I will not die a Villainess's death

"Head Priest Yohan, I know you said to ignore the Royal family's summons but it has been a week already. I don't think they will wait anymore. Even the public has begun to question our actions."

Head Priest Yohan sighed at the incompetency of the people around him. They could not even take care of a few official summonses for him.

It was not surprising that the royal palace had sent at least one notice every day for them to be allowed a meeting. It showed how desperate they were to access the forbidden knowledge he possessed.

But they were not going to find anything in the forbidden section that was going to help them. If there were something like that available, then Yohan would have been the first one to use it to bring Elysia back.

She was his precious chess piece, the one who listened to his every word and did as he asked. Losing Elysia had been a big blow to him and his overall planning.

"Head Priest, are you listening to me? What should we do now?"

The annoying priest had not left yet. If anything, he was making himself seem even more annoying than before.

"I heard what you have to say. If the situation is as urgent as you make it out to be, then I have no other choice but to follow along with the summons."

Head Priest Yohan wanted to ignore the priest but he had to consider his public image. It won't do to worsen his relationships with the other priests. They would become his pillar of support once he was asked to step down.

'And then, they would be able to help Eve fulfill her purpose for coming here. I need to make sure that she remains unharmed throughout what will happen next.'

"A-Are you going to answer these summons? T-Then, I can tell this to the attendant who is waiting for our reply, right?"

The priest sounded shocked as he looked at Head Priest Yohan. He could not believe that Head Priest Yohan had given him the go-ahead for the meeting.

It had not seemed possible for the Head Priest to give Lucas Dirac the time of his day but it seemed suddenly possible.

"Do you need me to repeat my words? Go ahead and tell the messenger that I am ready to meet Lucas Dirac and the Crown Prince."

There were various reasons Head Priest Yohan agreed to this meet-up. But the most prominent one was due to Eve.

He had not been too worried when he had heard that Eve had gone missing mainly because he knew where she would have run off to.

The only person who had enough power to protect her was Lucas Dirac and the Crown Prince. The three of them even shared the same goal and that was the save Elysia Dirac.

As such, there was only one place Eve could have ended up at. And Head Priest needed to bring Eve back to his side as soon as possible.

"I-I will go and tell Lord Dirac, I mean, the messenger of the crown prince the good news. Y-You should not be too stressed about this meeting."

Yohan was not 'too stressed' about this meeting. He was not even a little bit stressed about it since he knew he had nothing to hide.

If worst came to worst, he could unfold the prophecy he knew and the people would have to fold in front of him. They would see reason when their lives were at risk.

Even the emperor had seen his ways once he had revealed that he could die if he did not follow Yohan's plan.

__________________________

The tense silence filled the meeting room. Neither Lucas Dirac nor Head Priest Yohan gave an inch when they faced each other. Their stone-cold faces betrayed nothing of their true intention.

The one who was most nervous about this clash-off was Eve. She flinched every time her adopted father as much as looked at her.

Thankfully, Adam covered her every time it happened, his eyes flashing unhappily at the priest. It was a conscious action and Eve knew that it was only half for her sake.

"I don't need your protection."

Eve whispered, hoping that speaking out loud would break the awkward silence that had descended upon the gathering.

But speaking out loud did not help lessen the awkwardness of the situation. If anything, it made the silence even worse.

*Cough*

Finally, Lucas coughed to divert everyone's attention to himself. He pointed toward the piece of paper lying innocently on the table between himself and the Head priest.

"According to the law, the royal family can ask you to show us the restricted section of the temple anytime they want to. You have already been rejecting our requests for a week. It's about time you allow us in there."

Lucas Dirac did not beat around the bush. He told what he wanted clearly to Head Priest Yohan.

The elder man had a resigned look on his face. Eve was sure he looked disappointed at the request he was hearing.

"Fine. If you want to see the forbidden section, I won't stop you. But I would ask you not to be disappointed by what you find in here."

Eve had been hopeful until this far but now she was no longer so hopeful. From Head Priest Yohan's tone, it seemed like the forbidden section would not yield any results.

But still, it was a direction to look into. The chances of it containing other useful information were high as well.

"Don't worry. Whether that section contains anything useful or not will be up to us to decide. You just need to hand us the key."

Lucas decided as he held his hand out for the access pass. Only the Head Priest had the pass and the power to activate it.

So, Head Priest Yohan would have to accompany them through the restricted section.

"Follow along with me. I will take you there but I do have a condition for doing so. I hope you know what I am going to ask you."

Eve stiffened as soon as that 'condition' was brought up. She did not want to do anything her adoptive father asked of her.

Not because she did not love him or found him harmful, but because she knew that it would restrict her freedom.

"It's up to the person to decide. I cannot promise anything that is not related to me."

Lucas left the decision up to Eve and she was thankful for that. Eve also knew that she would agree with her father's request if it meant that she got a hint to save Elysia.

However, contrary to both her and Adam's surprise, he turned toward both of them.

"I will only grant access to the restricted section if you both agree to be engaged with each other and maintain your relationship for a whole year minimum. I need a written guarantee of that."

Eve felt sick hearing her father ask that of not only herself but also Adam. They both had denied liking each other so many times and Eve was certain that her father knew this fact.

But he was still pushing them to be in a relationship despite their wishes? Where was the justice in that?

"Before you all argue, I do know that you do not like each other romantically but it is of the uttermost importance that you both get engaged. I won't ask you to have a relationship or even get married. You don't have to be devoted to each other even. Just get engaged for some time."

There was almost a hint of desperation in the Head Priest's voice and it caused Eve to waver. She did not want to see him in despair.

She could see that Adam was not going to agree but surprisingly, it was Lord Lucas who gave the 'go-ahead' signal for them.

"If it's only for a year then it is possible to do so. Adam will not be of age until some time and it will take a year for him to regain power. It would be nice to have political protection, right?"

Adam's words were stuck in his throat. He tried to swallow his disappointment down as he replied with an empty voice.

"Yeah, it would be alright. But one year means one year and not a day more. Now, if we all agree let's head out. Staying here any longer will make me sick."

Adam pushed past not only the Head Priest but also Eve and Lucas Dirac's side. He sounded and even looked annoyed.

But he had given his verbal confirmation and that was all that mattered to her father.

"Don't worry. I will get you out of this mess by the end of the year. I also need you both to be politically connected so that I can drive out some traitors. Just go along with it."

Eve did not want to but she also did not want to disappoint Lord Dirac. In the end, she agreed to follow his words for the time being.