Kurumi MurataEditor, Japanese & English print

The only daughter of a small French kingdom finds a rusted mirror, and the demon inside it becomes the one friend she has.

Written in a single unbroken paragraph, and left that way here. A fairy tale that refuses the usual bargain: the demon does no harm, asks for nothing, and leaves when he is no longer needed.

In Milla, a small country tucked away in the south of France, farmers grow crops and live a life that is not luxurious, but they do not have to worry about eating. The royal family, which has been around since the country was first established, has an only daughter, Alli, who will turn 18 this year. Her mother died of an incurable illness when she was five years old, and now her strict father is her only family. To the outside world, the royal family may live a beautiful and luxurious life, but to her, it's just more of the same. She was trapped in a castle with no allies, and for her, it was like a prison cell. One day, while wandering around the castle out of boredom, Alli finds a rusty mirror. Strangely attracted to the mirror, she looks into it and sees a specter-like creature inside. He leaves the place in horror, spends the rest of the day as if nothing had happened, and at night when he goes to bed, he sees the apparition. In the middle of the night, Alli woke up feeling breathless and found it in the hazy room. Alli gasps in surprise. As if he could see through Alli's thoughts that he was dreaming, the man begins to speak. He is a demon that has existed since the time of the founding of the royal family. He spies on everyone's dreams night after night, destroying them for his own amusement. That day, the demon disappeared. At first Alli was afraid of the demon, but after it appeared several days in a row, she gradually became accustomed to it. She was afraid of the demon, but strangely enough, she began to open up to it. Every night when she fell asleep, the demon would appear and she would tell him about her problems and anguish. Surprisingly, the demon solved them with sharp words from his own point of view. It was a strange relationship, but the devil became her only friend when she was all alone in the castle. A pure and lovely girl and a strange demon with an evil expression and a spear. It was an unbalanced combination, but they spent the rest of their days as partners. In the meantime, the daughter got married and got together with a good man. He became a good husband and king, and she lived a happier life. The devil stopped visiting her and finally came to say goodbye one night. She was sobbing, and the devil pushed her back and told her that she could go on with her life, and went back into the mirror.