The Escape of Layla

Of a world as white as snow, I think I was dreaming. Reaching for the scent of a distant white lily, I promise to make Mr. Leanhardt happy...

- Promise? Who did I promise?

I wander gently as I trace the blurry memories that are so common in dreams. What happened to me? I met His Highness, and then what happened?

Oh, how can you be so lazy and heavy?

In a blurry consciousness like a narrow space between dreams and reality, that was the first thing I thought of. Lids, limbs and everything is heavy. Still, I was able to move my fingertips only somehow.

"... Layla?

I can hear my loved ones. The consciousness that was hanging on to the sound of a faint voice was tight. Yeah, not if you're sleeping fine. I met His Highness, stabbed him, and lost consciousness. I'm sure that would have worried Mr. Leanhardt. Even if I can't, I have to rip my eyelids open.

Driven by such a sense of purpose, I opened my lid gently with all my might. I close my eyes for a moment to the stiff, glowing silver light, but I gradually got used to the light as I blinked several times. This is apparently an ice chapel, with glossy floors and walls hurting my eyes because they reflect the moonlight.

With the feeling of gradual return, I learned that I was apparently being held by someone. I know this warmth. I tilted my head still heavy and looked up at the person who was supporting me.

"... Leanne, Hultha, Mn"

"Layla!?

My voice plunders and I don't spin words well. But when I looked up into my beloved's purple blue eyes in my increasingly clear sight, I felt the thread of tension that I was straining untie me.

"Leila, Leila, Leila......"

Pompous tears overflow from the purple blue eyes of a loved one. It was very painful to watch Mr. Leenhardt repeat my name over and over again. Have I made this man look so hard and sad again?

I manage to reach for him while taking that fact seriously. Trembling because of his lack of strength, I was concerned that it might further agitate his anxiety, but Mr. Leenhardt took my hand so that he could stand still.

"Miss Layla woke up!?

"Layla!?

When I wondered if my familiar voice sounded, Mr. Heino and Mr. Charlotte rushed over beside Mr. Lenhardt. They're also looking down at me like they're terribly worried.

"Eh... Leila, good, really... You know what I mean? Do you hear voices? Are you blind?

Mr. Leenhardt pulled me together, putting his hair on my cheek to work. I usually blush at the closeness of my face, but I haven't been able to get that much delicate mind movement back yet.

"Big, it's sturdy...... worried, welcome -"

Unexpectedly, I can't stand the pain I ran on my flank and accidentally lose my word. I guess it was in my expression that I suffered the pain. More tears overflowed from Mr. Leanhardt's beautiful eyes.

"Oh, Layla, it hurts, where does it hurt?... Sorry, I blocked the wound right away, but it didn't seem like it was enough, sorry, sorry Layla, sorry.... I can't believe I'm putting you in this eye again"

I just didn't think Mr. Leanhardt would apologize to me, but I look up into his eyes in surprise. Mr. Lienhardt's tears fell on his cheeks and his grief seemed to stain across.

"Apologize, is... it's me. Sorry, do...... Mr. Leenhardt."

Mr. Leanhardt held me softly as he shook his neck to the side. My flank hurt slightly at that time, but I close my eyes softly in such relief that I don't think I care about that.

Oh, me, you're alive. You let this gentle sorcerer live.

I wasn't looking at it objectively, but given the wounds I was receiving, it would have been difficult to retain my life with the Kingdom's medical technology. I'm sure Mr. Leanhardt's magic quickly blocked the wound, so he spared a lethal amount of bleeding.

"Hey brother, if you did that, Leila would be in extra pain. You need to see me soon."

"Eh... sorry, Leila, follow me..."

When Mr. Leanhardt weakened his arm, he loosely changed his attitude to holding me. Mr. Charlotte kneels on the floor and hands on my wrist.

"... yeah, it touches my pulse, and my breathing seems okay. You know who I am? Leila."

"Charles, Mr. Lotte......"

"Yeah, that's right. I wonder if you know his name in the first place."

It is Mr Haino who stands next to Mr Charlotte and looks down at me like he sees something painful. White hair is brilliant in the moonlight.

"Haino, it's..."

"... you had your name remembered. I said terrible things to you."

Really, Mr. Leenhardt grumbles somewhere. I don't know the two of them in detail, but somehow I was terribly relieved to hear that exchange.

"Sounds like consciousness and memory are fine. Your brother's magic is a boulder. I wouldn't have blocked the wound so quickly..."

Mr. Charlotte smiled relieved and gently touched my hand if Mr. Leanhardt wasn't holding it.

"I was worried, Leila."

"... sorry"

Though it's plundering, it's getting a little smoother to speak out. Moving your head blinds me badly, but it's not unbearable.

"It will still hurt a little, but please be patient. I'll make you a painkiller when you get back to the mansion."

When Mr Charlotte tells him so, he shifts his gaze to Mr Lienhardt.

"Leila's awake, too, and let's take turns, brother. You'd better get out of here early."

"... right, I want to give Layla a break soon"

Mr. Leanhardt looked down at me worryingly and smiled weakly.

"Layla, will you stay with Charlotte for a while? 'Cause I'll be done in a minute."

What do you mean "… end"?

"Your carcass making."

"Huh..."

Unexpectedly, I turn my suspicious eyes to Mr. Lenhardt, who said he was rushing me. But Mr. Leanhardt was wiping tears built up in his eyeballs in such a way that he didn't care about my gaze or anything like that.

"If I take you back to the capital of the Fantasy King, you'll have trouble without a body here, won't you?... if they find out there's no Leila's body and they put you around any more... I'm really going to kill that prince"

Mr. Heino is somewhat of a drag on Mr. Lenhardt, who describes the rush and noise. The same was true of Mr Charlotte.

"... you know that Lewis stabbed me"

"We arrived here, just like he left here.... Let's go back to the Mansion for more information. Now, Charlotte's right, it's better to disguise Leila's body early and disperse from here."

Wait a minute, Mr. Leenhardt smiled at me and entrusted my body to Mr. Charlotte. Supporting my weight with a woman's arm would be difficult, and I looked up unexpectedly to care for Mr. Charlotte, but the boulder supported me without any hesitation as to whether I should be the mother of a child.

I didn't realize it, but I seem to be twisted by Mr. Leanhardt's blue coat, and I felt fluffy and relieved that I couldn't help but feel his scent.

Mr. Lenhardt and Mr. Heino headed ahead, apparently the exact spot where I was stabbed by Lewis, with the kind of blood that turned over the vase water. The whole place was spreading. The amount of blood makes me bluish unexpectedly. Really, I thought it was dangerous.

Its blood. Around the street were loads of anemone flowers and ceramic shards, colorful embroidered threads, tree branches and herbaceous things. I get interested in the fact that this is the situation because of the sight of magical elements.

"... so you can disguise a corpse?

I asked softly, trying to look up at Mr. Charlotte holding me. She giggles and nods small.

"Well, it's like making a very elaborate Leila doll. Even so, I can only keep my shape for about a month...... It might be easy to understand when it comes to phantoms that you can touch... Well, if you look at people in the kingdom who don't know magic, you won't doubt it's Leila's body."

Mr. Charlotte smiled somewhere tearful, though he was attacking the line of prohibition. Her cheeks slightly loosen so that she could be caught in the face.

"Heino has been very cooperative..."

Mr. Heino is just a little surprised because he seems so righteous that he would be concerned that Mr. Leanhardt might have used the ban if he saw me.

"I wonder if it's because nobody blasphemes in this case. If you say you're deceiving Prince Wang, you're deceiving him... but you don't feel guilty about the man who tried to kill Leila."

There was definite anger seeping through the last word. Mr. Charlotte looks calm, but the truth is he must have been quite worried about me. I was feeling Mr Charlotte's warmth, thanking him for having a good friend.

"Truth is, I've never seen a boy less fortunate than Layla. It's too distorted whether it's Prince Wang or your brother."

Oh, and with a big sigh, Mr. Charlotte moans. I laughed when I creaked at the way it looked.

"Hehe, that's terrible, Mr. Charlotte. Whatever Lewis is, Mr. Leanhardt is your brother."

"If you think your brother is decent, you should reconsider going back to the capital of the Illusion King. I don't know if I can get away from your brother, but I'll do whatever I can to help."

It was a joke word, but about half of it feels like it's serious and I recieve it with an ambiguous smile. I knew very well that Mr. Leanhardt was not just a kind man. I guess there are some distorted parts. But I love him, including that.

"No, I've already decided. Live with Mr. Leanhardt, he said. Because I truly love him."

I clearly told him so, staring behind Mr. Lenhardt, who is working with Mr. Heino.

"... and I want to be a family member with Mr. Charlotte and Mr. Grete."

"Damn...... Leila says cute things. I wonder if you'll start calling me Leila, my sister-in-law... sooner or later..."

I gently touch Charlotte's hand, who doesn't seem to fall anywhere. I don't care what you think, Mr. Charlotte is more obscure like his sister, so I can't help but feel uncomfortable.

"Hehe, even when the time comes, I will not call you Leila as I have always done"

"Well, let me do that."

As I put my thoughts into such a warm future, I could see Mr. Leenhardt and Mr. Heino standing up, bent around the ingredients.

"This will suffice to mislead the look"

Hands gently pampered, Mr. Haino was looking down at the ingredients. I knew it was strange that that mountain, which at first glance was nothing but a collection of crap and flowers, would become a doll imitating me.

"... right, let's get it done"

As Mr. Leanhardt and Mr. Heino put their hands over the ingredients, the ingredients are immediately wrapped in a pale, white light. I was unexpectedly seen by a very fantastic sight.

Only a few seconds into time, the light subsided. Where the ingredients were, there was a "me" figure lying with his eyes closed, and he accidentally drank his breath.

"... this is totally me"

Naturally, I've never seen my sleeping face or anything, but my face, my hair, my height, everything was just like mine in the mirror. There are vivid stab wounds on the right flank and around the chest, and red is pouring out of it as if it had bled out of it. Whoever saw this should think it was the remains of Leila Ashbury.

"It looks like it. The contents of your body are flowers of anemones."

It's also quite beautiful magic. Even though what I have in me is not the only thing as beautiful as an anemone flower.

"I wonder how many minutes, because of the sudden lack of ingredients, this is the limit.... I hope that Prince Wang isn't the crazy one who rips your body apart."

I don't think so.

It's hard to be sure, but my death should be more public than it is the nuns who find this disguised body. He, Prince Wang, would not imitate that he would destroy the publicly revealed body.

"Well, even if it was Anemone's flower that came out of the cleavage, Prince Wang, who is intoxicated by you, might believe it. You could have that dream."

From the words of Mr. Lenhardt, who is so cynical, I could see a frightening emotion beyond anger. Mr. Haino is grinning bitterly as he's used to next door.

"Maybe I'll keep complaining about this for a while... Don't even bother Miss Leila."

"I know you can only say extra things, Heino."

Mr. Leanhardt stared at Mr. Heino for only a moment before walking in front of me again. If you give in gently as it is and insert your arms into my back and back of my knees, you will gently lift me up. The flank wound hurt slightly at that time, but even the pain was scratched off by tension because of a rather awakening consciousness, unlike earlier.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we go home, Leila? - To our house."

Mr. Leenhardt gave me a sweet grin as he peered into my eyes up close. I also slacken my cheeks and nod small.

Finally, we can go home. To that gentle and warm, phantom king capital.

I smiled again thinking of Mr. Leanhardt inside his mansion as I kept my head on Mr. Leanhardt's chest. The antique furniture, the strange magic, the good smell of tea, everything makes me miss it. Quick, I wanted to laugh at Mr. Leanhardt and Mr. Charlotte in that sweet spot.

I look softly over the ice chapel as I bid farewell. The red dancing on the icy white floor was too bright and poisonously colored "me" sleeping in white monastic clothes.

I'm just a little relieved by that decadent sight that reminds me of the beauty of death over brutality. For the first discoverer, it would be somewhat better to be distracted by an impressive sight than to see a brutal corpse and wound to the heart. I said goodbye to her in my heart, hoping that Helena, who had done me good if she could, would not be the first discoverer.

Mr. Leanhardt activates metastatic magic when he lightly looks at Mr. Charlotte and Mr. Heino. It was swallowed up by gold and silver lights reminiscent of starry stones, and we followed the monastery.