Chapter 1

Prologue

Pregnancy Journal 1

Week 6

I think my husband has gone crazy.

All I did was tell him that a second little angel had come to us.

And all I did was tell him that the little angel’s gender, which we checked with a magic tool, was a girl!

He grinned like the happiest fool in the world, then suddenly started crying like a madman.

“I’m crying because I’m so happy… I know I look like an idiot, right? I’m going to be a really good father. I’ll be the best dad in the world to our daughter.”

Then, starting the very next day, he began buying every single item for little girls in the Empire, from dresses and ribbons to dolls.

Oh, seriously!

Stop buying shoes already! It’ll be ages before she can even walk.

When I called him an idiot, he asked—

“…Then, what about dresses? Can I buy a dress for our baby to wear at her debutante ball when she turns twenty?”

…Do you think so?

Honestly, that man is a complete fool.

Still, I think our daughter will look adorable in a pink silk dress, so I’m satisfied!

Pregnancy Journal 2

Week 18

We named our youngest daughter Tunteuni, meaning “Strong and Healthy,” as a nickname to wish her a strong, healthy growth.

But that idiot of a husband keeps teasing me, saying I have no talent for naming things.

I’m so annoyed I could die!

(Ah, Tunteuni, I’m not cursing at you, sweetheart. Don’t misunderstand!)

But is our baby a little scaredy-cat?

Even the slightest surprise makes her kick, only to quickly tuck herself away again.

Somehow, she looks like such a timid little thing that it’s absolutely adorable.

Tunteuni, it’s okay if you’re easily frightened.

Mommy will protect you for the rest of your life.

I’ll shield you from every scary thing in the world.

I can’t wait to see you, my daughter.

Pregnancy Journal 3

Week 20

Were you secretly keeping a diary without me knowing?

And who exactly are you calling an idiot?

I’m your husband.

└ Enough already. Stop snooping through my diary and go buy some tomatoes. I’m craving tomatoes.

└ Yes, my lady!

Oh, seriously!

I told you to buy tomatoes, not an entire tomato farm!

Parenting Journal 1

Three weeks since Tunteuni was born

I finally found a little time to write in my diary.

Our precious daughter has finally seen the light of the world.

She was born prematurely at seven months, so she’s still very frail, but that’s okay.

She laughs happily whenever she sees her daddy’s face, after all.

Her eyes sparkle as if stars have been planted inside them, and every time I see her tiny hands and feet wriggling, my heart aches with love.

She’s so precious and beautiful. My wonderful little Tunteuni.

Parenting Journal 2

Three months since Tunteuni was born

Every child in the Empire receives a name on the day they turn one year old.

My husband is making a huge fuss, saying he’ll give Tunteuni the most wonderful name in the world on that day.

What kind of name would suit our Tunteuni?

[Mommy! How about naming my little sister Pavlov Diagoras II?]

└ Son?

This is Mommy’s precious parenting diary.

And is your little sister some kind of magical beast?

Why would you give her a name like that?

My son really has no talent for naming things.

[No!! My little sister, Pavlov Diagoras II, wouldn’t agree with you!!!]

Parenting Journal 3

Eight months since Tunteuni was born

Our Tunteuni has been acting a little strangely lately.

For some reason, she keeps curling up as if she’s frightened whenever she looks at empty space.

She often develops a fever and gets sick frequently at night.

Every time I see our little baby bravely enduring her pain, I can’t help but cry.

I shouldn’t cry in front of her. What should I do?

Even in the middle of all this, Tunteuni reaches out her tiny hand toward me.

She must be in so much pain, yet it feels as though she’s trying to comfort me instead.

My sweet, sweet baby…

I’ve summoned every doctor in the Empire, but they all say she’s fine.

They say babies can develop fevers frequently because their immune systems are weak.

That’s right. Everything will be fine.

Let’s just focus on preparing for Tunteuni’s first birthday.

Parenting Journal 4

Everyone is acting strangely.

Even the doctors.

They’re all saying things that make no sense.

They say Tunteuni’s heart has stopped beating.

Our baby is about to celebrate her very first birthday.

I prepared a birthday feast, invited people to celebrate with us, and even chose a beautiful name for her.

But they say I’ll never see our baby’s giggling face again, or those little hands she used to peek out and show me.

They say Tunteuni’s once-warm body has been placed inside a cold coffin.

I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t bring myself to let her go, so I stood in front of her coffin for a long, long time.

On the day of our baby’s funeral, I put the pretty little flower shoes I had been saving for when we went on a picnic together onto her tiny feet, so she could walk comfortably on her way to heaven.

But…

Tunteuni’s feet were so small.

So, so small that the shoes were loose on her…

I crumbled all over again right there.

I should have prepared smaller shoes.

What if the journey to heaven was uncomfortable because of her incompetent mother?

If I had known this would happen, I should have given her a name sooner.

I should have shown her more of the world.

No, I should have just kept holding her and telling her how much I loved her.

My baby, who died without ever hearing the proper name we had chosen for her.

Did it hurt when your heart stopped beating?

My baby, you were always so easily frightened.

Were you scared to travel to heaven all alone, without Mommy and Daddy?

I promised I would protect you so you wouldn’t be afraid, but your useless mother couldn’t even keep that promise.

I’m sorry, Tunteuni.

Mommy is sorry for everything. I’m so, so sorry…

“Get up. It’s already been a month.”

“……”

“If you keep this up, you’ll die too. You haven’t even been eating properly.”

A month had already passed since the baby’s heart stopped beating.

After burying their baby in a small, nameless grave and completing the funeral, his wife had gradually begun to waste away.

The once lively and bustling castle had fallen silent in an instant.

The bed that had once been filled with the warmth of their baby now held only his wife, curled up in a corner, with even her tears having long since dried.

“It wasn’t your fault. Our Tunteuni…”

The man continued, desperately trying to hide the redness around his eyes.

“Let’s believe she left us for a little while because she had something she needed to take care of in heaven.”

At his words, she murmured with vacant eyes.

“Heaven. Yes, our baby must be in heaven, right? But, darling… I just can’t do this. Our baby… I miss her so much.”

After saying those words, she hardly spoke again.

The man was the same, and so was their son.

They all knew it.

They could never return to the way things had been before they lost their baby.

From that day onward, darkness descended upon the estate.

Perhaps it was the beginning of a long, endless darkness that would not lift for a very long time.

Pure souls who leave the world before turning five gather as stars in the heavens.

There, they wait to be born again.

The soul of Baby No. 1, Tunteuni, who had briefly seen the light of the world before eventually returning to the stars, was terribly dejected.

Sob… Tunteuni’s body is gone…

Seeing Tunteuni, who had become the most miserable baby in the world, the God who cared for baby souls spoke.

“Tunteuni, you’ll have to stay here a little longer. In about a hundred years, you’ll be able to meet a different mommy and daddy in another world.”

“But…”

Seeing her little shoulders droop, the God whispered gently.

“Why are you so downhearted? Is it because you want to be born as the child of your original mommy and daddy?”

“Yes!”

“But your connection with that family has already been severed.”

“……”

Tunteuni picked up the diary lying on the floor with her tiny, wiggling fingers.

The notebook had the same cover as her mother’s diary, but its title was written in crooked handwriting:

Tunteuni’s Dreams

“Look at this, Mr. God!”

[Mommy sang me a pretty lullaby evry day. I wanna hear it agen.]

[Dadddy let me touch the big tiger and the baby chicks, and he even let us raise a baby shark.]

[Big Brother hugged me tight and gave me piggyback rides.]

“See? I learned letters after coming to the baby stars, and I wrote all of this down! Mommy, Daddy, and Big Brother did all those things for me, so I wanna go back!”

More than anything else…

“I’m also curious about the new name Mommy and Daddy will give me.”

The God fell into deep thought before murmuring.

“Well, if you insist… Actually, it isn’t entirely impossible to reconnect a severed fate. I heard there’s a dog over at the neighboring Dog Star who obtained a human body. Was its name Coco, perhaps?”

“Wow! Then Tunteuni wants to go too! Just like Coco!”

“But listen carefully. Even if you return, you won’t be able to be born as those two people’s daughter. The only possibility is to be reborn in a new body.”

“What’s the diffewence?”

“Even if you return to the human world, your family won’t recognize you as Tunteuni. And since you’ll be born in a different body, you might not be able to find your family right away, either.”

Tunteuni fell into thought.

Then she murmured softly.

“Then… can I still meet Mommy and Daddy again?”

“You won’t recognize each other immediately. But you’ll be in the same world, so you can meet them.”

Tunteuni fidgeted with her tiny fingers.

Mommy and Daddy might not recognize Tunteuni.

And Tunteuni might not be able to find Mommy and Daddy right away, either.

Even so…

It was better than never meeting them again.

Even if it took a very, very long time, she just had to find them somehow.

“It’s okay! I wanna go!”

“Finding your family won’t be easy. It could be very dangerous for a small, delicate child like you. Are you still willing to do it?”