A few hours before Layla woke up, the tense atmosphere around the temple room could be felt.

Cardinal Bishop looked tense as he observed Layla and her condition.

His expression told Mary that the condition of the female in front of him was not good. Her master had suffered a huge injury that was difficult to heal. But she felt safer to leave her master in the Cardinal's hand.

"I will do what I can for her, but I cannot guarantee that I will be able to save her. I cannot tell how much the core is damaged or how much energy has been lost already.

But just as a warning, you should know that your young miss would be even more fragile if she survives."

The cardinal spoke in a grim voice.

He did not want to be this negative, but he felt it best to admit what could go wrong beforehand.

That way, the maid would have no ground to question him later.

"I know. Just got back to saving my young miss! I'm not about to lose a contractor right now. Not when I am this close to my goal."

Mary told the Bishop before she threw her body on the seat beside the wall and sat down straight.

Raziel quickly occupied her side.

Rosette and Adam followed her to the side, and the two young kids looked awkward around her. They did not seem to know how to address her, so they did not say anything to her at first.

But once some time passed, Rosette finally gathered her courage to ask the question she had wanted to all this time.

"Excuse me, but are you close to Layla? I mean, you seem to care for her a lot, but I have never seen you around-"

The pink-haired female, beaming with divinity, asked, and Mary did not answer.

But just because she did not want to answer did not mean the truth would not come out. Adam made a startled face when his eyes landed on Mary, and he pulled Rosette behind his back.

"Shit! Rose, be careful! You might not recognize it, but that maid is a demon! She said that she has contact with Layla, right? No wonder she is so concerned about her. She does not want to lose a contractor. It's not about personal feelings, but because of her contract."

Adam explained with a heavy heart and an angry voice.

It was well-known that demons derived most of their power and authority in the human world from their contracts.

The more powerful and numerous contracts a demon had, the more they could exercise their power.

On the other hand, losing a contractor to anything that was not aged death was considered a huge loss in power and prestige.

That was why most demons ended up killing worthless candidates for these seats before they could get any funny ideas and ask for a contract.

Mary had been no different.

She had only ever made three contracts in her life—one was the previous Duke Lockhart, one was the current one, and one would be the future one if she had any say.

"It's not that simple, kids. Of course, I am doing all this because I am interested in Layla and what she is up to. How can you kids begin to understand a complicated relationship between us?

You only need to know one thing - I want to serve Layla for a long time and will make sure that becomes a reality."

Mary assured her of this with a smile, but that smile did not reach her eyes. Adam shivered when he looked at Mary's cold eyes and pulled Rosette further behind her.

"Stop scaring the kids, Mary! We need to concentrate here. Cardinal asked us to be vigilant because he would need your help soon."

Mary calmed down as soon as Raziel spoke to her about this.

Instead of paying attention to what she was doing, she decided to pay attention to what was happening in front of her.

The cardinal had sweat traveling down his face as he concentrated on saving Layla's life. He seemed to be having a hard time, and finally, about half an hour later, he signaled for Mary to come to him.

Since the demoness had a contract with Layla, it was easier for her to reach Layla's consciousness and communicate with it.

Everyone else looked slightly envious of Mary, but the demoness focused on Layla and the Cardinal.

The Cardinal held his hand out for Mary to take before placing it on Layla's forehead.

"This will hurt a little bit since this is divine energy. If it becomes too much for you, then pull back immediately. You do not need to endure more than you need to."

Bishop Cardinal reminded Mary, but she gave him a condescending look before she placed her hand on Layla's forehead and made a satisfied expression.

"Don't worry! I will tell you if this becomes too much for me. But I doubt that would happen anytime soon. I have a much better pain tolerance than most humans, after all."

Mary assured, but the Cardinal did not look impressed with her.

Still, he decided not to ask her questions and touched her forehead before pulling it back.

"Good luck out there! I am unsure what you will see, but don't let it fool you. You only have one goal: to bring your young miss back at all costs. Nothing else matters, alright?"

The Cardinal warned Mary again before he channeled his divine energy through her hand.

It burned badly, and Mary bit her lip to keep the pained yelp inside. Instead, she concentrated on what was happening to the power channeling through her body and could feel her connection becoming more and more stable.

"Young miss! Where are you? I am here to get you back."

Mary yelled as she looked around the consciousness. It was a huge place, and the chances of finding Layla were slim.

But Mary found her just two hours later, and she breathed a sigh of relief once she did.