I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 105

As soon as I returned from the balcony, where I caught a breeze, the first person to greet me in the bustling dining hall was Silvia, whose corners of her mouth seemed ready to touch her ears.

The moment that Ariel had been most worried about was finally approaching.

“Heehee, I didn’t know our Ariel was so bold?”

“Stop talking nonsense and get on with it, will you?”

Ariel growled with her forehead all tensed up, but Silvia didn’t bat an eye at it.

Instead, seeing Ariel’s reaction as a success, Silvia pushed further, provoking Ariel.

“Well, just earlier you had it coming, so I doubt you can escape this, right, Edgar?”

“Well, honestly, I’d prefer to be left out.”

Silvia’s antics weren’t anything new, but Edgar had no intention of getting dragged into it and suffering the consequences.

“Trying to slip away? That’s a bit much.”

“Think of what you’ve done. By the way, where’s Hagel?”

“He’s meeting some acquaintances. But hey, what do you think? Isn’t he handsome?”

Out of the blue, Silvia seemed to ask for compliments about Hagel’s looks in a rather subtle tone.

This left Edgar and Ariel dumbfounded, letting out a chuckle without even realizing it.

“Aren’t you supposed to ask, ‘He’s a good guy, right?’”

“I know he’s a good guy! I just asked, that’s all.”

Basically, it meant she just wanted to hear praise for her lover’s looks, akin to bowing down and accepting it.

Since it wasn’t too tough a task, Edgar decided to be honest and compliment Hagel’s looks.

“Yeah, he’s definitely handsome. You know, a guy can recognize another good-looking guy.”

“Right? Right? How about you, Ariel?”

“Well… he wasn’t bad. But he can’t compare to Edgar.”

“…Huh?”

At Ariel’s response, the other two briefly wondered if their ears had malfunctioned.

Edgar, having never thought of his looks as exceptional, was confused, but Silvia was completely taken aback that Ariel would say such a thing, feeling as if she’d been hit over the head.

The saying ‘Like crabs sticking together’ seemed accurate here, as Ariel had never been one to publicly praise Edgar before.

More likely, she’d grumbled when she felt that way, but being openly supportive like now had barely happened.

“Why? Do you have a problem with that?”

“Looks like you’re speechless with disbelief.”

“Why’s that? I just said the truth, didn’t I?”

“No, I think that’s a bit…”

As a guy, it felt a bit strange to praise another man’s looks like that, and even Edgar thought it was true that Hagel was more appealing in terms of looks.

To add more, he could say he was definitely the best-looking guy among those he had seen so far.

Of course, if Edgar’s charm was more on the masculine side, Hagel was closer to a refined noble look, but still, that was Edgar’s impression.

However, Ariel glared at Edgar with an expression that meant “not even in your dreams,” shooting back with her usual tone.

“I don’t care what others think. It means that’s how I see it. Got it?”

“Okay, okay. Still, it feels nice hearing you say he’s handsome.”

Edgar, being human, appreciated the compliment.

Plus, from Ariel’s expression, it seemed like she genuinely believed it.

Not wanting to spoil the mood by adding more, he patted her back and nodded in agreement.

Regardless of everything, being her lover felt good, and he was a bit puffed up about it.

“Well, Edgar is pretty handsome, too. Just not as much as him.”

And just like that, the saying ‘crabs in a barrel’ was in full effect, but the problem was that it seriously ruffled Ariel’s feathers.

“Do you want to get kicked out of here? Or did my ears deceive me?”

Although she and Edgar were in a romantic relationship, in some ways, it resembled the bond of siblings.

Especially since Ariel never let people insult Edgar without a peep, but she freely called him all sorts of names, even to his face.

In simpler terms, she could criticize and praise him, but others were only allowed to praise him, as per her belief.

It was pretty strange that her mood twisted whenever other women praised him without reservation.

When Ariel, with a smile that was practically a threat, asked Silvia to repeat herself, Silvia raised her hands to shoulder height in a gesture of surrender and resolutely replied.

“I’m just joking, Princess Ariel. Edgar is the most handsome man in the world.”

“That’s better. Of course, don’t get any ideas.”

Finally, with a satisfied smile, Ariel crossed her arms and nodded.

Seeing this annoying scene, Silvia clicked her tongue and muttered in a voice that felt like a tiny ant crawling in.

“Tch, not that there’s anything to get ideas about…”

“What?”

“Oh, nothing. No matter how handsome, there’s no way I would lay my eyes on the beloved of Princess Ariel. Just saying.”

Edgar couldn’t help but wonder why he had to witness such a farce, but thanks to Ariel’s influence, he felt quite satisfied to be dubbed the most handsome man in the world.

He never truly understood the taste of power until now, but for some reason, he felt like he was finally getting a hint of it.

Still, he’d like to avoid being so humble in the future if he could help it.

“By the way, when are you planning to go back?”

Even though the coming-of-age ceremony would end tonight, the castle would remain open for another three days, prompting Ariel to ask about Silvia’s schedule.

In fact, this was a timeline Yulken had set in advance, considering the guests who traveled a long way to enjoy Hespania leisurely.

While some families hosted coming-of-age ceremonies for two or three days, that would just become a burden for the servants and attendees, so they decided to open the castle instead.

Surprisingly, this decision garnered much support from those attending the ceremony.

“I’m planning to stay a bit longer with him and check out Hespania. Is that okay?”

“If it’s what your father has allowed, then do as you please. There will likely be many others like you, anyway.”

Ariel had genuine pride in the city of Hespania.

It was less about pride as the heir of the ruling family and more about a close and warm affection.

It felt similar to the longing and affectionate feelings one often has for their hometown.

That’s why, deep down, she hoped that today’s visitors would enjoy and explore the city of Hespania a bit more before returning to their family homes.

She pretended to be nonchalant about Silvia’s words a moment ago, but she felt a pleasant sense of pride.

As the two continued discussing their plans, Silvia suddenly had a bright idea and excitedly approached Ariel.

“Wait! Since we’re here, how about we all four hang out together tomorrow or the day after?”

“Do we really need to? I mean, we could just go separately.”

The suggestion itself wasn’t bad, but Ariel didn’t want her time with Edgar to be interrupted by anyone else.

After all, she had experienced similar situations with Shuri and Ronan before.

But Silvia wasn’t backing down and clung to Ariel, throwing a bit of a tantrum.

It made sense; she wished for the chance to hang out with her friends who, like her, had their partners.

Moreover, since they might not have many more opportunities to meet, she thought it wouldn’t hurt to foster a bit of camaraderie between the guys too.

“Come on, let’s not be like that. Okay? Edgar, what do you think?”

“Me? Well…”

In the end, to overcome their resistance, Silvia redirected her efforts toward Edgar.

However, this posed quite the dilemma for Edgar.

To be honest, he wanted to agree to Silvia’s request at least once, but the problem was, given that, Ariel would definitely grill him about whose side he was taking.

Furthermore, since she had previously shown her dislike for him hanging out with others, he really didn’t want to agree if it meant tackling something she was averse to.

“Don’t put pressure on Edgar. Just let him think it over until tomorrow.”

“You’re being optimistic, huh?”

“Who knows? I’ll think about it.”

The awkwardness of the situation was palpable as Ariel stepped in decisively, cutting her off.

With that, Silvia had no choice but to turn away empty-handed, but she decided to be content just for having brought it up.

“Alright. Oh, and I meant to ask Edgar something but forgot.”

“Me?”

Edgar was puzzled, thinking it wasn’t anything major. Silvia nodded subtly, then recalled her conversation from a couple of days ago with Helene and asked.

“So, what’s the deal with getting a maid? Madame Helene is curious about it too.”

As soon as the question hit, their expressions changed dramatically.

Especially, Ariel frowned openly and shot a disapproving look at Edgar, demanding an explanation.

“What? What do you mean, a maid?”

“….”

On the other hand, Edgar’s face turned pale, and he merely stared blankly at the air, savoring the sweet taste of his demise.

Perhaps starting tomorrow, he might not enjoy this precious stillness anymore.