I will not die a Villainess's death

'I need to do this. I need to go to the temple and find out the truth.'

Emma White had been grounded as soon as she had reached her home. Her father, who had been neutral this far, had suddenly decided to take harsh measures against Emma to stop her involvement with the Dirac side.

Instead, he wanted Emma to associate more with the temple and offer her support there. He had even arranged a meeting with a potential marriage partner for her even when Emma had reportedly asked him not to.

The only way for Emma to get out of her house was to make an excuse to show that she was going to the temple.

"Lady White, it is an honor to have you here with us."

The priest who had come out to greet Emma hurriedly bowed to her. Her family was a major power in the empire so it was important for the temple to treat her right.

After all, they did not want to lose her family's financial support in any way. They were looking forward to binding her to the temple's side, not knowing that Emma had already pledged herself to a side.

"I am happy to be here today as well. Can you lead me to a secluded praying hall? I need to make some confessions."

Emma spoke the code words the nobles often used for heavy donations. She could see the priest's eyes turn into money signs as he quickly pointed for Emma to follow him.

Since she already has someone guide her, no one else came to her for questioning. It was a free ride to the central room.

"Here you go, my lady. Please enjoy your alone time."

Emma waved the priest away and entered the room. And as soon as she was alone, Emma opened the door back and walked out. She knew that there were a lot of secrets this temple hid, and that was what she was hoping to look into.

No one was around the hallway, so it was easy for Emma to sneak out and head into the temple-restricted hallway.

She was about to pass through the main crossroad when she stopped. She could hear people talking in the room.

"-and the plan is coming alone."

Emma flatter her back against the wall, waiting to hear more of what the Head Priest was saying. The room had a silencing spell placed on it but Emma efficiently managed to get the spell down.

"The emperor and the Saintess are out of the empire so we cannot make any hasty actions. We will need a way to get to Elysia Dirac."

"But would it be alright? Elysia has not done anything to warrant such a stigma. Will her power be enough to open the gate?"

Emma could say for sure that the second speaker was Head Priest Yohan. Since her father and other family were such firm believers, she knew his voice accurately and could pinpoint him.

But she had no idea who the other person in the room was.

"Don't worry about the lack of power. Our opponents already made the mistake of testing Elysia's potential as a portal so it is a guarantee. So she is the only one we can rely on."

The unknown person spoke and his voice sent shivers down Emma's spine. She wanted to run away since the pressure that voice created over Emma was too much. She was not even able to move.

"That saves us some trouble but how do we get to Elysia Dirac with so many people around her? It will not be easy since she is no longer listening to me."

Head Preist Yohan sounded frustrated. His care for Eve was legendary and since one of the obstacles around Elysia was Eve, his worry was evident.

"Don't worry. Both the emperor Adam and Eve can be easily dealt with. I can also draw away Emperor Chrome. The real problem will be Lucas and Sorias."

Emma's heart leaped in his throat as soon as she heard those words. She did not want to see any harm come to Sorias.

'NONONONONONO. Not Sorias.'

Emma was a selfish person and she did not want to see any harm come to her beloved person. These people could threaten anyone and Emma would not have cared. But it was a different case when it came to Sorias.

He was the only person that could make Emma take a step back and rethink her decisions.

"Lucas is at the end of his life so he is not our concern. On the other hand, Sorias needs to go. He is the true obstacle in our path."

Emma could no longer hold herself from making herself appear in front of those two. She could not allow them to threaten Sorias.

Hen Emma came out of her hiding space, she could see that the other two were looking at her with guarded expressions. But they did not look surprised by her sudden appearance.

Instead, they looked like they had expected Emma to show herself in front of them.

"D-Don't you dare touch him. I will not say anything about your plan to anyone if you leave Sorias out of your plan. And don't think you can touch me either. People know I am here so they will suspect you both if I go missing."

Emma tried to appear confident but she had no reassurance on her side. She knew that her family cared about her but they cared about their social standing so much more.

If they felt like Emma was not worth the savings, then she would be abandoned and no one would suspect the temple even if she died.

"Emma White, so it was you. I want to say that I will do as you say but it is not possible for us. You see, we need to get our hands on Elysia at any cost. It is up to you to decide what to do next."

Emma's lips bled when she bit them in fury. She was aware that she was asked to choose between her potential friend and her love interest. It was an impossible choice for most people.

But Emma was a selfish human being so she was going to do what it took to keep her beloved happy and alive.

"If your target is Elysia Dirac, then leave luring her out to me. I will make sure you get access to her so I would like to ask you not to touch anyone else."

The two faces in front of Emma broke out in broad grins at her words. Emma felt like she had made a mistake but she could not control her desire to help.

There was no way Elysia's safety was more important to her than Soria's life. And if Emma has to turn traitor to save him, then she would do that gladly.

"I see. So you are willing to sell your friend out for someone you love. You are such a cruel woman, Emma White. You had all the makings of a villainess but it was too bad that you turned out to be uninterested."

The still unidentified man rubbed his chin with interest. He could see that Emma White was someone who could be of use to him.

The only one who looked hesitant on this exchange was Head Priest Akane. He looked from that unknown man toward Elysia and then back to that Emma.

In the end, he only sighed and decided to take a step back.

"Fine. You are free to make any decision you want to and I will not be a burden to you. But make sure your decisions do not harm Eve and I will not be an enemy to you."

For the first time, Emma felt like the Head Priest was her kin. He was willing to do anything for that one person he loved as a daughter. She was sure that she would be able to come to respect him as a person if given enough time.

But it was too bad that they had different priorities and Emma would even betray him if it meant getting to Sorias in the end.

"Then, it is decided. The one who will lead Elysia Dirac to us is Emma White and in return, we will spare the person she wants us to."

Head Priest Yohan was not comfortable sitting between the other two. But his ambitions did it allow him to back down from the challenge.

Since all three of them were in sync, the atmosphere around the room was calming down. It would not take too much to ignite this peace but no one was considering this possibility.

The whole group had too much confidence to fail now and the world had opened a new chapter in its journey.

"By the way, can I know who you are?"

Emma asked the mysterious man, very interested to know more about him.

"Me? There is no need for you to know about me. But if you want to call me something, then call me 'the World's consciousness."