"L-Lord, I-"
The dean stuttered as he tried to speak up. But under the powerful gaze of Lord Lockhart, there was nothing he could say to save himself.
Layla understood that feeling well.
Once, Layla had exuded an aura that made people look at her in awe. She felt a kinship with the Duke, and she was certain that he saw their similarities when he looked at her.
But as soon as Layla thought the Duke was interested in her, he decided to turn around and leave.
"I can tell when I am being made fun of. Don't expect this orphanage to get away without any punishment. I am not in a good mood this day so I will take it out on you."
At the Duke's menacing words, the workers paled and exchanged fearful glances, their dread of the impending punishment evident.
"L-Lord Lockhart, please reconsider your decision! We are the best! This all was a mistake. If you give us a chance, then we will-"
The dean and the other workers tried to kiss up the Duke, but it would not be easy.
[Warning: The Duke is losing interest in adopting from this center.]
The system tried to tell Layla, but she could already see that.
She could not allow that to happen, or the story would change too much and cause her a headache.
Layla still could not remember the exact details of the story, but the more she looked at the Duke's face, the more she could recall.
According to her memory, she was in the world of a romance novel called 'A Saintess Wish.'
It was a story about an ordinary female awakening as a Saintess and having various adventures. But it was also a tragic story with many twists and turns.
'Didn't the story end halfway because the female lead died? Ugh, who cares? I don't have time for this shit! I must stop the Duke before he leaves me alone here.'
The Duke was out of the door before Layla felt her feet move, and she tugged at the Duke's clothes to grab his attention.
"Take me with you. I promise you will find uses for me if you do."
Layla's voice sounded clear and intimidating. She was unwilling to back down, and the caretakers immediately paled once they realized that Layla had spoken rudely to the Duke.
The Duke also narrowed his eyes as he looked at Layla.
Her rude behavior must have stuck the man as odd, but Layla showed no fear in her eyes. The clearness of her expression made the Duke's expression harden.
"I'm sorry, Lord Lockhart! She's uneducated and undefined. Please forgive her mouth this time. We will take care to educate her soon."
The people of the orphanage tried to make the Duke change his mind about Layla. They were afraid that she would die at this man's hand, and there was nothing they would be able to do about it.
But Layla did not feel afraid. Her confidence stemmed from the fact that she had once been someone in power. She had a good idea about what a person in power wanted from their subordinates.
As long as Layla showed that she had a will not to give up, she would make this man curious enough to make him look at her.
"You are talking to me? Somehow, I don't like the way you are looking at me. Your eyes look like they want to devour me and then rule over me. Why should I take someone like you under my wing?"
The Duke asked, and everyone gasped at his words.
Now, everyone was convinced that the Duke would kill Layla. But she was the only one who believed that she would survive. And she had a good reason for that.
"You should take me because I want power. I will become more powerful than anyone else and bring this world under my feet. If you don't want to regret not knowing me in the future, then you should adopt me right now."
The more Layla spoke, the more she saw the caretakers trembling in freight.
They were all a bunch of show-offs who trembled at the Duke's every word. There was no way they could speak in front of the Duke like this.
But Layla was different.
The Duke must have seen how special Layla was because he grabbed her clothes and picked her up.
"Fine! Since you want to come with me so much, I will follow your wish and take you with me, as for adopting you. Well, that's a separate topic. First, you will have to show me that you are worth adopting. I have no intention of allowing you to use my name until you show me what you are capable of."
The Duke agreed to take Layla in for the time being, which was what she wanted. Thus, she had achieved the first step of her plan.
It also satisfied the system since it 'dinged' with the notification.
[Successfully attracted Duke Lockhart's attention. Mission Successful.
Next Mission: Enroll in the Basics of Magic class to get access to the Mana feature.]
Layla already knew that this world had magic. Most Romance Fantasy worlds had magic as a setting, so it was no surprise to her that this one had a similar feature.
'This is good! To become the most powerful, I need knowledge about all kinds of things and features this world offers. I will need to learn the basics first. So, enrolling in some place that will teach me all that would be a good opportunity.'
Layla would not call her situation perfect yet, but it was better than it was before. Now, she just needed to concentrate on building up her power.
Her body might be six, but Layla's intellect was her greatest weapon.
"Let's get back now. I'm interested to see how you will use this opportunity."
The Duke commented, and no one stopped him to get Layla back. They were too afraid of the Duke to speak up, and that was how the Duke ended up taking Layla out of the orphanage.