YWTO 09

YWTO

Posted by Bela, Released on October 15, 2025

Chapter 9

She had to protect herself.

Up until now, all that bowing and scraping to please others—holding her breath just to avoid displeasing them—had only been another way of killing herself.

Yurein thought this as she stood up.

So now, she would go to the only person who had ever truly protected her.
The only one in this mansion who had ever been kind to her—Rebecca.

She had to move quickly. Time was everything now.

Yurein grabbed a long object and hooked it around the doorknob so it would take some time for anyone to break in from outside. Then she began wrecking the room.

Crash—!
The flowerpot shattered, scattering soil and petals across the floor.
She pulled every book within reach from the bookshelf and tossed them onto the ground.
The tablecloth slid off the table and fluttered to the floor. The table itself followed with a loud thud.

Within moments, the room was a disaster zone.

Yurein gathered random objects and piled them onto the bedsheet, tying the corners together tightly. When it was a manageable size, she dragged the bundle across the carpet—all the way to the window.

Straightening up, Yurein surveyed the chaos. The floor was a jumble of debris, as if something terrible had happened here.

Satisfied with the scene, she opened the window.

Her room was on the second floor, and conveniently, there was a tree near the window—perfect for a break-in. Or a kidnapping.
Even the drag marks across the carpet made it look as if someone had been pulled toward the window.

“Good.”

Before long, rumors would spread like wildfire—the eldest daughter of House Tarbargen had been abducted.

Clapping her hands clean, Yurein smiled in satisfaction.

Soon after the uproar, the household would discover that a certain prisoner in the dungeon had gone missing—the suspect in the theft of the lady’s keepsakes: Rebecca.

Still smiling, Yurein approached the side of the bed.

A large oil painting hung there, so big it nearly covered the entire wall. It depicted a woman pouring water from a jug into a spring. The streams blended together naturally.

Yurein reached out and tapped the flowing water in the painting with her fingers. Then she pushed, hard.

A chill sensation spread through her fingertips—and then her hand sank into the painting. Her arm, her shoulder, her whole body followed.

And just like that, Yurein disappeared into the painting.

Passing through the painting made her stomach churn a little. When she opened her eyes again, she was standing in the underground prison.

She’d come through the painting.

Espers born into House Tarbargen possessed powers related to time.
That painting was the work of one such Esper—it served as a passage to a secret tunnel from an earlier era. Only those of Tarbargen blood could use it.

Aside from the minor side effect of nausea, of course.

After glancing once at the painting behind her, Yurein began walking quickly.

Then—
“Ugh—!”
A groan echoed somewhere ahead.

Yurein instantly ducked behind a wall.

That voice—

Rebecca.

Her hand clenched against the wall. Peeking around the corner, Yurein froze.

Oh my god.

She nearly screamed at the sight before her.

A torturer was yanking Rebecca’s long brown hair, shaking her mercilessly. Yurein could see her clearly—Rebecca trembling, terrified. The torturer smirked as he watched her suffer.

Yurein’s stomach turned.

Rebecca’s face, once fair and gentle, was now swollen and bruised, marked with the signs of relentless torment.

Fury bubbled up inside her.

“Come on,” the torturer sneered, tightening his grip. “Why don’t you just admit it already? That you stole the lady’s keepsakes.”

“Ah—!”

Rebecca screamed in pain, but the man didn’t stop.

“They even found a fake necklace on your bed. What more proof do we need? You were Lady Yurein’s maid, right? You had access to the keepsake room.”

“N–no, that’s not true!”

He dangled the fake necklace in front of her. Even though it was a replica, its craftsmanship gleamed brightly in the dark cell.

“You still won’t talk, huh?” he said with a cruel grin, raising his hand high—ready to strike her face.

Yurein grabbed the nearest thing she could find.

Thud!

She slammed it down on the torturer’s head.

“Argh!” he yelled, staggering.

Yurein didn’t stop. She swung again, hitting him square on the head a second time.

Then—he froze.

Completely still. His scowl, his raised arm—all frozen mid-motion.

“Wha…?”

Rebecca stared wide-eyed. The torturer wasn’t even blinking. It was as if his time had stopped.

“Wh-what is…”

“It’s me, Rebecca.”

Yurein stepped out from behind the man.

“M–my lady?” Rebecca gasped, blinking rapidly, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“Y–you… it’s really you?”

“Yes, Rebecca.”

Yurein smiled faintly and dropped the thing she’d been holding.

Clatter.

The bloodied stone rolled noisily across the floor.

Rebecca didn’t even look at it. Her eyes darted between the motionless torturer and Yurein.

“My lady, don’t tell me you—”

“Yeah. I hit him,” Yurein said casually, dusting off her hands.

Rebecca’s jaw dropped.

The Yurein she knew was gentle to a fault—someone who couldn’t bear to harm anyone.
And yet here she was, standing over an unconscious torturer, calm as ever.

And that man… wasn’t moving at all.

Rebecca swallowed hard, realizing how strange this all was.

Yurein merely clicked her tongue and kicked the torturer a few more times.

What a disgusting man. A grown brute shaking a woman half his size by the hair—
Her eyes shifted to Rebecca’s bruised face. Anger flared again.

Maybe I should’ve hit him harder.
One or two blows didn’t feel nearly enough—maybe one more good—

“My lady,” Rebecca said timidly, “how did you even get here?”

Right. There was no time to indulge in anger.

Picking up the fake necklace, Yurein replied briskly, “Rebecca, I’ll make this quick. I’m a Guide.”

“What?”

Rebecca blinked, stunned. Her mouth fell open.

A Guide? That was impossible. Lady Ayla was the only Guide in the world. There couldn’t be another.

If not for the situation, she would have laughed.