After digging in the dirt with Levinas, we took a break, sitting down on a nearby bench. My clothes were covered in dust and torn in places, but honestly, the rawness of nature suited me just fine.

I wondered if one day I could imitate Encia’s wild instincts too. As I sipped dandelion tea on the bench, Levinas stood proudly before me, hands on her hips and chest puffed out.

“Your Majesty! Want to see something amazing?”

“Something amazing?”

“Yeah! I figured out that I can eat two chocolates at once!”

With that, Levinas unwrapped two small chocolates and popped them both in her mouth. It was an adorable kind of “amazing,” the sort you’d expect from Levinas.

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

Clap, clap, clap—

I applauded Levinas, and a group of young people nearby, taking a break, also joined in, clapping like proud adults admiring a child.

“That’s a genius idea.”

“When I was a kid, I’d never have thought of that.”

Our applause seemed to make Levinas happy, and she giggled, bouncing in place. Just then, someone approached us.

“Uh, hey, guys…?”

It was Kwon Arin, looking a bit hesitant as she stepped closer, as if nervous about something.

“Ah! Mighty Supreme Kwon Arin!”

At the mention of her “title,” one of the young men clapping nearby snorted, almost spitting out his soda as he coughed, clearly amused.

“Can you guys just call me Kwon Arin… or just Arin, even?”

“No way! I’m going to call you whatever I want!”

Despite Kwon Arin’s plea, Levinas shook her head. Her refusal made Kwon Arin’s mouth turn down in a pout, almost like she was about to cry.

“Fine… you can call me whatever you want…”

Kwon Arin’s shoulders slumped, looking resigned.

“So, did you need something?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeoreum said she’d be a bit late and asked me to play with you guys until she gets here.”

“P-Play?”

At the mention of “play,” Levinas’s ears perked up. She tried to hide her interest but kept glancing at Kwon Arin, obviously eager.

“Is there anything in particular you’d like to do…?”

“Well… Levinas has actually been wanting to play house.”

“House?”

Kwon Arin and I echoed each other in surprise. If Levinas had wanted to play house, she could have just told me—why had she kept it to herself?

“Yeah… Levinas wants to play Cinderella house…”

“Then let’s play Cinderella! That sounds fun.”

What we played was up to Levinas, so Kwon Arin and I were happy to follow her lead.

“Thing is, Levinas wants to play Cinderella herself…”

“Then Levinas can be Cinderella.”

If she wanted the role, she should just take it. Why the hesitation? I didn’t quite understand her behavior.

“But doesn’t Your Majesty fit Cinderella better than Levinas…?”

“Oh…”

She wanted to play Cinderella but was worried she wouldn’t suit the role. Now I understood why she hadn’t mentioned it before.

But why would she think I’d make a better Cinderella? I didn’t mind not taking the role, and I was about to tell her that when Kwon Arin spoke up.

“Then you both could be Cinderella.”

“Both of us?”

“Yeah, how about twin Cinderellas?”

“Huh! I didn’t know that was an option!”

In a short span, Levinas went from surprise to joy to relief, expressing a range of emotions.

“Roles can always be flexible.”

“That’s amazing! Like having two chocolates!”

“Uh, right.”

Two chocolates? Kwon Arin mumbled to herself, seemingly amused by the analogy.

Being asked to play Cinderella, the suffering princess, was a bit much for me, but I decided to go along with it for Levinas’s sake.

“Hehe, then Levinas and Your Majesty will be Cinderella, and Mighty Supreme Kwon Arin will be…”

Levinas paused in thought, mimicking Sophia’s habit of tapping the ground with a cane, though she didn’t have one.

‘She must have picked that up from watching Sophia.’

I realized that Levinas had been carefully observing the adults around her, learning little things here and there.

Just then, Levinas raised her hand, making her decision.

“I’ve got it! Mighty Supreme Kwon Arin will be the stepmother!”

“The s-stepmother?”

“Yup!”

Levinas smiled brightly at Kwon Arin, whose expression was the opposite—clearly less thrilled.

“Um, can I maybe play a different role…?”

“Mighty Supreme Kwon Arin will be the stepmother, the older sister, and the witch! We’re short on actors, so you have to take on all those roles!”

“A-All of them…?”

“Yup!”

Realizing that Levinas wasn’t wrong, Kwon Arin nodded reluctantly. Overjoyed at finally getting to play Cinderella, Levinas threw her hands up in victory, jumping up and down.

—

“Hey, kids, isn’t this room a bit dirty…?”

Kwon Arin spoke to Levinas and me with what she probably thought was a stern tone, but Levinas frowned, stomping her foot.

“That’s too nice! The stepmother should be mean!”

“Oh, r-really…?”

“Yeah! Make it so mean that Levinas might cry!”

Kwon Arin’s face paled, clearly taken aback by how serious Levinas was about the role-playing.

“Like… how?”

“Say mean things to me and Your Majesty, and even pretend to hit us!”

Levinas waved her fist in the air for emphasis—not swinging, just shaking it.

“Uh… can’t we do something else instead?”

“D-Don’t you want to play? You don’t have to if you don’t want to…”

Maybe because Kwon Arin wasn’t taking the game seriously, Levinas’s rabbit ears drooped.

“No, no! I really want to play! Cinderella sounds like so much fun!”

“R-Really…?”

“Yeah! That was just practice. Now I’ll do it for real!”

“…Okay!”

Levinas clasped her hands together, and Kwon Arin closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as if preparing herself mentally for the role.

“L-Levinas! Gyeoul!”

When she opened her eyes, Kwon Arin was fully committed to her role as the stepmother, shouting at us with a fierce tone, even pointing her finger in our direction. People relaxing nearby turned to stare at us.

“W-Wah…”

Levinas trembled, and I did my best to act scared as well. Honestly, Kwon Arin’s angry expression was a little intimidating.

“I told you to clean the house and hang the laundry!”

“S-Sorry…”

“Levinas did something wrong…”

“Quiet! There’ll be no dinner for you tonight!”

Breathing heavily, Kwon Arin glanced around nervously, her eyes meeting those of a grumpy-looking man nearby. Clearly, she was embarrassed to be playing house as an adult.

‘Did she get a little too loud?’

There were quite a few people watching us now, their faces turned toward us with annoyed expressions. It was probably best to keep things a bit quieter.

“Please, forgive Levinas just this once… She’s only had one carrot in three days…”

Levinas dropped to her knees, pleading with Kwon Arin. I knelt beside her for added effect.

“Could we maybe just have some moldy bread…?”

“I-I… No! Even moldy bread is too good for you! Understood?!”

“Hing.”

Levinas covered her face with both hands, sniffing as if she were really crying.

Could Levinas actually be good at acting? Inspired by her performance, I decided to give my own acting a bit more effort.

“Levinas, I’ll catch a grasshopper for us to eat today, okay? We can eat that at least…”

“W-What?! A grasshopper?! Didn’t I tell you to starve?!”

Just as Kwon Arin, fully immersed in her role as the stepmother, raised her fist toward us, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist.

It was Jung Yu-na, the guild’s mage, in her familiar red robe.

“Hey, who do you think you are?”

“E-Excuse me…?”

“I said, who do you think you are?”

Jung Yu-na glared at Kwon Arin with fiery eyes, squeezing her wrist until it cracked audibly.

“I’m Kwon Arin…”

“Did I ask for your name?”

Jung Yu-na’s tone was fierce. Did she misunderstand our game? I was about to intervene, but Levinas rushed into Jung Yu-na’s arms.

“Prince!”

Prince? She must mean the prince from Cinderella. Maybe Levinas had secretly invited Jung Yu-na to join our game. She did mention she’d been “preparing” before we started.

‘Well, if she’s the prince, I guess it makes sense for her to be angry with the stepmother.’

But why did the prince show up here? It felt a little strange, but since we already had two Cinderellas, I figured it was pointless to question the storyline.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Um, this is just…”

Jung Yu-na’s furious gaze met a frightened Kwon Arin. If this was all just acting, it was really convincing.

It definitely wasn’t just a game. I quickly stood up, ready to calm Jung Yu-na down.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep