I will not die a Villainess's death

"Stop dragging me around like that. You know you are being rude so stop it."

Sorias felt irritated as that small and young human dragged her around as she pleased. Even Elysia did not behave with him like that and she was his contractor.

The audacity of this small human baffled him a lot.

"Ah, I am sorry if my behavior upsets you but I could not just help it. After all, Lord Sorias refuses to pay attention to me otherwise."

"Have you thought that it's because I don't like you? And you acting like this is not helping you improve your impression."

Sorias pulled his arm out of Lady White's hands. Or, at least he attempted to but the lady kept holding on to his arm.

Her eyes were narrowed and piercing as they looked at Sorias. They were clear and strong as well which made him turn his head to the side.

"Does it matter what kind of impression I leave on you? You never had the thought to take me seriously in the first place. And you also have no intention of hearing me out, right?"

Sorias wanted to deny those accusations before realizing that he did not need to do that.

He did not owe this human anything more than politeness, but she refused to even take that from him.

"That is right. I have no intention of keeping in contact with you or any other human who is not my contractor. Now please let me go before I make you."

Sorias tried to pull his arm out again but he was denied again. He had thought that he would be let go this time but that did not happen.

'What is the deal with this human? Why does she refuse to let go of me?'

"Why?"

Sorias paused at the question. For a second it seemed like the girl had read his thoughts and she was answering him before she looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"Why would you not give me a chance? I fell in love with you and I want to make you notice me. So why won't you? Is it because I am not your contractor? But I can be. Name a price and I will pay it for you-"

"It is not about being bought but about a promise being made. What do you think a family is? I am not a thing that can be bought. Nor am I an object you can possess. You say you love me? What do you even know about me to say that? You aren't even trying to understand me so how can you call this love."

"How long have you known me for to throw words like 'love' around? It is not such a cheap feeling. It's about compromises and understandings. You should not say that with such a light feeling."

Sorias only realized that he had let his feelings go after he saw the tear-filled young eyes looking back at him.

'I was too harsh on this child. I lost control of my feelings.'

Sorias wanted to take what he had said back but it would defeat the purpose of saying all this in the first place.

Lady Emma White was too young to understand the gravity of her words and what she was feeling. Her current feeling might be closer to possession or obsession than love.

"For now you should step a little back from me and think over what you feel again. Who knows, you might find your feelings fading away faster than you think possible. And you should not say words like 'love' out loud unless you are ready to make an effort for it."

Just saying 'I love you' to someone was not the end. It was a start of a long journey of compromises and putting others' needs first.

Too many marriages ended not because people fell out of love but because they could no longer compromise.

This was what Sorias wanted the child to learn.

"Then I will learn and I will adapt. But I won't give up on you. You might say that what I am feeling is not love for you but I know my feelings better than anyone else. Let me prove my feelings to you through my actions."

Lady White's words surprised Sorias. He had thought that the child would give up after he let her down but she unexpectedly decided to take up this challenge.

It only betrayed how young and innocent she really was.

And she really was young. Sorias was over centuries old at this point. To him, Lady White was all but a child right now.

"No, that is not the only problem. You are too young for me to feel comfortable with you. I will feel like a cradle robber if I accept you and-"

"That is not a problem. My body will mature shortly and I will also grow taller and more to your liking. As for my mental maturity and my desire to make effort, I will prove it all to you. Lord Sorias, just wait. I will show you how serious I am about you."

"That was not what I-"

But Lady White had said all she had to. Sorias wanted to discourage her but her eyes said that she would not listen to anything he said.

This was what Sorias hated about children. Sometimes they were too stubborn to listen to their elders when the advice was good for them.

In these times it was best to let them tire themselves out and then close the topic.

"Fine, do what you want to. As long as you do not cause trouble for me or my contractor then I won't stop you."

"Thank you for this chance. I will make sure not to disappoint you."

Sorias had to look away from the smiling face that was beaming up at him. What made it awkward right now was that he was in his teenage body which made him look a similar age to Lady White.

Had anyone walked in on the pair they would not have found it odd to see a Lady confess her feelings to the handsome male. And Sorias was objectively good-looking.

'And speaking of being walked-on isn't Elysia late in following after us? She should have been here by now.'

Sorias had felt Elysia follow after him but he had lost track of her a while back. Even that scum, Victor entered the mess hall before Elysia did and looked around.

"Look here, isn't this Lord familiar and Lady White? But where did Lady Dirac go? I thought she followed after you both."

"Follow after us? I don't think she did. Do you think she got lost?"

Sorias asked that question but Lady White went stiff at his side. Her face betrayed her anxiety and he was sure that she knew something regarding this issue.

But he did not want Lady Emma to say it in front of that scum Victor. Knowing him, he would use it against them in the future. How knew what he might ask in return for this favor?

"Lady White, can you come with me for a second? There is something I wanted to ask you about. Victor, can you look around for Ely again here? I am sure she will be roaming around here somewhere."

Emma White looked startled at being called so suddenly but her eyes looked determined once they met his.

She had realized that she was being given a chance to make things right and to get into his good grace.

'Hopefully, she'll make the right decision. As for Victor? He doesn't seem like he has any hand in this situation so I will let him go for now.'

As much as Sora did not like Victor, he could not get rid of him for now. His priority was finding Elysia and Lady White was the key to that.

"How cold of you to kick me out of your budding romance Lord familiar, but fine. I will try my best to find Lady Dirac for you. After all, she is the best company for me and I am sure I will be able to 'thoroughly' entertain her."

It was official that Sorias did not like Victor. His tone had almost dropped to a suggestive whisper when he spoke that last line.

Sorias did not doubt that Victor harbored ill intentions toward Elysia and was a danger to her.

"That man…..He doesn't seem to harbor good intentions toward Lady Dirac. I noticed that before as well but he was touchy with Lady Dirac before. What does he plan to do with her?"

"The same thing you want to do with me."

Lady White went red in the face at the Sorias said. But she recovered rather gracefully and coughed to hide her embarrassment.

"Right... Then, we should try and find Lady Dirac before that man finds her. I will help you out since I am sure it is my father's fault we are in this mess."

"Your father? I am not sure I am understanding what you mean."

Sorias had a feeling he knew what Lady White was saying but he wanted to hear it out of her mouth. He did not want to make accusations out of the blue and to someone who would affect Lucas.

But at the same time, he could not allow anyone who was a threat to Elysia to roam around free either.

'I hate politics. We did not have this problem in the beast society.'

But then again, the beasts had problems of their own so that was not much of a comparison.

"Lord Sorias, I told you that I would prove my worth to you and I will keep my words to you. And I hope you will take my confession and feelings into account after that. You don't have to answer me but I hope you will not ignore them."

Sorias wanted nothing more than to ignore the whimsical whispers of a child but that bridge had crossed.

Lady White believed that what she was feeling was love and no one would be able to snap her out until she realized her feelings for herself.

Until then Sorias would have to hand it in there.

"Fine. Now tell me what you meant that it is your father's fault."

Unknown to them, Victor heard their conversation and his expression turned interested. This was an opportunity he did not want to miss.