"Did you take care of the kids? I saw them running away with their tales tucked between their legs. Do you need me to run interference for you?"
Mary's sudden arrival would have scared Layla if her system had not told her about the older female's arrival beforehand.
But Layla knew about Mary's proximity, so she was not spooked.
Her heart skipped a beat, but that was more because of her distrust and fear of Mary.
"You won't need to do anything. I doubt anyone in the trio has a reasonable explanation for what happened. As for me, I did not see them once I entered the forest. Nothing that happened is my fault."
Layla countered, and she noticed how amused Mary looked with her answer.
"Of course, you are right, Miss. Nothing happened here. I will tell the Duke about this if he asks me what happened."
Mary smiled at her younger charge, but there was no telling what was hidden behind her smile. And Layla did not even want to know what Mary was grinning about.
She did look satisfied and stress-free. Layla was sure Mary had a good workout while dealing with whatever she did.
"Let's leave for the temple now. You said that I should take a look at it, right?"
Layla quickly changed the topic, and Mary promptly followed suit.
...
This world had three major gods and countless minor gods. However, the concept of gods was not the same as in the normal world.
In this world, anyone with enough power could evolve into a god. However, humans born under rules and restrictions could never grow above the first three gods, the origin of their power.
That was why, no matter which god's temple you entered, a small space was left alone to pay homage to the original three… or so the books said.
However, due to unresolved conflict, only two of the three gods had real representation in all temples.
The God of Magic was excluded from this custom for a long time. It had been so long that people had even forgotten about his existence.
Nowadays, people still know of the 'Three major gods,' but they can only name two.
Only a handful of temples carried the name and divinity of the God of Magic, making things awkward for her.
This temple had no relic that connected it to the god she wanted.
"Young Miss, you will have to enter alone from this point on. This place is reserved for the children House Lockhart sponsors, but the servants are not allowed here. I will go and pray in the commoner's hall. I will meet you alone once you are done praying."
Mary made a quick excuse before she left.
The maid had left so quickly that Layla had no time to speak up and ask her what was happening.
Before she knew it, Layla had been abandoned in front of the temple, and her lost expression attracted the attention of a kind-looking priest.
"Oh my! Have you been abandoned, child? Don't worry! I will take you in and shelter you. Our temple's orphanage welcomes everyone who wants our goddess's protection. Now, if you would please tell me your name and-"
The priest stopped speaking once Layla pointed toward her back.
The symbol of Duke Lockhart's house was prominent enough for the priest to realize he had made a mistake.
Layla was let go of as quickly as she had been grabbed. But this time, the priest looked like he was touching something dirty.
'Makes sense. In the novel, Duke Lockhart and his family are known to have contracts with powerful demons and practice magic. Both of these teachings directly contradict the divine teaching of the temple.'
This open hostility was why the original Female Main Character never had a good relationship with the Duke's family, even when the Duke had been the first to extend his hand toward the Saintess.
'The original female lead did grow up in an orphanage as a Saintess candidate, but the work never mentioned the temple she grew up in. All I know about her is from her story once the novel starts at sixteen. I still have ten more years to go….'
Layla spotted a shade of pink in the corner of her eyes, making her heart skip a beat.
The original female lead had pink hair. It was a unique color given to the female lead, a common troupe of the romance genre. This work had been no different.
It was mainly used to make the female lead stand out from other 'common' characters. But there was another reason given for her pink hair.
That was the shade of hair the goddess of purity and divinity liked. That is why people born with Pink hair are rare and have strong powers.
'What a load of bullcrap. The author gave this reason, but he also handed the female lead and her companions loads of powerups to compensate for their lack of power. Not that it did them any good with the ending.'
Layla had thought of so many ways the main group could have tried to use their powers.
Unfortunately, they were too busy fighting for the MC's 'love' to notice the world's destruction.
She must have stared too long in the direction where the pink hair had disappeared because the priest turned toward Layla with a complicated expression.
"Young miss, did you see something? I fear I cannot let you go beyond the praying rooms."
The priest spoke softly, but Layla could tell he was losing her patience.
Layla might be six, but the priest was treating her like a second coming of the devil itself. It was fitting for a villainess like her.
"It's alright. Please lead me to the praying room."
The possibility of the Female Lead being here also meant that the Original Male lead of this world, and the one who will kill the original villainess Layla in the future, was here.
And that pig-headed Male Lead was the last person Layla wanted to encounter.