Chapter 88

Episode 88: The Cause of Fake Illness (2)

****

Geez, there sure are some weird people around here. Though I could plainly see it was all fake, so I wasn’t worried. But the Butler-Sensei was totally panicking.

“Uh, what should we do?”

“First, stay calm.”

“A, alright!”

“When someone has a seizure, calmly turn them onto their side, and place something soft under their head to prevent injury. Don’t restrain their limbs or try to put anything in their mouth – that doesn’t help.”

“Yes sir!”

Of course, this is assuming it’s an actual epileptic seizure. In this patient’s case, it’s psychogenic, so leaving her be wouldn’t cause any harm anyway.

I looked at Butler-Sensei.

“Butler-Sensei, my bag is by the coat rack near the mansion entrance. There’s an anti-seizure enema in there. Could you please fetch it?”

“Right away!”

The butler dashed off. I looked down at Miss Erisa. As expected, hearing about the enema seems to have cured her of any desire to continue faking seizures.

Her dramatic thrashing had stopped completely.

“Miss, can you hear me?”

“Ugh…ugh…”

I shook Erisa awake from the floor. She ceased her movements.

“Butler-Sensei has gone for the medication. Your secret is safe with me, so you can stop acting now.”

“B-but Sensei, you’re not really going to use the enema, are you?”

Tch. First she pretends to be crazy, then she pretends to seize. This household certainly runs smoothly. Though I tried to hide my smirk, Erisa seemed genuinely concerned.

Ah…

I shouldn’t scare her like this, especially when she already appears mentally fragile. I wiped the smile from my face and adopted a serious tone.

“I didn’t bring it. I was merely checking if this was a real seizure.”

Erisa sat up on the floor looking embarrassed, while I perched on her desk.

“To be honest, I know you’re consciously faking these seizures. However, the important part isn’t that it’s feigned illness, but rather what reaction is causing you to act this way.”

“Ah, I see…”

“We need to understand the problem to help you.”

Emilie apparently said it’s because she didn’t like her arranged suitor. Whether that’s a valid reason or the full story, I’m not sure.

Perhaps examining all three patients will reveal the truth.

“You said I’m the greatest doctor in the empire, correct? That’s why you invited me today?”

“That’s right.”

“In that case, while I do maintain awareness during my episodes, they aren’t entirely voluntary.”

“Understandable.”

Could these be psychogenic seizures triggered by stress? It’s definitely possible.

More importantly, I wonder if the three sisters know each other’s conditions are feigned. Judging by their reactions so far, they seem unaware.

“It might sound silly…”

“What is it?”

“Everyone around me seems sick, so I feel like I should be sick too…”

While I couldn’t say “What an idiot,” I did cover my mouth and pretend to ponder deeply.

This could be a form of mass hysteria or peer pressure. Though it sounds funny, it’s quite plausible.

“Is there any other reason?”

“There is…but…”

Family loyalty runs deep. Just like her sister, Erisa clammed up. More investigation is needed.

“If you don’t want to say, take some time to think about it. We still need to examine the third daughter.”

“Yes.”

There’s definitely something we’re missing here.

“Sensei, please believe me, this isn’t just simple feigned illness. I’ve experienced hallucinations, and even developed bruises from convulsions.”

Erisa rolled up her sleeve to show a dark bruise near her shoulder. If true, this suggests both psychogenic seizures and actual convulsions…

I furrowed my brow.

“Did the hallucinations occur simultaneously with the seizures?”

“Yes.”

One doesn’t experience hallucinations during epileptic seizures, as the brain cells are firing erratically. So if the root cause of the psychogenic seizures is hallucinatory, what’s causing those hallucinations? Something doesn’t add up.

****

I sent Istina outside to check for pollen earlier. Now, together with Butler Anderson, I headed toward the third daughter’s room.

“Shall I carry your bag?”

I took my bag from Anderson.

“Luckily, the young miss recovered quickly, so we won’t need the enema.”

“Yes.”

Anderson let out a small sigh of relief.

“Truly, a master physician is different. Though it may just be my imagination, it seems the young ladies’ symptoms have improved since your arrival.”

That’s because they’ve stopped pretending to be ill.

“By the way, does this mansion have a basement?”

“Yes.”

“Do people frequently go down there?”

Anderson hesitated before shaking his head. I interpreted his pause to mean it’s occasionally used.

“People rarely enter except when the young ladies do. It’s mostly used as storage.”

“Let’s take a look at the basement.”

“There’s nothing interesting down there. Just dust.”

“Still, I’d like to see.”

There might be hallucinogenic mushrooms growing down there. Even if not, allergenic spores could affect judgment. We descended into the basement.

“The doctor seems very interested in the mansion environment. I thought you only examined patients.”

“There must be a cause for the illness. Since it’s not infectious disease, something in the house must be responsible.”

Creak.

The basement door opened. I coughed from the dust and musty smell. The environment here is clearly problematic. There’s something seriously wrong with this mansion.

“Worse than expected.”

“Indeed.”

“You’re actually going in? Why?”

“It was used by previous generations, so exploring feels like a treasure hunt. Though anything valuable was likely removed long ago.”

I see…

I didn’t particularly want to enter myself. If Erisa’s account is accurate, there might be some substance in this mansion causing hallucinations.

We need to be careful.

“This doesn’t look healthy. Please clean out the basement as soon as possible. Either seal the door or give it a thorough cleaning.”

“Could the symptoms be caused by the basement?”

“It’s possible.”

“I’ll start cleaning today.”

“Please wear protection over your mouth and nose. Mold could be the issue.”

We closed the basement door again.

“Oh, has the butler ever seen a ghost here? The patient mentioned it.”

“Could it be a symptom? I haven’t seen any personally. However, some maids claim to see ghosts occasionally and sometimes call in sick due to illness.”

“Because of the ghosts?”

“Yes.”

Some maids claimed to see ghosts and a few called in sick due to illness. Something is coming to mind…

As we left the basement, Istina stood in the living room in the distance. Upon seeing me, she beckoned me over.

“Excuse me, Butler-Sensei, could you give us a moment? I need to speak with my student.”

Now I need to talk with Istina. We have new findings to discuss and explanations to share.

****

Let’s summarize what we’ve discovered so far. I handed over the medical records I just prepared for Emilie and Erisa to Istina.

“Istina, what are the patient’s symptoms?”

“Hallucinations, convulsions, impaired judgment, lethargy, general weakness, depression, psychogenic seizures.”

“Which is the most important symptom?”

“Uh, hallucinations?”

“Correct.”

Among these symptoms, hallucinations are the most distinctive. Both Emilie and Erisa mentioned seeing ghosts.

“What’s the identified cause?”

“Pollen, lead, stress, mold.”

However, pollen isn’t likely to cause hallucinations. If it did, the butler and the lord/lady would also show symptoms, which they don’t.

“If it were pollen, others would be sick too.”

“That’s true.”

“If it were lead poisoning, Lady Consort would be affected as well. Besides, she hardly wears makeup.”

“Yes.”

There was no vanity table in Miss Erisa’s room. While theoretically possible, lead causing hallucinations doesn’t match typical lead poisoning symptoms.

“Besides, if brain cells were damaged by lead, reading thick books hidden under the bed wouldn’t make sense. Not lead poisoning.”

“Stress. But not all the symptoms exhibited by the patients are psychogenic. Erisa had bruises, and hallucinations don’t fit.”

“Could the evidence be fabricated?”

“Unlikely for the bruises.”

Finally, mold.

“Same problem as pollen. The servants and butler use the basement storage more than the young ladies, yet only the latter are ill.”

“I don’t know. What’s the conclusion?”

Something is coming to mind…

It was said that some maids fell ill or saw ghosts. A disease targeting young women selectively, mold, plants, mass hysteria…

Ah, I remember now.

“It’s witch hunting.”

“What does witch hunting mean?”

Istina tilted her head in confusion. Is witch hunting referring to some kind of disease…?

---