A Villainess Should Be Strong

Chapter 174: Elven History

Inside the Sanctuary, Estelle was faced with a gigantic statue that emanated a warm light from its body. It was the statue of a beautiful woman that reminded her of nobody else but herself as Goddess Estraea. Even the clothing were similar. She held a long spear, akin to the one Estelle would create whenever she utilized her Creation Magic.

Entranced by the statue, Estelle fell into deep thought. Just then, a voice entered the vicinity. A familiar voice that caught her attention immediately, snapping her out of the trance.

"Distracted?" It was Shirley's voice, coming from the side. The woman appeared from a compartment hidden behind the statue, which caused Estelle to jolt slightly due to the element of surprise. Estelle did not expect Shirley to be here at all, so she frowned.

"..I thought you wouldn't be coming here? Do you not have any work to do ?" Estelle tilted her head, confused as to why the elder was there. "If you were going to come here anyway, why didn't you tell me?"

Shirley stopped her motions, looking at Estelle with amused eyes. "Can't I be here whenever I want? As the Queen, it is my privilege to do so," she said, longingly looking at the statue of the Goddess.

Estelle took the reasoning and thought that it made sense. She began to approach the statue further, stretching her hand out to reach and touch the interesting monument. Shirley did not stop her from doing so and just silently watched as Estelle's hand came in contact with the statue, and began to stroke said object slowly.

Estelle could feel a warm and radiant aura channeling itself into her body, and instantly felt like she was being invaded. She jerked her hand away and looked at her palm, which had just touched the statue. It was now radiating with a glow, making her taken aback. She inspected her condition and found nothing wrong with it, only that her magic had slightly been triggered.

Shirley, who had been watching on as Estelle fiddled around widened her eyes upon seeing Estelle's glow, and couldn't find the right words to communicate. "You... that,"

"Huh? Wait, I also don't know what is happening. Is this something bad?" Estelle was a bit flustered, as she shook her hand to try and disperse the effect away.

Shirley knitted her brows, approaching Estelle and taking the child's hand into her own. "This is quite strange, to say the least. This has never happened before,"

"I.. really don't know what this is. I was just trying to fulfill the- wait, maybe this is the purpose I was searching for?" Estelle suddenly realized that this strange reaction could be the potential result she wanted to achieve.

"What purpose are you talking about in the first place?" Shirley questioned, raising a brow at the child's increasingly frantic actions.

"It's.. really something I can't tell you, but it has something to do with this place's aura.. Maybe I just have to touch the statue?" Estelle herself was still trying to figure out the true way that she needed to go through in order to recover her worth.

She was a bit cautious since Shirley was there. She debated whether or not to just wait until the Ruler had left or just proceed with her actions.

While she was debating, Shirley had gotten closer to where she was standing. "Do you want to know how this place came to be? I recall that when you were trying to figure out how to use the Moonlight Bow, you searched for books about the creation of this country. Don't you think hearing it directly from me would be a better option?"

"..If you don't mind, then please do tell," Estelle replied.

"Let's see.. Where will I start from, I wonder?" Shirley put a finger against her lips, thinking about the lessons she had learned and compiled inside her head.

"This statue is obviously the imagery of the Moon Goddess according to the first generation of power, right? The Moon Goddess has never shown up physically aside from the time she saved our ancestors. To a being as powerful as her, she probably saved us on a whim. But to us... It was a rather special moment that we cherished until all of these generations had been created. Don't you think it's quite a strange thing?

Us elves.. the first generation was originally weak. We had lower reproductive rate than the other races, only second to dragons. However, unlike dragons who possessed strength, we had nothing. We were powerless without both quality nor quantity. 

That day, our ancestors thought it was going to be the end of them. They couldn't find a place to settle because it would always be found in a matter of time. Living nomadically had a higher survival rate. Even so, it was still dangerous.

One day, the monsters cornered our ancestors. A battle was evoked. Our ancestors struggled to gain dominance, but was inevitably killed. In the end, only a few people were left. Overflowing with despair, they had practically given up on everything,

The few's hopes were almost extinguished. The group consisted of 4 elderly, 3 men, and 4 women. What would be the chances of surviving? With the lineup being that crooked and the enemies consisting of tens of monsters. 

Only two out of the eleven had an unbending courage. They were an engaged couple. Us elves didn't have law against consummation before marriage at that time. So.. The woman was actually carrying a baby.

Everyone said they were foolish. Struggling would only get them killed more cruelly. However, they didn't want to surrender to fate.

Thus, they fought. Even if their knees were trembling, even if their arms had no strength.

And then, on the brink of death, the Goddess showed.

She had silver hair, golden eyes, and wore loose white robes. Her hair fluttered with the wind as she snapped her fingers and hundreds of golden spears appeared, stabbing the assaulting monsters and annihilating them.

She then lightly spoke something like; "Child, I've seen your great courage and you've amused me. As a reward, I shall bestow you power. Thrive and live on, that baby of yours shall marry a human to create the 'seed',"

Her slender fingers lightly touched the baby girl's forehead which emitted a golden light...

And that same baby became a Queen. She married a human, as the Goddess said. It wasn't a loveless marriage, though. She truly loved the other. Like a prophecy. It was as if the woman was destined to meet her fated partner in the humans' race, and thus fulfilling the Goddess' words at the same time. 

Upon marrying the said human, the low reproductive rate suddenly disappeared and they had 7 children. Of course, this did not happen for the rest of eternity. The reproduction rate and the quality of the offspring was boosted, but it didn't last for every single member of the family. 

However, the family tree still grew... and me, my sister, and my brother were there as the latest generation.

Why am I explaining all of this to you... It is precisely because the power that baby was given is passed down through generations. That's why, the elves treat the royals like deities themselves. Because the royalties does have the Goddess' powers, although incomparable to the true source. You could be said to be one of those babies, even though the power got diluted when Silvanna married that human male and created.. Alan, was it? Alan Clareste, your father, was investigated by me when he first came to life. He did not possess any inherited power, so I thought that it was just sheer bad luck, or that Silvanna had taken some strange precautions to prevent Alan from becoming an inheritor as well.

But then, you received the same powers that only Elven Royals would have. I suppose Alan was a carrier.

And because I am also one of the current inheritors, I can sense that... You hold true strength. And your power is unlike others... and unlike mine. It resembles the original Moon Goddess'," The Queen ended her speech with an intriguing smile.

"...If I do hold the Goddess' power, what are you going to do?" Estelle asked, growing a bit wary with their current condition. She had already confirmed that part of her identity, and Estraea was really technically her. The divine power that once graced this place was also emulated from her essence, although it was just a falsified simulation created to be identical with her experiences. 

"Make you our country's Queen..." Shirley slowly spoke, as if trying to see what Estelle's reaction would be. Estelle displayed an unpleasant expression. "...Or not!" Shirley laughed.

"To be fair, I'm more curious about your existence rather than anything. Honestly, I quite like this Queenly position, you know? There's no way I'd be willing to give it up to a girl that is as young as you. What would I do if you bring this country straight down to its downfall?" Shirley chuckled.