A Villainess Should Be Strong

It was a thick book that had a crimson cover, with strange golden engravings as the title. It was in a language she did not understand, and her automatic translating skill also did not pick it up immediately.

Which meant that the language was something that she was heavily unfamiliar with.

"This book is.." Estelle's fingers glazed over the surface.

Something was peculiar about it. Not only the unidentifiable language, but also the overall feeling she got from the book.

She tried to open it, but the pages wouldn't pry apart. It was as if a strong glue bound them all together, but no matter how much force Estelle used, they wouldn't separate.

"Locked," A woman's voice interrupted her effort. "That book is locked, you can't open it through physical means," she added.

Estelle raised her head to look at who the newcomer was.

It was a tall woman who wore black robes with golden embroidery patterns. On top of her head was a large witch hat. Her hair was messily braided to one side in the shade of teal green, and her eyes a sparkling azure color. She wore round glasses and held a stack of books in her arms.

"Ummm.. Who might you be?" Estelle tilted her head, looking at the woman with confusion.

"I should be the one asking that.. but I guess it doesn't matter too much, does it?" The woman put down the stack of books she brought on the table surface and put her palm over her chest.

"My name is Frey Agatha, the.. I guess you could say that I'm this place's librarian," she introduced herself. "Which is why, I have to ask about your identity. I'm sure that you don't mind telling me, hm?"

By saying that, she was also directly insinuating that if Estelle, the 'uninvited visitor' was not guilty, then she should have no hesitation in introducing herself.

"Frey Agatha.. It's very nice to meet you, my name is Luna Alaster," Estelle bowed slightly as a form of courtesy, confidently telling the woman her false identity without batting an eye.

Frey observed Estelle with sharp eyes, before pursing her lips ever so slightly.

"Might I ask why you are here? I remember faces quite easily, and you don't seem to ring a bell inside my head.." Frey scrutinized her, scanning up and down as she thought deeply. "This room is not supposed to be one you can enter without authorization, since it does contain restricted content like the very book you are holding right now. Could I have it back first for the moment?"

The woman extended her hand, wanting to receive the piece of literature.

Since the woman was indeed the authoritative and rightful observer of this place, Estelle decided to give in since it was the logical and right thing to do.

"I am here under the tutelage of Aleksei Villarante.. my teacher," Estelle said, carefully asserting Aleksei's name.

"..Haa?" Frey made a shocked expression.

Seeing that, Estelle stayed silent, but she was wondering if Frey did not buy her explanation and was prepared to take out her conch in order to call Aleksei here once and for all.

However, instead of lashing out and doubting Estelle's words, Frey surprisingly took everything calmly.

"That kid abducted a child out of nowhere? What is he thinking.." Frey frowned as she put both of her hands on her hip. "Whatever. I will believe you, because that kid is so unpredictable that I wouldn't even doubt it if you said that you are his illegitimate daughter,"

Estelle blinked repeatedly at the woman's words. "You will believe me? This fast?" Estelle couldn't understand why.

For such an exclusive place, shouldn't the security be tighter?

"It's not groundless trust. I'm keen to people's magic, and that kid's magic is easy to distinguish apart from the rest. I can feel traces of his magic on you, particularly.. you've received a communication conch from him, right?" Frey said.

"I did," Estelle pulled out the conch from her pocket, the very one she was ready to take out as proof.

Indeed, it made sense. Aleksei's magic was marked on the object and would be detectable.

However, Estelle was also keen to magic disruptions. If the woman in front of her used detection magic in such a close distance, Estelle would have picked it up normally.

Why couldn't she feel Frey's magic probing around? Did her senses dull down because she wasn't wary enough?

Estelle frowned, but Frey did not address the matter any longer as she directed the topic to another piece.

"So... now that I know how you got here, what were you looking for anyway? It's rare that Alex takes a liking on someone apart from himself. He's not really one to socialize around, you know?" Frey giggled, her curiosity spiking up.

"You are in close terms with my teacher?" Estelle was surprised.

In order to become a place like Heirieth's librarian, one indeed needed to have some sort of qualifications, but to think that she actually knew Aleksei personally was quite amusing.

"Close terms.. huh? More like, I was his teacher. So in a sense, you would be my disciple's disciple," Frey extended her hand to place it on top of Estelle's head, which was still covered by the black hood Aleksei had provided her with.

To Estelle, Aleksei seemed like someone who preferred studying by himself, finding out the secrets of the world through his own viewpoint. Aleksei had preferences on each action he took and was very clear about his likes and dislikes.

She couldn't imagine the man studying in a rigid situation with concrete data served in front of him.

The other shocking thing was how Frey even got to become the man's teacher.

She had inquired about Aleksei's past and found out that he lived secluded from the palace's matters even when he was a child. No one could force him to do anything, and he utilized his privileges to learn about the world in his own pace and method.

In the end, he became a respected Royal Sculptor anyway, although he was discharged from his position for unknown reasons. Estelle deduced that it was due to his own will, but who knew what the truth was?

"Who are you exactly..?" Estelle was feeling slightly strange.

"Like I said, my name is Frey Agatha. Does that name not ring a bell? I thought I was still in a majority of you young folks' books.  You must've missed a lot of history classes then," Frey questioned.

Estelle's brows furrowed as she digested Frey's words.

She was an outsider, so she hadn't heard of her name. Was Frey actually a significant figure known to the masses in Alfheim?

If so, why hadn't she heard of her name at all? If she was that famous, then she should've caught the news. At least a bit of it.

"I am not a pure-blooded Elf, nor was I raised in Alfheim. I haven't lived here at all, and it hasn't even been a week since I got here. My teacher brought me to this country, but I'm still unfamiliar with the intricate information," Estelle responded, explaining her past whereabouts which was in line with her character's backstory.

Frey stilled for a few moments.

"Ao? If that is the case.. Hmm, my name would not suffice for identification. Then, how about this? I am also known as the.. what was it? They named me the 'Void Witch' or something.. But I suppose that my identity has faded into history at this point," Shrugging, Frey reintroduced herself.

It was then that Estelle realized that she indeed knew a figure who supposedly was titled the 'Void Witch'.

She was a rather infamous figure across the world, although the public history books did not dwell upon her story that much.

"Void Witch.. wasn't her name Shana? Shanatos.. right? I thought that she ended up spending her last breath on the battlefield.. On that day," Estelle was not sure on how she should approach talking about this matter.

On one side, she was taken aback because the history that she had learned about told Frey's story in a different way, that is if the 'Void Witch' Frey talked about was the same identity as the one Estelle knew.

Frey Agatha. Shanatos, the Void Witch whose name once rang throughout the world along with her colleagues.

Estelle noticed that Frey was being silent. Her head was lowered, and she looked particularly down as she rubbed her temples.

Estelle wondered if she had rubbed the woman in the wrong way by speaking about her past.

Frey once again sighed before swiping her hand in the air, looking over to Estelle. "Again, what are you looking for? I will help you,"

With just one glance, Estelle was able to understand that Frey wanted her to drop the matter and go forth to another one.

It seemed like she was quite uncomfortable wielding her worldwide nickname.

Which was understandable, considering what the title entailed and what it meant for the world's past development.