Every Morning, My Mirror Saves the World - Chapter 60

Juvina was a good prince who knew how to enjoy himself alongside his people. Mm-hmm.

And so this good prince who enjoyed himself alongside his people forcibly transformed the intimate victory banquet Ruiyin had prepared for the warriors into an integrated civil-military celebration attended by ten thousand people from every class of society.

Ruiyin sat expressionlessly in her seat. Her carefully arranged order of “Lars → Juvina → me → assorted irrelevant people” had long since become “Me! → Me! → And all of us!”

Juvina held a wineglass, his flushed cheeks radiating androgynous pheromones that attracted girls of uncertain orientation. Lars stood calmly among a crowd of children and accepted their adoration. Galahad and Vigia boasted of their glorious exploits to bystanders who knew nothing of the truth… Meanwhile, Ruiyin had been shoved into a corner, her face darkening as her grip tightened around her cup…

“Lady Ruiyin!” A bald, middle-aged man suddenly squeezed in front of her. Slurring with excitement, he said, “You simply must let me drink a toast to you!”

Ruiyin swiftly dodged him with a thunderous expression. “I don’t—”

“Waaaaah, do you know, in all my years I’ve never met anyone as magnificent as you! You decisively rejected His Majesty’s suggestion that you usurp the throne, and you even managed to make that king sit inside his study! Never in my life did I imagine I would see him in a place like that. Your outstanding ability and noble character have left us prostrate with admiration! Come! Bottoms up!”

The bald uncle raised his cup with heroic flair. Then he pretended he was about to drink it himself and, the instant Ruiyin was not paying attention, poured the entire thing into her mouth.

The scorching, caustic liquid ambushed her sensitive taste buds. An invisible knife seemed to slash open her throat and stab all the way into her stomach. Ruiyin, who rarely drank, became dizzy almost instantly. She swayed and clutched the edge of the table, lifting her spinning head to find a line of uncles whose bald heads each possessed its own distinctive character.

“Lord Ruiyin, please forgive my attitude toward you at the beginning. Allow me to offer you a toast!”

“Lady Ruiyin, thank you for looking after His Majesty. Please have a drink with me!”

“Your Majesty Ruiyin, forget about His Majesty! Be bold and overthrow him! We all support you. Come, finish this cup!”

A great wave of bald men was closing in…

Ruiyin weakly waved her hands, but no one paid the slightest attention to her futile resistance. Everyone enthusiastically discussed the details of her coup. Even His Bearded Majesty joined the conversation with great interest. (Hey…)

The debate continued until Juvina finally noticed something was wrong. His Highness, who had been busy socializing, urgently extricated himself and put a stop to the dangerous possibility of the empire splitting apart. Only then did Ruiyin escape from the [horrible world of grown-ups].

Eyes closed, she staggered toward a quiet corner. Halfway there, the wall she was leaning against abruptly disappeared, and she nearly lost her balance. An arm reached from the shadows and swiftly steadied her.

“Ruiyin? Are you drunk?” the person holding her asked softly.

Ruiyin opened her eyes and shot him a glacial glare. “If you weren’t drunk, would you need someone to help you walk?”

…Some creatures remained prickly cacti even when intoxicated.

The hands supporting her trembled. After a moment’s hesitation, the person beside her asked, “Did those ministers get you drunk?”

Eyes still closed, she nodded unsteadily. “I’ll give them their king back tomorrow. How dare they do this to me…”

“So it was those ministers, not Lars? Lars had absolutely nothing to do with you getting drunk, right?”

Ruiyin continued nodding, though her body had already gone limp and could no longer support itself.

A terrifying silence followed. Then—perhaps it was only her imagination—she thought she heard the person beside her swallow heavily.

“Ruiyin? Ruiyin? How about I take you back to your room?” Someone gently shook her. The man’s voice was deep and pleasant, its timbre familiar, but its coaxing softness entirely unfamiliar.

She nodded groggily and allowed him to pull her up with ease, then skillfully haul her upstairs.

The noise behind them gradually faded. Soft carpet covered the dim corridor, silently swallowing their footsteps. Lars carefully supported Ruiyin with one arm as he passed through doorway after doorway, completely unhindered by the darkness. His emerald eyes gradually took on a beastlike glow in the gloom. At the end of the corridor, he turned a corner, and a room with a plaque on its door appeared before him.

Juvina had prepared this room especially for Ruiyin. No one could read the words written on the plaque. Lars had once looked them up in his spare time and discovered that they meant: “She-Demon Inside. Eats People. Enter at Your Own Risk.”

Afterward, he had silently closed the book and thought it might be better to leave the sign exactly where it was. If people believed she was a She-Demon, surely they would stay far away from her.

Lars concentrated on the grain of the wood before him. One ring. Two rings. Ruiyin was in his arms. Three rings. Ruiyin was leaning against his shoulder. Ruiyin was drunk and had no idea what was happening…

He drew a deep breath, then reached out with a hand he had not noticed beginning to tremble and pushed open the door.

Apart from the original furnishings of the guest room, Ruiyin had added no personal touches. Thick, weighty volumes covered the desk, along with papers filled with messy handwriting. The reading material beside her bed consisted of a single handwritten sheet. Lars’s face warmed when he realized it looked like one of the letters he had sent her.

Entering a girl’s room for the first time, Lars greedily examined everything with fascinated, unfamiliar eyes. The familiar scent permeating the air made even his fingertips tremble beyond his control.

At last, he successfully helped Ruiyin onto the bed. Lars tiptoed across the piles of books on the floor and silently crouched at her bedside.

“Ruiyin?” he whispered. “May I hold your hand?”

Steady breathing was his only answer. Mm. Ruiyin had said that silence meant consent, so she had agreed.

Summoning his courage, he reached out and gently took hold of one finger.

…Awoooo, I touched it! I’m so happy! It’s real! A real, living Ruiyin finger!

His Excellency the Deputy Commander stood there in imposing black battle armor. His extended hand remained perfectly steady while every other part of him cavorted and rolled around in ecstasy…

Three minutes later, he swiftly regained his composure. Leaning closer once more, he whispered, “Ruiyin? Can I… can I kiss you?”

The person on the bed gave a soft snore and still did not answer.

Still consent! Wonderful!

Lars swayed beside the bed. He spent so long preparing himself mentally that his entire body began to shake. Then, shoulders trembling, he slowly leaned closer. The sleeping face before him had lost its usual cold gloom. Flushed from the alcohol, she looked peaceful and impossibly beautiful.

He inched forward until he could see the faint flutter of her eyelashes. Lars nervously closed his eyes and, with excruciating slowness, pressed his lips to her cheek—

*Smooch.*

Then he darted back.

He stood dazed beside the bed with both hands covering his mouth. As he stared at Ruiyin, who remained sound asleep and completely unaware, some unknown thought gradually turned his entire face scarlet.

…Awoooo, I kissed her! I actually kissed her! This isn’t a dream, is it? It’s so embarrassing, but h-how can I be this happy…? Even if I die right now, I’ll have no regrets!

The number-one man on the list of “Hottest Men Women Most Want to Be Banged By” rolled around on the floor in tears, cupping his face and emitting shameful muffled laughter. At last, he flipped upright, crouched in his original place again, and held his breath as he gently took Ruiyin’s hand. Once more, he attempted to swindle her.

“Ruiyin, I-I want to hug you. Is that all right? If you don’t say anything, that means you agree, okay? Then I’m going to…”

He rubbed his hands together. After a long while, Lars crept forward in trepidation and cautiously extended his arms.

But just as he leaned toward Ruiyin, the eyes that had remained peacefully shut sprang open without warning!

Thin ice seemed to have formed deep within those black pupils. Her frigid stare nearly stopped Lars from breathing.

“What are you trying to do?” she asked coldly.

“I… I…” Lars, caught just as he prepared to do something wicked, froze in terror. He tried futilely to explain, his words tumbling over one another. “I was only…”

“Do you want to become like that Tio?” she said flatly, sending Lars into almost instant despair.

“I… I don’t! I mean, I did secretly watch what she did with her boy toys… Uh, and I suppose I did learn this from her… But I really don’t!” Lars waved his hands frantically as his face slowly turned deathly pale. “I don’t want to become like her! It’s only with you… I just couldn’t control myself… I won’t dare do it again! Never again!”

Ruiyin slowly sat up on the bed and looked down at him from above. A wickedly enchanting smile gradually curved her lips.

“You think this tiny bit is enough?”

“…Huh?”

The sudden change of subject left Lars’s mind unable to keep up. Still crouched on the floor, he stared at Ruiyin with the vacant expression of an idiot.

“You still have a long way to go.” Ruiyin shook her head.

“You… You mean…” Lars struggled to understand. The despair on his face gradually transformed into bashful delight. Blushing furiously, he coyly traced circles on the floor with one finger. “I know I still… But I’ve only just started learning. I’ll work very hard! So, Ruiyin, you mean I can…”

His Excellency the Deputy Commander summoned his courage once more and slowly approached her, ready to continue his earlier wicked deed.

“Five centimeters of paperwork is already too much for you? You still have a long way to go! Have you checked the tax accounts from Ladia’s fief? Have you memorized the imperial resource atlas Durey compiled? This figure is 7.86, not 7.88! Why haven’t the front-line soldiers’ weapons been prepared? If this is the best you can do, why don’t you just marry that useless Queen Tio, you idiot!”

Ruiyin sat bolt upright with her legs planted wide, pointing one finger at Lars as she sternly declared, “Your Majesty, I will never usurp your throne and take this whole mess off your hands, so please do your work properly! Your warriors are still fighting at the front. When Lars and the others return, I won’t let him see a single problem!”

At that, she suddenly frowned and looked puzzled. “Huh? Wait. I think the war is over. Oh, I can’t believe I forgot. Lars is still downstairs being forced to drink by those horrible old men! Hey, you—go help him to bed. Damn it, this isn’t even China! Why do I still have to deal with awful social drinking?!”

Lars stood as though his entire body had gone stupid and watched Ruiyin drunkenly rave with perfectly lucid eyes. She rambled for a long time before finally collapsing from exhaustion. Soon, with her back turned to Lars, she began snoring in deep sleep once more.

Lars stood rigid and cold. His arms remained spread in preparation for his wicked deed, while the raging fire inside him had yet to subside in the slightest.

But the person who had started all this had already fallen asleep without a shred of guilt, and he could never possibly vent it on her.

…This world is absolutely horrible QAQ!!!! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!!!! Maybe I should just destroy the whole thing QAQ!!!!

Author’s Note:

*Silently lights a candle while looking at* Ten Ways My Imagination Differs from Master’s *(by Lars).*

(Hey! Everyone in the back, stop lighting candles with me!)