The moment Aurelia uttered, 'I don't feel like I'm completely… dead,' a cold shiver crept down Ryo's spine.
This wasn't just ghost drama anymore. She had been dead for nineteen years, and now she was tossing out technicalities like that?
Concerned for her life (because she might not be dead)… and a little too curious for his own good, Ryo took a step back, raising a hand with the sharp authority of a battle-hardened commander.
"Agent Barkzilla! Agent Barkface!"
The dog and the puppy perked up immediately, ears twitching, tails wagging with militaristic excitement.
Aurelia blinked, puzzled. "What are yo—"
Ryo's eyes narrowed. His tone was grave.
"Dig. Cinderella's. Mama's. Grave."
Aurelia's face froze, her ghostly expression going blank.
"Eh…"
Fairy Greatmother blinked slowly, one hand rising to her mouth.
"Oh dear…" she said, bracing herself to witness a corpse about to be dug up.
The canine duo saluted and barked an enthusiastic, "WOOF! And Arf!" before charging toward the grave like they were about to dig up national treasure or the biggest twist in fairy-tale history.
But before their paws even touched the soil, Aurelia zipped to her grave and spun in front of them like a flailing snowflake caught in a blizzard.
"WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
The dogs skidded through the snow and sat down, tilting their heads in unison as they stared at her, completely confused.
Ryo crossed his arms, deadpan.
"Madam Aurelia… I mean, you did just say you don't feel completely dead. So, naturally, I wanna check if you're still alive down there."
Aurelia snapped in horror.
"I'VE BEEN DEAD FOR NINETEEN YEARS WITH A SLASHED THROAT! ARE YOU INSANE?! I'M PROBABLY ALL ROTTEN AND SKELETONS DOWN THERE!!!"
Ryo squinted suspiciously.
"'Probably'? You sure about that? Have you checked your body yourself?"
Aurelia's eyes darted left and right, ghostly sweat beading on her forehead.
"N… N… No… I mean…."
"Then shouldn't we check what's making you feel 'not completely dead'?" Ryo asked. "This is basic fieldwork. Exhumed bodies, autopsies. I've done it before back in my police days. Very professional. Lots of gloves involved."
Aurelia whimpered, tears flowing like a silver waterfall from an enchanted cliff, clutching her face with dainty hands like a traumatized snowflake.
"UUGGGHHHH, PLEASE… NOOO…" she sniffled. "I'M TOO SCARED TO SEE MY BODY!!!"
Still sniffling, she raised one trembling fist under her chin, begging like a Victorian ghost child.
"I don't know what a police is… or an autopsy… or that scary thing called 'exhumed bodies'… but please… I've been too afraid to look at myself for 19 years… That's why I just float around the grove like it's a sad walk around a garden… PLEEEAAASE don't dig me up, I'm too scared, ugggghhhh…"
Ryo let out a long, disappointed sigh… but then softened.
"Fine…"
The dogs whined softly, disappointed in the sudden mission abort.
Fairy Greatmother let out a gentle laugh, her eyes sparkling like she'd just witnessed a child beg not to get detention.
"She really is too innocent for a ghost"
Ryo gestured toward Aurelia, brows furrowed in curiosity.
"Alright then… tell us why you feel like you're not fully dead yet."
Aurelia sniffled, wiping her translucent tears with the back of her hand. She gently placed her right palm over her chest.
"It's because…" she whispered, voice almost inaudible, "even in this ghostly form… I feel a little warmth. Right here."
Fairy Greatmother's expression shifted. She stepped forward without a word, eyes narrowing as she studied Aurelia's ethereal form.
Ryo tilted his head, watching her.
"What are you doing, ma'am?"
Fairy Greatmother summoned her wand, the crescent tip aglow with soft golden moonlight.
"Just a little scan. I want to see what she meant by 'not fully dead.'"
Fairy Greatmother circled Aurelia slowly, her wand glowing faintly as it scanned the ghostly form—like a strict headmistress inspecting a student who might've hidden bubble gum. It hummed softly, trailing sparkling dust in its wake. Aurelia stood stiffly, eyes darting side to side like she was about to get caught cheating on an exam.
Fairy Greatmother's eyes narrowed, her hand resting thoughtfully on her chin.
"Hmm… strange. Very strange indeed."
Ryo blinked. "Strange? How?"
Fairy Greatmother didn't answer. Instead, she turned toward Aurelia's grave.
With a solemn wave of her wand, she cast a spell of starlit radiance. Tiny particles of light descended like glowing snowflakes, drifting gently down and sinking into the soil of Aurelia's resting place. The grove shimmered softly under the magic's breath, and the snow itself seemed to pause mid-fall, as if holding its breath.
Then—Fairy Greatmother gasped, her eyes going wide.
"Oh my goodness gracious!"
Ryo immediately stepped forward, his boots crunching against the packed snow.
"What did you find, ma'am?"
Aurelia floated closer, her voice trembling.
"Ms. Roselia… is there something… wrong with my body?"
Fairy Greatmother slowly turned to face her. Her voice was calm, but laced with disbelief.
"Aurelia… your body is indeed dead. There's no heartbeat, no breath… no sign of life as we know it, but…"
Ryo and Aurelia leaned in slightly, expectant.
"But?" they said in perfect unison.
Fairy Greatmother exhaled slowly, her voice soft as she dropped the bombshell.
"But for some inexplicable reason… I can sense heat. Actual warmth… radiating from your remains."
Both Aurelia and Ryo gasped. Aurelia's hand instinctively went to her heart again.
That subtle warmth she had been feeling all this time—gentle, flickering like a dying candle—wasn't just her imagination.
Usually, after someone is murdered, the body remains warm for only a short time, typically one to two hours. Between two to six hours after death, it begins to cool, a process known as algor mortis. By the twelve-hour mark, the body has lost all its warmth, becoming cold and still.
But Aurelia's case defied all of that.
She had been dead for nineteen years, and yet she still felt warmth, a soft heat flickering faintly within her ghostly chest. There was no logical reason for it. No heartbeat. No breath. No sign of life.
And yet… warmth.
Ryo brought a thumb to his chin, mind racing.
"Ma'am," he asked seriously, "do you know why Aurelia's body stayed warm for nineteen years after burial?"
Fairy Greatmother slowly shook her head, her brows pinched with concern.
"Unfortunately… I'm not entirely sure. But I do sense something." She paused. "There is magic… surrounding her body."
Ryo's eyes narrowed. "Magic?"
Aurelia floated closer, her voice urgent with hope.
"What kind of magic, Ms. Roselia?!"
Fairy Greatmother's voice grew thoughtful, her eyes distant with wonder as she explained.
It was like a magic of preservation—of tender care. Not resurrection. Not undeath. But something… in between. It felt as though the body hadn't rotted or decayed, but had simply rested. Like someone fast asleep. Sleeping with warmth. With peace. With love.
Fairy Greatmother admitted that even she had never encountered such a magic before… magic that preserved a corpse with such unwavering devotion. The whole phenomenon was strange. Beautiful. And completely baffling.
That's when Ryo remembered…
It was Stepmother who arranged Aurelia's funeral.
It was she who oversaw Aurelia's burial.
It clicked.
If anyone knew what spell or care had been used to protect Aurelia's body, if anyone knew why warmth still lingered, it would be the Stepmother. Ryo made a silent note to question her about it later on. Fairy Greatmother gave a solemn nod in agreement.
Turning to Aurelia, Fairy Greatmother gently placed a hand to her shoulder.
"Aurelia, my dear… I'll need more time to study this magical phenomenon properly—back at my cottage. But that will have to wait. For now, we must focus on finding your daughter."
Aurelia smiled softly, her ghostly heart still trembling from the revelation.
"Of course, Ms. Roselia. I want nothing more than for Cinderella to be found… and to be safe."
But deep inside, deeper than her ghostly form should allow, a feeling stirred.
A quiet question. A hope she dared not speak aloud.
Am I really… completely dead?
Despite the slashed throat that ended her life… despite the long sleep beneath the earth… something within her still flickered like a fragile flame.
Could it be… even just a chance… that she could live again?
Aurelia wasn't confident. It seemed impossible. Fantastical. Foolish, even.
But in her soul, wrapped in snow and sorrow, the dream, the wish she whispered in her heart, grows ever stronger.
To be alive again. To live a full life. And to stay by Cinderella's side… not as a ghost… but as a mother.
Ryo walked back to where the glass slipper lay and picked it up, turning the cracked slipper gently in his hand as he examined it closely. Then he turned back to Aurelia.
"Alright, Madam Aurelia," he said. "Let's talk about this cracked slipper. How did it end up on the branches of this hazel tree? Is it your daughter's? Or… just a spare?"
Aurelia's expression tightened. Her eyes fell, shadowed with something bitter and distant.
Fairy Greatmother's voice broke the silence, gentle with concern.
"Aurelia… what's the matter?"
Aurelia slowly lifted her gaze, then delivered a truth that struck like a falling axe.
"That slipper… was thrown onto the hazel tree by the people I believe… kidnapped my daughter."
The weight of her words slammed into Ryo and Fairy Greatmother. People—plural. Not a lone figure, but a group. And to throw the slipper… like trash? That act alone burned with cruelty.
Too curious to hold back, Fairy Greatmother took Aurelia's ghostly hands in both of hers, her voice trembling with urgency.
"Aurelia, please—tell us! Who were they? Who took her?!"
Aurelia flinched, startled by the suddenness. "Ms. Roselia, I…"
Ryo stepped in, raising a hand calmly. "Relax, ma'am."
Fairy Greatmother blinked, realizing her reaction, and gently released Aurelia's hand. Her eyes shimmered with restrained desperation. She had been searching for Cinderella for over a month. And now, there was finally a lead.
Ryo met Aurelia's eyes. His tone was steady, but sharp with purpose.
"Madam Aurelia. Please tell us everything you know. Who are these people you believe would kidnap your daughter? And why would they throw this cracked slipper onto your tree?"
Aurelia gave a small nod. Her lips trembled as she began…
Five days after Cinderella vanished, Aurelia was as always hovering above her grave when four figures approached the grove, heading straight toward her resting place.
A chill tore through her ghostly soul the moment she saw them.
They wore porcelain volto masks—smiling, sad, angry, and laughing—hiding every trace of identity. Three men. One woman. Standing shoulder to shoulder. And worst of all… one of them floated, leaving behind trails of purple sparkles and black miasma.
They couldn't see her. The ghost of Aurelia, silent and watching.
Their presence twisted the air with malice.
One of the men—Man A—let out a cold chuckle.
"Hehehe… Cinderella, that foolish princess. Finally gone. What a relief."
Man B scoffed and turned to the floating figure—Man C.
"You sure she's locked up?"
Man C burst into delighted laughter, twirling mid-air.
"HAHAHAHA! Of course! She's in that high, dark place we picked. And that grey gown we forced on her? Classy. My lady here," he gestured to Woman D, "dressed her herself. Princess screamed and cried the whole time until we knocked her out! Yeehaw!"
Woman D, fanning herself with bored elegance, sneered.
"That peasant girl… a princess of Evendelle? Ugh. The very thought is revolting."
Then Man C looked at Man B with curiosity.
"Hey, hey. How'd you know where her mother's grave was?"
Man B rolled his eyes.
"She used to go on and on about her mother. Honestly, I almost dozed off, but I caught the part where she said her mother was buried in the grove. That's why we're here."
Woman D pointed toward Man B's hand.
"What are you going to do with that cracked glass slipper? And… how did it end up like that?"
Man C raised his hand gleefully, like a kid in class trying to beat his friend to the answer.
"OH, ME! I SAW! She was struggling before we knocked her out. I think she cracked it herself. Poor little girl… she really is half Frostreaver, and no one in the kingdom knows. She even froze her own bed!"
Aurelia froze. Frostreaver—so they knew about her daughter's magic.
Man B lifted the cracked slipper toward Man A.
"Kaj… you sure about this?"
And then, the final blow.
Man A—Kaj— smirked.
"Of course. Throw that thing up there. Above the grave of my stupid, late wife. Hah! She was always a burden when she was alive. That's why I killed her."
Aurelia's world shattered.
Kaj.
The man who was Cinderella's real father. The man who once begged for her love. The man who held her in his arms like a princess. The man who murdered her… was now one of the kidnappers.
Aside from Man C, who already radiated black miasma, the other three now emitted the same dark aura. It was the very same presence she had seen when Kaj's blade tore through her throat all those years ago. That black miasma—she remembered it. And it still terrified her, like a trauma that never healed.
She hovered, helpless, teeth clenched, trembling.
Man B hurled the slipper. It soared through the air and landed on the branches of the hazel tree above her grave, mocking her in silence.
Woman D turned around, ready to leave.
"Now then, gentlemen. Let's leave before it gets dark."
Man C gave a sarcastic salute. "Yes, your grace! Let's gooo!"
They walked away, laughing... Laughing at the pain they caused, the girl they locked away, the mother that was murdered.
And Aurelia, bound to her grave and powerless to follow, held back by the fear of that black miasma, could only watch—burning with helpless rage.
That… was how she came to recognize the figures who stole her daughter. Not their faces, since they were hidden, but their presence and voices… burned into her memory.