Chapter 38
After meeting with her father, Aveline returned to her room feeling relieved.
It was the first time she had asked her father something so directly.
When she looked straight into her father’s eyes earlier, she had been trembling terribly inside, though she tried not to show it.
“Well done, you did great.”
Aveline patted her own head, then changed into her pajamas and dove into bed.
“So in the end, it wasn’t that Father really disliked me and thought to pair me with Viscount Berta?”
Although his methods were quite wrong, her father had made an effort in his own way.
“He even said directly that he regretted it.”
Was it because she had grown up without receiving her father’s attention since childhood?
Aveline’s heart easily softened at these small words of concern.
“It’s a night when I’m drawn to parenting stories after a long time.”
Excited by the fact that she had a one-on-one conversation with her father, Aveline rummaged under her bed and found a book.
It was a book called “The Tyrant is a Siscon” that Aveline had been rereading several times lately.
“It was nice back then.”
The day she dreamed of becoming Chloe, the protagonist of the novel, receiving infinite affection from her tyrant brother.
With the first taste of affection and attention, she suffered from the aftereffects for a while, even knowing it was a dream.
“I wonder if I can dream it again today.”
However, Aveline soon shook her head.
No matter how Theron couldn’t enter her dream last time, it was dangerous to let her guard down.
“I don’t want to meet him again and get a headache.”
Although it was disappointing that she couldn’t receive unlimited coddling as Chloe, her wariness was greater than her disappointment.
“I’ll have to be satisfied with just reading.”
Lying on her bed reading for a while, Aveline dozed off and fell asleep.
* * *
“Which one do you like better?”
A familiar voice pierced Aveline’s ears.
‘What’s going on?’
Still groggy, Aveline blinked her eyes to assess the situation.
“This brother thinks the white shoes will be comfortable on your feet.”
The face of the handsome man seriously contemplating while holding a shoe as small as his palm looked familiar.
The handsome man had a neat face with fine brown hair and vivid green eyes.
‘…Klein?’
Could it be that she had entered a dream again?
Aveline hurriedly looked down at her own hands.
Just like when she first entered “The Tyrant is a Siscon,” small and chubby hands came into view.
‘Have I become Chloe again?’
Looking around, she saw children’s dresses, shoes, and various accessories lavishly displayed.
‘You never know. He might have followed me here too.’
Aveline strained her eyes and looked around warily.
Fortunately, there were no signs of Theron anywhere yet.
“Do you like this?”
Thinking Aveline was looking at the items, Klein immediately picked up one of the things her gaze had touched.
Judging by his actions, he seemed ready to give her anything she just looked at.
“Take her.”
Klein gestured to call the maids and sent Aveline to the dressing room.
“How can she be so cute?”
“The dress suits you so well!”
“His Majesty will be pleased when he sees you.”
Surrounded by maids, Aveline, dressed in a flowing gown, came out of the dressing room.
Unaccustomed to her suddenly smaller body, she stumbled with each step. Every time she did, the maids would squeal in delight.
“Princess, please look in the mirror!”
One of the maids brought a large mirror in front of Aveline.
“Wow!”
Seeing her fully dressed-up self, an exclamation spontaneously burst from Aveline’s lips.
‘I look just like a doll.’
Neatly tied-up brown hair, rosy plump cheeks.
And round eyes holding green irises slightly darker than Aveline’s original eye color.
Wearing a children’s fur robe and the white shoes Klein had chosen earlier, she looked like a fairy from the snow country.
“Do you like it?”
As Aveline stared blankly at the mirror, a maid asked with satisfaction.
“Yes!”
Aveline nodded vigorously and looked down at her feet.
Although it was Chloe’s body, the shoes fit perfectly.
They weren’t too big and loose, and they were brand new and fashionable. Moreover, they weren’t borrowed from anyone else.
Klein, who had pushed Aveline into the dressing room, was having a serious conversation with the head butler.
Seeing his expressionless face after usually only seeing him smile made her realize anew that he was indeed a tyrant.
Klein, feeling her gaze on him, raised his head to look in her direction.
“Oh my, Chloe!”
Discovering his sister, Klein ran over with a face full of delight.
‘Your expression is so different from just a moment ago.’
The head butler seemed to have the same thought, as a bewildered look flashed across his face, but he quickly masked it.
“It suits you so well! I’d believe it if someone said you were a snow fairy. Do you like it?”
Klein asked while fussing over Aveline, looking her up and down.
“Yes!”
Aveline answered energetically, her pronunciation slurred from becoming a child.
‘It’s not easy to adjust, but let’s enjoy it.’
Although it wasn’t easy to adapt to her suddenly smaller body, this was a dream.
Aveline gave a thumbs up to the happily smiling Klein, showing how much she liked it.
“How can she be this cute?”
At that sight, Klein clutched his chest and trembled.
“…”
Behind the contentedly smiling maids, the head butler tightly closed his eyes as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.
It seemed the gap between this and his usual tyrannical demeanor was too great.
‘Ah, that person.’
Seeing him cringe like that, Aveline remembered who he was.
He was Klein the tyrant’s closest aide, a loyal servant among loyal servants who would later die in place of Chloe when she falls into the trap of a dark wizard.
‘What was his name again?’
Since he was usually referred to as the head butler in the book, she couldn’t quite remember his name.
‘It’s nice to see him like this.’
Although it was a dream, it was always new and interesting to meet book characters as real people.
“Haha. Which of the things you’re wearing now do you like best?”
Klein asked with shining eyes, bringing Aveline out of her reverie.
‘Why is he asking so specifically?’
Aveline, who had planned to just give a thumbs up and move on, shook off her bewilderment and soon regained her composure.
While everything she was wearing was wonderful, if she had to choose the one thing she liked best…
“Shoes! They fit well and are comfortable!”
Aveline confidently answered and showed her small feet to Klein.
In reality, Aveline still didn’t have proper shoes that fit her feet well, so she liked these the most.
Even though it wasn’t her real body but fitted for Chloe, the sensation of the shoes enveloping Aveline’s feet right now felt real.
“Shoes? Right. Move all the shoes here to Chloe’s room!”
At Klein’s command, the maids moved in unison.
“Wow! Big brother is the best!”
As Aveline stomped her feet in joy with both thumbs up at suddenly having many shoes, Klein’s face melted into a puddle.
Aveline became newly moved by the fact that there were comfortable and perfectly fitting shoes even when she stomped like this.
It was a stark contrast to the time when she had no proper shoes and had to wear her mother’s to a banquet, only to have them clatter loudly because they were too big.
If she had shoes that fit perfectly like now, such a situation wouldn’t have occurred.
‘So comfortable.’
As the discomfort of reality came to mind anew, she now felt truly grateful to Klein.
“Thank you.”
Aveline stretched out her short arms to hug Klein’s neck tightly and conveyed her thanks.
“Chloe is hugging me right now…”
Klein seemed surprised by his sister’s sudden action and froze in place.
“Cancel the next schedule. I need to play more with Chloe.”
Speaking solemnly, Klein picked up Aveline and left the room.
‘Whoa.’
Always kneeling to be at eye level, she hadn’t realized, but when Klein picked her up, her view suddenly became much higher.
‘He’s much taller than he looks.’
Well, to become a tyrant, one would need some impressive physique.
“Your Majesty! The person you’re supposed to meet later…”
The head butler followed behind Klein with a troubled expression.
“I’m busy.”
Klein responded in a firm voice. Aveline, nestled in Klein’s arms, watched the head butler’s expression.
“Princess…”
As their eyes met, the head butler’s expression became even more pitiful.
It seemed he wanted her to stop Klein.
‘Can’t be helped. I wanted to be coddled a bit more though.’
Aveline, her heart softened, eventually patted Klein’s shoulder.
However, Klein’s firm body was too much for Aveline’s small hands to stop.
“Stop!”
Finally, Aveline reached out and pulled both of Klein’s ears.
“Chloe?”
This time it seemed to work, as Klein stopped in his tracks.
“Go!”
As Aveline put on a stern expression and shouted, Klein, with both ears held by his sister, looked hurt.
‘It won’t work.’
For a moment she almost wavered, but Aveline steeled her resolve again.
“You can play with Chloe later.”
“But…”
“Shh!”
She gave a stern warning, her chubby cheeks trembling.
But then.
“Ah, here you are.”
Someone approached and greeted them.
‘That voice sounds a bit familiar?’
With an ominous feeling, Aveline turned slightly to check and quickly clung tightly to Klein.
