Chapter 5: A Dream of Heinzel and the Elusive Duke

Inside the mirror, a stranger’s reflection gazed back—a man Haeseung had never seen before. His face was different, his hair color was different, his build was different, and most notably, his race was entirely distinct. There wasn’t a single feature that resembled Haeseung.

“Ah, so that’s why they called me Heinzel.”

The dream felt incredibly real, prompting Haeseung to marvel at it once more.

‘This is what a true dream should be,’ he mused. ‘If I were inexplicably walking around in an Asian body, it would truly feel like a dream. But I’m in a dream right now, so isn’t it strange that it feels so realistic?’

Although his mind was momentarily perplexed, Haeseung easily dismissed it as merely the nature of an exceedingly vivid dream. He decided to examine the man in the mirror more closely.

The man standing there had gray hair, blue eyes, and a body so gaunt he resembled a patient.

In reality, such a hair color would require at least three bleaching sessions before dyeing. To describe it elegantly, one might call it ash gray or silver; less flatteringly, it resembled faded hair. His blue eyes, with their pale pigment, were closer to a chilling sky blue than a vibrant blue, and his skin was remarkably pale, as if it had never seen sunlight.

His overall aura was akin to a colored portrait dipped briefly in water and then withdrawn.

While no single feature was particularly sharp, his unremarkable, plain facial features rendered his presence indistinct. His gaunt frame and average height further contributed to this assessment.

“He looks incredibly ordinary. At this level, he’s just a passerby, isn’t he?”

Even in a dream, this cruel refusal to grant him divine beauty was astonishing. Haeseung, marveling at the merciless realism, turned his body back and forth in front of the mirror.

‘Realism is one thing, but to make me look worse than in real life?’ he thought with a frown. ‘This downgrade, rather than an upgrade, felt less realistic.’

‘In Haeseung’s life, a downgrade was simply impossible. Perhaps that’s why it was a dream, but even so, I’m utterly dissatisfied with my dream self,’ he thought, shaking his head and cleanly shedding any lingering attachment to the reflection.

“Shall I start moving?”

“Where are you off to, Young Master?”

‘Ah, Noona was still here,’ he realized. ‘Nobles don’t travel alone in this era. That lady earlier had a whole retinue. Is Noona planning to follow me too? I wish the dream wouldn’t apply so much realism.’

Though he clicked his tongue inwardly, Haeseung offered a gentle smile and waved a hand.

“I’m just going to look around a bit. You should rest, Noona.”

“Young Master, why do you say such things? Are you trying to put me in a difficult position?”

Rosie’s face, aghast and on the verge of tears, made Haeseung jump back in even greater surprise, despite having answered her kindly as his maid. Anyone witnessing the scene would surely misunderstand, believing Haeseung had committed some misdeed.

“I don’t know what it is, but I apologize. Please don’t make that face. I look like the culprit!”

Declining the prospect of being dragged to prison before even experiencing anything in his dream, Haeseung helped Rosie, who had knelt and slumped to the floor, back onto her feet. She was surprisingly strong; it took considerable effort to lift the unbudging Rosie. Haeseung let out a heavy sigh.

“Anyway, I’m going out.”

An ominous premonition that staying with this woman might lead to an absurd misunderstanding prompted Haeseung to brush his hands and step back.

“I’m sorry, Young Master. But it’s better if you stay in your bedroom. The mansion is bustling right now, preparing for an expedition. If you draw attention unnecessarily, you might…”

“An expedition?”

As Haeseung’s gaze questioned, “What expedition?”, Rosie walked to the window and gestured outside. As if beckoned to come see, Haeseung approached Rosie’s side and looked down at the view beyond the window.

Befitting a medieval noble’s castle, there was an incredibly vast front yard, or perhaps a garden or an open field, where countless horses and armored figures were gathered.

“Is there a war?”

‘Is this setting about fleeing?’ he wondered. Perhaps it was due to the mental exhaustion from his Noona’s novel, but the idea of war breaking out right from the start, with no romance in sight, struck him as absurd. Haeseung let out a hollow laugh.

As Haeseung watched the soldiers below, who seemed ready to draw their swords, shout, and march at any moment, Rosie’s finger subtly pointed to someone, crossing his line of sight.

“Young Master Lyden has appeared. It seems they are about to depart.”

“…Lyden?”

“It seems you haven’t yet heard the news that the Young Master has awakened. It would have been good if you had come to see him before the expedition…”

‘Ah, what a pity.’ The unspoken words were easily inferred. It seemed Rosie’s intention in saying this wasn’t for Heinzel’s sake, but rather because she herself wished to see him. Instead of pointing out her attitude, Haeseung questioned Rosie again, eager to resolve a nagging suspicion.

“By any chance, Lyden… Duke Defensio?”

At Haeseung’s question, Rosie tilted her head. He couldn’t discern if she meant the name was unfamiliar, or if she was wondering why he would ask such an obvious question, which frustrated him. Just as Haeseung was about to press for an answer, Rosie’s reply came.

“He is serving as the acting Duke, but he is not yet the Duke himself.”

“…But Defensio is correct?”

“Young Master, why are you acting this way? Of course, he is Young Master Lyden Defensio. And you, Young Master, are Heinzel Defensio.”

“…”

‘Duke Lyden Defensio,’ he thought, his mind reeling. ‘The cold Northern Duke from Noona’s novel. One of the male lead candidates. A tragic character, created to bear the fate of living as a forcibly castrated man throughout his life, all thanks to Noona’s peculiar tastes.’

‘Lyden Defensio’—the very character he had pitied most while reading the novel all night, unable to contain his sympathy. ‘It’s because I fell asleep after reading Noona’s novel that I’m having such a nightmare,’ Haeseung wailed, clutching the windowsill.

“What’s wrong, Young Master?”

“No, it’s just… I feel a bit downhearted.”

Swallowing a sniffle, Haeseung gazed at Lyden Defensio, who moved like a tiny ant in the distance. Straining his eyes, he could see a little better, yet Lyden remained as small as an ant.

He possessed black hair, as described in the novel, but his exact features were indiscernible. Only Haeseung’s subjective impressions remained: the black cloak draped over his shoulders exuded an incredibly atmospheric presence, and a certain handsomeness emanated from his faintly blurred back. Objectively, the distance to Lyden Defensio was simply too great for a proper assessment.

‘Still, he’s handsome. His back view is handsome. His shadow is handsome. Even his aura is handsome.’

Clinging to the windowsill, Haeseung snorted softly as he gazed at Lyden’s indistinct form. A passionate romance unfolding within the ducal estate was just beginning in Haeseung’s mind.

‘Dreams always seem to end at the most crucial moments,’ he thought. Particularly vivid dreams often shattered just before reaching a significant turning point, ruining the excitement. ‘Will it happen again this time? Still, if I could just see Lyden’s face, wouldn’t that be an honor?’

‘Should I go outside?’ For a more titillating development, indoors might be better than outdoors. ‘If I go outside and meet Lyden, will the scene shift to a bed? I don’t know the full extent of the dream’s realism, but I hope it compromises a bit for the important moments.’

As Haeseung indulged in these delightful fantasies, Lyden, after uttering a few words in front of the soldiers aligned in neat rows, leaped onto a massive black steed. He then led the soldiers, galloping swiftly out of the ducal estate.

“No!”

Staring blankly at Lyden’s retreating figure, Haeseung suddenly came to his senses and cried out.

‘If this happens, the dream won’t continue,’ he thought. If the object of his intense fantasy simply rode away, he had no idea what he was supposed to do, left alone in the dream. ‘Will another suitor appear instead of Lyden? A prince or a magic tower master? Still, Lyden was my favorite, what a pity,’ Haeseung clicked his tongue.

‘Surely… it doesn’t mean I’ll just wander around the ducal mansion and then wake up?’ He was already sick of romance novels; was he really meant to just tour a mansion in his dream and then wake up, without even seeing the faces of those supposedly handsome male leads?

“He’s gone.”

‘Surely he didn’t just leave like this. He can’t be truly gone. He’ll come back soon, won’t he?’

Rosie, speaking in a voice brimming with regret, then moved away from the window, as if splashing cold water on Haeseung’s denial of reality—or rather, his denial of the dream.

“Did he really leave?”

“Yes, you saw him go.”

“What about coming right back?”

“He’ll be back in at least a month. Sometimes he’s gone for more than half a year. Just riding to the border takes three or four days, so he won’t be back quickly.”

“…”

Feeling an abrupt wave of exhaustion, Haeseung staggered to the bed and flopped down. Observing Haeseung sprawled awkwardly across the bed, Rosie let out a short, lamenting sigh.

“…Young Master.”

“My heart feels empty. I’ll just rest for a bit.”

While it was possible another male lead candidate was wandering somewhere in the mansion, the fact that he had missed Lyden Defensio right before his eyes pained Haeseung deeply.

‘All the male leads would probably have similar looks anyway,’ he reasoned. Reading the novel, there were detailed descriptions of black hair and golden hair, but the conclusion was always the same: they were the most handsome in the world. This meant any of the three would be a feast for the eyes, but he preferred to see the character he had liked best.

‘I don’t need some incompetent prince born with nothing but a title as the Emperor’s son, or a magic tower master with a rotten, crazy personality. I want to see the Northern Duke.’

Even though he was a tragic character destined for forced castration, he was the one Haeseung felt most invested in from his Noona’s novel, and he had wanted to see his face. To be shown only a blurred back view and then have it end like this felt cruel, even for a dream. Haeseung simmered with a small burst of anger.