~Chapter 13~
Ares’s friend, who kept saying Theron was strange, still looked annoyed but tried to defend him.
“To me, he just seems like a womanizer who keeps talking about jewels with girls he just met.”
Ares snapped back, not giving up.
‘Well, it’s because I actually swallowed a jewel…’
Aveline kept her thoughts inside and glanced at Theron, worried he might be upset by Ares’s direct insult.
“…Jewel? Who?”
But before Theron could answer, his friend reacted first.
He looked around, then stared at Aveline in her old, ragged robe with a look of disbelief.
“No way, is it that ragged thing?”
‘Ugh, that’s embarrassing.’
Aveline knew she looked nothing like a jewel, but she couldn’t care about that right now.
‘Let’s just get Ares and leave.’
She really wanted to get out of there.
“Duke, since the misunderstanding is cleared up, my brother and I will be going now,”
Aveline grabbed Ares’s wrist, ready to run.
“Goodbye!”
Before Theron could react, they hurried out of the alley.
Luckily, no one stopped them.
“Huff, huff.”
The twins caught their breath as soon as they got in the carriage.
“Let’s go!”
Aveline quickly told the driver to start moving, then looked at Ares, who sat with his arms crossed and a grumpy face.
“How did you end up running into Duke Ribes again?”
“I saw him at the rental shop.”
“What would he be doing at a rental shop… Wait, did he follow you there?”
Aveline shrugged.
Theron always said he would watch over her, but she didn’t know if he really followed her or just ran into her by chance.
“This is driving me crazy.”
Ares messed up his soft pink hair.
“And why were you snooping around the duke’s carriage?”
“I told you, I was just looking for you—”
“You were trying to find the duke’s hidden document, weren’t you?”
Aveline’s words hit the mark, and Ares’s mouth fell open.
“How did you know…?”
“Remember last time, after meeting with Baron Berta? Dad came back and asked if you’d brought the document you promised.”
When Baron Berta escaped to the monastery, Ares’s deal to bring Theron’s document had fizzled out, but Aveline guessed Ares was still trying to keep his promise and find a chance to grab the document.
“Dad always mumbles about how much easier things would be if he just had Duke Ribes’s document.”
Aveline also wanted to find it someday to get praised by her father.
“Well, I really did want to find you too.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“I mean it!”
“Okay, okay.”
Ares pouted when Aveline didn’t seem to believe him.
Back at the mansion, Aveline threw off her old robe and washed up right away.
“Did the rental shop go well?”
“Sigh, the rental shop…”
“Pardon?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Yoni looked confused at Aveline’s answer but helped her change into pajamas.
“By the way, did something happen to young master today?”
“Why?”
“Because Hans said he started groaning as soon as he came into his room.”
Hans was Ares’s personal servant. Ares was probably upset because he met Servel earlier.
“He’ll probably be sick for a while.”
He cared a lot about his reputation, so no wonder he was stressed.
“Tell Hans to be careful, Ares might be grumpy for a while.”
“Um, okay?”
“It’s a thing.”
Aveline wished Hans good luck for putting up with Ares.
As soon as Yoni left, Aveline jumped into bed.
“I hope I can continue the dream from yesterday.”
She really needed some healing today.
Aveline hugged the book <The Tyrant Is a Little Brother Fan> and quickly fell asleep.
Not long after falling asleep, Aveline opened her eyes in a strange place.
‘Where am I?’
Did the ceiling of a cave ever show up in <The Tyrant Is a Little Brother Fan>?
“Ugh, the smell…”
A strong scent made it hard to breathe.
“You’re awake.”
A low, deep voice came from nearby.
Aveline turned her head and saw a man wearing a mask, leaning against the wall.
His face was hidden by the mask, but his black hair and red eyes shining through the mask looked somewhat familiar.
“Who are you?”
“…Hiskin.”
As soon as she heard his name, Aveline sat up in shock.
‘Wait, Hiskin?’
Hiskin was the main character in the vampire novel Aveline had just read.
Instead of a childcare dream, she was now in a dream with a vampire male lead.
‘Why this dream, of all dreams…’
She looked around again.
She was still in her own pajamas, except for being in a cave.
Even her pink hair had fallen over her shoulder.
‘There’s no pink-haired girl in the novel!’
In the story, the female lead was a gentle beauty with brown hair, nothing like Aveline.
‘This is just me!’
Her pajamas and pink hair were exactly as she was before sleeping.
It meant she must be just an extra in the dream, not even a named character.
‘If you’re not the heroine, Hiskin is supposed to be a really cruel vampire!’
The only good thing was that dreams didn’t hurt.
‘Maybe I should just finish this dream quickly and wake up for another one.’
Aveline quickly lay back, getting ready.
“Here, drink this.”
“…What?”
Aveline could hear disbelief in Hiskin’s voice.
“Hurry up and drink, let’s get this over with.”
“Get what over with?”
So slow.
Dream Hiskin seemed a bit different from the one in the novel.
In the book, he would have attacked right away and drank blood.
‘What kind of vampire is this shy?’
Finally, Aveline got annoyed and sat up again.
“Here, do you see this? You’re supposed to bite here.”
She moved her hair aside to show her neck, even pointing to the spot for him.
It was silly to teach a vampire how to drink blood, but the weirdest thing was Hiskin’s reaction.
“Do I have to? It doesn’t have to be the neck.”
Aveline blinked, trying to figure out why.
‘Oh, maybe he doesn’t even want to get close if you’re not the heroine.’
So loyal.
Aveline covered her neck with her hair again and stretched out her arm.
“Then is this okay?”
“…”
“Not even this? Are you really a vampire?”
At her words, Hiskin flinched, but after a moment, he came closer.
“Okay, please hurry up and finish. I want to wake up and have a better dream.”
Hiskin sat on the bed, looking unhappy, and only touched Aveline’s sleeve.
“A different dream?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
Aveline answered flatly and shook her arm to hurry him.
“Let’s get this over with, I’m busy.”
She wanted to wake up quickly and get back to her other book.
But for some reason, Hiskin kept asking questions.
“If you wake up from here, where do you go?”
This time, Aveline was confused.
“Why do you care about that?”
Was Hiskin always this talkative?
‘In the novel, he was crazy for the heroine and ignored everyone else.’
Something felt off.
If this was the real Hiskin, he wouldn’t even talk to an extra like her.
“Hmm. This is strange.”
Aveline tilted her head in doubt, and Hiskin flinched.
Then, as if he made up his mind, he grabbed Aveline’s hand and brought it to his mouth.
Just as he opened his mouth to bite her wrist—
“Huh?”
She smelled a familiar scent of soap.
Crunch.
“Ah!”
But the next second, Hiskin’s sharp fangs touched Aveline’s soft skin.
She cried out from the sting.
‘Wait. That hurt?’
This was supposed to be a dream.
In her last dream, pinching herself didn’t hurt at all.
‘Something’s weird.’
To make it worse, the spot he bit started to burn like it was on fire.
“Wait, stop! That hurts!”
Aveline tried to pull her arm back, but Hiskin wouldn’t let go.
“I said it hurts!”
Unable to stand the pain, she swung her free arm.
Smack!
“….”
“…?”
Her hand landed straight on Hiskin’s face.
At the same time, his mask fell to the ground, and a scratch appeared on his pale cheek.
Aveline’s mouth dropped open in shock as she saw Hiskin’s real face.
