Published: August 10, 2026
It was about a month after Mom suddenly disappeared.
In the middle of the night, I, who normally slept soundly, suddenly woke up. Dad, who should have been in the bed next to mine, wasn't there.
"Dad...?"
I slipped out of bed. I was about to leave the room to look for him, but the door was already slightly open. I could hear someone talking in the hallway.
Dad was right nearby, by the door. I quietly peeked out and strained to listen to their conversation.
...The person talking to Dad was... Butler Wolfgang?
"So it is difficult after all."
"Yes... It is heartbreaking that Lady Lisa must be separated from her mother."
Mom? Dad let out a deep sigh. He held his head in his hands, looking truly miserable.
"How terrible... What am I supposed to tell Lisa...?"
"Lady Lisa is still only five. She probably does not understand the preciousness or fragility of life."
Life...!?
"...Yes. Telling Lisa everything right now will only make her anxious. Just as Marie said, it would be better to make her think her mother has gone on nothing more than a trip..."
"That won't last long, though. Eventually, we will have to tell her."
"Yes, you're right... That is true..."
Dad covered his face with his hands and let out another long sigh.
My heart was pounding hard.
What did this mean? ...That Mom going on a trip was a lie? The preciousness and fragility of life? That I'd be sad if I heard it... What did that mean? Was that... what it was...?
"For now, I still haven't been able to sort out my own feelings... I need a little more time. Once things have settled down a bit, then..."
"Would you like me to speak to Lady Lisa instead?"
"No... I'll tell her myself someday. I'm Lisa's father, and Marie's husband, after all."
I rushed back into bed and pulled the blanket over my head. Dad came back into the room shortly after, but I kept pretending to be asleep.
It was a night when my shaking would not stop.
Half a year has passed since that night, and I still haven't heard anything from Dad. His silence and sorrowful profile told me that my imagination was the truth.
"Hey, Dad, for now, why don't we just throw away everything here?"
When I said that, Dad looked up at me, startled. His green eyes caught mine for a moment, but then he quickly lowered his gaze back to the dress.
"Why? We don't have any trouble finding space for it."
"But if we leave it like this, covered in dust, the clothes and shoes will be sad. They're such pretty dresses, too."
"...The clothes... Ah, yes."
At my words, Dad gave a faint smile.
"Then, when Marie comes back, I'll suggest it to her. I was the one who gave these to her, but now they're her belongings. I can't just dispose of them on my own..."
"Dad..."
Dad's voice was hoarse, with a tone that sounded as if he might burst into tears at any moment. My chest tightened, and I couldn't say anything else.
Ceri shrugged, looking at Dad with cold eyes.
"Oh dear, what a pain. If Lady Mio were here, she'd have snapped him back into shape."
...Mio. The maid who once served at Dad's side.
When I was still very little, she had apparently taken very good care of me. But she left this castle four years ago, when I was two. I don't remember her face or her voice anymore. But everyone in this castle seems to mention her name now and then. Just as Mom was for Dad, it seems that for many of the staff, "Mio" was an irreplaceable person.
When Dad said something pathetic, when gatekeeper Thomas let a strange guest through, when bath attendant Tunic undressed a customer without permission, and so on, someone would sigh and mutter:
"If only Lady Mio were here..."
—That's what they'd say.
Was the castle different when "Mio" was still here?
Back then, Mom was here too. Would she have held baby me in turn with Dad, gazed into each other's eyes, smiled, and cherished one another?
I don't know that time.
Granado Castle has changed—others whisper that.
Whether that is true or not, I can't really say, since I don't know what it was like before it changed.
But in any case, I have to accept this reality... because in fact, Marie Shadelan Granado is not here beside me or Dad.