A Villainess Should Be Strong

"..I'm not someone who likes to hold grudges, but if you keep being unreasonable.. Don't blame me!" Estelle turned her head away, pouting.

How could someone announce that a sudden trip was going to be held two hours from now, without any preparations whatsoever?

"Don't worry too much, I made sure to take care of everything that's necessary," Neil assured with a gentle smile.

Inside, he was probably gloating over how he got this victory against Estelle. Ever since he was beaten yesterday, he kept his calm but was secretly plotting things on how to get back at the girl.

Luckily, this dilemma was there. Not only would Estelle be troubled, she would also be away from the castle, and the problem that was continuously eating away at their brains was going to be resolved.

Estelle grumbled, but she still accepted.

"Then, Niki will guide you to the preparations I have made for you. You can set off now, but the maximum extended schedule is two hours form now, alright~" Neil happily waved goodbye at the leaving group, closing the door shut behind him.

Immediately, his Queen beckoned for him to come over.

"What is it, Your Highness?" Neil asked.

"Neil.. you know that the border dilemma has a high chance of.. having a deeper scheme behind the perpetrators. Not only are we in a difficult position, but there is also the chance of triggering more problems if we poke at the wrong nest. Are you sure that we can leave it to only four people, when elite soldiers actually failed to do something significant?" Shirley raised her questions.

Neil flashed a confident smile as he spoke back. "Fret not, milady. The Young Lady Estelle, His Highness Aleksei, the infamous Frey Agaths, and the other one.. do you know who that is?"

"Isn't that the one who previously requested an audience with me?"

"..Yes. That person's identity, you must already know well about it. And their capabilities, too,"

"Well.. of course I know quite a lot about my old friend. It's a shame that.. a lot happened, though," Shirley narrowed her eyes as she stared outside the window with a gentle gaze.

"It is indeed a shame, milady," Neil nodded.

______

Outside, the group was already heading towards a separate place. They had no qualms with departing right now, because everything had already been taken care of by the time they arrived at the breakfast session.

Thus, with just a few word exchanges back and forth, the group was ready to go forth on their journey through riding carriages and acquiring their needs from the resources the attendants provided.

They got onboard and bade farewell towards Niki, who did not accompany them any further.

The carriage was self driven, so they were all able to huddle inside the carriage.

It was quite awkward as none of them wanted to start a conversation. There was constant silence, and the atmosphere was strange.

Luckily, Aleksei took charge mid-way and started a talk.

"You must be stressed?" Aleksei asked, addressing Estelle. "Are you starting to dislike Neil after all this?"

"Haa.. It's not like I have any problems against Neil. He is not that bad of a person.. technically. It's just me, right?" Estelle replied.

"He picks a fight with anybody he doesn't like, he gets extra crafty with his ways too,"

"Aren't you the same?" Estelle asked.

"...? The same?" Aleksei raised a brow.

"Crafty.. and a mastermind. Am I wrong?"

That was the sensation Estelle got from the man.

Aleksei burst into small chuckles. "It's up to each person's perspective. I think I'm not that bad, but that's out of my own views,"

Estelle internally snorted once she heard that. Her mood was not the best right now, so she chose not to dwell with the worldly matters any second longer.

Relationships and all that were so complicated that it made her want to shut her brain right off.

"Whatever. I am going to sleep, wake me up when we get there," Estelle said.

However, the moment she tried to lean against the carriage door, they passed through a large rock. The carriage shook and made Estelle bump her head against the surface.

She winced as she held her head in pain. "Damn..."

She forgot about the horrors of carriages.

That was why she refused to get inside carriages and even preferred travelling by foot if she couldn't use her space rift.

Then, Estelle was suddenly reminded of the great creation she made back when her life was still stable, before all the chaos ensued one by one.

The masterful turtle ship!

"AHHH!!" Estelle suddenly shouted on top of her lungs, shocking Aleksei and the mysterious black clothed person.

"What? Did something happen?" Aleksei's expression darkened as he looked left and right, searching for threats.

"I forgot about my baby.."

"Hah? Baby? What in the world are you talking about.. You are ten-years-old, correct?"

"About to turn eleven.. but that's not the point! My baby, the one I dedicated hours upon hours of time on!!" Estelle cried.

"Hours.. upon hours? This.. is your baby an object?"

"Don't call my baby an object! It is the greatest creation I have ever made... The turtle ship. My beloved!" Estelle spared no more moments of waiting as she immediately pulled out the portable turtle ship out of her spatial inventory.

Since the ship could increase and decrease its size, the 'beloved turtle' was now being caressed by Estelle.

From an outsider's standpoint, one would only assume that the turtle was only a sculpture.

But Estelle knew the extent of her invention and how far it went for the caliber of her world's current technology advancements.

She hadn't gotten much chances to use it, but now that she was travelling, she felt like it was the perfect time.

"Hey, you guys, do you mind if we.. change our method of transport..?"

"From what you've been doing.. is the method of transport that turtle? Your baby?"

"Yep!" Estelle answered with excitement brimming in her expressions.

"Are you sure..?"

"I am! Why, do you not trust my turtle?"

"...It's not like I don't trust it, but at least let me see how it works first before deciding..?"

"Fine!" Estelle got off their carriage and began mobilizing her creation. The turtle soon grew to life as it expanded in size. Luckily, they were currently in a secluded area and nobody else tagged along for their journey, so nobody could see Estelle bringing out this monstrous turtle.

Estelle hurriedly activated the turtle's invisibility effect and stepped inside the cabin. There, she experienced a wave of nostalgia as she could recall all the items she had designed for this specific creation.

"What..."

"A flying ship. Trust me, I've rode this before from my house to Sylvania. It is completely safe!" Estelle pouted, gesturing for the other two to pick up their paces and follow her. "The horses can follow too, I have a separate compartment for storage,"

"Then.. allow me to intrude," Aleksei got up the ship in an agile manner and landed safely.

The mysterious person hesitated longer, but they too got onboard. Estelle's eyes darted to the person, wondering what it would take for them to finally reveal their identity to Estelle.

Estelle deduced that Aleksei was probably already aware of their identity, but chose to not bring it up in their journey.

With confidence, Estelle quickly got familiar once again with the ways on how to operate her own ship. She operated the system and made it take off into the sky.

The turtle ship was very stable. Within no time, they were already sailing smoothly and with a high speed. Even Aleksei and the other guy was surprised over how well made Estelle's creation was.

"...This is pleasantly surprising," Aleksei commented.

"Right~ I am a genius for making this. I have to commend the me of that time~" Estelle enjoyed the breezy air as she chatted happily. Finally, her creation could be used once more.

"Of that time.. which means, you made this ship when you were..?" Aleksei raised a brow.

"A few years back. When did I start exactly, I wonder? I just thought that transportation would be a necessity. I think.. in total, it took me one month to figure out how to build this thing up," Estelle replied.

"One month, to make all this? Ha, you are really a little monster," Aleksei laughed depreciatingly. "Why would you even be amazed at the Royal Sculptors anymore? You are probably better than most of them,"

"Oh? Are you allowed to say that?" Estelle raised a brow. Aleksei's statement, wasn't it a rude one considering that he was also once a Royal Sculptor?

"Slowly, but surely.. the Royal Sculptor is starting to become just an honorary title like the Royals. Everything has been built, and nothing massive has been released out of the Sculptors' hands. How long will they be able to keep their prestige on for?" Aleksei questioned.