A Villainess Should Be Strong

Chapter 26: Allegiance

"Spy, spy, who are you?" Estelle twirled a small ball of condensed fire with her finger as she hummed the low tune.

Looking up to the blue sky, she pressed her lips together.

The spy that had been planted into her home.

The identity of said spy was still enshrouded in mystery, and it was still unknown down to the smallest clues possible.

"Asking like that will get you nowhere," A voice entered her ears without prior warning.

Estelle, who was far too lazy to turn her whole body, could only roll back her head over the chair to see the incoming presence.

"Heine," Affected by gravity, her hair touched the ground, dirt sticking to the silver tips thanks to the brushing motion.

"Sit properly, I'll laugh at you if you fall down,"

"I won't fall!" Estelle sat up straight.

Her gaze fell onto the fae. "Minerva told me that what you did could endanger your kin. Are you fine with that?"

She was referring to his actions at the previous summon, where he directly offered support to their family instead of staying as a passerby. It was a sudden decision, Estelle wondered if the man regretted it.

Heine stood still, studying the child's expression with detail. His lips twisted to form an arch, as he walked towards the table Estelle sat by in small steps.

Once he sat down, he looked at the young girl before him with seriousness as he spoke his words one by one.

"A new Spirit King was born," He sighed.

Estelle gawked at the man, who was able to pass down the information in a casual manner.

"Didn't you say..?" Estelle was debating on how she should proceed. Only, her memories told her that Heine once taught her about how new Spirit Kings were born after the death of the previous one.

"You see, I also don't know. Right before I went to your place, I had already received the news. I'm basically unemployed now, so I just did whatever I wanted. It's something like my last shift as a King,"

In other words, he became daring because his task was relieved. He no longer had restrictions.

Even so, knowing the braindead Human King, wouldn't he still hold it against the entire Spirit Kingdom instead of just Heine?

"I'm not sure as well, but the World Tree has made its decision. I'm sort of lost right now, hm?" Heine stretched his neck. The matter seemed to no longer hold that much importance to him.

He further explained the situation, giving out details such as his current unstable role and the imbalanced leadership status.

Some Spirits were truly loyal to just him, they swore their lives upon an oath.

The appearance of the new King was legally approved by the World Tree itself, but it didn't mean that the hardcore subordinates would accept it straightaway.

They recognized Heine's worth.

The World Tree did an unprecedented action. In that case, the loyal subjects were willing to leave the structure to follow Heine alone. They too felt the overbearing attitude the Tree displayed.

"You don't want to hold the position anymore? I'll help you take down that newcomer if you want," Estelle would choose Heine over the newborn King any day. She knew how much Heine cared for the other Spirits, how much he contributed to the Kingdom.

Estelle felt irritated at heart.

The devotion Heine had was priceless. His efforts and achievements was repaid with a forced abdication.

Snatching the position away from him like this didn't sit right with her.

Without an alarm or warning. Heine was born with a destiny- to become the Spirit King and lead the race.

However, this destiny was taken away from him. And the declaration was made with a simple message, with no formalities whatsoever.

-Because a new King was born, the late King shall be abdicated.

What sort of bullshit was that?

It was a surprise that Heine wasn't already seething with rage.

"Thanks, but nope! Actually, shouldn't I be glad? I've been burdened by that selfish Tree- be it Spirit or World for over a hundred years now, I was basically doing free labor!" Heine waved his hands, deterring her from the idea.

"Also, it's not like I will lose touch with my kin, it's only my position that changed. I'm only a simple fae now," Heine was touched by his subjects' undying trust in him.

They were currently in a stalemate with the faction who supported the rise of a new King. This was the first time Sylvania had a divided mindset.

A predetermined King meant that no subjects dared to oppose the ruler, because their tradition and beliefs told them that the Tree was right- whatever it said would lead them to glory and prosperity.

Heine's subjects wanted the new King to mature first before granting him the throne. This way, the imbalance would be fixed. Heine was a great ruler, one that made sure nothing went wrong. Even if something did go wrong, the casualties were often close to zero.

However, those who received the Tree's news no longer supported Heine. The claims that whoever dared to follow Heine would be doomed eternally surged up. They were the ones who held most faith in the Tree.

Indeed, the Spirits have been following the World Tree for God knows how long. It was hard to make a change in their mindset.

Heine, too, wasn't planning to change it.

"Did your powers decrease?"

"No. It's my innate ability, so the only thing affected is my [Ruler] title. It's gone now," Heine summoned his status, pointing at the Title section. "Actually, I feel sort of refreshed. It's like I was chained with heavy weights, and the chains just got cut. Wait, no, that sounds awful. Cheesy, even,"

Estelle's golden eyes lit up with delight as she realized that Heine did not change one bit.

Chuckling, she observed Heine's movements and expressions.

Although it was unknown whether he was hiding pain behind that character of his, it wasn't her place to force him to open up.

After further scrutinizing, it really did seem like nothing was wrong with him. In fact, he seemed happier.

"So there will be no palace dramas? I've always wanted to see a real one," Estelle teased. The mood had softened down into a jolly one.

"No palace dramas! If you want to see them, just refer to your race's royalties, that should be sufficient,"

"Right, what was the final outcome? Minerva hasn't visited in days, and my father won't tell me anything," Estelle pondered.

The previous summon was left undecided, because the charges on Alan hadn't been dropped. The news Gazelle brought made a huge clamor in the ranks, but it only served as a distraction.

Whether or not they would let Alan go was still unknown.

"Don't know. I just finished relinquishing the throne, I haven't been in touch with the news sources,"

"How's the new King?" Estelle grew curious.

"Normal, I guess? Well, to be fair, he is the new King, but decisions will still have to pass through me. I'm still alive, so the Spirits who has been under me will naturally prefer me over him,"

"Take me to see him one day," Estelle proposed.

"Sure. One day," Heine's smile gradually faded as he went back to a serious manner. "So, the spy,"

He had come to Estelle's place to disclose these two matters. The first one has been discussed, it was time for the second one.

Estelle also dropped the smile and gestured for Heine to continue his words.

"I might have an inkling on who that person is," Heine put a finger on his lips and lowered his voice.

He then spoke his thoughts out loud. During the exchange, Estelle was riddled with complex emotions.

Heine's theory made sense, but Estelle wasn't that willing to believe in it.

Heine, who had imparted Estelle with his theories and plans suggested for her to take it slowly, reeling in the prey with small baits.

After that, Heine left once more to try and solve the matters in his Kingdom. He had gotten especially busy.

Estelle left the room and walked around to search for a certain person.

Then, she found him.

"Derrick, where is Sierra?" Her personal Knight was going on a light patrol. It was strange that he didn't stick around her all day, like he used to do in the past before Estelle rebuked him for not respecting her privacy.

Considering her own power, she herself didn't think that Derrick was necessary.

However, she valued her relationship with Derrick, since she didn't have that many close bonds with other people.

"My little sister is out on a shopping task with a few other maids. May I ask why the lady looked for her?" Derrick curtly responded.

"Minerva's going to arrive here soon.. She said that she has a gift for Sierra,"

Although it was just a split second, Estelle captured the sight of Derrick's eyes glowing with slight hatred in that flashing moment.

"Derrick, do you think Minerva is bad?"

"Lady, you can't force me to like someone I don't feel comfortable with," Derrick's jaw clenched, remembering the unending matter.

"I won't. I just wanted to say that Sierra's situation is similar with you and Minerva, just the opposite,"

"Your meaning?"

"It's best for you to deduce the answer yourself," Estelle sipped the warm tea, taking in the calming chamomile fumes.

"Oh, and one more thing.. You have been neglecting your duties quite a lot recently... Remember your place and position, alright?" Estelle warned.

Estelle flashed him a bright smile, which was replied with a stoic face from Derrick.

Derrick has been disappearing quite a lot. This was the truth. However, Estelle was still quite indignant over the whole story.

Her meaning was left unclear, but if Derrick was truly the 'hands', then

[I did it. It was simple.] Estelle contacted the fae who had proposed the idea to her.

[Just wait it out from now on, you'll get a response soon. I'll be gone for a few days.] Heine responded with great haste, his tone somewhat worrying.

Heine had told her that some Spirits still see the new King as a fake persona. A phenomenon where a new King is born during the reign of another never happened prior to this incident, so it was justifiable that a lot were skeptical.

[Minerva, where are you?]

'Busying myself over growing your plants. It's pretty interesting, but I can't stay away from them too long... Can't you fix this somehow? Add a self - serving feature?'

Estelle and Minerva had been working on a type of plant that could store mana in it, with the potential of recharging one's mana in dire situations.

The concept of potions were strangely, not viable in this world. The health potions could be covered by healing magic and body strengthening techniques, so no one really bothered to make a method that could restore the health points.

As for mana, the world had a silent rule in which one that ran out of mana in midst of a battle was as good as dead. It was like they gave up on searching for an idea that could fix the problem.

Indeed, the reality was not as simple as the games Estelle remembered back in the modern world. In those games, they had a specific formula and range of ingredients that could be combined to form potions.

In Estelle's case, there were no such things.

The 'plants' Minerva talked about was the result of a genetic mutation thanks to endless exposure to high magic power source since the seedling period.

[Can you come here once you're done? There's something that needs to be taken care of.]

Minerva seemed to have noticed the urgency of the matter as she gave a short and concise reply, implying that she would be there as soon as possible.

"Now then.. I'll trust your words, Heine," Estelle's eyes were full of mirth.

She hated ungrateful people. Especially those who would pretend to be saints, hiding their true personality within.

In her hands were a stamp imprinted with the mark of a rose and a crimson red sealing wax to match the theme.

Heine had entrusted her with these items before he departed, and the identity of the items shocked her momentarily.

Red roses, the symbol of the Duke's fief.

The stamps were proved to be the original ones, since the Duke's stamps were found to be missing. The news weren't disclosed to the public, so no one knew.

If this was the case, then it would explain how no evidence was found regarding the spy.

Researching deeper would get you another piece of crucial information, in which there was a record of letters and items being sent using the seal as a method of clarification.

Everything would be fine if it was just a normal rat, someone who wanted bad things to happen to the longevity of the Dukedom.

However, the person in question was one that was close to her, which led her to wish for this news to be false.

"...This fell out of your knight's armor when he passed by the palace's hallways. I caught it in time before it hit the floor, so no sound was made, no one noticed a thing,"

Heine's words rang again and again inside her head, reminding her of the suspicion she now held.