Blood splattered around Layla as she ended the life of the first monster. But she was unsatisfied with her hunt and moved on from this one to the other monsters.

Armed with a small knife that cut through these monsters like butter, Layla cleared out the first area before she looked behind to take a look at the noble and his aid.

"What happened? Did you change your mind and decide not to help out any longer? Don't worry! I won't likely need your help in the first place."

Layla promised, and Luna growled swiftly toward her side to tell her that another demon wanted to attack her.

Not one to waste time, Layla turned toward that direction and seemingly hit the air. As soon as she threw her punch, she felt her hand connecting with something solid before a dead body lay at her feet with its mouth hanging open.

"Duke Lukewater, this girl is batshit insane. We should escape as soon as we can while she is busy. I don't think staying with her any longer is a good idea. Who knows what she might end up doing to us?"

The Duke looked at his scared guard, only to find him shaking in his boots.

'So much for being a brave guard who will save me from everything. This man looks like he cannot even stand straight.'

Seeing that guard shake did make the Duke feel bad. But he also knew he did not want to return right now.

Something about this female was attractive enough to make the Duke move. He sensed it when another monster tried to sneak up on him, and the female moved to take care of it.

But before the female could reach the Duke's location, he smashed his hand into the monster's neck and snapped it. It made a crunching noise before the demon lay dead in front of his feet.

"You took care of this one? Maybe you are not a useless one after all. Listen, look after yourself from this point on. We will go and rescue people and wait for reinforcements to arrive. Hopefully, it won't take too long for them to arrive."

Layla praised the handiwork that had been done in front of her. Seeing these monsters dead gave her a liberating feeling, and Layla's smile made the Duke feel warm.

Forgotten emotions that he had buried inside him threatened to burst, but his bubble popped the very next second as Layla turned her back to him and walked away.

"Duke, we still have time to return and forget what is happening. This monster infestation is not our problem, and your father wants us back in one piece. I would rather not become demon food because I was not able to keep you in check. So, let's head back now."

The guard muttered as he looked at the Duke with a painfully obvious face. He wanted them all to head back now.

But the more desperate he looked, the more the Duke did not want to listen to him.

In the first place, what Layla had asked him stuck with the Duke, and he followed behind her without giving the guard an answer.

With his master behaving like this, what choice did the guard have but to follow? He was not a good fighter, and he knew he would be the first to be sacrificed if it meant killing monsters.

But he was also dead if he went home without the Duke anyway. So, he decided to follow the Duke and this mad woman to kill more monsters. This way, he could run away and even pretend to be injured if anything happened.

...

Layla cared for a dozen monsters (that corpse had managed to summon quite a few before he died) while she watched Adam and Rosette take care of the remaining three or so monsters.

It was a mess, and a lot of injured people were rushed back into the temple to have them recover.

Layla wanted to follow, but moreso to wash herself and get rid of any filth that covered her body. She had a lot of demon blood under her armor, which was starting to rust.

"Hey, are you alright? We finally found you. Where the heck had you been all this time? I thought you died or something."

Adam complained as he caught up to Layla and held her shoulder. He sounded and looked a little worried, which was not surprising if you knew his nature. Layla had gotten under his skin the past couple of days she had spent with him.

But what was more surprising than Adam's worry were Rosette's actions.

She took one look behind her, and her eyes met Daidus's. The pair froze as they stared at each other, and it looked like a scene of first love from a female-oriented novel.

Layla lived in a world where Rosette was the female lead, so people falling for her at first sign were not as far-fetched as they sounded.

However, there was nothing gentle about that gaze the pair used for each other. Apart from being friendly, it felt like the pair were glaring at each other and trying to gain an advantage while facing each other.

It was a scary atmosphere that scared Layla, and she unconsciously took a step back so as not to be influenced by what was happening.

The guard, however, decided that this was a problem, and he could not allow his Duke to be challenged like this. So he stood between the par and agreed to run interference between the pair.

"Excuse me, but you cannot keep looking at our young Duke like you are going to end his life. He is an important figure, and what you are doing is akin to treason. Please, stop it if you value your life."

The guard threatened Rosette by speaking these words. But his rosy cheeks betrayed his intentions and his interests.

This guard might be saying all these words, but he was doing this because he felt jealous that a beauty like Rosette was paying attention to the Duke and not him.