The Childhood Friend of the Villainess in a Romance Fantasy – Chapter 104

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: TempWane

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For someone to appear villainess, they must avoid doing anything silly.

Or at least refrain from doing anything that might be helpful for the other party.

If neither of those options is desirable, one must absolutely avoid laughing in a manner like, “Oh-hoho!”

“Oh-hoho!”

For the record, that was exactly how Diane’s laughter sounded. At least her usual “huhuhu” laugh sounded a bit sinister. But “Ohohoho!” … how should I put it? It just sounded silly, didn’t it?

It was the kind of laughter typical of the cheerful, airheaded high-ranking noble ladies often seen in this genre of novels.

Adding to the effect, she struck that classic pose, lifting her right hand with the pinky finger slightly raised in front of her mouth.

Incidentally, her left hand was firmly gripping the reins of the horse she had brought along.

For the record, the person riding the horse wasn’t Diane but Adele. Diane was leading the horse from below while Adele sat astride it.

Apparently, Diane intended to mock Adele for being of such a status and age yet unable to ride a horse herself.

But no matter how one looked at it, wasn’t Diane the one who seemed more like a maid leading the horse from below?

…Where had that scheming woman gone—the one who had even forged royal invitations to sabotage Adele? Now she looked like a fool.

“To think someone your age can’t even ride a horse. I suppose your circumstances must have been quite dire. You should be grateful I’m helping you like this!”

Every line she delivered was pure textbook tsundere.

I mean, sure, I knew Diane didn’t harbor any such feelings for Adele at the moment.

“….”

Still, whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Adele’s cheeks were reddening. Then again, we never spoke to her like this when we taught her.

From my modern perspective, her words might seem like trivial jabs, but in this world where people placed their lives on things like family honor, it could very well be considered a humiliating insult.

After all, she was ridiculing Adele for being a noble yet lacking the proper education of one.

“Hmm…”

Even Amelia seemed torn, her face contemplative as if she couldn’t decide whether to intervene, given how nonsensical Diane’s remarks were.

Well, in the original story, it was Amelia who was truly wicked, while Diane had been more of a follower, executing Amelia’s ideas rather than devising them herself.

Not that it absolved Diane of her own crimes, which were still unforgivable.

Though they committed unforgivable crimes, Diane was reportedly shocked by Amelia’s orders later, so it seemed she never intended to go as far as killing Adele.

“Should we stop her?”

“…For now, let’s observe a little longer since it’s technically helping Adele.”

It wasn’t wrong to say Diane’s teaching method was by the book.

Moreover, the horse she had chosen for Adele was highly trained and obedient. It was probably one of Diane’s own prized horses, which explained its quality and cooperative nature. Because of this, Adele was in no danger.

In some ways, it might have been a better horse than the one we had secured for her after arriving here.

“Hmph.”

After circling widely, Diane let out a smug breath, as if showing off—though she’d been doing so the entire time—and said,

“Let’s call today’s training to a close. For someone who’s only recently started riding, this much must have been overwhelming, no? You should be grateful to Jessie. If the horse I brought had even the slightest bit of a bad temperament, you’d already be rolling on the ground.”

“……”

Adele pressed her lips together tightly and dismounted from the horse.

Then, placing a hand gently on Jessie’s face, she softly murmured,

“Thank you, Jessie.”

“Neiiigh.”

Jessie flicked her ears as if it was nothing.

Was it because Jessie liked Adele, or was it simply that Jessie was an exceptionally docile horse?

At the very least, I hadn’t touched Jessie today, so it couldn’t be due to my druid abilities.

Judging by the overflowing pride in Diane’s expression, Jessie must have been an exceptionally intelligent and well-behaved horse. Generally, the smarter livestock is, the harder it is to control, but Jessie obeyed readily, likely due to her excellent temperament.

“A horse like this that understands verbal commands without needing the reins is only natural—”

“Thank you.”

“—ly amazing, eh?”

Diane, who had begun speaking in a tone that screamed ‘Your family doesn’t have anything like this, does it?’, suddenly trailed off. Adele had slightly bowed her head in her direction and offered her thanks. Diane froze, blinking in surprise.

“I truly appreciate that you’ve allowed me to use such a fine horse for my training.”

Blink.

Diane, her mouth slightly agape, blinked again as though her brain had stopped working.

“However.”

When Adele raised her head, her gaze was firmly locked on Diane.

“Horses like this aren’t ones you can easily come by. Even with money, they would be difficult to obtain.”

“T-that’s right! Horses like this are beyond your—”

“—not even the Lady Grattanmount and her escort over there could obtain one.”

Crack.

Diane froze once more.

For a fleeting moment, I genuinely debated whether pulling on her coiled hair bun might snap it off with a clean pop.

“I, uh, I didn’t mean it like that…”

“……Of course, I understand.”

Adele undoubtedly understood better than anyone else that Diane’s remark had been aimed at her.

“I just wanted to point out that making such careless statements might offend other nobles. As someone from a count’s house, surely you wouldn’t want to be oblivious to such things…would you?”

If that logic were sound, then it would also be strange for the daughter of a mere knightly family—someone like you—to speak that way to Diane, the daughter of a count’s house.

Of course, I didn’t bother to say that aloud.

After all, lines like that are far less fitting for a protagonist.

There’s something inherently protagonist-like about losing your temper and blurting things out without considering the consequences.

And usually, it’s a protagonist’s job to deal with the threats that follow such rash behavior.

Though in this case, since we’re here, the story would play out a little differently.

“Ugh…”

Since Diane was, after all, quite beautiful, her flustered behavior came across as rather endearing.

“…”

“Hm?”

Feeling someone’s gaze on me, I turned my head to find Amelia staring at me intently.

“Uh… what is it?”

Her expressionless stare caught me off guard, so I cautiously asked. Amelia merely shrugged her shoulders and let out a soft sigh.

“Nothing.”

But her face didn’t look like it was “nothing.”

Before I could press her further, Amelia moved ahead. As she brushed past me, I quickly followed her.

What’s with her? This morning, she acted so casual, even asking me to help her change clothes—yet now—

—Ah.

Could it be? Was she feeling awkward about what happened this morning?

I thought she’d gotten over it, but maybe the memory had suddenly resurfaced.

Embarrassing moments tend to sneak up on you like that. Even the cringeworthy memories from middle school ten years ago sometimes pop up out of nowhere and make you kick your blanket in frustration.

Considering yesterday’s events were Amelia’s doing in more ways than one, it’s not surprising that the memory might suddenly make her feel flustered.

How adorable.

…But does that mean I can’t cuddle with her tonight?

*

As I passed by Elsie, I couldn’t help but wonder.

Will my blanket survive the night?

Elsie is… a girl, just like me.

That means she’s very unlikely to feel sexual attraction toward me or other women. While I’m not entirely sure about the prevalence of heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality, it’s generally safe to assume that most people are straight.

So, there’s no need to feel jealous if Elsie smiled at another girl. No need to feel anxious either.

No matter how I think about it, Elsie switching her affections to Diane was an impossibility.

But even if that wasn’t the issue, and even if it wasn’t something worth concerning myself with…

Feeling even a flicker of jealousy toward Diane instead of Adele—what on earth had gotten into me?

The fact that I let that jealousy turn into irritation, which I then directed at Elsie, made it even more embarrassing. Not that Elsie seemed to have any idea, judging by her blank expression.

“…Ahem.”

At the sound of me clearing my throat, both Adele and Diane flinched.

That’s right.

I was the Grand Duke’s daughter, someone so high-ranking that even bringing a Delkis native as my escort was unthinkable to others from neighboring territories.

So, naturally, my mere presence startled them. It would be surprising enough just for me to stand nearby, let alone overhear them discussing me moments ago.

“Eek!”

Ah.

Judging by Diane’s startled reaction when our eyes met, it seemed the annoyance I had been feeling still lingered on my face.

I’d grown so used to Elsie’s unflinching expression when looking at me that I sometimes forgot how I might appear to others.

“If Adele has finished learning everything for today, shall we head to the forest now?”

“Oh!”

Adele’s face lit up immediately at my words.

Even though the last time she was in the forest, she screamed her head off.

…Not that I was any different.

“The forest?”

Diane’s eyes darted nervously.

Her trembling gaze shifted to the sun, which was slowly sinking below the horizon, painting the sky with the deep hues of twilight.

She must have assumed our business was done now that the sun had set.

“Yes, the forest. If you’d rather not join us, it’s perfectly fine to part ways here.”

Diane was someone whose pride reached the heavens.

While she generally embodied the refined femininity expected of noble ladies—

Her eyes flicked briefly toward Adele.

Adele smiled at Diane, a relaxed and confident smile.

“…I’ll go. Surely I’m allowed to accompany you as well?”

Seeing that smile seemed to ignite something in Diane, who spoke up, her tone sharp with irritation.

Right. When her pride was on the line, Diane tended to make irrational choices.

…Which was exactly why Amelia managed to manipulate her in the original story.