On her way back, she felt lighter on her feet. With the weight on her heart lifted and the weather much warmer than the day before, she could tell that spring had arrived early in the eastern forest. Soon, spring would come to the northern forest, too — their second spring together.

By then, the baby fairy would have awoken too. Marli gazed fondly at the cocoon in the bowl. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but the cocoon seemed slightly more translucent than before.

Thanks to their brisk pace, they reached the edge of the forest by late afternoon, before sunset. Aside from a brief lunchtime rest to eat, they hadn’t stopped at all. Marli and Prim paused for a moment where the coniferous forest sloped away beneath them.

Prim pointed out into the distance.

“Marli, look over there!”

“I see it.”

Beyond the trees, the witch’s tower came into view. From here, only the upper floors were visible, peeking out over the treetops, but the whole area had changed so much.

A year ago, only a lonely, old tower stood there. Now, a bright greenhouse for flowers and herbs stood right beside it, and on the other side, a garden for vegetables and medicinal plants. This year, she’d try planting something besides lettuce.

Adjusting the basket in her arms, Marli said,

“Let’s hurry home.”

“Yeah!”

The thought of being almost home made her even more impatient. The mere thought of the warm hearth waiting for them made her forget all about her cold, numb feet.

As they entered the northern forest, much of the snow had still not melted. Holding the basket close to her, Marli kept her eyes on the ground and stepped carefully. Meanwhile, Prim strode ahead with his long legs and pointed beneath a large tree.

“Marli, Bel, look over there. It’s a squirrel!”

Marli’s gaze naturally followed his finger. A squirrel, already awake from hibernation, scampered up the tree. Hugging the basket tighter, she began to speak.

“Isabel, look over there. A mouse’s skin is good for festering wounds…”

But Marli’s early education was cut short. She fell completely silent at the astonishing sight before her eyes.

“Oh, there’s another one over there!”

Still oblivious to the situation, the fairy continued chasing after squirrels.

Marli blinked, dazed and half out of her mind. She wanted to rub her eyes to make sure, but her hands were full. Instead, she blinked again and again—but it wasn’t her imagination.

The cocoon—it was moving!

“Prim, come here!”

“Huh?”

Hearing Marli’s urgent tone, Prim hurried over. Still struggling to find her words, Marli blurted them out one by one.

“Cocoon, cocoon, fairy!”

“Uh, what…?”

“Look at the cocoon! Benjamin!”

Marli shook the basket. Finding the vibration amusing, Isabel shrieked and giggled. Prim quickly stuck his head into the basket. And then he saw it too—the cocoon, its seam slowly widening, bit by bit.

“He’s waking up!”

“What do we do, what do we do!”

No matter how frantically the clueless parents moved around, the fairy’s cocoon kept twitching and quivering. Prim quickly put down his backpack and took out a blanket.

He hurriedly spread it over the damp ground and placed the basket on top. By then, the cocoon looked as if it might burst at any moment, as its seam was already split wide open.

Seeing their anxious parents, Isabel stared at her sibling with wide, round eyes.

Before they could lend a hand, everything happened in a blur. Through the torn cocoon, a pair of translucent wings unfolded and the baby fairy, who had been curled up until now, stretched out with a big yawn.

Snow-white arms and legs; opal-like, shimmering hair; and no trace of that dismissive ‘half-bl＊＊d’ label — this was a fairy in all its glory.

The baby fairy fluttered its wings as if shedding the last of its shell. The crumpled wings quickly regained their radiant sheen. Benjamin shook his head lightly and opened his eyes for the first time.

“Wha—?”

Marli let out a strangled, bizarre sound and hastily clamped a hand over her mouth. Benjamin cocked his head, blinking those bright red eyes—eyes exactly like hers and Isabel’s.

Finally meeting the baby fairy’s gaze, Prim let out a joyful shout.

“Wow! Marli, did you see? His eyes are the same color as yours!”

“Uh, yeah…”

While Prim was simply overjoyed at the resemblance, Marli’s mind was a tangled mess. A fairy with a witch’s trademark red eyes—so was Benjamin a fairy, or a witch? He had the bl＊＊d of both. Maybe he was simply both.

“Prim.”

“Yeah?”

“Benjamin… He is a boy, right?”

Marli pointed a fingertip at the baby fairy’s torso. As befitted a newborn, he was tiny and unimpressive, but there was unmistakable proof of his gender between his legs. Prim nodded without a care.

“Told you so. I said it all along.”

Marli pressed a hand to her forehead, feeling light-headed. When they were choosing names for the babies, Prim spent half a day peering into the cocoon before announcing that the baby fairy was a boy. Together, they gave him a boy’s name.

In the witch bloodline, which always passed from mother to daughter, there had never been a boy before. This was common knowledge among both witches and ordinary humans. Nevertheless, since the baby fairy had arrived as an unexpected bonus, Marli thought it was possible. However, her mind felt as though it might burst from confusion.

Puzzled by the look on her face, which was far from joyful, Prim asked curiously,

“What’s wrong?”

“Red… His eyes are red.”

“So what?”

“It’s the mark of magical power. Does that mean Benjamin’s a witch…?”

Could you really call a male fairy a witch? But it was hard to say he wasn’t, with those red eyes. Yet to call him a witch—he wasn’t a girl, after all.

While Marli struggled in confusion, Prim responded with utter indifference.

“Maybe so.”

“Hey! I’m being serious here.”

Annoyed by his nonchalant answer, Marli shot him a sharp look. Prim just tilted his head, not understanding the glare.

“So it’s not supposed to happen? Why not?”

“There are never any men in the witch’s bloodline. That’s why they usually have relationships with human men…”

Marli’s voice was full of exasperation, but it felt strange as she continued talking. It was as if she had forgotten an answer she already knew; her thoughts were slipping through her fingers.

Then the simple-minded fairy answered for her.

“I thought even if a fairy and a witch got together, they couldn’t have a baby.”

That was true. Once a witch had grown up, she would leave the forest to find a human man to have a child with. As far as Marli knew, this was how almost all witches had continued their bloodline. She was probably the first to entrust that role to a fairy.

When Marli nodded, Prim continued, sounding almost as if she were scolding her.

“But we ended up like this, didn’t we? So, just accept it for what it is.”

A boy had been born bearing undeniable proof of magical power. But when she thought about it, was that really such a big deal?

There were far more pressing matters—like the changes wrought on Prim’s body by that mysterious potion, and the baffling truth that somehow, he and Marli had created a child together.

After coming to terms with everything else, she couldn’t quite fathom why she had gotten so upset over something as trivial as a pair of red eyes. It felt as though a veil had finally been lifted from her sight, leaving Marli momentarily dazed.

And then, Prim spoke up once more.

“It’ll all work out somehow.”

It was an utterly irresponsible remark, and yet, it oddly put her at ease. A helpless laugh slipped from Marli’s lips.

Really, as long as the two of them were happy, what did it matter? For once, her fairy had actually said something sensible. Feeling embarrassed for no reason, Marli shot back without thinking.

“It must be nice to be such an idiot.”

“What? Come on, this time anyone could see you’re the clueless one, Marli.”

Her warm feeling didn’t even last a minute. Marli glared daggers at the fairy’s cocky retort.

“Who are you calling clueless?!”

“You, obviously.”

As Marli clenched her fist, Prim hurriedly tried to roll away—but she was quicker and grabbed him by the ear.

“Ow!”

“You! This morning you said you’d listen if I let you go!”

“Okay, okay! Let go and we’ll talk, alright?”

Marli twisted his ear mercilessly, making Prim squawk and wail.

While the two of them bickered, the baby fairy was far too busy marveling at the world beyond. His wide eyes roamed over everything until, at last, they met the gaze of the baby witch staring straight at him.

Two pairs of identical eyes locked. Isabel lifted her tiny hand in greeting.

Benjamin gave an awkward flutter of his wings to dodge, making Isabel’s eyes widen even more. It was almost a leap—his very first attempt at flight. He landed gently atop the baby witch’s chest.

It was a tender reunion between siblings born of the same womb. And yet, their oblivious parents continued their squabble without pause.

“Alright, alright! Marli’s a genius witch! I’m just a dumb fairy!”

“Not buying it.”

“Oh, come on! What do you want from me?!”

The fairy barely escaped the witch’s grasp and rolled through the snow as he fled. The ear she’d grabbed and twisted was already bright red. Marli chased after him, shaking her fist.

“What did you just say, huh?! Just wait until I catch you!”

Inside the basket, the baby witch flailed her arms in the air. The newborn fairy, blinking in fascination, watched as shimmering lights gathered and scattered at her tiny fingertips.

As if putting on a demonstration, Isabel waved her hand again. Benjamin cocked his head, then wiggled his own little fingers. A much smaller ball of light formed and soon dispersed.

It was a level of magical power befitting a grand witch’s title, but Marli and Prim, too busy bickering, didn’t notice a thing.

“Abuuu—!”

“Abababa—.”

The two babies babbled back and forth as if carrying on a conversation.

Having succeeded in his escape, Prim gathered up their belongings and shot up into the sky. Even after all that, he hadn’t learned his lesson; as soon as he was out of reach, he couldn’t help taunting her.

“Marli, you idiot! Dummy!”

“Hey! Flying is cheating!”

Marli, fuming, scooped up a handful of snow and hurled it skyward. Prim dodged quickly, but ended up crashing into a tree instead. Snow piled high on the branches came tumbling down in all directions.

“Argh!”

A huge clump of snow landed on Prim’s head, making him yelp. Marli snorted in amusement, and the two babies squealed with delight.

It would probably be past midnight by the time they finally reached the witch’s tower, which now stood just a short distance away. New spring was hot on their heels.

—In the northern forest lives a witch, together with her beloved family.