After the welcome banquet, Father proposed to prepare for the exorcism ritual immediately. Mr. Nihelet, who had just returned, and the stern Hancock had no objections, though they didn't seem overly enthusiastic or devout, but were rather indifferent.
Father suggested that the exorcism should take place in the mad Isabel's bedroom, where the demon was more likely to show its trace. The Nihelet couple and Hancock didn't object, and when a few supporters of Ghost Possession said they wished to observe, they calmly granted permission.
Mr. Proushi was the most upset, he stood at the door of Isabel's room shouting: "You all can't come in, there's not enough space, and it's very rude, she's just a little girl! There's no demon at all!"
"Let it be, Proushi," Mr. Nihelet said somewhat helplessly. "This is for your niece's sake, do you want to watch her go mad?"
Then he turned to others with an apologetic smile: "He is my wife's elder brother, who suffered some mental shocks years ago. He is somewhat crazy, please don't mind him."
"But the girl's bedroom is not big enough indeed to accommodate so many people. How about this, the Butler can take her to my bedroom, it's a bigger place and won't be crowded for everyone."
Everyone naturally agreed, and led by the servants, they crossed the corridor and arrived at the master's bedroom.
In the Catholic culture, the master and mistress of the house sleep in separate rooms after marriage. Both their bedrooms are exceptionally luxurious, and Mr. Nihelet's is no exception, with its interior almost as large as the dining room.
What surprised Shiller was that during the process of going to the master bedroom, the tall man named Hancock deliberately slowed down a few steps, falling beside him, and asked in a dull tone: "I heard you are a doctor? What's your specialty?"
"Cardiac surgery, I am a leading cardiac surgeon, specialized in pediatric cardiac treatment," Shiller replied.
"So you're here for Sherlock?"
"I only heard that your residence had some trouble. As for which son or daughter it is, I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to investigate," Shiller, eyes fixed ahead, not looking at Hancock at all, calmly said.
Hancock seemed satisfied with this answer, hastened his pace and caught up with the main body. Whereas Shiller looked at his back and grinned.
Batman also slowed down a few steps, falling beside Shiller, and he said: "Something is very wrong, isn't it? This family is very off."
Shiller looked at the backs of Hancock and Mr. Nihelet and said: "All I can say is that antisocial personality and mental abnormalities are not hereditary, but they can be nurtured and acquired later, kids tend to imitate."
"Do you think they are mentally abnormal?" Batman did not ask further and continued: "But they don't very much fit the features of mental abnormality."
"No patient gets sick by the textbook." Shiller lightly adjusted his tie and said, "They will never realize that what brings them an advantageous position and allows them to lord over others' spirits, that so-called wealth, status, and honor, are pathetically fragile."
Batman felt a murderous chill from Shiller's tone, but there was no anger mixed in, just a bottomless cold.
"Art is not about heating a sword and smashing it, but about turning a useless piece of scrap iron into a knife. They will use sharp blades to rip off every mask, making those self-righteous high-ups realize how foolish and short-sighted their past actions were."
Shiller quickened his pace and walked to the front row of everyone, and Batman, left behind, looked at his back, feeling an immediate sense that things were at a turning point with only the calm before the storm remaining.
Everyone entered the master bedroom. Isabel was lying on the bed, pale. Shiller had seen her before, but this was the first time he observed her in close distance.
A delicately made-up young girl, though her pale face and bloodless lips made her seem more like a lifeless doll. Yet, it couldn't conceal her exquisite features inherited from her mother.
When Lady Nihelet saw her daughter's appearance, she couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She sat down next to the bed weeping quietly. Mr. Nihelet gently embraced her, patted her back to soothe her, and asked her to leave temporarily.
Lady Nihelet did not resist, but obediently stood by the head of the bed. The onlooking crowd backed off a bit, with only Father stepping forward to pour the freshly prepared Holy Water into a white porcelain dish.
He waved the Cross over Isabel's forehead, murmuring ancient prayers under his breath, and dabbed the Holy Water onto her forehead, then onto her chest and wrists.
At first, Isabel didn't react, but soon she woke up in a daze. Seeing so many people around her and a stranger holding all sorts of instruments, she was frightened and began to scream helplessly. Mr. Nihelet quickly came to comfort her: "Don't be afraid, Isabel, Father is performing an exorcism for you, it will get better soon."
Isabel curled up at the head of the bed, uttering incomprehensible screams from her mouth. She gave everyone the impression that she couldn't talk at all, but Shiller knew she could.
Suddenly, Isabel tilted her neck back and began to wheeze, and started scratching at her neck as if it were very itchy.
"The Holy Water is working." someone shouted: "The demon is like being burnt, it will be killed by the power of Holy Water!"
Isabel's movements were becoming more violent, she scratched and kicked, her breath ragged as her scratching switched from her neck to her-faced cheeks.
Suddenly, a powerful hand grasped her wrist. Isabel looked up to see a partially familiar face.
Shiller firmly held Isabel's wrist. His sudden action startled everyone. Before the bystanders could chastise him, he said in a calm tone, "This is an acute allergic reaction. Quickly fetch the allergy medicine!"
The crowd reacted with confusion and hesitation. However, the priest, after being taken aback for a moment, looked down at the holy water in his hands then addressed Mr. Nihelet: "Please fetch the medicine, sir. Something seems amiss. This is not a demon's reaction to holy water."
As an authoritative figure spoke up, the murmuring crowd grew quiet. Lady Nihelet, observing her daughter's incessant trembling, let out a scream, instructing the butler, "Quickly fetch the allergy medicine!"
The butler hurried off, leaving Shiller to observe the expressions of the three people across. As Lady Nihelet raised her voice, a hint of dissatisfaction flickered in the eyes of the tall man named Hancock.
The allergy medicine arrived promptly. Thankfully, although the allergic reaction was acute, the severity was not high. There was just some difficulty breathing and itching all over the body. Shiller dissolved the medicine in warm water and administered it to Isabel.
During the medication process, he noticed through the collar of Isabel's clothes, red rashes across her body, likely due to the allergic reaction. However, on her back was a lingering bruise, seeming like an injury from a fall.
Shiller discreetly shifted his gaze, took a towel from the butler and wiped the sweat off Isabel. Unable to control herself anymore, Lady Nihelet burst into tears. She said, "Thank you, doctor. Thank you. I really don't understand why such things always happen to my child, oh God…"
"What exactly is going on?" Hancock asked the priest, "Why is Isabel allergic to holy water?"
Instead of responding immediately, the priest thoughtfully observed Isabel's pale face for a while and then said, "I used the local water source and didn't add anything to it. I guess she is allergic to dust or some special substance on the equipment."
Hancock sighed, "This was originally an opportunity to save her, but such an unfortunate coincidence..."
"Could I ask you to think of another way?" Mr. Nihelet pleaded sincerely, "As long as my daughter can be saved, the Nihelet family will offer a handsome reward. We want to contribute to your church."
The priest never took his gaze off Isabel's face. His expression was complicated, yet he still said, "I'm afraid I'm helpless, gentlemen. However, I will pray for her at the church."
After saying this, he turned and left. The ordeal ended an hour later.
Before Shiller returned to his room, he heard servants at the entrance whispering, "What a poor child. Even God doesn't want to save her. This sudden allergic reaction to holy water...is this not a sign of God abandoning her?"
"Maybe there's no demon. Perhaps the child did something to displease God or she did not pray devoutly. To think that the daughter of the Nihelet family has become a pariah, the master and mistress must be heartbroken."
After silently listening for a while, Shiller returned to his room. Soon after, he called the butler and asked, "Where is the priest staying? I am interested in the local religious documents and would like to discuss them with him. Could you lead the way?"
Someone quickly escorted Shiller to the priest's room. The priest should have been packing and preparing to leave after the failed exorcism, but when Shiller knocked on his door, he found the priest tidying his clothes and equipment.
Upon hearing Shiller's purpose for a visit, the priest sighed and let Shiller in. Before Shiller could speak, the priest nodded and said, "I know it wasn't an allergy to dust. Someone added something to the holy water. This is my negligence."
"That child was not abandoned by God," said the priest as he hunched over, "But she certainly has been abandoned."
"And you feel helpless."
The priest looked at Shiller with his clear, penetrating gaze, then Shiller said, "I understand that feeling. Together with other medical personnel, we saved a child with congenital heart disease with an almost perfect operation. God couldn't have been kinder to him, everything went so smoothly."
"On the third day after the successful operation, he died because his parents' financial dispute led him to be discharged early from the hospital. Three minutes after the equipment was turned off, he showed no signs of life."
"I felt helpless then." Shiller lowered his gaze, "I ended my career as a surgeon."
The priest's eyes welled up with tears, marking the sign of the cross on his chest and praying. But he kept shaking his head.
However, Shiller's gaze changed suddenly as he took a step forward.
The priest froze, taking two steps back as though realizing something. He then heard Shiller say in a low voice,
"Twelve hours after their child died, the grief-stricken parents who came to claim the body jumped from the ninth floor of the hospital...and I became a psychiatrist."