I will not die a Villainess's death

Eve wanted to pay attention to what Head Priest and Lord Dirac were discussing but she could not bring herself to pay attention to them at all.

Instead, her eyes strayed toward Elysia and her tired body. Her eyes threatened to drop once or twice already which was an indication of just how tired she currently was.

'Look at those dark circles. Even the make-up cannot fully hide them. And her hair, when did she cut it that short? And why?'

Whosoever had helped Elysia get ready this morning had not done a good job. Anyone could tell how bad she currently looked.

There was a comment to be made about her shorter hair but Eve could not bring herself to say anything about it.

Eve wanted to head over to her friend and help her out but her father had warned Eve to not create a scene today.

"Then, this is how we will do things. I hope you don't have a problem with our current arrangements, Lord Dirac?"

Eve looked toward her father who looked on in satisfaction from the king's side.

The 'special guest' Head Priest had mentioned before was the kind of this empire and Adam's father.

He had shown up out of the blue in the morning claiming to be here to help sort out the tension between the temple and the Dirac house. Adam had looked sullen at his side but Eve knew why he had shown up today.

He had been ignored thus far by Lord Dirac so the Crown Prince had finally taken the initiative to approach him directly.

But Eve had stopped him before he could make such a bold move. Lord Dirac was a dangerous person but even Eve had seen the influence he had over Elysia.

If he wanted to keep Elysia away from her and Adam then he will not have to try very hard. And this was something Eve was worried about.

She could already see her father attempting to stop her from interacting with Elysia. She did not need more obstacles in the way.

"Father, if the talks are over, then can I take Elysia back to her room? I had it cleaned out and aired as well-"

"Of course not. Eve, I told you that we will need to scrap that room and have it reallocated to someone new. Did you not hear my words? Lady Dirac is a member of the nobility and she should be treated as such."

'Oh, Father should not have said that.'

Eve could see tears building up in Elysia's eyes at those words. Eve had known what that room had meant to Elysia. It had always been a place to come back to for her friend.

That was the only reason Eve had tried so hard to have it preserved and not re-allowed. But Yohan was doing everything he could to drive Elysia away.

"Then, is that room still available? I don't think Elysia minds staying there tonight and I won't mind her staying there either. It will also be nice for her to be able to let go of her past now."

Surprisingly, it was Lord Dirac who suggested that. And everyone looked rightfully startled at his suggestion.

Normally, the nobility did not like to stay in the shabby rooms the temple had. Lord Dirac, who was the head of the nobility should not have agreed to such an outrageous request either.

But his one move showed that he favored Elysia's opinion over the noble customs.

"Then it's up to you to decide, little Elysia. Where do you want to sleep tonight? Might I say that you look dashing in your shorter hair as well."

Elysia looked caught between a rock and a valley. Her eyes darted from her brother to all around the room before settling on Eve.

"If it is possible then I would like to spend one last night in that room. It contains a lot of memories for me."

Elysia finally made that decision and Eve sighed in relief. It seemed like she would get a chance to talk with Elysia tonight after all.

And not only her but Adam would get to talk as well. He was waiting currently inside Eve's room for the pair to come back.

"Then I will show her the way back", "But I know where-", "Hurry up and come with me."

Eve did not give any time to finish her sentence as she dragged her away. Elysia looked to be in pain when Eve clutched her hand and Eve wondered how it took her this long to realize that there was a bandage warped around Elysia's wrist.

"Elysia, when did that-"

"Let's hurry up and go. You were about to show me the way, right?"

Eve wanted to say that there was no need for her to do that when she caught Elysia's desperate eyes. And despite her common sense telling her not to do it, Eve agreed with Elysia's silent request.

"Of course, I was about to show you the way. Hurry up and keep up with me."

Since it looked like Elysia was hurt in the wrist quite badly, Eve clasped her hand over Elysia's lightly.

She did not want to hurt Elysia even more.

The journey to Elysia's room passed in the blink of an eye. But instead of entering Elysia's room, Eve dragged her into the one where Adam was waiting for them.

"Eve, I know I haven't been here for some time but I don't think this is the right room…."

Elysia trailed off at the end as soon as her eyes fell on Adam. The Crown Prince looked startled as well before he gathered his bearing and stood up.

Eve saw the second Elysia was about to bolt from the room and obstructed her. It gave Adam just enough time to take hold of her arm and pull her back.

"Is this some kind of joke you both are playing on me? If so then I would like to be excused now."

Elysia looked uncomfortable at being caught in-between Adam and her. Her eyes darted around, likely looking for an escape but she was not going to find one.

Eve had gone to great lengths to ensure that no one disturbed them this evening. And it had included a few bribes and a few threats.

"Elysia, calm down. You are going to drive yourself in a panic."

Adam sounded calm but Eve could tell that he was getting more and more upset. His eyes were turning a more reptilian shade and his scent seemed to be getting stronger.

The more time Eve spend near him, the more unpleasant the experience got for her. She had to constantly remind herself that she was doing this for Elysia's sake and no one else.

She needed to endure for her or else things would go further than she wanted them to.

"Adam, let go. It is not alright for me to be here alone with you two like this."

"And it was alright for you to decide to break off with me alone? How was that fair to me."

"What do you mean? I was just giving you your freedom back. Was that not what you wanted from me? Why are you complaining about it?"

"Huh? When did I ever say I wanted to break up with you? What gave you the right to make assumptions about my feelings like that?"

'This is bad. They are both getting too heated up.'

Eve could see the disaster that was about to take place right in front of her eyes. Both Adam and Elysia were too stubborn to listen to her, much less put their differences away for now.

So that was why Eve knew she had to do something to make things right. Adam and Elysia would end up making things bad otherwise.

"Adam, stop it. What did I tell you about doing before we came here? You have to communicate with Elysia if you want her to understand why you are mad at her."

Eve's voice calmed Adam down. He suddenly looked too exhausted to be having this conversation but it was an important one.

"Right, we had that talk. I need to use my words and not my actions. Then, Elysia, I want you to listen very carefully to what I am about to say to you alright."

Eve watched Elysia swallow her nervousness before her face closed down. From experience, Eve could tell that Elysia would try to flee.

'Shit, I need to do something drastic to make Elysia stay. What can I do right now?'

Elysia's mind was in a panic but her body worked faster than her mind.

Before she knew it, she had Elysia held in her grasp and her mouth met Elysia's. It was a clumsy second kiss without anything aiding them but their feelings.

Or well, Eve's feelings. She had no idea how Elysia felt about her. The other girl had frozen beneath her lips.

"Oi, what are you doing? Weren't you the one who said to give her space? Oi, let her go."

Eve could tell that Elysia was shocked. The girl looked at Eve with wide eyes, her brain likely, not able to handle what just happened.

"Elysia, let me say this before you stop me. I love you and I have for some time now. I hope you give me a chance."

Adam growled lowly in his throat, not liking Eve's ways of taking advantage of the situation. It was a given that he was pissed about this situation.

And he also realized that he did not like watching Eve take charge of the situation.

"Elysia, snap out of it. Don't fall for the devil's charms. You need to stay strong for me. I love you as well so don't you dare fall for her tricks. You are promised to me. ME. Don't fall for her because of that kiss."

Elysia seemed to be coming around rather slowly. Her eyes blinked slowly as if waking up from a dream.

She tried to focus but her eyes were not steady.

"Fuck it. I tried talking already but it doesn't seem to be working out for me. I have no other choice but to take action now."

Eve knew she should stop Adam from what he was about to do but she had no right to do that anymore.

Not when she had pulled the same things a while back.

So she watched Adam pull Elysia into a heated kiss but this one was far different from the innocent pecks of before.

Adam was all but devouring Elysia this time Elysia was turning red. It was also then that Eve realized something about herself.

'Holy shit, that's hot. I guess I like seeing them go at it after all.'