CHAPTER 67……………………………………….
Elian’s eyes, which had been staring at the floor, struggled to lift. The light in them, once shining like sapphires, had grown dim, like looking into the deep darkness of the sea. A sharp breath escaped her.
“Elian, hmm?”
“Ludia…”
“Yes. What’s wrong?”
“What should I do…?”
“What happened? Is it bad?”
Elian shut her eyes tightly instead of answering.
“Elian…!”
I grabbed her shoulders firmly. Her frail, powerless body shook in my comparatively small hands. She quietly placed her hand on top of mine and spoke.
“It’s gone…”
“Gone?”
“It’s gone…!”
Elian’s voice, accompanied by sobs and gasps, burst out as she struggled to speak. Then her body collapsed as if falling apart. I held her, but she was so unnaturally light it seemed she hadn’t eaten in days.
“It’s gone…! It’s gone!”
“Elian, Elian!”
Sobbing in my arms, repeating that it was gone, she finally grabbed my chest tightly and buried her face in me. I gently held her fragile back, patting her quietly. I had no words, just the thought that something extremely difficult and painful must have happened. I just waited.
“It’s… gone.”
I didn’t ask what had disappeared. I waited for her to speak. Gradually, her rough breathing slowed, and she began to calm. Then her voice came, slowly but clearly.
“My grandmother…!”
Elian spoke, face buried in my chest, her voice piercing, filled with a grief that shook the heart.
Lordiman Asilio Pelioten.
The former countess, who had maintained her family’s affairs for twenty years after her husband passed away early. She was now over seventy, an age considered near the end of life in this era. But she had always been active and cheerful, taking care of her health by visiting temples and hospitals regularly, so she remained healthier than most.
The novel briefly mentions that Elian grew up under her grandmother’s care because her parents were very busy. While it’s normal for anyone to favor beauty, Elian’s tendency was greatly influenced by her grandmother. The former countess had once been renowned as the most beautiful woman in the empire, so it was natural that she would raise her granddaughter with the same standards.
Elian’s life could not be separated from her grandmother. Until two years ago, before Elian came to the capital to help with my business, she had been the precious granddaughter cherished by her grandmother.
So one could imagine how much Elian loved her grandmother. She even mentioned loving her grandmother more than her own parents.
And now her grandmother was gone… Seeing Elian sitting on the bed, wiping her tears, looked almost pitiful. I had assumed she was just playing around after a vacation and leaving the responsibility to me. Her usual image had made me think that was normal, but clearly, it wasn’t.
I felt embarrassed for having judged her so quickly. I forced my emotions down and quietly observed Elian. Her reddened eyes and flushed cheeks made me feel sympathetic.
She had seemed unpleasant before, yet people really can change…
In the novel, I didn’t know her character well. She used Ludia and then quickly died, so she wasn’t a main character. I had assumed she was just a villain who used any means to get what she wanted.
But recently, she seemed to be changing, which puzzled me. People’s natures rarely change, even under constant stimulation… so why was Elian suddenly different?
That made me want to help her. I set aside past feelings and handed her a handkerchief.
“…Thank you.”
Elian took the handkerchief and wiped her tears, exhaling deeply. She slightly lowered her head and cautiously spoke.
“Feeling a bit calmer?”
“Mm.”
“That’s good. You scared me, Elian. What happened all of a sudden?”
Wiping her eyes with the handkerchief, Elian spoke quietly.
“It’s exactly as I said. Grandmother has disappeared.”
“What do you mean ‘disappeared’? Like she went missing during a walk, or was kidnapped in the village…?”
“No. She just… disappeared.”
People don’t just vanish. She must have gone somewhere.
“Was there some situation? Did she just disappear overnight?”
I needed to know the circumstances before I could comfort or calm her. Elian exhaled heavily and slowly spoke.
“Since last year, grandmother has been somewhat ill.”
“How?”
Getting older inevitably brings illness. Aging is natural. But the type of illness mattered. If it was physical pain, help might still be possible.
“I couldn’t visit often, but I went as much as I could. Before, she would always call my name and hug me whenever I came, but last year, there were many times she didn’t recognize me. She asked who I was, as if she were seeing me for the first time. But she still remembered my name.”
“….”
Could it be…
“At first, I thought she was joking, but she wasn’t. She got angry sometimes, even tried to hit me. I thought she hated me, but my mother said recently she doesn’t recognize Mom or Dad either.”
“Any other symptoms?”
“I don’t know much, but recently the butler said grandmother would suddenly get up in the middle of the night and walk around alone, while asleep. Something like that…”
“Sleepwalking?”
“Yes, that’s it! I didn’t understand the word well, but that must be it.”
Medical terms in this world are difficult for common nobles to access. Sleepwalking isn’t common either. But this… sounded like dementia.
Among age-related diseases, the worst is Alzheimer’s. Parents don’t recognize their children, they forget who they are, become violent, and forget visitors. It’s a devastating illness for a family. Before coming to this world, my own grandmother had suffered from dementia for ten years. My grandfather held onto her until the end, but it was extremely difficult for the family.
So dementia exists in this era too. Sleepwalking and dementia…
“So, grandmother disappeared while sleeping in the middle of the night?”
“No. Two people took turns guarding her room every night, so unless she jumped from the fourth floor, it’s impossible for her to vanish. Most likely, she went out and couldn’t return.”
“Hmm…”
I frowned, resting my chin on my hand and pausing to think. Elian quietly watched me, looking expectant. I felt the pressure. There was almost nothing I could do.
I could only release people to search the estate thoroughly. There was no way to cure her grandmother; dementia is incurable even with modern medicine. It’s a frightening disease that can strike anyone, no matter how healthy.
“Could someone have kidnapped her, or something bad happened?”
“No. Everyone in the Pelioten estate knows grandmother. She’s kind, generous, always helping others. The villagers all liked her. Could anyone have done harm to her?”
“Even the greatest ruler is cursed in the alleys. Someone could be a tyrant to another. The possibility exists. So the Count went to search for her grandmother?”
Elian nodded calmly. As a key figure in the finance department, the Count couldn’t leave easily. His movement showed how serious it was.
“She’s been gone for more than ten days already.”
Ten days—it was around the time Elian should have returned from vacation. Perhaps her thinness was from searching the estate for her grandmother. But even with a large estate, how could the family search for ten days and still find nothing?
Elian, frowning and holding her handkerchief tightly, looked up. Her slight shoulders turned, hiding tears.
“….”
What should I do? How could I help? My mind was a mess.
If Elian were my dearest friend, I would pour all my strength into helping. But to me, Elian had always been a symbol of distrust—a friend not to be fully trusted. I was conflicted about how much to help.
I wanted to say, “I feel for you. Hang in there,” assign a few people, and leave it to her. But human hearts are rarely so cold.
“What if she went to another estate? She could have boarded a carriage and left the estate.”
“I thought about that. But soldiers can’t search another lord’s estate without permission. We requested help…”
Elian’s voice sharpened as she frowned.
“They all refused!”
Hundreds of soldiers searching another estate would naturally be unwelcome. This required central support.
“Damn them… they smile and agree when you ask, then betray like this?”
I had never heard Elian curse before. She usually mocked subtly but never swore openly. She must have been really angry.
“Calm down. They must have released someone. The villagers all know grandmother, right? Then following witnesses could lead to clues.”
“We’re doing that. But even so, we’ve found nothing in ten days.”
Elian bit her lips tightly, nervously shouting, then suddenly grabbed my hand. Looking at me with a crumpled face, she asked:
“Grandmother… nothing bad happened to her, right?”
