As usual, Alicia wiped her sweaty face and leaned back against the bed, gazing out of the window.
Beyond the window, the night was dark, but the moon was bright.
It was a long and harsh winter night.
In just a few days, it would be her birthday, and she remembered it with a bitter sigh.
Normally, she would have been delighted at the thought of spending her birthday with her family, but ever since she started having those dreams, her birthday had become a day that filled her with immense guilt.
It was no ordinary dream. The sensations were too vivid.
She gradually realized that it might not be a simple dream.
Perhaps, it could be a divine punishment to correct this mistaken fate.
However, she couldn’t bring herself to talk to her family about it.
During the recurring dreams, the voices of resentment she heard from them had become clearer and more intense.
‘I should speak up today.”
Even though she had made up her mind beforehand, the moment she’d see her family’s faces, it felt as if the resentment from her dreams echoed loudly in her ears.
At such times, she found herself involuntarily biting her lips.
When asked if something was wrong, she would raise the corners of her mouth and shake her head. Now, she could even act like nothing was wrong so naturally.
She had become so skilled at pretending that she no longer heard questions like, “Is something bothering you?” To her, it was as if she could no longer hear such questions.
The stronger the secret, the stronger the guilt.
If she and her sister had truly switched lives…
If she had truly taken away her sister’s life…
She would need to reveal the truth and apologize.
She would need to confess to her father and her brother as well. But not revealing the truth was not because of fear, but rather because she felt her innermost thoughts refused to divulge it.
Guilt became another nightmare that choked her throat, leaving her feeling trapped in a dead-end with no way to escape or any means to move forward.
Since she started having those dreams, every day has been a living hell.
Hell in her sleep, hell when she woke up.
Her eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling, had no focus. Soon, tears welled up beneath her lifeless golden eyes.
Tears hung on her eyelashes and rolled down her cheeks.
Even as tears flowed, Alicia didn’t blink once, as if time had stopped and only her tears could move.
The sight of her like this was unbearably pitiful, yet horribly beautiful.
Then, a ray of light began to flicker in the confined darkness.
“Light?”
Focus returned to Alicia’s eyes, and her attention shifted towards the source of light inside the room.
She lowered her head, following the light that started inside the room—not beyond the window.
In the eerie light that emanated from the darkness, it was not difficult for Alicia to trace the origin of the light.
On the desk, there was a small tabletop mirror.
The light was emanating from there.
Alicia approached the mirror as if she were enchanted. As she got closer, the light became more vivid.
“This is…”
With a voice echoing in the silence, Alicia reached out and picked up the mirror, where the light was originating.
It was the same mirror that Daniel had discreetly handed to her during their visit to the Carter family a while ago.
“It’s a secret gift. Keep it hidden from anyone else.”
She remembered Daniel whispering to her while she furtively glanced at her sister and Young Lord Carter, who were engaged in conversation nearby.
Then, she discreetly slipped the mirror into the pocket of her dress, swallowing her dry throat.
‘A secret gift.’
The words had an exciting and trembling sensation. Alicia caressed the surface of the mirror with her free hand, captivated by its presence.
Normally, Alicia would have been surprised and flustered, but given the dreadful nightmare she had just woken up from, this situation she was not used to didn’t surprise her much.
As she caressed the cold surface of the mirror, the light soon dimmed.
Alicia withdrew her hand.
Then, through the diminishing light, the face of someone appeared on the other side of the mirror.
It was only then that a look of astonishment crossed Alicia’s face.
As the face on the other side of the mirror became clearer, Alicia’s eyes widened.
“Daniel?”
As her small lips murmured his name, Daniel on the other side of the mirror gave a secretive smile.
Behind his round eyes, his bright blue irises met Alicia’s gaze.
“Alicia.”
The man’s voice was as affectionate and sweet as ever.
Like a vivid rose, concealing its sharp thorns.
* * *
“What on earth… is happening? How did you appear on the other side of the mirror…?”
Bewildered, Alicia threw questions at the mirror as she returned to the bed.
Daniel answered with a playful grin.
“Surprised? Since it’s a surprise gift, it had to be something like this.”
“I was really shocked. A mirror that allows us to have a conversation… I’ve never heard of this, nor even seen anything like it before.”
“I had a hard time finding it, too. I wanted to give it to you as a birthday present for you, Lady Alicia.”
“My birthday present?”
“It’s in three days.”
“You… remembered.”
“Of course.”
With a voice that seemed naturally certain, Alicia swallowed hard.
The sound of her racing heart seemed to echo in her ears.
‘What if Daniel can hear it too…’
With unnecessary worries, Alicia used both hands to cover her blushing cheeks.
The nightmare from last night was fading away through the cracks of the unexpected situation and the pounding of her heart.
Daniel quietly watched Alicia, then opened his mouth slightly.
“I’m sorry for contacting you in the middle of the night. Did I wake you up?”
“No, I was already awake.”
“You woke up?”
In response to Daniel’s worried question, Alicia forced a smile and replied.
“Yes, I woke up because I had a nightmare.”
Perhaps due to the false smile that seemed like a lie to others, her smile felt stiffer than usual.
A faint smirk crossed Daniel’s face for a moment.
It was so fleeting that Alicia didn’t even notice it.
The man’s expression remained somewhere in between, a faint smile and surprise.
“To be honest, I thought it might be something like that when I contacted you.”
“…Really?”
“I wanted to test out the communication feature of this mirror and was planning to reveal it on your birthday. But today, you appeared in my dream, Alicia.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. I saw you wandering in the darkness, then you collapsed to the ground, crying. You asked why the dream was so vivid and told it to stop… That’s why I got really worried about you and contacted you right away, even though I know it’s rude to do so in the middle of the night.”
Alicia’s mouth opened slightly in response to Daniel’s words.
Her golden eyes started to tremble uncontrollably.
“You… had such a dream?”
Her voice trembled as it spilled out, unable to hide the anxiety.
It couldn’t be helped.
It was as if he had dreamed the very same thing tonight.
“Are you okay? You don’t look well.”
Daniel’s worried question made Alicia’s eyes, which had been searching nervously, turn towards him.
“What’s bothering you? Is there something on your mind?”
“…N…No… It’s nothing.”
Alicia instinctively withdrew her hand, perhaps because she hadn’t told her family about this secret.
…But on the contrary, it was also a secret she had hidden precisely because they were family.
She knew it wasn’t a good idea to casually reveal secrets to others, but…
‘Still, if it’s Daniel…’
As she was about to deny it without hesitation, her hands, which were being waved in the air in denial, gradually stopped.
Her hands, which had stopped in mid-air, fell onto her knees.
The fingers twitching on her knees clearly indicated her hesitation.
Daniel wouldn’t miss this.
He soon lowered his voice to a whisper and said,
“Since it seems difficult for you to talk about it, how about I share my secret first?”
“Huh?”
“Listen, and if you feel comfortable, you can tell me your worries.”
“……”
Alicia didn’t respond.
At Daniel’s urging, he continued in a hushed voice.
“This is something I’ve never told Alicia before… Actually…”
I was chosen by the sacred relic of House Freesia.
The whispered secret was exceptionally confidential and sweet.
Her golden eyes blinked rapidly, and her trembling fingers came to a halt.
“Oh, congratulations! Come to think of it, you mentioned that the sacred relic reacted to you before the hunting festival, right? Are you now officially the owner of the relic?”
In response to Alicia’s question, Daniel nodded.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“This is such joyous news… You haven’t told your family yet?”
“Haha, when the relic reacted last time, my brother scolded me just for that. I’ll let them know eventually, but for now, I want to keep it a secret.”
Sometimes, there are things we hide because we’re family.
“Ah.”
Alicia softly sighed at Daniel’s comment.
It was the exact thought that had just crossed her mind.
Hiding things all because they were family.
She felt a sense of striking understanding and camaraderie.
“Well, that’s why I felt the need to contact you. Since becoming the chosen one of the relic, I’ve occasionally had precognitive dreams.”
“Precognitive dreams…”
Alicia murmured, her face growing serious at Daniel’s statement.
He asked again,
“So, how about it? Will you tell me your secret now?”
Her pink lips closed slowly and then parted again, this time more deliberately.
Like a young child on the verge of doing something bad, her heart pounded uncontrollably. Her slightly parted lips began to spill out the secret she had kept from everyone.
Once the confession began, it seemed never-ending.
Tears flowed continuously from her golden eyes, and…
With each tear, her heart felt lighter.
Daniel’s smile, too, grew warmer and brighter.
As usual, Alicia wiped her sweaty face and leaned back against the bed, gazing out of the window.
Beyond the window, the night was dark, but the moon was bright.
It was a long and harsh winter night.
In just a few days, it would be her birthday, and she remembered it with a bitter sigh.
Normally, she would have been delighted at the thought of spending her birthday with her family, but ever since she started having those dreams, her birthday had become a day that filled her with immense guilt.
It was no ordinary dream. The sensations were too vivid.
She gradually realized that it might not be a simple dream.
Perhaps, it could be a divine punishment to correct this mistaken fate.
However, she couldn’t bring herself to talk to her family about it.
During the recurring dreams, the voices of resentment she heard from them had become clearer and more intense.
‘I should speak up today.”
Even though she had made up her mind beforehand, the moment she’d see her family’s faces, it felt as if the resentment from her dreams echoed loudly in her ears.
At such times, she found herself involuntarily biting her lips.
When asked if something was wrong, she would raise the corners of her mouth and shake her head. Now, she could even act like nothing was wrong so naturally.
She had become so skilled at pretending that she no longer heard questions like, “Is something bothering you?” To her, it was as if she could no longer hear such questions.
The stronger the secret, the stronger the guilt.
If she and her sister had truly switched lives…
If she had truly taken away her sister’s life…
She would need to reveal the truth and apologize.
She would need to confess to her father and her brother as well. But not revealing the truth was not because of fear, but rather because she felt her innermost thoughts refused to divulge it.
Guilt became another nightmare that choked her throat, leaving her feeling trapped in a dead-end with no way to escape or any means to move forward.
Since she started having those dreams, every day has been a living hell.
Hell in her sleep, hell when she woke up.
Her eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling, had no focus. Soon, tears welled up beneath her lifeless golden eyes.
Tears hung on her eyelashes and rolled down her cheeks.
Even as tears flowed, Alicia didn’t blink once, as if time had stopped and only her tears could move.
The sight of her like this was unbearably pitiful, yet horribly beautiful.
Then, a ray of light began to flicker in the confined darkness.
“Light?”
Focus returned to Alicia’s eyes, and her attention shifted towards the source of light inside the room.
She lowered her head, following the light that started inside the room—not beyond the window.
In the eerie light that emanated from the darkness, it was not difficult for Alicia to trace the origin of the light.
On the desk, there was a small tabletop mirror.
The light was emanating from there.
Alicia approached the mirror as if she were enchanted. As she got closer, the light became more vivid.
“This is…”
With a voice echoing in the silence, Alicia reached out and picked up the mirror, where the light was originating.
It was the same mirror that Daniel had discreetly handed to her during their visit to the Carter family a while ago.
“It’s a secret gift. Keep it hidden from anyone else.”
She remembered Daniel whispering to her while she furtively glanced at her sister and Young Lord Carter, who were engaged in conversation nearby.
Then, she discreetly slipped the mirror into the pocket of her dress, swallowing her dry throat.
‘A secret gift.’
The words had an exciting and trembling sensation. Alicia caressed the surface of the mirror with her free hand, captivated by its presence.
Normally, Alicia would have been surprised and flustered, but given the dreadful nightmare she had just woken up from, this situation she was not used to didn’t surprise her much.
As she caressed the cold surface of the mirror, the light soon dimmed.
Alicia withdrew her hand.
Then, through the diminishing light, the face of someone appeared on the other side of the mirror.
It was only then that a look of astonishment crossed Alicia’s face.
As the face on the other side of the mirror became clearer, Alicia’s eyes widened.
“Daniel?”
As her small lips murmured his name, Daniel on the other side of the mirror gave a secretive smile.
Behind his round eyes, his bright blue irises met Alicia’s gaze.
“Alicia.”
The man’s voice was as affectionate and sweet as ever.
Like a vivid rose, concealing its sharp thorns.
* * *
“What on earth… is happening? How did you appear on the other side of the mirror…?”
Bewildered, Alicia threw questions at the mirror as she returned to the bed.
Daniel answered with a playful grin.
“Surprised? Since it’s a surprise gift, it had to be something like this.”
“I was really shocked. A mirror that allows us to have a conversation… I’ve never heard of this, nor even seen anything like it before.”
“I had a hard time finding it, too. I wanted to give it to you as a birthday present for you, Lady Alicia.”
“My birthday present?”
“It’s in three days.”
“You… remembered.”
“Of course.”
With a voice that seemed naturally certain, Alicia swallowed hard.
The sound of her racing heart seemed to echo in her ears.
‘What if Daniel can hear it too…’
With unnecessary worries, Alicia used both hands to cover her blushing cheeks.
The nightmare from last night was fading away through the cracks of the unexpected situation and the pounding of her heart.
Daniel quietly watched Alicia, then opened his mouth slightly.
“I’m sorry for contacting you in the middle of the night. Did I wake you up?”
“No, I was already awake.”
“You woke up?”
In response to Daniel’s worried question, Alicia forced a smile and replied.
“Yes, I woke up because I had a nightmare.”
Perhaps due to the false smile that seemed like a lie to others, her smile felt stiffer than usual.
A faint smirk crossed Daniel’s face for a moment.
It was so fleeting that Alicia didn’t even notice it.
The man’s expression remained somewhere in between, a faint smile and surprise.
“To be honest, I thought it might be something like that when I contacted you.”
“…Really?”
“I wanted to test out the communication feature of this mirror and was planning to reveal it on your birthday. But today, you appeared in my dream, Alicia.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. I saw you wandering in the darkness, then you collapsed to the ground, crying. You asked why the dream was so vivid and told it to stop… That’s why I got really worried about you and contacted you right away, even though I know it’s rude to do so in the middle of the night.”
Alicia’s mouth opened slightly in response to Daniel’s words.
Her golden eyes started to tremble uncontrollably.
“You… had such a dream?”
Her voice trembled as it spilled out, unable to hide the anxiety.
It couldn’t be helped.
It was as if he had dreamed the very same thing tonight.
“Are you okay? You don’t look well.”
Daniel’s worried question made Alicia’s eyes, which had been searching nervously, turn towards him.
“What’s bothering you? Is there something on your mind?”
“…N…No… It’s nothing.”
Alicia instinctively withdrew her hand, perhaps because she hadn’t told her family about this secret.
…But on the contrary, it was also a secret she had hidden precisely because they were family.
She knew it wasn’t a good idea to casually reveal secrets to others, but…
‘Still, if it’s Daniel…’
As she was about to deny it without hesitation, her hands, which were being waved in the air in denial, gradually stopped.
Her hands, which had stopped in mid-air, fell onto her knees.
The fingers twitching on her knees clearly indicated her hesitation.
Daniel wouldn’t miss this.
He soon lowered his voice to a whisper and said,
“Since it seems difficult for you to talk about it, how about I share my secret first?”
“Huh?”
“Listen, and if you feel comfortable, you can tell me your worries.”
“……”
Alicia didn’t respond.
At Daniel’s urging, he continued in a hushed voice.
“This is something I’ve never told Alicia before… Actually…”
I was chosen by the sacred relic of House Freesia.
The whispered secret was exceptionally confidential and sweet.
Her golden eyes blinked rapidly, and her trembling fingers came to a halt.
“Oh, congratulations! Come to think of it, you mentioned that the sacred relic reacted to you before the hunting festival, right? Are you now officially the owner of the relic?”
In response to Alicia’s question, Daniel nodded.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“This is such joyous news… You haven’t told your family yet?”
“Haha, when the relic reacted last time, my brother scolded me just for that. I’ll let them know eventually, but for now, I want to keep it a secret.”
Sometimes, there are things we hide because we’re family.
“Ah.”
Alicia softly sighed at Daniel’s comment.
It was the exact thought that had just crossed her mind.
Hiding things all because they were family.
She felt a sense of striking understanding and camaraderie.
“Well, that’s why I felt the need to contact you. Since becoming the chosen one of the relic, I’ve occasionally had precognitive dreams.”
“Precognitive dreams…”
Alicia murmured, her face growing serious at Daniel’s statement.
He asked again,
“So, how about it? Will you tell me your secret now?”
Her pink lips closed slowly and then parted again, this time more deliberately.
Like a young child on the verge of doing something bad, her heart pounded uncontrollably. Her slightly parted lips began to spill out the secret she had kept from everyone.
Once the confession began, it seemed never-ending.
Tears flowed continuously from her golden eyes, and…
With each tear, her heart felt lighter.
Daniel’s smile, too, grew warmer and brighter.
