"So, do either of you know anything about the people we are going after? Who are they, and what kind of powers do they have? Being prepared to face our enemies might be a good idea…"

The investigator asked as he tried to calm his beating heart down.

He felt a little nervous as he walked behind the pain in these secret passages. He could not help but feel he was trespassing on these grounds and might get beheaded for this.

But neither Mary nor Lady Layla seemed to be bothered.

"I don't know much. I don't think I have ever exchanged a single word with Austin or his maid. What about you, Mary?"

Layla asked, turning to her maid in curiosity as well. She wanted to know what her maid thought of all this.

"I don't know about Young Master Austin, but I do know Sherry. She's funny and also a spy for the Supremist faction. She thinks she can hide it, but it is easy to tell. I think she will try returning to then since she's been caught."

Mary explained, and Layla cursed under her mind.

She, like others, has heard of the 'Supremist Faction.'

Unlike the other underground organizations in the original work, this one was flashy but easy to deal with. It was made up of noble families that wanted to bring the powerful down and take their place.

This was the kind of opponent the original female lead faced the most throughout the story.

But had this faction even gone after the Ducal house? There has been no mention of that. Layla was sure the original 'her' had also been a part of this faction.

Or at least, she had ties to it that were quite friendly.

"Hey, wait a minute. By Supremist Fiction, do you mean that extreme group that calls themselves the future of power and wants to bring down all the noble families in power? Ugh, should we back down now?

I don't think antagonizing those people too much is a good idea.'

The investigator asked, and he got two pairs of looks for his effort.

It easily reminded him that the people he talked to belonged to the Lockhart Duchy. They were not normal people without any power.

"You do not need to worry. Those people picked a fight with us. It is only natural for us to retaliate with everything we have. I am sure the Duke would agree with this. He might lend us his authority to deal with these pests if lucky."

Mary casually talked about the Duke and using his power and authority.

It made the investigator feel somewhat confident in her assessment, and that conflicted with him.

He did not want to believe in Mary, but he felt like he had no choice in this matter either. He could either get caught by the Ducal house and die or join them and become a target for the Supremist fraction.

The investigator was fucked the second he decided to take this job.

"Are we about to reach outside? I can feel two people lying in wait to ambush us. Be careful when you head out."

Layla warned as she suddenly stopped and looked at the empty air.

She looked suspicious as she stared in the air. The investigator could not help but think she might be slightly off in the head.

But he did not want to insult her to her face, so he decided not to speak up. If he could not pick up any presence with his 'special' skills, he doubted the kid could either.

"Young Miss! Should I go out and act as bait for those people? I promise I will not get hurt."

Mary asked in a cheerful voice. She seemed to play with her young miss's words and actions with a happy face.

Seeing the pair act like this made the investigator sigh in annoyance and relief. He decided not to say anything because he valued his life and kept quiet.

Mary walked out with careless steps and a skip. She looked unbothered by what was happening, and nothing happened.

'Ah, I knew nothing would happen. There is no way this kid would have better skills than me when it comes to tracking people-'

"Mary, toward your right. The maid is trying to make a run for it. Go after her since you hear her as well."

Layla spoke, and Mary's face broke into a grin.

"You got it, miss! I will be heading out now."

The pink-haired maid smiled charmingly before she took down the tree on her right with her axe.

That finally made the shadow hiding behind it run and run away. The investigator could also see that shadow properly, which made his eyes widen.

'N-No way! Was there someone hiding behind those trees? How is that possible? Fuck! I don't have time for all of this.'

Layla had already left the investigator behind as she walked toward the other side of the clearing, and her hand reached toward the bush to grab something and pull it out.

"Would you like to say anything before I take care of you? I am rather interested in knowing why you attacked me."

Layla asked as she brought out a kid from the shadows of the bushes.

The kid looked twice Layla's age and at least three times her bulk. But she handled the taller kid so easily that seeing the bigger male crouching in front of a kid looked natural.

"I…this is not…I did not mean to…"

The kid kept trying to speak up, but his words kept getting jumbled as he tried to explain what happened.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to understand the kid by the second, but Layla leaned closer and placed her hands around him to trap him against the tree trunk.

Her small size made her come up to only the kid's waist. And that was after the kid had already collapsed because of the pressure he was feeling.