Taming The Villainesses-Chapter 378: Survivor of the Old Castle (4)

“So? You realize that imp or whatever is spying on us right now? Doesn’t seem hostile, but she can’t just keep peeking in like that.”

Elga had good instincts—she must have sensed that someone was watching us.

Just like she said, the imp that had fled into the darkness last night was peeking at us through one of the various hidden vents scattered throughout the fortress.

She’d probably lived alone here for a long time. Of course she’d be curious about the outsiders who had arrived. That was when someone suddenly let out a loud yell.

━Ahhh—! Who stole all of Punchnoi’s crackers and sugar stars?! Punchnoi will never forgive such a nymph-hating act...!

━Wait, now that you mention it, my crackers I left on the bed are gone too...

━Mine as well...

It seemed someone had raided the military rations. Of course, I already knew exactly who the culprit was. If we left her be like this, it would definitely interfere with our plans going forward.

“I’ll handle it. It’s my responsibility anyway.”

As I spoke to the wall, Elga looked around, then leaned in and said something to me in a quiet voice.

“So, where is Ayra? She didn’t come out to eat. She’s not hurt or anything, is she? She seemed fine during the raid yesterday.”

“...I’ll go check on her now.”

I parted ways with the young ladies and headed toward Ayra’s room—located in the sunniest spot on the second floor of the fortress.

Once I reached her door, past the bustling corridor, I took a moment to check my clothes and appearance one last time.

“Looks good.”

Thinking there were no issues, I knocked softly on the door. There was no sign of movement from inside.

“Ayra-nim.”

Knock, knock.

I tried knocking again. Still no response.

Had she gotten badly hurt last night, somewhere I didn’t know about? Could the unpredictable dangers of the land beyond the barrier have harmed her somehow?

Torn between the feeling that I shouldn’t carelessly barge into the queen’s quarters and the growing concern for her safety, I hesitated—then slowly turned the doorknob.

Creak...

The door, aged and neglected like the rest of the fortress, let out a loud groan as it opened.

Inside, contrary to the rundown surroundings, was a luxurious red velvet bed, and curled beneath the covers was a woman.

Snoooore, snoooore.

“......”

Even though it was nearly noon, Ayra was fast asleep.

Had she exhausted her magical power during yesterday’s siege and counterattack? Whatever the reason, I felt relieved. I’d been worried something serious might have happened to her.

Snoooore, snoooore.

She was really sleeping well.

She hadn’t even noticed the blanket slipping down.

So, as I reached out to gently pull the blanket back up—

Her pale skin, exposed above and below her black negligee, caught my eye.

Her skin looked incredibly soft. A subtle fragrance wafted in from somewhere, and the memories of the previous night came flooding back. My whole body flushed hot.

Ayra wasn’t the type to wake up easily once she fell asleep... so maybe I could touch her a little. With that vague thought, I slowly reached out and poked her chest.

The softness almost blew my mind.

Encouraged, I cupped her breast fully in my palm and gave it a gentle squeeze. The warmth came through even the thin nightwear, and something firm pressed up between my fingers.

Was her body reacting even while asleep?

Then—her eyes opened.

“What do you think you’re doing.”

“......!”

I froze, genuinely shocked.

I’d heard that squirrels sometimes stiffen and go catatonic when they encounter predators like hawks or tigers. I was just like that now.

Wasn’t Ayra the type to sleep so soundly she wouldn’t notice if someone carried her away? It seemed that ever since Bael disappeared from inside her, her sleep had gotten lighter.

“...Not right now.”

Ayra said that and brushed my hand away. Not right now? What did that mean? I wasn’t allowed to touch her chest right now? Did that mean later was okay?

My thoughts spiraled in confusion.

“Then please step aside.”

At Ayra’s command, I bowed my head and stepped back.

Knock, knock, knock.

At the same time, someone knocked on Ayra’s door.

As I stepped out into the hallway, I came face to face with the ones knocking. It was the twin sisters, Mirna and Narmee. What were they doing here? Narmee waved a hand energetically and shouted,

“Teo! We were just about to go looking for you! So you were here? Also, your face is super red! Something happen?”

“No, nothing at all. You were looking for me?”

“Yeah! There’s something we forgot to mention with all the chaos. Teo, you remember the painting you took from the Draco shrine? We want to examine it.”

“Oh.”

The painting.

I had taken a painting from the Draco household’s shrine. It depicted Solomon’s nymph, Beatrice, and had triggered a deeply mysterious experience for me.

I had many questions about it too, so we decided to change locations.

***

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on novelbuddy.cσ๓.

“It just looks like a normal painting. What do you think, Sis?”

“I don’t see anything unusual either. But Sir Teo said clearly that he had a strange experience through this painting.”

At their prompting, I recalled what had happened at the time. When I used up 100 years of lifespan to cast the ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) ultimate-rank spell Teo-Nova—

My world had condensed into a surreal void, and I was floating in some strange space like the edge of the universe. What helped me escape that vast, endless abyss was this painting.

“I was definitely sent to the past. That’s how I learned about the young ladies trying to resurrect the dragon beneath the Draco shrine.”

To that, Narmee let out a gleeful laugh.

“That was so epic!”

But what happened after they brought the dragon back? I had exited that place through a dimensional gate, so I’d never heard what happened next.

Sensing my unspoken question, Mirna added,

“Talking about our family affairs would take a long time. And it’s not over yet, either. Someday, Narmee and I will have to go home and settle things.”

She didn’t seem to want to talk more about it, so I didn’t press. Instead, her red eyes turned toward the painting in the frame.

“My moon. My star. My ancient flame. Beatrice. The inscription doesn’t feel like an incantation or spell. But Sir Teo definitely traveled through time with this painting?”

“Yes. I tried to do it again afterward... but it didn’t work.”

“Time travel... I’ve never heard of such a thing being possible...”

It was, on the surface, just a normal painting. A nymph with brown hair and striking blue eyes.

Then Narmee added,

“Now that I look at it, she kinda looks like you, Teo. Coincidence?”

“That... I’m not sure.”

As I gave a vague reply, we heard a loud rustling sound above the sisters’ room.

Narmee chuckled.

“Big rats in this place, huh? Rotten applause of decay.”

Clap.

With a clap of her hands, the rotted beam supporting the ceiling collapsed. At the same time, a large something fell down with a thud onto the floor.

“Eeek...!”

That scream sounded awfully familiar. And the raggedy clothes, the messy red hair tied back—it was all unmistakable.

“The imp.”

“...Ugh.”

Instead of answering, she was busy rubbing her sore backside. Of course it hurt—she’d fallen from pretty high up.

But soon, her red eyes locked onto something, and she stared wide-eyed, clearly recognizing it.

Mirna asked first,

“Miss Imp, do you know anything about this painting?”

“......”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she stood up and started walking somewhere. Naturally, we followed her into a narrow secret passage.

“So there really was a secret tunnel, just like you said!”

Narmee’s awed voice echoed as we followed the imp into a surprisingly spacious chamber. Inside were rusted armor, swords, and boxes. Mirna murmured,

“Looks like a storage room.”

What caught my eye, though, was a painting hanging in the corner. It was draped in cobwebs, coated in dust, and partially concealed by a red curtain.

As if drawn to it, I walked over and pulled the curtain aside.

What emerged were eerie faces. To sum it up—it was a painting of a woman holding a baby. But the woman’s face looked strangely familiar.

“This is...”

I held up the painting I had brought and placed it next to the old one on the wall.

To my surprise, the two women looked incredibly alike. The one holding the baby looked more mature, but there was no denying the resemblance.

Then Narmee said,

“I get it now. It’s the same person. Drawn by the same artist. The signature here is identical too. Beatrice and...”

Following Narmee’s words, I looked at the signature on the bottom of the frame.

“Beatrice and──.”

The part after “and” wasn’t written. Maybe the letters had faded, or maybe nothing had been written in the first place.

Mirna added,

“The baby’s name isn’t written. So, Miss Imp, what is this painting? Why did you lead us to it?”

In response to her question, the imp simply stared at the two paintings hanging side by side. Then she pulled something out from inside her ragged robe and placed it between them.

It was a cutout of a man’s figure—trimmed with scissors like a paper doll. Had she cut Isaiah’s image from the painting I’d given her?

“My master said something once. That one day, he’d definitely come back for me. But if something happened and he couldn’t... then the person in this painting would come instead.”

Shhk.

She pointed to the painting I had brought.

“And now you’re here. That means Master couldn’t make it. I waited so long, but in the end, he never came. He must’ve forgotten me. I don’t even know his name, and I don’t have a name of my own.”

Tears streamed down her face. Even as she wiped them away with her sleeve, she couldn’t stop them from falling.

Twenty winters spent waiting. The snow from those years was finally melting.

While Mirna and Narmee gently patted her back, I slowly opened my mouth.

“Well, I’m here now. The person in that painting. This baby here... might be me. I don’t know exactly how, but still.”

Two Beatrices.

The child and the adult.

Solomon’s nymph, and Isaiah’s nymph.

Was their resemblance just coincidence?

I recalled the time Stella and I had stayed near the barrier and encountered the giant centipede, Angarla.

Angarla had explained that Solomon came begging her to resurrect his dead nymph. And when refused, he’d gone berserk and struck her down before fleeing.

If...

If that nymph Beatrice had, for some reason, been revived—or was somehow still alive beyond the barrier...

And if Isaiah, Solomon’s perfect other half, met that Beatrice—by coincidence, or by fate...

Shhk.

I reached out and touched the baby bundled in the painting. The nameless baby—standing now between the two frames.

“I’m certain this is me. And that man... knew I’d come here.”

These paintings felt like clues left behind for me.

Thinking there might be more, I started looking around—and found a notebook.

I didn’t know how I’d spotted it.

It had been abandoned in a narrow corner, but it felt like it was calling out to me. It even seemed to emit a faint glow.

As if it were summoning me.

“This is...”

It was an old notebook with a leather cover.

The text on the cover was written in squiggly letters—far too complex for me to decipher. Mirna was the first to recognize it.

“It’s written in an ancient dead language. A language that’s already died out. It says...”

She rolled her eyes slowly across the cover, then closed her lips.