Adeline tucked away Lane’s card and the Arcane Card.
Last night, Lane had gone to see that Mr. Slone for a conversation.
Though Adeline could only see fragments of the dialogue logs floating beside the card’s surface through the Map, piecing them together gave her a rough idea of what was said.
Lane had shown Slone the ritual description he’d deciphered from Heber Rost’s diary, and while Mr. Slone hadn’t said it outright, his reaction made it clear he did know something about that so-called Arcane Rite.
A path to some place?
Adeline mused.
Was it a literal road, or some kind of philosophical expression?
Too bad Lane hadn’t pressed further.
If it were her, she would have made him keep asking—even if the old man wouldn’t crack, at least she could have gleaned more clues from his evasive answers.
Adeline stared out the window at the gray sky, wondering if Lane would go prepare the ritual materials today.
Books in this era probably weren’t cheap, especially ones with actual content.
She herself had a bookshelf full of them in her room, but she wouldn’t try anything until she saw with her own eyes what the ritual would bring.
Just then, a knock came at the door.
“Come in.”
Adeline shifted slightly, leaning against the headboard.
The door opened, and Lina walked in with a slight bow, followed by a young woman.
The woman looked about twenty-five or twenty-six.
She wasn’t tall, but she stood straight, her back taut like a pulled string.
She wore a dark blue fitted coat, buttoned tightly at the collar, with a matching ankle-length skirt.
Her light brown hair was pulled back into a simple low bun with no extra adornment.
Her features were delicate but not pretty; her jawline was somewhat sharp, and her gray-blue eyes held a coldness.
From her attire and demeanor, this must be Ms. Feniel, the one who treated Adeline.
“Miss,” Lina said with a smile, looking quite pleased, “Ms. Feniel has come to see you.”
Feniel gave Adeline a slight nod, not so much out of respect as going through the motions.
“Miss Adeline, good day.”
Her voice was steady, her tone unhurried.
“Mr. Swan said you wanted to know about your recovery, so I came to check.”
“Thank you for coming.”
Adeline nodded.
Feniel stepped closer, her eyes sweeping across Adeline’s face.
The gray-blue gaze lingered only briefly—too short to even call it an observation.
“Your complexion looks better than last month,” she said.
“Your lips are still a bit pale.
Keep taking your daily medicine without interruption.
For your diet, focus on warm foods.
Don’t skip milk and meat.”
“Okay.”
Adeline had nothing to add, so she simply replied.
Feniel looked at her again, then pulled a small medicine bottle from her leather bag and placed it on the bedside table.
“This is a newly mixed Calming Nectar.
I’ve added one more herb compared to the previous formula.
It will taste more bitter, but the effect is better.
Take half a cap before bed every night.
Don’t use more than that.”
“Thank you.
Oh, Ms. Feniel, I have a question…”
Before Adeline could finish, Feniel fastened the clasp of her bag and stepped back.
“Then I’ll take my leave.
Miss, please rest well.”
With that, she turned and headed for the door.
The whole process took only a few minutes.
Adeline stared at Feniel’s retreating back, her brow slightly furrowed.
Wasn’t that a bit too fast?
From the moment she entered until she left, Ms. Feniel hadn’t checked Adeline’s pulse, asked about her diet or sleep, or listened to anything.
She hadn’t even asked Adeline to stick out her tongue.
She just took two glances, said a few empty words, dropped off a bottle, and left.
This felt more like going through the motions than treating a patient.
Moreover, Adeline noticed some details: Feniel never once met her eyes.
Even when Adeline tried to look at her, the other woman quickly looked away.
Even when putting down the bottle, she stretched her arm out and placed it on the edge of the bedside table, never coming close.
It seemed less like consideration for a patient and more like resistance.
And when Adeline tried to start a conversation at the end, Feniel ignored her entirely.
It felt like Ms. Feniel didn’t want to have any more contact with Adeline than necessary.
Why was that?
Adeline’s gaze followed Feniel until she disappeared behind the door, and only when the door softly closed did she look away.
“Lina.”
“Miss?”
Lina, who was arranging the tray, looked up.
“Ms. Feniel… has she always treated me like this?”
Lina tilted her head, as if she didn’t quite understand the question.
“Well… pretty much?
Ms. Feniel has always been like that.
She doesn’t talk much, but the medicine she prescribes always works.
Mr. Swan said she’s a very skilled doctor.”
“She’s been treating me for a while now, hasn’t she?”
Adeline said vaguely.
“Yes!
For years, I think?”
Lina thought for a moment.
“I heard she used to be a top student from Kingdom University Medical School.
Very impressive.”
Kingdom University Medical School?
Adeline silently noted those words.
“Do you remember how often she used to come?
I can’t recall clearly.”
“Seems like twice a month.
Sometimes when Miss wasn’t feeling well, she’d come more often.
But in the last few months, since your health has been recovering well, she’s come less.”
“Did she always act like this?
Leaving quickly?”
Lina scratched her head.
“I think so…
Ms. Feniel really doesn’t like to talk much.
But the medicine she gives is always effective.
Miss, you had several severe episodes before, and each time her medicine helped you get through.”
Adeline didn’t press further.
That was probably all Lina knew.
She leaned back into her pillow, her gaze fixed on the ceiling.
Ms. Feniel, a top graduate from Kingdom University Medical School, young, skilled, and employed by House Castia for years.
She could accurately judge Adeline’s condition without an in-person exam, and her prescriptions actually worked.
Yet she herself avoided Adeline to an extreme, unwilling to do even basic examinations, as if getting close might bring something terrible.
Why would a normal doctor be so afraid of her own patient?
She shook her head, pushing the thought aside for now.
Without enough evidence, any guess was just a castle in the air.
Adeline took out Lane’s character card from under her pillow and placed it on the desk.
The ink spread, beginning to outline the shape of the map.