"Hello, my name is Eva Rosemary. It is nice to meet you, Elysia. Is it alright if I call you Elysia, right?"
Elysia felt her mind go blank at the introduction. She was not ready to face the female lead of the novel yet.
She did not even have a plan on what to do if she ever met the female lead later down the line, much less right now.
"H-Hello? It's nice to meet you as well. You can call me E-Elysia if you want to."
Elysia was nervous. She was so nervous that even her voice did not come out properly. What could she do in this situation?
Her hesitant agreement caused a smile to bloom over Eve's face. The smile Elysia got was blinding and happy.
"I am so glad to meet someone my age. All the other children were too afraid of me and my powers so I was lonely."
Elysia felt bad for Eve. She had seen the female lead spend her childhood in a lonely state for the most part.
When the female lead arrived and her powers had been revealed, it led to marginal isolation and bullying. Children who had been training since young and belonged to noble families found Eve's commoner blood offensive.
In their eyes, she did not deserve so much of the goddess's holy powers.
It was a similar case with Elysia who had a lot of destructive power. People did not want to approach her despite her noble heritage. They were too afraid of her to even talk to her.
"You should ignore those people who do not want to get to know the real you. They will regret it one day."
Elysia spoke with a conviction that took Eve aback. Elysia's voice had been strong and much more biting than any six-year-old.
Since Elysia was destined to be a villainess, their instincts of being mean and scary came naturally to her even at such a young age. It was a constant struggle to keep them under check.
"N-No. I'm not particularly bothered by those people. Y-You see, I just want to make a friend and I want to make friends with you."
"Of course, I will be your friend if you want me to be one. No one should be lonely in their childhood."
Elysia wanted to take back the words she had spoken in a hurry. She had gotten caught up in the moment and babbled those words.
"Are you sure you want to be my friend?"
"Y-Yes. I am sure."
But one question from Eve was enough to make her reconsider.
Actually, the real reason Elysia had agreed to Eve's request was because of her visions. In her visions, Elysia had seen herself jealous of Eve and her powers.
The Elysia of her visions had worked hard to establish herself as the 'top-bitch' (her adult form's words) so when Eve arrived, it had threatened Elysia's spot as the most powerful.
What's more? Unlike Elysia, Eve had healing powers more suited to become the next head-priest.
The then-head priest, Eve's guardian also favored Eve over Elysia. That just fueled the flames of revenge brighter inside Elysia's heart.
But those visions were something Elysia wanted to break away from. She wanted to not end up as she had in her visions.
So maybe being friends with Eve would be a good option?
"W-Why are you crying? D-Don't cry."
Eve's eyes were moist with tears. It looked like she would end up crying any second now.
"I n-never had a friend before. T-Thank you for being my f-friend."
"N-No problem. P-Please stop crying or I-I'll end up crying too."
Elysia was trying hard to console Eve. Her lack of attention must be the reason she did not hear footsteps approaching her from behind.
She was about to hug Eve to console her when she felt someone take a hold of her arm. The grip on her fragile arm hurt and Elysia cried out in pain.
"You wicked girl. I knew you were in trouble when I first saw you. What did you do with Eve to make her cry?"
Cold grey eyes met Elysia's. The frost in that man's expression chilled Elysia to her bones and she even lost her voice.
"Brother Yohan put the child back down or you'll hurt her. You are going to crush her arm at this rate."
Silent tears were running down Elysia's face but she could not make a sound. Her survival instincts were telling her to keep quiet and not anger the predator in front of her.
Apparently, the head priest's brother, Yohan, did end up taking the offered advice and shoved Elysia away. It was only Elysia's magic that stopped her from getting gravely injured.
"I d-did not do any-"
She quickly looked toward the head priest to plead her innocence. But the look of disappointment that was leveled her way caused Elysia to flinch.
Saying anything now would not save her.
"Elysia, I am disappointed in your behavior. I asked you to behave yourself and you ended up causing trouble once again. Now, go back to your room and reflect on your mistake. You will not be getting food tonight."
The Elysia in her vision would have pleaded with the head priest to listen to her side of the story as well. She would have tried her best to get out of this punishment.
But she decided to gracefully accept her punishment. This dose of reality was a good reminder to her why she should not get involved with the main characters of this world.
All that remained for Elysia were pain and suffering.
"Elysia, did you not hear me. Go back to your room and reflect."
"Yes head priest."
Elysia's voice was dull and lifeless. She quickly picked herself up and headed toward her room. There was no getting out of her punishment now.
"N-No, wait. It is not her fault that I cried."
"Hush! You keep quiet, Eve. Do not defend your bully in front of me because I won't stand for it."
Priest Yohan's glare was like poison. The more Elysia tried to evade it, the more she became aware of it.
But Elysia decided to risk a last look toward her first-ever friend. Eve looked worried and sorry for Elysia.
Her eyes were pleading with Elysia to not hold this against her. And Elysia would not since she could see that the other girl had tried her best to clarify the situation.
But it was Priest Yohan's unwillingness to hear her out and the Head priest's unwillingness to believe in her.
It hurt but Elysia could not do anything in this situation.
_____________________________________
"Your bully is gone now. Can you tell me what made you cry now? I can have that girl locked forever if you want me to."
Once Elysia had left the scene, priest Yohan looked at the girl in his arms. The poor unfortunate girl he had picked up had ended up becoming precious to him.
But because of her tremendous powers and lowly background, she was often discriminated against and bullied.
And the girl his brother had picked up looked exactly like a snobbish noble lady who would bully others. She even had those disgusting powers to back up her claim.
If she dared to touch his child he would make sure that Elysia girl would not live to see another day.
"Dummy Yohan. I cried because she agreed to be my friend. But then you got her into trouble. I hate you. What if Elysia refuses to be my friend after this? I wanted to be her friend."
Unfortunately for him, the real story was something that could not be further away from his imagination.
The anger Eve was displaying was real and something that often came out when she was irritated with him. She did not seem to be lying to her.
"So she was not bullying you and we misunderstood the situation? I apologize for that."
Priest Yohan was soft for the red-head in his arms. He could not see her crying face and stay calm. Nor could he see her angry at him.
"Why are you apologizing to me? Go apologize to Elysia so that she can be my friend. I will not talk to you until you do that."
Priest Yohan tried to maintain his hold on Eve but she managed to slip past him.
"Eve, wait,"
But the child was gone before he finished this sentence. All he could do was reach out to the girl who was no longer there.
"It seems like we misjudge the situation quite heavily. I will go and talk with Elysia to explain this misunderstanding. Are you going to apologize to her as well?"
The head priest sounded sorry which was not surprising. He had raised Elysia from a little girl after all so he had a soft spot in his heart for her.
But unlike Yohan, the head priest was kind to everyone and could also be strict when needed to be. He was more like a guardian than a parent.
"I will see what I can do. My priority is to soothe Eve after all. She is someone who will become our savior along with the crown prince. That is what the prophecy says anyway.