hand inexplicably relieved Haida's mental state. She then mustered a bit of strength and carried the other hand back to the bed.

"Dr. Fran, how can I complete you?"

"I am here, and I only have one hand. I don't need to make up for it."

Fran gestured with his thumb, correcting Haida's misunderstanding.

"We can break away together."

"How to do?"

Heda immediately asked for his guidance, while Fran's palm began to explain.

"Find, here, the only, real person. Persuade, or kill."

"So... there really are people I know here?"

She hesitated for a moment, and a bad feeling quietly rose up.

As Fran continued to write and draw, Haida gradually became familiar with this swiping communication method, and their communication became smoother.

"Don't be surprised, the creator here is one of your acquaintances. But I don't know who it is right now... You'll have to find out for yourself."

"Well, I see."

Fran then slipped into the pocket of Haida's nightgown and carefully concealed herself.

"...Dr. Fran. You only have one hand and no cochlea, so how can you hear me?" Haida suddenly asked, puzzled.

Although she knew Fran's medical skills were beyond her imagination, it was indeed the first time she had ever seen a hand that could run, jump, and write on its own.

Oh, actually, there are also many hand monsters that like to move around a lot in the border town of Kalia.

However, those were creations of magic and flesh, devoid of beauty and destined to melt into flames. In comparison, Fran's hands were as delicate as finely crafted porcelain.

"You might as well ask me how to think without a brain, or why I don't die without a heart to pump blood."

Fran finished writing the sentence with a slightly reproachful expression, then pinched Haida's lower abdomen in an annoyed manner.

For most people, talking to others is mentally taxing, but for her now... communication is purely physical labor.

"The degree to which your mind is eroded will be reflected in your body; the weaker you are, the deeper the erosion."

"Think about it carefully, didn't you not feel this weakness when you first woke up?"

Heda frowned slightly, recalling the feeling of her gripping Dr. Flamel's neck. At that moment, she only felt the other's body was fragile, as if she could easily crush his throat…

"Yes."

"Now that you've become aware of the strangeness of this world, the psychological assimilation will cease, and you will gradually regain your original power..."

Fran's hands were tucked into Haida's pocket as he slowly traced words with the tip of his index finger, seemingly already a little tired.

"After all, I only have one hand, and my energy is limited. I need to rest for a while now..."^♂〉)■∈◇■

"Oh, right, there's one more thing. Haida, you'd better be careful when using your profiling talent. Personality simulation is actually a process of polluting your own mind. If you abuse it, you'll become less and less like yourself."

After leaving the warning, the hand in Haida's pocket remained still. Only the warmth emanating from her skin proved that it was a living being, and not a mentally disturbed collection of human bodies.

"Yes, I will keep that in mind."

After agreeing to Fran's request, Haida got out of bed and stood up.

She felt changes in her body.

Although she did not transform back into the 1.8-meter-tall head funeral maid with two hearts, the weakness caused by muscle atrophy and the tearing pain in her mind had faded.

The immersive sense of harmony that had been there before was gone. Haida could only feel the rejection from everything around her, like a grain of sand falling into her eyes, which had become an incompatible and irreconcilable foreign object.

But she quite enjoyed the feeling.

Compared to her previous hazy, intoxicated state, where she was on the verge of succumbing to it... the undisguised sense of rejection she felt now made her feel a long-lost sense of "reality".

-

When Marianne returned to the main hall from her busy time in the kitchen, she found Heda sitting on the sofa.

At this moment, her posture was extremely upright, her back straight, completely unlike a frail young girl who had just left a mental hospital.

"Haidah? You should have called me before you got out of bed..."

“The bedroom is very close to the living room; I can walk there myself, Ms. Marian.”

Even when facing the elders who had been with her since childhood, Haida remained humble.

"Don't be reckless, okay? If you fall and break a bone, you might need me to take care of you even when you go to the toilet."

Marianne smiled warmly, but a hint of worry lingered at the corners of her lips. '4“…3§□…▲

"Dinner will be ready soon, come and have a seat."

As she spoke, she patted the apron that was stained with a little oil and walked towards the kitchen, intending to bring out dinner.

“Ms. Marian. How long do you intend to keep this a secret? There’s no point in doing this… I’ll find out eventually.”

Just as Marian turned her back, Heda's cool and steady voice reached her ears, causing her body to tremble involuntarily.

Marian paused for a moment, her originally kind eyes now filled with an indescribable complexion.

"Little Haida, what are you saying? Is that memory still hurting you? You should take your medicine before meals. Wait a moment, I'll put it in the cabinet..."

She frantically searched among the boxes and cabinets for the medicine Dr. Flamel had given her, while Heda continued talking.

“Do you remember the Hunter’s commandment, ‘It may be concealed, but not lied to’? Ms. Marian… don’t lie to me.”

“I don’t know how this illusory dream is constructed, but you used the second type of ritual in the Medical Court, ‘Memory Retrieval,’ as the framework for this world, didn’t you?”

"……Ugh."

Marian sighed resignedly, and her eyes, which she had been forcing open, finally closed.

"Not only did you see through the illusion before you became immersed in it, but you also found out who was in charge of the ritual... Haida, how did you do that?"