The Childhood Friend of the Villainess in a Romance Fantasy

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: TempWane

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Amelia, who had placed her hand on my shoulder, suddenly flinched and pulled it away.

“Well, the water was cold…”

She seemed even more surprised at my response.

“Q-quickly, let’s get to your room!”

Pushing against my back, she urged me with those words.

…Though we were the same age, Amelia was much smaller than me, so pushing me like that probably wouldn’t have been very effective.

Amelia was technically a guest here, too. There was no way she could know the layout of the castle perfectly. In the end, one of the hunters, who had followed us while Amelia pushed my back, guided us to a nearby room.

“Sit here!”

Impatiently, Amelia made me sit in a chair before the hunter even managed to light the fireplace.

“…Your Highness?”

“Now that the fire is lit, it’ll warm up soon. Don’t worry too much.”

No, you seem to be worrying far more than I am.

“I’m fine.”

“How can you say you’re fine after washing yourself in cold water in this weather?”

“People of Delkis usually bathe in cold water. It’s too much trouble to heat it up.”

Of course, that didn’t mean we always bathed in cold water.

Delkis had saunas too. The typical Delkis bathing routine involved sweating it out in a sauna, then dipping into cold water, then returning to the sauna… and repeating that process. Naturally, Grattanmount would do the same.

But preparing a sauna took time, which we didn’t have right now. Besides, my body was… well, a little too filthy for a sauna. Just imagining the mix of blood, grease, and sweat accumulating there was horrifying.

“…”

Hearing my explanation, Amelia froze, her mouth slightly agape.

“…But I… I bathed in warm water.”

“You’re a guest, so that’s different.”

Even the people of Delkis knew that Southerners bathing in cold water in this weather could harm their health. It would be unacceptable to subject a guest to such conditions.

Upon hearing my response, Amelia tightly shut her mouth. She still seemed unconvinced, pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace for a while. Then, with a resigned sigh, she plopped down in the chair prepared next to me.

She tapped the armrest lightly with her fingers, seemingly deep in thought.

I felt a bit sorry for Amelia, but truthfully, her current appearance was a bit amusing.

The people of Delkis were well aware that their bodies were much larger than those of visiting guests. Accordingly, the guest rooms were furnished with appropriately sized furniture for guests.

However, there was a lack of child-sized furniture. Children of Delkis grew so rapidly that specialized furniture was hardly necessary—unless it was for infants—and most families tolerated a few years of discomfort. This mentality carried over to the guest furniture, so the chair Amelia sat on was far too big for her.

To rest her arms on the armrests, she had to stretch her arms wide, making her look like a child mimicking the actions of an adult.

Of course, the soul inside her was that of an adult, so she probably thought she was just doing what she normally would.

It was a cute enough sight to momentarily distract me from the events I’d just endured.

“Squeak.”

A sudden sound broke the brief silence.

For a moment, I thought there might be a mouse in the castle. But then I noticed a small creature scampering up from Amelia’s waist to her shoulder and realized it was a squirrel.

It was the squirrel Amelia had saved from me last time.

“…Huh?”

Amelia seemed just as surprised to see the squirrel here.

“It’s strange, considering it should be hibernating right now.” I remarked, gazing at the squirrel.

What was more surprising was that Amelia’s room wasn’t close by. While it wasn’t an impossible distance for a squirrel to travel, the fact that it had specifically sought her out here was intriguing.

Or maybe it had moved before Amelia did? Perhaps it had been hiding in her clothes before she changed, or maybe it had already been nearby and followed along.

The hunter might have noticed. However, this was the squirrel Amelia had declared she’d raise. If there was a living squirrel inside the castle, it could only be that one, so the hunter probably wouldn’t have thought of catching it.

Indeed, when I glanced back, the hunter didn’t seem particularly surprised. Instead, his expression suggested he found it odd that we were only reacting now. Did he assume Amelia had brought it with her?

“I’m sure it was sleeping in my room when I last saw it,” Amelia said.

Hmm.

“Maybe… it woke up because it wasn’t in a tree. If it’s inside a tree or underground, you can block the entrance, creating an enclosed space. But a basket doesn’t offer the same security.”

“But this is the castle,” Amelia replied.

“To a squirrel, it probably feels like an open space.”

The castle might be much larger than the squirrel itself, but animals experience ‘space’ differently from humans. Some animals find comfort in spaces barely big enough for their bodies, while others feel confined even in wide-open areas. Knowing this difference was an advantage in hunting, so most hunters in Delkis understood it as common sense.

“Then why did it come to me?”

Right.

I was the druid, after all. The likelihood that the squirrel’s attachment to Amelia stemmed from my ability was high.

“Maybe it’s because I passed it on to you.”

I shrugged as I spoke.

“My ability makes animals feel close to humans, so it might extend that affection to people I trust. And, after all, I directly handed that little one over to Lady Amelia, so it probably sees you as safe.”

Perhaps it believed an overwhelmingly powerful being was protecting it. Trusting that it wouldn’t be harmed and continuing to rely on such protection were entirely different matters. Just as the wolves trusted me but still required effort to establish myself as their alpha, my actions might have influenced the squirrel’s judgment.

Of course, it wasn’t something I could assert with confidence, especially since it was a small animal I couldn’t communicate with directly.

“Still, it’s curious. Hibernation isn’t like regular sleep. Unless you shake them awake deliberately, they shouldn’t easily regain consciousness.”

“Then why is this one here?”

“Hmm…”

I pondered for a moment until a thought suddenly struck me.

“Sir.”

“Yes, young lady?”

As I called him the way I always did, the hunter answered.

“Could you tell me if there was any unusual movement among the animals last night?”

“Animals, you say?”

“Yes… the animals around the territory.”

The wolves were excluded, of course. I had spread and positioned them around the castle after hearing Amelia’s concerns. As long as they consider me the alpha, there’s no reason those wolves would leave their posts. Gray and Snow were also nearby..

But smaller creatures, the animals around the territory, could have been affected in ways I wasn’t aware of.

I’d heard that the barbarians moved southward seeking warmer places with more resources. If they had come down here using magic, that was likely the reason.

Entering the Delkis castle was one thing, but there were still plenty of animals in the surrounding area. What about outside Delkis? Could some animals have been hunted down?

“Understood. I’ll send word and check.”

The hunter turned and left the room. He would likely return soon.

“Do you think of something?”

“Yes. If something woke this little one, it might have been targeting animals.”

The people of Delkis ate squirrels, so there was no reason the barbarians wouldn’t.

“If they were trying to take the squirrel and accidentally dropped it, then it’s easy to figure out why it came here.”

“…”

Amelia’s expression stiffened at my words.

Indeed, just as Delkis people ate certain things, the barbarians would eat similar items. The North was harsh and lacked adequate food sources.

The people of Delkis received food support from the South, which meant they rarely faced starvation. But what about the barbarians? Without such support, and in an even harsher region, their desperation could be unimaginable.

…And if the Delkis people don’t treat the barbarians as human, then the barbarians would have no reason to treat humans as similar beings either.

I’d heard that a child had gone missing last night.

Amelia’s expression darkened rapidly—likely because she’d arrived at the same conclusion I had.

“Could it really… be that?”

Her voice was small, as if she feared someone else might overhear such a dreadful thought.

As if the missing child’s parents were right beside her.

“…We can only hope it isn’t.”

That was all I could say.

Though I had no idea who or what to pray to.