"Veronica, it's getting late. How about you come rest at my place first, then deliver the mirror to Her Highness tomorrow."
David walked toward the carriage, seemingly casual as he said, "You're carrying a forbidden object. We'd better not split up."
Veronica thought about it and agreed without suspicion.
It was already past midnight. Even if she wanted to find Princess Roland, there was no way to do so. She might as well wait a night as David suggested.
...
9 Michelin Avenue.
When David returned, the lazy good-for-nothing lackey Doug had already hidden in his room, fast asleep. But the two maids were still waiting for him in the hall.
After having Zoe arrange a room for Veronica, David said to Yui, "From now on, if I don't come home at night, you don't need to wait up. Just go rest."
Yui nodded timidly, then suddenly asked, "Should we rest in the young master's bed first?"
"..."
David's eye twitched, and his gaze couldn't help but drift to certain parts of the maid's body.
"No, you have your own rooms..."
"Yes, young master."
...
Late into the night, David sat in his room, staring at the mirror on the desk.
Fourth-tier forbidden object—the Twin Demon Mirror.
From the outside, it just looked like an antique vanity mirror the size of two palms, with exquisite copper trim and a smooth glass surface. Nothing special about it.
But if you looked at yourself in the mirror, you'd notice something off.
This mirror could reflect the other side of a human soul.
Supernatural forbidden objects had a special evaluation system. The Twin Demon Mirror being ranked fourth-tier meant it possessed power that "touched the rules."
That was an even more mysterious domain than third-tier "beyond reality."
So this mirror definitely wasn't just about reflecting souls—David's purpose in getting the mirror was to use its properties to eliminate the "Heretic's Shadow" residing in his soul.
At this moment, when he looked in the mirror, he didn't just see his own appearance. Behind his reflection floated a transparent black shadow—that evil spirit.
Of the three evil spirits that had possessed David before, aside from the Watcher which still had some "use," the other two were just pure torment.
Especially this shadow that kept trying to take over his body!
To finally get a good night's sleep, he had to find every way possible to eliminate this damn thing.
But David sat in the chair thinking for a long time, uncertain how exactly to use this mirror.
He didn't want to accidentally create an uncontrolled "duplicate" like Julius had.
Just as he was getting drowsy from thinking, he inadvertently noticed some strange changes happening to his reflection.
I'm smiling?
David touched the corner of his mouth, very sure he wasn't making such a sinister expression.
Then he discovered the black shadow in the mirror was slowly merging into "his" back.
David's eyes suddenly lit up. He seemed to have figured out a way...
"Mirror, mirror..."
He showed a brilliant smile and asked the mirror, "Who is the real David Frank in this world?"
The "David" in the mirror smiled even more brazenly. He opened his mouth and silently said a sentence: "Of course it's me..."
Smack!
David slammed the mirror face-down. Almost simultaneously, he felt a lightness in his body. A black mist was pulled in by the twisted light emanating from the mirror's edges. He seemed to hear an ethereal scream echo through the void...
Ding~
[Due to unknown effect, ritual evil spirit "Heretic's Shadow" has been extracted.]
This notification appearing in the panel was undoubtedly heavenly music to David. He pressed down hard on the Twin Demon Mirror's surface, the corner of his mouth curling up brazenly. He wanted to laugh out loud three times right there...
He'd finally gotten rid of that bastard evil spirit!
"Since you wanted to take me over so badly, go occupy all you want in the mirror! Idiot! Hahahaha..."
Knock knock.
The door knocked. Holding a candle and wearing a nightgown, Zoe poked her head in, just in time to see David laughing crazily.
Then she silently blew out the candle in her hand, very consciously entered the room, closed the door, turned around and started undressing—all in one smooth motion...
"You don't need to undress!"
David rushed over, picked up the maid, and tossed her onto the bed, then couldn't wait to throw himself onto the bed too.
"This young master needs to sleep! Don't wake me up tonight."
Zoe, who'd gotten her clothes half off, was thrown into the soft bedding. She nodded blankly, "O-okay, young master."
But in just those few seconds, young master David had already fallen into deep sleep, like a newborn baby...
It had been so, so long since he'd slept this peacefully.
...
The next day, refreshed and stretching, David walked downstairs feeling satisfied. He was surprised to see Veronica, already fully dressed and ready, waiting for him in the living room.
David smiled and handed over the Twin Demon Mirror. Veronica noticed the mirror had been wrapped by David in thick cloth.
"It is a forbidden object, after all..." David casually explained.
Veronica agreed with this. She also noticed that this noble young master who'd always seemed so gloomy somehow appeared a bit more cheerful.
Oh right, his dark circles were gone...
...
The Twin Demon Mirror was taken away by Veronica. Before entering the Order's secret vault, it would first fall into Princess Roland's hands.
As for what exactly Roland wanted to use it for, no one knew.
Deep in the palace, "Fourth Prince" Roland sat in the secret garden of her private palace, leisurely drinking her favorite chamomile tea.
At this time, a maid carrying a heavy red box approached Her Highness. "Princess, the item you wanted is here."
Roland reached up to brush her smooth golden hair, revealing her beautiful profile. She casually opened the box—the Twin Demon Mirror lay quietly inside.
"Very good, you may leave..." Her Highness smiled with satisfaction. Before the maid left, she added, "Oh, and don't call me Princess anymore."
The maid smiled slightly, nodded, and left.
After no one was around, Roland took out the mirror and gently pressed her hand on the edge.
"Hehe, Twin Demon Mirror... Can you fulfill my wish?"
The golden-haired, blue-eyed Roland appeared in the mirror. That charming face was enough to make any flower in the garden pale in comparison.
But at this moment, the woman's appearance in the mirror began to change.
Soft lines were becoming harder. Crystal eyes slowly became deeper. Curved thin eyebrows also became sharper...
Soon, an image of the Fourth Prince appeared in the mirror. The Princess—had become a Prince.
The Princess outside the mirror looked at the mirror with a somewhat complex expression, gently stroking the surface as she murmured, "Mirror, oh mirror... Remember, he is Roland O'Brien Goliath..."
...
In the afternoon, David, who was staying home studying various hunter knowledge, was surprised to find Veronica had returned with the mirror.
"Her Highness doesn't need it anymore?"
"Yeah, Her Highness said he was done with it."
"Done with it..." David blinked. "So now we can turn it in for the mission?"
"Exactly." Veronica smiled excitedly. "Our trial mission should be complete."
The female hunter had finally gotten a successful trial and was about to shed that "failure" status. How could she not be excited?
And this time, both the mission the Prince assigned and the hunter trial had gone surprisingly smoothly. None of those weird situations where they'd inexplicably fall into desperate circumstances had happened.
All because of David Frank's combat power that was so strong it was hard to understand...
Veronica's eyes sparkled as she looked at David. "Thanks to you, Mr. David. Thank you."
"Just call me David from now on," David shook his head. "Don't thank me. Your keen insight was the key to completing our mission. I told you, you'll become an excellent hunter."
The female hunter opened her mouth, then smiled with narrowed eyes.
She realized her previous understanding of David Frank seemed to have many discrepancies. This person seemed like a completely different existence from the heinous noble young master in the rumors.
Veronica suddenly felt that the black-haired, black-eyed David Frank seemed more graceful and charismatic than most nobles she'd met...
...
Without delay, the two took the "missing" Twin Demon Mirror that had returned and rushed to the church, delivering it to the very surprised Fernandes.
The fate of this forbidden object would be to be sealed deep underground, quietly lying in its own personal "cell."
If nothing unexpected happened, no one would come into contact with it for the next several hundred years. It would fall asleep together with all the many souls that had been reflected into the mirror.
Including that evil spirit.
The iron door radiating divine power rumbled shut. The confinement formation activated. After the people transporting the forbidden object left, only that mirror remained in the pitch-black room.
But at this moment, a strange twisted light began to glow from within the mirror...