Chapter 5

‘Darling~ what’s that? Coffee? Mix coffee is the best!’

Adelina had always wanted to try it since her past life. This kind of nasal voice she couldn’t muster in a sober state. Since no one could hear her, she decided to indulge in it this time.

‘Darling~. Look at this~. There’s a crack in the house~~. Fix it~~.’

Well, she did call it artificial administration, but since their lips had touched once, it wouldn’t be inappropriate to call him darling. Adelina continued to call Lexion ‘darling~’ and asked him to fix the house.

Lexion slowly took a sip of coffee, placed the cup on the table, and turned a page of the newspaper.

‘Oh~ a man reading a newspaper! So cool! My ideal type!’

Adelina smiled contentedly as she looked at Lexion, who seemed slightly intellectual, perhaps because he was reading the newspaper. This life was perfect as expected.

Lexion picked up the cup again. His expression brightened as if the coffee was exceptionally good.

“It’s time to leave.”

Having finished his coffee, Lexion placed the cup down, closed the newspaper, and stood up. He walked briskly and stood in front of Adelina. He adjusted his jacket collar to make his attire even neater.

“There’s a crack in the mirror.”

Lexion traced the crack with his finger and then left the room.

+++

The youngest princess, Isabelle, was utterly excited about the upcoming coming-of-age ceremony.

Emperor Grain wore a pleased smile as he watched Isabelle chatter away in his office.

The attendants and maids, knowing that Emperor Grain was noticeably softer when Isabelle was around, guided her to the conference table with a little more ease and served her favorite magnolia tea.

“So, is there anything you want as a coming-of-age gift?”

Emperor Grain stood up from his desk chair and went to sit at the head of the conference table. A quick-witted attendant set another cup of magnolia tea in front of him. Although Emperor Grain usually drank coffee, he always drank magnolia tea when with Isabelle.

“I want to ride a dragon! I want to become a Dragon Knight!”

The smile on Emperor Grain’s lips deepened. The attendants and maids also couldn’t help but smile at Isabelle’s innocent voice.

Isabelle was the only descendant of the Petrus Imperial Family with green hair and emerald eyes, among the blond-haired, blue-eyed lineage.

Whenever Emperor Grain saw Isabelle, who was 12 years younger than him, he thought of his late mother, the former Empress.

“Dragons are powerful and dangerous creatures and thus sensitive. They are proud animals that do not recognize anyone as their master unless they are a Sword Master.”

“That’s true. If I had learned swordsmanship, I could have become a Sword Master.”

“Yes, and I would have always been anxious about you getting hurt.”

“Because Your Majesty says so, people say I am Your Majesty’s weakness.”

Isabelle said coyly as she lifted her teacup.

“Whoever said that seems to know my weakness accurately. I should eliminate them.”

At Emperor Grain’s dry joke, Isabelle made a startled face. If he were to kill everyone who knew, he might have to kill everyone in the Empire.

Isabelle stood up and went behind Emperor Grain to massage his shoulders. The only person who could stand behind him was not the current Empress or the Imperial Consort, but Isabelle.

“Your Majesty has no weaknesses. Someone like me could never be a weakness to the great Your Majesty. I am merely a pawn for this great Empire and Your Majesty. If you use me effectively, I will consider it an honor and die willingly.”

Isabelle moved beside Emperor Grain, knelt on one knee, and looked up at him. Her emerald eyes, now filled with intelligence rather than the previous innocence, met Emperor Grain’s blue eyes.

“Soon, I will marry Queen Sweeney to Evans.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Evans will rule Iberis as King. The blood of the Iberis Royal Family will be replaced with the blood of the Petrus Imperial Family.”

Isabelle’s eyes widened at Emperor Grain’s words.

“Your Majesty.”

Isabelle tried hard not to let her voice tremble. Her heart pounded madly as if she were receiving a confession of first love.

“Isabelle. I will give you Ernst. Make Lexion Ernst yours. And replace the blood of Ernst with that of Petrus.”

Isabelle did not hide her joy on her face, stood up, and lifted Emperor Grain’s right hand.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Your will shall soon be fulfilled.”

She kissed the back of Emperor Grain’s hand.

‘Ernst! That prosperous island will soon be mine!’

The beautiful island located between the eastern Aslan continent and the western continent, where commerce and culture thrived. The Duchy of Ernst. Soon, it would become her possession.

+++

That evening, just before the red sunset in the western sky turned dark crimson, the black carriage carrying Lexion sped towards the entrance of the Ducal residence.

The Ernst Ducal residence, located in the capital, was structured so that one had to cross a long bridge over a large lake to enter.

The swans on the lake, preparing to migrate for the summer, were training their young for the last time and took flight in surprise at the sound of the passing carriage.

These swans would spend the summer on the island of Ernst and return to this lake in the fall.

After getting off the carriage, Lexion looked up at the swans once, then turned and entered the Ducal residence.

“Everyone, leave.”

“Yes, Duke.”

Entering the bedroom where Adelina was, he dismissed all the attendants and walked toward the terrace.

He removed the white cravat from his neck, draped it over the sofa, and leaned against the window, watching the swans fly.

Adelina gazed at Lexion’s back, who was staring out the window without even turning on the lights.

Even though someone had entered, the room seemed quieter than when Adelina was alone.

‘D…Darling~.’

Was it longing? Adelina wanted to prevent the unknown emotion reflected in Lexion’s back from growing larger.

‘Darling~ there’s a crack in the house~. You promised to fix it~.’

Even though he couldn’t hear her, she wanted to brighten the atmosphere of the room, even if just a little.

Lexion turned his back and looked at Adelina.

“Troy. Turn on the lights.”

As the light stones lit up one by one according to his command, his unknown emotion seemed to disappear as well.

Lexion walked over to Adelina and put his hand in his jacket pocket. He took out a box that looked like a red ring case and gazed at Adelina intently.

‘C-could it be! Are you giving me a ring? Are you proposing now?’

Adelina pressed herself against the mirror wall upon seeing it.

Oh my. I’ve never seen someone propose to a mirror before.

‘Well… since we’ve had artificial administration, if you ask me to take responsibility, I’ll take responsibility for you!’

As Lexion opened the case, her expectations grew.

‘He’s going to give me a diamond, right? The house looks incredibly wealthy, so of course, he’ll give me a diamond!’

Oh, what a blessed mirror!

‘How much will it sparkle? They said it’s on a different level than the cubic zirconia my aunt had!’

Adelina was filled with anticipation, thinking about seeing a real diamond for the first time.

“Clumsy enough to get a crack.”

Lexion dipped his right index finger into the red case, smeared something sticky, and applied it to the crack in the mirror.

‘Clumsy, he says…’

Oh my. Even though I saved his life, this is all I get to hear…

Adelina pursed her lips and glared at Lexion’s fingers. If she had a body, she would have broken all those fingers.

‘Hey! It’s not like I was expecting anything from you! Not love or a confession or anything like that!’

Right. I was just curious about the diamond. I wasn’t subtly hoping for a confession of love that could make me ‘real’…

Adelina crossed her arms and turned her head to the side.

After applying resin to the mirror, Lexion stared intently at his reflection.

“What would my sister say if she saw me now?”

He recalled how Rose used to talk to herself whenever she looked at this mirror when they were young and tried to mimic it.

<“What would she say? She’d probably smack you on the back for creating a gloomy atmosphere like a moody teenager.”>

Adelina retorted sharply in her annoyed state, then was startled that her voice had gone outside the mirror.

In an instant, Lexion’s face hardened, and he stepped back, slowly looking around.

‘Darling! I’m not a ghost! Don’t abandon me!’

Or am I a ghost since I don’t have a body? How should I explain this to him?

Adelina bit her lip with her finger. Meanwhile, a small crack appeared in the mirror.

Lexion resumed his indifferent expression and took off his jacket.

‘Is it opium? The poison must have been mixed with hallucinogens.’

Now that he’s hearing such loud hallucinations, he thought it best to wash up and rest early today.

Lexion removed the cufflinks from his wrists and placed them on the table under the mirror. He began unbuttoning his shirt from the top while looking in the mirror.

His hand touched the belt buckle of his pants.

Adelina, who had been watching his actions, was now pressed against the mirror wall, having forgotten her anxiety.

‘Darling~. No interruptions today~!’

She waited eagerly for his hand to undo the buckle. Her annoyed and anxious feelings seemed like they would be resolved once it was undone.

Lexion’s hand finally undid the buckle and pulled the belt out of his pants.

‘W-was this such a provocative action?’

Adelina’s mind was entirely focused on his hand holding the belt.

The next step is to take off the pants.

Even as a mirror, it was good to live righteously. After saving him from poison, even if not a diamond, such fortune comes!

‘Right. What use is a diamond when living inside a mirror!’

Adelina spread her fingers wide and covered her face. Her intense gaze poured through the gaps between her fingers.

‘O-oh… oh…’

But contrary to Adelina’s expectations, Lexion didn’t take off his pants and instead turned toward the bathroom.

<“Hey! How can you do this! Making me expect so much! And then just leaving!”>

Adelina pounded on the mirror in anger.

‘Eek! Another crack… Why is this mirror so fragile…’

Adelina pouted, not knowing why the mirror had cracked.

“Ha ha ha ha.”

Suddenly, Lexion burst into loud laughter from the bathroom.

‘What’s with him…’

Did he eat something strange outside? Why is he laughing all of a sudden?

Well… since he eats poison at home, he might eat something strange outside too.

Adelina stopped paying attention to Lexion and gently rubbed the cracked area. The crack didn’t disappear at all.

‘It’s okay. Tomorrow, he’ll take off his pants here!’

He’ll take them off someday. Adelina continued to rub the cracks on the mirror with a sly smile.