"You are dismissed, so you can head back now. I am done talking to you for the time being"

The Duke dismissed Mary easily with the flick of his finger. He had talked to Mary about whatever he wanted, and now he did not want to see her anymore.

One of his experiments was close to finishing, and if he was successful, he was sure that he would not need to spend a fortune on fostering kids anymore.

Instead, the Duke could make an army of his own using his own hands and methods. And those monsters he was about to create would be much more durable and loyal than any kid he could handle.

The duke waited for Mary to leave, but she was still standing there when he turned around.

Her presence and the Duke's lack of awareness of her aura made him pause before he clutched his heart in fear.

"What are you thinking about? Are you not going to leave?"

The Duke asked suspiciously as he waited for Mary to leave him alone. But Mary made a knowing face when she looked at him.

"Duke, you will leave everything related to Layla up to me, right? Then, I need your word that you will not interfere with whatever I choose to do with her. I want a vow from you regarding this."

Mary asked for it, but the Duke hesitated for a second.

The demoness had never asked for something like this before, making him a little nervous to give in to her demands.

But simultaneously, the Duke could not say 'no' to Mary either. He had used her power and influence to maintain his title as the Duke. He had even killed off his father and other siblings to earn this right.

If he defied Mary now, then there was a chance that all his misdeeds would come to light. And that was something he could not afford to do.

"Fine! I will give you the vow you want me to take. Here, this should be fine."

The Duke compressed his magic into a small bubble that contained his vow. If he were to break it, his magic would become shackled to him and destroy him.

A vow was a double-edged sword that not everyone could use. And, unfortunately, the Duke had been pressed to make one by his maid.

"I am not happy about this, but I will accept this peace offering for now. I hope you have a good time ahead, Duke Lockhart."

Mary's words were almost sarcastic when she spoke. It made the Duke shiver, knowing his maid was not complimenting him.

How the word 'Duke' rolled off Mary's tongue made the Duke shiver. He knew he was being mocked but could not tell Mary off.

Especially not when he was ruling over her authority and influence. Most people kept their mouths shut because they knew a high-ranked demon was serving his family.

The Duke maintained a neutral face until he watched Mary leave. Only after she left did he punch the wall and throw something at it.

The fragile glass shattered at the impact, and the Duke did not notice.

"Mary-! You bitch! I did so much for you and even gave you a human identity. I am why you can exist in the human world as you are now. And this is how you repay me? By threatening to expose me and go against me? I will show you why this is a bad idea."

In anger, the Duke forgot what Mary had done for him and his family. The red had consumed his vision, and the Duke began to plan.

If he was going to destroy Mary and grab her power, he needed power and authority. He also needed a plan and a being stranger than Mary.

"I will need to quicken my experiments. I cannot keep useless things around all the time."

....

"Young Miss, shall I get rid of Mary? The Duke will be sure to give her an order against you. We should not risk it."

Raziel asked as he grabbed his weapon and posed ready. He was prepared to defend Layla from Mary and the Duke's plan if necessary.

But Layla grabbed Raziel's hand and pulled him back to sit down.

"It's fine! I will let Mary handle this situation however she wants to. She will ensure we both survive since she is bonded in a contract with the Duke and me.

Besides, Mary worked hard to wake me up. I doubt that she would let me die so easily."

The doubt looming in Layla's mind was still there, but she ignored it in favor of peace.

She was successful for a whole minute before her door was thrown open, and Rosette entered her room with a resolute expression.

The young woman walked over to Layla before grabbing her arm. Her pink eyes had unshed tears in them.

"Don't worry! I know you are sick. Cardinal Bishop did not say what kind of injury you sustained, but I will surely be able to heal you. Just let me-!"

Before the young female could use her powers, Raziel grabbed her shoulder and yanked her off.

If Layla had not been aware that she was in a romance fantasy, she would have been sure that the two hated each other at first glance.

Even now, the way Raziel took his place in front of Layla and looked at Rosette, annoyed and angry, gave Layla goosebumps all over her body.

"Do not touch Miss Layla. You are an inexperienced kid, and I do not trust you to heal her. You can't just pump divine energy into someone and expect them to heal."

Raziel spoke confidently and seemed to know what he was talking about.

Since he had trained in divine power, there was a solid chance that Raziel had also learned the basics of healing. But Rosette had no way of knowing this, and these words made her angry at the speaker.