I will not die a Villainess's death

The crown prince of the empire watched the carriage carrying his fiance leave with critical eyes. He could tell that his presence made the Dirac guards stand on the edge.

The royal family and the Dirac family did not have the best relationship so such hostility was to be expected.

"I hope your majesty does not find it insulting that he had to wait."

The butler tried to smooth over the situation but Adam could tell that even he did not have much respect for the crown prince. He was merely trying to appease him for his status.

'How insulting to be treated like this. If not for that man, I would have killed them all and taken Elysia away,' the crown prince cursed inside his mind.

Even though he did not show it, he was nervous about coming face to face with young Lord Dirac. His instincts warned the crown prince, again and again, to be cautious in the presence of the young lord.

'How absurd. A predator like me is afraid of a mere human like that lord. But I also need to show respect to him now. He is my dear Elysia's elder brother and clan head.'

This was regrettable but not wholly unexpected.

"M-My lord, your carriage is here. However…..", "Move. I do not wish to be late." The butler was still speaking when the crow prince forced him to move.

Such useless talks were not going to benefit anyone, least of all the butler. If he kept trying to block the crown prince's way, then he would find himself on the receiving end of the holy sword.

"I was not aware that the crown prince lacked basic social antiques. I'm spectacle about letting you marry my little sister now. Maybe it will be better if this engagement is broken off."

'Speak of the devil and he shall appear,' Adam hesitated to enter the carriage but he seemed to have no other choice in the matter.

The carriage that had come to pick up the crown prince had none other than Lucas Dirac sitting inside it. If Adam refused to enter then it would serve as an insult to the Dirac name.

"Surely Lord Dirac jests. Topics like marriages are heavy and cannot be decided at one's convenience. Also, I don't wish my engagement with lady Elysia to be broken off."

"Is that so? My lord, please come in then. We have much to discuss regarding future events."

Had Adam gotten a choice in this matter, he would have never considered entering that carriage or sharing the same space as Lucas Dirac.

But he no longer had a choice in this matter. Not if he wanted to marry Elysia and make her his queen.

'I'm doing this for Elysia and no one else.'

That was the mantra Adam deployed when he made up his mind and entered the carriage of the young lord.

Magical seals descended all around the carriage as soon as he sat down but Adam did not allow himself to panic.

"Lucas Dirac, what are you planning? Why did you call Elysia back all of a sudden? And this close to my establishment as the future emperor? Do you want power? Influence? Funds?"

As soon as they were alone, the mask of polite indifference fell from Adam's face. His eyes turned to slits like a cat and his face had scales.

His agitate state had caused his human facade to drop ever so slightly and his draconic features to be made known.

A lesser man would have trembled in fear and begged for his life, but not Lord Dirac. He just started the agitated crown prince in the face with a calm look.

"You ask why I did what I did? I did it so that Elysia can live. Her life thread is dangerously thin. Any more time in that prison and I was afraid that she would have been killed off by that head priest."

Those words were delivered with such a cold sincerity that even Adam was taken aback. The more the thought those words over, the less they made sense.

"Explain to me what is going on. I think I missed some parts in your explanation."

"It is as I said, I did this for my sister. Dirac family has always been associated with death and the afterlife and I am no exception. But my sister was different from our family. Her magic was a mixture of ours and divine energy. But not everyone liked such a change in our family and things ended up happening."

"Long story short, she was sent to the temple to be safe but it seemed like the wrong choice now. Her fate managed to follow her there as well and send her down a path that would kill her. So I decided to pull her out before the inevitable could happen."

Adam heard all that but most of it went over his head.

"I can see that you don't understand my words. It is expected since you do not know the full truth. But I do not have the authority to tell it to you either."

"So, you mean to say that Elysia's life was in danger and you pulled her out before she could be killed? If that is the case then I am thankful for your intervention. She is my precious person and I would do anything for her."

The crown prince's words were bold but filled with sincerity. Most sixteen-year-olds would never be able to make this proclamation but the dragon was different.

Dragons mated for life and Adam had his choice made a long time ago.

"I see. So you made your decision, huh? I guess I don't need to worry about anything happening to Elysia at your hands at least."

"Of course not. I will protect her with my life if I need to. She is 'my prey' and no one else."

"I see. But if that's the case then I need you to do one thing for her - keep her away from the temple and those vultures. The Dirac name will protect her, and so will her powers. But I won't be able to protect her forever."

"Then, I will protect her. I and the future saintess will be responsible for keeping Elysia safe so you do not need to worry about her."

The Dirac Lord did not say anything after that, nor did Adam. But he still felt like he had reached a point of understanding with the elder.

"My lord, we are here."

The carriage finally stopped and Adam finally exited that tense atmosphere. Lord Lucas did not exit the carriage after Adam but he had a feeling he was still being watched by the elder.

_____________________________________

On the other hand, Eve was busy shopping for various things she would need in the future. The list was long and tiring to buy thought but Eve was determined to get it all done.

'I wish I had brought Elysia but I cannot ask this of her. It would just remind Elysia of what she had lost because of me.'

"My lady, this much should be enough for now. We should bring the crown prince with us next time to get his opinion as well."

The sister who had volunteered to accompany Eve sounded far too cheerful when she brought up the crown prince.

For some reason, everyone was convinced that Adam and she were in a 'secret' relationship and the only reason they could not be together was Elysia was that stupid 'engagement.'

"I don't need Adam's help in buying things. Besides, he will hold me back and make me late for my tasks," and then Eve will be in trouble. Adam would be the scum to make Eve look bad in front of Elysia.

It had always been like this from the start. Adam knew about her crush on the black-haired girl and he did everything in his power to drag Elysia away from her.

"Don't say that, Sister Eve. Anyone can see how much the crown prince loves you. He even ditches his fiance to spend time with you." Eve wanted to gag at the obvious tone of flattery.

These people had no idea what went on during her and Adam's alone time. They either fought or ended up talking about Elysia.

But for some reason, Elysia managed to find her way out of most gatherings while leaving him and Adam alone.

"It's enough. I don't want to talk about Adam anymore. Thinking about him puts me in a bad mood."

Eve quickly turned her head away from the present conversation when her eyes fell on a familiar color.

It was a necklace with a blue gem that reminded Eve of Elysia's eyes. She wanted to buy it and gift it to Elysia as a token.

After all, Eve had not been able to gift Elysia anything on her last birthday since Elysia was out cold due to a fever.

'I hope she'll like it.'

"Who is it for?" the sister that had accompanied Eve called out in a cheerful tone. Eve could already tell that the sister wanted the answer to be the crown prince.

"It's for Elysia. I forgot to get her something for her birthday so I want to compensate." Eve almost stopped talking as soon as she saw her air.

The sister had tears filling her eyes and her face was flushed with a sympathetic frown.

"You are so good, sister Eve. You are even showing kindness to a deviless like Elysia who decided to take away your fated love from you and refuses to let go. How can a devil like her compare with a saintess like you? But at least you'll no longer have to see her face in the temple."

Eve felt her body go cold at those words.

"What did you say? Why won't I be seeing Elysia at the temple anymore?"

"Oh? Haven't you heard? That devil, I mean, sister Elysia was recently asked to come back by her family. Since her social debut is coming, the Dirac family wanted her to go back. Isn't it such a piece of great news for us all?"

What happened? When was it decided? And why did Elysia not tell Eve about this?

Did Elysia not trust Eve enough to tell her this news? Or was there something wrong? Was Elysia being threatened to go back to her family?

"Sister Eve? Where are you going? Sister Eve?"

"I am going back to the temple for now. I have something to ask my father, I mean, the head priest. Please finish up for me here."

The Sister Eve had left behind looked confused but she did not complain.

Not that Eve would have listened to anyone even if they did complain to her right now. She needed answers and Head Priest Yohan was the only one who could give her the answers she required.