Chapter 87

87th Episode: The Cause of the Fake Illness (1)

****

We moved our position to the mansion’s reception room.

First princess, Emilie.

Young Miss Emilie had changed from her earlier nightgown-like attire into proper clothing. The butler teacher had briefly reassured and excused himself.

What should I start with?

“Ah, right. There seem to be some cosmetics that aren’t good for the body, especially the white powder.”

“Is that so?”

“Um…the lead component is harmful to the body. Products containing lead should be banned, yet there are still people making them.”

It’s hard to expect regulation at a modern level here. Emilie glanced up at the ceiling, as if she could see her upstairs vanity through it.

“I see.”

“How long have you been ill?”

Meaning, how long have you been pretending to be sick? Emilie must’ve understood it that way. The patient pondered for a moment before answering.

“About a month.”

“Why did you do it?”

That was a direct question. Emilie glared at me. Maybe I should’ve asked more tactfully.

“I don’t want to tell an outsider right now. Rather, how did you figure it out?”

There were plenty of clues.

First clue.

“Starting with the scratches on your wrist. You induced vomiting multiple times by sticking your fingers in your mouth and touching the back of your neck, creating those teeth marks.”

“Oh.”

Amy inspected her own wrist as if seeing the scratches for the first time. Given they’d appeared over several days, she might’ve thought nothing of them.

Second clue.

“Books hidden under the bed. Probably study materials or books you read for fun that you hid to maintain your ‘mad’ act in front of your family?”

“Oh…you saw that, huh.”

Third clue.

“The room was too clean for someone supposedly left unattended in madness. Sure, it could’ve been cleaned often, but the butler didn’t seem scared of you either.”

People don’t neatly go mad. If you’d thrown a bookshelf, the family would’ve removed it from the room. Mental wards aren’t soft and furniture-free for no reason.

Emilie closed her eyes.

“It feels like I’ve been possessed.”

“A healer fights against illness, not spirits. Catching spirits is my job.”

Emilie tilted her head.

“That’s true, really.”

“So why did you do it?”

The reason she came up with herself is important.

There must’ve been a valid reason for pretending to be mad and forcing yourself to vomit in front of your family. At least in this patient’s mind.

“Hmm…”

“I’m not trying to press you. If it’s difficult to talk about, you can take more time to think.”

“Yes.”

Emilie then shut her mouth.

It was frustrating, but I restrained my irritation.

You gain almost nothing by confronting a patient directly. Especially one with psychiatric issues. Better to build rapport or give them time to reflect.

“If it’s due to an eating disorder or compulsive urges related to food, we have medication to help ease those compulsions. If it’s nausea, we also have medicine for that.”

The patient shook her head.

“No…as you said, I was faking madness and intentionally vomiting. I also claimed to see ghosts in the house…”

Ghosts? Should I add hallucinations to the symptoms? Or is this just an extension of her feigned madness? I pondered my word choice carefully.

“You saw ghosts?”

“Yes.”

Let’s just note it for now.

“Your parents are very worried. Wouldn’t it be better to consider what Emilie wants while also easing their concerns?”

I thought this was a decisive line, but Emilie reacted indifferently. Why?

“They wouldn’t be troubled.”

See? Mental illness confirmed. Separately, it seems Emilie has some psychological resentment towards her adoptive parents. The reason is unclear for now.

Actually, jumping to conclusions might be a bit hasty. There could be valid reasons for Emilie to resent her parents. Who knows until we dig deeper?

“Just imagine how they feel. With three daughters bedridden, the ducal couple might die of worry soon.”

“Uh…yes.”

Emilie slowly nodded.

Though I know she was faking being sick from the vomiting, it’s still premature to be certain. As I mentioned before, healthy people don’t pretend to be ill.

****

My conversation with the eldest daughter, Emilie, ended there. She was far more exasperating than expected.

No, she spoke clearly enough. But waiting around for answers seemed like a waste of time, so I left it for now.

“Istina.”

“Yes?”

“Go check out the garden and see what flowers are blooming. Also check when they were planted.”

Just checking the flowers will do.

Istina nodded, then suddenly looked curious.

“Yes, but…didn’t the eldest miss already conclude she was faking illness?”

“All three daughters are reportedly sick. We need to find the cause even if the conclusion is that they’re faking it.”

“Could it be personal reasons? Like lovesickness, dissatisfaction with a marriage prospect, or overly strict parents…?”

Too obvious, isn’t it?

“Hmm. Just bring me some flowers. If you want to ask the servants anything, go ahead on your own.”

“Yes.”

Istina grabbed a handkerchief and headed outside. Now I need to meet the second daughter…what could be the issue?

I glanced at the butler teacher.

“Teacher, may I ask you a few questions?”

“Yes. Uh, let’s go to the kitchen.”

I followed the butler to a small dining table in the kitchen. He sat there with a relatively bright expression. Still, the butler likely knows the household situation best.

Since the patients themselves give odd responses…

“What is your name?”

“Call me Anderson.”

“Mr. Anderson. Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

“Do I get a checkup too?”

Actually, it was just a habitual question.

“If you’re fine, that’s all good. Have any of the patients ever sneezed due to pollen?”

“Pollen? Not sure. I’ve seen them sneeze when going outside occasionally.”

– Sneezing when going outside.

“Regarding Miss Emilie. Has there been anything recently that stressed her or made her upset? Like a broken romance?”

The butler thought for a long time, then shook his head. I was interested in the hesitation, which suggested he remembered something.

“She met a potential suitor a month ago.”

“Ah. What did she say about it?”

“Just that he was fine, I think.”

Hmm, maybe it wasn’t medically significant after all. If I had to make a medical diagnosis, it might be eating disorders and depressive symptoms.

“Do they use a lot of cosmetics?”

“No, hardly at all.”

Good. While Emilie does use lead-containing cosmetics, it doesn’t seem to be the cause of her symptoms.

“That stuff is bad for you. Please tell them to buy products without lead.”

“Yes.”

“Also, remove the flowers. Their condition isn’t great, so we don’t know what might worsen their symptoms.”

“Understood. Good point…”

“Now, let’s see the second daughter. Uh…this one has seizures, right?”

“Yes.”

“Could it be fake?”

“It doesn’t seem so to me. The seizures were quite violent. It’s called epilepsy in medical terms, right? I looked it up.”

I nodded.

“It could be epilepsy.”

****

We arrived at the door of Erisa, the second daughter of the Serulice dukedom. Before entering, I paused.

Second princess, Erisa.

“Does the dukedom only have daughters?”

“Yes.”

“That’s strange.”

I had heard such stories before. People working at nuclear plants tend to only have daughters. Men’s Y chromosomes are more vulnerable to radiation.

Was there any nearby radiation exposure? Perhaps high radon levels in the mansion’s basement? It might sound absurd…

Even I think it sounds a bit off. Let’s check anyway.

I knocked on the door.

“May I come in?”

“Yes…”

Her voice was soft, but she gave permission. I entered Miss Erisa’s room.

The second daughter of the Serulice family definitely looked slightly younger than Emilie I saw earlier.

“Is it alright to examine you?”

“Yes.”

This patient reportedly has seizures, so I need to consider the type and cause first.

Let’s recall how to differentiate between real seizures and pseudoseizures. Generalized epileptic seizures typically involve severe confusion before and after, loss of consciousness, and loss of protective reactions against danger.

Pseudoseizures, simply put, are fake seizures. In such cases, protective reactions against danger usually remain. There’s less likelihood of injury or incontinence during the seizure.

The correct term nowadays is psychogenic seizures, but pseudoseizures is shorter, so let’s stick with that.

What medical professionals often forget is that pseudoseizures are still indicative of illness.

Pseudoseizures are symptoms of something. They’re not caused by epilepsy, but something else makes the patient have these pseudoseizures.

“First off, I heard the patient has frequent seizures. Do you remember any triggers?”

Erisa stared blankly at me, as if asking what I meant. Oh, looks like she’s about to fall down any second…

Sure enough, her body twisted strangely, and she collapsed onto the floor. I sighed.

What should I say to wake her up this time? Should I insist enemas are good for epilepsy…?

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