"You are welcome to take my student in as your own if you want to. I want nothing to do with a Lockhart, after all. All those people could go and burn in hell. Did you forget what they did to Duke and Duchess Clar-"
"It was retaliation after what the Duke and Duchess did first. In that way, the pair had it coming. I did advise them not to make an enemy out of the Lockhart household."
The dragon spoke up, his voice emotionless and stating facts.
The elf knew that, but that did not mean his heart was ready to accept it. He was blinded by a love that had not yet faded from his heart. And it likely will never fade away.
"I don't care what you feel personally, but I am here to warn you. I have claimed that child as my student. If you ever harmed her, then I will make sure to repay you tenfold. Just remember this."
The elf gritted his teeth in irritation, but he soon took a deep breath to calm himself down.
He stood no chance in a fight against a dragon (even a half-one). The elf also had to consider how his actions could harm Duchess Clark's daughter, which helped him calm down.
'I don't need to think too much about it. I can forget that the child is a Lockhart and just focus on the fact that she is a normal girl…now that I think about it, she does have white hair…is it a coincidence? It is a special color-'
As soon as that thought came to the elf's mind, he shook it off.
No matter how resourceful the Lockhart family was, they wouldn't even be able to kidnap someone from the royal family.
There was only one bastard child in the royal family, and even that happened because a maid decided to get the emperor drunk and take advantage of it. She ended up dying pretty soon, and the kid was handed to the church to be kept an eye on.
'Well, more like being experimented on so that he won't cause trouble in the future. I hope he forms a strong bond with Rosette and becomes her shield in the future. My dear child will need it.'
...
"Young Miss, why did you come back so soon? I haven't finished setting up the room yet."
Mary spoke surprisedly, but the room looked all set and ready to be used despite what she said.
Layla threw herself on the bed, and its softness made her feel better.
"Mary, what do you think it means when you run into someone thrice?"
The maid looked shocked by the question but suddenly smiled and decided to answer.
"I believe they said that it is fate-"
"It means that I am being stalked. I am sure that the presence I feel looking at me sometimes belongs to that lizard that I always see. What do you think it wants from me?"
Layla tried subtly hinting to Mary that that dragon-lizard hybrid was stalking her, but Mary looked taken aback.
Her face looked red, almost like she was suppressing her laughter, but she could not do that.
"I see! You may think she is being stalked…well, you might be right. As your maid, I must ensure that you remain safe. Shall I get rid of this 'stalker' for you?"
Mary asked in a straight voice. The amusement was still clear on her face, but the maid hid it properly this time.
"Forget about it. I would rather you have something to do about this hard bed. Really, can I not get a water mattress or something to rest my back on? All these mattresses feel either too hard or too soft for my back."
Complaining like this made Layla miss her world and timeline. She wanted to return to all the comfort she enjoyed there.
This world had a lot of magic, but it sucked in all other aspects.
Still, exhaustion finally caught up to Layla, and she fell asleep within seconds. Her eyes felt heavy as she tried to keep them open, but she could not.
The next morning, Layla woke up to the sound of a loud explosion coming from just outside the door. She lost track of who she was and what she was doing.
Layla was used to explosions, as she had been a mafia boss in her previous life. But they never meant good news for her.
That was why she decided to quickly check out what was happening and gather more information.
Because Layla got her past and present self-mixed up, she forgot that she did not have quite the same reach as she used to.
Her leg slipped, and Layla fell face-first into the ground.
'Fuck my life! At least no one was here to see what happened to me-'
The door opened, and Mary entered. As soon as the maid looked in, she had a full view of Layla in her humiliating pose.
"Young miss, do you have some weird hobbies I should know?"
Mary asked monotonously, but the amusement was clear in her voice.
"Shut up! I don't want to hear you speak a thing. By the way, what the hell is going on out there? What caused that explosion?"
Layla asked as she straightened her back.
Her body was young and filled with energy. The pain from her fall felt like nothing, and she was back on her feet before she knew it.
"Ah, that noise? It seems as if one of Professor Ragnarock's potions had an accident, and they exploded. Please do not pay it any attention…"
Mary assured me just as another loud noise was heard from the background. This time, it was accompanied by a lot of cursing.
The more the elf sounded upset, the happier Mary looked. Suddenly, Layla felt that Mary was responsible for many of these incidents.
'Should I ask about it…no, I think it will be better if I don't ask about it.'