The Childhood Friend of the Villainess in a Romance Fantasy

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: TempWane

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Despite the eerie wolf howl, I didn’t dare open the window. In complete darkness, even the faintest light could stand out like a beacon. If the enemy were watching from the outside, an open window would be a perfect target for an arrow.

And with no glass pane to shield it, the arrow would pierce straight through my head or neck.

Even though they didn’t inherit the blood of giants, their attacks were still more than enough to pose a threat. That’s why the people of Delkis remained vigilant.

“What’s going on?”

The maid asked as she saw me rise from my seat.

Gray and his pack never howled in vain. Not just Gray, but Northern Wolves, in general, were cautious by nature. Occasionally, inexperienced young wolves would descend into the Territory of Delkis only to be hunted down. But conversely, this meant that the wolves in the territory now belonged solely to Gray’s pack.

I wasn’t a wolf, so I couldn’t perfectly understand their howls. But after months of moving with their pack, I had picked up on the general nuances.

This was a warning.

I immediately turned to head for the door.

But before I could reach it, the door burst open.

“Elsie.”

The person who entered was my older brother, Harvey. His face was set, hard and tense. He held a sword in one hand, longer than the ones typically carried by the knights assigned to guard Amelia.

“Is something happening outside?”

When I asked, Harvey nodded without hesitation.

“A barbarian was found inside the castle walls. He’s already dead, but there may be more.”

I turned my gaze briefly toward Amelia. She remained seated in her chair, her back to me, which was all I could see.

Was it my imagination, or did her posture seem a bit tense?

“How could they have gotten inside the walls?”

“We don’t know yet.”

Harvey shook his head.

“Not long ago, I heard a wolf howl—”

“We’re investigating that as well. A few hunters went in the direction of the howls. Judging by the distance, it was inside the castle walls…”

My family knew that I allowed wolves into the inner part of the castle. Generally, our family didn’t raise beasts in such a manner, but the wolves hunted their own food. On that condition, they were permitted entry. That wasn’t to say we ignored them completely; we also shared surplus provisions with them whenever we had extra or when new supplies arrived from outside.

The House of Delkis understood well that without the wolf pack, I wouldn’t have been nearly as useful for the family.

There were advantages to having the wolves move periodically between the inner and outer walls. Though they couldn’t communicate directly with humans, Gray and his pack understood my commands and could carry out tasks.

“If barbarians had entered, there’s no way Gray would have missed them…”

I wasn’t sure if Gray could distinguish the scent of a barbarian, but he could certainly identify the size and shape of footprints.

Could Gray, who regularly left to forage for food, really have missed such signs?

“We don’t know yet. Speculating without evidence is foolish. Stay in your room. His Highness, the Prince, will be arriving here soon.”

“Oh.”

At the mention of Prince Evan’s arrival, Amelia finally reacted.

She turned in her chair to face us, covering her mouth as if startled by the sound she’d made. Her wide eyes reflected surprise, and even to me, her expression seemed a little odd.

Why?

What had surprised her so much?

“Lady Amelia, there’s no need to worry too much. Your knights are working in close coordination with us, and this manor is thoroughly guarded and protected.”

“Ah, yes… Thank you for your efforts.”

At Harvey’s reassurance, Amelia lowered her hand and appeared to regain her composure.

“Elsie.”

Hearing my name, I turned to face him. He was holding out a sword to me.

It was noticeably smaller than the one he carried. In fact, it was even smaller than the swords knights wore at their waists. By my standards, it was a longsword, but for adults, it was an in-between size—neither a true longsword nor a dagger.

If anything, it resembled a practical training sword for children.

“Keep this with you, just in case. And summon your wolves. As a Delkis, make sure no enemy lays a hand on our guests.”

I nodded lightly and accepted the sword.

I couldn’t wield sword aura, but I could still swing it. Whether it would serve as an effective threat was another matter.

“Young Master!”

A voice called out from outside, and moments later, a group of people poured into the room. Among them were knights in plate armor, their metal clanking, and several members of the House of Delkis.

“These people will stand guard here. I’ll head to Father.”

At Harvey’s words, I nodded. Though he was still young, his swordsmanship was already polished to the level of a fully-fledged swordsman.

They likely planned to block the entrance at the manor’s front gate. Since the intruders had already entered the castle walls, they were bound to aim for this place.

After a brief glance at my face, he patted my shoulder before turning and leaving without hesitation.

Not long after, the prince arrived.

*

The room was engulfed in silence.

The knights here probably hadn’t expected to face actual barbarians in battle.

It was only natural—they were guests. Asking guests to scout or fight alongside us would have been unthinkable. Besides, even if there were combat, it was usually sporadic skirmishes, rarely requiring this level of preparation for a full confrontation.

If it did come to full-scale conflict, it would still be a small one. Though the enemy breached the walls, we didn’t know how. That suggested it wasn’t a large force; otherwise, there would be clear traces, and it would be impossible for us not to notice.

This left the purpose of their small-scale infiltration unclear… but raiding for food seemed unlikely. How much food could a small unit carry out?

“…”

The prince gripped his sword with a tense expression. Though he wasn’t pointing it forward, his face showed no signs of fear or retreat.

Still, I couldn’t help worrying a bit. His face still retained traces of the child I had sparred with, and it was hard to ignore.

The room, designed for the larger frames of Delkis people, was spacious but would quickly become cramped with too many occupants. Enough space was necessary for effective swordplay, so the elderly and infirm had been relocated elsewhere.

Other members of the House of Delkis were likely protecting their families in similar ways.

The maid, who had been chattering earlier about speculation regarding the barbarians, now kept her lips tightly shut.

“…!”

A shout echoed from beyond the closed window. Though I couldn’t make out the exact words, the tone was unmistakably one of alarm.

Had the enemy appeared?

But merely spotting the enemy shouldn’t elicit such a startled cry. We already knew they had entered.

Moments later, I understood why the people below had cried out in shock.

“This…!”

One of the knights let out a sharp cry.

The air seemed to split open.

It appeared as if an invisible scalpel had sliced a thin seam, which then gradually expanded from top to bottom, like a zipper being undone. The sight was less mystical and more grotesque.

Snow blew in through the widening gap, and a hand reached through, attempting to force it open further—

But before the owner of that hand could fully emerge, someone reacted first.

“…!”

A monstrous shriek rang out, one that defied human vocal cords.

Severed fingers spilled onto the floor. The hand that had been prying open the rift was abruptly withdrawn.

One of the Delkish warriors had struck, slicing the intruder’s hand with their sword.

The severed fingers twitched on the floor—

“Hic…!”

The maid let out a frightened gasp.

The fingers writhed grotesquely until the hunter casually stomped them into the ground, crushing them like a rodent caught underfoot. Only then did they cease moving.

“Ah…!”

But it wasn’t over.

As if emboldened by the severed hand, similar rifts began opening around the room.

I gripped my sword tightly.

From one of the new rifts, another hand reached out—

“…!”

This time, the shriek was different.

It wasn’t caused by a blade.

The intruding arm, which had extended as far as the elbow, was seized and shaken violently by the jaws of a massive wolf.

As per my brother’s instructions, I had prepared thoroughly.

In addition to the knights and warriors, two large wolves waited in the room.

Among them was Gray, the largest wolf in my pack.

…It had been a while since the wolves had a chance to feast.