Through the Glass

'Life in the mirror isn't that bad.' Rowan mused. Sure he was in an inanimate object, but all he did was answer questions when they asked and he had a whole lot of alone time to enjoy..... Nope, no, nuh-uh, this was absolutely the worst. He was stuck in the wooden mirror for nearly a year and it was absolute hell.

After the Empress had succeeded in her Lost Magic and tied him to the wooden, handheld mirror, the Emperor decided it was best to put him in a secluded corner of the castle to keep him isolated from the rest of the world. Rowan was placed in a small room with a tiny window that let a bit of sun in. His mirror body faced the only door of the room. Like this, the moment people opened the door, they could just ask a question and then leave.

Pure. Hell.

Nobles come in every day to ask questions, mostly on how to make more money or how to court a pretty girl. Greedy bastards. But, the magic inflicted upon him forced Rowan to answer every question truthfully. And if he truly has no answer, he has to tell them straight out: "No definite or available answer." The only thing he can control is the tone of his voice. Which ranges from annoyed to monotone.

The royals were the worst guests. Emperor Jove would come in asking superficial questions that could be answered by a mere servant, like what clothes would look good, how to add a certain number up and what woman he should sleep with this time. Knowing that Rowan was trapped in the mirror, the Emperor could ask all he nonsensical questions he wants. Thus, Rowan could only respond in a monotone voice full of unwillingness and devoid of any life.

The Empress would often stand behind the Emperor with a mocking smile hanging from her lips. Rowan just wanted to jump out of the mirror to start slapping her silly.

But, he could not. That was the most depressing thing for him. He was even more tightly restrained than a year ago! He couldn't even move, willingly talk, eat or anything! All he could do is stare at the wooden door in front of his mirror body and wait for the next person. He felt that every day was just exactly the same and that his every action (or inaction in this case) is tightly in the grasp of the nobles. Luckily, Rowan had a strong mentality and did not go insane nor did he give up when he is tied to the mirror. Even if it felt like decades being trapped in an intricate birdcage, he firmly believed that there is a slight possibility of him escaping. Murphy's law exists and shall work in either his favor or his disfavor. But at this time, Rowan would take anything. For now, hoping and waiting for an opportunity is the only way to pass the time for Rowan.

And it comes in the form of a loud explosion.

Rowan almost cried tears of joy and thought of numerous of disastrous possibilities that could have happened in Olinthus.

'Maybe a rebellion of the common masses? Or one of the royal brats decided to overthrow that disgusting ruler? Wait, no. Science has finally brought over a meteor to destroy the incompetent Emperor and his harem!' Rowan joyfully sped through his mind of what could have caused the explosion. He would have jumped in joy if he were not inanimate.

Before he could indulge himself in the misfortunes of Olinthus, the door in front of him suddenly opened. A skinny old man dressed in a gaudy white suit bursts in with sweat dripping down his face, making him look like a soaked chicken. The old man's face was panic-stricken and devoid of color, but when he saw the mirror, his eyes rejuvenated with hope.

"Mirror!" Wow objectifying to a different level, Rowan mentally rolls his eyes in irritation when he heard the address of the senior. Regardless of his thoughts, the old noble gripped the handheld mirror and desperately tried to ask his question. Was it a question on how to survive? Maybe it was about how to secretly escape the castle?

Though, Rowan would never have his curiosity sated as before the gaudy man widened his eyes in horror and stupidly gaped his mouth open as if he really thought he could ask a life-saving question. But, Rowan was now simply in a mirror, everything is easier said than done.

Instead of the expected question slipping out of the old man's mouth, blood took the place of words and spilled onto his wizened chin. Maybe his question was just on the tip of his tongue?

When the Olinthun noble fell, Rowan's mirror body also fell and slightly bounced to the feet of the assassin. The stranger was clad in black and only his eyes were revealed. Although he exuded an aura of indifference, his eyes expressed extreme confusion as he only saw a wooden mirror in the small room.

When the spy was tasked to infiltrating Olinthus to find out the current situation of the country as in recent months, there was a sharp decline in Olinthus's economy. However, the royal family proceeded to spend lavishly and continue with their vulgar lifestyle, ignoring anything outside their little inner circle. This is very out of character for a country that was considered both militaristic towards other countries and benevolent to their citizens. His boss wished to know if it was the perfect time to strike Olinthus. Thus, the spy was sent to find out but was caught in the middle of his infiltration by a startled maid.

He ended up using a diversion in the form of a fireball, blasting the side of a stone wall and escaping. An old noble also spotted him, before the spy could silence him, the noble ran away using wind magic to speed himself up. Thinking that the old fool would report his existence, the stranger quietly followed him as to silently kill the man. In the end, he sees the possibly senile man go to a hidden room and grasp a mirror as if it was a life-saving straw.

Nevertheless, the mirror did seem important. It was, after all, in a secluded room that was hidden away in the castle and it was even treated as a savior by that dead fool. He scanned the handheld wooden mirror with a vague interest glinting in his eyes.

Rowan, even though he was joyful at seeing a new face that might even let him leave the god forsaken place, couldn't help but shiver at the assassin's piercing gaze.

Before the spy could do anything, a throng of rushed footsteps could be heard from a distance. The black-clad stranger had no choice but to take the strange mirror and escape the castle of Olinthus.

The mirror was shoved down the shirt of the spy and the only experience that Rowan got from the journey to who knows where was that it was dark. He couldn't see anything. But, he was, for once, thankful that only his hearing and sight were the only sense available to him. If he could smell and taste, he would attempt to just ask his savior to simply throw him down a cliff. Of course, he was also thankful that he could escape the shackles of Olinthus.

Well, wherever he was being taken, he was sure that it would, at the very least, be better than Olinthus by one point.