"I can't believe how rude those 'sisters' were. Did they think we could not smell the food they were trying to hide from us? How can they be called 'god's' people?"
Elysia heard Sara complain as she tore into her food. The half-human seemed famished by seeing her eating habits.
On the contrary, Lord Sorias ate in moderation but even he looked frustrated at the situation.
Elysia had not thought that her situation was that bad but her companions seemed to be daggering.
'Maybe I am the problem. I seemed to have gotten used to expecting such behavior from the Sisters but Lord Sorias and Sara are outsiders. They should not be treated like this because of me.'
For the first time, Elysia feels bad about her situation. It was causing other people discomfort which was not something she wanted.
"Seriously, you cannot keep those people letting get away with treating you like this. Have some self-esteem."
"Sure. I will talk with them later."
Elysia nodded along with Sara's request, knowing that she was not going to follow it. No amount of words would make the temple change its opinion over Elysia's situation.
Eve had tried and so had Adam to an extent. Heck, even the Head Preist had asked people not to treat Elysia like a monster but people had continued to unhear those words.
At some point in time, you learned to roll with your circumstances and not pay any mind to them.
"Elysia, I know you don't mind your situation but you need to consider your standing a little more now. You are a Dirac. How many times will I have to remind you of this fact?"
Lord Sorias finally spoke up. Somehow, Elysia already knew he was going to say this. This was the most effective way to make Elysia feel guilty.
Elysia was about to reply to Lord Sorias when she felt the familiar magical signature head her way. Lord Sorias and Sara seemed to have felt that as well.
'Eve is on her way. She arrived far sooner than I expected her to. Did she even have breakfast?'
Elysia felt worried for Eve. Eve had gone to bed after her but had gotten up before Elysia. Did she even get enough sleep the night before?
"Elysia, there is some cream on your lips. Let me wipe it off for you."
"Huh…"
Elysia wanted to turn around and welcome Eve but she did not get a chance to do that. Sara had a hand on her mouth and it seemed to be rubbing right at her lips.
It was an uncomfortable feeling that made Elysia lean back. But she could not fully pull back due to the presence of the chair behind her back.
"Sara, I don't think there is something on my…"
"What are you both doing? Do I have to remind you that this is a public place?"
Eve's words came out cold. Elysia did not need to see her expression to know that Eve was pissed off about something. Elysia had no idea why Eve sounded like this but she needed to do something about it.
But to do that, Elysia first needed to pull her face out of Sara's grip. The half-human was holding Elysia's face hostage with a creepy grin.
"Huh? I don't think we are doing something indecent thought. I mean, I am just helping Elysia clean up her face. Do you have a problem with it?"
"Yes, I do. You are blocking my access to the seat."
Elysia finally felt Sara release her face with a pout. But even the half-human could not defend herself against this accusation.
Sara's arm had been blocking access to the seat adjacent to Elysia.
"Fine Let me change my seat so that you can have my…"
"No need. I will sit beside Elysia for now. What have you ordered for breakfast?"
Eve quickly slid into her seat. Elysia watched it all happen silently.
Even if she wanted to say anything, Elysia's instincts asked her to stay quiet. She should not egg Eve anymore than she already had.
'What has gotten into Eve today? I feel like her mood is fluctuating a lot.'
"Elysia, let's go. I promised you an afternoon date and I want to honor my promise. Lord Sorias, can I count on you to keep an eye on Sara today? We will be back in the evening?"
Elysia begged Lord Sorias not to agree with Eve.
It was not like Elysia did not want to spend time with Eve, but there were more important things their group could be doing.
The main festival had not started but there was plenty to prepare to hold the purification rite. There were ruins to be drawn and Eve also needed to concentrate her magic.
Being along with Elysia would just distract her and Lord Sorias knew that as well.
But despite knowing all this, Lord Sorias decided to be a traitor and agree with a simple, "Have fun. I will take care of things here."
"No, wait. We should be getting ready for the....."
_________________________________
"...Ceremony."
Eve heard Elysia's words but she did not pay much attention to them. Instead, she decided to drag Elysia behind her toward the main festival plaza.
They had passed through the same place yesterday but there had not been a hint of festivity then.
Somehow, the town seemed to have been transformed overnight with the help of magic. But it had to be people's hard work that made all this possible in the span of a few hours.
"It's beautiful. I always wanted to come to a festival with you but you always complained about being busy. I had to go with that damned Crown Prince every time and have a miserable time."
Eve complained as she dragged Elysia behind her. She was not going to give Elysia any opportunity to run away. Not this time at least.
It was not like Eve did not have fun going to the festivals with the Crown Prince but it was more of a choir than a fun trip.
Both she and the Crown Prince hardly had anything in common when it came to interests. The only thing connecting them was Elysia's presence.
And it irked Eve a lot when people took her and the Crown Prince as a couple and belittled Elysia.
There was always a fear in the back of Eve's mind that Elysia would choose to believe those rumors about her and Adam and then resent them for this.
'I don't care if Elysia hated Adam, but I know I won't remain sane if Elysia came to hate me.'
Eve was sure about her feelings for Elysia and now she only needed to find the right time to tell the other female about them.
After all, Eve had been asking Elysia about her feelings on the topic of two females being together in a romantic sense and had concluded that Elysia would not be opposed to this idea.
"Elysia, I missed spending time with you."
Pulling Elysia's body against her own felt familiar and relaxing. Eve's heart was beating a mile an hour and she could feel Elysia's heart beating faster as well.
The black-haired, blue-eyed female was redfaced and her mouth seemed to be trying to make out words but failing.
It was quite an adorable picture that Eve wanted to bury inside her mind.
"I missed you as well Eve. I wanted to talk with you more but never got a chance before things happened. I am sorry I did not tell you about me moving back to the Dirac estate."
Elysia's apology seemed heartfelt. Her words were clear and they pricked at Eve's consciousness.
She had not realized that Elysia was still worrying about this topic. Eve had forgotten all about it a long time ago.
"It's alright. I understand why you did not tell me. Father explained to me how sudden this decision was. But are you alright with it? I have heard rumors about Lord Dirac and they are not pretty."
Lord Dirac was a rather infamous man. His name was enough to get people to back off but it also made Eve nervous to see Elysia relying on such an unpredictable man.
"Eve, please don't say that. Lord Lucas is a good person and he is nice to me. Besides, I am not someone who should be saying anything about those rumors."
Eve flinched at Elysia's words. In her hurry to get Elysia to reconsider her decision, she had forgotten some important facts.
"Ah, sorry. I did not mean to make a jab at you and…"
"Don't worry. I know you were just worried about me. But can you let me go now? We are in public, you know? People will get weird ideas."
"Then let them get weird ideas. I just want to stay like this a little longer."
Eve felt calmer than she had in months having Elysia in her arms. She wanted to enjoy this moment for a little longer but it seemed like luck was not on her side.
She could feel a familiar magical signature heading their way. It was worst than having Lord Sorias and Sara crash their date.
Eve was sure Elysia felt that familiar magical signature heading their way as well because she quickly pulled away from Eve like a guilty girlfriend caught cheating.
"Oh! Fancy seeing you here Eve. I knew you were assigned this case but I did not know you have this much free time on your hand."
"I am not happy to see you, Adam. Can you like, piss off now? I and Elysia are in the middle of something here."
Elysia would like for Adam to go away now but the man seemed to not consider Eve's words as important.
Instead, his eyes moved toward Elysia and Eve realized that she made a mistake.
"I think I should take my leave now. You both should enjoy some alone time together. I need to find Sora and Sara anyway. I have their funds on me."
Eve realized with a jolt that Elysia was trying to slip away. She was going to leave Eve in the company of the Crown Prince and that did not sit well with Eve.
Nor did it seem to be sitting well with Adam. Eve recognized the frown of irritation on his face and she instantly knew he was going to take action.
"There is no need for you to go, Elysia. It's a first for all three of us to have time to enjoy a festival. We should take advantage of this situation and have some fun. I will send someone else to deliver your funds to your companions."
Elysia's desire to speak was clear but she could not do that. The Crown Prince had already spoken and Elysia could not do anything to refute him now.
Eve had never felt more glad to have Adam with him, although it was his fault that Elysia was trying to flee in the first place.
"Fine. I guess I can spare some time today."
Elysia agreed with a reluctant node and Adam stepped up on her other side to catch her arm.
Eve felt annoyed to have Adam with her on her date with Elysia but she could make this compromise. It was better than having Sara with them anyway since Elysia seemed not to be aware of Adam's advances.
'But I'll show Elysia today that I am a better match with her than Adam. I don't know how or why Adam found out about today but I will not give in to him.'
The duo turned trio became the center of attention pretty quickly but only one person seemed concerned about this.
And it was that one person who could not do anything about this situation.