Side Story 1.2

Before arriving at Alice’s house, Elena had felt unsettled. She had debated several times whether she should turn the carriage around and return home.  

But once she started chatting and spending time with Alice without Philly, her mood improved.  

She missed Philly from time to time, but she trusted that Felix would take good care of him. That thought put her mind at ease.  

Ah, how long had it been since she last had a break like this? Philly was adorable, but she realized she needed moments to enjoy her own life as well.  

When she returned home, she resolved to tell Felix that she wanted to have such breaks more often.  

“So, these days…”  

“Uu…”  

“Hmm? What did you say just now?”  

Alice suddenly asked, interrupting her own sentence.  

“Huh? I didn’t say anything.”  

Elena had simply been eating cookies, listening to Alice’s story. Alice tilted her head, puzzled.  

“I thought I heard something just now…”  

“Awoo!”  

This time, Elena heard it too. It sounded just like the noise Philly made when he whined for her. Alice seemed to think the same, as she laughed incredulously.  

“Oh my, I must really miss him. It’s like I can hear Philly’s voice.”  

“You too? I feel the same way.”  

As they exchanged smiles, the mysterious sound came again.  

“Kyawoo?”  

“…This doesn’t feel like a hallucination.”  

“…I agree.”  

At that moment, Elena felt a small hand tugging on her skirt.  

“Mua?”  

Under the table, Philly was crawling out, looking up at her.  

“Philly? What are you doing here?”  

Elena couldn’t believe her eyes. Her Philly, who should have been at home with Felix, was holding onto her leg and smiling brightly.  

She instinctively picked him up. The weight of his small body in her arms and the warmth radiating from him were unmistakably real.  

“Alice, is this real? Am I just imagining Philly because I miss him so much?”  

Alice also stared at Philly, rubbing her eyes furiously.  

“I don’t know. I missed Philly too, but not enough to hallucinate. And yet, I can see him too!”  

Alice poked Philly’s cheek with her finger.  

“This feels way too real to be a dream!”  

“Muuu.”  

Whether or not he understood their confusion, Philly simply smiled brightly.  

‘This doesn’t feel like a dream…’  

Philly, who couldn’t even walk yet, hadn’t secretly climbed into the carriage to follow her. It was as if he had just appeared out of thin air.  

Elena looked into Philly’s eyes and urgently asked, 

“Philly, how did you get here?”  

Philly, of course, couldn’t understand her words. He simply smiled with his crescent-shaped eyes.  

“Ma-ma!”  

“What about Daddy? Where’s Daddy?”  

“Baa?”  

“Yes, Daddy.”  

But no matter how much she asked, Philly gave no answers.  

‘Could he have come from the future again?’  

A strange sense of déjà vu made her examine Philly closely, but he looked exactly the same as he had that morning.  

This wasn’t time travel—it was spatial movement.  

‘He did teleport me once before, but back then, he was older than he is now. And why would he do this?’  

For a moment, she wondered if Felix had sent Philly here, but that didn’t make sense. If Felix had come, he would have brought Philly himself, not sent him alone.  

After thinking it through, Elena came to a conclusion.  

“Philly, did you come here because you missed Mommy?”  

Philly squealed and bounced up and down, as if confirming her guess.  

Alice asked in amazement, 

“He came looking for you? Felix didn’t send him?”  

“Felix would never send him alone. This has to be Philly’s doing.”  

Calling it a “crime” might be a stretch, but still.  

“How could Philly come here alone?”  

“Because Philly’s a genius.”  

This wasn’t just the typical “my child is a genius” sentiment that all parents expressed.  

Philly was, objectively speaking, a genius of the century. However, there was no way to explain that to Alice.  

Elena struggled to explain to the confused Alice.  

“Philly’s been here a few times before, hasn’t he?”  

“He has… right?”  

“He must’ve remembered the location and used magic to find it. I told him I was going to visit Aunt Alice.”  

“Is that… even possible?”  

“In theory, maybe?”  

Her confidence waned, and her voice trailed off.  

Since Philly couldn’t explain it himself, she didn’t know the exact mechanism behind his arrival, but it was clear that Philly had done it.  

To be honest, Elena wasn’t sure whether to scold this troublemaker for recklessly using spatial magic just because he missed his mother, or to feel proud of her child for being such a skilled mage.  

‘Of course, I already knew Philly was a genius…’  

After some deliberation, she decided to simply be proud of him. After all, scolding a child who wasn’t even a year old would be pointless since he wouldn’t understand.  

She showered Philly’s chubby cheeks with kisses.  

“Oh, you’re so precious. Did you miss Mommy that much? You even remembered Aunt Alice’s house and followed me here?”  

“Muuu.”  

“Still, how could you come here alone? What if you got lost? What about Daddy? Does Daddy know you’re here?”  

“Baa?”  

“Yes, Daddy. Did you tell Daddy before coming here?”  

“Baaa!”  

Well, it was her fault for even asking. Elena patted Philly’s back as he snuggled into her arms.  

There was no way Felix knew Philly had come here. If he did, he would’ve followed immediately.  

‘Oh no.’  

She could already imagine Felix frantically searching the house, his face pale as a sheet. She felt sorry for him. What should she do?  

“Daddy must be looking for you everywhere. This is bad, Philly.”  

“Uuu?”  

“Daddy might scold you for using magic recklessly. When you see him later, just smile at him, okay?”  

“Ahee!”  

“Yes, that’s it. Just smile like that.”  

As if he understood her words, Philly’s eyes sparkled as he smiled brightly. Upon closer inspection, his eyes were red and swollen, likely from crying for a long time after she left.  

Elena felt a pang of guilt. 

How much must he have missed me to cry and even use magic to find me? 

It seemed that staying away for one night and two days had been too long.  

“Philly, do you remember Aunt Alice? You met her last time.”  

Alice, who had been shocked by Philly’s sudden appearance, seemed to have recovered and reached out to him. Philly tilted his head, looking at her.  

“Bwaa?”  

“Even if you don’t remember me, I bet you’ll like the toys.”  

With a triumphant expression, Alice brought over the gifts she had stacked on the table. As expected, Philly, upon seeing the toys, wriggled in Elena’s arms and reached out eagerly.  

“Ah! Ah!”  

“Alice, can you watch Philly for a moment? I need to write a letter to Felix. He’s probably searching for Philly like crazy.”  

“Well, I guess it’s fine if he suffers a bit… But alright. Philly, let’s play with Auntie.”  

“Kyawoo!”  

Handing the toy-distracted Philly to Alice, Elena began writing the letter.  

Meanwhile, Alice laid Philly on the bed and dressed him in the yellow pajamas she had bought. With his new outfit, Philly wiggled his arms and legs, looking just like a little chick. He was adorable.  

However, before Elena could finish the letter, a maid came to announce Felix’s arrival.  

“Miss, Lord Christian is here…”  

“Elly! Elly, come out for a moment!”  

“Oh, Philly. Looks like your daddy’s here.”  

No sooner had Alice teasingly whispered to Philly than Felix burst into the room.  

“Philly, have you seen Philly…!”  

The moment Philly saw Felix, he let out a loud cry of joy.  

“Kyaaa! Baa!”  

If he was going to be this happy, why had he even bothered coming here? He could’ve just stayed home and played with Felix.  

“Philly!”  

Before Elena could process what was happening, Felix stormed toward Alice with an intense expression. Startled, Alice quickly explained.  

“I didn’t kidnap him! He just suddenly appeared!”  

Felix approached Philly, who was now within arm’s reach, and gently touched his cheek, as if to confirm that the child before him wasn’t an illusion.  

“Baa?”  

“Philly, do you know how worried I was…?”  

Felix let out a deep sigh, covering his eyes with one hand.  

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Philly’s lower lip quivered as he looked like he was about to cry.  

“Ugh, you two can deal with your family issues. I’m going to prepare the guest room.”  

Alice handed Philly back to Elena and left the room.