'Finally, I am back to my room. I missed this place and all its gloomy self.'

Layla wanted to throw herself on her bed and sleep for an unforeseeable time, but she had work to do.

As soon as her luggage touched her room's floor, Layla grabbed a pen and a piece of paper to start drafting a letter.

Now that she had gotten a chance to ask the Duke for anything, she needed to make sure her requests were specific.

It took less time to write the letter and more time to make sure it was proper and met all her demands. After all, making a mistake this far into the game would be unfortunate.

Once the letter was drafted, Layla sealed it with magic. This way, she would know if someone else tried to open her letter beside the Duke.

"Mary, give this to the Duke and make sure he receives it personally. Once we have the funds, we can start with the next part of our plan to open our business."

Layla handed the letter to Mary, who quickly bowed and left.

Once the maid left, Layla was left with the other servant she had acquired - Raziel.

As one of the original work's sub-leads, Raizel was a strong ally, but Layla had no idea how to use him for now.

Mary had been training this kid to fight and guard, but Raizel had a long way to go.

'I better keep an eye on him for now. Just because Raziel is behaving himself for now does not mean he will keep behaving himself forever.'

Layla sighed before hearing the sharp bell ring that signaled breakfast time.

She was not hungry, but Layla did want to make an appearance since it was tradition.

"Raziel, you will accompany me to breakfast, but stand behind me and don't move until I tell you to. I do not want you to cause any trouble."

Layla specifically warned her new servant about it.

Raizel had a temper, but he was doing well to hide it. Layla wanted to be careful around him since she still had no idea what might trigger him.

The rankings around the dining table had changed significantly since Layla had last been here, but her seat was still at the bottom.

Everyone stared at her as soon as she arrived, but no one spoke.

It was good that Layla was used to all these eyes on her since she could easily ignore them and pull back her chair to sit down.

*cough*

Someone coughed to get Layla's attention, and she quickly looked up to notice that everyone had tensed up.

Layla also considered the reason for this, and her eyes moved toward the front of Henry's table.

The blond had not said anything, but he picked up his glass in a way that showed he was disappointed in what was happening.

'Ugh, don't tell me this kid expected me to greet him as if he is the Duke or someone from the main family? This is giving me a headache.'

Layla pretended to be confused momentarily, and that was when Kyle spoke up from beside her.

"Henry is acting all supreme like this because the Duke announced he will reward one of his kids for doing well recently. He is sure it will be him, but we all have doubts. By the way, where did you go for the past few days?"

Kyle asked, looking at Layla with a questioning look. He was also too close to her, which made her uncomfortable.

She might have saved Kyle before, but not because she wanted his loyalty. But even she had to admit that having an insider informant was good for her.

Layla pretended not to notice Henry working, but he quickly coughed before announcing the start of breakfast.

It ended quickly and with a tense atmosphere. Layla was the only one who managed to eat and digest the food under such tense circumstances.

Once the breakfast was done, she stood up and left the room.

Raizel kept following her until they were out of range; at this point, Raziel took out a small but sharp knife.

"Do you want me to take care of everyone else, miss? I will make it secure that I killed them-"

"No, don't kill anyone for now. I still need this place and the Duke to take advantage of. You can end it once I have what I want from this place. Ah, but leave people who are on my side. I might need to use them again."

Layla had no sympathy for the people who wanted to harm her, but she was good to those on her side. After all, people were a hard-to-find resource.

Raizel's blank face did not change, but Layla felt he was thinking over her words.

Thankfully, he dropped the topic pretty quickly, and it did not take long for the Duke's reply to come.

Now that she had the capital to start a business and a blueprint of what to do, it was time to acquire the ingredients.

The best way would be to employ people who are good at growing herbs.

"My lady, if you are wondering what kind of people you need to employ for your business, may I give you an idea? It is said that nature loves all sorts of creatures and flourishes under divine power.

So, what could be a better combination than creatures with divine power? I am sure you can tell what I am thinking about."

Mary asked with a smile on her face. The shadow falling on her face made it look a little sinister.

Her words made Layla freeze, as this was a possibility she had not considered or even considered.

But now that Mary had put a thought in her mind, it did sound like something Layla could venture into and make work.

"You want me to approach the Dark elves and ask them to work for me? Do you not think that it will be dangerous for us to do?"