The Childhood Friend of the Villainess in a Romance Fantasy

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: TempWane

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Keeping up with the class was hard.

Normally, wasn’t the first lesson supposed to be more manageable?

Even during my university days after graduating high school, the initial classes seemed to start by going over the basics again.

…Well, I guess my problem isn’t that I’m bad at magic but that I can’t use it at all.

Delkis people, due to their lineage, cannot use magic, and therefore, they don’t learn it. The only magic a Delkis person might learn is the magic used by their enemies.

Most of the time, they can just block that enemy magic with their bodies.

That said, the class wasn’t boring.

The Archmage of the tower occasionally demonstrated examples of magic. Flames would ignite in the empty air, or water in a beaker would freeze on its own.

These demonstrations would likely become less frequent and eventually rare as the classes progressed.

The Archmage seemed interested in my abilities, so I probably wouldn’t be dismissed for struggling in my studies.

After the first class ended, during the break, I turned my seat toward Adele.

After about an hour of class, Adele seemed to have regained much of her strength. Her once sweat-drenched hair had dried, and her breathing was steady.

“Was there some issue this morning?” I asked.

“Sorry?”

Had my question been too abrupt?

“You couldn’t make it to the Tower on time,” I elaborated, trying to clarify.

At my additional explanation, Adele let out a small “Ah,” as if understanding.

“This morning, I couldn’t seem to catch a carriage. It takes a while to walk here, so I thought it would be better to take a carriage… but none of the usual carriages were around. Normally, there are always carriages waiting for passengers near where I live, but there wasn’t a single one today.”

Adele smiled faintly at me as she explained.

“Since I’d planned to ride a carriage, I was pressed for time. So, I just ran as hard as I could. Thankfully, I made it before class started.”

I glanced down slightly at Adele’s skirt. It was covered in dust and dirt. Fortunately, it hadn’t rained recently; otherwise, it would’ve been caked in mud.

“That’s quite strange,” Amelia remarked from her seat beside me, her gaze directed at Adele.

“Usually, there are both carriages waiting for passengers and ones circulating to specific spots,”Amelia said.

“Right? It’s odd, isn’t it?”

Despite Amelia’s suspicious tone, Adele responded with a puzzled look.

Amelia wasn’t suspecting Adele herself.

Rather, she was likely questioning the situation Adele found herself in.

…Wasn’t it just too easy to imagine? The whole situation seemed like something set up by a villain to inconvenience the heroine.

Of course, I didn’t glance over at Diane. She was certainly a suspicious character, but there wasn’t any evidence at the moment. Besides, if I openly suspected her—

“Wouldn’t it be better to leave a little earlier next time?” Diane interjected suddenly. Before I knew it, she had risen from her seat and was standing beside Adele.

“Carriages don’t always run smoothly, especially if there are too many passengers or the horses aren’t in good condition. And riding carriages all the time can end up being more costly than you might think.”

Of course, very few nobles refrain from taking carriages due to the cost.

“Perhaps waking up a bit earlier and walking might be more reassuring.”

“…Thank you for the advice, Lady Hoover.”

Adele replied quietly.

“But I’ll try to handle my own problems. I’m sorry for causing concern.”

“No need to apologize. I was simply worried that if someone arrives only at the start of class, it might disrupt the flow of the lesson. Like everyone else, it’s important to arrive a little early and wait, don’t you think?”

“……”

Adele didn’t respond to Diane’s words. It was true that Adele’s late arrival had interrupted the discussion.

Amelia, narrowing her eyes, silently watched Diane as she spoke.

“……”

I, too, fell into brief contemplation.

We could bring Adele to the Tower using our carriage. But Adele was already attending the Tower’s lessons under Amelia’s sponsorship. Would she welcome additional support from us?

Pride was one thing, but Adele also didn’t like being a burden to others. Convincing her might actually be harder than persuading most people.

Yet, if she continued walking to the Tower every morning… wouldn’t that be dangerous in its own way? Even if her family’s finances weren’t great right now, she was still a noble.

Someone might target Adele for a crime, knowing she had no strong backing. Even if Adele was skilled with a sword, she could lose if multiple attackers struck at once.

In the end, the conversation fizzled out, leaving things in an unresolved state as the next class began.

*

“…Amelia.”

Right after the class ended, I lowered my head slightly and spoke to Amelia in a soft voice.

“Yes?”

“Did you understand the lesson?”

The first hour had been enjoyable with various demonstrations, but the remaining two hours were a never-ending deluge of theory.

The problem was that I couldn’t comprehend any of it, while the other students seemed to follow along just fine.

Even Diane, who didn’t look particularly sharp, seemed to understand.

“Ah… it wasn’t too hard,” Amelia seemed to understand why I was asking just by looking at my expression.

“If you don’t understand something, I can explain it to you later.”

“…Thanks.”

Honestly, I wasn’t particularly eager for extra lessons. Theory wasn’t exactly my strong suit, and it didn’t hold much meaning for me.

However, I couldn’t reject Amelia’s offer, given her kind intentions, so I simply answered that way.

Besides, spending time near Amelia was enjoyable, no matter the context.

“And— Oh, wait, Lady Carlins!”

“Yes?”

When Amelia quickly stood and called out, Adele, who had also risen from her seat, turned to look at her.

“There’s a place I’d like to visit with you today. Would you have some time?”

“Ah, yes!”

At Amelia’s words, Adele nodded immediately.

Had yesterday’s events caused her to trust us completely?

“Then let’s ride in our carriage together. We’ll drop you off at your residence first, and then we’ll prepare and come back for you.”

“Ah…”

“There’s no need to feel too troubled. We’ll just be passing by your house on the way.”

That was true, though it did add a bit of extra distance if we detoured to Adele’s house before returning to our estate.

“…Understood. Thank you for your kindness.”

“Of course.”

Seeing Amelia taking care of Adele, Diane, sitting behind us, had a shocked expression.

I found it quite satisfying.

*

At first, I didn’t know why Amelia had invited Adele. But once we returned to the estate and I saw Amelia changing into her riding clothes, I realized where we were headed.

Amelia intended to take Adele to the forest.

“Are you going to check on Grey and Snow too?”

“That, and I want to teach Adele horseback riding.”

“Oh?”

Though Adele was the daughter of a knightly family, they didn’t own a horse. According to the novel’s setting, the last horse they had died a few years ago.

Buying a new horse was too expensive, and maintaining one was even more costly. Unfortunately, despite being the daughter of a knightly family and aspiring to be a knight, Adele hadn’t learned to ride.

“…But isn’t that something Prince Allen does?”

I recalled the “original setting” from the story.

“That’s true, but we can’t just leave Adele as she is, can we? Since she can’t afford a personal carriage or coachman, learning to ride will solve many of her problems.”

“….”

In the version of the story I’d read, Adele learned horseback riding from Amelia, not Prince Allen. Naturally, this leads to a rapid closeness between them.

“What about getting to the forest?”

“I’ll let her ride behind me. Our horses are plenty big enough for two.”

“…Behind whom?”

“Don’t worry too much.”

Noticing my expression, Amelia smiled as she reassured me.

“I’m not going to make her ride behind you. I’m the one who invited her, so I’ll take responsibility. She can ride behind me.”

That’s exactly what I was worried about!

If Adele rode behind you, she’d be pressed tightly against you.

Even though I knew Adele and Amelia would end up together eventually, I wasn’t ready to watch it unfold right in front of me—not just yet!