"Hmm, rosy cheeks and a healthy complexion. What is a kid like you doing in this cursed village? You should run away as far as possible before the curse also gets you."

The old lady had a cracked voice, but her words could be heard clearly.

Layla could feel the hints of alluring magic when the old lady spoke, indicating that she was a magician, but not a good one.

The old lady had no training to control her magic, which seemed out of her control.

"You are a magician? Now, that's a twist. Would you mind telling us what is happening here? And also, please let go of our young miss's cheek. She is sensitive, and her skin bruises easily."

Mary grabbed the witch's hand and pulled it away from Layla's face.

The maid's expression was curious, but it warned the old lady to stay in her lane.

The old lady quickly pulled her hand back when she was offended by Mary, and the hunched-back lady coughed in her hand to hide her nervousness.

"Me? A witch? What gave you that idea? I am an old lady living a peaceful life in this backward village. I do not know any voodoo or magic.

However, I came over to warn you to head out and find another village if you want to spend the night. There is no accommodation in this village.

Especially not now since the whole village has been cursed."

The old lady warned, and Layla felt a curiosity hit her.

This was the first real piece of information she had gotten about this place, making her curious to learn more.

"This place has been cursed? How long ago did that happen? It's weird for you to say that because I do not feel any cursed energy in the air."

Mary commented from behind as she looked around.

As a demon, Mary was sensitive to evil energy, and her rank allowed her to know about curses in detail if she felt them.

Her reply made the old lady start, and she immediately reached out to close Mary's mouth with a scared expression.

"Shh, don't talk about being able to use magic or being able to feel the curse. You will be outcasted even harder, and no one here would ever trust you.

Besides, you cannot feel the curse now because the sun is still there. The curse only activates during the night. Now, head out! Do not stay in this village during the night, or you will never be able to leave."

The old lady spoke around in circles, but this was also the most information Layla had been given about the situation here.

It made Layla curious to spend a night here and see what happened. But this old lady's words also made her mind for tonight.

"Alright! I get it. Mary and Raziel, get ready to move for tonight. We will be leaving the perimeters of this village for tonight."

Layla made that decision, and Raizel opened his mouth to question her.

But Mary was faster, and she gave Raziel a look and asked him to stay quiet for now.

"Of course, miss! We will do as you say."

They quickly left the village, but Layla noticed how the villagers continued to look at her in envy, and Mary turned the cart around as soon as they got out of the town.

Instead of heading to the second village, Mary took them to the top of a nearby cliff where the town was visible, and they could see everything.

"Would this spot work fine, miss? We can see the whole village from here, and I also ensured one would not interrupt us tonight."

Mary established the camp quickly. She would also keep the first watch since she was a demon and did not need sleep as long as she had mana to feed herself.

The same could not be said for Raziel and Layla, humans with a very accurate biological clock most of the time.

"I see! Keep an eye on whatever is happening then. I will go to sleep for now. Wake me up when it is time."

Layla asked as she opened the carriage door and went inside. Her body was already dozing off because she had not slept enough for the past few days.

"Hmm, I will do that."

Mary agreed, but despite her clear submission and being on Layla's side, a part of Layla did not trust Mary and continued to be vigilant.

The maid continued to smile until Layla fell asleep with Raziel sleeping in the tent.

Mary was left alone to watch the night, and the demoness gave a blood-thrust grin at finally being alone.

"Ah, now that the humans are asleep, you all decided to visit us? How kind of you. However, we are not currently accepting customers, so please head back."

Mary smiled at the younger demons, who did not understand what was happening. Their instincts controlled this kind of demon, and they attacked whoever they could get their claws on.

It included people and humans that were far above their levels.

And sometimes, senior demons like Mary as well were included in the list to attack on sight.

Mary quickly worked on them and handled the post-cleanup before her miss woke up. The smell of blood was too thick to notice, but it was gone within seconds of Mary working her magic.

By the time Layla and Raziel worked up a few hours later, everything had been over for some time.

Mary smiled innocently as she watched the pair wake up with suspicious eyes, and she offered them breakfast.

"Would you both like something to eat? I cooked you dinner and will cook more if you feel hungry."

Mary handed the plate to the pair before, and just as they finished, it started.

The sky above the village they were watching lit up and turned purpose, and intense dark magic began to work around the village.

"Fuck! That village really as under a curse."