I will not die a Villainess's death

Elysia's body felt heavy as it sank into the tar-like blood. Her eyes were covered with blood as well and she had a feeling that her end was near.

And just then someone's hand dove in after her and caught her arm in a tight grip. The warmth of that hand felt so comforting around Elysia that she allowed herself to be dragged out.

A single yank was all it took to drag Elysia's light body out of the blood pool and she took in a huge gulp of air to clear her lungs. Once that was done, Elysia felt her sight go back to normal.

And by that, she meant that it was functional enough to get by for now.

Her eyes picked up the shade of black and orange in front of her but they were swimming around still.

"Just what kind of luck have you got to be caught in such an experiment? If not for me then you would have been killed by now."

It was the mysterious orange-eyed man she had met before. The one who had given her the mark for communication.

His voice sounded worried as he looked Elysia right in the eye. But Elysia was in no condition to reply to his concerns.

She still tried to open her mouth but no words came out of them. The near-death experience made Elysia lose her voice in the process.

"Don't force yourself to speak if you don't have to. Your throat needs some time to recover. I'm guessing that your magic is incapable of healing, right?"

Elysia agreed as she closed her mouth. She was thankful to not be asked to speak.

"Let's get out of here for now. I saw the royal carriage pull into the driveway so I am sure they will take care of you. But you will be in trouble if you are caught in here."

The man was talking about things Elysia had no brainpower to comprehend but she just nodded along to his words.

But the words - royal carriage did drive home the situation in Elysia's mind. It was likely that both Adam and Eve were heard already.

And if that was the case then Elysia could leave everything to them and relax in the meantime. That very thought made her muscles relax and her eyes closed.

"Hey, don't fall asleep. We don't know how that magic in that blood pool will affect you. For all we know, you might not wake up again if you fell asleep now."

Elysia felt a pinch at her side that woke her up instantly. It did not make her fatigue go away but it did make her feel like she could stay awake for longer.

There was the sound of footsteps in the hallway but they did not sound like they were human.  They were far too heavy and delayed to be human footsteps.

"Shit. Looks like the hounds are here. Listen, you wait around here for someone to find you while I will do my best to distract those hounds away."

Elysia was surprised to hear those selfless words. The more she watched this man, the more that 'evil' aura around him did not make sense.

Just how in the world was this man supposed to be a villain? And how was he able to make such dangerous decisions so easily?

Even Elysia would have hesitated to put herself in danger but this man seemed to have no hesitation.

Elysia's body moved on its own as it reached out to hold that man's hand. It had been an impulsive decision and Elysia's eyes went wide as soon as she realized what she did.

Even that man looked taken aback by what had happened and he was likely waiting for Elysia to take her hand back.

But that did not happen. Instead, Elysia tightened her hold on that hand to pull the man back. The concern must be showing in her eyes because that man laughed it off with an easy laugh.

"Don't give me that look. I am quite strong so I will be alright. You just focus on yourself and make sure you blow any monsters out if they come here. We will meet again soon real and at that time it will be official. Who knows, you might even get to know my name."

Her savior pulled his arm out of Elysia's grip quite easily. In the end, Elysia was not able to hold him back.

The sound of footsteps rushed after that man and there was silence around her once again.

And then after a matter of minutes, the doorhandle jerked again and Elysia braced herself and her magic for a full-out attack.

"Elysia, don't be surprised. Everything will be alright now."

The familiar voice caused Elysia's body to relax and the tension bled out of her body. It was Eve's voice that spoke to her and the door opened to show her familiar face.

Elysia finally felt safe again.

__________________________

"It has been some time since we last saw Elysia, right? I hope she is doing alright. You are interested to see her as well, right?"

Eve's excited voice rang through the carriage and her sudden motion almost managed to topple the carriage over. Luckily, Adam managed to correct the weight balance before the cart could go over.

His annoyed expression snapped Eve back into her rightful mindscape and she gave a sheepish smile back to the Crown Prince.

"Site down properly or we will both be in trouble. How did I get scammed into coming with you again?"

"Because you wanted to see Elysia as well?"

"Well yes but that was not what I was asking. I should have taken a separate carriage from you to get here. At least I would have been spared that way."

Eve pouted at the unnecessary criticism she got but she held her complaints in her mind.

They were all but pulling into the driveway of the Pheros mansion right now and the whole house had come out to greet them.

Baron Pheros was the one who was leading his party and Eve could see his face breaking out into cold sweat at seeing them approach.

This man was hiding something big and Eve wanted to know what it was. She had a bad feeling that it concerned Elysia and that made her feel agitated.

"Welcome to the Pheros mansion Crown Prince Adam, Saintess candidate Eve. We are pleased to welcome you all here. Please follow along for now and someone will show you to your rooms."

Baron Pheros made an exaggerated gesture to welcome the pair into his home. But the lack of anything in his voice made Eve frown.

The man looked 'fake' to her and Eve hated how he was behaving.

Beside her, Eve felt Adam freeze as soon as he heard the man and a subtle grow was building up in his chest.

Eve hurriedly placed her hand on his arm to soothe his aura using her magic. It was a rather waste of her powers but it was better than having an accident here.

Especially when Aurora was stuck in here with that man as well.

"Baron Pheros, thank you for inviting us here. But I heard that you have more guests with you here as well. Did they not come out to greet us as well?"

Eve wanted to believe that Elysia would not do that to them. The last time they had seen each other was when they ended up having sex but it had been so good for Eve.

She was sure that it had been good for Elysia as well but the other had not reached out to either of them after that.

It was a shame but there was nothing Eve could do about it either but to wait around for now.

"A-Ah, about that. There was a small emergency in the morning and our other guests are not available at this moment-"

Lady Pheros went pale at Baron Pheros' side. Her eyes darted around, not being able to concentrate on anything but she had her luggage at her side.

It seemed like she was prepared to leave and something told Eve that it was Elysia who asked her to do that.

So whatever was happening here, Lady Pheros was not a part of it. It was nice to know.

"You look like you are in a hurry, Lady Pheros. You should get going now."

"A-Ah, yes. Thank you for your consideration and acceptance. May you both have a good time here."

Lady Pheros left in a hurry, the twins walking behind her. They gave Adam and Eve curious looks but they felt innocent as well.

"They are not involved in this. They don't have the smell of blood on their body. As for the Baron, he's covered in the bloody scent and it is annoying for my nose."

Adam admitted as he whispered it in Eve's ear. Eve watched as the maids swooned at the gesture before they rightened themselves.

It seemed as if they were also mistaken about the relationship between herself and Adam. but Eve did not care enough to clarify this misunderstanding now.

"Let's meet up with Elysia before we do anything else. I am sure she is missing us as well."

Eve realized back before separating from Adam. She had not taken a single step inside the palace when they all felt a storm of magic approaching them.

Both Adam and Eve instantly recognized the magic as Lord Sorias's and he felt pissed off.

Before they knew it, the beast was in his adult form and was holding Baron Pheros up by the collar of his shirt.

"What did you take Elysia? If you tell me truthfully then I might be inclined to spare you. Otherwise, you will die here and now."

Everyone looked taken aback at the sudden change in mood. No one had expected the usually calm beast to do something like that.

But the one who looked the most fearful was Baron Pheros. He seemed to not only have lost his soul but also his ability to speak. Now standing between life and death, he could not help but curse his weakness.

However, he refused to speak anything and time was ticking out slowly.