The Childhood Friend of the Villainess in a Romance Fantasy

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: TempWane

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As the sudden stench of dog breath overwhelmed me, I thought to myself,

“Oh, she’s at it again.”

Having never raised a dog in my previous life, I had no clue about the habits of canine animals.

Besides, it had only been a few months since these wolves started following me. If I had watched more documentaries, I might have picked up a thing or two about wolf behavior, but I had never been interested in nature.

The first time my entire head was in a wolf’s mouth, I wondered if I was about to be eaten, but after observing for a bit, it seemed more like their way of saying, “I don’t intend to eat you.”

If not that, maybe they were just playing. I’d heard that dogs sometimes play-bite each other; these wolves seemed to be doing the same.

With my head still caught, I waved my hand vigorously toward Amelia to signal that I was fine. But Amelia, thinking I was calling for help, only screamed in even greater panic.

Was it really that frightening?

…Hmm, I supposed that if I imagined my head getting torn off by a wolf, blood spurting everywhere, it might have been terrifying. Sure, in movies or comics, it wouldn’t be surprising, but seeing that in reality could definitely make someone scream.

So, I quickly set down the wolf pup nestled in my arms and grabbed Snow’s mouth with both hands.

Then, I pried it open.

Sensing my intent, or maybe guessing that I wanted to escape, Snow opened her jaws, following my hands’ movements. As expected of a Northern wolf, she was so strong that even as she cooperated, my hands trembled a little from the force.

Finally free from the stifling warmth of Snow’s mouth, I breathed in the crisp winter air and felt like I could live again.

My hair was still soaked with slobber, and there was that doggy smell—no, wolfy smell. Whatever it was.

“…”

I could have just let it go, but if I didn’t scold her now, she’d likely try this again later. It didn’t matter when it was just the two of us or when I was mingling with the wolf pack, but in front of guests, it would be a problem if she repeated this again.

So, I held onto Snow’s mouth.

“?”

Then, turning her face toward me,

“Nom!”

I took a big bite out of her nose.

You might wonder why her nose, but honestly, there wasn’t much else to bite. Her entire snout was way too large for me to bite comfortably, and biting into her fur would only leave wolf hairs in my mouth.

Although it was a wolf’s nose, it wasn’t exactly as small as a dog’s nose. Given that my entire head could fit into her mouth, it was almost like an alligator’s jaws. Her nose, at least, was big enough that I didn’t have to worry about inhaling her nostrils.

“Yip! Yip!”

Snow nearly reared back but quickly regained her posture. Since there were still pups nursing, she couldn’t just thrash around recklessly.

I had bitten down a little harder on purpose. Establishing dominance like this once would make her less likely to do this again.

Given our size difference, it probably didn’t hurt her all that much. She had just been startled, which was why she’d tried to rear back.

Snow stepped back, her nose still bearing the clear impression of my teeth, and looked at me with her red eyes, visibly subdued. Good.

But feeling a little sorry, I lightly patted Snow’s nose, then picked up the wriggling pup at my feet once more.

I turned back toward Amelia, who was still frozen in place.

“Here it is.”

“Oh.”

Amelia blinked several times after I spoke.

“A-are you alright?”

Amelia sounding slightly dazed, but had an expression perfectly suited for her age, which was ironic.

“I’m fine. This was just a sign of affection, in a way.”

“Affection…?”

Amelia looked taken aback.

“Dogs do it too, for fun. This is like that.”

“Is that so…?”

In retrospect, I realized it could be dangerous for anyone but me. My body carried the blood of Delkis, and thanks to that giant bloodline, wolf bites couldn’t break my skin unless they bit down hard. But for someone normal like Amelia, an action like that could easily tear her flesh.

“Still, I’d recommend not getting too close to a fully grown wolf. Even in play, a bite could hurt.”

I turned back to look at Snow, who had her face lowered to the ground as if subdued. Her head was so low that I had to remind myself how large a Northern wolf truly was.

“More importantly, here.”

As I showed the pup in my arms to Amelia, the blank expression on her face began to regain some life.

“Aw…”

The pup, which had been sniffing in the direction of my chin, now turned its nose toward Amelia as she came closer.

Even as a pup, it was big. It wasn’t quite the size of a large dog, but it was still bigger than a Pomeranian or other small breeds.

It was big but still too young to fully open its eyes. Its pink skin showed more prominently than its white fur, and its warmth was comforting.

“Wow…”

Most baby animals born in the wild were adorable. Whether it’s because evolution favored traits that stirred maternal instincts, or because creatures that sparked that instinct in others had better chances of survival, I wasn’t sure, but in any case, wolf pups were undeniably cute.

“Can I pet it?”

“Of course.”

If the pup in my arms were tiny, I might have been more hesitant. But the wolf pup I held now wasn’t so small that a little petting would hurt it.

Wolves survive in the unforgiving wilderness beyond the castle walls. Amelia’s touch wouldn’t do any harm.

Amelia reached out her hand slowly.

The wolf pup sniffed in her direction, then nestled its nose into her palm. Was that just instinct? Gray had done the same when he first saw me.

“So cute…”

Amelia murmured, her eyes sparkling.

*

Thinking it wouldn’t be good to keep a pup separated from its mother for too long, I gently returned it to Snow after letting Amelia hold it for a while. The pup, apparently hungry, burrowed back into Snow’s fur right away.

Amelia looked a little disappointed.

“…If you’d like, I could send a few to you.”

At my suggestion, Amelia’s expression momentarily brightened, but then she looked at me as if something felt off.

“If I took them, would they even follow me?”

“…”

After thinking for a moment, I replied honestly.

“Probably not.”

If anyone could easily tame a wolf, there would already be people keeping them.

Then again, maybe not. Even horses aren’t kept unless there’s a need, since there’s often barely enough food for people, let alone animals. No just anyone would have the resources to raise carnivores like wolves.

But even here, no one seemed to bother keeping wolves, even if they roamed freely rather than being raised outright. People had been shocked to see the wolves following me, after all.

If raised from a young age, it might be different, but considering what could happen if they disobey as adults, it felt safer to keep my answer as it was.

“Then there’s no point in bringing them…”

Amelia slumped her shoulders.

“…Maybe if you kept them locked up, just to watch them…?”

“I wouldn’t want to keep them caged against their will just for that. Wolves wouldn’t be wolves if they weren’t running freely in the plains.”

Even though the wolves here roamed the forests instead of the plains, but I decided not to point that out.

“That’s true.”

I agreed sincerely.

Those who revere wolves admire qualities that set them apart from dogs. If you raise them like dogs, they’re not really wolves anymore—they’re just big dogs. Even their genes, I heard, weren’t very different.

“By the way, how far does your druid power reach? It’s not only effective when you’re near, right? Since the wolf pack obeys you even when at a distance, it seems like your power can control them quite well.”

“…?”

Hearing Amelia’s question, I looked at her, puzzled, and she stared back intently.

“…Northern wolves are dangerous predators, aren’t they? I assumed you’d know exactly how far your power extends to keep them under control here, right? Like the range of your influence or the number of wolves you can handle at once… You did know, didn’t you?”

“Oh…?”

Come to think of it, no, I hadn’t.

“…”

Amelia looked at me, stunned as I muttered in realization.

“Let’s get out of here.”

She calmly suggested, glancing warily at Snow.

“…Alright.”

And so, I had no choice but to follow her lead.