Chapter 14: Ketti is missing——!

As she thought of this, the girl in the mirror showed a hint of annoyance on her face.  

Alice, that flat-chested little brat, sure has a lot of schemes!  

Heh, so she thinks Layla and Sylvia are an eyesore, ruining her sweet little world with Keti, huh!  

Hmph, but such petty tricks are nothing but child’s play to me!  

Of course, I figured out Alice’s plan from the start, but…why did I still agree to let Alice handle this?  

The answer’s simple, because…………  

She wanted to turn the tables~ hmph hmph………………  

After all, when your rival in love is actively lowering her own favorability, how could Layla not support Alice’s self-sabotage?  

That little Alice must be used to acting spoiled with Keti, and she planned everything so well for afterwards, but she never considered—being kicked out of the party by her own childhood friend, by Keti himself, how devastating that would be for him~!  

Ugh…although my heart aches for Keti, this is a necessary sacrifice.

Layla knew very well that after this withdrawal from the party, Keti would surely feel utterly down, and since he didn’t have enough money, he’d definitely be stuck in the Imperial Capital for a few days.  

And during those few days, that would be Layla’s best chance to strike!  

Hehehe, just imagine—after everyone betrays Keti, I step forward, give him a lap pillow, a hug, Face Wash, gentle comfort, and maybe even…use my body to capture both Keti’s heart and soul~!  

It’s like offering a ray of light to someone lost in the darkness!  

~!  

With a plot like this, I don’t believe Keti won’t fall for me!  

Ehehehehe~!  

Once I pull off this homewrecker move, Alice, Sylvia—none of them will matter to Keti anymore!

At his side, there will only be me!  

Guhehehehe—!  

Delighting in her secret scheming, Layla turned off the shower, dried her fair skin with a towel, and then used Magic to blow-dry her hair.  

She walked over to her vanity, contemplating tonight’s surprise attack.  

It’s all Alice’s fault for staying up all night in the entrance hall last night.  

To avoid alerting her, I had to wait another day—otherwise, I’d have set out last night.  

Luckily, that girl finally couldn’t resist sleep and went to bed. Now’s my chance!  

Hmph…as for Keti’s whereabouts, it’s easy to guess—after leaving the Stronghold, he had no money, so he must have been staying at that little Workshop these past two days…  

Mhmhmhm~

My poor baby, it must be tough for you there~

I heard there isn’t even a bed, how can you sleep on such a hard floor?

I’m coming now to let you feel something soft~!  

Let’s put on a bolder makeup look.

Last time that silly Keti saw me like this, he almost couldn’t take his eyes off me~

Pfft, and then…time to put on my Victory Uniform.

Underneath the brown one-piece coat, I’m hiding a black lace three-piece set~  

Oh, right…and Keti’s favorite black stockings and high heels~  

Once everything was ready, before sneaking out, Layla took one last look in the mirror.

The long-suppressed excitement in her heart made the Priestess’s face flush with anticipation~  

Looking like this, I’ll make Keti surrender on the spot~!  

Hmph hmph hmph, sorry Alice, Sylvia, my dear sisters………………  

I’m such a shameless woman~!  

The innocence of your secret crush will be taken by me, Layla——!  

Hahahaha——!  

With a “whoosh,” Layla wrapped herself in her coat and hurried to the door of Keti’s little Workshop in the middle of the night!  

The Priestess swallowed nervously, and after a moment, became a bit shy and hesitant.  

05……  

As expected, a girl should be a little reserved, right?  

So, let’s knock politely first~  

When my adorable little Keti, holding back his sadness, gets up to open the door for me, I’ll just pounce on him and have my way~  

Oh hohoho~!  

And so………………  

“Knock knock knock——!”  

After three knocks, there was no sound from inside.

Layla was momentarily stunned, but didn’t sense anything unusual.  

Maybe Keti just didn’t hear?

Did he…fall asleep?  

No way, it’s still early, isn’t it?  

Puzzled, Layla knocked again, but still no response.

She started to get anxious, knocking harder and calling out:  

“K…Keti, open the door, it’s me, Layla. Um, maybe there’s a bit of a misunderstanding between us, I actually don’t agree with Alice’s plan, really. Can you open the door for me, Keti? Keti?!”  

But still, not a sound from inside.

Now Layla was truly baffled.

She frowned for a moment, then a sly smile crept onto her lips…

With a wave of her hand, she used Magic to easily break the door lock.  

Hmph hmph hmph hmph~  

Keti, hiding in here won’t do you any good.

Big sis has found you…….  

De……  

Eh?!  

Once the door opened, Layla discovered—the Workshop was completely empty?!  

Not only was Keti not here, but even all the materials and equipment Keti had stockpiled were gone?!  

Th-this…ah, this———!  

The purple-haired, jellyfish-headed big sister was instantly plunged into confusion and disbelief, even blinking in shock, hardly able to believe what she saw.  

Impossible, it doesn’t make sense.

After suffering such a blow, shouldn’t Keti be here, lying down and crying, waiting for me to comfort him?

But instead…he’s gone?!  

Where did Keti go?

Why didn’t he stay here and wait for me?

What happened?  

QBg……!  

Layla, whose whole body was burning with anticipation, now looked as if she’d been struck by a huge blow.

She stood frozen on the spot, then silently melted into a puddle of slime.  

Just like that.  

Her carefully planned night raid—failed………………  

Damn it, I was going to make Keti mine tonight!  

Layla bit her lip in frustration, but…  

Now, it seemed that wasn’t even the most important problem!  

Worried that Keti had only stepped out for a bit, Layla waited in the little room for a long, long time………………  

Staring at the empty room, in the middle of the night, Layla finally realized—  

Keti…was really missing!  

Since joining the Adventurer Party, it was the first time Layla had ever felt such intense fear and terror, as if the nightmares of the Orphanage were replaying in her mind.  

Her whole body trembled, cold sweat running down her back, and for a moment, she couldn’t think of a single way to solve the problem at hand………………  

Something terrible has happened——!  

“Keti, Keti’s missing! Keti’s gone——!”  

In the dead of night, inside the Hero Party’s Stronghold, the drowsy Alice and the still-cold-faced Sylvia were both dragged out of bed by Layla, who had rushed back.

Then, Layla announced the news that instantly woke the other two girls up.  

“What?!”