Cinderella's Brother

Chapter 7: The Name of the Survival Strategy Is… (1)

Dear Mother, if you have even a shred of love for this worthless son, please give me a way out of this situation. …What’s that? You say I’m nothing but a disrespectful brat?

Levina’s blank stare and my father’s stern gaze was on me. Hic, Father, can you please not look at me like that?! You’re scaring me to death! Waaaah. You’re not going to beat me up like that time, right? Right? It’s bad enough that I’ve practically become a eunuch; I don’t need more misery!

I gulped nervously and peeked at my brother. He was staring straight at me with a face that was frozen solid like a block of ice. Ahh, my heart was going to give out! I must be crazy?! I can’t believe I actually said that I missed him! Something so pathetic managed to slip out of my mouth!

I was at my wit’s end and slowly started backing away, trying to put as much distance between us as possible. I need to get out of here for now…!

“Ray…”

“Brother Eugene!”

The moment my brother tried to call my name, Levina suddenly spoke up. My brother, who was reaching out halfway to me, flinched and turned his gaze toward her. I used that moment to sprint up the stairs and flee from that embarrassing scene.

Phew, who would’ve thought the day that Levina would help me would come… not that she meant to help me, of course. Tch, I could already guess what was going on in that girl’s head. She couldn’t stand it if all the attention wasn’t on her.

But still, I really pulled off something huge today, didn’t I? I’d never have imagined doing something like this in the past. Clinging to my brother and sobbing, right in front of my father, no less. If this was the past, I’m sure I would’ve…

…Wait a minute.

I had returned to what I assumed to be my room and slumped down in front of a mirror (I don’t care if anyone calls me narcissistic) to reflect on what had just happened. Something felt off. It was as if I had missed something, but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

It wasn’t until I mulled it over for a long time that I realized what it was. It wasn’t my dignity… It was my brother’s reaction when I threw myself at him, bawling my eyes out like an idiot. He didn’t push me away nor scold me for crying. He had asked why I was crying, but not in a reprimanding tone.

My father’s reaction had been strange as well. Normally, he couldn’t stand to see me cry. I would’ve expected him to yell at me, but instead, he had just looked at me without saying a word.

I grabbed my head that was filled with confusion and suddenly caught a bewildered girl staring back at me. It was my own reflection in the mirror.

Was this it…?

…No. That’s ridiculous. Calm down, Ray Genován de Tydis! Did that make sense? Would people change their treatment of me just because I went from a boy to a girl?! …At least, I don’t think so??

I couldn’t say that everything had completely changed. After all, I hadn’t been in this state for very long. From what I could tell, the cold and awkward atmosphere that had always lingered between me and my family was still the same.

However, something was definitely different, though I couldn’t put my finger on it. My father wasn’t the type to suddenly become gentle just because I was a girl, but it was still different from before.

If this really wasn’t some strange hallucination and was indeed reality, then I need to figure out what to do next.

For now, I’ve returned to the past, where everything is the same except for myself. My boyhood, wrecked by Levina… No, should I say girlhood now? Damn it.

Looking back on that dark past, Levina did what she did despite knowing I was no threat to her. I didn’t know how to describe the things she did to me.

I wasn’t in a position to be her rival—not in age, not in gender—yet I was still constantly subjected to her endless hostility and slander. Just as I once suspected, Levina might really be nothing more than a natural predator, someone who enjoys dominating the hierarchy purely for sport.

But it didn’t matter what was going on inside Levina’s head. What matters was how I would handle things moving forward. It was obvious she wouldn’t just leave me alone, and more than anything…

I didn’t want to lose my brother again to be honest. For the first time in a long while, he accepted that I was crying. I didn’t want to lose him again!

Mother, please forgive your childish second son, but I was simply born this way! Waaaah. Why did you have to pass away so early? It’s because you were gone that both Father and Brother had their hearts stolen by that fox girl. Waaaah. …What? You’re saying I should become a fox too? Wait a minute, that’s not something you should be telling your son, right?

Amidst this chaotic stream of consciousness, an answer(?) emerged. My new body that was reflected in the mirror was quite cute. Especially that smile, I could confidently say I was as cute as Levina. Now that I’ve ended up in this body, shouldn’t I make the most of it?

…It sounded a bit strange, but there was no way that fox would just leave me alone. I never want to experience the same sadness or that kind of humiliation again. It was a miserable time. My body and spirit were both worn down to shreds.

But this wasn’t a completely one-sided battle. I knew more about Levina than anyone else, especially her hidden side.

Let’s make a plan. My greatest enemy was Levina. As for her allies, there was her mean-spirited nanny, Cecil, who had been with her since she set foot in this house. That horrible woman always looked at me as if I was a criminal.

And then there was Father and Brother… Aggghhh, no! This just brought me back to square one!

God, Mother, how does a son of the Aeternus Empire turn into a fox? …What? You’re telling me to figure it out like the former commander I am? Damn it! That’s on a whole different level!

So, love and war are similar, huh? Tch. Levina, who couldn’t stand me even when I was a boy, would probably be even more vicious now. My first priority was to secure allies in this house first, but…

Who could I rely on?

No matter how much I thought about it, the only person I could even hope to count on was my brother. It felt really strange to think about “seducing” him, but it was still easier than trying to win over Father.

Besides, I was scared of Father because I remembered all the beatings and scoldings. Sniff. My brother was scary too, but before Levina showed up, he was sometimes kind to me. And just now, he let me cry in his arms, didn’t he?

“Yawnnn…”

It seemed this new body was quite fragile. It was still midday, but I was already yawning. But even yawning looked cute—cough, okay, time to go to sleep. After waking up… if this reality remained the same, I would start the operation to seduce over my brother.

It sounded so strange when I said it, but this was war from now on, you sly fox.

I didn’t know how long I slept for. When I opened my eyes, everything was dark. A sharp pain stabbed my lower abdomen, waking me from my sleep.

Ugh, what was this pain? It was a completely unfamiliar sensation, unlike anything I had ever felt before. It wasn’t like indigestion or a stomachache—it was on a whole different level.

As I sat up, I felt my long, heavy hair cascade down past my shoulders. So I really did become a girl, but that wasn’t the problem. Why did my stomach hurt so much? Was something wrong with me?

“Ughhh…”

A groan escaped my lips. I could feel cold sweat trickling down my face. What was wrong with me? It hurts! It hurts so much! Hey, is anyone there?

Thud! I fell out of bed again. At this rate, my whole body was going to be covered in bruises.

But compared to the pain in my lower abdomen, crashing to the floor was nothing. I clutched my stomach with one hand while using my other hand and knees to crawl forward.

Help me! What was this gut-wrenching pain?!

Groaning and struggling, I finally made it out of the room. Where am I headed, you ask? I don’t know! I just rushed out recklessly to find help, though I wasn’t sure who would actually help me.

Aaahh! It hurts! It hurts so much, I feel like I’m going to die! I survived, only to die from abdominal pain?!

I don’t remember exactly what I was shouting as I clutched my stomach, holding my stomach and rolling around the silent staircase between the second and third floors. However, what I do remember even amidst the excruciating pain was that I was able to muster an astonishing amount of mental clarity(?) as I once again faced the reality that I’d turned into a girl. That was probably why I shouted something like this: 

“Brother¹Ray’s using the cutesy/less formal ‘oppa’ here too.! Save meee!”

And then the world ended.