I will not die a Villainess's death

"Father, I need to have some words with you…."

Eve opened the door without knocking, only to end up in an awkward spot. Head Priest Yohan was not alone in the room and the man who was keeping him company did not look like a decent man.

There were scars all over that man's face and his body was also built like a stone.

But it was the stone-hard magical aura around the man that put Eve on high alert. This man was not an ordinary man, he was dangerous.

"Ah, Eve? Give me a minute to conclude my talks with Sir Joseph Elliot and I will be with you shortly."

Eve nodded and closed the door. She knew who Joseph Elliot was but it was a surprise to see him here. Everyone knew that the head of the royal knights avoided the temple with a passion ever since head priest Yohan had taken up his post.

The pair did not talk for long before the door opened and the head of the royal guards left. He did not spare Eve a single glance while he was heading out.

Not that she needed it.

"Eve, you can come in now. Is there something I can help you with?" Her father looked a little tired and on edge.

Eve didn't want to disturb him in this situation but she also needed to ask him this question. She felt like she needed answers or she would do something drastic.

"Father, what happened to Elysia? I heard the sisters say that she went back home. But this is her home, right?"

Her father took in a deep breath before sighing in disappointment. It seemed like talking about Elysia in front of him was not a good decision.

For some reason, her father had never liked Elysia or even gotten to know her better. The way he looked at Elysia also did not sit right with Eve but she ignored it for the most part.

'At least father just ignored her before and did not cause any trouble for Eve. But if he sent Elysia away on purpose then I cannot forgive him.'

Eve knew her feelings for Elysia were transparent and her father knew about them. So she could not understand why he had done this to her.

"So this is about Elysia, huh? You found out much earlier than I anticipated, but it is good that you did find out early. It was something that was bound to happen eventually."

"What do you mean?"

"It was Lord Dirac who requested Elysia, his younger sister, to return home and uptake the family responsibilities before her coming of age and her social debut. There was nothing I could have done to prevent this from happening."

Eve wanted to call bull-shit. There was so much the temple could have done to prevent Elysia from leaving. There were so many excuses the head priest could have made.

But he did not and that mean her father had no intention of stopping Elysia from leaving before.

"Just so you know, I did give Elysia a choice if she wanted to return or not and she chose to return for your sake. She said that she wanted to back your backing from a powerful family and there is no better choice than the Dirac family."

Elysia said that? For some reason, Eve could believe this ridiculous claim. After all, Elysia had always told her that she would help her out.

'Eve, you have the power and potential to become a saintess and help the people out. I will do anything I can to help you out,' these were the words Elysia had told her a long time ago.

'I never thought she would do it so literally. I cannot help but be mad at her. She and her father, both. Did Adam know about this and not tell me? Won't it cause his engagement with Elysia a lot of problems as well? Surely he won't stand for this.'

Eve hated to depend on her love rival for help in such a condition but she had no other choice. If Elysia had already returned to the Dirac estate, then only the royal family could make her return.

"If you want to help Elysia, then work hard to become the saintess and gain the royal family's favor."

"Alright." Eve had no choice but to agree with her father. She had a clear goal in mind, one she had not wanted to achieve before because she had not wanted to leave Elysia behind.

"It's good that you understand. Here, take this case. Helping solve this will help your public image even more and earn you more points toward your goal. This is what the head of the royal guards was here for."

Eve took the offered document with a suspicious look. Generally, her father kept her away from serious cases.

But if he was allowing Eve to participate this time then it must be serious.

'The case of dehydration in Kalvin town'

There were a few pictures attached with the case file of skinny people who looked like they had no drop of blood left in them. Their skinny-dead bodies caused Eve to look away from the report.

No matter how she looked at it, it did not look like dehydration.

"These people are…."

"Dying of supernatural means. For now, help them out as much as you can and cooperate in this investigation."

Eve nodded and left the Head Priest Yohan's room with a heavy heart.

_____________________________________

Elysia quickly got out of the carriage in a hurry. She almost stumbled on her way out of the carriage due to her lack of eyesight.

Thankfully, the Head Butler was nearby and he managed to catch Elysia before she could hit her head.

"Ah, I'm sorry for this disgraceful display."

"No, it is quite alright. Head Preist Yohan did tell us about your condition and lack of eye-sight but it seems to be serious."

From the Head Butler's tone, it seemed like he did not like Elysia very much. It was understandable since Elysia was an unknown variable in their stable life.

'I was also raised in the temple and the Dirac family doesn't have the best relationship with them.'

"My lady, would you like to head to your room now?"

"I would rather wait here for the Crown Prince and Lord Dirac. Can you show me to the common room? You can shift my luggage into my new room for now."

Elysia had a feeling that the Head Butler and the maids were not happy with her decisions. They were being too obvious about her dislike of Elysia.

But they all straightened themselves out as soon as the second carriage pulled itself into the driveway.

Elysia took a step ahead to welcome Adam but she stopped short as soon as she felt the second presence inside the carriage.

The feeling Elysia got from that new person was familiarity and comfort. As soon as she felt that aura, it felt like all her worries were melting away.

"Who is inside the carriage with the Crown Prince?" Elysia's curiosity took over her mouth and she ended up asking.

The Head Butler sounded annoyed but he did answer her question calmly.

"Lord Dirac decided to accompany the Crown Price today. I hope the lady doesn't mind this new arrangement."

"Why would I mind it? Lord Dirac can do whatever he wants to do and so can the Crown Prince."

Elysia felt the Head Butler relax beside her as the sound of the carriage door opening reached her ears.

Her faulty vision made out a vision of black and white coming out of the carriage. One could easily recognize the bright silvery-white hair of the Crown Prince.

'So the black-haired man must be Lord Lucas Dirac. We seem to be sharing a lot of features.' Even though Elysia could not tell for sure, she knew this fact to be true.

"....."

"....."

The sibling pair could only stare at each other once they were in front of each other. This was their first meeting in forever and neither had anything to say.

But they both felt the tug of familiar magic trying them up and the bond of the Dirac family snapping in place.

"Hector, make preparations for dinner. Elysia, entertain the Crown Prince for now. I will have a long talk with you later."

For some reason, Elysia wanted to stop Lord Dirac from leaving her alone in this unfamiliar environment. She wanted that familiar presence to not fade away from her vision.

But Adam's familiar hand on her shoulder snapped Elysia out of her zone and made her focus on him instead.

"I'm sure you will get the time to connect with your brother later. I can tell that he is a good man and he wants to help you out."

Elysia let her hand fall at Adam's words. It was clear that Adam and Lord Dirac had exchanged words about her.

But Elysia was terrified to know what was being said about her. She also knew that her acceptance into the Dirac family put Adam in a difficult situation regarding their engagement.

'I'm sure he will break this engagement off soon and go to Eve. It will hurt but it is the right thing to do.'

Elysia was sure she would feel disappointed and hurt but it won't be a shock to her. This was something she had anticipated happening her whole life so it won't hurt much.

"My lady, since I've been here before why don't I show you around? I'm sure the butler would give you a more in-depth tour later but I want to spend some time with you before I leave."

Elysia knew she should say no. Memories like these hurt the most once you decided to let someone go.

But Elysia was unable to form a clear 'no' with her words. She did not want to let this opportunity go. All she could say was one word -

"Alright."

Adam was an awkward talker when he was not confident in his words. That side of him was cute but one Elysia was used to.

Even their joined hands were a familiar sight and she could feel the workers look toward them with judging eyes.

Adam finally dragged the pair into the rise maize. The huge walls of the bushed concealed the pair from praying eyes and Elysia were tugged close toward Adam's body.

"Elysia, I hope you know that this does not change anything. Your decision to go back to the Dirac family will not affect our engagement in any way so don't think it is over."

"Stop sprouting non-sense. Just because I have not hit you in a while does not mean I will not hit you if you do not stop your mushy talk."

Anyone other than her would not have been this rude to the Crown Prince or even threatened the Crown Prince. Even Eve was not bold enough to make such threats openly and follow through.

"Of course, you will. You are the only one who has ever gotten away with hurting me and you will also be the only one ever to do so. So don't ever change."

Of course, nothing would change. Elysia never hand anything, to begin with so she would not lose anything in the end.

"Of course not. Whether I am the temple's Elysia or from the Dirac family, I am still me. And I am going to do what I believe is right."

The Crown Prince only chuckled at Elysia's words as acknowledgment. The silence was enough to convey his sincere feelings.

The pair separated as soon as the talk was done and the footsteps of the guards reached Elysia's ears. The rest of the walk was held in presence of the Dirac guards who followed the pair throughout the day.

The day finally ended when the Crown Prince ran out of time and had to ultimately leave.

And then it was finally time for Elysia to face the one person she had been dreading to face this whole time - Lucas Dirac.