A Villainess Should Be Strong

Shirley lamented inside her room. She banged on the wooden frame of her furniture multiple times, frustrated at being incapable of shrugging off the uncomfortable feeling her conversation with Aleksei brought.

"If.. If that girl's wishes contradicts with mine.." Shirley whispered, her voice so faint and thin that no one other than her could hear. "What do I do?"

She was stuck in a dilemma. She had a love hate relationship with Alfheim, which tied her down to this damned position. At the same time, this very position brought her quite the fair share of joy. She couldn't imagine a Shirley Villarante who wasn't the Elven Queen.

She didn't know when, but the title had became a part of her identity instead of it being the opposite.

She was in a difficult position.

"Estelle Clareste... Or, like she introduced herself with our surname- Estelle.. Villarante," Shirley's voice grew raspier as the itch in her heart grew stronger.

Perhaps it was thanks to Aleksei's means of incitement, but seeds of frustration was now planted inside her mind.

"No matter what, I can't forgive anybody who tries to take my position away. Not even my own grandniece, not even my brother, nobody," Shirley strengthened her will.

This was her psyche. Her being. Her worth.

Shirley Villarante, the Elven Queen.

That was how it should be. The ultimate position for her. Her title. She had to protect it at all costs.

______

"I failed again.." Estelle heaved a sigh of disappointment as she stretched her tired arms.

She had been handling the bow for this past hour, but still couldn't figure out how to operate it.

Practice, upon more practice, the repetitive action couldn't save her this time, unfortunately.

She had explored all sides to the new combination magic she just came up with. She got more relaxed as her familiarity with said element increased.

And yet, it still didn't allow her to utilize the Moonlight Bow as she should.

She needed something more.

The key to unlocking the process, what was it?

Although it was frustrating to fail repeatedly even after trying so many pathways, Estelle knew that there had to be a concrete answer.

She had the bloodline, the talent to manage her power, but she lacked the understanding for said subject.

In fact, if put into perspective, she was the very originator of the Elves' power, with her former identity being that of their Moon Goddess.

"Ah, I'm tired.." Estelle complained, lowering her bow down to a nearby surface. "I should take a quick stroll, my mind is too clouded,"

She had the idea to travel around the castle. She hadn't observed the details of the place yet ever since arriving here because of the mission.

She stood up and stored the Moonlight Bow she borrowed. Then, she walked away from her practice site and began sightseeing the place.

Just like before, she was hit with a cool and fresh breeze as she walked in the corridors. She was enamored with the architecture, how everything was put together.

It brought her a newfound sense of respect towards the Royal Sculptors, who apparently had built this castle up with nothing but their small numbers as the workers.

Just as she was strolling around mindlessly, a familiar figure entered her sight.

"Estelle, you are here," Aleksei had just came back from tending to his 'business'. Of course, a part of him wanted to seek the girl as well.

He had his own plans in coming to the castle, and one of them was for Estelle.

He smiled after coming across the silver-haired young girl.

"How is your progress? You are so smart, could it be that you've figured it out in such a short time?" Aleksei giggled.

"..Still can't figure it out," Estelle said, feeling even more depressed after Aleksei reminded her of the sad fate.

"Don't worry too much. It's good that you're taking your mind off the challenge, you must remember to take breaks," Aleksei advised.

In response, Estelle nodded her head.

They started walking side by side, enjoying the sceneries and atmosphere together.

"So? Do you have any questions or favor you need from me?" Aleksei asked.

"Well.. I have a question, actually,"

"What is it?" Aleksei responded with patience.

"Why is it the Wind?" Estelle raised her head up to face Aleksei, who raised a brow after hearing her words.

"..Hm?" Tilting his head, Aleksei voiced out his confusion. "What do you mean?"

"The Elven Winds. Why.. are the Elves so fixated on using the Wind and not the other elements? The Goddess.. what kind of power exactly did she grant to this kin? It shouldn't be specifically the Wind element, right?"

Estelle asked this because she realized that the combination process was not all that special, and it wasn't catered to the Wind element since she used it previously with the element of nothingness and Origin Magic.

The only component that was retained was her Creation Magic.

Thus, she came to wonder. If she tried combination magic, but switched up the additional element, shouldn't she be able to produce a replica of the Elven signature power, but instead of the Winds, it was other elementals?

"That's a rather interesting question," Aleksei hummed, thinking about it.

"I just came up with it after stumbling across the blockage. I'm using a power that isn't the Elven Winds, but the result I got was similar, but stronger. In theory, I could use this combination magic and pair it up with other elements. It doesn't strictly have to be the Wind," Estelle explained her worry.

"Hmm.. first reason would be.. Tradition, I suppose? With how suited our territory is to the Wind element, and the fact that we use bows, which require a hefty amount of mastery with the winds.. it just naturally bound together,"

"So, in theory, could the bow be used with something other than the Wind element?"

This was the topic of her curiosity.

If she could do it, then she wanted to try and use a completely different element, particularly the Light.

It was because among all the elements and magic, she grew up using Light Magic the most thanks to the convenience it brought.

Aleksei chuckled lowly.

"...In fact, I think the Goddess disliked the Wind. The story goes about how she only descended upon our ancestor's peril because they were overusing their Winds and it caught her eye," The man said.

"Really?" From the story, the Goddess, which was allegedly her appeared to be quite the simple-minded person.

How could that person be her spiritually?

"Are you interested in learning the history? I could take you to the inner palace," Aleksei asked, seeing Estelle's attentiveness towards his story.

Estelle's eyes gleamed with excitement as she though about the offer, but it soon receded as she realized a loophole in the plan.

"Ah, but Neil said that I'm not allowed to receive help using my status," Estelle said.

If she truly went into the inner palace, it would be indirectly proclaiming that she had a high status since the inner locations were only accessible for important people.

As of now, Estelle's identity has not been made public yet.

"..Then we will just sneak in. Is that alright?" Aleksei proposed.

To that, Estelle raised a brow, wondering if the man she was talking to was sane.

"Sneak in.. to the inner palace? Are you sure?" Estelle confirmed, wanting to make sure that he was not joking.

"I'm still technically the Royal Prince even though I don't acknowledge the title, remember?" Aleksei gave a shady wink as he stood up and extended his hand towards Estelle. "So? What will be your choice?"

"...I'll go," Estelle smiled, but politely refused Aleksei's offer in holding hands because it would attract unwanted attention and draw doubts upon her identity. "Shouldn't I have an identity for when someone asks?"

If they truly wanted to pursue this plan, Estelle wanted to make sure that everything goes right.

Aleksei nodded, thinking that her idea was reasonable.

They both thought for several moments, silence elapsing over them.

"Hmm.. You'll be my.. disciple. Right. That would suffice," Aleksei clasped her hands together. "From now on, you are the disciple I picked up in my cross country journey, and your name shall be Luna,"

"Luna? Why the sudden name?" It wasn't like she did not like the name, it was just that the foreign name would have to take a bit of time for her to get used to.

"Just because. Because of the Moon Goddess and all that, you know? Luna," Aleksei fortified his suggestion.

"Fine, whatever. Luna it is. Your dearest student, Luna Alaster. How about that?" Estelle added to their 'lie'.

"Luna Alaster.. huh," Aleksei noted down. "It sounds great,"

This was the start of Luna Alaster's journey in Alfheim, hiding her true identity while cracking cases left and right.

If only Estelle paid attention to each and every word Aleksei had said to her, then she would have found out that something did not match. Something was amiss, and yet she continued onward blissfully, unaware of everything that was laid behind her.