I will not die a Villainess's death

"Pack that glass figure carefully. It is a gift for the Akatsuki royal family and needs to be handled with care. Also, make sure you handle the talcum powder with care. It should not break."

All the maids were currently having a hard time and it was all because of Lucas Dirac. He did not tolerate any tardiness.

But despite that, no one complained about the rushed work they had to do. They were quite used to this mindset in the working environment.

And since the Dirac household paid well, this little work was no problem for them.

So they were all happy to do what they needed to fulfill their duty. Why they had not expected was for an unseen problem to arise in the form of Head Priest Yohan.

It was a well-known fact that the temple and the Dirac did not get along well. But had been the recent confrontations between Elysia and temple that had pushed the rivalry between them even more.

Now no one had any idea what this would result for them all.

"Head Priest, can I ask you what made you come here? I am sure a busy person such as you must have a lot of things they need to take care of."

Lucas Dirac's tone was as dry as the desert. He was not about to get interrupted by anyone when he was on a mission.

And on that list, the one who ranked the highest was Head Priest Yohan. He had been a thorn in Lucas's side for a long time and now he was getting annoying.

"I can see that you are all ready to go out. However, is that such a wise move? Doesn't the emperor still need your support in the court?"

Head Priest Yohan was a cunning man. He did not go after what he wanted to say at the first go but went after what would make Lucas Dirac hesitate.

After the amount of effort Lucas had put into securing the throne for Adam and making sure it was being maintained properly, anyone else would have stuck around to make sure nothing happened.

But Lucas Dirac was different. He could not care less about what happened to this kingdom.

"Adam is no longer a kid. He also had his birthday recently and is now an adult. I have no reason to stick around for him."

"You don't but your sister does, right? Are you going to take Elysia Dirac with you and deprive her of her friends again? It has not been that long since she came back. Surely she wants to spend time with her friends again?"

'This sly bastard. Using my sister against me like this!'

Head Preist Yohan must know what he was talking about since he sounded confident. He likely also thought that Lucas must be forcing Elysia to follow his command.

It was a sly trick but Lucas was not going to fall for it. Not when he had talked with Elysia beforehand and even offered her a chance to stay back.

But it had been Elysia herself who had disagreed with him and wanted to go.

"You might consider Elysia as a child but she is about to be an adult now. As such, she can make her own decisions regarding this topic."

Lucas Dirac looked Head Priest Yohan right in the eye. Sparks flew between them and everyone else took a step back from them. They could not handle this much pressure on their heads.

In the end, the one who had to back down was the Head Priest because he was on the enemy territory.

Above their head, a familiar raven circled and cried out. It was depicting itself as an ill omen for everyone beneath its head.

And when the atmosphere turned the tensest, it was then Elysia Dirac arrived in all her glory. Her eyes were wide and her chest was heaving as she reached the battleground.

"W-What is going on here?"

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Elysia ran as fast as her feet would allow her. She was afraid that something major would happen when she was not there.

And it was also this fear that caused Elysia to skid in between the two figures on the battleground.

"W-What is going on here?"

Elysia's heart was beating too fast. It felt like it would hammer out of her chest as she tried to calm herself down.

"I should be the one who should be asking you this question. Where are you trying to run to?"

Head Preist Yohan's eyes were blank with anger as he looked at Elysia. She had only seen the Head Priest look like that on seldom occasions and they had all ended up being disasters for her.

Elysia flinched and took a step back, her words dying in her throat as she faced the angry man in front of her.

The courage she had gathered to tell the Head Priest off was evaporating.

But not everything was lost to her. She still had her brother who decided to help Elysia out. His broad back blocked Elysia's field of vision and he stood in front of her with his held high.

"Is there a reason you are being this rude to my sister? Let me remind you, Head Priest Yohan that this is my territory and Elysia is my sister. You should go back if you are going to insult like this."

Lucas's defense made Elysia feel miles better about her situation. She had not expected herself to be defenced this sincerely.

It made her chest feel warm and tight inside. Elysia did not want to forget this feeling and she wanted to hide behind Lucas's broad back even more.

But this harmonious moment was broken by Head Priest Yohan and his small cough. He could not stand to look at this bullshit anymore.

According to him, Lucas had no right to behave like a brother to Elysia now. Not after he had dumped her into the temple's orphanage all that time ago.

The one who had the right to Elysia now was the Head Priest who had brought her up.

"Get up Elysia. We are leaving this place right now. And also bring Eve out with you. I know she is in there and she will listen to you if you ask her to come home."

Elysia did not want to listen to the Head Priest but her body was obeying him. She was so used to listening to the Head Preist that her body was following his voice without Elysia's opinion on the matter.

She did not want to bring Eve out and go back home. And Elysia knew that this was not what Eve wanted as well.

If Eve wanted to go home then she would have. Eve was free to make her own choice.

'It took me so many years to realize that not everyone who says they have our best interest at heart means it. I was so focused on surviving that I did not even look around myself.'

Elysia was not ashamed of how she had lived this but it was certainly another regret she had. She was not sure why all this was hitting her now.

Maybe it was because everyone around her had started to deviate from what she knew to be a certain future. Or maybe it was finally hitting her home that she had people who liked her here with her.

But anyway, Elysia was done with all the manipulation and being led around. She would no longer sit around and wait to be devoured by this man.

"Elysia, I will not repeat my words. Hurry up and come here."

Head Priest Yohan's hand was extended toward Elysia. He was asking her to take it but Elysia was not going to.

She had no desire to do anything she was being told to you. She even sought shelter behind Lucas's back, her eyes wide in relief as she watched the Head Priest boil in anger.

"I don't think my sister wants to have anything to do with you. Now, if you would please give us the way, both Elysia and I have places to be for now."

Lucas took Elysia's silence as a sign of agreement. And it was a sign of agreement for her. It was a silent sign from her to take her away.

Elysia's eyes met the Head Priest for just a second but it was enough for her to be taken aback.

She had never seen such blankness in anyone's eyes before and it scared her to see this.

"Elysia Dirac, do not think you will be able to survive much longer if you do this? Your end is near and only I can help you out."

Head Priest really knew what to say to make Elysia hesitate. And she would have hesitated after hearing him any other time.

But right now she was not interested in anything he had to tell Elysia because she had faith that she would be able to survive even without Head Priest's interference.