A Villainess Should Be Strong

They arrived at the store, opened the door, and couldn't find a certain person's presence.

Tertia was not there. There were no longer any signs of the teal-haired beauty in the store, and it made Theo's jaw drop down in shock. He ransacked the entire place up frantically, wanting to see if there was any traces of her. See if she was actually at the back, upstairs, or wherever she was.

There were none. Except for one, that was located on the counter's shelf where Tertia used to guard at. There was an opened shelf. Theo remembered this segment very well. It was the compartment that the woman would never allow him to open. Never.

Although he was riddled with curiosity at first, after passing through it multiple times, he no longer paid any attention to it and understood that Tertia also had things that she wanted to keep a secret from Theo. Thus, the child never brought the shelf's content into question, but now that it was opened, it was like an uncanny invitation that Theo was scared to accept.

"...Tertia.. She must have gone for a walk.. or went to buy something, right?" Theo's voice began to shake as he spoke. Tertia never exited her store, she did everything inside the place and had the supplies be sent to her store instead of getting them from outside. Perhaps, she wanted to change this routine and went away.

Perhaps, she wanted to do that.

Perhaps.

Theo wanted to believe in that statement, but his intuition told him that the truth was otherwise.

Obviously, he was shaken inside, but he slowly approached the shelf and looked inside. There was a letter written neatly in Tertia's signature handwriting, and a pendulum that had a lock built in it. There was no key attached to the gift, so the pendulum was naturally unable to be opened.

By this time, Theo was almost sure that the woman that he wanted to cure had actually gone away without him on purpose. What other chances could be there? Unless this was all a stupid joke that was terribly unfunny to him, there were no other ways to explain this scenario.

He regretted it. He was the one who ran away from the place. He was the one who left Tertia at the store. He should've guessed it. It was impossible to do so, of course. There was no way that he could've known that Tertia planned this all along and even predicted Estelle's arrival years before she actually did. But he was desperately trying to seek a remedy for the heartache that he was feeling right now. The effects of being abandoned.

He was abandoned by Tertia. This was almost a certain fact by now.

Tears started to well up in his eyes as he unfurled the letter signed with Tertia's signature and a short line that said 'To Theo and the Constellation's Leader'

Estelle saw the handwriting, which was written in Vaitral's language but was still able to be understood by her. Upon seeing the title Constellation's Leader pop up, she immediately narrowed her eyes and began to focus. She hovered above Theo, wanting to get a closer look at the contents.

His lips were already crumpled up, his expression ugly as his eyes scanned through the lines of text.

[Dear Theo,

Hello. It feels awkward writing this. Currently, I have sent you on an ordeal to fetch me some food, but I'm actually not hungry. I wanted to write this letter, so I purposely sent you on a long journey, to a far enough restaurant that will make time for me.. to write this letter.

I don't know where to start, to be honest. This will be a bit messy. I also lost my vision, so my handwriting might be a bit askew? Pardon me, I am trying my best with my senses.

Let's see... By the time you are looking at this letter, it should mean that I have departed from this place and will no longer be with you. Beside you, there should be a woman that will accompany you for a rather long journey. I want you to release yourself from your ties, your chains, things that have been holding you back and preventing you from growing up smoothly. I know that you are the best.

Do not be afraid or be surprised that I have predicted this outcome. I am writing this letter way before the time that I will have to disappear comes. I know that you seek to heal me. I know that the woman beside you will offer you strength and the power to sometime in the future, heal me from my condition. But I do not seek for healing. I do not seek for more life. I want to let fate play for itself, roll the future for me and execute what is best for all of us.

Fate might not yield the best result that we wanted, but I strongly believe that they contain truth and should not be excessively changed.

Fate. Yes, fate is a really strange thing. Our fates are bound, Theo. Just like you and the person beside you. Your fates are also bound. The world is made up of so many conflicting fates, but somehow they could coexist and run smoothly without collapsing.

Theo, do you know why Ehrendil spared you because of me? It is because I am his old friend. So when I shielded you, it was actually because I spited his dumb analogy. He is supposed to be a wise ruler, but he somehow becomes stupid when it comes to his family. Not only him, I also used to be a friend of his mate. A close friend. Your mother. She was a great person, someone I respected. I used to travel with her across our beautiful country and there is so much that exists in Vaitral apart from our small shop, the one we will be residing in for the next few years to come, until the fated woman that will lead you to strength comes.

Theo, son of Ehrendil, I want you to think straight. I want you to travel not only across Ehrendil, not only Vaitral, but the entire world. The world is vast, and my small shop does not deserve to contain and restrict you, deprive you of all the opportunities you could reach if you just wanted to slightly move away from the memories of me, Tertia. Treat me as a past. You are a good kid, and I want you to keep your morals. Your kindness. You are very kind and trust other people easily. Those qualities might make you trip in the future and encounter bad luck, but that doesn't mean that you should throw them away.

Did you know? Because I was still close with your mother up until she passed away, I actually had several chances to take care of you as a baby. Way before we met again as a young child that was your fiery runaway self. Wanting to get out of your father's grasp because he is indeed a stupid parent that couldn't discern between right and wrong, even if he is supposed to be a wise great dragon. You, Theo, are very similar to your mother. You are weak, but inside, you possess a great and strong soul.

But unlike your mother, who was bound to die because of her constitution and the choices she went through with Ehrendil, you have the talent to grow stronger. You possess Ehrendil's essence of life and power. You can grow. That time, when your mother died, your father might have blamed you. But that isn't true. He knows that your mother was bound to die some day near. It was just a matter of time. But he didn't want to believe that, and he ended up lashing on you, blaming her death on your sorry self.

You have been suppressed for far too long. Your fate is that of a great dragon. One that may succeed Ehrendil in the future if you do fulfill all your trials and grow out. Spread your wings, Theo. Carry your burdens, and don't give up.

All that I can say is, take care of this pendulum and use it as a way to reminisce about me if you wish to do so. When I disappear, I will open up this shelf, and you shall discover the items. Take them with you and go forth in your journey. Perhaps, if I still live on after this, you may discover me again if you could decipher the secrets behind the pendulum before my life ends.

I will be waiting for that day to come, even if the chances are bleak. If fate wills for it, then it will happen.

From your beloved shopkeeper,

Tertia. ]

Those were the contents of the letter. A genuine letter filled by genuine messages from a genuine shopkeeper named Tertia.

Silence ensued, with the two of them who had just read the contents not being able to utter a single word.