The Childhood Friend of the Villainess in a Romance Fantasy

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: TempWane

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Winter is coming.

That phrase is from a famous fantasy novel. I read it back when I was a college student and found it incredibly entertaining. However, even after finishing it, the next volume never came out. By the time I ended up in this world, I still hadn’t seen how the story concluded.

Anyway, I always thought the saying—used as the motto of a certain family in the story—was incredibly well-crafted.

Winter is a trial. Even in modern South Korea, where technology has advanced enough to drastically reduce the chances of freezing to death as long as you can pay your electricity bill, winter remains a challenge. After all, there are always people who can’t manage even that much.

Let alone in a time without such technological advancements. Preparing for winter in such an era means resorting to methods straight out of old tales—primitive and tedious.

You stockpile food. The food must be preserved in ways that prevent spoilage over long periods: drying, smoking, or salting. Fruits are dried; grains are tightly packed into thick leather sacks to keep out mice and bugs, with the openings sealed multiple times.

To an outsider, all this preparation might seem excessive. While this world lacks modern amenities like electricity and gas pipelines, Delkis is not completely cut off. It has passable roads, and merchants visit periodically.

Though remote, Delkis isn’t so isolated that contact with the outside world is entirely severed. The food stores in Delkis Castle include not only meat and dried fruits from the surrounding area but also grains from the southern breadbasket and even a small quantity of dried fish from the coast.

So, preparing to survive winter solely on stockpiled food might seem unnecessary. Even if snow isolates us, we’re never cut off for the entire season. The people of Delkis are capable of clearing snow and reopening roads.

The fact that Prince Evan and Amelia stayed in Delkis even as winter began proves this. They remain here because they know they can leave “whenever they want.”

…Though, of course, “whenever” isn’t literal. It might involve a few weeks’ delay, but leaving is certainly possible.

But for us, this level of preparation is tradition.

“Humans grow lazy when life becomes too comfortable.”

When Amelia asked me, as I twisted dried grass into rope, why we went to such lengths, that was the answer I gave her.

Still, I wondered: Did she have no intention of returning home? Could the daughter of a Grand Duke really stay away from her family’s territory for so long?

Surely, she must have her reasons for being here, but I felt it was about time for the Grand Duke to summon her back.

“People grow lazy when they’re comfortable?”

Amelia repeated my words, and I nodded.

“Yes. Once you get used to comfort, you’ll always want it. If that happens repeatedly, you’ll eventually find yourself at a dangerous edge. It might be fine most of the time, but after a few years, there’s bound to be a moment when you cross that line, and once that happens, there’s no way to undo the damage.”

In my past life, I wasn’t particularly diligent. I grudgingly attended school, grudgingly met the grades to get into college, grudgingly landed a poorly paying job, and grudgingly went to work because I needed to feed myself.

On weekdays, I dragged myself out of bed, survived until the end of the workday, and spent weekends sleeping in, only waking up in the late afternoon. Compared to now—where I wake up early every day and actively seek out tasks—I wasn’t very industrious back then. But back then, I wasn’t doing what I wanted to do; I was just trying to surviving.

If you ask whether I want to do what I do now, the answer is still no. In this world, there’s no labor law, no child protection law, or any other such regulations, so I work tirelessly, weekdays and weekends alike.

Still, as a baron’s daughter, I enjoy a certain level of convenience.

Moreover, I was something of an anomaly in my family—so small and frail that my mother often looked at me with pity and muttered, “This is my fault.” Compared to my family, I lacked physical strength, so when winter came, I was exempted from tasks like construction work and chopping firewood.

Even so, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of shame.

I’ve lived here for seven years. I know how hard the people of Delkis labor to gather food and survive the freezing cold. To freeload off their efforts feels wrong.

Though, considering my age in modern terms, I should be under someone’s care, I’m well into my late twenties mentally. I couldn’t justify living off others with no sense of responsibility.

So, I naturally found little tasks to keep myself busy. In this world, where there’s no mass production, things like twisted ropes always come in handy eventually.

“And being thoroughly prepared also leaves room to handle unexpected variables.”

“……”

Amelia seemed at a loss for words after watching my actions and hearing my explanation. I chuckled softly.

“Your Highness, you don’t need to worry too much. As I’ve said, you and His Highness are guests here.”

Even without a formal legal system like in modern times, there were unspoken codes of conduct among people.

When guests arrive, you accept them. You provide ample food. And the guests do not refuse such hospitality.

Treating guests well ensures reciprocity when roles are reversed. Though Delkis residents seldom venture out, we benefit from external support in other ways.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“You don’t have to. We already receive plenty of support from the Grand Ducal House. Without their aid, we couldn’t maintain our territory on this scale.”

“But that’s…”

Amelia started to speak but then fell silent.

Delkis serves as the frontline defense against the northern barbarians. To someone from a peaceful region, our rugged lives might seem like an undue burden.

“Delkis is our home. It’s where we’ve lived for centuries.”

I glanced back at the rope I was twisting. I’d been working since breakfast and had made a considerable amount, but considering what we’d need to get through winter, it was better to make more.

This method of rope-making was said to have been passed down from the giants hundreds of years ago.

Of course, the ropes they twisted would have been far thicker. And the giants no longer remained.

The House of Delkis began when a member of the Grattanmount Grand Ducal family came to the North to explore and settled down after falling in love with a giant. Since then, Delkis continued to accept new people—whether descendants of the Grand Ducal House or ordinary folk from elsewhere.

All these people came together to form “Delkis.” The name doesn’t just refer to the baron’s family or the barony but encompasses everyone living here.

For us, the descendants of those who chose to live here, this place is our home.

It’s our home, so we endure and defend it. Whether the Grand Ducal House supports us or not, we will persevere. Even if it means fading away, we’ll accept that fate without complaint.

“So there’s no need for the Grand Ducal family to feel indebted. We live here because we want to.”

If forced to leave, we’d surely yearn again for the dazzlingly white snowfields, the evergreen pines that remain vibrant even beneath the snow, the midnight sun of summer, and the serene nights of winter.

Abandoning this place isn’t an option for us.

“I see…”

After listening quietly, Amelia finally responded softly.

She then watched me work for a long while before picking up a handful of dry straw from the pile beside me.

“Your Highness, you don’t need to—”

“I’m just bored.”

When I tried to stop her, she quickly replied.

“I’ve never done things like this before. Back at the Grand Ducal House, I’d have lessons with tutors or read books, but here, as a guest, there’s nothing to do.”

Amelia gave me a small smile.

“And I agree with you—doing nothing makes you lazy. So, when there’s nothing else to do, I think spending time on little tasks like this is better. Don’t you think?”

Hearing her reasoning, I shrugged lightly.

“If that’s what you think.”

After all, having extra twisted ropes was never a bad thing.