I will not die a Villainess's death

"Are you feeling better now? Do you need water? More food? If you need anything then tell me. I will go and fetch it for you."

Elysia had finally stopped crying after what felt like hours. Lucas still did not have any idea what had set her off so badly but he was thankful when she had calmed down. He was not sure how much longer he would have been able to take Elysia's crying.

As much as he wanted to make Elysia feel better, there were things he also had to take care of now.

From what Lucas knew, Elysia had fallen into the ceremonial pool on the temple grounds, breaking a big taboo. Thankfully, no one except the Head Priest here knew about that.

Otherwise, it would have caused a serious panic attack within the nation.

But that meant that Elysia was carrying the genes of the curse in her body now. They would likely try to ignite the old magic Elysia had inside her body and cause a huge disaster.

The easiest way for anyone to deal with this curse was to kill the bearer. None of the previous people who had been subjected to this curse had lived more than a few months.

However, it was different in Elysia's case. She was a ticking time bomb for sure but she was able to control her magic quite well.

And that was also why Lucas was unwilling to give up on her. He did not care that he was showing the Head Preist of the Akatsuki temple his weakness. Lucas was just unwilling to back down when it came to his sister.

"C-Can you get me a glass of water?"

Elysia's voice was still hoarse but she was able to finally get words out of her mouth now. Lucas stood up to fetch her water when his gaze fell on the man standing on the other side of the room.

"Ah, don't worry about me. I am not here too hard Lady Dirac. Actually, I find her quite daring and likable. And we also have this little one here to keep an eye on us."

Head Priest Akana was someone Lucas did not know much about. His silver hair and red eyes were a sign of danger in the Akatsuki kingdom. But despite that, he had somehow ended up becoming the head priest.

And not only that. He was believed to be someone who had a lot of magic power and influence in this nation. He was popular to the point of even contesting the emperor when it came to influence.

The temple might not have a stronghold in the Akatsuki kingdom but their head priest sure was popular.

"Somehow, your words of being interested in my sister don't invoke any good feelings in me. Enma, keep an eye on these two and if anything happens, you know you will be held responsible, right?"

The kid yelped as he was faced with Lucas Dirac's serious stare. Lucas had no guilt in using the kid this way for his sister's sake.

Many people called Lucas a cold-hearted bastard and he was one without a doubt.

"H-How do you expect me to-?"

"Find a way on your own."

Lucas left the room to fetch a glass of water for his sister. He could have called for someone to fetch him one but he did not trust the people in this temple.

'I should have brought Sorias along with me. Looking into the financial status of some nobles could not be more important than Elysia's life.'

Lucas felt foolish for his short-sightedness when it came to the temple. He had even expected Elysia to pull something like this but he was still caught unaware.

'I don't like the feeling I am getting from the temple. It feels like something big would happen soon.'

Lucas looked at the blue sky above his head. It was crystal clear right now, with not a hint of cloud in sight. It made one feel like everything was calm and right in life.

But that peaceful blue hid a disaster waiting to happen behind its calmness.

///////////////////////////////////////////////

"Phew, he finally left. I thought I would burn alive because of Lucas Dirac's glaring face."

Elysia looked toward the Head Priest of the Akatsuki kingdom. This was the first time she was seeing him properly and she had to admit. Head Priest Akane looked like a harmless puppy with big red eyes and silver hair.

Had it not been for her sharp memory, she would have likely thought of him as guiltless as well.

But as things stood, this man was dangerous and also the reason Elysia had fallen into the ceremonial pool like that. He was responsible for her cursed situation.

"You are Elysia Dirac, right? I heard about you from Head Priest Yohan a lot. I have to admit that you are much more beautiful than I could have even imagined."

Flowers flew out of Head Priest Akane's mouth as he looked at Elysia with a curious stare. He was eying her from the head to toe.

And even though Elysia was being looked at with such a stare, it did not look like there was anything perverted in the Head Priest's stare. He was just looking at Elysia as one looked at an experiment.

"What do you want from me, your holiness? I would not want to make assumptions, but you were the one who pushed me into the ceremonial pool, right?"

Elysia had expected the Head Priest to either ignore her words or deny her outright. But instead, all she got was a calm smile and a knowing glance.

"I did push you into the ceremonial pool but I had my one reason. Now then, what did that idiot Yohan sent for me? That child sure is ambitious but I cannot predict what he will do."

Head Priest Akane sidestepped the question Elysia asked as if it did not matter to him. Something that could turn into such a big disaster seemed to hold no meaning for the Head Priest of the Akatsuki kingdom.

Enma was looking at Head Priest Akane with a weird light in his eyes as well.

Frankly, Elysia was just amazed to see that he had not broken out into cold sweat as he often did.

But she also felt like Enma knew this person and was careful to avoid him at any cost. Elysia had a lot she wanted to ask but her mind zoned on the question she had been asked by the Head Priest.

She did remember being given a small box and she had even clutched it tightly when she had fallen into the water. She had clutched the necklace tightly in her hand to not lose it but it was no longer in her grasp.

So Elysia had either lost the necklace in the ceremonial pool or someone had taken it from her when she had been rescued.

"Wasn't I holding on to the box when I was pulled out? I am sure that I-"

"Ah, so it was that necklace after all. Thank you for delivering our precious artifact to us. Would you also do us all a favor? and participate in a ceremony? I heard that you have a lot of experience with such things."

Head Preist Akane took Elysia's hands in his own as his face closed in on Elysia's own.

She instantly pushed her head back so that she could maintain her distance from the head priest.

But the more she leaned back, the more the Head Priest leaned in. it genuinely felt like she would be kissed today by the head priest.

And just when it felt like Elysia would not be able to escape, she felt water droplets splash over her face.

The silver-haired man in front of Elysia was drenched in water. Elysia looked behind the Head Priest's shoulder to see Lucas standing behind him with an empty glass of water in his hand.

"Oops, I accidentally spilled the water. Can you go and get me some more Enma?"

"Y-Yes, I will do that right now."

Enma ran away with a nervous smile as Lucas pulled Head Priest Akane away from Elysia's body.

He all but shoved the young head priest away from Elysia and took a seat adjacent to her, blocking all attempts by the Head Priest to get close to Elysia.

"Now that I am here again, why don't you have the talk you were having with Elysia again? Why do you need her to perform a ceremony for you again? She has nothing to do with the temple any longer."

Lucas sounded pissed off but he was still holding himself back.

Had this been the empire, Elysia was sure that her brother would have made a scene right now. But he was being considerate right now since it was Chrome's kingdom and they needed to be careful.

But he would also not back down if anything happened to Elysia. And that was what Elysia was sure and thankful about.