The silver-haired female decided to call herself the newly coined name 'Layla Lockhart.' She looked at the floating screen in front of her with a severe expression.
[Time until the meeting with Lord Lockhart: 1 hour and 10 minutes remaining]
It might seem like Layla had a lot of time on her hands, but the reality could not be any more different than that.
First, Layal needed to find clothes to change into and wash up.
She had beautiful features, but they were married by all the dirt in this tiny prison cell she was living in.
The only dress she could find in this small place was an overall black robe resembling a nun's dress. Looking at those clothes made an instant dislike rise inside Layla's heart, but she pushed it down.
Beggars could not be choosers in this case. Until Layla gains enough power to destroy this place, she will have to make do with what she has on her hand.
Once her clothes were secured, she faced her next big hurdle: finding a clean water source.
Layla gave up on the cell's water supply when it touched her hand. It was even dirtier than the room and would make her even dirtier.
So, Layla needed to find another place to wash up; to do that, she needed to leave this room.
It was pure luck that Layla knew of a way to get out of there, and all it required was a hairpin she had.
Her hands felt clumsy, but her mind remembered the moments she needed to follow to pick a lock.
'It's good that I worked hard to learn all these skills for my job. It is coming in so handy now.'
One might think about just what kind of job Layla had to know all these random skills, and the answer was something you might not expect.
Layla had been a mafia boss, and it was one of the most efficient times.
It was safe to say that she and her people made the world move. Layla had built it from scratch, and she worked hard to achieve it.
'If I can make the world move according to my footsteps once, I can do that again.'
The lock finally opened, and Layla quickly left her cell. She was free once more, and she needed to take a bath.
[Time until the meeting with Lord Lockhart: 45 minutes remaining]
'That took longer than I expected. I need to manage my time better to make the most of it. Hmm, my young looks should also be a weapon I will be able to use.'
In this world, nothing could not be used as a weapon. One just needed to know how to do it.
And in Layla's case, she knew her strengths and weaknesses quite well. She would have no problem attracting the attention of one duke.
...
"Alright, everyone, get in line! And remember what I told you before—behave yourself in front of the duke. Make sure he likes you if you want to live. If you misbehave, you will not have dinner tonight."
The caretaker yelled, and all the kids flinched.
Layla was the only one who did not care about the dinner; instead, she looked around the room.
First, she noticed that all the kids around her had similar features—white or silver hair and a small frame.
The Duke had asked for a specific demographic of people to be bright to him for adoption.
That also meant that he needed this kind of person.
'If the Duke is looking for a specific demographic, I can use it to my advantage. Usually, it is useless to stand out, but I might as well try to stand out right now.'
Most kids would not notice it, but Layla noticed that most of the kids in this room (seven) had dyed hair.
She could see their roots showing a different color, meaning the orphanage people were trying to trick the Duke.
It would not surprise Layla if she were the only one with genuine silver hair in this room.
'I feel sorry for these kids but need to lessen my competition. I will have to do something about this.'
Layla's eyes met the shaking kid beside her, and she immediately decided to take advantage of him.
"Hey! Do you know that the Duke is a scary person? You might lose your head if you lie to him. Will he let you live if he finds out your hair is not white?"
Layla asked in a low voice, and it was enough to make the kid cry out in fear.
"I-I don't want to be here! Let me out! I cannot be found here with dyed hair! I will die! Noooo! I don't want to die!"
Once one person started crying, the others began crying as well.
Five of the seven kids had their hair dyed, and they immediately cried out. They were spooked by what the first kid had said.
All this sudden crying startled the caretakers, and they tried to calm these kids down immediately.
"Hey, stop crying! There is no need to be like this. The Duke is not a scary person, and he will not harm you! Shit! Just what happened?
The people in charge asked just seconds before the door opened.
The man who entered the room could only be objectively described in one word - handsome. As soon as Layla saw him, she knew he was important.
The most important rule of a romance fantasy was that all essential characters were good-looking while the rest were average.
So, if a person looked good, they were likely someone Layla needed to keep an eye on.
Layla must have glared at the duke for some time because that man suddenly turned toward her, and their eyes met.
When the Duke looked her way, he looked away and decided to address the chairman instead.
"I would like an explanation of what is happening here. I asked you to gather kids who can handle it, not these crybabies."