Layla and Mary saw the kid heading toward Layla and grabbing her collar, but none moved to get out of his way.

Layla was confident that this kid would not be able to hurt her.

Just as she expected, the kid's mother noticed what he was trying to do, and she quickly pulled him back with a terrified look on her face.

"Liam, what are you doing? You need to let go of her right now. Behaving like this will not bring your father back."

The mother quickly scolded her son before she made him let go of Layla.

Layla had to admit that Liam had quite a grip on him. He flexed his hand to get rid of the phantom sensation in his hand, and his eyes looked angry enough to devour Layla and her maid.

"Stop lying to me! My father is not dead, and I will prove it to you. Just wait and watch! My father will come back to us-"

"And then he will be killed by some other noble because of his trade or to shut his mouth. But oh well, it is not my problem, right?"

Mary egged the pair once more before Layla had enough.

She stood up quickly before she dragged Mary out of the room and back toward their sleeping quarters.

"Young miss, you ruined my fun! I wanted to see the expression on their faces when I told them about how that man pleaded for his life. He was willing to trade his wife and son to be left alone and alive.

That disgusted me enough to end his life finally. But his final moments were about his family and money, isn't it touching-"

"Mary, don't talk about this again and forget that this happened. That man came to kidnap me, and he met an unfortunate death. This is the end of the story. We do not need to make it any more complicated than this."

Layla spoke confidently.

She should have known better than to speak these words out in the open as a noble. But her guard was down in annoyance, which proved a fatal mistake.

"You did what to my father…. I won't forgive you-!"

When they heard what the pair had talked about, Liam and his mother followed Layla and Mary outside to apologize to them.

The mother looked like she was in shock over what happened, while Liam was ready to charge at them and kill them.

His enthusiasm made Mary giggle, and she stopped the attack with a single hand while also looking amused.

"You are much more fun and fiercer to play around than your father. It will be fun to kill you-"

Mary spoke, but the mother acted faster. She warped her arms around Liam's waist and pulled him closer into a safe embrace.

"Please, don't take my child away from me as well. I-I will not be able to take it. I understand that you killed my husband because of what he tried to do, but please, spare my kid. He did nothing wrong except exist and love his father."

The older female looked exhausted as she closed her eyes and tried to stay calm.

Her expression made Layla feel sorry for her, and Mary must have sympathized with her because she quickly backed down.

"Tsk, it's boring if you stop like this. But since you seem sincere, I will give you the benefit of the doubt. I will not come after you if you don't go after me. And also, if you value your life, you would want to break ties with the slave ring.

Who knows what might happen to it soon."

Layla felt surprised to see Mary speaking these words.

After all, she was not one to care about people or humans whom she did not need to care about.

The expression on Mary's face looked as if she was enjoying whatever was happening here. She had an especially keen expression when she looked at Liam.

'Ah, looks like Mary took an interest in humans. That cannot be good. I don't know if I should consider him lucky or unlucky.'

Layla did not need Mary with her 100% of the time to achieve her goals, but Mary was a good addition to her plans.

But she was also sure she could manage without Mary if it came down to it.

The point was that Layla would not interfere as long as these things did not concern her. So, Mary was free to do whatever she wanted with her catch.

"Mary, if you are done playing here, then we need to head back. I have a feeling that whatever these organizers are planning will happen soon. We must be prepared for it, and you should keep your guard up for now.

After all, who knows what might happen tonight."

Layla warned the pair before she turned to leave. She was well aware of the eyes that dug holes in the back of her head as she walked away.

But not once did Layla turn back to look at what was happening. She felt as if it would not be worth it.

Her instincts kept telling Layla that she was in danger and that she should turn around once to confirm.

But Layla knew better than that.

She reached her room, and she twisted the knob before she heard Mary's bemused voice.

"Young miss, you don't need to feel worried or jealous about what happened. You will always remain my priority for as long as you live.

As for that kid…don't you think he has a bearing to be a loyal guard dog if we train him well? He might be a little rough right now, but if we carefully groom it, we can get a nice result."

Mary spoke about all this as if she were talking about the weather. Layla neither agreed with her nor denied what she said, but in her heart, she knew that she did not want a dog who would bite her in the future.