A Villainess Should Be Strong

"Miss Rae, looking for Sei? Sei is right there, he's currently chopping wood for the bonfire.. You have visited the chief, so I'm sure that he told you about the festival, right?" The woman said.

"Yes, he did. Thank you for the directions!" Estelle answered, waving goodbye from the person and approaching the place she pointed.

She saw a familiar back and headed towards the man in question. She poked his back with her index finger, notifying the man of her arrival. The man reacted a second after, slowly turning his head around and catching Estelle's figure in his sights. His eyes widened with delight as he dropped all of his previous work and faced Estelle.

Estelle's eyes secretly observed the man as she smiled at him brightly.

"...Rae? Is that really you?" Aleksei was a youthful man with features that could only be described as gorgeous. This man evoked quite the fair share of emotions within her as she came forward to stand in front of the man and tilt her head.

"Yep. I came here to visit, I was coincidentally passing by. Are you surprised?" Estelle grinned.

"In a pleasant way, yes." Aleksei extended his arms to embrace Estelle gently, bringing quite the shock to the woman for his bold moves. They weren't officially a couple yet, but considering the original Goddess' carefree and naive attitude, she was indeed someone who would like skinship and even initiate it herself.

"I missed you, Rae. It's great that you returned," Aleksei caressed her hair, combing his fingers through the strands.

Not being used to the hug, Estelle could only awkwardly stand in silence as Aleksei slowly removed his arms and held her hands. "Are you not busy? If that's the case, then.. there's a festival tomorrow. It's going to be such a grand feast. If you joined.. Then it would be the best case scenario!"  he offered.

"Hmm.. I'm not sure yet, to be honest. I will decide tomorrow. I've answered in the same way towards the chief as well. Like always.. urgent matters might sprout!" Estelle answered.

"You met the chief before me? How disappointing, I expected to be the one you see first!"

"How is that possible? I didn't know where you were, and the first people I met were the two guards standing by the gate who let me into the town. Then, I went to the chief's office to ask for your whereabouts and met him and Ophelia. On the way here, I met a couple more people. If you want to be the first one I see whenever I visit, then just go be a town guard and stay there all day," Estelle replied without restraint.

"Umm.. that makes sense.. but still," Aleksei pursed his lips. "Wait here a bit, alright? I will finish my work and we can get out of this place.. have fun around town or something. Or would you like to help me with the work to speed it up?"

"If there's anything I can help with, then I will gladly help!" Estelle rolled up her sleeves as she moved forward to face Aleksei's working table, cooperating with him for the next several minutes for the festival's preparation.

After they finished, they tidied up the place and came out.

The first thing they heard was the loud shout of a young man and hurried footsteps drawing near to their position. Both turned their head to look at the voice's owner and located who he was.

"Miss Rae! And.. Sei," He huffed his breath, struggling slightly after running with such a high energy consumption rate. He greeted the two and waited untl he could finally catch his breath.

"What brings you here?" Estelle asked. "Do you need something from me?"

The man nodded lightly, standing up straight after recovering his condition.

"Apparently, the chief is going to hold a gathering for you. Have you eaten, Miss Rae?" The man asked, eyeing Aleksei who stood beside her. "The chief told me to hurry here before you leave the place and run off with Sei. Luckily, I heeded his words and ran all the way here. Or else.. you were going to run away, right?!" The man teased.

"We were just going to walk around town! And no, I haven't eaten yet. Ao, even though I told the chief not to give me such a grand treatment, he still did it anyway!" Estelle complained.

"Hahah, it couldn't be helped. The chief is just like that," The man laughed. "If so, then could you come to the office? We'll go and have this feast,"

"Hmm.. alright!" Estelle nodded and followed behind the young man who started to lead their way.

Once they came back to the office, they saw both the town chief and Ophelia standing by the door. The chief had both his hands placed on his hips as his eyes brightened once Rae entered his sights.

"Ooh! Rae! You're finally back with the kid. How about it? The gathering? DO you agree to join? If you do, I will tell the people to come right this very moment!" He announced.

"Calm down, chief. I have decided that.." Estelle purposely dragged her words. "I will attend!"

The chief laughed loudly, shouting all over the place for the gathering to be prepared.

In just a matter of minutes, a lot of preparation had been done and quite the amount of people gathered.

Estelle was seated at the main seat along with the chief and Sei. The food started to be dished out and everyone began to dine in, creating a jolly atmosphere.

After the short dining ended, Sei kept looking at Estelle with hesitant eyes. Pondering for multiple times, he finally made his mind up and coughed out loud, attracting the nearby people's attentions.

"Actually.. I have been meaning to say something. Rae.. will you be my dance partner for the festival if you could make it to the event?" Aleksei clasped her hands in his, looking into her eyes with a hopeful gaze.

Estelle's lips curved upwards as things were certainly going somewhere unpleasant. Ophelia stood by the side, with an expressionless face. It was unknown what she was thinking about, but it couldn't have been a positive sentiment.

Public embarrassment was severe. Envy. Jealousy. Hatred. They were very easy to invoke.

All of it would quickly pile up into a mountain, weighing heavily inside her heart.

"Ao, if I can make it, then I will take up on the offer. But.. weren't you supposed to perform the final dance with Ophelia? What about all the stuff you guys have prepared? Won't it all go to waste?" Estelle asked innocently.

Aleksei pursed his lips and humphed.

"Rae, I know how well you can dance. I've seen it before, and the image hasn't disappeared from my mind yet until this day. When the time comes, you could just dance whatever you want while I cater to you. We have a great chemistry, don't you think?" Aleksei gently smiled, patting the other on the head.

Ophelia's expression was starting to worsen with every new word Aleksei spouted that showed his favor and closeness towards the woman. It was as if he was completely disregarding her position, and that her preparation was futile all along. The dance had been so hyped up within the community, but all it took was a simple visit from Estelle right before the festival started to ruin all of the plans. Her fists were starting to clench and her mind went into disarray.

"...En. Then, I will make sure to perform well if I do come," Estelle agreed. "But what about Ophelia? Who would she dance with?" her eyes went to the woman.

"Don't worry. I will find another man. It's not like Aleksei is the only man in this town, is he?" Ophelia readily answered, her expression not showing any traces of unwillingness.

"Ao, but you said that the others have already paired up, and that there were no more unmatched people. Did you lie to me?" Estelle kept prodding, trying to test the waters out.

"I didn't lie, there really isn't an unmatched partner. It just so turns out that the amount of people who will participate checks out perfectly into pairs. Since you've come here all of a sudden.. then as a great host, I have to accommodate a bit. I will have to look for a partner from outside this town or visitors, I suppose. It wouldn't be that hard," Ophelia said. Her words lightly implied that Estelle's arrival was causing havoc at the originally tidy plan, but Estelle ignored that meaning and treaded forward.

"Then, I must take you two up on this offer. Thank you for hosting today's meal, chief. I will be leaving for the time being, to sort some things out. I originally came here because I was working near the area, so I have to go back to my work if I want to make it for tomorrow's festival," Estelle said, dropping the matter.

"Big sister Rae is so hardworking!"  A childish voice rang out.