The Childhood Friend of the Villainess in a Romance Fantasy

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: TempWane

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“What kind of person behaves like that!?”

Amelia stormed into her room, pacing back and forth with angry strides. She was too upset even to sit still in her chair.

I had certainly noticed her clenching her teeth earlier at that spot. Noticing her state, Ted had been cautious, watching her closely.

“Please, Lady Amelia, calm down. It’s not like Prince Allen said anything entirely untrue…”

“Not entirely untrue?!”

Amelia whipped around to face me and shouted. Uh… if she kept yelling like that, wouldn’t people outside hear? I didn’t want rumors spreading that I had argued with my mistress, after all.

“But it is true that I’m the smallest and weakest among the family.”

“Well, obviously, only when compared to the other Delkis people…”

“And all the instructors who tried teaching me eventually gave up and left.”

“That’s… but Elsie, you have a talent no one else possesses. They’ve been incredibly helpful in the past.”

Amelia looked like she had a thousand things she wanted to say but turned her words in another direction.

“Even so, that doesn’t mean I can order a wolf to bite a prince.”

“…Right.”

At my response, Amelia looked at me steadily.

“So you admit it’s your power?”

“Well, of course, it’s my power.”

It might be a borderline cheat ability, but it was still mine. Whether it was Pori, the one Amelia raised, or my own trials here, I’d tested my power in various ways. It worked not only on squirrels or wolves but on many other animals too. Since this ability was about “removing hostility and creating opportunities for friendship,” it had no apparent limits.

I’ve tamed a pigeon that flew from the forest and played with a notoriously vicious hunting dog raised by someone else. I could probably befriend fierce beasts from other regions too.

For someone called a druid, my abilities seem oddly limited to animals. Still, I’m trying to expand them to plants, though I haven’t seen much progress there yet. Maybe it’s because plants don’t move much?

In any case, while my ability was still limited to animals, I had been developing it in my own way. If I couldn’t inherit Delkis’ raw strength, then at least I could hone this power.

“Well, as long as you understand.”

Amelia muttered and then suddenly raised her head to look at me again.

“So, do you plan to spar with Prince Allen?”

For context, Prince Allen had been brimming with confidence after hearing his brother’s words. His smug look had been irritating, but if his swordsmanship really surpassed his brother’s, and if he could use aura, then my chances of winning were almost nonexistent.

Aura couldn’t harm my body. Even though I was small, I was still a Delkis. Aura, being pure magical energy, was ineffective against Delkis people, who were naturally resistant to magic.

However, being able to wield aura also meant he knew how to enhance his physical body. Frankly, if it were just about coating a sword in magic, he wouldn’t even be called a Swordmaster. What would be the difference between that and a wizard firing a magic bullet?

No, aura mastery meant that swordsmanship could leap to whole new levels, earning the title of “Swordmaster.”

That’s why Amelia had said, “If Allen can wield aura, he might be able to beat Elsie.”

In that case, I wondered if sparring with him might be better. I’d tried so hard to avoid sparring with Prince Evan because my chances of winning had been overwhelmingly high.

If there was a possibility I’d lose to Allen, letting him win might naturally help inflate his pride.

…From a noble’s perspective, anyway.

But here’s the thing.

“No, I don’t intend to spar with him.”

That brat intended to delittle the Delkis family.

At present, I was the only “Delkis person” here. I’d heard a few others had worked outside as knights, but they’d all returned to Delkis by now, given the importance of dealing with magic-using barbarians.

If a barbarian capable of opening dimensional portals moved southward, it would be catastrophic. Even if Delkis didn’t fall, letting just one magic-using barbarian slip through could endanger the royal capital. Even the Grand Duke of Grattanmount knew this well.

The only reason I could remain here was purely thanks to Amelia’s goodwill.

Under such circumstances, I represented the “Delkis people.”

If Prince Allen defeated me, he would start openly bragging, “I defeated a Delkis person.” Even if he didn’t say it himself, rumors would spread quickly.

Normally, I’d let him live in his delusion. But this was the same prince who was nitpicking the House of Delkis.

Honestly, I was pretty offended.

Still, I didn’t want to engage in a sparring match where I might lose. It was frustrating that my lack of ability made this such a dilemma, but it was the truth. What could I do?

“Then what do you plan to do? Honestly, if you refuse to spar here, people will say you ran away. If you were just a baron’s daughter, it might not matter, but as my ‘escort’, that’d be a problem.”

Exactly. As someone entrusted with her protection, refusing to spar could tarnish both my personal honor and my family’s.

…Why had Evan done this? He didn’t seem to hold a grudge against me. What’s the point of acting like a scheming noble with such innocent eyes?

“I have an idea.”

“Really?”

Amelia’s eyes widened as she asked.

“Yes. Do you happen to know our family’s motto?”

“‘Nature does not lie,’ right?”

“No, not that one. That’s the motto we publicly present.”

Not that it wasn’t used, but it was more symbolic. There was a more practical saying we followed.

Amelia tilted her head, thinking, but then apologized with a sheepish expression.

“Sorry, I’ve never heard anything else.”

“It’s not surprising. It’s not something we say openly.”

Smiling, I recited my family’s “unofficial” motto.

“If there’s an obstacle in life, split it, cut it, and break it. Then you’ll see the path ahead.”

“…”

Amelia’s mouth fell open slightly as she heard my words.

“It’s an old saying. No one knows exactly who said it first, but it’s quite commonly used in Delkis. Of course, we don’t advertise it outside much.”

“So…?”

Amelia prompted me to continue.

“Since we have an obstacle, let’s start with the first step: ‘splitting.’”

“…Splitting Prince Allen’s head?”

“Why would I split his head?”

At my incredulous tone, Amelia exhaled quietly and replied.

“Never mind. Let’s hear the rest.”

“You see, if the other party backs out first, our honor remains intact, doesn’t it?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“Then let’s make him retreat in fear.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“Animals in the North often fluff themselves up or make themselves appear larger when faced with danger. Even squirrels do that—they puff up their bodies when they see predators.”

Not that it makes them much bigger.

“Based on that idea, I plan to maximize my strongest advantage.”

I puffed out my chest and declared, “Without aura, the princes are no different from average southerners, right? So if I clearly show them my ‘power’ and make the prince realize he might lose, wouldn’t that solve the problem?”

Exactly.

If the prince believed my “possibility” of winning was real, his pride might stop him from sparring at all.

And fortunately, even though I was small, I was still a Delkis.

Sure, I was weaker than other Delkis people—

—but that was still by Delkis standards.

All I had to do was show those weak southerners what raw strength really meant.