Our Beloved

That day, little Magdalene woke up from her sleep in the afternoon. She looked panicked and ran out into the rain.

She had a dream, a dream about her mother slowly leaving her. As she ran, she saw her father, exhausted and frightened. The frightening expression on her father's face as he watched her run through the palace made the little girl even more panicked.

"Hic... Mommy! Magda doesn't want to be alone! Magda wants to go with mommy! Don't go alone! Hic..." That was the memory Magdalene saw. More precisely, it was the memory she saw before she fell ill.

At the same time, Aliester stood silently in front of the tombstone. He felt a pang of sadness and a faint whisper in his ear. It was a joyful voice, the voice of a beautiful woman, a figure deeply loved by the real Aliester.

["Aliester dear, look at this. Our little Magda can eat with her own spoon now."]

["Magda, your father is coming. Come give him a hug~"]

["I love you both so much~"]

His chest felt tight, like being in a narrow room without air or drowning in deep water without end.

"Maybe this is what Aliester felt when he lost his wife."

"That little girl must have been... so lonely."

They stayed at the grave for a while, gazing at the tombstone bearing the name of the country's queen, reminiscing about the memories they each possessed.

Aliester watched as his daughter bowed her head, rubbing the tombstone, making him want to hug and comfort her. In Aliester's mind, he was certain that little Magdalene deeply missed her mother.

He quickly knelt down to pick up his daughter again.

"Magdalene, what are you thinking?"

Magdalene remained silent. Perhaps Aliester thought she was sad.

"Magda, oh my dear, I'm sure mommy is smiling because Magdalene is recovered from her illness."

"Is that so, Daddy?"

"Definitely. That's why don't be sad, okay?" Aliester hugged his little daughter tightly and said, "Magdalene is not alone. Daddy is here."

"Daddy..."

"Daddy might not be a good parent, but daddy will take care of Magdalene until Magdalene can find a good man to marry."

Words that Magdalene never expected to hear. Nevertheless, within Magdalene's body was not the real Magdalene, and that figure knew she might be evil for making Aliester say such things.

"Oh, Magdalene's father, forgive me for making you say such things."

"If only you knew that I'm not the real Magdalene, you might hate this child."

"But I... might be very greedy because those words are so warm in my heart."

"For me, who was betrayed by someone I loved, I really hope to receive love from you too, Aliester. At least within your beautiful little daughter's body."

"I want to be a good child for your sake and Magdalene's. I want... to cry."

"I'm evil... hic..."

Unbeknownst to her, Magdalene cried in Aliester's arms, making him think that his little daughter deeply missed her late mother.

"I have to comfort this child. Can't make her sad after she's been ill. Sorry, real Aliester. I've made your beloved daughter cry."

Aliester stroked his daughter's hair and said, "Daddy is here, Magda. We can't be sad, okay?"

"If you cry, mommy might cry too."

"Come on, smile. Where's my daughter's beautiful smile?"

Little Magdalene looked at her father, "Daddy... hic... sorry..."

"Why are you apologizing, Magdalene? You're Daddy's beautiful daughter, so you can't be wrong."

"If Magda is not beautiful, does that mean Magda is wrong?"

"Um, not really."

Who would have thought that there was a bit of humor in the moment when the little princess tried to hold back her tears?

Aliester wiped away his daughter's tears and looked towards Helene's tombstone.

"Dear, our daughter is only sad because she misses you. Sometimes, please visit us through dreams, okay?"

"Just like we always want to see you."

As if love continued to live on, they both smiled and left the beautiful greenhouse. Unbeknownst to anyone, a beautiful woman was seen smiling. She smiled, and as the wind blew, a tall man and a little girl appeared, holding her hand.

"We're back, Helene," the man said.

The three of them smiled, looking at Aliester and Magdalene, who were laughing and chatting together from behind.

"From now on... I hope you both can be happy."

A gentle voice that disappeared.