Hansel’s Enchanted Fairytale: Fill Me Up With Magic! - Chapter 111
Meanwhile, Margaret, with the experience of having birthed two children herself, remained composed. She held Hansel’s other hand tightly as the young woman cried out in pain.
“You can do this. Push, Hansel!”
“I-I’m… trying! Aaaah!”
“The head is crowning! Just a little more! You’re almost there!”
Hansel strained, veins standing out on her neck as she pushed with all her might. Her anguished groans filled the room, and Dante whimpered softly, gently stroking her damp forehead. His anxiety burned within him, leaving nothing but ashes in its wake. Then, finally, it happened.
The sound of a baby’s cry echoed through the room. The powerful wail was so loud it seemed to shake the entire estate, making Hansel’s earlier screams feel insignificant in comparison.
Hansel collapsed weakly onto the bed, utterly spent. Margaret flinched, glancing down at the bed, while Dante shot up from his chair.
“Dante, I…”
“Yes, Hansel.”
Dante gently cupped Hansel’s tear-streaked cheek. She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch.
“I want to see our baby…”
It wasn’t anything serious—she was simply exhausted. Margaret sighed in relief, but Dante remained too unsettled to sit down.
Leaning forward, he pressed a careful kiss to Hansel’s damp forehead. Watching her endure the pain of childbirth had been excruciating for him. Only now, feeling her warmth against his lips, did the full weight of his fears and anguish truly hit him.
Dante lowered his head, clasping Hansel’s hand tenderly in his own.
“I’ll never knot you again. Ever.”
Hansel’s eyes snapped open in shock. She whipped her head toward him like lightning, but thankfully, her mother seemed too preoccupied with the baby to notice.
What was she supposed to do with this utterly clueless man? The absurdity of the situation left her laughing weakly in disbelief.
As Hansel lay on the bed, wearing a hollow smile, Margaret held her first grandchild in her arms. The midwife, beaming with joy, carefully passed the baby to Margaret. The baby’s cries were so loud they seemed to rattle everyone’s eardrums.
“A beautiful daughter!”
The midwife announced proudly, gazing down at the baby with admiration.
“What incredible magic… I’ve never seen anything like it. She’ll undoubtedly grow to be an archmage, even more powerful than His Lordship.”
Margaret looked down at the baby in her arms. The child was a perfect blend of her parents, an equal mix of Hansel and Dante.
“…That’s not what’s important,” Margaret said flatly.
“Pardon?”
The midwife blinked in shock. The first grandchild of the Arsinoe family, a child bearing the combined bloodlines of Arsinoe and Herodt—the strongest mage in history—had just been born.
And yet Margaret declared this to be unimportant?
Everyone who knew Margaret would have been stunned into silence.
Margaret cast a sidelong glance at the midwife.
“Is the baby healthy? That’s all I need to know.”
“Ah, yes! I’ve checked everything. She’s perfectly healthy, not a single problem!”
“Then that’s enough.”
Margaret, still gazing at the baby’s tiny, wrinkled face, turned and approached the bed. She gently passed the baby to her exhausted daughter.
“Hansel. This is your daughter.”
Hansel cradled the baby in her arms.
The tiny body was so light it felt as though it had no weight at all, even in her feeble arms. The baby, unable to fully open her eyes, let out short cries—such a small, delicate creature.
Tears welled in Hansel’s eyes.
Throughout the ordeal of pregnancy and childbirth, she had sworn countless times that she would never go through it again. Yet now, all her resentment, anger, and pain melted away like morning dew under the sun.
It felt like a miracle. Somehow, the baby seemed to know she was in her mother’s arms and immediately stopped crying. Even though her little face was scrunched up like a soaked potato, Hansel could already see traces of both Dante and herself.
“She’s so tiny.”
Hansel’s murmur drew her gaze toward Dante.
He was staring at the baby with wonder.
It felt impossible that such a tiny being had come from Hansel’s small frame, and yet, she seemed too small to even be considered a person.
“Maybe it’s because you’re small that the baby is small too,” Dante said, his tone oddly serious.
At his surprisingly absurd remark, both Hansel and Margaret couldn’t help but laugh softly. Dante, who had been fidgeting with his fingers, glanced back and forth between the two, confused.
Seeing the uncertainty in his eyes, Hansel offered him a gentle smile.
“You can touch her. You’re her dad, after all.”
“Dad…”
Dante repeated the word as if it were foreign to him, savoring it.
For a moment, he was silent, staring down at the baby. Then, slowly, cautiously, he reached out a hand.
His fingertips brushed against the baby’s forehead, and he froze. Gently, he stroked the soft skin a few times before withdrawing his hand.
“Name her, Dante.”
Dante flinched at Hansel’s request.
He knew everyone trusted him to name the child. That confidence came from the day he had ended the werewolves’ curse.
—The child will inherit both your magical abilities, making them immune to death by magic. And, since the child has never had a name before, giving a name to another will break any lingering curses. There’s nothing to worry about, right?
Looking down at his daughter, Dante hesitated, his fingers twitching slightly. Sensing his apprehension, Hansel gently rubbed his shoulder.
“You can do it, Dante.”
He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing visibly. Then, after a long moment, Dante spoke slowly and carefully.
“…Alice.”
His low voice resonated softly in the room.
“Alice Arsinoe.”
There was no dramatic change. Alice remained peacefully nestled in her mother’s arms, her tiny eyes fluttering as if content. Hansel’s face lit up with an unclouded smile.
It was the start of a new chapter.
A freed werewolf. A mother reconciled with her daughter.
A girl who had found herself, and a boy who had found love after a lifetime of loneliness.
