I will not die a Villainess's death

"Will this palace do? No one lives in these parts of town anymore so we won't cause anyone disturbance if we laid the trap out here."

Elysia nodded as she observed the place. She hated to admit it but Sara had brought her to a perfect place to carry out her plan.

There were no indications of human presence in the vicinity, and nobody could be seen.

In actuality, the plaza was only home to dilapidated, ancient buildings that were no longer safe for anyone to live in.."

"Well, there was some strife between the previous lord of this town and the current lord. This area just ended up getting caught in the crossfire and had to be evacuated. Do you know, the one who evacuated this area was called the 'Guardian Angel of Kelvin town.' People say she was a beautiful lady."

"Some even say she was about to be rewarded by the temple but she ended up being poisoned."

The more time Elysia spent with Sara, the more of an enigma she found the elder to be. Sara's mannerisms and her words painted her as a person of the middle class.

No noble-born but the knowledge of state-kept secrets she knew was far too prominent.

Normally, people would say that a hero died, not positioned for such cases. For a known 'hero' to die was a piece of big news.

But what was even bigger news was that Elysia had never heard of such a 'hero' before. No one in the temple had ever mentioned Kelvin town before.

For such important decisions, permission from the central temple was required. So Elysia should have heard of such an incident if it truly happened.

So Sara's words made Elysia suspicious.

But for some reason, no matter how Elysia tried to justify her suspicions, they refused to form when she looked at Sara. It was like some greater power was preventing her from thinking ill of the half-human.

'It's similar to how Eve feels but much less noticeable. I wonder if this is how people feel when they look at me. This compulsion is not easy to shake off.

It was only due to Elysia's incredible willpower that she was able to keep herself in check.

"You seem to have a lot of knowledge about Kelvin town despite only being here for a few days. I also wonder why you said the 'hero' was poisoned rather than her 'dying.'"

Elysia had not spoken the words to corner the other female but she still felt Sara flinch.

'It seems like I hit a sore spot. I should not press any further in this matter.'

"Ah, I apologize for my words…."

"No need. You are right to be suspicious of me and I understand why you asked me all these questions. Ahhhh, I always knew my big mouth would bring trouble to me."

Elysia felt herself breathe easier once she heard Sara speak. It seemed like Sara was not angry with her.

Rather than angry, Sara looked relieved that Elysia had realized all that about her.

"I am aware of all of this because my mother was 'that hero. I witnessed her poisoning death and stood by helplessly as the current lord of Kelvin Town got the rewards. To ensure that he met his objectives, he murdered his sister."

Sara's voice was detached as she delivered those words. She almost sounded like she was narrating someone else's story rather than her mother.

The trace of admiration was still present in Sara's voice but it was an admiration for a great person rather than a mother.

"Is that why you did all this? Is that why you also sealed me out? Because I am from the Dirac house?"

Elysia had her doubts but she could only ask these questions. She would get her answers soon enough.

"What the heck? How is this and that related? Look, I admired my mother but I did not love her. She and my father were too in love to pay any mind to me so we never got close. I don't have any desire to take revenge and put my life in danger."

Either Sara was a really good actress or she was entirely serious. Elysia had a feeling that it was the second one this time.

"I understand the situation now. Sara, I think the person who orchestrated all this is not after your blood but your life. I think someone wants to silence a threat."

"A threat? You mean my uncle is the one behind all this?"

Sara genuinely looked shocked. Elysia did not feel bad for doubting her since it was better to be safe rather than sorry.

"Nevertheless, he is the main suspect. Once we drive him out, we'll soon be able to identify the genuine offender."

But it was also a gift that Elysia had been able to narrow down her list of prospective suspects so rapidly. It would be easier to move swiftly, and Elysia could start her post-case work earlier.

Things would become complicated if the Kelvin town's mayor got involved. In a situation like this, one just did not dip their hands.

"Ummm, can we do the thinking later? I can feel the Dhampir closing in on our."

Sara sounded stressed. Elysia could also hear the beast closing in on their location. They only had so much time before Elysia would have to brute-force her way through this situation.

"Give me some space and do not move. I won't be able to guarantee your life if you failed to stay still."

"S-Surely you are joking? Elysia, tell me this is a joke."

Sara's face went white at Elysia's warning and she froze in place. This was good and it gave Elysia an opportunity to work her magic.

As expected, such skills came easy to Elysia but she also knew how explosive her magic was. She could not afford to mess up this time.

The Dhampir looked, unlike anything Elysia had ever seen. She could only make out a wolf-like shape with a pair of glowing green eyes.

A pair of familiar glowing green eyes.

'It's the beast from my vision. So the vision was about Sara after all.'

It felt good to have her suspicions confirmed but now was not the time to sit back and rejoice.

The Dhampir jumped into Elysia's circle without hesitation and the magic activated. The ground was lit purpled as sparks covered the whole space.

The sparks jumped around, leaving no place untouched. The only safe spot was near Elysia where Sara was standing.

"Ugh, I don't think the magic is working on the Dhampir. It doesn't exactly have the organs to be affected by such a spell."

Sara did not have to point out the obvious thing. Elysia could see that her magic was not working against an undead creature.

It might be because her magic lacked divinity, but Elysia knew she would have to change her approach.

"Shit. I guess there is only one way left to resolve this situation."

Elysia did not want to start a fire but it was the only way to purify something without holy powers.

'Next time, I will keep a flask of holy water on me. It would be so useful in these situations.'

Elysia cursed as she readied her magic. She did not want to light the district on fire but there was no other choice.

Not if Elysia did things on her own.

But she suddenly felt the spark of hope ignite inside her chest. She could feel Lord Sorias heading her way.

Elysia had no idea why he was out tonight or how he even got up after the heavy dosage of medicines she had forced him to drown but she was glad to feel her familiar.

"Umm, Lady Elysia, shouldn't we do something? Like, light that creature on fire? I do want to live to see another day you know."

Sara sounded worried but she still refused to move. Elysia was impressed at the half-human survival instincts in such a situation.

Sara likey knew what her current situation was and how she had to act. She truly was a born and bred aristocrat. It was in her instincts to observe a situation and chose the winning side.

"Don't worry Lady Sara, help is on the way. But it will be better if you disguise yourself as a human somehow. I assume you know how to do that?"

"You want me to use magic now? What if it reacts with your spell and causes a backlash?"

"That won't happen. On the count of three, I will drop my spell. Make sure you get your disguise up in time."

"3…2…"

"Wait! I'm not ready…."

"1…and go"

Before Lady Sara finished, Elysia's countdown ended and the spell came down. Magic saturated and the Dhampir realized that this was its chance to get to its prey.

*Hic?* "I don't want to die. Save me, Lady Elysia."

And entirely human Sara jumped on Elysia as soon as the spell came down. It caused Elysia to lose her balance, making her incapable of dodging the Dhampir.

Elysia, however, had estimated this and relaxed her body.

The Dhampir was impaled in front of the two by a gigantic shadow that suddenly descended in front of the paper.

Lord Sorias was finally here.

"Elysia, are you alright? That thing did not hurt you, right?"

'What is Eve doing here? Did she follow me out? How am I going to explain this situation to her?'

Elysia's mind drew a blank as soon as she heard Eve's voice before going into a panic drive. She had no idea what she should do to salvage this situation.

She was not supposed to be out tonight but Elysia had felt the need to go out tonight.

"Calm down and breathe. Do you need me to take you away from here?"

Sara's voice in her ear reminded Elysia that the half-human was still clinging to her. Sara's current position on top of her was also rather suggestive but her leaning in to whisper those last words did not help clarify the situation.

Elysia did not even get to give a reply to Sara's question before she felt something embedding itself into the ground right on Elysia's side.

'A few inches to the left and Eve's staff would have landed right in my face. I guess Eve is angry with me right now.'

"Get off and get up. How long as you going to continue this indecent behavior right in the middle of a public plaza? You might not care about your reputation but you should think about your partner's reputation."

Oh?

Oh!

'Eve is worried for Adam's reputation. Of course, how could I forget that I am a public figure.'

Eve's words were effective and Sara instantly got off of Elysia. She looked sheepish but her body language did not come off as guilty.

"Sheesh, cut me some slack. I was just too shocked so I ended up hugging Elysia. But I don't think I offended her. Right, Elysia?"

Sara's tone was light and joking. She was asking Elysia to play along and Elysia saw no reason to deny her.

"Sara's right. I did not feel offended in the slightest but I will be more mindful of my actions in the future. We cannot have my actions sully Crown Prince Adam's name."

"No, that's not what I…Nevermind. Let's go back to the inn for now. We can discuss this tomorrow after our lunch outing."

For some reason, Eve looked uncomfortable addressing Elysia after she assured her of her intentions.

But since Eve was letting this issue go, Elysia saw no reason to hold on to this conversation. Elysia decided to follow Eve's lead and walk toward the inn along with Sara.

But it seemed to have irked Eve for some reason.

"Why are you following after us?"

"Huh? I need to stay close to Elysia. She promised to help me out and I don't have anywhere else to go."

"You can't come with us. The place we are going is reserved for the temple employees. I cannot let a suspicious person in."

For some reason, Eve and Sara's first meeting had gone bad. Elysia could not help but feel like it was her fault.

And she needed to straighten things out right this instant.

"Eve, we should let Sara come with us. She is an important witness and I think we'll need her help to solve this case."

"Elysia, even you?....Fine, she can come but I will keep an eye on her tonight."

Eve finally conceited but Elysia had a feeling she was not happy with this decision.

'It doesn't matter if they don't get along now. I am sure they will be able to bridge their differences soon enough.'