Just like that, things fell quiet after a while. The credit for solving the case went to the temple, just as planned.
As the temple representative, Eve received recognition for this case. Her fame went up in the eyes of normal people and even the nobles had to give her credit.
The royal family's help could not be kept out of others' ears but no one knew just how involved they were in this case.
And the Dirac guards took over the case and the culprit in the end. This was how this case ended. But the real truth did not come out into the open and the Dirac estate closed its gates for the time being.
"Eve, you should smile. The people here have gathered today for your sake. They are waiting for you to bless them."
Eve sighed as she faced the well-meaning but useless sister sitting at her side. The temple was holding a wide-scale ceremony today as a post-accident procession.
The ceremony was headed by Eve since her powers as the next saintess were wildly proclaimed. People were looking ahead to her performance. Even nobles had come to keep an eye on her.
'What power? What influence? I was not even to help out that one person I really wanted to. In the end, all my training went to waste when it had mattered the most.'
Eve had not been able to visit the Dirac estate for the past 5 days. That was how long it had been ever since the case finished. Her only source of information was Adam who had gone to see Elysia a few days ago.
The black-haired girl had yet to wake up but Eve had no opportunity to look at Elysia herself. Her duties were keeping Eve busy.
"Sister Eve, the general public is waiting for you. You should hurry up and enter."
Eve sighed, knowing she would not be able to get out of this ceremony. Her father had ignored all the questioning letters Eve had sent her and he was also choking to not come to her.
This was the worst situation for her and it made Eve feel empty.
The day felt like it was being dragged over. Blessing so many people in a single day was exhausting and demanding. It took a toll on Eve's mental strength and left her no energy to worry about other things.
By the time the ceremony was over, the sun had already set. The world was basking in the soft glow of the moon and the chamber was empty.
"Sister Eve, you should start heading home now as well. Tomorrow will be another busy day so hang in there."
Eve groaned as she remembered that the ceremony was to last for two more days. It was the same deadline that was given to Elysia. Eve had to finish her work on time and visit Elysia once she woke up.
'And Elysia would wake up. Any other outcome would not be permitted.'
"Ah, have a nice day. I will head back to my room in a few minutes."
The sister that had been keeping an eye on Eve finally left. Eve was finally able to take a deep breath once she was alone and away from the prying eyes.
'Well, not quite away from all prying eyes. I wonder what she wants now?'
Sara had not sought out anyone ever since this mess had finished. Eve had tried to seak the other female out to know what happened but Sara had duped her.
Of course, Adam had filled her in on what happened later but it would have been nice to hear all this from Sara's mouth.
"You should come out now. I can feel your presence nearby, Sara."
The girl didn't linger around for long. As soon as Eve asked her to come out, Sara appeared in front of her.
The half-human didn't even hide her inhuman form in front of Eve. This was a new and welcoming addition to her as well.
"What do you want to say? If you are here to apologize then you have come to the wrong person. You should hurry up and find Elysia if you want to apologize to her."
Eve let her dismissal be known to the other female. She had no interest in the half-beast but she could not dismiss her outright as well.
After all, this was someone Elysia had thought highly of. How could Eve be heartless enough to turn her away.
"No, that is not why I am here. I am here because I have a favor to ask of you. Eve, you are powerful and you're also the only one I can ask this of. So please, form a contract with me."
"Huh? You want me to do what with you?"
Eve had not thought that her voice had been this loud. But it echoed into the empty hall.
Sara didn't even flinch at the loud noise. Her eyes did not look away from Eve when she asked this huge favor of her.
"I cannot go on like this any longer. A beast like me cannot use the full scope of its powers without a familiar contract. But you're the only human I can ask this of as well. I intend to atone for what happened back there so I need your help."
Had it been anyone else, Eve would have shot them down without even hearing the full story.
But this was about Elysia and Eve never took things lightly when it came to the other female.
"So, you are doing this for Elysia's sake? I don't like it. I don't like it at all that you are showing interest in someone who belongs to me."
Sara opened her mouth, ready to assure Eve that she did not mean anything weird with her declaration. But Eve finished her words before Sara could word out anything more.
"Alright, I will form a contract with you. Elysia liked you enough to put you first and I cannot look away from her desire. So I will allow you to form this contract."
"But you better be ready to dedicate your life to Elysia from this point onwards."
Eve sounded serious and Sara gulped their nervousness down. Eve might have looked angelic but her words and the atmosphere made her look demonic.
Sara almost felt like she was signing her soul to the devil by agreeing with Eve. But in the end, Sara did not care.
Be it God or the Devil, Sara would choose her side based on her needs. And right now, she needed Eve's help to achieve her end goal of gaining power.
_________________________________
"Should the Crown Prince be coming to the Dirac estate this many times in the span of a week? You are just asking for rumors to spread at this rate."
Lord Sorias faced Adam's glare heads on. He had lived far longer than the dragon's descendent and faced far more dangerous foes.
One day, this child would become the most powerful person in this world but that day had yet to come. And until that time came, Lord Sorias had no intention of bowing to this kid.
"It is alright. I came here while being careful so no one should know. Besides, even if people know it won't matter. I am just visiting my fiance at her estate. Is it that odd?"
The kid was good with words but not good with actions. He might not see the problem but Lord Sorais was sure that things would not be alright if such a rumor spread.
'No, the kid knows what will happen if a rumor of him being fond of the Diracs spread. The temple will not stand for this union.'
The Crown Prince had an expression that said that he did not care. But he had to be aware of what his actions could lead to.
"Kid, go home and hang out with your other friend for now. You being here will not help Ely gain consciousness. We are doing our best to wake her up."
By 'we' Lord Sorias meant Lucas. The elder man had yet to leave his office as he sorted through various books on that topic.
Truthfully speaking, using Eve's magic on Elysia had been a gamble. Her body had so much 'karma' fed by this world that it was bound to reject this word's blessing.
But leaving her to bleed out would have resulted in certain death.
"Sorias, hurry up. I found a way to remove the foreign magic from Elysia's system and…..Ah, you are still here Lord Adam? You should be heading home now."
Lucas, that bastard finally left his office. After 5 days of constant worrying and struggle, he finally seemed to have a solution.
But his expression was clear. As long as the Crown Prince was there, he would not be revealing the method that he had found.
"Lord Dirac, is something wrong? Please continue what you were talking about."
The Crown Prince did take the hint but he refused to follow it. Things were becoming more and more troublesome as time went on.
"I am afraid that this is not something that can be discussed in the presence of someone from outside the family. I would have to ask Lord Adam to leave the estate."
Those were the wrong words to say. The Crown Prince looked pissed off and in no mood to tolerate Lord Dirac's bullshit.
The tension was so thick that Lord Sorias was sure he could serve it with his claws. The clashing eyes did not want to give in to each other.
"Adam, go home for today. You being here would just hinder us even further. It's not because of you since we would also ask that church girl to leave. It's just, that the magic will not work if you are here to witness it."
It was brave of Lucas to say this much. His words spoke that the magic was 'dark' and 'forbidden' in nature.
Lord Adam should have realized as well his and Eve's bodies were special. They repelled anything that was considered 'wrong' or 'tainted'.
Elysia was lucky that she was a human or she would have felt that pressure even more with her situation. That was what having the favor of this world meant.
"Fine, I will leave for today. But Elysia better wakes up in two days or I will have the Royal Family take over this case without asking first. It is no longer up for debate."
The Crown Prince left the estate with an irritated growl. All he got was a friendly smile until he disappeared behind the gates.
Only once he was gone did the smile fade away from Lord Lucas's face and was exchanged with a grim smile.
"I'm sorry Sorias. Things have finally come to this and I find myself in a bind. I will no longer be able to protect you all. I wish you will take care of Elysia in my stead."
Lord Sorias knew what Lucas meant but he did not work it out.
The only way to save Elysia must be to take her taint in and cleanse her up. And the only one who would be able to do that was Lord Lucas. But it would end up putting Lord Lucas on a timer as well.
Still, knowing the elder, he would do what he wanted to anyway.
"Do what you must. We decided to start this journey together so we'll definitely see the end to it. We will have our revenge against this world."