I Will Become the Villain’s Childhood Friend - Chapter 32

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

32

 

Seeing Kail shrink back and hunch his shoulders made me laugh.

 

‘I guess he’s scared now that I turned off the lights.’

 

No matter how fiercely he growls and acts tough, he’s still just a kid after all. Even I find the dark, gloomy castle interior at night creepy, so it’s understandable he’d be scared.

 

“Ready to be surprised?”

 

Asking that, I grabbed the handle of the old wooden door and threw it open with all my strength. A gentle light slanted in through the opening.

 

When I gestured for him to go first while still holding the door handle, Kail hesitated warily. Then he alternately looked between outside the door and me before slowly walking out.

 

Following behind him, we emerged onto the castle rooftop.

 

Warm outdoor air touched my skin as starlight poured down from above our heads.

 

Kail’s eyes widened as he looked up at the Milky Way spreading out with overwhelming presence. The river of light crossing through the darkness looked as if the sun had shattered into thousands of pieces and was flowing away.

 

“How is it? This is a spectacular view you could never see in downtown Pelrn, right?”

 

I asked with satisfaction as I also lifted my head toward the sky.

 

This was also my first time directly seeing such a sea of stars since coming here not long ago.

 

When I saw this sky on a clear day, I was so amazed that I resolved to definitely show it to Darius and Kail.

 

‘I’d like to show Darius too, but it’s a bit awkward to call Darius out at such a late hour.’

 

Moreover, today I wanted to show this scenery to Kail alone to cheer him up since he seemed dejected.

 

My scheme seemed to work, as Kail’s eyes became bright and alert as if he’d never been sleepy, rolling around busily in all directions.

 

“If you stand here for a long time, you can even see shooting stars. Amazing, right?”

 

“….”

 

There was no answer, but seeing him with his mouth agape, completely absorbed in admiring the scenery, I felt like I’d heard his response.

 

That little rascal, how cute.

 

“Come over here, Kail!”

 

After running toward the railing and calling to Kail, he slowly walked toward me.

 

I stretched out my hand and pointed to a distant place outside the castle. Thanks to the bright starlight, the pale world was fairly visible.

 

“Over there, do you see the lake? That’s Lake Lagria.”

 

At the tip of my finger was a lake that perfectly reflected the night sky like an overturned mirror.

 

Lake Lagria, surrounded by willow trees, was considered one of the scenic spots of the Brante Estate.

 

“The lake I suggested we go to earlier.”

 

Kail looked at the lake and nodded slightly.

 

Seeing Kail’s expression, which was much more relaxed than at dinner earlier, the uncomfortable feeling in my chest that had been stuck like a fish bone finally went away.

 

It would be troublesome if his first impression of our Brante Estate remained unpleasant.

 

“How is it? Doesn’t seeing the night sky make your heart feel wide open? Do you feel a bit better?”

 

“…It didn’t bother me at all.”

 

“Come on, it was totally obvious.”

 

“Maybe my stomach got upset from being cramped in the carriage all day with that bastard Darius.”

 

Unable to reveal his true feelings, he pointlessly blamed Darius. Really now.

 

Still, I had wanted to drag Kail out of that stuffy, prison-like training ground, and furthermore the Countess’s mansion, and I’d finally achieved that wish.

 

When I pestered him before to just go play for one day, he coldly refused, so why did he readily come along on this vacation? I was sure he’d say he wanted to stay and train.

 

‘Hmm, he probably followed along because the Countess said she was going.’

 

Recalling Kail anxiously wanting to stick close to Mother reminded me of a whimpering puppy caught in the rain. Moreover, his whole body was covered in scratches from how intensely he’d been training.

 

Poor thing…. I should let him release all his stress during this opportunity.

 

“Let’s play to our heart’s content for a week. Our competition record is exactly 26 to 26 right now, right? I’ll take the lead in the next match.”

 

When I declared this while linking arms with him, Kail snorted.

 

“That last game we played, territory or whatever it was, I won so it became 26 to 27. You’re trying to cheat sneakily?”

 

“Ah. You caught me? Good memory. Anyway, up until now we’ve been competing on your home ground. Now it’s my home ground, so I have the advantage! I’ll show you a comeback!”

 

“Bring it on.”

 

Seeing Kail snicker as if it were ridiculous made me feel good too. Even that twisted sneer counted as laughing.

 

After that, I continued having trivial conversations with Kail on the rooftop. Mostly it was me chattering while Kail listened.

 

Our childishly petty bickering under the starry sky only stopped when the night grew deep.

 

***

 

The next day, the morning of the second day of vacation dawned.

 

The picnic was successful up until we spread out a mat by Lake Lagria and had our meal.

 

Even though there was a chill between Kail and Darius, Brother and I got along well, and Kail and I were fairly close too.

 

After finishing our meal, which was creaky but fun, we headed to the pier for boating.

 

The problem started there. A conflict erupted while discussing how to divide up the two-person rowboats.

 

“He and I can just ride together!”

 

Kail trembled in refusal to ride with Darius, and saying he didn’t want to ride with my brother Simon either, he grabbed my wrist.

 

I’m a bit touched. Even though I was chosen as the backup option since he disliked Brother.

 

“How can we let the little ones ride together? That’s dangerous.”

 

“I don’t think that would work either, Kail.”

 

Brother and Darius firmly shook their heads one after another. Soon Darius, wearing a bitter smile, made a request to Brother.

 

“I’ll ride with Miss Rieze. Simon, could you take Kail with you?”

 

Gasp, boating with Darius!?

 

My heart began beating in a rapid rhythm at this sudden stroke of luck. Could I really enjoy such luxury…!

 

“…Fine.”

 

Brother turned his head as if he had no choice and agreed.

 

Kail, who had been fuming, roughly shook off my arm that he’d been holding.

 

“Forget it. I won’t ride at all.”

 

“What? Kail, it’s such a waste after coming all this way!”

 

“What’s so fun about riding those little boats anyway.”

 

After grumbling, Kail turned around sharply and walked away from the pier with long strides.

 

“Kail!”

 

I was about to step forward to chase after him when Brother grabbed my shoulder.

 

“I’ll go after him. You two go boating.”

 

“Huh? What are you going to do if you go, Brother!”

 

Despite my protests, Brother waved his hand and ran after the distant Kail. Darius shouted toward Brother’s retreating back.

 

“Please, Simon! Sorry!”

 

Darius and I, left alone, looked at each other simultaneously.

 

“Will it be okay?”

 

“Well, it wouldn’t be bad for Kail to get scolded by the nagging king for once.”

 

Darius cheekily deflected my worried question.

 

“That guy wants to ride with Miss Rieze, but since we said no, he’s throwing a tantrum. Please understand.”

 

“It’s probably more that he dislikes Brother than that he likes me.”

 

After laughing out loud once, Darius paid the boat fare and got on the boat first.

 

I grabbed the hand he extended and jumped into the boat. My body swayed unsteadily on the rocking waves.

 

As we two sat facing each other in the small boat, the boatman pointed to the picnic basket Darius was holding in one hand and gave us a warning.

 

“Mischievous water birds often come swooping down after food, so be careful.”

 

“Understood.”

 

Then the boatman untied the rope, and as Darius rowed, the small boat moved away from the edge of the lake.

 

The dark-colored lake reflected the blue sky and clouds. Thanks to the clear weather, people other than us were scattered here and there, out for boat rides.

 

As we headed toward the center of the lake, cutting through the glittering ripples like silver scales, the lakeside scenery came into full view.

 

However, rather than admiring the atmosphere, I was captivated by my favorite character right in front of me.

 

Specifically, by the forearm muscles and tendons revealed beneath the sleeves he’d rolled up to row.

 

“It’s a magnificent view. Like a painting.”

 

“It really is. So pretty….”

 

I agreed with his admiration while looking at a completely different place than Darius. I swallowed hard.

 

With such a pretty face but such a rugged body, it’s cheating.

 

“I understand why Miss Rieze said it was such a shame earlier. Kail, not being able to see this is a huge loss…”

 

Darius muttered this and stopped rowing for a while, lost in thought.

 

Thanks to that, I got to thoroughly admire my favorite character’s profile.

 

His golden thread-like hair fluttered in the gentle breeze. He had simply thrown on a white shirt and black pants in a styled-yet-unststyled way, but it was absolutely perfect.

 

A pictorial, it’s a pictorial. How can I regret not having a camera this much.

 

After a moment, Darius looked ahead and met my gaze.

 

Floating with my favorite character on the vast lake felt like being disconnected from reality.

 

Like the day we shared a meal with food we had stolen from the garden together.

 

Darius’s lips curved into a smooth arc as they slowly parted.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————