A Villainess Should Be Strong

Aside from Estelle's inner monologues, the man had his own thoughts about the girl as he proceeded to enter a room gracefully.

It was a rather sizeable room that possessed similar tones to the ones that went along the rest of the castle. White base, golden accents, and greeneries as an additional attribute mixed into most of the items.

There was a bed positioned on the middle of the room.

Instead of looking like a normal bed, it was a circular, concave block that was protected by several sheets of curtains.

"I'm here," Aleksei's voice spoke out. His words were directed at the woman who was laying down on the circular bed.

"..Did you actually go and visit the child?" A woman's voice rang. It came from behind the sheer curtains spread around the room's dedicated place for the Queen. "Our grandniece," she added.

It wasn't the Queen's bedroom, but no one other than the Queen and allowed individuals could enter this place.

Going by the context, naturally the person who slept down on the custom made bed's identity should be clearer than day.

Shirley Villarante, the Elven Queen, was the speaker. In her hands were some documents that she had to oversee. But rather than those boring papers, there was something that she paid more attention to.

Her younger brother, Aleksei's arrival and the movements he made.

She had mentioned Estelle's existence when she arrived in Alfehim, and about the things she had said.

In response to that, Aleksei only chuckled in amusement for a while, and then quickly departed after saying that he might take a look.

At that time, Shirley didn't pay much thought to his words since she was looking forward to the meeting she had, but she did not expect that Aleksei would actually go out and meet Estelle on his own accord.

This brother of hers was extremely hard to guess. It was unknown what he had on his mind all the time. Even Shirley, after being acquainted with him ever since they were born, couldn't comprehend what he is thinking about.

When they were young, Aleksei was a prime contender for the throne, but he ended up becoming a Royal Sculptor without discussing about it with any other person.

People suspected that the reason he made his efforts for the runaway princess Silvanna was because the woman was the only he talked to, the only one he felt comfortable with.

They were the opposites in term of personality. Silvanna was outgoing and wild, but still retained her inlaid grace as a princess. Meanwhile, Aleksei was calm and composed throughout all his days.

Within the hundreds of years Shirley had lived through, she had never seen the man get agitated except for when he was a baby.

People said that he was a coward. That he was tame because he was scared of the duties he had to perform if he became the King.

However, Shirley begged to differ from that statement.

Rather than being a coward, he leaned more towards a 'secretive' person.

Someone who never lets others into his plans.

Aleksei gave his sister a gentle smile before taking a seat in a nearby chair.

"Yeah, I did. She's.. very interesting. In particular, her power is surprising. It's..."

"Extremely similar to our ancestor's version, right?" Shirley finished off his sentence, throwing away the documents that her aides sent to her for approval.

She stepped out of her circular bed, prying open the curtains and coming out.

Her eyes collided with Aleksei's gaze, both observing each other.

"..Yeah. And you do know what that means, right?" Aleksei asked.

Shirley lowered her gaze. The topic scratched a confidential secret that has been kept shut from the common Elven people.

"I know, but.." Shirley let out a gentle sigh as she began contemplating.

There was a fervent discussion around those who were aware of this matter.

The Royal Elves' bloodline.

To begin with, what defined a Royal Elf? It was the ones who had special powers, ones who possessed 'the remnants of the Goddess' gift to the Elven race'.

The bloodline resided inside the Villarante family, which has been passed down as the exclusive surname of the Royals for generations.

However, what if the powers that granted them the special surname in the first place was slowly slipping away from their grasps?

The setback started to appear a few generations after the 'ancestors'.

The Elven Royals' powers had actually began to dilute and the distinction between them and the civilians were starting to decrease.

However, the amount it was lowered by could not be felt. That was, for the first few generations.

Because the dilution effect was so little, they did not bother changing the system and kept at it.

Of course, questions were raised on whether the distinction between the Royals and the other civilians were actually supposed to be a thing.

In the first place, the Goddess only bestowed them with power and did not directly specify that the power would last for the generations to come. She also did not imply that the kin who received the divine power were favored by her.

Like a strong gust of wind, the Goddess came and left.

However, their ancestors thought differently and made this hierarchy of Royalties to separate them from the ones who did not grow to possess the Goddess' traces of power.

In the end, as the generations progressed, naturally the meaning of 'Elven Royals' began to disappear.

The civilians still regarded of them as beings that were likened with envoys of the Goddess. The truth was far from that, but it kept the country going.

Now, as the latest generation of the Villarante family, Shirley was positioned as the Queen.

Her powers were stronger than the average civilian, but it was nowhere near the original ancestor's bloodline.

Moreover, strong Elven people that came from normal families also began to appear, causing a potential power imbalance to generate.

For example, Royal Sculptors, who were basically builders for the whole Kingdom's intricacies.

They were also special people who were regarded highly by the people, but there was still a barrier between the respect those Sculptors earned compared to the ones who bore the Villarante name.

The first trigger happened a while back, when a Royal Sculptor began raising up a debate on whether the Royals are truly meant to be different.

Because he was strong, stronger than the Ruler of that time.

One thing had to be noted about the Villarante bloodline. It wasn't constant. The power one held would always contain traces of the Goddess' powers, but it did not mean that they would be insanely overpowered.

In fact, when this one radical Sculptor brought the matter to light, the Ruler was actually a sickly person. He was the only viable successor of his time, which made him vulnerable to preying folks like the Sculptor.

The current situation was very shaky.

One could say that the Royals were on the verge of being 'dethroned' socially.

Because, if there wasn't the distinction that provoked the installation of the monarchy itself, what meaning would be left?

Why couldn't the people rise to destroy this barrier?

This matter has plagued the Elven Royals for quite some time, although they tried to keep it down.

No matter how they tried to make it subside, though, there still would be people that wanted to incite havoc. Ones who would bring the topic up again and again to not let the matter die.

Thankfully, the current generation still held their fights quite well.

Shirley was an exceptional Queen who properly spread her name and reputation throughout the lands and softly suppressed the complaints that might be brought up against her.

However, this wouldn't be the end of things. They were suppressing things, not ending them.

Even Shirley couldn't confidently say that she was strong. Because of the looming desperation that has been coming for them ever since they were made to stand in the position for the Royals.

She, too, had questions on whether the Royal seat was only meant for the Villarantes, or should be spread to the other bloodlines as well.

This sacred position they have been protecting for generations, what if everything was actually a deceptive scheme for the people they ruled over?

What if the hierarchies should have never existed in the first place?

And besides that, another matter popped up to their attention.

Estelle Clareste's arrival, and the impact it brings upon the power discussion.

The fact that she is a royal who possesses exemplary power that rivals the ones depicted in the history books, the long forgotten ancestor's legacy.

"Is it possible that the bloodline was revived within that child?" Shirley softly spoke as her eyelashes fluttered while gazing at Aleksei.

Aleksei, in response, became silent. He, too, had pondered upon this matter, but the results were unclear.

Estelle, being a newcomer to the Elven lands, exactly what kind of influence would she make?