I Will Become the Villain’s Childhood Friend - Chapter 63

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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63

The third letter I sent to Darius also received no reply.

Since I had told him not to wait for a response, perhaps it was a natural result.

Unlike before when I had been anxiously worried, now I felt completely drained and powerless.

‘Since there’s nothing I can do about it right now, let’s forget about it for a while.’

The deeper I got buried in it, the more resentment and bad feelings would only accumulate.

‘When Kail comes to Pelrn, I’ll have to meet him and resolve this.’

They say it’s better to resolve fights face to face, don’t they?

‘He said he’d come to Pelrn once or twice a year, so he’ll probably come sometime this year.’

Comforting myself with that thought, I rolled up the letter matter tightly in my brain and sealed it away.

Meanwhile, instead of the letter I wanted, another unwanted secret club invitation was delivered.

This was the third one.

After receiving the second letter on my birthday, I had completely forgotten about its existence.

‘At this point, it doesn’t seem like a simple prank letter.’

I was heading straight to Father to report the suspicious invitation that reeked of something fishy when I stopped in the corridor.

If I told Father, even if it was nothing serious, things might escalate unnecessarily.

I decided there was no need to fuel my worrying Father’s overprotectiveness.

‘I don’t want to have a guardian following me everywhere I go.’

I learned horseback riding to move around freely, after all.

“Huh?”

As I looked at the invitation again, I realized the invitation time was today at 5 PM.

‘…Should I go?’

The letter’s sender would appear at this location, and catching them red-handed seemed like it would be effective.

And the meeting place was a cafe on Sable Street. If it was a public place rather than a secluded spot, it probably wouldn’t be too dangerous.

After this brief reasoning, I decided to go to the location with two escort knights just in case of any unexpected situations.

I headed to the address earlier than the time written on the invitation to infiltrate in advance.

Wearing a wide-brimmed hat that completely covered my face.

After passing through the main street of Sable Street bustling with crowds and entering the inner alley, the street became much quieter.

When I arrived at the address written on the invitation, a cafe with a dark green awning appeared.

The cafe with its antique and refined appearance was one of the commonly found cafes in this aristocratic shopping district.

I told the knights to guard outside and asked them to come find me if there was a commotion or if I didn’t come out for over an hour.

When I opened the cafe door, a small bell chimed.

The interior was also quite ordinary. If there was anything unique, it was that the walls were filled with bookshelves and there were many customers enjoying reading, making it rather quiet.

The scent of coffee and books mixed over the softly playing music, adding to the comfortable atmosphere.

After receiving the server’s greeting, I headed to the innermost seat. As soon as she brought me a menu, I ordered any drink and quietly observed the customers.

There were no tables with three or more people, and though I listened in on other tables’ conversations, they were all just everyday small talk.

‘There don’t seem to be any suspicious people or anyone I know.’

It would be exactly 5 o’clock in 5 minutes.

‘If nothing happens even 10 minutes after the hour, I should leave.’

Just as I was downing all my drink with that decision, a familiar face with red hair entered the cafe.

It was Kien.

It couldn’t be a coincidence.

‘Was it Kien who called me out?’

Then why didn’t she just invite me openly instead of sending such a strange anonymous letter?

I was about to call out her name immediately but sat back down and observed her instead.

Kien ordered something at the counter and then followed the server’s guidance into a private room.

‘Ah, the password!’

Only then did I remember the password written on the invitation.

If you give the password, they let you enter a different room!

I approached the server and recited the password specified on the invitation in a low voice.

“Hello. Mint mocha without the mint, four pumps of syrup, and lots of whipped cream.”

The server then guided me to the private room where Kien had entered, wearing a meaningful smile.

“Then please have a wonderful time.”

She opened the door marked VIP Room and closed it after I entered.

Three walls of the small warehouse-like room were densely surrounded by bookshelves packed with books.

I spun around looking for Kien, but the cramped room was just a closed space with nowhere to hide.

On the blackboard attached to the closed door was written ‘Violin, Monkey, Rainbow.’

‘Hmm, perhaps…?’

I scanned the book covers and found three books corresponding to the keywords, pulling them out one by one.

This was possible thanks to inheriting bookworm Rieze’s memories.

Then I heard a mechanical clicking sound.

A sound like something being unlocked. My intuition built from countless databases told me that if I pushed the bookshelf, a secret space would appear.

Sure enough, when I touched the bookshelf, it slid smoothly to the side.

A new door was revealed in the space that had opened up.

‘This is totally an escape room cafe!’

Seeing the door with “Revelli” carved in elegant raised letters made my heart pound with excitement.

I wondered whether I should enter alone or call the knights.

‘Kien… she seemed like a good kid.’

Trusting the impression I had of her from before, I grabbed the door handle.

I had no idea at the time. That this day would become a turning point in my life.

***

At the same time, at the Knights’ lodging in Diern Domain.

It had already been six months since Kaileus had been living and eating with the knights while receiving intensive training from Henrite.

Kaileus stayed until the latest every day with his battered body, doing physical training. With the single-minded desire to become stronger as quickly as possible.

After doing strength training and running around the training ground until he was breathless, he collapsed onto the ground.

While looking up at the sky and catching his breath, a familiar voice came from above.

“Oh my, young master. Have you been sprawled out here all this time?”

Kaileus remained lying down and only rolled his eyes to look at Henrite.

“Muscles, you see, grow when you’re sprawled out sleeping. It’s good to rest completely at least one day a week.”

“…”

Kaileus’s shoulders flinched at the nagging he had heard somewhere before.

When he just lay there pretending to listen, Henrite also looked up at the sky following Kaileus.

Stars were scattered across the clear night sky.

“Isn’t it beautiful? Young master, having lived only in Pelrn, this must be your first time seeing such a night sky?”

At his words, the beautiful sea of stars Kaileus had seen years ago spread across his mind.

The Milky Way he had seen from the rooftop of Brante County.

Following that brilliant and enchanting scene, a girl automatically came to mind.

A face that had smiled brighter than the stars under the starry sky.

Even after half a year, the vividly drawn face caused a sharp pain in his chest.

Kaileus squeezed his eyes shut and sat up.

Henrite, who had lit a cigarette at some distance from him, spoke again.

“Young Master Darius really cherished you, you know.”

Though it was out of the blue, Kaileus understood what he meant.

He was pointing out how Kaileus had deliberately avoided meeting Darius by staying away for a long time when he had visited the ducal palace before.

“He asked me various things about your situation. What a doting older brother.”

“…It’s none of my business.”

At Kaileus’s cold reply, Henrite snickered and exhaled cigarette smoke.

“I’ll head inside now.”

Kaileus dusted off his pants and stood up, grabbing his water bottle and towel before taking a step.

“Don’t choose solitude for yourself.”

Henrite quietly offered his advice to Kaileus’s back.

“…I told you not to interfere!”

He raised his voice louder than before in threat, but Henrite didn’t even bat an eyelash.

Instead, he only exhaled smoke while wearing an even deeper sneer.

“Since you seem to lack exercise, I’ll work you until you shit blood starting tomorrow.”

After grinding his cigarette into the ground, he waved his hand dismissively and shuffled away.

Kaileus spun around sharply and strode back to the lodging with large steps.

That sluggish appearance was thoroughly irritating.

He was the type who constantly scratched at sore spots, subtly provoking anger.

Today was the same. Those words that brought up shadows of the past, and that comment about choosing solitude.

Over the past six months, Kaileus had sat at his desk countless times, picked up his quill, only to crumple up the letter paper.

Because he felt like an idiot for missing someone who had deceived and betrayed him.

That night too, Kaileus inevitably had a dream. A dream of a girl with blonde hair and green eyes.

It was footage that replayed repeatedly just when he thought he could forget.

Each time, the scab would fall off the healing wound, causing it to fester again.

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