I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 4

The two people climbed the back mountain, known for its rugged terrain, which famously lacked proper trails.

If you looked hard enough, you might find paths used by wild animals, but wandering into such places meant you could encounter just about anything.

‘Surely, there won’t be any beasts lurking around.’

Since this was only Edgar’s second visit, he didn’t really know what lived in these parts. Occasionally, wild boars came down from the mountains and wreaked havoc on the village’s crops, so it seemed that at least some boars called this place home.

“Why did you want to come here?”

“Mom said it’s good to get close to nature when you’re young. And what better place than the mountains?”

“……”

What a crazy line of reasoning. Of course, it wasn’t wrong, but usually, when trying to get close to nature at this age, you’d think of open spaces like meadows, flower fields, or gardens.

Surely Helene, the one who had suggested going straight to the mountains, hadn’t predicted this.

‘Sorry, Lady Helene. It’s my fault for not stopping her.’

Honestly, if talking could change her mind, he would’ve tried, but the girl was the most self-centered person Edgar had ever met.

His role here was merely to keep her from doing anything more dangerous.

“Ed! Look at this, isn’t it cool?”

“What is it?”

As Ariel pulled up a blade of grass and showed off, Edgar, picking his nose with his pinky, replied gruffly.

What did she want to show off so badly today?

Still, the way she eagerly responded to his call made him realize she had really gotten used to this life.

In fact, most of the things Ariel proudly displayed were pretty amazing in his eyes too.

“I saw it in a book; this is called Epfril.”

“What’s it used for?”

“The juice from it is applied directly to wounds. And the leaves are ground up and used as potion ingredients.”

Impressive.

That was quite the wealth of knowledge for a ten-year-old. Was this something taught by the Duke’s family?

Without realizing it, Edgar let out an admiring sound while observing the cut end of the stem.

“Wow, real juice is flowing!”

“Ha! You didn’t believe me!”

After explaining it all, the way she was acting was rather rude.

When Ariel suddenly jumped up, her eyes glowing with the color of blood, it sent waves around her.

Was this the magical power that only the bloodline of the Duke could wield?

Edgar felt a shiver run down his spine. It didn’t matter if he was at the age where his body was supposed to be growing hair.

“Just a tiny bit?”

The reaction that would follow was somewhat scary, but he needed to say something.

He had been this way before he came to this world, after all.

“Enough! I won’t tell you anything from now on! Hmph!”

Ariel, seriously offended by his frank words, abruptly turned herself away.

As if to express her anger, the Epfril leaves she was holding turned to dust and fell to the ground.

‘If I get into trouble, I might die.’

A drop of cold sweat trickled down Edgar’s back.

On the bright side, her personality was quite simple, so she tended to easily let go of her anger.

‘Let’s find an opportunity.’

Even if he called her name in a friendly voice right now, the only response he’d get would be a cold “Why?”

For the greater good, he had to hold his breath and wait.

Quietly, he stood up and followed her.

Rustle. Rustle.

Glance.

Rustle. Rustle.

“……”

“……”

Just a moment ago, the atmosphere had been lively, but it suddenly became tense, and there were no words exchanged between them.

The only sounds filling the space were the rustling of branches and grass brushing against their bodies.

In that moment, Ariel would occasionally pause, glancing back to assess Edgar’s state.

‘She’s kind of cute.’

Of course, Edgar knew she was watching him.

But if he stupidly asked why she kept looking at him, it would likely lead to an irreparable situation.

So whenever she stopped, he either turned his gaze away or randomly waved the stick he was holding.

How many times had that repeated?

While Ariel momentarily halted again, Edgar spotted something and called out to her.

“Hey? Ariel, wait a second.”

“…What is it?”

Her reflexive grumpy tone came out.

Realizing this was perhaps the chance to reconcile, Ariel snapped back to attention, but it was already too late.

‘Ariel, you fool!’

Sure, she was headstrong, but she was certainly no fool. If anything, she was wiser than most kids her age.

Even if Edgar had messed up earlier, she recognized it didn’t warrant her sulking like this.

But at some point, she grew hesitant to reach out first, and stubbornness had led her to this point.

Nonetheless, she knew what needed to be done.

Since he’d called for her first, she should calmly turn around, ask why he called, and then express her business once the conversation ended.

Imagining all this in her head, Ariel nodded to herself with satisfaction.

It was something she could handle easily. After all, she was the eldest daughter of the Robeheim Family.

‘Alright.’

With that resolve, as she turned, something touched her head.

Huh? What’s that?

As she widened her eyes to check the situation, she saw Edgar standing there, hand stretched out to her head.

Tensing up at his instruction to wait, she stiffened, but Edgar chuckled, saying it wasn’t necessary.

When he cautiously pulled his hand away, Ariel felt something strange resting on her head.

It felt less like something was placed there and more like a stick was poked between her hair.

“Ah, I can’t check since I don’t have a mirror.”

“What, what is it? It’s not a spider, is it?”

As she tried to guess what was on her head, a scene she couldn’t even dare to describe crossed her mind, causing her complexion to turn pale.

She could bear all sorts of bugs, but when it came to spiders, it was pure hatred.

If he’d mistakenly put that kind of creature on her glorious black hair as a joke, she’d surely respond with the best revenge possible.

“Why would I be crazy enough to put a spider on you? It’s a flower.”

“A flower…?”

Suddenly, a flower?

Caught off guard, Ariel cautiously reached up to touch whatever it was, and indeed, something soft and delicate like petals brushed against her fingers.

She knew Edgar wasn’t a bad friend, but he also wasn’t the type to act so sweetly.

What kind of bizarre wind was blowing for him to perform such a kind act?

“Remember that flower you said was pretty? The one I can’t recall the name of, but it’s long and red.”

“Ah.”

Amaryllis.

Ariel mouthed the name quietly, not wanting to speak it aloud.

She remembered spotting the bright red Amaryllis blooming when they hiked up the mountain together a while back.

Being her favorite flower, she had expressed her delight back then, but she never thought he’d remember that.

“See there? That’s the one on your head.”

Following his hand with her gaze, she caught sight of the red Amaryllis blooming beside a rock.

Suddenly, why on earth was he giving her this flower?

Turning to look at him with a questioning stare, Edgar cleared his throat and glanced aside while mumbling.

“I was wrong earlier. So, please forgive me.”

At that moment, it dawned on Ariel.

This Amaryllis was his token of apology.

Whether it was bad luck or good fortune, the two of them had coincidentally picked the same moment to apologize.

People are strange creatures; when someone else performs an action they were about to do, it often causes them to hesitate.

Especially when it’s something they’ve carefully contemplated, just like now.

‘Come on, say something, Ariel Robeheim! What are you doing?!’

I want to say I’m sorry too. It wasn’t worth getting this mad over.

That simple phrase should have been all she needed to say, but for some reason, her lips wouldn’t cooperate.

She blamed her glued-together lips during her self-reflection, but then suddenly remembered.

In retrospect, she had never been good at saying sorry to him.

Was it because trying something she’d never done before was so difficult?

If she had known it would lead to this, she would have practiced apologizing sooner.

As she reflected on her own mistakes, emotions swelled up, nearly bringing tears to her eyes.

‘No. That’s why I need to do it.’

Her mother, whom she respected deeply, had once said something important.

People can make mistakes, but realizing them and working to correct them is the proper path.

Yes, this moment is the time to clear the accumulated karma she’s built up.

How complicated and challenging it was for a ten-year-old to apologize!

“E-Ed!”

“Yeah?”

Right, instead of saying sorry directly, she could express it in another way.

‘I want to apologize too.’ Yes, that seemed more doable.

With her fists clenched and her resolve strong, Ariel finally opened her mouth.

“I, I want to…!”

“Want to?”

“Want to…”

Was this a game of word association?

As Edgar tilted his head in confusion, Ariel’s face flushed bright red.

Then finally,

“I’ll accept this flower as your apology, you fool!”

The naive young lady instantly shattered her previous determination, directing all her anger outward.

Edgar, taken aback, seemed to understand that she was accepting the apology, which at least eased his mind a bit.

“Oh, uh… so you’re saying you forgive me?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Well, that works.”

What works?

Ariel wanted to shout that thought, yet the ship had already left the dock, sinking deep beneath the waves.

She turned around again, holding her head low.

Her ears were burning, but she pretended not to notice.

‘This is all Edgar’s fault. It’s only surprising because he suddenly gave me such a flower.’

Quietly sending silent protests to no one in particular, the two continued their journey deeper into the mountain.