Chapter 8

“Make a sound and you’re dead.”  

At Lexion’s threat, Adelina blinked her eyes in fear, signaling that she understood.  

“Who are you?”  

After asking her the question, Lexion slowly removed his hand from her mouth.  

She was clearly not a maid. She wasn’t from the Aslan Continent either. He had never seen anyone with silver hair and golden eyes before.  

‘Me? Is he asking for my name?’  

Adelina hesitated for a moment. 

Should I say this embarrassing name or not?

She couldn’t just say it was ‘fake.’

“Ha. Synesis. The living repository of knowledge. The greatest intellect of this era, containing 200 volumes of encyclopedias, 2 martial arts novels, and 1 adult romance novel.”  

As Lexion released his hand, Adelina’s mouth began to move on its own.  

‘Hey! Why is my mouth doing this! Why is it moving on its own!’  

Synesis was a nickname she had given herself. In the divine language, it meant the goddess of knowledge.  

Well, since she was alone in the mirror, she thought it didn’t matter to give herself such an embarrassing nickname.  

“What?”  

Is she… crazy?  

Lexion showed a dumbfounded reaction to her strange answer, and Adelina gave him a bright smile.  

Why? Do you have a problem with my nickname?  

+++

‘Ugh! Even though I said it, I feel like my hands and feet are curling up!’  

Adelina felt like she was about to break out in hives all over her body. To forget the embarrassment, she smiled even more brightly. If she weren’t held by Lexion’s wrists, she would have immediately covered her mouth or face.  

Being pinned under his body in human form was already embarrassing, and now this shameful answer…  

“Well… that is…”  

She opened her mouth to explain urgently.  

Crack. The sound of the mirror cracking was heard. A flaw was appearing in her perfect life.  

‘No! My home! My cozy home!’  

Adelina twisted her body to escape from Lexion.  

In an instant, her body disappeared.  

“What the! What on earth!”  

Lexion jumped up from the bed and messed up his hair. Then, he glared at the mirror hanging on the wall.  

‘Oh… why… why is he coming here?’  

Inside the mirror, Adelina curled up as much as possible to occupy less space, trying to avoid Lexion as he walked towards her, stepping away from the mirror wall.  

“Come out. Before I break it.”  

Lexion placed one hand on the side of the mirror. With the other hand, he brushed the new crack and glared at the mirror. It seemed like the crack in the mirror was getting bigger under his gaze.  

‘Gasp… Break it? Then… what happens to me? Can I enter another mirror? Or… do I just disappear?’  

Adelina wandered around inside the mirror, not knowing what to do at Lexion’s words.  

‘Should I go out? Or not?’  

The God hadn’t told her the most important thing. No matter how much she searched her mind, no answer came.  

‘Yes! Just endure it! Surely he won’t break it!’  

Adelina decided to hold on. Since he cared enough to apply resin to the mirror, he probably wouldn’t break it. Honestly, she didn’t even know how to get out.  

‘This tranquility. This perfect life! I can’t give it up! I’ll protect this mirror!’  

Most importantly, she liked her current life. A life where she didn’t have to do anything.  

‘Here, I don’t have to hear that I’m a fake.’  

She wanted to stay in this life where she expected nothing and thus wasn’t disappointed.  

Lexion straightened his posture and showed a frustrated expression.  

“I must be… going crazy.”  

The poison must have been mixed with opium. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been hallucinating about a woman inside a mirror for days.  

Sitting deeply on the sofa, Lexion closed his eyes and leaned his head back.  

‘Or… is she an angel?’  

In the end, that night, Lexion never lay back on the bed.  

+++

A week before the coming-of-age ceremony, the friendly delegation from the Tiola Empire of the Mu Continent arrived in the capital. Duke Austin specially welcomed them, who had crossed the sea with a fleet of 300 large sailing ships.  

“Wow! Look at those ships from the Tiola Empire.”  

“We see them every year, but they’re impressive every time.”  

Every year, around the time of the coming-of-age ceremony, they came with a large trading fleet, showcasing their economic power and formidable naval strength. It was as if to say, don’t even think about invading the Mu Continent, just be content with the Aslan Continent.  

From the sailing ships that appeared twice as large as the warships of the Petrus Empire, the representative of the Tiola Empire’s delegation slowly disembarked.  

“It’s been a long time, Prince Isya.”  

“It’s been a year, Duke Austin.”  

Duke Austin greeted the middle-aged Isya, who was wrapped in blue silk, while looking at their ship.  

With a majestic appearance like a giant castle floating on the sea, all eyes at the harbor were focused on them.  

+++

Two days later, when the Tiola Empire’s delegation had somewhat recovered from their journey, Emperor Grain held a friendly Shogan match to welcome them.  

Shogan was a type of polo played on horseback, where players hit a ball made of willow roots with a long stick resembling a mallet. Since the people of the Tiola Empire also enjoyed this game, a friendly match was held every year along with the court games.  

Lexion was also invited and sat just below the royal family’s viewing seats. The top row was for the Imperial Family, below them were the three Grand Duke and four Marquis families, and below them were the Earl families. Families below that could freely sit in the circularly arranged seats on the sides.  

Lexion tried not to pay attention to the conversation between Evans and Sweeney behind him and looked straight ahead.  

“It’s a very one-sided match.”  

Marquis Stephan, sitting next to Lexion, leaned slightly towards him and spoke. As he said, the Shogan match was less exciting than expected. Even though it was a friendly match, perhaps due to being overly cautious, it ended with a one-sided attack by the Tiola Empire.  

“Indeed. This time it’s quite severe.”  

Even if they were to lose, they should do so moderately… Emperor Grain, who had a strong sense of pride, must have had a considerably hardened expression by now.

“Your Majesty, it seems our players aren’t quite warmed up yet. How about one more game?”

Prince Isya of the Tiola Empire provoked Emperor Grain with a friendly smile.  

“One more game, you say…”  

“Yes, Your Majesty. I have heard that Duke Lexion and Prince Evans are exceptionally skilled. If the two of them compete, it would be a great honor for our players.”  

At Isya’s provocation, Emperor Grain’s lips twisted slightly.  

‘How dare he request the Empire’s Prince and Duke as players!’  

Every time, they had lost on purpose, citing it as a friendly match, yet their arrogance knew no bounds.  

“What do you think? Evans, Lexion. Shall we warm up a bit?”  

At Emperor Grain’s words, the eyes of those who had been watching the dull game so far sparkled with anticipation and interest.  

“Very well, Your Majesty. If you permit, I would like to ride once. Instead of 4:4, let’s make it 8:8. That way, it will be more dangerous and thrilling.”  

Evans, who was sitting next to Sweeney, stood up and took off his jacket. A valet immediately took his jacket and handed him white gloves.  

“Prince Isya. How about it? Will you accept the conditions?”  

This time, Grain asked Isya provocatively.  

Originally, Shogan was a game played 2:2 or 4:4. The 2:2 game was quite safe, enjoyed even by women in the Tiola Empire.  

However, an 8:8 game was different. Having a total of 16 rough horses running in the arena was dangerous enough to sometimes cause terrible accidents.  

“Of course, Your Majesty. We will witness the bravery of the knights of both empires.”  

Isya’s eyebrows twitched, but he answered with a bright smile.  

“Is it alright if we win, Your Majesty?”

Lexion stood up, turned around, and looked at Emperor Grain. He had already taken off his jacket and handed it to Stephan.  

“Hahaha. Yes, you may win.”  

At Lexion’s arrogant remark that he had no intention of playing a game to lose, Emperor Grain saw Isya’s expression crumple and smiled broadly.  

Lexion and Evans exchanged glances and walked down from the stands to the arena.  

“Gentlemen… protective gear…”  

Since the decision to participate was made hastily, there was no protective gear specifically for Lexion and Evans. The valets brought over the protective gear prepared for other players and offered it to them.  

“Not needed.”  

“Let’s go, Lexion.”  

But both mounted their horses in just shirts and trousers, grabbing their sticks. As soon as the referee blew the whistle, the sound of the stick hitting the ball resonated crisply in the arena.  

“Wow! They’re good!”  

“Right! This is what a game should be!”  

Even the dignified nobles stood up in excitement.  

Isabelle also stood up from her seat.  

The 16 large horses were tangled and running together. Evans boldly hit the ball, which seemed to roll across the grass, and before long, Lexion hit it into the goal.  

As the disappointment from the previous dull, one-sided loss was made up for by the performances of Lexion and Evans, the spectators cheered loudly.  

“How about it, Prince Isya? Have the players warmed up now?”  

“Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you for allowing us such an exciting game.”  

At Emperor Grain’s words, Isya smiled and bowed his head in response. Though he spoke politely, Emperor Grain did not miss the tension in Isya’s hand holding the fan.  

Isabelle’s gaze was fixed on the eight members of her country’s team, victorious in the arena, raising their sticks high in response to the spectators’ cheers.  

‘Lexion Ernst. I must have you.’  

Among them, the only one with black hair, Lexion Ernst, caught Isabelle’s emerald eyes.  

+++

“Princess, I have delivered the message.”  

A little later, a maid approached with a flushed face and whispered softly, and Isabelle turned her gaze to Lexion, who was walking towards the stands.  

“Duke Lexion, please use this handkerchief to wipe your sweat.”  

“Duke, here’s another handkerchief.”  

“Thank you.”  

As young ladies vied to hand Lexion handkerchiefs, he accepted them without any particular emotion and went up to where Stephan was.  

“Duke, shall we go to the dressing room?”  

“Let’s do that.”

Lexion descended from the stands without giving Isabelle a glance.  

But Isabelle faintly smiled when she noticed her handkerchief in Lexion’s hand.  

‘Lexion, you will know that you cannot refuse me. I will not let any other woman stand by your side.’  

When she openly showed her interest, there would be no woman daring enough to oppose her, so this game was already Isabelle’s victory.  

“Let’s go prepare for the banquet.”  

Isabelle headed to the Princess’s palace with her maids to prepare for the friendly banquet to be held after the match.  

As Isabelle and her maids passed near the dressing room, the handkerchiefs casually crumpled in Lexion’s trouser pocket fell to the floor.  

“Duke, your handkerchiefs have fallen.”  

Stephan noticed and picked them up, brushing off the dirt and handing them to Lexion.  

“Throw them away.”  

Without even turning his head, Lexion replied as he walked forward.  

“Duke, sometimes you need handkerchiefs. They are tokens of the ladies’ sincerity.”  

“Nonsense.”

At Lexion’s scolding, Stephan shrugged his shoulders once and unhesitatingly threw the handkerchiefs into the trash bin at the dressing room entrance.  

“P-Princess…”  

The maid who had personally handed Isabelle’s handkerchief to Lexion hesitated, glancing at Isabelle’s reaction.