"Lady Elysia Raffle, meet the crown prince and your future fiance - Adam. I pray you two get along with him in the future and live happily ever after."
The words rang inside Elysia's mind like a curse. She had done everything in her power to make sure this moment never arrived. She had been an obedient child and had done everything that had been asked of her.
She had attended every prayer and managed to ace every class that she had been a part of.
In other words, Elysia had done everything she could to solidify herself as an invaluable asset in the eyes of the head priest to avoid this situation.
So why? Why did she have to face this situation again?
"Elysia, hurry up and greet the crown prince. You should not keep your future husband waiting."
The head priest pushed Elysia ahead to make her stand in front of the other six years old.
Cold blue eyes looked back at Elysia with a scrolling face. The crown prince did not look happy to see Elysia and she could understand why.
Even she would not have been happy if she had been dragged out of her bed at the crack of dawn to greet some insignificant people.
It would be better for Elysia to make a good but non-lasting first impression. Elysia did not want to get herself on the crown prince's radar after all.
If the prince did not pay any attention to her then she could easily ask him to break their engagement once they grew up.
So Elysia did not speak despite being probed into replying.
And seeing as how she was not replying, the guard that had accompanied the crown prince decided to edge him to make the first move.
"Your highness, perhaps the lady is shy? Why don't you make the first move and offer her your hand?"
Elysia could see the disgust in the crown prince's eyes at being ordered around. The proud child did not want to lower his head in front of a mere commoner.
And the crown prince was not happy with how things had progressed this morning. He had been dragged away from his precious swords dragged over to the temple at the break of the dawn.
He had not wanted to come but his refusal had gone unheard by his retainer.
But what could he do but obey his retainer? If he did not do as he was asked and made a bad first impression, then his father would punish him instead.
It would mean having his allowance cut off and his precious weapons confiscated.
So he would be civil to the dirty black-haired commoner in front of the adults and make sure this visit would be the last one he will have to endure.
"Hello. My name is Adam Von Benefiel, the crown prince of this empire. It is a pleasure to meet you, my lady."
The small child did as he had learned in his ethics class. He could tell that his retainer was happy with his manner and so was the head priest.
The only one who had a pinched expression on her face was the girl that had been introduced as his 'fiance'. She was weirdly looking at him the six years old did not like.
But even if he could tell that the girl did not like him, he had no other choice but to extend his hand toward her. The adults were still looking at him after all.
"Elysia, go on and take his hand. You children should enjoy yourself while we adults have a nice and long talk."
The crown prince could tell that the girl was not happy to be sent away. Her face had a sour look on it but she did not complain.
Perhaps she was in a similar situation as him. Perhaps she was being forced into this situation as well?
She certainly did not look happy to take his hand.
Adam's retainer waved his hand which was a signal to 'piss off.' Adam hated how his retainer refused to respect him despite him being the only crown prince of the empire.
'I will make him pay one day.'
Were his thoughts as he tugged the taller female after him.
"Hey, s-slow down and let my hand go. I can walk on my own."
The girl complained but Adam did not let go until he was as far away as he could be from his retainer and the head priest. Only once he was out of their hearing range did he decide to open his mouth and complain.
"This is all your fault. Why did I have to be dragged here this early in the morning? I want to go home too but I cannot. And it is all because of you and your ugly face."
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Elysia had no idea what she had done wrong. She had just been minding her business when the crown prince had started to drag her away. She quickly glanced toward the head priest for help but the man pretended not to have seen her struggle.
'Traitor. I will not forgive this insult.'
But no matter how much Elysia cried out in her mind, she could not stop herself from being dragged after the older boy.
For someone shorter than her at age six, the child was really strong. It had to be because of the strong royal magic flowing through his blood.
"Hey, s-slow down and let my hand go. I can walk on my own."
Elysia's arm was going numb from being held too tight. This play was no longer fun for her. She wanted to go back to her bed and sleep.
Suddenly, the elder child stopped and turned toward Elysia with a furious expression. The burning intensity in those blue eyes made her take a step back in fright.
But the crown prince took one ahead for every step she took back.
"This is all your fault. Why did I have to be dragged here this early in the morning? I want to go home too but I cannot. And it is all because of you and your ugly face."
The crown prince's outburst was unexpected and it hurt Elysia's feelings.
An older person might have understood that the crown prince's outburst was because of his suppressed feelings and in-the-moment annoyance. They would have understood that he had not meant it.
But Elysia was a six years old child with thoughts and feelings of a six-year-old. She might know human understanding but that did not give her the maturity needed to handle these things.
So when faced with such overwhelming negative emotions, Elysia did the only thing she could - she punched the crown prince in the face.
The white-haired child fell back from the impact and the shock of the sudden punch. Elysia could see tears forming in the prince's eyes.
"CROWN PRINCE? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"
Her actions had brought the other two adults over. She could see horror fill the head priest's eyes as blood started dripping out of the crown prince's nose.
Wide blue eyes looked back at her with an unknown emotion inside them but Elysia was rooted to her spot.
"I-I did n-not mean t-to-"
She was not even able to finish the sentence before she felt the ground give way beneath her feet. The shock of her actions hit her suddenly and it was too much.
The way the head priest and the retainer were looking at her felt bad and itching. They were certainly blaming her for this injury she had inflicted on the prince.
"Elysia, go back to your room. You are grounded for the time being."
This was the first time Elysia was being grounded but it certainly would not be the last one. After all, her life was bound to get worse as long as she met the crown prince.
The consequences of not keeping away were already starting.
But Elysia knew that complaining right now would not solve anything. It was better for her to head to her room and not show her face for some time now.
"I am sorry for what happened here. The temple, no, I will take responsibility for her actions."
"No, there is no need to bow your head, head priest. I am sure the young lady did not mean to do this. But now that things had come to this, I will need to consult the royal family on what to do next."
That was all Elysia heard before she disappeared behind the walls of the temple.
She had not wanted to hurt the crown prince but he had been annoying her. Her first step toward survival might have failed but it had yielded some benefits to Elysia as well.
Now that she had injured the crown prince, he would leave her alone in the future at least. And how knew, maybe the engagement might even get called off soon enough.
Besides, pretty sure the female lead Eve would arrive in this world and the true story would begin. And then Elysia would be able to take her leave from this story.