The moment I raised my decision, the room was overtaken by a heavy silence.
My heart pounded loudly as I prayed that the people in the room would support me in my decision.
However, not all things would go my way… that I understood really well.
Uncle Cornelius was the first one to voice out his opinion as he expressed his concern,
"Third Prince, I know you mean well… However, Eli's situation is something we cannot approach hastily."
"That is because Eli is deeply unstable and that she could not be left with someone who does not know how to handle patients like her…"
"Besides, as we have observed, Eli trusts no one, recognizes no one… and if one mishandled the situation then it would be to her harm than good."
Upon Uncle Cornelius's words, the other elders also took his side and agreed.
"Leon, I know that you were also thinking of her well-being, however, it is a great risk for us to make such a drastic change when Eli just woke up." Father Emperor said as he convinced me gently.
"Why not allow a few days to pass so that we could observe Eli's condition? If it turns out that she will become stable after some time, then we could try to think of the next step for her recovery?"
I lowered my head and thought for a while. I evaluated my position and their opinion as well.
In the end, although I was reluctant, I agreed to their suggestion and allowed Eli to be cared for in the Dragon village for a few days.
But that doesn't mean that I would just wait. So while I allowed Eli to stay here for a while, I came with Kayden and the rest to take care of Eli and observe her condition all throughout.
But the next few days came by and Eli's situation only got worse.
She refused to eat and went into hysteria every time she saw people.
She rejects any kind of skinship and almost causes permanent harm to her body and hurts herself in the process.
Aunt Yelena, Uncle Cornelius, and Kayden worked to sedate her every time, but the problem of her nourishment became an urgent matter.
Because of her emotional state, she could no longer be sustained through a nourishing potion as one would need a stable flow of mana in order to absorb the nutrients packed in the tonics ingested.
The need for her to be fed physically arises, however none of us can even get close to her at the moment.
"This is not good… she has been awake for a week yet she still refuses to ingest even a sip of water… Leon, if this continues… she might die of starvation." Kayden with his exhausted countenance looked at me in worry.
"This was completely different before when you just rescued her from that dungeon… I don't understand why the methods we employed to rehabilitate her back then aren't effective now?" He mumbled in frustration.
I knew the answer to his question but I do not think it is relevant for him to hear at the moment, because I know Kayden would figure it out soon as well.
That was because Eli back then had the memory of her being actually rescued in the dungeon.
But at this moment, none of those hopeful turning point moments remained in her mind.
It was only fragments of her sufferings that would not make sense as to why she was in the Dragon Village which is a totally different world than what she had in her previous life and memory.
I looked at the mess around Eli's bedroom and the small scared figure that was hiding in the darkest corner of the room.
Uncle Cornelius already let Aunt Yelena retire for the day because she was also affected emotionally upon seeing her daughter's state.
"Kayden, can you leave this matter to me for a moment?? I'll try one more time." I looked at my best friend and suggested.
"Leon, we've already tried that so many times, but all of us failed." Kayden furrowed his brow and his tone tells me that it is futile to try once more.
"But if we do nothing, then there is really no hope! We cannot give up at this point." I replied.
I know that Kayden is frustrated and on the verge of giving up, but I cannot charge it against him, because all of us tried and gave our best.
Kayden bit his lip and clenched his fist tightly but no words came to his mouth.
I let out a heavy sigh as I observed his pale complexion. This dear friend of mine tends to carry the world on his shoulders and beats himself whenever he is stuck in a failure.
I knelt down at his slumped figure and patted his sunken shoulders,
"Today, I'll try… you rest and take turns tomorrow. If it doesn't work, we will try again once more… We cannot give up, aren't we? Now that we have gotten the peace we have worked hard for… how can we not let Eli taste and see the fruit of her sacrifice?"
Kayden thought for a moment and gave a nod. I led him out of the room and asked for a few servants to clean up Eli's room, making sure that they maintain a safe distance away from her.
In the entire process, I took note of her every action. How her midnight obsidian eyes would stare at people who were working around her.
I realized that when a certain person approaches her within a five-meter radius, her eyes will flash with alertness.
'So five meters was her limit…' I thought to myself as I tried to remember her past reactions to people in the last few days.
Once a person approaches her within a three-meter radius, she would go into hysterics.
And as soon as one touches her to calm her down, she could cry and beg for help.
In the process, she could violently struggle and inflict harm on herself and the people around her because of her desperate movements.
'Why is it so?' I frowned and thought deeply.
Only after every servant was done cleaning up did I have found my answer.
When I rescued Elise before, the dungeon where she was tortured cruelly was a room with similar measures.
In my recollection, the distance between the stone bed she was clutched in and the dungeon's entrance was five meters.
In the same cruel manner, the distance of the experimental tools which were actually torture devices was three meters from her stone bed.
No wonder she would be triggered whenever someone approaches her in that distance!
As soon as I realized this, I also came to notice that Eli would be also triggered by the random thud, the sound of metal, and glass clicking in. This might be also something that would remind her of the dreadful memories in the torture chamber.
'But that was easy to address… but how about her experiences in the previous world?'
'How do those memories affect her at the moment?'
I thought deeply but I can't seem to find an answer. In the end, I decided to ask Wisey for some time, but as for now, I decided to slowly address what I am certain of.
With a lead in mind, I notified the guards to look after Eli and went to the kitchen to ask for another set of meals.
On the way back, I noticed Baobao and Wisey walking toward me, and Little Han riding on Baobao's back.
"Daddi!" My son called out excitedly.
"How was your day son?" Holding the tray of food in my hands, I did not reject my son's approach and instead engaged in a conversation with him for a little while.
"We played with Big Brothers!" Little Han grinned innocently, bringing a wave of warmth to my shaken heart. It was powerful that it was able to put a genuine smile on my face.
"Really, then it's good that you had fun," I answered.
"Then you shall follow Baobao and Wisey for a while, can you? I'll just bring this food to Mommy so that she can eat it." I explained to him gently so that he would somehow understand.
But contrary to my expectations, Little Han shook his head and looked at the food longingly.
"Daddy... Can I watch Mommi eat?"
I was stumped by his question, so much so that I could not say a thing.
I know I would have to reject his request but his clear and bright crystal blue eyes were so sincere and hopeful that I could not dare to disappoint him at all.
"This… son, Mommy is still not okay…"
"You might be sad again seeing her unwell…" I tried to coax him to reject him indirectly hoping that he would understand.
However, his words rendered me speechless once more, "Johann is ok being sad… being sad is normal!"
"Johann will be fine Daddi!"
I looked at my son, my young little son saying these things that were beyond his age and could not believe what I heard.
"Daddi, is it bad when Johann cwies because I am sad for Mommi?"
In the end, his questions left me unable to retort.
I could only sigh and answer truthfully, "Yes, it is not bad to be sad… but Daddy is also sad when you are sad. That's why Daddy doesn't want you to see Mommy's weak state." historical
"But Johann can take it… I won't cwy loudly… I will only cwy outside so that I won't distuwb Mommi…"
"Daddi pwease?"
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