TMBIPYMEN Chapter 20

Layla's head snapped up in shock. Her movement was so sudden a thunk sounded from the back of her neck.

"Yustar?"

「Layla, what's wrong? Where are you right now?」

"Where are you speaking from?"

「The ring, Layla.」

The ring? Layla looked down at her right hand with a confused expression. The sapphire caught the light and sparkled brilliantly.

Layla spoke haltingly.

"This... Is this possibly a magical artifact?"

「Yes. It was originally just a ring, but I made a slight modification in case something happened to you.」

She wanted to argue that he should have mentioned that beforehand, but now wasn't the time. Layla said:

"I'm trapped in a strange place right now, Yustar."

A brief silence followed. Faint static... Layla panicked and pulled off the ring, shaking it wildly.

"Yustar?"

「I'm listening. Trapped in a strange place—what do you mean? Where are you?」

"I don't know where. I was walking along a corridor... I saw something strange. Some woman, no... She's definitely dead. The busts..."

「Busts?」

Layla nodded as if Yustar were right in front of her.

"Yes, busts. Five busts of a woman... There were five. A woman with her hair swept up."

After a moment, Yustar answered in a slightly subdued voice.

「I know where you are. I'll come.」

"Wait, Yustar! You won't be able to come. Because there's a wall here..."

But no more sounds came from beyond the ring. Layla stared into space with a deflated expression, arms hanging limply. From somewhere came a shh sound like wind leaking. Beyond the corner where the woman had disappeared.

Layla, who'd been lost in thought with furrowed brows, stood up. She fitted the ring securely inside her finger again and grasped the cumbersome fluttering hem of her dress.

As she walked with long strides, the sound of leaking wind grew closer. A sharp sound, as if someone had carelessly failed to close a window properly...

I can't do anything. That's what Layla thought. She didn't have abilities like Yustar's. Though she was a powerful medium, whether she could perform spirit binding was another matter entirely.

That required learning, and Layla's mother couldn't teach her such things. Because she herself wasn't a medium.

So she should abandon the idea of rushing in recklessly. It was too rash and involved danger. However...

'Overlaying is possible. Even by myself.'

Seeing the core of the dead. Through several experiences, Layla understood the necessity of the "overlaying" Yustar had mentioned. Though she hadn't received an exact explanation, she could grasp it intuitively.

Everyone has something they don't want others to see... Not everyone, but most people have at least one secret they'll never speak aloud until they die.

But what if some stranger whose name you don't even know clearly knows that secret?

It would be flustering. Layla repeated the question and answer to herself. Flustered, logic breaks down first.

For living people, they'd babble incoherently. Their minds would scatter, not knowing how to deal with this immediately, breaking into cold sweats, getting angry, or flushing red.

But ghosts—ghosts were different. Logic didn't exist for them in the first place.

Even those with remaining consciousness had only faint traces. They couldn't sweat or flush. They simply scattered. Like solid castle walls crumbling into sand.

Layla realized she could disarm spirits that way. No matter how tightly hidden a secret was, her eyes could find it precisely. And force it out.

As she approached the corner, the shh sound grew clearer. Layla realized something was stroking her shoulder blade. Cold and eerie, like rubbing ice pellets against bare skin...

"Layla!"

It was the moment she was about to turn the corner. She felt strong force on her right wrist, then her body was yanked backward.

"Ah!"

A single scream burst from Layla's lips. Simultaneously something solid touched the side of her face. Thump. She felt warmth and fragrance. Not a wall... It was a person. The body heat of a living person.

When she raised her head, Yustar was looking down at her, breathing hard.

"Are you all right?"

Layla looked at him as if asking how this was possible, then glanced around quickly.

The mysterious wall that had appeared before her was nowhere to be seen.

The number of busts hadn't changed either, and the ominous shh-shh sound and eerie feeling had also disappeared. Instead, a calm fragrance and everyday small noises filled the space.

Yustar examined Layla carefully.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

Layla nodded. Her gaze still remained on the busts. No changes at all... Not one of them was smiling.

"I saw this woman."

Layla pointed at a bust.

"It was definitely this woman. The number of busts... increased. And the expressions changed too. They were smiling, and that smile was..."

"Looked vicious, didn't it."

Layla drew in breath and nodded. That was it. Viciousness. The busts transforming into increasingly hideous smiling faces overflowed with malice.

That wasn't an emotion that could be expressed in a still object. It was a spiteful emotion only a living, moving human could reveal.

Yustar said,

"I didn't know you'd come this far. I should have told you beforehand. Let's go somewhere else for now."

His hand wrapped around Layla's fingers as if covering them. Layla looked down at their clasped hands briefly, then followed him silently.

Yustar took Layla outside. Breathing real wind instead of the ominous shh-shh noise, Layla felt her head clear considerably. Her irregularly pounding heart regained stability too.

Layla said,

"When you said you didn't know I'd go that far, that means you knew about its existence. Right?"

Yustar moved his gaze searching for an appropriate answer, then sighed.

"Yes. I encountered that person when I was young. Fortunately I could escape, but... Strictly speaking, that's a forbidden corridor, Layla. Of course, we can't announce to all the servants that something appears there, so it's only tacitly... forbidden. Sometimes people who forget that rule go missing there."

It was an outrageous story. Seeing Layla's expression, Yustar smiled bitterly. As if he knew what she wanted to say without hearing it.

"I know how absurd this must sound to you. We've tried various attempts to prevent people from approaching, but nothing worked. Magic didn't work either. We couldn't station guards nearby. Because they get entranced."

"That... What is that woman?"

Complex emotions reflected in Yustar's eyes.

"That woman, that person... is my grandmother. In other words, she was the queen of this country. Not only was she the daughter of a noble family, but she was also a sorceress. When she was alive, her power wasn't particularly special, but... after she passed away, things changed."

This time it was Layla's turn to be surprised. That woman—the spirit that seemed to have gathered every bit of the world's malice and murderous intent—was Yustar's grandmother?

"What on earth happened to her..."

Yustar immediately shook his head, cutting off Layla's words.

"I can't know that. I told you, didn't I? I can't see their 'cores.' The reason I could escape was... I can't say exactly, but it was thanks to someone else's help. Otherwise I would have been trapped in that labyrinth and disappeared too."

"Then let's go back and check again."

Layla said.

"I can do overlaying. I'll see her core. Then Yustar, you can..."

"No. That's not possible."

Layla made an uncomprehending expression.

"Not possible—why?"

"It's too dangerous. Especially dangerous for you. That person... Even I only heard through rumors circulating in the palace about how she died. But, Layla. Believe me. It was a truly terrible death. And she killed many people horribly too."

"But..."

Yustar cut her off again with a firm attitude.

"Spirits like that are dangerous. Not enough malice from life, plus consider the resentment that must have condensed at the moment of death... No. I can't let you see something like that yet. You could break."

Her throat went bone-dry. Layla swallowed unconsciously, but it only worsened her thirst without helping.

After hesitating, she said,

"Then... Then are you just going to leave it like that?"

Yustar answered,

"For now, that's best. I'll notify the managers in charge of each area once more. I'll tell them to warn people not to approach."

Something felt suspicious and bothered her, but Layla gave up and closed her mouth. This was where Sierrow's king resided. Nothing that happened here was something she should be involved in...

Yustar said in a lighter voice,

"I'm relieved nothing happened to you. Shall we walk?"

"...Yes."

Layla nodded and looked back at the palace gallery once more.

Young servants who seemed to be apprentices could be seen laughing and chattering as they crossed the gallery. It was a perfectly peaceful scene, but the stain in her heart remained unwiped.

At the dinner table sat Yustar, Layla, and Marchioness Hymierd. Yustar and the marchioness sometimes freely exchanged talk related to politics, but Layla didn't have much to discuss with the marchioness.

She merely listened to their conversation with one ear and let it out the other while mechanically swallowing luxurious foods whose names she didn't know.

"What kind of place is Miss Layla's hometown?"

Layla, who'd been chewing a piece of meat at a leisurely pace, looked up sharply.

"My hometown?"

The marchioness nodded. It was a simple yet elegant gesture.

Layla looked at Yustar once. When he showed no particular reaction, Layla answered,

"It's a place called Ridgecarse. A very small village."