Chapter 23: The Neurologist

“Huh?” Dounia couldn’t help but let out a questioning sound.

‘A mere lackey of Fia wants me to address her respectfully as “Miss Adelle”?’

She narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze on Adelle seeming to say, ‘Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself?’

“Come now, let me hear you say it.” Adelle sat on the bed and elegantly crossed her legs.

“…”

Dounia puffed out her cheeks.

“If you don’t want to, today’s routine inspection will just have a few more sessions, until I’m satisfied.”

“Eh!?”

‘As expected of a maid raised by Fia. She feels no psychological burden at all when bullying others with her authority…’

‘If I don’t say it, I’ll be inspected by Adelle… Who knows how she’ll make things difficult for me.’

‘Damn maid!’

Dounia gritted her teeth.

“Miss Adelle…”

“Too quiet. Again,” Adelle said, her expression unchanging.

“Miss Adelle…”

“No energy. I can’t hear you at all.”

“Miss Adelle!!” Dounia shouted with her eyes closed, her cheeks and the tips of her ears flushing crimson.

Adelle’s lips curled up slightly as she nodded in satisfaction.

‘For some reason, this maid seems a little more “human” when she’s dealing with me. It’s just that the direction of this “humanity” isn’t great; she’s always trying to bully me.’

‘Annoying!’

Dounia puffed out her cheeks.

“Very good,” Adelle said. “Now, let’s continue discussing your benefits as an official Executioner.”

“You are now free to enter and leave your room, and the areas you can access have also increased.”

Dounia’s eyes lit up.

Adelle gave Dounia a warning glance. “Do not attempt to use this trust to do anything detrimental to the Anomaly Bureau. You will pay a heavy price for it.”

“A hand or a foot. At least that level of punishment.”

“I… I know.” Dounia looked at Adelle fearfully.

‘As if this little thing would dare to do anything out of line,’ Adelle sighed inwardly.

“Of course, the areas you are forbidden to enter all require a pass. With your current authority, it’s basically impossible to get through,” Adelle spoke eloquently. “Every month, you will receive a normal salary of 5 gold coins, as well as additional bonuses depending on the situation.”

Dounia raised her hands high. “Yay!~”

‘Not having to eat black bread is a huge improvement!’

‘Who knows when this black bread will chip her teeth? And she’ll probably become malnourished soon…’

She subconsciously looked down at her slightly budding chest and let out a light sigh.

‘There’s a long way to go!’

Seeing Dounia’s pure, sighing expression, Adelle couldn’t help but smile as well.

“You are free to come and go when there are no missions, but you must be on call when there is one,” Adelle said.

“That’s fine. There’s definitely nothing this afternoon, right~ I’m going to get a good sleep~” Dounia flopped onto the bed, hugging the soft quilt and nuzzling it.

The corners of Adelle’s mouth turned up slightly.

“Actually, there is.”

“You want to be a Surveillance Officer, so you need a corresponding teacher to instruct you in psychology. As it happens, this afternoon is the day the three teachers in the Bureau are holding their psychological assessment.”

“If you want to study psychology, you must first gain their approval.”

Dounia blinked.

“You were eavesdropping on my conversation with Violet! You installed a listening device!”

“It was not eavesdropping,” Adelle replied frankly.

“As a maid, I am obligated to help my master judge the danger of surrounding matters in order to provide effective protection,” Adelle said. “Especially now, while Miss Violet is still undergoing treatment, extra care and caution are required.”

Adelle took a silver chain pocket watch from her clothes, checked the time, and then snapped the cover shut.

“It’s about time. Come with me to wait for Miss Violet first. You need her letter of recommendation to attend the course,” Adelle said.

“Alright.” Dounia hopped off the bed and followed behind the maid.

The two left Area D. Dounia greeted Julie, the guard at the entrance to the corridor.

Passing through the long, narrow corridor, they arrived in front of a sickroom.
Dounia had to stand on her tiptoes to barely see inside through the glass window on the door.

In the quiet, white sickroom lay a beautiful young girl.
Her short hair, like pink cherry blossoms, was gently scattered on the pillow, soft and lustrous.

But her cheeks were somewhat pale, like winter snowflakes.

“Violet…”

Dounia looked at Violet on the hospital bed, her heart aching as she gripped the window frame.

‘Violet didn’t show any signs of weakness when she came to see me. She thought the “Mirror Transfer” could completely suppress Violet’s condition.’

Her eyes were tightly closed, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, as if she were struggling in a dream.
A thin tube was inserted into her nose, supplying her with pure oxygen.
Another tube was connected to a vein in her arm, infusing a translucent liquid.

“Miss Violet’s condition has now stabilized.” Hutchinson, dressed in a white lab coat, respectfully presented a paper report to Fia, who was sitting beside her. “The recent blood test results are very optimistic. I believe it is the result of us using symptomatic medication suitable for her constitution this time.”

Dounia blinked.

‘Well, I’ll be. Trying to take my credit?’

Fia took the report.

“Based on the current trend, Miss Violet’s illness can be cured within two to three months,” said the female doctor with a ponytail and square-framed glasses.

“Mmm.” Fia nodded slightly.

Seeing Fia’s approving reaction, Hutchinson’s face lit up with joy.

Suppressing her inner delight, she continued, “In that case, I suggest that Miss Violet no longer have any contact with that outsider brat.”

Dounia’s eyes widened slightly.
Seeing her refined appearance, she never would have expected her to use such words to describe her!?

Adelle’s expression beside her also seemed to grow colder.

“Her so-called ‘treatment’ not only did not help the condition, but it actually accelerated its deterioration!”

“I heard that when they first met, after she dripped her blood, an alienation appeared in Miss Violet’s eyes. This is the most obvious sign.”

“If you look at the recent blood test report, the alienation index within…”

Hutchinson’s index finger moved across the paper report.
Fia watched silently, tapping her fingers lightly on the armrest of her chair.

She looked at the excellent neurologist in the branch.
Her resume was outstanding, her track record excellent, and her parents were also employees of the Anomaly Bureau.
She was indeed more credible than Dounia.

“Well done,” she praised.

“Tsk.” Dounia couldn’t help but click her tongue.

Adelle immediately looked at her.

“I apologize to you for her crude choice of words,” Adelle said. “But her treatment has indeed had a good effect, as the blood test report can prove.”

“If you believe you have suppressed Miss Violet’s condition, you should also provide proof.”

Dounia gritted her teeth.

She could totally use ‘Mirror Transfer’ to manipulate Violet’s illness and immediately refute Hutchinson’s claims.

But…

Dounia looked through the cold glass window at the pink-haired girl on the hospital bed.

She had seen for herself how good Violet was to her.

To prove her own worth, should she cancel the Soul-Loss suppression from ‘Mirror Transfer’?

‘Absolutely not!’

‘A sudden deterioration would make Violet suspicious, creating a “nocebo effect,” which would further worsen the condition through self-fulfilling prophecy and reduce the time she had to find the root cause of Violet’s illness.’

‘Even when she faced Linda in a life-or-death situation before, she hadn’t cancelled the effect of “Mirror Transfer”!’

“I…” Dounia started.

“The Chief trusts her because of the credibility brought by her excellent resume,” Adelle reminded her at the right moment. “And you also have a corresponding opportunity…”

“As far as I know, she also wants to participate in this psychological assessment to obtain the position of Surveillance Officer.”

“If you are truly skilled in psychology, then defeat her.”