A stunned silence followed after the Duke declared this. He was not beating around the bush, and his serious face made people frown and step back.

"Lord Lukewater, you need to do something. If you don't, Duke Lockhart will have all the attention and control over the situation. As a future Duke, doesn't that bruise your ego?"

One of the kids tried to egg Daidus into reacting and speaking up against the Duke in front of him.

Daidus looked back at his 'friend' with a deadpan expression.

"This is not even my kingdom, let alone my territory. I have no right to interfere in the affairs of this place. So, I cannot interfere."

Daidus was a kid, but he was not stupid. He knew the difference between when he needed to speak up and when he needed to keep quiet.

He had no intention of gaining the ruthless Duke Lockhart's attention, but the Duke noticed him first, causing Daidus to look at him nervously.

"Young Duke Lukewater, I did not realize you were also here. Would you please consider helping us out as a formal ally? That way, we can erase your name from the list of suspects faster."

The young Duke looked at the older man and instantly saw the resemblance between this Duke and Layla.

Both of them were cold and ruthless when they needed to get their point across. That similarity (even if only in his head) made him relax and offer help.

"Of course, I will help you out. This is a huge incident that has the potential to be fatal if left unchecked. As a responsible nobleman, I must ensure that nothing like this happens again."

Daidus spoke confidently as he looked at the older man before him. He had made up his mind about what he needed to do.

He could tell his guards looked nervous to have Duke Lockhart here, but Daidus was sure the Duke was no longer here to harm.

After all, his ward had been caught up in this mess, which was enough reason for him to want to interfere.

...

A young priest hurried through the corridor to reach his final destination in the holy temple nearby. He had only one thing in mind - to tell his holiness what was happening.

"Your Holiness, we have some urgent news to share with you. Could you please spare some of your time for me?"

The holy temple was hosting its monthly meeting, during which most local families sent their kids to be influenced and cleansed by divine power.

It was a sacred ceremony held every month and was an important part of the lives of local people.

The holy cardinal carrying out this duty looked at the panicked priest before he flashed him a calming smile and continued to finish the ceremony.

He took his sweet time, but the longer he spent on the locals, the more agitated the young priest looked.

Once the ceremony ended, the young priest could no longer take it and vomited his words.

"Holy carnival, sir, I have some bad news for you. Do you remember the recent children's disappearing reports we heard about? They seemed to be connected with the devil cult.

According to recent events, a demon has started to regain its power because of it, and that demon has been causing panic. As a result, more and more people are joining that cult daily."

The young priest had never seen anything like this before.

He had been a priest for only a few years, but he had heard about the demonic cult, their temple's sworn enemy.

The young priest waited for the cardinal to speak up, but the cardinal showed no emotion. He did not even make a noise that told the priest how he felt.

All the cardinal did was raise his hand, and a kid suddenly ran out to get him something.

"Cardinal, please tell us what we need to do next. I am ready to head out and end those bastards if you order me to."

The young priest promised with a heated look in his eyes. He was ready to take on anything he could to fight against the demons and their followers.

In the meantime, the young kid who ran out of the cardinal's orders returned with a box with the cardinal's stuff in it.

The heavy-looking staff was a weapon that only its chosen could use, and currently, only the cardinal could wield this stand.

"Patience is a virtue that we all need to have. But mercy can only be shown to those who are humans and want to repent. Since that demon decided to show up this close to us, wouldn't it be fine for us to go ahead and capture it? I will go myself to check what is happening."

The cardinal promised before he headed out. He had decided, and everyone else looked tense as they watched the Cardinal leave.

The priest who brought this news to the Cardinal hurried up and ran after his superior. He wanted to learn from the older man how to use holy powers.

...

"Young miss, what are you going to do now? The Duke must be already here with his men, and he is taking hold of all these people. What shall we do now?"

Mary asked as she helped Layla out of the room.

They had somehow gotten the noble to hand over his control magic to Layla, and Raizel was finally bound to Layla.

She was unhappy about this, but it guaranteed her survival because the other kid would protect her.

It was more than enough…for now.

But now there was a bigger problem at hand.

These people might have called the Duke here, but most of the higher-ups for this slave ring had already made their way out. There were not a lot of leads to follow.

"Mary, we will go after one of the masterminds of this whole mess. Get ready because you must chase after him for a bit."