The Childhood Friend of the Villainess in a Romance Fantasy

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: TempWane

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The streets of Rinswell, the royal capital, were dazzling.

Naturally, compared to the royal capital, Delkis’s streets felt humble. Functioning more like facilities attached to a military outpost, they didn’t sell much that could be deemed “luxurious.” That’s why I had to source sugar directly through a merchant myself.

The situation in the Grand Duchy of Grattanmount was much better in comparison, but even then, it seemed modest when placed side by side with the royal capital. Although Grattanmount was considered “southern” by Delkis standards, it was closer to the north when viewed in the context of the entire kingdom, and its people’s temperament strongly reflected that of the “stoic northerners.”

Well, the whole country was technically northern, but relatively speaking, that’s how it felt.

Moreover, Rinswell had neither polar night nor midnight sun. Naturally, the days were incredibly long in summer, and the nights excessively long in winter, but there was no endless daylight throughout summer nor unbroken darkness in winter. In that sense, the royal capital, located at the southernmost tip of the kingdom, was the “deep south” to me.

Perhaps because of this, the people’s faces exuded a sense of leisure. It felt like a city where the assurance of tomorrow’s sunrise resonated.

Honestly, I was a little worried.

As winter began to wane, I could feel it gradually “warming up.” The problem was that I had never experienced this level of “warmth” while living in the north. Though I retained memories of heat from my past life, I had assumed it would never be relevant in this one.

If summer in the royal capital turned out to be the kind of summer I imagined, I might physically melt away.

While walking under the warm sunlight with Amelia for quite some time, lost in such thoughts,

“Over there.”

Amelia suddenly pointed to something.

Over the past few days, I’d seen her do that several times.

Romance fantasy novels rarely depicted detailed maps like traditional fantasy stories did. Even descriptions of appearances were often just written in text.

For example, even if “blond hair” was mentioned, it was rarely clarified what shade of blond it was. Given the nature of Korean web novels, “blond” usually referred to dazzling golden locks, but here, in Rinswell, such golden hair was far too common.

Ultimately, the only way to find the heroine, Adele, was to scour the royal capital thoroughly and confirm each candidate individually.

The girl Amelia pointed at appeared to be in her late teens, similar to our age. She seemed a little taller than Amelia but definitely shorter than me. Her skin was pale but healthier in tone compared to my albinism.

As for her figure, she was perhaps a little less striking than Amelia. Then again, it might be more accurate to say Amelia’s figure was ‘impossible not to notice’.

“Look over there. ‘Blond hair, emerald-green eyes, kind gaze.’ Doesn’t that seem pretty plausible? Plus, her hair’s tied back, and she looks strong.”

“She’s definitely more trained than the ones we’ve seen so far.”

Although she wore a long-sleeved top and a long skirt, her movements revealed the precision of someone who had undergone training. Her stride wasn’t the fragile, wavering steps of a delicate noblewoman but a confident, commanding walk akin to a knight’s.

Her pace was so brisk that, even though she had been fairly close when we first spotted her, she quickly moved to the edge of our sight. Despite the large number of people enjoying the still-short daylight, she wove effortlessly through the crowd, walking with purpose.

“Elsie, hurry up!”

Amelia urged, quickening her pace, prompting me to increase mine as well.

However, neither of us could navigate the crowd as skillfully as the girl ahead. It wasn’t that Amelia was particularly weak, but the number of people on the streets of the royal capital was far greater than in Grattanmount, making it unfamiliar terrain for her.

I slid in beside Amelia and gently grabbed her waist with my left arm, pulling her slightly toward me.

“Ah.”

“Hold on.”

I leaned forward slightly, carving a path through the people.

It wasn’t particularly difficult. The gaps between people were denser than those between trees, but they lacked the sturdy resistance of the yew trees in the north. A few people glared at us, but as soon as they noticed our fine clothes and well-applied makeup, they quickly averted their eyes.

One of the perks of noble status was moments like this. Expensive clothes, makeup, and perfume had a way of commanding recognition, even from those who didn’t fully understand their value.

Especially in an era where the quality of goods varied so dramatically.

“……”

Perhaps understanding my intent, Amelia let her light body rest against my arm. She had long since mastered the basics of swordsmanship, so keeping pace wasn’t a problem for her.

“Phew.”

After following the girl for quite some time, we finally emerged into a less crowded area.

Looking around, I saw an enormous mansion.

In terms of sheer size, the mansion couldn’t compare to Grattanmount Castle or Delkis Castle, but the nobles living here were mostly local, minor nobles. Otherwise, they were nobles “dispatched” here, like us.

No matter how small a noble’s domain might be, they typically maintained some sort of contact point in the royal capital. And the best contacts were, without a doubt, family members by blood. A family member in the capital could observe events, identify opportunities that would benefit the main house, and communicate.

Originally, these family members were sent as hostages to prevent regional nobles from rebelling. Now, they had become key points of mutual advantage and communication.

Amelia was the same—both in the novel and in this world. The Grand Ducal House had only two children: Amelia and her younger brother, Ted. Ted was still in Grattanmount, studying to become the next lord of the territory.

In the “original work,” Ted was also a definitive male lead, but in the version I read, Ted was such an obedient younger brother to his sister that he never really took center stage as a protagonist. He only appeared in the latter half of the story.

…Anyway, while this area was lined with impressive mansions, they appeared somewhat small compared to where Amelia and I were staying.

“…”

Finally slipping free from my arm, Amelia silently adjusted her clothes, which had been slightly disheveled during our rushed movements.

As I still felt the lingering warmth where Amelia had been, I quickly followed her lead, fixing my own attire. Thankfully, we hadn’t moved so strenuously that our clothes were wrinkled to a degree unbecoming of nobles.

“…Ahem.”

Amelia cleared her throat once and turned her head sharply to look back at the path we had taken. She studied the road behind us and remarked,

“It might be better to avoid that street in the future. Surely there’s an alternate route. Not every noble in the royal capital gets around by carriage all the time.”

With her back to me, Amelia spoke while surveying the path behind us. Knowing she couldn’t see me, I shrugged my shoulders playfully anyway.

“We’ll figure it out next time.”

At least I managed to keep my voice steady, as usual.

“By the way, if we don’t hurry, we might lose her.”

I glanced back. The shimmering blonde hair was already disappearing into the distance.

“That’s not a problem. We know Adele’s family name,” Amelia said confidently as she turned back toward me.

“One of the advantages of being a noble is how much we like to show off, right? Even if it’s a minor noble family or a knightly house without a formal title, they’ll still flaunt their name. I’m sure the name ‘Carlins’ will be prominently displayed on that mansion’s gate.”

*

And Amelia was right.

The name “Carlins” was indeed boldly displayed on the mansion’s gate.

The novel described the mansion as “a grand house that, upon closer inspection, showed signs of neglect,” and indeed, that’s how it looked.

The edges of the walls, areas where iron was used on the gate, and other sections revealed rust and cracks. The wear and tear stood out, making it clear that these were places where proper maintenance would have kept things pristine, had there been enough resources or manpower.

It wasn’t complete ruin… but for a family on the verge of collapse, it was fitting.

“So… what do we do now?”

“Now that we know where the mansion is, we should retreat for now. Later, we can pass by and pretend to meet by coincidence—”

“—Wait, Amelia.”

I raised a hand to cut off Amelia mid-sentence as she was discussing our next steps. Amelia, startled, looked at me in surprise but quickly complied with my signal.

“…Excuse me, may I ask you something?”

The voice came from behind us.

When we slowly turned around, there stood Adele, whom we thought had already entered the mansion, staring at us.

Her expression seemed slightly angry.

“I apologize if I’m mistaken, but may I ask why you were following me?”

…Had she doubled back and been hiding, waiting for us?

I clicked my tongue softly.