The Childhood Friend of the Villainess in a Romance Fantasy

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: TempWane

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“Hyung-nim (brother)? Could you please… say something…?”

Well, I get it. He probably isn’t good at talking to girls. It happens. And after all, there’s no one like Amelia here in the Barony of Delkis.

But seriously, isn’t it a bit much to be unable to respond to a seven-year-old? It might make sense ten years from now, but reacting this way to a kid this young? What is he imagining right now?

Besides, if he stayed silent, it becomes awkward for me, too.

Although they had said, “You’re of the same age and gender, so get along”, but the position of a Grand Duke’s daughter is hardly a light one. My father or the Grand Duke probably trusted me enough, being from Delkis, to leave her in my care.

So if I showed Amelia around and left her with a bad impression of our family, it would ultimately be my fault.

I didn’t think my father was that petty, but I’d only met the Grand Duke today. In the original story, he hardly ever appeared directly, either.

“Hyung-nim?”

But the one who reacted to my words wasn’t Harvey.

“Did you just call him ‘Hyung-nim’?”

Amelia looked at me with wide, surprised eyes, making me pause to figure out what had gone wrong.

Then, after a few seconds, it dawned on me.

Right. It’s uncommon for a younger sister to address her older brother as “Hyung-nim.” I’d even heard there were people who didn’t use “Oppa,” but that was usually when they were on such bad terms that they just called each other by name.

I’d used the term so naturally all my life, and no one in the family ever stopped me, so I hadn’t realized it was unusual.

“Isn’t it more common to say ‘Orabeoni’?”

“Ugh.”

Amelia’s words made me react instinctively, quickly covering my mouth.

It was a natural response.

Maybe if I lived another few decades, my sense of self would change, but two years wasn’t enough to erase my 27 years as a man.

Honestly, even in the barony, I often wore pants, and the clothes I wore for scouting weren’t exactly gender-specific. I hadn’t yet worn a corset. In fact, none of the women in our family wore corsets regularly.

Since our family members grew rapidly as children, they would need a new size every other day if they wore corsets, and by the time they stopped growing, their builds were usually too solid for them.

The dress I wore now had the appearance of a corset, but not the function.

So, I rarely thought of myself as a woman. I was sometimes called the embarrassing nickname of “Little Lady” by the family, but it was so over-the-top that it didn’t feel real.

Naturally, the thought of calling Harvey “Orabeoni” made me recoil.

“…”

Amelia’s eyes narrowed.

“Ah, uh.”

It seemed my brother finally decided he couldn’t just watch anymore.

“…Since our sister has spent so much time with us, it seems she picked up on how we address each other.”

His voice wavered slightly, but the meaning was clear enough.

“We failed to instruct her properly, so please don’t blame her too harshly.”

Harvey’s gentle bow made him look every bit the model knight. Even without armor, his broad shoulders and solid build suited a man of Delkis.

“Oh, please, don’t worry. Each family has customs that should be respected. And if that term reflects sibling affection, then it’s actually my fault for pointing it out. I apologize, Lady Elsie. Could you forgive me?”

Amelia’s words flowed naturally as she apologized.

She tilted her head slightly and looked up at me with her lifted gaze, exuding the charm of an adorable child.

She was exactly as described in the novel I’d read.

In the story, Amelia vowed to avoid destruction by deciding to use every asset she had. One of those assets was her appearance.

With her mouth shut, she looked endlessly sweet. Though she had a slightly cold expression, the ribbon at the back of her head softened her image, and her gestures completed the effect.

If this Amelia was indeed the Amelia I knew, then this gesture was likely intentional.

“I was the one at fault from the beginning, so there’s no need to apologize.”

I carefully composed my expression and answered.

“Hm.”

Amelia gave a short hum as she looked at me, then said,

“Then let’s just say that neither of us made any mistakes in the first place. Since the Delkis Barony and the Grand Duchy of Grattanmount are inseparable allies, it’s best we get along, don’t you think?”

“I completely agree.”

I nodded, bowing slightly.

Harvey, who’d been sweating nervously beside me, also bowed his head a little.

Amelia looked at us and smiled.

It was a pure, innocent smile.

—

“Hyung-nim, huh.”

The Elsie Delkis I knew wouldn’t use that term.

Though she had a cold, stiff demeanor, she was also the Baron’s daughter, well-educated in noble etiquette. Her term for her older brother should’ve been “Orabeoni.”

Of course, we’re still far from the story’s beginning, so maybe she was corrected later on. But from what I saw, the environment around Elsie didn’t seem inclined to “correct” her actions any time soon.

Just as the novel described, their family atmosphere seemed endlessly free.

For Elsie Delkis to become a ‘well-mannered noble lady’ in such an environment, she’d need to make the effort herself.

She was naive enough to be swayed by Amelia, because she longed for the world of central nobles, so she must’ve worked hard to enter that society.

The Elsie Delkis standing before me didn’t look like that, though.

Did something happen to make her change? Some event that made her long for the capital?

Well, I’d have to find out myself.

Luckily, I had time.

Originally, I hadn’t planned on visiting often, but if I wanted to understand this child, it seemed necessary to come by occasionally.

…The reason I, ‘Amelia’, changed was because I was born with my memories of a past life.

If there was a reason Elsie Delkis had changed…

“This way.”

While I was quietly pondering these things, my heart racing, Elsie, unaware of my thoughts, merely led the way with a calm expression.

We arrived at a stable on the estate.

A stable… right?

It looked like a stable, but what was inside wasn’t a horse.

Actually, the whole setup seemed unusual for housing horses. Rather than individual stalls, it was one open space wide enough for multiple animals to roam freely. The only similarity was the soft hay spread across the floor.

And, most notably, what was inside wasn’t horses—it was wolves.

“Wow…!”

But instead of fear or hesitation, I let out a gasp of admiration.

“Recently, Snow had pups.”

Elsie explained that Snow was the mate of the gray wolf we’d seen earlier.

The wolf named Snow sat quietly in a corner of the stable-like enclosure.

Several pups were nursing from their mother, Snow.

They hadn’t even opened their eyes yet; they were much bigger than newborn puppies I’d seen, but they were incredibly cute. Honestly, I wanted to take one home with me.

“We don’t usually raise animals, but in this case, letting as many of the pups survive as possible is beneficial for us, too. We’ll look after them at least until they’re able to move about on their own.”

She made it clear that this was a rare exception.

“Can I pet one?”

Though I wanted to approach, Snow’s presence made me hesitate, so I asked from a distance. Elsie nodded and walked confidently straight over to Snow.

She picked up a pure white pup nestled comfortably against its mother that wasn’t nursing, and as she stood up—

Chomp.

Snow bit down on her head.

…

“Kyaaaaah!?”