The Childhood Friend of the Villainess in a Romance Fantasy

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: TempWane

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“Hmm…”

Amelia stared at my face intently, tilting her head with a finger resting on her cheek as though she was preparing to deliver a critique.

“Maybe this much is just right?”

“Are you done now?”

It had been five years since I made that promise with Amelia.

At this point, speaking informally felt more natural.

Of course, we still addressed each other formally in front of others and maintained a proper master-servant relationship, but when it was just the two of us, we spoke casually like this.

We spent far more time together than I had ever anticipated.

It wasn’t as if we were always in the same room. While we occasionally shared a room at night, we usually stayed in separate rooms. After all, we weren’t actual siblings.

Honestly, sharing the same room felt a little burdensome.

Amelia was now seventeen, just like me.

She stood a little over 160 centimeters tall, about 10 centimeters shorter than me.

While her height wasn’t remarkable, it was clear that she was shedding her girlish appearance and entering young womanhood. In just a little more time, we would both be adults.

Unlike when she was twelve, Amelia’s figure had become significantly closer to that of an adult.

I had already started becoming conscious of the fact that Amelia was a girl, and seeing her like this made it impossible to ignore. I found myself consciously trying not to let my eyes wander too much, though it wasn’t easy.

Moreover, my own body had matured almost completely, making it embarrassing to change clothes in front of Amelia.

In a way, it felt like all the “excuses” I could hide behind were gone.

So, even though sitting face-to-face with her like this was slightly embarrassing. But I knew if I showed that discomfort, it would disrupt our usual conversations, so I made a desperate effort to act normal.

“Your skin is so fair. If your makeup is too heavy, it’ll stand out awkwardly. Ugh, there are so many shades of lip tints, but the other products are severely lacking. Isn’t the technology here strangely imbalanced?”

I couldn’t understand much about makeup, so her words went over my head. Even in my past life, I could only describe makeup colors with terms like “reeeally red” or “soo purple.”

To women, even shades of red apparently weren’t all the same, but I never had a reason to go near cosmetics, nor did I major in art, so there was no way I could distinguish them.

“Let’s just settle for the lips. Well, since your face is already so pretty, I suppose this much is more than enough.”

Amelia stepped back, took my hand, and pulled me up.

Then, guiding me to the dressing table with the mirror, she sat me down.

The mirror, just slightly larger than two palm-sized hands, reflected my face.

With pale white skin, crimson eyes, and snowy white hair.

Even I had to admit my face looked pretty. Not as much as Amelia’s, of course, but if Elsie Delkis had been one of the heroines in the original story, she wouldn’t have seemed out of place.

My lashes Amelia had touched looked long and neat. My lips were a soft pink, which made me look a little livelier than usual. It seemed like Amelia’s morning-long efforts had paid off.

“You’re really pretty when like this,” Amelia spoke as she rested her chin on my shoulder.

Since I was sitting and Amelia was standing, her torso didn’t touch my back. It wasn’t a back hug.

Still, I could feel the warmth of her breath near my ear, making me tense up.

Amelia behaved as though she didn’t realize she was a girl in front of me.

That wasn’t unusual. The idea of being overly conscious of a same-gender friend was, if anything, even stranger.

But even after ten years, the me inside still liked girls.

So, when a beautiful woman like Amelia rest her face on my shoulder,, it was impossible for me not to stiffen.

“So, are you saying I’m only pretty when I’m like this?”

And so, I mastered the art of hiding my tension. The trick was to respond with playful snark to Amelia’s comments.

Not enough to upset her, of course. Just enough to keep things casual between friends.

“Oh, come on, I didn’t mean it like that.”

Amelia laughed as she lifted her chin off my shoulder.

I exhaled a small breath, trying to relax. While the tension eased, for some reason I couldn’t help feel a little disappointed though.

Amelia didn’t see me romantically, and she probably never would. But whenever she touched my hand, rested her head on me, or gave me a light hug, it still made me happy.

And Amelia was beautiful, after all!

And her figure was amazing!

Obviously, having a girl like her act that way around me was bound to feel good.

Not that I was in love with her. Absolutely not.

“My point is, if you could avoid going off on tangents about swordplay, trying to skin small animals, or digging for wild potatoes and coming back covered in dirt, people might just see you as the flawless beauty you are.”

“…Even I wouldn’t do something like that in the royal capital.”

And besides, wild potatoes don’t even grow in the South. Those are just regular potatoes.

Not that I said that aloud. If I did, Amelia would just respond with “See?”

“Squeak.”

“Sorry, Pori.”

Amelia picked up Pori, the squirrel that was still alive and well.

It was a problem to let wolves into the room, but squirrels seemed fine. The wolves I had brought back were technically problematic too, but with Amelia’s help and the Grand Ducal House’s support, I was able to keep them.

On one corner of Amelia’s desk sat a squirrel house for Pori, complete with a cozy straw nest inside a two-story house that resembled a cuckoo clock. Pori wasn’t locked in since it was obedient enough to stay close.

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder—do squirrels normally live this long? Northern creatures were beyond my comprehension.

Well, in the North, I’d never stopped to consider their lifespans. We’d just… eaten them.

“But that girl already tried to eat you once before. Who knows what might happen if I don’t keep warning her?”

“I do have enough common sense not to eat someone else’s pet.”

I replied dryly as Amelia pressed Pori to her cheek. She laughed and set him back in front of his house.

Fortunately, Pori didn’t seem to understand our conversation and casually strolled back into its home without a care.

“Anyway, I think this should be enough preparation for tomorrow. Honestly, you already stand out even without all this. With this, you might just become the star of the ball.”

“I don’t want that.”

Recoiling at the thought, I protested but just Amelia burst out laughing. Then suddenly clapped her hands together.

“Ah, since we’re on the topic, shall we practice dancing together?”

“…Do I really have to dance? Can’t I just drink and leave quietly?”

“If you were from a less prominent family, you could probably get away with that, but that’s not the case for you.”

“I’m just part of a baron’s household.”

“But you’re still my escort. Walking around with me will naturally draw attention. If people can’t even recall whether you were at the ball, they’ll start wondering—oh, there you go again.”

Seeing me put on my usual disinterested-in-politics expression, Amelia placed her hands on her hips.

“I told you, no matter what, you’ve got to put a little effort in.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll do it.”

Grumbling, I got up. Amelia extended her hand with a smile.

“Good, then let’s begin.”

Since it wasn’t the actual ball, we skipped the formalities of requesting or accepting a dance and went straight into position.

A pleasant scent drifted from Amelia—like flowers whose names I didn’t know.

Amelia’s warm hand wrapped around mine. Our feet aligned, and—more than anything, Amelia’s body pressed lightly against mine. Even… well, those parts.

If it were a man and a woman, it might have looked like I was leaning on her, but in our case, both of us had unmistakably feminine figures…

To be honest, I had been looking forward to this a little.

The snapping earlier was just my way of covering up my nerves.

I hoped Amelia wouldn’t notice.