I will not die a Villainess's death

"Adam, over here. Brother Lucas asked us to collect in the garden. He said that he would deal with the emperor on his own and not disturb him."

Eve called out to Adam with her annoyingly familiar voice. Even a few months of separation had not made her act any different.

Somehow, Adam had thought that he would feel something different after seeing Eve for a long time. But nothing of that sort happened. All he felt was a familial friendship for her and nothing else.

'What was I expecting to happen? For my heart to skip a beat or to feel something deeper? Doesn't this just prove that I have no feelings for her? I should fire all those stupid maids who made me self-conscious.'

Adam followed after Eve with a bitter smile. He could still not believe that he had doubted his feelings for even one single second. He needed to rethink his priorities right now.

"Since when did you start calling Lord Dirac 'brother?' Are you sure he agreed with it?"

"Yup, he did. Doesn't this mean that he accepts my relationship with Elysia? That is one point for my side."

Eve sounded far too happy to get this small victory over Adam. she wanted to take what she could since she would also miss out on a lot of things when it came to Elysia.

Like, having kids. It was a shame that she and Elysia would never be able to have one between themselves.

'But maybe the forbidden section will have some-'

"Stop thinking useless thoughts and let's go in. As much as I trust Lord Dirac, my father is not someone who can be easily subdued in battle."

Adam had faced his father in combat so he knew that the elder emperor was a tough cookie to crack. It was near impossible to make him give up his sword once he held it.

Lucas would have to get extremely lucky as well as have enough planning done to stand a chance.

"Then, I guess it's a good thing that Lucas is not going to fight the old king heads on. Negotiation is Lucas's weak point but he does tend to succeed in it more often than not."

Adam was startled to see Chrome there. The black-haired Akatsuki prince had taken him by surprise.

And even Eve looked shocked to see him. That likely meant that he had not been with the original group and had joined somewhere in between.

"You? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back in Akatsuki, trying to manage your empire? Didn't it just see a change in leadership?"

Eve asked that question since she was much more knowledgeable in this regard than Adam. she had kept an eye on the outside world and felt genuine surprise to see the Akatsuki crown prince win their war.

But at the same time, it was not that surprising since he had Lord Lucas on his side.

"I did win but there was no need for me to stay there any longer. As for the official documentation work? Let's just say that I found someone better at myself for doing all my paperwork."

Chrome had a mysterious smile on his face as he motioned for people to keep his secret.

His charming smile and mysterious attitude made one wonder just what kind of human had managed to successfully capture his attention.

"D-Don't flatter Enma too much or that idiot will get a massive head. He already behaves like he is better than everyone else. I still cannot see why Lord Sorias likes to hang out with him."

Emma had come out as well, her body out of breath as she ran to catch up with Adam.

Adam had not paid much attention when he had left her behind but even he knew that his speed had been remarkable when he had exited the building.

For Emma White to be able to keep up with him was a feat worth noticing. And it also marked her as being potentially gifted in the field of tracking.

"Looks like everyone is finally here. It is also about time for Lucas to be done. Let's hope that our plan worked and we won't have to go to war right now."

Sara was the last one to walk up to the group. Her hands were dirty with sand and other questionable liquids that were red.

No one had any doubt that she had killed more than a few people already. But no one called her out for it either.

Had it not been for Sara, those people would have still died. In a way, Sara killing them had given them a painless death in return.

The garden was full of noise but then it fell silent all of a sudden.

Everyone expected Lord Lucas Dirac to make his appearance with the news of what will happen next but instead, it was the emperor who came out.

Everyone took in a tense sigh collectively. They did not know how to take the appearance of the emperor instead of their leader.

"Today, I would like to make an announcement." The silence worsened and Adam was the tensest one, "it had come to my notice that some mistakes had been made by my side."

"As such, I would like to apologize to the concerned parties. And as a result, I would like to retire and allow my heir, Crown Prince Adam to assume the position of the next emperor on his upcoming birthday."

No one could believe what they had heard. The hard-headed emperor had lost and finally announced that he would be stepping down. No one had thought that it would ever be possible.

The most surprised one was Adam himself. He knew what it meant to ascend to the position of the emperor while being unmarried.

He would be free to choose his queen or to not ever take a partner if he so desired. He could finally wait for Elysia to be by his side and be his queen.

"Get ready. This was only the first battle. The war has yet to be fought. We need to be ready to face anything from here on."

Even Sara's grim reminder could do nothing to bring the mood down. Everyone was too happy to see that they had managed to conquer the emperor.

Lord Lucas walked from behind the emperor and coughed into his fist. The emperor flinched but he opened his mouth again.

"A-Also, seeing as how Adam is too young to rule for a few more months, I would like to appoint Lord Lucas Dirac to be his temporary guardian for the time being. I hope you all have no problem with this decision."

No one present below had any problem with it. In fact, this was the exact outcome they had wanted to see and their happiness level was off the roof.

The emperor was both happy to see this and pissed at the same time that everyone was too happy to see him gone.

But he ended up sighing in the end and accepting his fate. His rule was over and he could not retire with his queen.

___________________

"H-Head Priest Yohan, did you hear the news? W-What should we do now? We have already offended Lord Dirac once."

The priest who stumbled into Yohan's chambers yelled as he threw the newspaper toward him. It contained the news of the emperor's charge and changes.

Just one look was enough for anyone to grasp who had the real power in the nation.

"Calm down Priest Zane and take a deep breath. I already knew that Lucas Dirac might try to gain power this way but we should not worry. He won't be able to touch us."

Head Priest Yohan sounded certain of this fact and it caused the other Priest to calm down as well.

But then his confusion smacked him in the face and he ended up asking one question one should never when they were curious.

"B-But why? Why should we not worry?"

Priest Zane asked as his eyes shined with curiosity. He was ready to head a secret that could change his perspective.

And who knows, if this secret was impressive enough then he might also benefit from it. Blackmail was a valid option on his radar.

"We are backed by normal people. Even if the emperor wants to touch us, he cannot do that so easily or he would face backlash. And Lucas Dirac is not stupid enough to come at us openly."

The Priest who had been listening so eagerly until now deflated all of a sudden at hearing these words.

All his hopes and dreams had been dashed by those words and he felt depressed all of a sudden.

"W-What should we do for the request of a meeting Lord Dirac had been asking for? We cannot keep on denying him for long if he pressures us."

"When that happens then we will see. But for now, keep our doors closed. No one will be allowed into the temple grounds as long as Saintess is not found.