The Childhood Friend of the Villainess in a Romance Fantasy

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: TempWane

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If my instinct was right, Amelia’s gaze toward me was anything but ordinary.

And I am a member of the Delkis family. To be honest, our family had such a deep bond with nature that I sometimes wondered whether we were a clan of people or a pack of beasts, living as closely with nature as we do. So, my instincts have rarely been off.

For the past few months, I’d been wandering all over the territory with wolves.

Normally, even a child of the Delkis family wouldn’t start roaming with hunters at the age of seven. But for me, things were a little different.

Long ago, among the giants who lived in this region, there were those who fought against nature and sat at the top of the food chain, and others who have made nature their companion. Although there was no great conflict between these two groups, it was said that those who survived in the end were the ones who climbed to the top of the food chain.

Since they weren’t in conflict, the original giants accepted some of the more peaceful group who disappeared first, and over time, those giants intermarried with humans, leading to the people of the Barony of Delkis today.

It’s said that the abilities of the earlier, more gentler faction have mostly been lost, but apparently, I was the first to manifest them so directly within the Barony in ages.

It seemed likely that the lineage was preserved on my mother’s side, who was rather small by Delkis standards.

And I was even smaller than my mother.

Although I was small, I inherited the ability to live as one with nature, just like those ancestors. So, running freely through the forests of the Barony of Delkis with nothing but myself wasn’t much of an issue. Not all of the wolf pack I met last time had followed me, but a young wolf and some larger wolves from that encounter had remained near Delkis Castle.

Since I was leading a small pack of obedient wolves, the adults weren’t too worried about me. Mother still frets a lot, but after seeing my ability firsthand, she didn’t object as openly. Even though she was anxious, she was also born a Delkis.

Thus, even at a very young age, I was recognized as a part of Delkis’s forces and allowed to patrol the surrounding area. Although “patrol” was limited to the southern areas near Delkis Castle, it was a unique responsibility considering my age. Even if I’d learned to negotiate with nature, it wasn’t considered much of an ‘asset’.

After all, facing a wolf or a bear is a different matter from hunting a moose, isn’t it? And there were also the occasional barbarian tribes who tried to invade from the south.

Well, anyway.

Though there was a border between the Barony and the Grand Duchy, we didn’t bother with outposts, so the hunter who first spotted guests would be the one to guide them.

If there had been another adult in my group, they would have stepped up instead of me, but I was alone at the moment. I couldn’t send out the wolf pack, either.

I watched as a bearded man stepped out of the carriage and approached me. He was quite tall, though not as tall as the men of Delkis. Maybe around 180 centimeters? He had an appearance that suggested his hair and beard would grow thick, but he’d neatly trimmed the beard along his cheeks and kept his mustache short, giving him a very tidy impression. The sideburns connecting to his beard were neatly trimmed as well, and his hair was parted cleanly at a 2:8 ratio. He’d likely groomed the hair at the nape of his neck just as meticulously.

He looked every bit the grand noble.

And following behind him was Amelia, the Grand Duke’s daughter.

Which meant that this man was the Grand Duke of Grattanmount.

I hesitated for a moment.

Ordinarily, a hunter wouldn’t need to offer a noble’s greeting. The person in front of me belonged to the highest-ranking family in this country after the royal family, and while distantly related, Delkis wasn’t the sort of place to insist on formalities.

At least, that’s what I’d heard.

Among Delkis hunters, some were from the Delkis family, and others weren’t. There were minor nobles, knights, and commoners all mixed together. And Delkis didn’t bother distinguishing between them. The “family” was simply a name that outsiders had attached.

The Grand Ducal House also understood this, so they didn’t expect elaborate etiquette from hunters, especially those who included commoners.

But… I should have a bit of decorum, right?

Though I was wearing a boar-hide outfit made by the wolves I led!

Clothes that looked more like a rag than actual clothes!

I grabbed the front of my outfit, holding it at knee level as if I were wearing a skirt.

Then, just as my mother had taught me, I bent my waist slightly and curtsied.

“I am Elsie Delkis, eldest daughter of the Delkis family.”

“Yes, I’ve heard much about you.”

At my greeting, the Grand Duke of Grattanmount smiled and nodded, then looked around.

“I’ve heard you’ve awakened druidic powers…?”

He inquired carefully, as if to confirm.

“Yes, I keep a few companions with me when I patrol.”

“Oh? Then, are they here too?”

“Yes, but I had them wait in the forest, as they might startle the horses or be unpleasant for travelers from afar.”

Technically, the ragged hide I was wearing wasn’t exactly pleasant to look at either, but there was no need to mention that now.

“I don’t mind. And these horses have been trained as warhorses. They won’t flee just because a wolf appears. If you’re comfortable with it, I’d like to see what that ability of yours is like.”

“Are you certain?”

“I may not look it now, but in my twenties, I fought on the battlefield. I once defended against the northern barbarians with your father. I’ve seen northern wolves before, so there’s no need to worry.”

Oh.

For an outsider of average height, he seemed rather fearless. Now that I thought about it, Father had mentioned a few times that before I was born, the Grand Duke would visit to hunt whenever he had time.

So, relatives were still relatives, even from afar. Since Delkis was so far north, we tend to think of everyone else as southerners, but technically the Grand Duchy of Grattenmount was also in the north.

Even if the Grand Duke was fine with it, I still felt a little uneasy.

Perhaps noticing that my gaze shifted to his daughter, the Grand Duke placed a hand on Amelia’s shoulder.

“My daughter is a Grattanmount too. We can’t know what the future holds, but until she marries, she’ll likely have much interaction with your family. It wouldn’t be bad for her to see it now, considering she’ll visit in the future.”

Or rather, was it you who wanted to see?

In the novel I’d read, the Grand Duke of Grattanmount wasn’t a particularly prominent character. He was portrayed as a noble who cared about his daughter but rarely showed his emotions outright.

Yet, right now, the person in front of me looked like a fishing enthusiast standing by a pond.

Well, I suppose I could think of him as someone like King Taejong, who had a fierce reputation as a ruthless king but also displayed a somewhat immature side as a hunting fanatic.

Perhaps he could make that expression because he was here in Delkis, where there was no need to put on airs.

In fact, Amelia was looking up at her father in disbelief.

“All right.”

Amelia was also the protagonist of the novel I’d read.

If she still had the qualities of the protagonist, she wouldn’t faint just because a few wolves approached her.

I turned around, brought my hands up to my mouth, and mimicked a howl.

“Awoo!”

The druidic power greatly reduced the aggression of the animals around me.

But that was it. The rest was up to me. Earning the pack’s respect and becoming their leader—all of it was up to my efforts.

This meant negotiation was necessary. While I didn’t risk my life like the adults who tamed moose, I did have to engage the young wolves in a ‘wolf style’ way. Communication also had to be done like a wolf. I didn’t have to run on all fours, but I had to be understandable to a wolf.

It was only after going through this process that I was able to become the alpha of this small pack.

“Awoo—”

A response echoed back—

“Ooh.”

A quiet exclamation came from the Grand Duke, who was standing a short distance behind me.

Though still young, a wolf with shoulders taller than my own height slinked forward.

The wolf that emerged from the trees was named Gray, a name I’d given based on his fur color.

With his yellow eyes gleaming, the wolf glanced over my shoulder at the Grand Duke and Amelia, then, as if uninterested, he sat down in front of me and let out a massive yawn.

Following behind him were seven other northern wolves, slightly smaller than Gray but still much larger than typical wolves.

“Remarkable.”

The Grand Duke exclaimed with a voice full of genuine admiration.