~Chapter 40~
“Let me touch your cheek just once.”
“Eeek—byontae! (Pervert!)”
Aveline covered both cheeks with her tiny hands and stepped back, strengthening her guard.
What kind of crazy person makes this kind of request?
As if asking to touch her cheek out of nowhere made any sense.
She had no idea how plump Chloe’s cheeks looked, so she narrowed her eyes and took another step away from Theron.
Theron sighed dramatically as he watched her.
“I guess you’re not that curious about the information I can give you.”
“……!”
Seeing her expression shift, a wicked smile formed on Theron’s lips.
He clearly knew she would react like this and had suggested it on purpose.
“So? What will you do?”
Aveline hesitated, still covering her cheeks.
But she couldn’t hesitate for long.
She needed to know what was going on.
In the end, she nervously approached Theron.
“ One second!”
Aveline squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.
It was her brave compromise.
“Hm.”
But no matter how long she waited, Theron didn’t move.
What?
Aveline slowly opened one eye—
Pinch.
“Ow!!”
Theron’s fingers pinched her chubby cheek—not painfully, but enough to shock her.
She’d been tricked!
She grabbed her face and ran to a corner, but with her short legs, it took longer than she expected.
Finally reaching the corner, she glared fiercely, covering the cheek he’d touched.
“Now tell me!”
“Before that.”
Theron snapped his fingers while watching her with amused eyes.
“Huh?”
At the same moment, Aveline’s hair turned pink.
Seeing her hair change, she rushed to the mirror.
“Wha—?!”
It wasn’t only her hair.
Her eyes had changed too—no longer Chloe’s bright green, but Aveline’s original softer shade.
With Chloe’s features erased, she now looked exactly like a tiny Aveline.
Shock flashed across her face as she turned to Theron.
“What if someone sees me like this?!”
What if Klein walked in right now?
“Ah, so this is what you looked like as a child.”
Theron seemed completely unfazed.
“I’ll turn you back soon, don’t worry.”
“…Then answer my questions first!”
“Of course.”
Theron smiled lightly, relaxed as always.
Aveline started with the question that bothered her the most.
“How did you get in hewe? (How did you get in here?)”
Theron hadn’t been able to enter her dream for a while because of the barrier she made.
So how did he enter now—and as a character who didn’t exist in the novel?
“There was a gap in your barrier.”
“A gaph?”
When Aveline tilted her head, Theron continued.
“It means your barrier fell apart without you noticing. For example, if you forgot about the barrier and simply wished to dream again.”
“……”
He was right.
She had thought about wanting the dream again before falling asleep.
“And more importantly…”
Theron crossed his legs confidently.
“Did you really think I couldn’t break a barrier made from my own mana?”
“……”
“But it wasn’t bad for something you made alone. Even I struggled at first. So let me ask you—how did you do it? Did someone help you?”
Theron questioned her now.
“I did it myselph.”
“By yourself?”
Theron looked genuinely surprised.
“Yes. Just cwose eyes and concentrate.”
Her answer shocked him even more.
“You’re more talented than I thought.”
He sounded exactly like a proud parent praising a gifted child.
“Eh?”
Not understanding, Aveline stared.
Theron explained:
“You lived your whole life without even sensing mana. Then suddenly you absorb a huge amount and use it on your own.”
His expression turned serious.
“Learning fast is good, but there’s a problem.”
“What is it?”
“Do you remember how Chloe was struggling with mana control?”
“Of courshe.”
Aveline nodded.
She had been confused earlier since that never happened in the original story.
“Have you entered Chloe’s body before?”
“Yes.”
Theron nodded like he expected that answer.
“That’s the cause.”
He removed his monocle and tucked it into his pocket.
His handsome face now fully visible, almost glowing, made Aveline squint without meaning to.
“A body that already has mana got mixed with new mana. That causes issues.”
“So then…”
It meant Chloe’s condition was her fault.
“But thish is just a dweam…”
Wasn’t this just a dream of the story?
As Aveline grew confused, Theron shook his head.
“A dream made out of mana is never simple.”
“……”
“I followed you everywhere because I was worried about this exact situation.”
So he knew he’d been chasing her.
“Then doesh that mean this ish all real?”
Not just a dream—but she actually entered the world of the novel?
“To be more precise…”
Theron paused.
“Your mana opened a new space.”
A new space?
I can do something like that?
“You forgot I told you my skills were quite good, didn’t you?”
He read her thoughts easily.
Right… he did once say he was skilled enough to cut my stomach if needed…
If her body held his mana, maybe opening a new space wasn’t impossible.
“We’ll talk about the details slowly later. But first, there’s a more important problem.”
More important than this?
Aveline’s face crumpled.
Theron looked almost sympathetic.
“Because the mana she must handle suddenly increased, her small body won’t last long. Soon, she’ll go into overflow.”
“Overflow?”
That was bad.
Aveline’s expression grew grave.
If something happened to Chloe—
“Who could ever hate you?”
Klein’s gentle smile flashed in her mind.
He would be heartbroken.
The devoted older brother might not survive it.
I have to stop it.
Aveline clenched her tiny fists.
“Tell me what I need to do!”
“You’re quite determined.”
Yet, Theron’s reaction was oddly lukewarm.
Scene Break
While Aveline was confused by his sudden lack of enthusiasm, Theron remembered Klein’s face from earlier.
Brown hair, green eyes—he looked normal on the outside, but his nature was obvious at a glance.
He acted gentle only toward his sister. Anyone could see that wasn’t his true personality.
Seeing Aveline clenching her fists, it was clear she was worried Klein might suffer.
Admittedly, Klein was handsome: shiny brown hair and strong, masculine features.
His sharp eyes revealed a fierce personality, but those same eyes softened completely when looking at his sister.
He was nothing like that Edward-who-looked-like-the-crown-prince.
Tsk.
Theron clicked his tongue softly as he looked down at Aveline.
He couldn’t understand why he felt annoyed.
