Special Side Story 1

A hundred years had passed.  

Rozeanes had been sentenced to a century of solitude and darkness for her crime of impersonating a god and luring an innocent girl into a mirror.  

‘It’s fine. Ernst was safe, and Lexion and Adelina were happy. It’s fine.’  

She consoled herself this way each day until one particular day arrived.  

“Your Grace, today is the day mentioned in the will.”  

“I know.”  

The voices of young men echoed, and a brilliant light poured into the mirror where Rozeanes was trapped.  

‘Huh? Stephan? Stephan! Have you become young again?’  

Rozeanes reached out as if to touch the face of the man reflected on the mirror’s surface.  

Stephan, known as the “Black Panther of Ernst,” had dark black hair and fierce black eyes that exuded an intimidating aura. His sharp jawline and his haughty nod of greeting would make the ladies around him silently cheer.  

Even those who secretly watched him gulped nervously whenever his prominent Adam’s apple bobbed, especially when he seemed to make a resolute decision.  

“Hah. So this is the keepsake? Could it be that he lost his mind before he passed away?”  

Felix sighed in exasperation as he pulled out the item that had been sealed in a wooden box.  

Taken from the depths of the safe in the study, it was nothing more than a hand mirror wrapped in blue silk.  

“Your Grace, Lord Stephan made significant contributions to freeing Ernst.”  

Gerald, the one-eyed butler, adjusted his monocle and subtly scolded Felix while polishing the lens.  

“Quiet. Does this look like a treasure worthy of a founding hero to you?”  

Felix ran his fingers through his hair in irritation and left the study.  

‘Really. He must have lost his mind. Or perhaps… he wanted to humiliate me, his descendant.’  

The fact that his ancestor Stephan had requested “anything you desire” from Emperor Lexion and ended up choosing this ordinary hand mirror felt utterly ridiculous to Felix.  

He felt foolish for opening the safe today in accordance with Stephan’s will.  

At least he could be grateful that Emperor Lexion had elevated the Marquisate of Florin to a Duchy.  

“Your Grace! You must still honor Lord Stephan’s will!”  

Butler Gerald hurriedly gathered the mirror left on the desk and decided to place it in Felix’s bedroom.  

Stephan’s will had clearly stated, “Always keep it close.”  

+++

“Oh my, good evening, Your Grace.”  

“Good evening, my Lady.”  

That evening, Felix attended a banquet held at the Imperial Palace. After making a brief appearance in the banquet hall, he strolled along the third-floor corridor.  

He could sense women following him from behind, but he paid them no mind and stopped in front of a portrait hanging in the middle of the hallway.  

It was a painting of Lexion, Adelina, and Queen Rozeanes, hung side by side.  

After gazing at the portraits for a long time, Felix returned to the banquet hall just before the Emperor and Empress were due to arrive.  

“Duke Felix, shouldn’t you bring us some good news before the upcoming hunting competition? Many young ladies are suffering heartbreak because of you.”  

As always, the elderly Emperor subtly pressured him to marry.  

“If I had a granddaughter, I would’ve married her off to you long ago for the sake of the Empire’s peace.” 

He added with a chuckle.  

“Indeed, Your Majesty. I heard recently that a Count’s daughter threatened to throw herself off a building if the Duke didn’t marry her. It’s quite concerning.”  

Even the Crown Prince joined in, siding with the Emperor to pressure Felix, though it hardly fazed him.  

However…  

“Duke Felix! How dare you reject Lady Bonita’s love! I challenge you to a duel!”  

If it weren’t for the drunken fools throwing handkerchiefs at him in the name of honor and unrequited love, Felix might have enjoyed this pleasant spring evening.  

“Your Majesty, may I kill him?”  

“Absolutely not!”  

Felix bit his lower lip and slowly cracked his neck from side to side. The Imperial Guard, following the Emperor’s orders, hurriedly dragged away the man who had challenged him to a duel.  

“Lady Bonita! I will protect your honor!”  

Even as he was dragged out, the man continued shouting about love and honor, causing Felix to frown slightly.  

“Felix.”  

“Yes, Your Majesty.”  

The Empress scrutinized Felix, who had regained his composure.  

His navy-blue uniform was immaculate, without a speck of dust. He wore black gloves, refusing even to brush against women’s fingertips.  

And his aloof demeanor, which prevented him from remembering the names or faces of the ladies, despite his sharp intellect.  

‘Could the rumors be true? Could they really… be true?’  

Among the three great Ducal Houses of the Empire, Felix was the only one of marriageable age.  

How many women had pursued him aggressively?  

Yet, the rumors surrounding him always whispered: “The Duke cannot embrace a woman. The reason is…”  

“Felix, as your aunt and as the elder of the Florin family, I command you: marry within six months.”  

“Your Majesty!”  

Felix strongly protested the Empress’s unreasonable command.  

The gazes of the women, peeking over their fans and eyeing him like a delicious prey, made him feel as though his uniform was being torn apart.  

“This is an ab*se of power, Your Majesty. If you force me to marry, I will renounce my title as Duke!”  

The Empress, however, snorted and didn’t even raise an eyebrow at his words.  

But when Felix threatened to kill any women brought into his chambers, she finally offered a compromise.  

“I’ll give you 100 days. Prove within 100 days that you can… be with a woman.”  

The Empress whispered this last part so softly that only the two of them could hear.  

Still, perhaps fearing Felix might feign ignorance, she even had him sign a written agreement.  

+++

“Phew…”  

Returning from the banquet, Felix went straight to his bedroom and began discarding his uniform.  

He tossed his jacket carelessly onto the sofa, followed by his white cravat and shirt. Then even the belt from his trousers joined the pile.  

‘Oh my, oh my, oh my! Stephan’s descendant! A perfect 10 out of 10!’  

From within the mirror, Rozeanes carefully observed Felix undressing.  

She couldn’t be more grateful to the thoughtful butler who had hung the mirror on the wall instead of laying it flat on the desk.  

‘He looks so much like Stephan. It’s both embarrassing and thrilling!’  

Stephan had been her swordsmanship teacher. Of course, she’d never harbored any inappropriate feelings for him.  

Even when Stephan occasionally revealed his upper body, she had only glanced briefly with an air of indifference.  

Felix, meanwhile, admired his reflection in the terrace window, flexing his arms and twisting his body to show off his muscles.  

“Is this because I take after Lord Stephan?”  

Stephan was said to have lived his entire life alone.  

After the war, Lexion and Adelina had encouraged him to marry, but he had only responded with a wistful smile and a faint chuckle.  

Thus, after his death, the closest nephew had to carry on the family line.  

‘Stephan’s descendant! While you’re at it, why not show off your leg muscles too?’  

Rozeanes lounged comfortably in the mirror, pretending to munch on popcorn.  

Now, she finally understood why Adelina had begged to be turned into a bathroom mirror.  

“Hah. Gerald, you really went and brought the mirror into my bedroom.”  

Felix let out a wry laugh as he spotted the hand mirror hanging on the wall above the desk.  

“But seriously. To demand that I embrace a woman within 100 days… Who am I supposed to embrace?”  

The mere touch of a woman’s fingertips made him feel queasy and uncomfortable. Naturally, he had distanced himself from women, and now, this was the result.  

“With whom… should I do it?”  

He asked the reflection of his own eyes in the small hand mirror. An inexplicable sensation washed over him, as though another person’s gaze was overlapping with his.  

“With me.”  

From within the mirror, Rozeanes giggled as she answered.  

She never imagined her response would actually reach Felix’s ears.  

For a moment, Felix’s eyes widened, but they quickly returned to normal.  

“Who should I kiss and do… that with?”  

“Kiss me and do… that with me.”  

The coy voice of a woman echoed again, causing Felix’s lips to twist in frustration and his gaze to darken ominously.  

D*mn that ancestor Stephan for leaving behind such a bizarre item.  

+++

A short while later, Felix finished a light shower, turned off all the lights, and lay down on his bed.  

Through the slightly parted curtains of the terrace window, moonlight and starlight softly streamed in, faintly illuminating the objects in the room.  

‘Wait. If Adelina managed to escape from the mirror, then maybe… I can escape too.’  

If that were possible… wouldn’t this loneliness finally come to an end?  

Couldn’t I live among people again, sharing warmth and companionship?  

As Felix’s breathing became steady, Rozeanes reached out her hand to the surface of the mirror, driven by a glimmer of hope.  

The mirror’s surface rippled like a pond struck by a stone, forming concentric circles.  

‘Oh… not yet!’  

Just as her fingertips seemed to pass through the mirror, Rozeanes’s entire body was propelled out of it.  

With a dull thud, she landed on the floor. As a chemise-like nightgown draped over her body, she quietly approached Felix’s bed.  

‘A person. A real person.’  

She reached out toward Felix’s face. When his breath brushed against her fingertips, a shiver ran through her.  

‘Just a little closer…’  

She longed to feel human warmth. To revel in the fact that she now had a physical body.  

She wanted to rediscover the sensation of touch, the joy of looking someone in the eye and having a conversation, the thrill of sharing emotions with another person.  

To smell scents, taste food, laugh together, and chat endlessly—just like she did back in those days.  

As Rozeanes’s fingertips unknowingly brushed against Felix’s cheek, she gasped and tried to withdraw her hand.  

“Got you. The witch from the mirror.”  

Felix grabbed her wrist, pinning her down onto the bed as he pressed her wrists against the mattress.  

“Listen, descendant. I’m not a witch. Let go of my hand.”  

Rozeanes tried her best to remain composed as she addressed Felix.  

She could have struck a vital point to knock him out immediately, but she chose to show restraint since he was Stephan’s descendant.  

“If you’re not a witch, then what are you?”  

“Rozeanes. Gasp!”  

“You are a witch. How dare you invoke the Queen’s name? I’ll kill you.”  

Felix sneered, pressing a dagger to her neck.  

‘Hey! I’m Rozeanes!’  

Had my appearance changed? 

Well, Adelina had looked different when she emerged from the mirror, so it was possible.  

“There! Behind you! An assassin!”  

“Do you think I’d fall for such a cheap trick?”  

Rozeanes tilted her head upward, undeterred by Felix’s attempt to press the dagger closer.  

Smooch.  

The sound of moist lips meeting caused Felix’s body to freeze in place.  

‘Now!’  

Rozeanes pushed Felix’s torso away and scrambled off the bed.  

‘I need to check the mirror! I have to see how my appearance has changed!’  

If she looked strange, she would have to return to the mirror immediately.  

If possible, she wanted to live in her original form—with her lustrous black hair and dark eyes, resembling the people of Ernst.  

“Gasp!”  

Rozeanes froze in place, barely a few steps away from the bed.  

“The mirror will have to go.”  

The dagger Felix had thrown was now embedded in the center of Rozeanes’s mirror.  

“What a pity. You have nowhere to go now, witch.”  

Felix descended from the bed and blocked her view, lifting her chin with his fingers.  

Reflected in his dark eyes was the image of an unfamiliar woman.  

‘A witch…’  

Her hair was a deep crimson, reminiscent of the witches of legend.