'Do I know this person? He feels familiar, but I am unsure if I recall having met someone like him or not…. well, it will come to me later. For now, I should not pay that much attention to it.'

Layla sighed as she crossed her hands in front of her to glance at this man. She hoped to make this kid nervous, but he did not look like he was affected by Layla's glance.

Since she failed to intimidate this man, Layla could only sigh and walk out of the room with a sulky expression.

"Fine! Do whatever it is that you want. But if you threaten my mission, I will make you disappear. Do you understand?"

Layla asked, and the unknown but familiar man bowed in front of her to show her that he understood exactly what Layla meant to say to him.

"Of course, miss! I will never betray you or do anything that would make you feel sad. I promise that I will not do something like that to you."

The man promised, and even his voice sounded familiar. The more pressure Layla put on her mind, the more she seemed to be able to recall a name.

'Is he Raziel? Surely not? But the features match, and Raziel was supposed to grow into a healthy, tall young man. But was he supposed to be this tall? He looks almost twice as tall as me.'

It was an exaggeration on Layla's part, but she did realize that Raziel had easily crossed 6 feet in height and could easily be the tallest person she had ever seen.

Despite his massive height, he did not look awkward or too bulky. He had the right shape and size to look normal… bearing his height.

"Alright, you can follow me. But I need you to keep to yourself and not interfere, no matter what is about to happen. I do not want you to interfere in my matters. Have I made myself clear?"

Layla asked in a clear voice. She looked back at the kid following behind her, and the boy with silver eyes had a determined expression on his face. He faced Layla with conviction in his eyes, which told her that she was being looked through by this man.

Finally, he stopped searching Layla's soul and replied to her.

"Of course, young miss! My life has been yours since long ago, and I will not allow anything to take it away from me."

The man promised, and Layla felt slightly uncomfortable about such a heavy promise. But she hid her discomfort with a shrug of her shoulder as she walked past the man and toward the door. She headed out first, and the man followed after.

They quickly reached the end of the castle, and Layla covered her body and face with a veil. She did not want anyone to recognize her (not that anyone would) bare face.

______

The mansion where the Duke's wards were gathered had not chanced an inch since Layla had last seen it.

It had the same paint, the same atmosphere, and the same people in there as well.

Somehow, Layla was slightly surprised to see Henry and some older kids still inside that house. She had been sure that they would have left by now.

'But then again, the original work did say that these kids were spoilt and stubborn. That was why the Duke killed them off in the original story. What should I do to make them leave this place before they die.'

Layla asked this question as she entered this place.

She had no personal attachments to any of these kids, and she wouldn't have any problem letting any of them die, but that would mean the continuation of the story in the same way it had always been.

For the sake of her mission, Layla decided to enter the house during lunchtime, when everyone was gathered around the table.

This place looked a lot fuller than when she had last been there. The number of kids around the diner table had also increased.

They looked suspiciously at Layla as she entered the room and sat on the table. The central figure in the room kept an especially close eye on her and her guard.

Layla did not need any magic or identification to know that the older male was Henry. Although he was well past his teens, he still liked to play the leader and king of this place.

"What are you doing back here? Did you not leave this house a long time ago? What face do you have to come crawling back like this?"

Henry asked as he drank his glass of wine. He sounded annoyed, and his face looked angry to have Layla back in this castle.

Layla only smiled at the man as she seemed to enjoy his misery. She knew for a long time that this man was troublesome, but that did not mean she could not show him a cold shoulder.

"Ah, so just because I conduct my business from outside, does that mean I am no longer a part of this household, Brother Henry? If so, do you also qualify as a member of this place? I heard that there was an unwritten rule that you could not stay here after you turned 21. But you look well past that age.

When are you going to leave and become independent? You cannot keep relying on the Duke's kindness all the time like this, you know. Sooner or later, he would run out of patience and come to off you."

Layla asked, and she watched as the man beside her boiled in anger. His face was beyond red, and he looked ready to explode.

It did make Layla feel like she had spoken too much too soon, but she could not bring herself to care, especially when she got such amusing reactions from the man standing before her.

Henry had turned red, and his face looked ready to burst because he was trying to hold back his curses.