I will not die a Villainess's death

There was a tense silence in the air. Even if Eve was smiling, Elysia got a feeling that her friend (possible lover) was not smiling at the moment.

There was a tense air around the pair and it was making Elysia nervous. She was walking in front of Eve and the constant presence of Eve's eyes on her back was making Elysia miss her steps.

She had already misstepped more than twice and had to catch herself before she stumbled. But that was not the odd part.

The odd part was that Eve had not moved to help Elysia out a single time that happened. Usually, Eve was all over Elysia by this point but not today.

"Eve is everything alright-"

"You and Crown Prince Chrome seemed closer. You even tried to take Adam's attack for him. Elysia, do you like him?"

Eve's voice was sharp and clear-cut. There was no room for lies or disagreement in her voice. It made Elysia shudder to hear.

She was not sure what had ticked Eve off this time but she was pissed off for sure. That was the only time her voice became like this and that heavy presence that was suffocating Elysia was proof of Eve's anger.

"What are you talking about? I met Crown Prince Chrome only a few days ago. The reason I helped him out was that he was a guest of Dirac's house. If something had happened to him then the reputation of our house would be in shambles."

And the nation would also be in danger because of the threat of war. But Elysia had a feeling that Eve would not appreciate this reason.

Somehow, it was dangerous to keep on guessing Eve's mood like this but Elysia had no other choice.

"Hah, I see. The reputation of your family? Then, are you sure you have no other reason to care for that man in such an intimate way?"

"There is nothing *intimate* between me and Crown Prince Chrome. Dispel all these rumors out of your head and focus on right now."

Eve pouted after hearing Elysia's words but she seemed marginally happier than before. There was a beaming smile on her face and the lack of that anger finally made Elysia look back.

She missed the next step due to her carelessness but Eve decided to help her out this time. Eve's arms stopped Elysia from falling and Elysia allowed Eve to hold her for now.

Truthfully speaking, Elysia could have stopped her fall anytime she wanted but she allowed Eve to hold her for now.

'I guess this means that everything is alright now. I don't know why Eve even felt jealous of me in the first place when she has a lot of people after her. I guess I will never know the minds of those who are well-liked.'

Elysia was taking the whole jealousy thing the wrong way but it did not occur to her that Eve was not jealous of her but of Chrome.

The pair reached Head Priest's temporary quarters in the temple hand in hand. Elysia did try to pull back but Eve's grip made her unable to.

All she could do was follow after Eve as she was dragged into the room.

"Father, are you done with my gift for the ceremony? I told you that I could handle it but you had to go ahead and take that decision out of my hand."

Head Priest looked at Eve with a doting expression of a proud father before that smile faded away into a frown at seeing Elysia being so cozy with her adopted daughter.

Elysia tried to pull her hand back as soon as she was faced with that indifferent look but Eve refused to let go of it.

In the end, Head Priest Yohan had no choice but to ignore his daughter's actions as he focused on taking the box out of the safe he had kept in.

"There is a reason I asked you to let me choose the gift. Since this year was *unique*, I felt that it was appropriate to prepare a grand gift just in case. The Royal Family also agreed with me and decided to part with their family gift."

Head Priest Yohan pulled the cloth away from a familiar-looking sword. It was one Elysia could not even forget even if she tried to.

This sword had cut across her neck so many times in her vision that it was not even funny.

Elysia unconsciously found herself breathing harder and harder which was noticed by Eve.

"Is everything alright Elysia? Is it the sword? Is a weapon making you feel nervous?"

As soon as Eve had noticed Elysia behaving abnormally, she pulled the cloth back over the sword and rubbed her hand against Elysia's back.

The more contact Elysia had with Eve, the better she felt. But that did nothing to hide her nervousness and Lord Yohan noticed it pretty quickly.

As someone who had trained Elysia to be able to handle all kinds of weapons, he was confused about what had happened to make Elysia behave this way.

But Elysia was unable to say what she had been thinking. It would be too much to voice it all right now.

"I am alright. I think I am just feeling a little sick due to the fasting."

Elysia lied but it seemed to have worked. Eve still looked worried but there was no urgency in her eyes now.

"Oh, so that's it. Let's hurry up and finish this ceremony already."

Eve seemed concerned now which made Elysia feel guilty. It was not Eve's fault that Elysia had ended up being in this condition.

She was bound to not feel well anytime she saw that sword anyway. It was just lucky that she saw it when there was no more dangerous than to see it on a battlefield and be blown away by it.

But why was the sword here now? Was it not supposed to be passed down to Adam when the time comes? Was it alright to use it during the ceremony?

"Eve, let Elysia go for now and hold this sword. I need to hand something to Elysia as well and have a talk with her regarding what she should and should not do."

Eve looked like she would follow Head Priest Yohan's words but then she changed her mind all of a sudden.

Instead of moving out of the room, Eve rested her bundle on the chair and looked in the Head Priest's direction with a neutral expression.

"You can hand her the Holy Grail in front of me. And I am sure there is nothing you both cannot talk about in front of me. Now hurry up and finish your talk."

Eve seemed to have no intention of going out and giving Elysia any free time. It seemed that she was still a little tense from before.

Head Priest Yohan signaled for Elysia to do something to make Eve go away but Elysia was hesitant to follow through.

She was not sure why but she had a feeling that she should not push Eve away for now. And Elysia decided to listen to that feeling and ignore the scary look she was getting.

Head Priest Yohan was smiling but there was malice behind his eyes that Elysia could only read after years of experience.

"In that case, here. Be careful with the Holy Grail and make sure you complete this ritual. This time, we cannot have a harsh winter because it will be critical for the temple. By the end of this season, we shall have a new Saintess among us."

Head Priest Yohan's voice was a little mean but it was still within excusable margins. He just seemed a little tense.

But even Elysia knew how important his words were. And she gave a small nod to show that she understood the words he did not see.

'Make sure nothing goes wrong. And if possible, protect Eve if anything does happen.'

This was something Elysia was hoping to do anyway. By the odds that were present, it was clear that something could do wrong.

One incident or another always occurred at the season's hunt and no one was expecting this time to be any different.

"Eve, let's head back. We need to regroup before we head for the forest."

Elysia gave a small bow to Head Priest Yohan before she took Eve's hand to move her. Eve barely had time to pick up the sword before she was following after Elysia.

They were being waited upon by Adam and Chrome when they arrived back into the waiting chambers and then they left for the real ceremonial grounds.

Chrome tried to follow after Eve and Elysia but Chrome stopped him from entering.

"You cannot come across this point since only people related to our empire can enter here. You should stop before you get hurt."

Adam warned but Chrome side-stepped him and entered after the two girls.

"Well, I don't mind getting a little hurt in the process if it is to help my people. Now, how long are you going to stand outside like this? Are you not coming after us?"

Adam frowned but he followed after as well.