Village Head's Debauchery

"I came to tell you that your bath is ready, Princess. The engagement between you and Prince Zephyrion will take place immediately tomorrow. So, I've been instructed to make sure that you take your bath and sleep early so that you can be prepared for tomorrow," Elysia responded, playing her role perfectly.

Crystalia remained silent, pretending to hide the annoyance and disgust on her face, but she failed. Of course, she felt an extreme amount of hate at the mention of her supposed engagement. However, she needed to keep up her act. 

She snorted loudly and turned back towards her bed, not bothering to respond.

Understanding that this was her cue, Elysia gently shook her head, with a deep sigh escaping her lips, before walking into the room and closing the door behind her.

As Elysia attempted to speak, she watched Crystalia instantly turn around and jump towards her, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist, almost pushing them to the ground. 

Fortunately, Elysia had witnessed her actions and had been prepared for it, immediately wrapping her arms around Crystalia.

"Hicc… Hicc... I'm sorry, Princess! Hicc.. I should have looked for a way to get you out of here as fast as I could," Elysia said as she tightly hugged Crystalia, tears running down her eyes.

Seeing this, Crystalia, who wanted to release her emotions as she finally had someone to talk to, immediately suppressed her feelings. She stretched her hand upwards and wiped away the tears from Elysia's cheeks.

"You know, I'm the one getting engaged forcefully to one of the most disgusting people I have ever met tomorrow, so shouldn't I be the one supposed to be crying here," Crystalia said.

Elysia noticed tears hanging on both sides of Princess Crystalia's eyes. She nodded immediately and let go, understanding that Princess Crystalia was holding herself back from breaking down, unlike her, who had already broken down several times in private before she had arrived here.

After properly regaining her composure and stabilizing her mind, Elysia focused on the young woman before her. "I came here immediately after I heard about the engagement that will be taking place tomorrow to inform you that I have found a way for you to leave this castle and possibly get you off this mountain," she said, a solemn tone in her voice.

Upon hearing Elysia's words, Princess Crystalia's eyes widened in surprise before she regained her composure. "From now on, you don't have to call me Princess Crystalia anymore; just Crystalia is fine," she said, shaking her head before Elysia could retort. 

"And what about you? Will you also be coming along?" she added, staring at Elysia's smiling face, which she could tell was masking all of her emotions.

Elysia shook her head in response. "No, I—"

"Then, I won't be coming along," Crystalia interrupted, firmly rejecting Elysia's idea.

Elysia looked at Crystalia's resolute expression and couldn't help but shake her head again in response. "This won't do, Princess Crystalia. Considering that tomorrow is your engagement, I can't waste time thinking about my safety when your safety is at risk—"

"I am not going anywhere if you are not coming along, Elysia," Crystalia said. She was not stupid; from the way Elysia had suddenly arrived at her room soon after hearing about the engagement with a plan to get her out of this castle, she understood that whatever Elysia had in mind was something dangerous.

"Princess…"

"If you are not coming along, Elysia, if my mother, father, and even Flintor are not coming along, then I am not going anywhere," Crystalia declared, interrupting Elysia's words again with a firm gaze and an even more intense, resolute expression. 

"Besides, what do you think Orion would say once he finds out that I abandoned you and his child so that I could save my life?" Crystalia added.

Elysia instantly bit her lips upon hearing Princess Crystalia's words. 'So that is the reason,' she thought. She could naturally tell that the Princess's last words were why she didn't want to leave the castle and run away.

Thinking about this, Elysia couldn't help but sigh at the fact that her Princess had to fall in love with the same man as her.

'Couldn't things have been easier?' Elysia thought before thinking of another way to shift the mood of this conversation and convince the Princess to take this chance for her safety.

"How about you have your bath first and rest for a bit, Princess, before we continue with this conversation," Elysia suggested with a bright smile, looking at Princess Crystalia.

This was her job. 

As the Queen's personal servant, who ensured that the Queen was always stress-free and free from worries outside of her work, if she couldn't ensure that she served the Queen's daughter the same way, wouldn't she have failed at her overall task?

Crystalia's heart couldn't help but clench tightly as she could tell that even at this moment, Elysia was still trying to take care of her. 

"Alright, my body has been feeling stiff since earlier today, so I think a bath might help relax it and cool off my mind for a bit," she said lightly, causing Elysia's smile to shine even brighter.

"Okay, princess, you don't have to worry about a thing then. Just leave everything to me, and I will make sure that you are well-relaxed and resting," Elysia said, "And if you need anything, don't forget to let me know so that I can take care of it."

Crystalia nodded in response, "Don't worry; if I need anything later, I will naturally let you know," she responded, despite knowing that after today, she might not find the opportunity to speak with Elysia again.

Elysia nodded back as she said, "Let's go then, Princess," before she turned around and walked towards the door.

Princess Crystalia followed behind her, wondering if Orion would appear dramatically and save them, just like he had saved her and her family previously from the assassination attempt, or if he had really died during the trial.

Regardless, she could only pray to Naka with all her heart that it was the former.