I will not die a Villainess's death

Elysia was curious to see what the Head Priest would do next. Would he back down or would he continue to persuade Elysia to conduct the ceremony he was talking about?

"Lord Dirac, please don't be too hasty. I was just trying to get Lady Dirac to participate in Herman's rite since she has experience. You do not need to be this testy with me. She also ended up losing the artifact we were supposed to use so I suggested this alternative for her."

Head Priest Akane seemed unwilling to back down and Lucas was not backing down as well. It was a clash of wills at this point and no one was going to win.

It would have to be up to Elysia to break this tense atmosphere but she also had no idea how to do it.

After all, it was mostly her fault that things had gotten to this point already.

"Head Priest Akane, I am happy to be presented with this opportunity but I must decline. I have already left the service of the temple so I can no longer take responsibility. As for the artifact I lost, I will compensate you with another artifact from my side."

Elysia had a few things she could bargain for her freedom. Most of her artifacts were rare and powerful as well.

She expected the Head priest to take up her offer but he just shook his head.

"Frankly speaking, it would not work at all. You see, the artifact we were sent by the empire's temple branch was sacred and held the power of the goddess. It cannot be replicated by anyone."

"Since you ended up absorbing the pendent's powers, you will have to be the one to carry out the ceremony now."

Head Priest Akane looked troubled but his eyes were shining in dark glee. There was no way he was going to back down from this confrontation.

Elysia realized that she would not be able to refuse the head priest if he presented Elysia with such a reason.

"I have heard enough. I will be taking my sister now and leaving this temple. If you want her help then go through the appropriate channels first."

Lucas sounded angry but Elysia could tell that he had braced himself as well. He knew what Elysia would have to do as she was asked. Even the emperor would not be able to hold the temple down forever.

But Lucas would make using Elysia as difficult as he could for the temple. He had that much flexibility in his hand.

It was also at this time that Enma ended up knocking at the door and he entered with a hesitant smile on his face.

"U-Ugh, here is the water you requested Lord Dirac. What do you want me to-?"

"Come here and give me the glass of water."

Enma entered the room with a gulp and he hurried toward Lucas's side. Elysia had not realized how thirsty she was until she gulped the water down.

It hurt to drink water on her empty stomach but she felt so much better once she had something in her stomach again.

Lucas picked her up and walked out of the door. But before they would exit fully, there was a small knock on the door behind the pair.

"Hey, if I go through the pepper channels and get an imperial order, would you agree to head the ceremony then?"

Elysia did not understand why the Head Priest was so fixated on her like this. There were so many other powerful people here that could head the ceremony instead of her.

Not to mention, heading this ceremony was a male-oriented job. It did not matter if Elysia wanted to head this ceremony or not. By traditions, she could not head this ceremony.

Lucas and the Head Priest knew it very well but they kept quiet.

"Get the proper rights permissions first and then we will have this talk again. But don't expect me to cooperate with you again like this."

Elysia felt nervous as she saw that easy-going smile on Head Priest Akane's face. He looked as if he wanted to open Elysia up and look inside her head.

It made Elysia nervous to be in his presence any longer so she hid her head behind her brother's steady shoulder.

Head Preist Akane and her brother looked at each other, seizing each other up before they finally went their separate ways. Enma looked at the both of them before following Lucas Dirac.

He had a bad feeling about the upcoming days.

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

"Everything is turning into a mess, Head Priest Yohan. The common people have started to doubt the relationship between our Emperor and the Saintess. We will need to interfere soon if we want to clear up the doubts."

Head Priest Yohan heard the complaints the other priests were making regarding the issue of his adopted daughter's relationship.

It was a topic Head Priest Yohan was concerned about as well. No matter how much he pushed and pulled, both Adam and Eve refused to cooperate with his plans.

Not only were they both not interested in each other, but it did not seem like they were even interested in anyone else but Elysia Dirac.

'Why her? Why did it have to be Elysia Dirac of all people who had to captivate them like this? I cannot make her disappear as well since she is necessary for the ceremony.'

Head Priest Yohan had a lot of problems now and they all originated from a single source- Elysia Dirac. That girl was a source of too many headaches for him.

There was another knock on his door and Hed Priest Yohan wanted to groan. He was having too many migraines now and no medicine seemed to work for him.

Eve would have been able to cure him but even his precious daughter was keeping her distance from him for now. Her displeasure was evident in her actions but Head Priest found them all to be cute.

"Stop knicking already and come in. You better not have some horrible news for me right now."

Head Priest Yohan controlled his expression as well as his temper as he allowed the messenger in the room.

He was not sure how much longer he would be able to take the relentless questions of the people around him before he would have to force Eve to marry the Crown prince.

His daughter might hate him for what he was about to do forever but Yohan needed her to give birth to the next emperor. It would be for everyone's sake.

If Eve could not give the crown prince love, then she might as well give him a child. It was the purest form of love a human could ever achieve anyway- a parent's love.

"My lord, there is someone from the Akatsuki temple here to meet you. He asked me to send this to you."

The priest who had come to inform Yohan took out a familiar-looking pendent from his hand. It was the one that had gone missing from the temple's inventory.

He had been meaning to give it to Eve once she was pregnant since it was a protective charm for pregnant women when a ceremony was conducted.

But when he took hold of the pendant, it was empty of its power. It was no longer an artifact but a normal pendant again.

"Who was the one to send me this? Did the messenger give you a name to go along with him?"

Head Priest Yohan was curious but he was also cautious to know more about the sender. There was only one person with enough authority in the Akatsuki's head temple to send such an item undetected.

"W-Well, the messenger is waiting in the lounge for you. W-We were not sure how to treat him so we asked him to wait for a reply."

The priest sounded nervous as he faced the Head Priest. After all, he had heard rumors about how viscous the head priest could be as well. And he did not want to test the temper of such a person.

As for Head Priest Yohan? He was quite satisfied with this outcome. Finally, he would be able to get some answers as well as send news back.

He had no idea how this pendent had managed to land in Akatsuki but he was curious to know more about the situation.

​ When he reached the lounge, a familiar green-haired person was standing in front of him.

"You all can leave us to be alone. I will be locking the door as well so do not panic."

The persists and guards looked at each other, debating whether to believe him or not. In the end, they did as he had asked them to and left the room.

And only then did Yohan turn toward his guest and he took his hood off his face.

"Rahan, fancy seeing you here again. Did your master send you here to assist me?"