What did I just hear?

‘She clearly said I’m her daughter.’

Even if it’s in a dream, this doesn’t make any sense.

Mom passed away a long time ago, and even if she were alive, strictly speaking, I wouldn’t be her daughter.

‘Is this strange dream because of what happened with Dad earlier? Maybe I’m really love-starved.’

Deeply sighing, I looked at the woman who claimed to be my daughter.

The woman, dressed in a light blue dress that revealed her arms and shoulders, emitted a mysterious charm, much like a forest fairy.

Due to Dad’s orders to remove all portraits and sculptures of Mom in the palace, her face was completely unguessable.

If the real Mom existed, I wished she would be as beautiful as this person.

“…I seem quite tired today. Can I go back and take a nap?”

“That’s a bit inconvenient. I’ve been waiting for this day for a very long time.”

The woman with flowing platinum hair walked towards me with a radiant smile.

Seeing her a bit closer than before, my face and her facial features seemed eerily similar.

Considering it was a product of my imagination and hope, it was strangely fantastic, almost tragically beautiful.

“What on earth were you waiting for? This is just a dream. Once I wake up, I’ll surely forget everything and move on.”

“Oh, our daughter seems to have a more cynical personality than I thought. She’s still young, pitifully.”

She looked at me with a genuine expression of pity.

Even the dream-like existence seemed to sympathize with me.

From the depths of my chest, a feeling of injustice and sadness surged.

“I’m not that young. Although I might appear young on the outside, I’ve been an adult for a long time.”

It was something I could never say to anyone in reality.

Revealing such an extreme secret only to a dream-like existence was my strange fate.

Feeling sorry for myself, I slouched my shoulders, and the woman responded with a smile.

“Oh, our daughter is not that little. Outwardly, you may seem young, but you’ve already been an adult for a long time.”
“Your soul belongs to a mature being. You already know. It must have been tough for you. Internally, you’re already an adult, but when you were reborn, you were like a baby.”

“Perhaps because it’s a dream. You seem to know a lot about me.”

“Of course. I’m the one who summoned your soul.”

Wait, what did you say?

Startled by her words, I swallowed a gasp.

No matter that it was a fantasy of my own making, the story was entirely unimaginable.

“You seem to think I’m just a dreamlike presence, but this isn’t a dream. To be precise, it’s somewhat similar but also different. Bella, I seized the opportunity while you were asleep and brought your consciousness here.”

“This isn’t a dream…?”

“No. Can’t you feel a strange sensation? This is a crevice in the dimensions that only fairies and spirits can traverse. For beings like us, it can be seen as another reality.”

“Lies. Where’s the proof that what you’re saying is true?”

“If you need proof, I’ll show you.”

After finishing her sentence, she reached into the air.

In the place where she swung her arm a few times, familiar spirits, appearing just as I had often called them, erupted with laughter.

“Wow, Bella came all the way here? Daphne, did you bring her?”

“Yeah. If not today, there wouldn’t be much time.”

“Hehe, I didn’t expect to see you two in the same place. Since it turned out like this, let’s have fun!”

I watched, dumbfounded, as the spirit I often summoned engaged in conversation with the woman.

Unable to recover from my surprise and stand there stiffly, the spirit pulled my hair, pinched my cheek, and played pranks.

Cold sweat flowed involuntarily at the sharp sensation, which felt several times clearer than usual.

That’s right.

As she said, this wasn’t just my dream; it was a real and existing space.

“Then, are you really my mom? But… I heard that Mom died.”

“As you probably know, I’m a descendant of the fairy race. We weren’t originally beings of the earthly realm. So, even if the body faces death, the soul remains in the world and slowly dissipates. I’m currently going through the latter stage.”

“So, in the end, you’re neither alive nor dead.”

“You can see it that way.”

How could such a thing happen in the world?

I gazed at my mom, who was gently smiling with a bewildered expression.

There were so many things I wanted to say and ask, but my mouth wouldn’t open.

I never thought that I could have a conversation like this with someone I believed to be dead.

“I didn’t intend to surprise you, I’m sorry. But there was no other way. There isn’t much I can do right now.”

“That’s okay. But… what about what you said earlier? About summoning my soul.”

“Exactly. I led your soul here, just before it dissipated.”
“Why? It could have been anyone else.”

“No, it had to be you. The possessor of the soul that could become my daughter on this continent was only you.”

Daphne closed her eyes slowly, reminiscent of the past.

Then, she began to quietly recount the events that occurred between her death and my reincarnation.