เรือนรักเรือนเสน่หา (นิยายชุด เรือนรัก)

First and foremost, this is a work of fiction, and no correlation should be made with living people or incidents. The author doesn't support any of the ideology or the relationship— friendship or romantic— being presented in this story. This was merely written for entertainment sake, not to be followed and used as an ideal. There are many things that are wrong in this novel morally, and therefore, don't let this novel influence you.

A sharp pain went through her back, and a cry escaped from her mouth the moment she opened her eyes. Tears started to form at the corner of her eyes.

This sudden development managed to surprise Park Seraphine. Taken aback, she opened her eyes, and, raising her hand, wiped away the tears that accumulated at the corner of her eyes.

That's when, her hands fell into her line of sight, and a gasp escaped from her mouth when she realized how small they appeared. 

'Was this a dream?'

Seraphine noticed that she was leaning against the wall, and the pain that spread through her back made it unlikely to be a dream. Moreover, although the pain wasn't that intense, she was unable to keep the tears from her eyes.

"It hurts," she spoke out.

Her eyes widened when she realized that her words came out to be barely coherent. It seemed akin to a speech used by a toddler before they learned to speak clearly.

Since she did not have talking difficulties, Seraphine was sure that this is not how she sounded at the age of sixteen. 

That's when, she noticed the boy before her. From his height and facial features, he did not look any older than four year old. 

Creases were present between both of his eyebrows while his hands were folded over his chest. He seemed to be obviously annoyed.

"Stop pestering me! I already told you that I don't want to play with you! You are annoying!" he exclaimed.

The words of a four year old was not enough to scare Seraphine, but, for some unknown reason, she couldn't control her tears after hearing those words. The rate of them falling down her cheeks increased.

Humiliation filled Seraphine when she realized how pathetically she was crying before the kid.

But regardless of how much she tried, her chest throbbed painfully, and she wanted to keep on crying.

With this, the entire situation seemed nonsensical! How was she in the body of a kid? It's not as if this is some kind of fantasy.

This is real life, and such things did not happen.

Pressing her palms against the floor, Seraphine managed to stand up, and believing that this entire thing was a dream, she turned her back against the four year.

As curiosity started to grow within her, she wanted to find a mirror in order to see how she appeared in this dream of hers.

However, with each step she took to move forward, this just felt too realistic to be a dream!

Her small bare feet hit against the cold ground, and a chill went down her back due to the low temperature. Due to the amount of garments on her body, she started to shiver.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

Despite the boy's call, Seraphine ignored him. Right then, she wanted to find a mirror desperately. Since she wasn't good with the kids, she did not want to entertain a four year old.

But before Seraphine was able to find a mirror, a figure approached. Feeling a huge shadow above her, she raised her head, and a woman fell into her line of sight.

Curiously, she stared at the woman. Seeing how clearly she was able to see the woman, she wondered how detailed this dream of hers was.

"Lady Seraphine, this is where you are. Where are your shoes?" the woman spoke out before bending down and placing her hands on her feet. "They are freezing, Lady Seraphine. You are going to catch a cold at this rate."

Seraphine just blinked her eyes.

This was truly a strange dream. Although she had dreamed of herself being a daughter of rich aristocrat or even a princess, she was past the age to have such dreams right now.

For her age, such a dream felt quite immature.

Judging from the garments worn by the Maid, it reminded her of the attire she usually had seen in the western historical movies. 

'Wow! Seraphine, I didn't know that you had such fantasies. Your subconscious state is so creepy!'

Hearing no reply from the little girl, the maid smiled at her, and as Seraphine curiously stared at the lady, the maid extended her hand towards the girl.

In a matter of seconds, the maid carried the girl in her arms, and seeing how the things developed caused Seraphine to widen her eyes. 

Being lifted to this height caused fright to pass through Seraphine, and she tightly grabbed on to the material of maid's clothing. One thing she was sure of that it would be really painful if the maid let go of her.

"Are you feeling fine, Lady Seraphine?" the maid questioned. "You seem to be a little pale."

After blinking for a while, Seraphine answered, "Yes."

Every touch felt too realistic to Seraphine to even consider this to be a dream anymore. However, it would be quite imaginative of her if she took this to be something other than a dream.

'Stuck in a body of a toddler? That only happens in stories!'

Then, the maid turned her gaze to the small boy and voiced out, "Lord Eli, Duchess Sophia was searching for you earlier."

The four year old boy, Eli, merely scoffed at the maid before turning his back to walk away. Looking at how ill-mannered the kid in her dream was, she shook her head slightly.

'Eh? Wait? Eli? Seraphine? That sounds to be awfully familiar.'