CH-092

92 I'll Have to Go Complain to Bishop Alice

The following four or five days passed without incident.

Shu Li once again sought out the former peace officer, Raleigh. Now retired to a secondary role, Raleigh served as the registrar of household archives.

He asked Mr. Raleigh to assist in reviewing the records of recently arrived outsiders, paying particular attention to those holding identification from the Duchy of Sermon or the Holy Capital.

The investigation revealed that, aside from a few transfer students from the Duchy of Sermon accompanied by family or relatives, Veronica remained, just as she had four years prior, a lone arrival seeking education.

Shu Li examined her identity documents and saw that she was indeed born in the Duchy of Sermon but raised in the Holy Capital. She had still undergone quarantine and stated that before returning to school, she had visited relatives in the Duchy of Sermon.

After that visit, she began suffering nightmares at night, seeing another person's face in the mirror, and even manifesting stigmata-like phenomena.

This chain of anomalies—including night terrors, mirror-gazing symptoms, and physical reactions—were all fairly typical positive symptoms of a psychotic episode.

They all hinted that during her time in the Duchy of Sermon, she might have experienced some traumatic event, leading to the onset of pronounced Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

The mirror-gazing symptom could also be a manifestation of schizophrenia.

Shu Li did not recall the original novel ever depicting Veronica in such a state.

One must realize, this is the sort of character detail that would require significant ink.

If it had been established, it would surely function like Chekhov's gun—destined to be prominently featured.

Could it be that he had simply missed it while listening to the audiobook?

Over the past few years, Shu Li had gradually begun to forget the specific details of the novel's plot, especially since there was still a considerable stretch of time before the original story was set to begin, and the present reality diverged more and more from the text. Some confusion had crept into his memories.

Although he had taken precautions against this—upon first arriving in this world, he had written down the major events, repeatedly memorized them, and promptly destroyed the notes to avoid discovery—Shu Li was uncertain how others transported into novels managed to avoid such conflation.

At times, he doubted his own recollections.

The simplest example was his persistent, subconscious feeling that he had not closed the door properly. In reality, he always closed it securely each time. Yet his mind kept insisting he had failed to do so.

To prevent this, Shu Li would perform an exaggerated, deliberate action after closing the door to serve as a reminder—whenever he doubted whether he had closed the door, he only needed to recall this action to know that he had. For instance, each time he closed the door, he would deliberately twist the handle back and forth three times.

This memory anchor, based on the integration of auditory, visual, and tactile memory, ensured Shu Li felt no anxiety within thirty seconds of leaving the door.

However, once accustomed to this memory cue, Shu Li began to worry anew—he remembered performing the action, but he no longer trusted that the door was truly closed.

In truth, this did not significantly impact his life; it was merely a minor inconvenience.

Yet, what Shu Li intended to express was this: he had begun to doubt whether the plot points he recalled from the book were things he had merely imagined, fabricated by his own mind's search for coherence.

In that case, Veronica's apparent psychotic break could point to at least three possibilities.

First, Shu Li had indeed overlooked this plot point in the novel.

Second, Shu Li himself was beginning to experience memory confusion and no longer trusted his original recollections.

Third, a new, unforeseen influence had entered Veronica's life, one absent from the original story.

However, in the original work, the outbreak of the Black Death was not without foreshadowing.

The book contained clear hints. The widespread transmission of the plague had long been a troubling concern looming over the various Duchies, and it was precisely this crisis that prompted the Church to begin broadly peddling indulgences—as a means to both raise funds and pacify the populace.

It stood to reason that Veronica, in the original story, would return to the Duchy of Sermon for a visit.

If that event truly triggered her psychological collapse, why would she then specifically mention Matthew and seek clues about Dr. Matthew?

If this person's death had left an indelible mark upon her, then by the same logic, she must have experienced the same event in the original novel, which would have caused her to fall ill during her adolescence.

Yet, the original timeline never mentioned this particular character setting.

In other words, after clearly experiencing two major events—the Black Death and the loss of a loved one—Veronica, who should have been relatively normal, instead began exhibiting positive symptoms of mental illness.

This meant that Veronica was undergoing something the original plot never required her to do, and that was the source of her anxiety.

The original novel never stated that Veronica came to the Northern Territory to investigate a case, because during her time at the military academy, she had already met with misfortune, long before the plotline involving Leslie leading troops to seize power in the North.

Shu Li pondered. If her symptoms persisted, or worsened further, even escalating to self-harm...

He would have to intervene.

Just then, a knock sounded at the office door.

"Come in."

Sister Rita gently placed the water glass on the corner of the table without making a single sound. But upon inadvertently glancing at his expression, she couldn't help feeling puzzled. "Bishop Alice, is something troubling you?"

Shu Li looked at Sister Rita. Ever since the Theology College had been established, he knew this place was short-staffed. Rita had originally been a temporary worker, but over time, she had developed a close bond with the other sisters.

He did not answer directly. Instead, he set his pen aside and asked, "Tell me, has Veronica come to see you recently?"

Sister Rita nodded. "Yes."

When Shu Li first saw her enter the church, he had initially thought she was a perpetually stern person who seldom smiled.

However, because the church was frequented by many elderly and young people, the older residents of the Savoy Diocese always struck Shu Li as excessively honey-tongued. They opened their mouths and out came a legend; they closed them, and a story emerged. It was as if they were all bards by trade, and this was their livelihood. Almost every day, they would stop Shu Li and, with the utmost seriousness, lavish him with praise—telling him how rare he was, how patient, how much he resembled so-and-so in their youth. They spoke until he nearly suspected he might be the reincarnation of a saint.

As for the children, they were mostly innocent and adorable, though occasionally mischievous. But misbehavior seldom went unrewarded, so at least in Shu Li's presence, they behaved like little lambs. Or, at the very least, if they realized they had done something wrong, after greeting Shu Li, they would suddenly and frantically begin wiping dust off the chairs.

Perhaps it was this combination of the very old and the very young that formed the soft edges of daily life at the church—a bit noisy, a bit sweet—and kept Sister Rita's own life from growing too cold and hard.

Under Shu Li's gaze, Sister Rita continued, "A few days ago, she even helped me tidy the small wooden shed by the church flowerbeds, and accompanied me to deliver scones and jam to the relief station."

At this point, Sister Rita had already realized for whom Shu Li was drafting the leave of absence request. She added quietly, "She is still that polite and attentive child. It's just that her eyes... they always seem somewhat vacant."

Shu Li listened quietly, not interrupting.

So Sister Rita continued, "She mentioned that her nights are always difficult. There are many people in her dreams, and things she cannot quite articulate. Though she spoke of it very lightly..."

Sister Rita observed Shu Li's expression and still chose honesty. "I know she is merely trying hard to appear as if everything is fine."

"Bishop Alice."

Sister Rita's voice was soft and gentle, like a feather landing lightly upon the heart, carrying a hint of distant memory. "Perhaps she has been waiting all along for someone to reach out and pull her up. Just like... I once was. I hope she can receive help before encountering any more regret or misfortune."

Shu Li glanced at the document before him. His tone was calm, yet laced with concern. "I only wanted to offer her a choice. If she feels more at ease staying with her family, then I am willing to grant her that space."

He paused and added, "After all, this is a very difficult time for students from the Duchy of Sermon. Their loved ones are suffering, while they can only study and live their lives from afar. That kind of helplessness is the heaviest burden."

"But," he raised his head and looked into the sister's eyes, his tone firming, "I also hope that she can find, here at school, a sense of being held, of being supported. Could you speak to the school administration for me? I would like to organize the entire school to pray and observe a moment of silence for those suffering in distant lands."

A warmth spread through Rita's heart. She bowed her head gently and agreed.

*

Physical education class, a corner of the sports field.

Far from the crowd of students, Leslie and Finnian each gazed in a different direction, maintaining a distance suitable for conversation—one that could end at any moment and would go unnoticed by anyone.

Finnian retrieved a dark brown medicine bottle from his coat, shook it slightly in the sunlight, and said in a low voice, "I found this in Veronica's room."

He did not explain how he had gained entry to the dormitory, but both knew it was irrelevant. With Finnian's excellent reputation, a simple mention of "organizing a study session" was enough for him to be eagerly invited by classmates of all sorts, including into Veronica's dorm room.

She had declined to join the study group and had walked out the door just as everyone was settling in.

And with the host absent, the door open, and the timing legitimate, pilfering a small item right under everyone's noses was child's play for him.

"Want a sniff?" Finnian offered the bottle.

Leslie merely cast a cold glance at it. "No need."

He knew Finnian had certainly smelled it already. Moreover, Finnian was never as kind-hearted as outsiders imagined. He had clearly sniffed it himself and, driven by mischief, wanted to drag someone else into it too.

Leslie's tone was calm. "Since last semester, she's clearly had no intention of staying. Now is the opportune moment."

Finnian shrugged, a probing edge to his smile. "Sounds like you've already made up your mind."

Leslie did not deny it, merely stating flatly, "I'm just informing you."

"What has she done wrong?"

Finnian raised an eyebrow. He hadn't yet figured out why Leslie was suddenly so concerned about Veronica. Usually, even if he spoke little, he would at least explain his reasoning. It was precisely because of that clarity that Finnian had been willing to lend a hand.

—After all, if Shu Li were to find out about this sort of thing, he wouldn't let them off easily.

But Leslie refused coldly. "You don't need to know. Just continue cooperating."

"Oh, I see! But this makes me very sad, you know..."

Finnian nodded, his voice feigning dejection and distress. "Then I suppose I'll just have to go and pour my heart out to Bishop Alice. Tell him you won't share anything with me and just send me into Veronica's room to snoop around."

As soon as the words left his mouth and Finnian took a single step, Leslie grabbed the hem of his coat.