Est

Est is the public male identity under which Estelle Newmont Vi Hellan, the only Princess of the Hellan Kingdom, lives while bound by Astrid's curse. Est and Estelle are one person with continuous memories and relationships, not alternate characters. A dutiful royal, devout believer, academy leader, and holy swordswoman, she becomes one of William's earliest friends, then his lover, fiancée, and wife; the lifting of the curse allows her to live openly as herself without changing the loyalty and courage established under the name Est. (Chapters 63–75, 135–167, 284–301, 933–951, 1099, 1144, and 1418–1469)

Biography

A prince's mask and a trial of courage

Est leaves the capital with her retainers on a mission connected to the Holy Temple, promising her parents that she will return and praying to Astrid for guidance. The world knows her as a young nobleman, but that body is the price of an oath: desperate for a chance to avert disaster for her kingdom, Est pledged everything she had, and Astrid required her to live as a man for the rest of her life. Est accepted, and the goddess transformed her and two female retainers into boys. The curse creates a public role and bodily prison; it does not create a second consciousness called Est. (Chapters 63 and 74)

The journey brings her into William and Ella's path when Mountain Trolls attack. William risks himself to defend Est's party, establishing a friendship that deepens during Astrid's Trial of Courage. Est enters the trial believing its terms are nearly impossible, but William's planning gives the group a route to victory and Est answers with resolve of her own. As a devout follower of Astrid, she can wield Rhapsody, the holy sword whose strength responds to its wielder's belief, and helps defeat the trial's final threat rather than allowing William to carry the burden alone. (Chapters 64–75)

At Hestia Academy, Est Wells Newmont becomes Head Prefect of the first-year Magic Division and grows into a disciplined organizer. She trains with Rhapsody and its scabbard as a two-weapon style, uses Divine Burst in close combat, and helps William coordinate rotating groups of exhausted archers and mages during the academy crisis. Her authority is practical rather than ceremonial: she places people where they can still contribute, maintains order under pressure, and becomes one of the friends William trusts when battles exceed what students should ordinarily face. (Chapters 135, 143, 148, and 155–167)

War, love, and the lifted curse

The conflict surrounding Hestia Academy turns Est's friendship with William into acknowledged love. Carter's mental interference exploits jealousy and compels her participation in Wendy's abduction, but Est's tears show resistance beneath actions that are not freely chosen. Later, inside William's Sea of Consciousness, the curse briefly loosens enough for her true silver-haired, crimson-eyed form to appear. She explains that Astrid condemned her to remain a boy for life, and William promises to find a way to undo that fate. Their relationship becomes romantic only after the friendship and shared dangers that preceded this revelation. (Chapters 284–295)

Est does not wait passively for William to fulfill the promise. She continues through war as a commander and mounted fighter, insists on joining dangerous undertakings, and rides Dia into battles where retreat would be safer. During the Southern conflict she directs forces from the rear, uses Union of Man and Beast to remain mounted through violent impacts, and stays in the fight even after Dia is gravely injured shielding her. These campaigns develop Est beyond the student who relied on William's trial plan: she becomes a leader able to make decisions for others while accepting the personal cost of remaining visible on the battlefield. (Chapters 304–430 and 489–502)

William's search for a cure leads to Aamon, whose final trial offers freedom for Est, Ashe, and Isaac if William can complete it. Astrid eventually recognizes the accomplishment and unseals the curse after his battle with Morax in the Deadlands. Est's permanent transformation becomes public during an engagement celebration, revealing her full name, Estelle Newmont Vi Hellan, and her status as Hellan's only princess. The many marriage proposals that follow do not redirect her: she has already chosen William, and the removal of the curse changes the body in which she can live, not the promise or history linking them. (Chapters 339, 710–749, 933–951, 1099, and 1144)

Princess Estelle and the final alliance

Living openly as Estelle lets her combine royal authority, mature combat strength, and the relationships formed as Est. She rides Dia in a covert rescue of Loxos from the Holy Order's flying ship while Wendy draws attention elsewhere, identifies herself as William's fiancée, and displays power assessed at the Demigod level. When the Holy Order later restrains William, Estelle arrives on her golden winged serpent, breaks through the Pope's chains with Rhapsody, and works with Wendy rather than turning their shared love into rivalry at the cost of the rescue. (Chapters 1308 and 1340)

She also contributes to the Grand Alliance as an organizer, helping Wendy and Haleth arrange formations and military exercises for the war to come. Her engagement is long delayed by crises rather than doubt, and she finally marries William in the collective wedding, walking with her father, King Noah, before joining the family she has defended for years. The marriage fulfills a commitment begun while she was still forced to present as Est and confirms that Estelle's public restoration does not erase that earlier life. (Chapters 1398, 1405, and 1418–1422)

In the final confrontation, Estelle invokes God's Descent and serves as Astrid's mortal channel. The borrowed strength nearly reaches a True God's level for a brief period, allowing her to fight Yaldabaoth beside Belle and Wendy, but its short duration prevents it from becoming a permanent solution to divine enemies. She later supports William in the decisive struggle and survives the war. At her last appearance she is living with the family and pregnant, with her child expected within weeks—a future made possible because the oath once intended to confine her no longer controls her life. (Chapters 1457, 1461, and 1469)

Appearance and personality

While Astrid's curse is active, Est appears as a handsome boy with clear light-brown eyes and is publicly treated as male. Inside William's Sea of Consciousness she can briefly show her true female form, and after the curse is lifted that form becomes permanent: a beautiful young woman with long silver-white hair and crimson eyes. These appearances mark states imposed or released by the curse, not separate Est and Estelle identities. (Chapters 64, 294–295, 899, and 1144–1146)

Est is serious, dutiful, and willing to accept severe personal costs for her kingdom. Her faith in Astrid gives her power but does not eliminate fear, jealousy, or frustration; what distinguishes her is the decision to act despite them. She grows from a reserved royal hiding within an enforced role into an academy commander and rescuer who can coordinate allies under battlefield pressure. Her love for William is possessive enough for hostile magic to exploit, yet in her free choices she repeatedly cooperates with Wendy, Ashe, and his wider family rather than demanding that devotion override their safety. (Chapters 63–75, 143–167, 284–295, 430, 1308–1340, and 1398–1469)

Skills, classes, and divinities

Est's demonstrated abilities combine magic education, swordsmanship, devotion to Astrid, mounted combat, and a late divine channeling technique. The corpus identifies her as a Magic Division leader and holy-sword wielder but does not provide a definitive System job-class sheet for her; titles such as princess or swordswoman should therefore not be mistaken for a fully documented class progression.

Astrid's curse and true form

Astrid's curse transforms Estelle into a boy and requires that she live in that form for life, with two retainers changed alongside her. It cannot be dismissed by Est's will. The unusual conditions inside William's Sea of Consciousness allow her true form to emerge temporarily, but this is a local reprieve rather than a cure, and the sealed body returns outside that space. William must complete the undertaking ultimately recognized by Astrid before the goddess permanently removes the curse. (Chapters 74, 294–301, 339, 710, 933–951, and 1099)

The lifting of the curse releases Estelle's true body and ends the enforced male presentation; it does not replace Est's memories, beliefs, or learned abilities. The narrative explicitly connects the princess revealed at the celebration to the friend and lover William already knows. Nothing in the corpus shows Est voluntarily switching back to the cursed form after its removal. (Chapters 951, 1099, and 1144–1146)

Rhapsody and holy swordsmanship

Rhapsody is the Sword of Eternal Glory once wielded by the hero Altera during the War of Darkness. It has the Holy element, is described as indestructible, can be wielded only by a devout follower of Astrid, and produces power according to the user's belief. Est qualifies through genuine faith rather than royal status. During the Trial of Courage the sword's radiance and cutting power let her engage an enemy ordinary weapons cannot readily overcome. (Chapters 73–75)

Est later develops a two-weapon method using Rhapsody and its scabbard and demonstrates Divine Burst at point-blank range. The attack provides explosive holy offense, but its use does not establish limitless energy or immunity to retaliation. As Estelle, her increased strength lets her use Rhapsody against the Holy Order and divine-scale threats; the sword remains her own weapon even when God's Descent temporarily adds Astrid's power. (Chapters 148, 155, 1144, and 1340)

Magic, command, and mounted combat

As Head Prefect of Hestia Academy's first-year Magic Division, Est has magical training and the authority to direct other students. Her most clearly demonstrated contribution during the academy crisis is coordination: she helps rotate spent archers and mages, maintains organized attacks, and pairs her personal courage with an awareness of unit endurance. The text does not enumerate a complete personal spell list, so her division placement should not be used to invent specific elemental affinities. (Chapters 143 and 165–167)

Dia becomes Est's principal mount and battlefield partner. Union of Man and Beast secures Est in the saddle through explosions and other violent movement, enabling her to command and fight from the air, but it does not make either partner invulnerable; Dia can be badly wounded while shielding her, and superior opponents can still overwhelm their position. Later, Dia's golden winged-serpent form supports covert extraction, rapid arrival, and direct engagement against the Holy Order. (Chapters 489–502, 1308, and 1340)

God's Descent

God's Descent allows a deity to lend strength indirectly through a mortal follower. Estelle uses it to channel Astrid, raising her combat capability for a brief period until it almost matches a True God's power. This temporary state lets her confront Yaldabaoth alongside Belle and Wendy and gives Astrid a way to affect the battlefield without simply descending in person. (Chapter 1457)

Duration is the technique's explicit constraint: it works only briefly, so Estelle must use the borrowed strength within a narrow window and in cooperation with allies. The story does not state that she permanently retains Astrid's near-True-God power after the descent ends; her latest ordinary level therefore remains distinct from that peak channeling state. (Chapters 1457 and 1461)

Power progression

Relationships

• William: William saves Est's party, helps her clear the Trial of Courage, and becomes her closest friend before learning the truth of her curse. He promises to free her, becomes her lover and fiancé, and eventually marries her; Est in turn repeatedly joins his wars and rescues rather than allowing him to face them alone. (Chapters 64–75, 284–301, 339–951, 1308–1340, and 1418–1469)
• Astrid: Astrid is Est's patron goddess, the source of both her lifelong curse and her qualification to wield Rhapsody. After William earns her recognition she lifts the curse, and in the final war she lends Estelle power through God's Descent. Est's devotion persists despite the harsh price Astrid once demanded. (Chapters 63–75, 294–295, 933–951, and 1457)
• Ashe and Isaac: Both are Est's childhood-trained retainers and are transformed into boys by the same divine bargain. They protect her through the trial and later wars, while Est's cure is pursued together with theirs. (Chapters 64–75, 294–301, 710, and 933–951)
• Wendy: Wendy is both a romantic rival and a trusted partner. The two coordinate rescues, fight together against the Holy Order and Yaldabaoth, and help organize the Grand Alliance, placing shared purpose above jealousy. (Chapters 294–295, 1308–1340, 1398, and 1457)
• Dia: Dia is Est's bonded mount and combat companion. He carries her through the Southern war, is injured protecting her, and later supports her covert rescue work and aerial assault in his golden winged-serpent form. (Chapters 489–502, 1308, and 1340)
• Noah: King Noah is Estelle's father and the monarch whose kingdom her original oath sought to protect. He escorts her at the wedding that publicly joins her to William. (Chapters 63, 74, and 1418–1422)

Items

• Rhapsody: The indestructible, Holy-element Sword of Eternal Glory, usable only by Astrid's devout followers and strengthened by the wielder's belief. It is Est's signature weapon from the Trial of Courage through the final wars. (Chapters 73–75, 148–155, 1144, and 1340)
• Windborne Boots: Agility-enhancing boots recovered from a Goblin Crypt treasure chest. Est initially keeps the pair in storage after the party obtains it. (Chapter 155)