The man silently looked down at Aline for a moment, then turned his gaze to the crib covered by cloth.

Even after an immeasurably long time had passed, the crib was only slightly worn, remaining mostly the same.

Seeing it, old memories resurfaced as if swimming up from beneath the water. He seemed to hear the voice of a beautiful woman with thick golden hair like flowing honey.

“Look, let’s make dove-shaped holes here. Won’t it be cute? It will bring good dreams to the baby.”

Three small bird-shaped holes were drilled into the crescent-shaped headboard of the crib.

The man traced the edge of those holes with his finger. He vividly recalled smoothing the edges with rough, flat stones to avoid leaving splinters.

“Mister.”

At the tug on his clothes and the voice, he looked down.

“There was a baby.”

When he answered, Aline looked back at the empty crib and tilted her head.

“Where did it go?”

He thought of the child who had been the last witch born in this house. The girl who had grown up with only black hair and red eyes inherited from her mother, and a faint lullaby.

“It grew up and left home.”

“So it’s not coming back?”

“Well…”

The man picked Aline up. Used to always being held by someone, Aline wasn’t surprised and grabbed onto his shoulder.

“It might come back. If it wants to.”

Aline, who had been wearing a thoughtful expression, chirped like a baby bird with her tiny lips.

“Then you’re a father too, mister. Like my father. My father said he became a father because I exist.”

“That’s right. I suppose I am a father.”

“Then where’s the mother?”

The man stared blankly at Aline’s face for a moment before saying:

“She left.”

This time, as if not quite understanding, the little child’s small head tilted. At her age, she thought fathers and mothers were always together.

“Did she leave because she’s an adult?”

“Yes and no. By the way, do you like this house?”

Aline looked around the house once more and nodded.

“It’s pretty.”

Then, as if bothered by it, she stared fixedly at the empty vase on the table. The man reached out to pick up the vase, then handed it to Aline to hold tightly in his arms and said:

“What’s your mother’s favorite flower?”

“Mother likes all flowers.”

A faint smile briefly passed over the man’s lips.

“Is there a flower you’d like to give to your mother?”

Aline thought for a moment, then recalled a flower she had seen in a picture book. She remembered an image of small bell-shaped white flowers clustered together, blooming all over a meadow, but she didn’t know the flower’s name.

“Lily of the valley.”

The man said while Aline was pondering with a puzzled expression.

“That’s called lily of the valley.”

“Lily of the valley.”

Aline, still a child, repeated after the man with a slightly clumsy pronunciation and hugged the vase tightly.

“Mother will like it. And it looks like Mother. Mother’s hair is round like this too. And short.”

The man smiled once again, a very human-like smile, and adjusted his hold on Aline.

“Then let’s go find those flowers, shall we?”

Meanwhile, Laila was so preoccupied with chasing after the child who was moving here and there as if playing hide-and-seek that she could hardly think straight.

Just when it seemed within reach, suddenly the azalea-colored skirt would flutter in a completely different direction. Just watching its movements was enough to tell it wasn’t a human child.

Nevertheless, the reason Laila had no choice but to chase after that child was because the dress hem visible only to her eyes seemed to be calling to Laila.

“Laila, where are you going?”

Eustar, who had been following, grabbed Laila’s wrist. Laila, keeping her gaze fixed on the pink dress flickering among the people so as not to lose sight of it, said:

“There’s a child.”

“A child? What child?”

“I don’t have time to explain, Eustar. I feel like I can’t let that child get away.”

As if agreeing with Laila’s words, the dress hem fluttered past again just a few people away. As the small shoe disappeared between the complex carts, Laila chased after the child without a second thought.

“Laila, wait!”

She shook off his hand so forcefully that Eustar lost sight of Laila right in front of him. He took out a monocle from his jacket’s inner pocket while chasing after Laila disappearing into the crowd.

‘I thought I wouldn’t need to use this anymore.’

When he slightly turned the frame of the monocle, the figures of the humans became slightly blurred.

Then Eustar spotted a dark pink skirt hem moving here and there between the tangled flower carts and stalls. It was a dress that a young child might wear. When running, one foot was visible, and the foot in the shoe was small.

He immediately realized that this girl was the child Laila had mentioned. Seeing Laila moving away following that child, Eustar hurriedly took off the monocle and ran with all his might.

“Laila, I said wait!”

Eustar grabbed Laila’s shoulder. However, the next moment, he could only make a confused expression at the unfamiliar face that turned to look at him.

“Oh, oh my. Um…”

Eustar let go of the young lady’s shoulder, whose face had turned bright red, and slightly bowed his head in apology.

His expression as he turned away was a mixture of bewilderment and astonishment. It had clearly been black hair, clearly Laila’s back view, but when he grabbed her, she had completely changed into a different person.

He put the monocle he had been clutching tightly back into his pocket, then took out a small silver whistle and blew it. A sharp sound briefly cut through the air, and then Galen appeared from among the crowd.

“Your Majesty, what’s the matter? I was startled when you suddenly moved.”

“Laila has disappeared.”

Galen’s face turned pale.

“The Queen? When, where?”

“While chasing after some child… There’s no time. We need to seal off and control the area around the square and find Laila. Have the people wait on the right side of the square for a moment, and clear this space.”

“Understood.”

Galen swiftly left his position. Soon soldiers who had received his call appeared, and the square began to stir restlessly. In the midst of that commotion, Eustar continued searching for Laila.

But she was nowhere to be seen. The dark pink skirt hem that had been visible had also vanished without a trace. His tightly clenched hand trembled.

‘Laila, where on earth did you go?’

Eustar, letting out a short sigh, blended into the crowd. He wondered if he could ever forgive himself if Laila were to get hurt amidst the chaotic crowd.

“I said wait!”

Laila quickened her pace, not knowing where she was. Unlike before when only the skirt hem was visible, now the child’s back could be seen.

Just as her hand was about to reach the small back running in a straight line, the child who had been teasing by moving away suddenly stopped gracefully without any recoil.

“You…”

Laila took a deep breath and frowned while patting her chest for a moment. Her chest felt tight and she was out of breath.

“You followed me all the way here?”

Laila slowly straightened up, took a breath, and looked down at the child with a pretend angry expression. It was a girl. She had a very nonchalant expression after making Laila play a round of chase.

Her hair was tied on both sides in mottled blonde, and her round eyes were so large that at first glance she looked almost like a doll. Laila stroked her somewhat calmed chest and looked straight down at the child’s face.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. You brought me here, didn’t you? Who are you? What’s your name? Why did you bring me all the way here?”

The girl’s round eyes rolled around.

“You noticed?”

“I’m not stupid.”

“But you looked heavy, so I ran slowly.”

“Well, thank you for that. Now tell me your name. And why you called me.”

The girl kicked at the ground with the tip of her shoe and said:

“My name is Milia.”

The girl said.

“The babies are fine, so don’t worry.”

Laila sighed once more and pressed her forehead.

“Milia, I know the babies are fine too. You, what were you doing in the square? Why were you running around so frantically among the people?”

“I was looking for my mom.”

Laila’s hand rubbing her forehead paused. She wondered if this was a child who had gotten lost, wandered around, and ended up dying.

“Do you remember which family you belonged to?”

“Family…”

Milia blankly repeated Laila’s words and shook her head.

“I’m not a noble.”

Laila then carefully examined the clothes Milia was wearing.

Although some effort had been put into it, it wasn’t made of very expensive fabric. Upon closer inspection, the lace gathered and attached had some clumsy stitching, not something a child from a noble family would wear.

Moreover, the small shoes were too small for Milia to wear.

Seeing the arched instep, it was clear she had forcibly squeezed her feet in. When this child was alive, just wearing these shoes must have been quite a torture.

“You said you were looking for your mom?”

Laila asked.

“This outfit? Is this the last outfit your mom dressed you in?”

Milia blinked her eyes and carefully nodded.