Development (3)

"Estelle, help me out with this!" Yulia exclaimed.

Her golden, silky hair was now tangled up and had lost its luster. Dark circles formed under her eyes, and the clothes she wore were ragged as she hadn't changed in weeks.

Estelle had told her to clean herself with Water Magic multiple times, but Yulia wouldn't listen. She said that it would ruin the mood as it made her feel like she was just starting the research, like she hadn't made much progress.

Estelle couldn't comprehend that way of thinking, so although she was rather detached from her surroundings during the research, she would always make it back to her family during nighttime.

To act her part as the Dukedom's young miss, she interacted with the people, went to accompany her parents, and ended the day by watching over Noah and eventually sleeping nearby.

In truth, her body was growing at such a monstrous rate that she could discard sleep for a week or more and still be at her best state.

However, she had resolved to get along with her family and take care of them, and that resolve wasn't going to be broken anytime soon.

The Dukedom's people were already aware of their miss' strange powers, more or less. From the intellectual prowess she showcased ever since she was born, down to the recent sightings of her 'savior' like power, they had begun to praise the miss as an 'Angel', a blessing to the Dukedom.

Estelle's mindset certainly was everchanging. Recently, she had came to the conclusion that even if there was a spy in the Dukedom, her hidden talents had already been discovered from the previous incident, albeit not the complete details. If that was the case, it would be more profitable for her to openly display her surging power to the masked spy than to lay low in front of people that already knew her secret.

In short, she could be seen on the living room one second, and suddenly at her brother's cradle the next second, and no one would suspect her because.. no one cared!

(A/N: SHE VENTED!! VOTE HER! Estelle was not The Impostor.)

Time passed without a care.

Estelle's birthday party was held more discreetly this time. At six year old, she was the Dukedom's guardian angel.

Time seemed to pass quickly when you're relaxing. What an irony.

Before long, the plan to go to Sylvania would come.

Parting with Noah and her parents, her only worry was that something bad would happen while she was away.

Even after she made sure to give the manor protective measures, she still felt unsettled.

Although she could go back in a second, methods of faraway communication was still underdeveloped, so she can't be contacted easily.

[Damn. At this rate, I'm becoming an inventor instead of a villainess.] Estelle lamented.

Her argument was that, her enemy hadn't shown up yet!

The good guy, her target, was nowhere to be found!

[The path of being a villainess is truly not easy..]

[Well, I don't have grudges against anyone, who am I supposed to attack? How do I commit evil deeds?]

[Even if I'm a villainess, I am not stupid. Why the hell would I go around and wreak havoc for innocent people?]

[Being a villain sure is tough when there is no hero or heroine... ]

[Heine said that I am just simply not suited to be a villainess, but I don't think so. I just don't know where my counterpart is.]

[Hero or heroine, the gender doesn't matter! All I need is for you to come out!]

[I'll promise not to kill you too soon.. Probably.]

[I mean, Heine said that my counterpart will definitely hold similar potential with mine.. Please don't die early.] Estelle prayed for the safety of her enemy.

[To put it into perspective, my opposite should be.. one who holds [Destruction Magic], right? It feels like my power got switched with theirs... When we talk about destruction, don't we think of villains..?] Estelle questioned.

She ranted on until her anger dissipated.

Whilst doing all that, she was handling the creation of her newest prototype model. A transportation vehicle in the shape of a turtle.

"A turtle?" Yulia squinted. She had been worn out from trying to improve her stalker-ish map, so her eyesight stared becoming hazy. Teleporting here and there, gaining intel from the places she marked, putting her visual memories inside the map...

Yulia's resolution had to be recognized and given praise. She was dead set on the map's creation.

The map could be said to be a national treasure at this point. It was unknown how much mana and effort Yulia put inside. Of course, Estelle's work was mixed within as well.

"Yep. Wouldn't it be cute?" Estelle thought up of the transportation model and came up with a turtle - shaped sky ship. The turtle's shell was designed to have a transparent, semi - permeable feature. When activated, it would still protect the contents, but it would be invisible to light, wind, and other natural resources.

"This would take care of the housing and protective problem, controllable speed, doesn't need to land because it can be minimized... About the transparency, I will take care of it with illusions," Estelle was adding absurd features into the machine.

Experimenting with her magic was very entertaining. Although she was troubled as to how she could utilize her magic without proper guidance at first, she came to brainwash herself, saying that the other elements must've been just like hers at first.

No one knew how to utilize it, but it got better as time progressed.

For her, [Creation Magic] was a great aid in fulfilling her fantasies. This turtle ship, too, was made out of her basic knowledge about structural integrity and the materials' characteristics.

Trial and error was a must in everything. The only thing was that her magic worked using her mana, and since she had infinite mana, she could use her magic to no end.

Her question was: If there were researchers like Yulia who worked for new innovations, there must be one for magic spells as well?

Minerva was close to her description, but what she was looking for was someone who devoted themselves to magic just like Yulia with her matters.

Fanatics of magic spells.

Magic researchers?

Surely, they would have some solutions to the practicality of magic?

As of now, she could only stick to the magic spells she learned and her boundless creation magic that had no elements.

She didn't possess the knowledge necessary to formulate her own spells.

Her ability couldn't be developed efficiently.

[It would be profitable for me to learn under a magic fanatic...] Estelle was curious.

What would going under such a person's tutelage be like?

"So, when are you leaving?" Yulia asked, tinkering with her own project. She had gotten out of her concentration mode, so she was able to relax a bit. She really lived a hustle and bustle life.

Not that she was required to do research, but she did it out of her own free will.

"In a week or so? The defense mechanisms you set up should be enough to take on an attack of the previous monster assault's caliber. Only.. I don't know how much their research has progressed,"

Yulia's barriers weren't omnipotent, but even Estelle had a hard time breaching it. The reason was simple: the 'Strays' she battled with used their own physical power instead of any fancy magic spells.

Yulia made a barrier dedicated fully to repel physical attacks, requiring you to be adept in magic. One must say, Yulia's knowledge in barriers was crazy.

Estelle realized her weaknesses and recognized it. Ever since she had her battle, she focused on searching her weak points.

In a short time, she already found two of them.

[Close ranged combat and efficient magic.] Those were troublesome.

She thought about the monster's source.

One must not forget that the monsters didn't come out of nowhere.

[The creator must be a powerful magic user... Could I ask for their teachings?]

The matter of artificial monsters was something no one could touch for generations upon generations, but it was suddenly solved.

What kind of genius was on the other side?

Could it be, her mortal enemy?

Estelle's blood boiled.

If she truly found her enemy.. wouldn't she be able to experience the thrill of having a rival to compete with?

The genius seems to have great abilities.

En, definitely rival - worthy.

[But then, I'd want them to teach me their craft, so it'd be better if they were friendly, right?]

Estelle's mood became better as she hummed a happy tone whilst adding small touches to the ship.

A week later, Estelle was preparing to depart just like how she told Yulia. Minerva was to accompany her until they were not in sight.

They had managed to convince Alan after painstaking debates, in which he finally relented by saying that Minerva had to be there as well. A guarantee for her safety so he could rest assured, that was Minerva's role.

In fact, Alan had softened up a lot in regards to tolerating his daughter's actions.

From the baby delivery incident, he was able to see Estelle's mature side which was usually masked behind her carefree attitude. Even when he was shaken, Estelle stayed calm and knew what had to be done. Her preparation was perfect.

He was able to gain some trust in her. Trust that she knew how to conceal herself and protect her safety.

Of course, Alan wouldn't know that the words 'Minerva will accompany Estelle in her journey' was a matter that Estelle orchestrated. Upon flight, Minerva would get off and teleport to Heine's place immediately.

She was weak to long - distance travel, since she never traveled through other means other than the space rift ever since she mapped out the whole world.

She only walked with her two feet or connected two locations using a rift. What a lazy person.

But true enough, there was no meaning in traveling across the world as Minerva had already done it in her long years of living.

That was why, Estelle was now on the turtle ship alone. To experience traveling across the world, being a young child.

She knew that the trip would be a nice experience bank. Excited to see what the future holds, Estelle set off for the skies and exclaimed loudly once she wasn't in range.

With a wide grin, she gripped the ship's railings and acted out the classic scene she saw inside the adventure medias.

The line that could be described as cliche and cringe.

"Let's see..." Estelle grinned. "A new journey starts now!"

She hoped that the line didn't foreshadow anything.

Definitely not a huge incident that could overturn her life in one go.

Definitely not the opening to a new chapter in her life.

Everything would be as usual, and her plans wouldn't be disrupted.

Right?