Second Female Leads' Playbook

I woke up with Isobel jumping onto me, she kept poking me with her paws. 

"Alright, alright, stop poking Isobel." I hugged Isobel with one arm and sat up while untangling my hairs with my fingers. That's when I saw the high priest of darkness sitting in a chair close to the window, across the room. Oh right, I was still in the temple. I buried my face in my hands. 

"Good morning, you finally wake up!" he said. "I am hungry." 

I picked up the pillow on my side and threw it at him. "Go cook yourself!" 

"Now who angered you in the early morning?" he asked with a smiley face.

"I wonder who?" I threw the other pillow at him as well. "Get out!" 

I fumed as I stormed out of the room. All he cared was his breakfast. I was still angry at him. Who would cook breakfast for him? 

"Meow." Isobel jumped out from nowhere. It meowed several times and then ran towards a room. It turned its head and looked at me when it saw me still standing there. 

"You want me to follow you?" I asked. 

"Meow." 

I follow its led to the living room. Yves was already there sitting behind a table with food on top. I occupied the other chair opposite to him. And I started to dig in. 

I still didn't know how to face him. Should I be angry at him for placing that reborn curse on me? For treating me as an entertainment? But I knew that's what he was like from my second life. From the first time I met him. He agreed to ȧssist me in my revenge only because he found it interesting. And I didn't mind at that time because I had gotten what I wanted. 

And I did treasure the chances I had to improve myself and live a better life. A life for myself. I was so conflicted. I sighed. 

"Where did you steal the food?" I asked after long silence. I couldn't stand it anymore. 

"Please don't use such distasteful word to describe me. You told me to cook breakfast. So I did that." 

"Wh... you cooked this?" 

"Is there another high priest in this room?" 

"You know how to cook?"

"If I don't, how can I survive in this temple alone for hundreds of years?"

"Then why didn't you cook in the past?"

"Lazy." 

I stared at him and munched the food in my mouth. This horrendous tyrant. 

"Did those high priests punished you for breaking the rules?"

The usual smile hung on his face. "Are you worried I might be hurt by them?"

"No." I avoided his eyes. 

"But I remember a certain someone came riding for three days straight and kneeling in front of my throne crying. Did I dream it?"

"I was not kneeling in front of your throne or even crying," I said with clenched teeth. 

He shrugged nonchalantly. "It's a game these high priests and I play. Their punishments are like tickles. They're a pester, I fell asleep while listening to them droning on and on. I am not that weak." He glared at me with his eyes as a warning and then the smiles returned. 

"I won't worry about you ever again," I mumbled. 

"Pardon?"

"They thought you're the one ordering Rachelle to steal those shards."

"I have told those stubborn priests that I had no dėsɨrė to be linked to this stepsister of yours in anyway, not even in the same sentence." 

"I doubt they trust you." 

"They will when Rachelle came to my temple to steal the shard." 

"Maybe they thought it's just a ploy."

"If it's done by me, then I will admit it. I don't like other people taking my honors." 

I rolled by eyes. "Do you plan to take revenge on Rachelle? Because she killed you?"

He just responded with a mysterious smile. 

"So how did you die in your third life?" he asked suddenly. "You had been killed by that lover of the fire priest in your previous life. Then what about your third life?" 

"I was hanged because my father attempted treason." I froze and then ġrȯȧnėd while cradling my head in my hands. "The treason! How can I forget? Even if I sidestep every trap now, if my Father's treason is discovered, I'll still be executed! I just want to die normally! After I grow old! Is it that hard?"

Yves smiled knowingly at me. 

I ġrȯȧnėd in misery. "You know. Of course you know. There's Blake spying for you. If there's Blake, why did you order me to spy on Rachelle?" 

"If I didn't come find you this life, you'd probably forget about your father's treason till it's too late." 

I glared at him. 

"It's more fun this way." He shrugged. "And I am no longer angry at you." 

He said he was angry that I didn't come find him when I was reborn in my third life. Maybe I just hadn't trusted him as much as I thought. My second life was definitely my happiest among the four lives, but they all still ended tragically. Maybe I didn't want my heart to break again. 

"Rachelle's next goal was the temple of earth."

"Ah, yes. You don't have to spy for me this time. The town where earth temple is situated is boring." He waved dismissively. "Feel free to sort out your Father's dėsɨrė to betray the Emperor in the mean time." 

I sighed. Could I just ask my father to disown me? Then I wouldn't be related to him. No, that seemed too cold blooded of me. He was still my Father. 

A spell book was pushed across the table. Yves was smiling evilly at me, "Feel free to use this." 

"Are you trying to groom me into a high priestess of darkness and then die?"

"Of course not," he smiled innocently. "You can't reach the lowest standard of high priestess even in five hundred years time. That's too time consuming." 

I wanted to pour the cup of tea in front of me on his face.. I kicked Yves beneath the table, before stomping away with the spell book.