I will not die a Villainess's death

The hound gave chase as soon as it smelled Elysia's scent. The darkness made it difficult for her defective eyes to be able to see properly but Elysia could guess what kind of hound was following after her - the bloodhound.

They were particularly vicious and annoying to deal with. Thre only way to kill them off was with fire but Elysia was in no condition to do that right now.

After all, how could she even risk starting a fire in a closed-off space such as a corridor? It would be like telling the world that she was here.

'So annoying to deal with. How should I get out of this now? I need to distract these hounds somehow.'

Thankfully, it was not as difficult as Elysia was making it out to be. She had a vile of blood on her person for such occasions. She had learned from her previous hunting mistakes and was now in a habit of carrying a few of these cases.

She quickly broke off one of them and threw it toward the other corridor.

As expected, the bloodhound chose to go toward the vile's way and not chase after Elysia. But if she even got the barest of cuts then it would be over for her.

Just as Elysia was sure she had managed to escape, it happened. Someone sprang out of the shadows and managed to catch hold of her arm and pull her.

The hand felt tiny and weak but the grip on her arm was surprisingly hard and fierce. Elysia had half a mind to pull her arm back and eliminate the person who chased after her but she did not.

"Shhhh, don't make any unnecessary noise. We will help you get out of here because Mr. Fairy said that we can help you out.", "But you need to be quiet and obedient for that."

Elysia was sure she had heard those voices before. But what were these twins doing all the way here in this dangerous corridor? Did they not realize what kind of situation they were in?

Or, had someone put these kids up to this situation? They had mentioned a 'Mr. Fairy' but it could very well be an alias.

"What are you both-"

"Shhhh, come after us quickly. Those bad dogs are almost here and they will kill us if they find us."

Elysia felt like she had no other choice but to follow after Susan and Mars. These kids had appeared out of nowhere in this dangerous corridor so Elysia could not leave them alone

They were in much more danger than she was and Elysia was the adult here. She could not abandon kids to their own devices right now.

The kids led her through a secret passageway directly outside into the back garden which was abandoned. It was suspicious how well these kids were able to lead her around.

"We're here. Mr. Fairy said he would meet us here once we lead you out. I am sure you will like him as well.", "Yeah, he is super nice to us and he also takes care of us when our mother is not there to take care of us. He is super cool too."

The twins were singing praises for their 'Mr. Fairy' and it made Elysia more and more curious about what kind of person this man was. He would have to be super close to the Pheros family to gain access to the kids and the castle.

'Maybe Mr. Fairy is an informant? Or a spy? Or maybe I am getting too ahead of myself again.'

Elysia sighed as she finally stopped walking. She watched the kids look around for their friend and her thoughts strayed to the pool of blood in that secret corridor.

Now that she knew that the blood pool was there and ready for use, she could no longer ignore it. The temple needed to know about this malpractice before it evolved into something bigger.

Baron Pheros seemed to have no intention for that blood pool beyond harvesting eternal life but it could not be said about everyone else involved in this operation.

'If this blood pool managed to get in the hands of a destructive force then they can use it to place a really powerful curse over the empire. This situation just got a lot more complicated.'

Elysia had not been thinking right before but now that she had time to think, it did seem like the right idea to let the others know as well.

Both the Dirac house and the Pheros household would take a massive hit in their reputation due to this but it did not sit right with Elysia to keep this to herself.

"I better send a letter to Lucas as well. He should know what I am about to do."

"What are you about to do? I find myself curious as I stare more and more at your beautiful face. What secrets are you hiding, I wonder?"

Elysia tried not to jump up scared as she heard that voice whisper in her ear. She turned around and held her magic at ready to attack.

She would defend herself now that she was out of the danger zone…

…or so was the plan before her eyes fell on the familiar orange eyes and black hair. The man looked harmless at the first glance but there was something achingly familiar about him.

'No, it's not him but his aura. It's repulsive and dangerous like mine. He might be similar to me in that regard.'

Regret and loneliness, this was what Elysia felt when she looked at the black-haired man. He might be smiling right now but there was something defeated about the air around him.

"Why did you ask these kids to help me out? How did you even know where I was in the first place?"

Elysia needed answers from this man. No matter how much he seemed to be like her, Elysia still could not afford to let her guard down.

The man seemed not to be offended by her questions either. Instead, he had a soft smile on his face that told Elysia that he liked being questioned.

"Mr. Fairy showed up one day near the forest.", "Right, he saved our lives and took us back home.", "Mr. Fairy is a good person."

The kids frowned at Elysia's questions, their eyes filled with a protective light as they tried to block their 'Mr. Fairy' with their tiny arms. It was an adorable scene, if not for one major fact - Elysia still did not have any idea who this 'Mr. Fairy' was.

Surely his real name was not Mr. Fairy and he had given his alias out on purpose to not let his real name be known.

"Is there something on my face, Lady Dirac? I am sure I am not that good-looking to be stared at all the time. I heard that I have nothing on your fiance's beauty."

Elysia knew that she should feel offended at the jab but even she could tell that it was unintentional on the man's part.

His words had been teasing but they had not been malicious in the least. It was the effect of his aura that made him seem this way.

"I think you are mistaken about some facts, Mr. Fairy. I do not care about your appearance but I do care about an unknown man breaking into Lady Pheros's house and sneaking around at night. As for my fiance. Did you not hear the news?"

The man looked taken aback at the crude words Elysia spoke to him. His face was tinted red in embarrassment at being called out like that but he sobered up quickly.

"I see….What about the engagement? News travels slowly in these parts. Ah, I am sorry if I offended you just now. People often tell me that I should watch my words because I speak without thinking."

The offending part was not likely because of this man's words but the effect of that strange aura around him. Even Elysia felt like she should be offended but she was not.

Naturally, there was no need for her to answer the man any further but she still decided to do so anyway.

"I am not offended by your words. People say the same thing about me so I guess I understand what kind of situation you are in. as for my engagement, I guess this is why it did not work out in the end."

Elysia knew that her words and her aura were not the prime reason for her break-up with Adam. even if Adam said he 'loved' Elysia, he was meant to be with someone else in the end.

It was just how fate worked in the end. It was foolish for Elysia to blame anyone for things they could not control.

"*I see, so it is true. So your engagement broke off. How unfortunate* A-Anyway, you are not offended by my words? That….but why?"

The first part was not meant to be heard by Elysia but she ended up hearing that anyway.

The man did not sound sorry for Elysia at all. In fact, he sounded a little relieved and even glad at hearing her words before he changed his tone and the flow of the conversation.

Elysia knew that he did it on purpose but she allowed him to do that anyway.

"What is there to blame? I know you asked the question out of curiosity and nothing else. I answered because I wanted to as well. That is it. Now, you should tell me what you are doing here and how you got here before I report you to Baron Pheros."

The man paled at Elysia's threat. His eyes trembled as he begged to be spared with his eyes.

But Elysia did not bulge even a little bit. No matter how cute this man was, he would not be able to get away after breaking such a huge rule.

"I…I mean I….Look there, a hound."

Elysia knew it was foolish of her to look away but she had to take the risk. And as expected, she was fooled by that call.

She quickly turned back to catch the man but he was gone already. He had somehow managed to get away in a matter of seconds without alerting Elysia.

"Did you see where he went to?"

Elysia asked the kids who looked back at her with amused smiles but shook their heads. They were on 'Mr. Fairy's' side after all.