I will not die a Villainess's death

Emma flinched as she watched her father's mood fluctuate. She knew she had messed up and made her father angry.

"Emma, what was that performance in the end there? You had a perfect opportunity to smear the mud all over Lady Dirac's reputation but you fumbled."

Ah, there were those words Emma had dreaded hearing as soon as she had realized her mess up. She should have kept her mouth shut back there.

But something about Lord familiars' disapproving glare had caused Emma to open her mouth and blurt that out. Now the regret was coming pouring back.

"I-I'm sorry. But it was a matter of life and death back there and I panicked. Besides, I can use this opportunity to lure Lady Dirac into a sense of false friendship and then find a way to get close to the Crown Prince that way."

The plan had been simple from the start. Emma had to befriend Lady Dirac, the Crown Prince's fiance, and then use her to meet the Crown Prince and also tarnish Lady Dirac's reputation at the same time.

And then Emma had to seduce the Crown Prince and gain his favor. Once she had that, she would no longer need to fear anything.

It was a well-known fact that the Crown Prince did not like his fiance romantically but was involved with her best friend instead. But unlike most people, her father believed that it was just a passing infatuation and nothing more.

According to her father, the Crown Prince did look that happy in Lady Eve's company the last time he had seen them together. He was likely getting bored of that simple female.

So naturally, if Emma offered him a way to spice things up, he would fall for her. That had been the plan.

But Emma had messed up. As soon as she had seen Lady Dirac's familiar another plan entered her mind.

A plan that would allow her to gain freedom and power. She did not need to rely on anyone's favor if she had a familiar as strong as Lady Dirac's.

But she had been ignored and snubbed the whole evening. She had even ended up falling in love with the familiar somehow.

Now that was a forbidden romance if Emma White ever saw one.

"Emma, I can forgive you this time but there will be no more chances for you. Use the Charity Ball to get close to both Lady Dirac and the Crown Prince. You need to prove your worth."

Emma sighed as she heard the same words for the hundredth time. They were beginning to lose their efficiency by now.

'At least it is not my mother who is disappointed in me this time. Mother is 100 times scarier than father for sure.'

_________________________________

"Take her to the healing ward and look after her. I will handle the aftermath of what happened back here."

They were back at the camp now, having dealt with the first wave of monsters already but it was only the start of a long fight.

Lucas handed Elysia back to Sorais as he ordered his people to clean the place up. A lot of holy energy would be required to dispose of the monster corps so that they do not regenerate.

The monsters had attacked out of nowhere and the defense wall Dirac soldiers had maintained was damaged already.

Lucas would have to head out into the battle himself pretty soon.

But before he did that, he had something to take care of. And that something had the name 'Victor.'

The man was already eying Lucas eagerly and a lot of servants had stopped to see what would happen next.

The rumor of him having saved Lady Dirac had already spread across the camp so Lucas had to address him publically for Elysia's sake.

"Victor, you did me a great favor back there. Is there something I can help you with in return?"

Lucas did not want to own any favor to this man so she decided to end things as soon as he could with Victor.

The longer he let it hand on, the more chance Victor would get to use this favor later.

"Anything you can help me with? Well, nothing immediately comes to mind. Ah, but there is one thing you can do for your sister and I will consider your favor repaid."

Lucas tensed as soon as he heard Victor's words. For some reason, he did not want the older one to continue speaking publicly.

But Lucas could no longer take his words back so he had no other choice but to stand there and let Victor speak.

"You know that Lady Elysia did not get to choose her life partner and I know that you cannot find anyone better than the Prince, but I want you to take her feelings into consideration as well."

"What I mean to say is that when Lady Dirac happens to fall in love then you must break off her engagement with the Crown Prince and let her live her life in peace."

It was quite an innocent request on Victor's part but the implications were not so innocent.

'He's suggesting that Elysia is cheating on the Crown Prince. Victor might not have said that out loud but this is the conclusion that people would draw.'

Lucas was in a bind now but he could not disagree with Victor. He had given his words after all. But if he agreed then it would put fuel to the fire.

In the end, Lucas had to agree with the request anyway.

"Fine. If and only If Elysia falls in love with someone other than the Crown Prince, I will ask the Royal Family to break their engagement. The same goes for the Crown Prince falling in love. But that is a topic for future conversations. Now leave me alone because I have work to do."

Victor had the biggest smile on his face after that agreement.

Now Lucas was extra sure that Victor was planning something. The man was becoming a problem very fast.

'Now, should I send the Crown Prince a letter about what is going on here? I am sure he would not let this engagement break from his side.'

Adam was a sensible man and also head-over-heels in love with Elysia. So Lucas was sure he would not break his promise to look after Elysia.

"You all, head toward your post. I will check up on Elysia and then join you."

It was only the first day of this training drill and a lot had happened. Hopefully, the rest of the week will not be this hectic, and will pass away in peace.

And that is what happened as well.

Elysia woke up from her sleep on the second day of being unconscious. She was not in any grave danger this reassuring time and the week also passed without any major activity after that.

The only bad thing that happened was Elysia's subtle development of a cough that refused to go away. Things were finally going well in the Dirac house.

Sorias had plastered himself against Elysia's side and refused to leave her alone. Even Lucas had taken up a routine that involved checking up on Elysia twice a day to make sure she was alright.

The servants were also instructed to not leave Elysia alone with anyone at any time and her door was magically locked at night.

The week passed and then the time for the main event came. It was finally time for the Charity Ball to take place.

_________________________________

The Dirac carriage pulled up into to Royal Palace's gateway and Elysia's heart skipped a beat.

If possible, she wanted to be anywhere but in here right now. This Royal Palace was the place that would become Elysia's grave if she was not careful.

"You don't have to come with me if you are too tired Elysia. You have not recovered fully and that relapse caused your infection to worsen. You still have time to go back home."

Elysia wanted to take her brother's advice but it was no longer possible. The crest on her back reminded Elysia that she had chosen this outcome for herself.

"No, I need to do this. I said I would accompany you and I will."

Elysia took in a deep breath as she took her brother's hand. She straightened her back and blanked her expression.

She needed to match Lucas tonight or she would hold him back. Elysia needed to show that she was a Dirac through and through to these people.

"Don't worry about making a mistake. I will cover for you if you are ever in trouble. Besides, you will have your friends Adam and Eve here as well. I am sure they will help you out if you get into trouble as well."

Elysia paled as soon as she heard those names. Of course, those two would be here as well.

Elysia had forgotten this very important fact and she had also forgotten to inform her only two friends about her plan to accompany her brother.

"If I see them then I will run away as fast as I can. Adam will not be happy to see me here today after I ditched him like that."

Elysia had told Adam that she could not make it and that was why he was forced to find a new partner. She did not want to imagine how hurt he would feel if he saw Elysia in there with her brother.

'But maybe he would forgive me since I hooked him up with Eve? Wasn't Adam super possessive about Eve in my visions? Surely having her wear his family crest would make Adam happy?'

"Don't think too much and don't leave my side today. You will be a prime target today so stay close."

'I wish I could stop thinking as well but it's impossible for me. I hope nothing goes wrong today.'

But Elysia should have known better than to ask for something. As soon as she entered the room all eyes turned on her.

However, two pairs of eyes held Elysia's attention. She had been spotted by the very pair Elysia had wanted to not be seen by and now it was time to face the music.

"Announcing, Lord Lucas Dirac and his partner, Lady Elysia Dirac from the Duke's house."

'I forgot about this part.'

Elysia cursed herself in her mind and she took in a deep breath and allowed her brother to pull her along.

What was done was done. For now, Elysia needed to keep her head up and make her way toward the Royal family for the greeting.

This was the thought part and Elysia fervently wished that she would not see Adam with his parents.

But her wish was not fulfilled. Not only was Adam there, but Eve was there as well. The Royal Family's crest shined brightly on her clothes but it was barely visible with all her decorations.

Still, it suited her.

They both suit each other and Elysia realized a cruel fact.

'I have no place with them. I never did.'

That truth hurt but Elysia was not even sure why she was hurt. If things were supposed to be this way then why did Elysia feel like her expectations had been hurt?