“Are you happy?”
Delia’s warm palm lightly covered the top of little Merlin’s head, her fingertips gently running through the blue-gradient strands of hair.
Happy? Am I happy? I shouldn’t be, right?
Little Merlin pursed her lips, her mind flashing through the events of the past two days like a cinematic montage. Those transparent silk stockings that clung tightly to her legs even while she slept, making it impossible to rest. Those high-heeled loafers that slipped or even fell off if she walked just a bit too fast. And that ultra-short pleated skirt that would flutter up with the slightest breeze, forcing her to keep her legs squeezed tight at all times… that constant feeling of being “bullied” by her own clothes, that sense of helplessness where she needed someone to hold her hand just to walk and someone to help her just to bathe.
Little Merlin’s face instantly flushed crimson, looking like a ripe apple, and she shook her head like a rattle. I hate weird socks! Hmph! Hmph! Hmph! Little Merlin sniffled aggrievedly, her voice soft and small, as if lodging a formal complaint to an elder.
“Not happy… not happy at all. Little Merlin is always being bullied by clothes… I can’t walk well, my feet are so slippery, and the socks keep pinching my skin, it hurts… I hate it.”
Delia looked at the little baby before her, who still had teardrops hanging from the corners of her eyes while earnestly filing her grievance, but the smile in Delia’s eyes only deepened.
“Is that so?” She leaned down, her silver eyes—which seemed to see through all the truths of the world—gazing intently into Merlin’s. “Are you sure? But… the essence of this labyrinth is that it reflects the deepest, most intense desires of those who enter.”
Little Merlin froze, her sobbing coming to an abrupt halt. “Eh?”
Delia reached out a finger and gently poked Little Merlin’s knee, which was slightly red from the constriction of the stockings. “Is this not what you wished for?”
“Me…?” Little Merlin looked at her shameful outfit in disbelief. “How… I don’t want to be bullied! Hmph!”
Facing Little Merlin’s skeptical gaze, Delia merely smiled—a smile as clear and candid as moonlight reflecting on a lake. “The facts are right here, after all. Why would I lie to a little baby like you?”
Little Merlin turned her head away, avoiding Delia’s teasing gaze. “What facts? I don’t like these weird socks at all.”
“Everything in this labyrinth reflects everyone’s wishes to some extent. For example, the small chapel in Mia’s heart—that was her starting point, her everything.”
“I don’t know, I… I wouldn’t know!”
Delia extended her finger and, once again unceremoniously, poked Little Merlin’s cheek. The little face was so soft, feeling like a freshly baked milk pudding; that bouncy, elastic texture made it hard for Delia to let go.
“So stubborn… My, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a squishable Royal baby… Ahem, back to business.” While playing with Little Merlin’s cheek, Delia explained softly, “Mhm… since Merlin-Lia wasn’t there when we first met up, you wouldn’t know, but that chapel in the labyrinth—the one where sunlight fills the room even when the outdoor sky is full of stars—that is Mia’s wish.”
Little Merlin made some muffled sounds of protest, but she didn’t truly resist. Delia knew exactly how much pressure to use; even while pinching Merlin’s cheek, it didn’t hurt, but rather gave Merlin a sense of security, like being treated with affection by a senior.
“Awoo awoo.”
“Then there’s Lucia. Throughout these two days and nights, her body hasn’t been tormented by illness even once, has it? She’s been full of energy the whole time. Even in the battle at the castle just now, despite using enough magic to tear the place down, her body suffered no side effects.” Delia sighed. “Truly… that child is too violent. In reality, when she outputted two types of magic simultaneously without restriction, she really could have demolished the castle. If I hadn’t secretly buffed Orino and the castle, hmph hmph.”
At this, Little Merlin began drumming her tiny fists against Delia’s abdomen. “No fair, no fair! Big sister is cheating. Buffing Orino and giving her a scripted defeat.”
Delia didn’t mind Little Merlin’s ticklish attack at all. Instead, she took the opportunity to catch the two little fists and looked at her with a smile. “Doesn’t Lucia have buffs too? If she really didn’t have the restriction of magic-induced pain, she truly could have torn this labyrinth apart.”
Little Merlin couldn’t argue with that, so she could only pout aggrievedly.
Delia’s tone grew slightly lower: “As for Machina…”
“Woo…”
“One of her wishes was to be able to stay by your side forever. And… the ring she once lost has returned to her, good as new, in this labyrinth. It’s just that she feels she doesn’t have the right to take it out… well, let her be.”
With a hole in her heart, the current Little Merlin only remembered the scenes of Machina bullying her, and she was the one who had lost that ring in the first place. An indescribable surge of anger and grievance welled up in Little Merlin’s heart, causing her to subconsciously grip the corner of Delia’s clothes.
Seeing the gloom in Little Merlin’s eyes, Delia gently stroked her back. “Honestly… I’m not really in a position to judge you all on this issue, but I do hope you don’t become as extreme as she was. Extremes bring opposites, after all.”
Delia sighed: “Finally, there’s Ophelia…”
Delia’s voice became exceptionally soft: “She… wishes for you to become a proper lady; that is one of her desires. Secondly… that boundless field of marigolds you saw along the way is both Ophelia’s wish and her heart’s knot.”
“Mama’s heart’s knot?” Hearing something related to Ophelia, Little Merlin finally lifted her head from her low mood, her large ice-blue eyes filled with light.
Delia sighed: “That’s right… it’s about Ophelia and Philia. Before Philia knew her true heritage, she was actually called Phili.” Delia paused, her gaze turning profound. “Because she… developed her feelings of love from a very young age, she chose ‘Phili’ from the middle of Ophelia’s name… it was only later that it became Philia.”
Ophelia never spoke of the past between her and her sister. The only thing Little Merlin knew was the tiny bit Ophelia had told her before the school term started.
Delia continued: “That marigold field was grown from seeds planted one by one, month by month, by Ophelia’s own hands from the time she adopted Phili. There was no magical acceleration—only the fragrance of the soil and the sweat of two people. As the years accumulated and Phili’s height grew bit by bit, that barren land eventually became that golden ocean.”
Delia’s gaze was full of regret and sadness as she looked into the distance, as if the marigold field were right there. “The reason… was simply because a young Phili was captivated by the blooming marigolds on the roadside during her first trip to the market. So that she could see her favorite flowers anytime, Ophelia took her to the vacant lot in front of their house to plant them. Just because of that one sentence, Ophelia planted an entire spring for her, just so she could see her favorite flowers whenever she wanted.”
Speaking to this point, the corners of Delia’s mouth curved upward. “That marigold field was also the place where the two of them finally understood each other’s hearts. It was on the day the marigold field bloomed most brilliantly that Ophelia accepted the confession of love that had long since overflowed from Phili.”