I will not die a Villainess's death
Chapter 176 176: A Royal Confrontation

Elysia did feel sorry for scaring Enma like she was. The guilt jabbed at her and make her choke up a little bit. But Elysia refused to pay attention to that feeling.

Right now, the most important thing for Elysia was to make sure that her plan of visiting the temple does not get back to her brother. Otherwise, there would be hell to pay later.

'It was so fortunate that Feize's sister suggested that everyone visit the temple. It gives me an excuse to deliver the box in person. Although, the restriction on male and female sections might pose to be a problem for me.'

That was the only thing that sucked about this visit. The box needed to be transported to the head of the temple and the current head was a man.

Elysia was not sure how she would be able to sneak into the male section to deliver the box in person. And she did not want to hand the box over to an unknown sister or another priest since it could be dangerous.

Often than now, the temple was responsible for looking after sealed artifacts that could not be handled by anyone else.

And this box also gave Elysia the feeling that it contained something similar inside its confinements.

"Lady Dirac, we are about to reach the temple soon. Now, I know that you grew up in a temple back home but you should still know some of the rules and regulations of our country."

Elysia did not respond to the queen's provocation words. She had not even protested when the queen had suggested that Elysia rides with her to the temple.

It had been obvious that the queen had been looking forward to humiliating Elysia but Elysia had long gotten used to annoying and unhealthy words spoken about herself.

And compared to some of the things commoners could say to your face without mincing your words, the queen's attempt to sound vague and insulting did not even come close.

"Ah, I would be delighted if the queen educates me about the customs of the temple in Akatsuki. I am sure she had a lot of time on her hand to get to know them very intimately."

The queen went red at Elysia's words, taking them as an insult. Elysia had not been trying to make the queen feel frustrated since there was no need for her to do so.

Elysia might not have spent much time in the royal court but she had been well-versed in the court politics and how the nobility spoke.

They mostly spoke in riddles, making their words have double and often even triple meanings. They were also very fast to catch on to any alternative meanings.

But that also meant that they easily twisted any words they heard and found the worst meaning in them.

And the queen had likely taken Elysia's words as an insult to her as well. Elysia was sure that her mind must be bursting with different ideas of what Elysia had meant by her words.

"I-I am quite a busy person usually. B-But as the queen of this nation, I need to know a lot to rule it. I am sure that Lady Dirac understands my feelings since you used to be the crown princess before. Ah, I am sorry. Is that a sensitive subject for you?"

The queen had a remorseful expression on her face but glee shined clearly in her eyes. She was waiting for Elysia to be hurt by her words and show a reaction.

Too bad for her that Elysia had never considered herself the crown princess even once. She might have gotten the education for it, but the one who had made use of that information had been Eve.

"I did get the education to become a crown princess but it was not very hard for me. Oftentimes, my duties at the Dutchy and the temple kept me busier. The Queen must have tried hard to perfect herself if she spends so much time on those lessons."

The red-faced queen went white before she hid her face behind her fan.

Elysia knew that it was not a good idea to egg the queen like this but she did not want to take the whole ride listening to being made fun of. She had her boiling point as well.

And the queen did go quiet after that and turned away from Elysia. She would not be called for some time now.

"Don't make your situation worse than it already is. She is the queen after all."

Enma hissed in Elysia's ear as he shivered in his seat uncomfortably. He was just a child so this atmosphere must be getting to him.

Elysia felt bad for subjecting a kid to a fight between the adults but there was nothing she could do. Enma would just have to sit and bear with it for now.

"I am not doing this on purpose. The queen could leave me alone as well."

Enma's eyes were solemn as he looked at Elysia and it irritated her even more. She could see Enma's desire for Elysia to back off clearly.

But it also helped Elysia calm down and rationalize her actions. She had gotten so used to being comfortable around her people that she had forgotten how dangerous of an enemy a queen could turn out to be.

Chrome might have a lot of power in this kingdom but the queen still had her allies.

And just as Elysia had that realization, the carriage they were in stopped. The doors opened and the driver gave a small bow in front of Elysia.

"Respected queen mother, Lady Dirac, Lady Kuga. We have arrived at the temple."

Elysia calmly walked down the carriageway. The temple in the Akatsuki kingdom was finally in front of Elysia's eyes.

"Hump, you better watch your back, Elysia Dirac. Chrome might be an emperor now but he cannot always remain in power. As soon as he loses Lucas Dirac, he will fall from his power and you will end up in ruins as well."

"After all, what can a woman like you do once you lose your brother? You have no power of your own or any vessels who are loyal to you."

The Queen's voice was gentle but threatening as she whispered those words in Elysia's ears. They sounded like a promise rather than a threat.

But what caught Elysia's attention was her mention of 'Lucas's demise.' It was as if she knew that Lucas's life was currently on a timer.

Elysia did not like how the queen had suggested Lucas's death this casually. And Elysia was not going to allow the queen to walk all over her brother like this.

"There is no need for the queen to be concerned about my brother and his health. Lucas is completely fine and he will live a long life supporting our cousin Chrome. But I cannot say the same for the queen if she continues to poke her head in the danger hole."

The queen backed down, realizing that she had hit Elysia's anger spot. The atmosphere was getting dangerous now and the queen could not afford to show her hand openly like this.

So instead of confronting Elysia openly, the queen decided to back down for now.

"Of course, I value my life. I will back down now since I can see that my words are making you agitated Lady Dirac. But I would be careful if I were you."

The queen was ambiguous in her words. It did not seem like she wanted to fight openly with Elysia but she was not above getting her hands dirty.

Elysia knew how difficult of a position it was to stand with one's head held high in the royal court. And she respected the queen for her dedication to maintaining her position for so long.

But the queen was making a mistake by declaring Elysia her opponent this openly. Elysia was not going to let this disrespect to her brother go unchallenged.

"E-Elysia, I don't know what had gotten into you but you should calm down. Challenging the royalty of a place would not serve you any good. Besides, aren't you here for a purpose? Should we not focus on that?"

Enma's words caused Elysia's sanity to return to normal. She looked at her bleeding hand which had been an accident. Her nails had dug into her hand a little too deeply and now it was hurting her.

"Y-You are bleeding. Hurry, come after me and we shall get you treated right now. Lucas would kill me if he saw you bleeding like this."

Although it was Elysia who was bleeding, it was Enma who panicked. Flashed of Lucas Dirac's terrifying face flashed in front of his eyes.

Elysia was sure that her brother would understand that it was not Enma's fault and let him go. However, now she needed to tell Lucas about this conversation and what she had heard from the Queen.

It was clear that there was a traitor in Chrome's inner circle.