I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 13

What was the Story of the Star God?

Edgar swung his wooden sword in the cold morning air, lost in thought.

If only he hadn’t heard it, perhaps he wouldn’t be plagued by curiosity that started gnawing at his mind since last night.

‘Should I ask Lady Helene?’

It wasn’t a bad idea, but he quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought entirely.

Ariel hadn’t been able to explain why yesterday, and it seemed like Helene had told her to keep quiet.

To ask the person involved would be impossible.

‘Maybe it’s in the Fairy Tale Book in the library.’

After much contemplation, this thought appeared to be the best guess he could come up with.

If it’s a story not specifically made up by Helene but from some fairy tale or book, it might be possible to find out.

Swish. Swish.

The wooden sword sliced through the air with a confident sound.

After swinging it a couple more times, Edgar sighed heavily as he lay down in the same spot once his quota for the day was finished.

The cold floor, which had been exposed to the chilly air for a long time, welcomed him, but he had already adapted, so it didn’t matter.

“Ah, I forgot to bring it with me.”

He had planned to practice using the sword that Helene had given him yesterday, but this idiot of a head forgot the important stuff.

It wasn’t urgent, so he could put it off until tomorrow. If possible, he’d like to get advice from Ariel too.

After all, he was practically a novice when it came to magic.

The problem was whether Ariel was skilled at teaching it.

‘She’s probably quick to learn but a total flop at teaching.’

Most geniuses seem to have that vibe, don’t they?

If they can’t teach others to do it like they can, it’s like they say, “Why can’t you do this?”

Of course, that might just be his own assumption.

“Good morning, Young Master. You’re up early.”

“Yeah, good morning, Shepi.”

He greeted warmly, but Edgar still felt a bit awkward about dropping formalities with Shepi.

Almost ten years had passed since he had begun living in this world, but the thought that he should respect those older than him lingered.

Not to mention the awkwardness of social hierarchies still lingered palpably.

“Has Ariel woken up?”

Ariel’s mornings were generally on the slower side compared to Edgar’s.

Considering her age, she slept quite a bit.

On the flip side, Edgar loved naps, while Ariel didn’t take them at all.

“Actually, the young lady was quite insistent this morning about showing you some magic she couldn’t last night. Didn’t you see her?”

“I guess she must’ve been out right after I got up.”

Come to think of it, that did happen.

Ariel had suddenly burst into tears yesterday, and he had hurried off to show her the stars, completely forgetting about it.

So, perhaps today, he could use that as an excuse to learn some magic too?

“Indeed, whenever you’re around, the lady becomes quite diligent.”

“Really? What’s she like usually?”

“She wakes up much later than this back at the family home. Because of that, there are plenty of times when the Master gets upset with her.”

Edgar expressed a short “Heh,” at hearing something new.

But why would Ariel waking up early have any connection to his presence?

It’s not like he’s a human alarm clock or anything.

As he tilted his head, puzzled, a soft giggle from Shepi tickled his ears.

“*Hehe… Oh, sorry. My bad.*”

“It’s all good. If something’s funny, it’s nice to laugh.”

Or maybe she just suddenly had a wind gust inside her lungs.

Though he felt slightly self-conscious that her gaze was on him, Edgar decided to ignore it.

First things first, he needed to find Ariel.

She was probably wandering through the mansion looking for him anyway, and keeping her company would be respectful to a guest.

Even though if the guest were Princess Ariel, it felt like that particular respect had long been thrown out the window—a feeling which he decided was just in his head.

“Oh, Lady Helene!”

Edgar’s eyes landed on a familiar silhouette as he headed towards his room.

With her damp, dark hair cascading down, Helene halted at his voice and greeted him warmly.

“You’re up early, Edgar. Are you putting in the effort for training?”

“Yes. Still have a long way to go.”

Noticing the wooden sword at his waist, Helene figured out where he’d been, gently ruffling his hair.

The softness in her gaze toward Edgar was warmer than usual.

“Don’t overdo it now. Katria’s worried.”

“Yes, I won’t worry.”

After the birthday party yesterday, Edgar decided to relax his tones a bit with Helene.

To be precise, ‘acting a bit childish’ would be more fitting.

The way he spoke to Helene before was certainly quite formal, and even he felt somewhat awkward doing so.

“By the way, have you seen Ariel around?”

“Ariel? She’s probably on the terrace.”

“Terrace?”

What terrace? Did she just go see the garden or something?

As Edgar blinked wide-eyed at Helene’s unexpected answer, she smiled mysteriously and lightly tapped his shoulder.

Then, bending slightly as if someone was eavesdropping, she whispered sweetly in his ear.

“Do you know what you can see from the terrace?”

“Well… the garden, I suppose?”

It was only natural since the terrace was built to overlook the entire grounds, including the garden.

It felt like an obvious answer.

After his response, Helene, who had just been giggling like Shepi, suddenly peeked down the hallway and gave one last, overly cautious whispered hint.

“What else?”

“Uhm… I don’t know?”

What is this, a game of twenty questions or something?

Having no particularly right answer springing to mind, Edgar tilted his head.

Then Helene played it up, winking, and offered the final hint.

“When Ariel comes back, ask her where she went. Then you’ll find out.”

“Uhh…”

Didn’t she just say that Ariel was on the terrace?

Regardless, Helene’s words didn’t seem to have any downside, so even if Edgar felt just a bit uneasy, he went along with it.

With one last clue tossed his way, Helene began to gracefully walk away when Edgar realized and called out to her.

“Uh, Lady Helene!”

“Hmm? Do you have more to say?”

“Yes. If it’s not too much trouble… could you tell me what the story of the Star God is?”

“The story of the Star God? Did you perhaps hear it from Ariel?”

Edgar nodded silently. Helene’s face turned to one that seemed to scold the young ones, a look he had never seen on her before.

Covering her mouth to hide her laughter, it oddly resembled Ariel’s playful expression.

“Hehe, I can’t just tell you that. It’s a tale that has been passed down in our family for generations. I can only tell it to exactly two people in my lifetime.”

“Only two people?”

“Yup.”

Why just two? What on earth could be so extraordinary in this story?

Moreover, since it’s a family legend or something, it sounded like it might be something akin to a myth, making him even more curious.

“Are you referring to the Robeheim Family?”

“Yup. I’m talking about my original family.”

“Then, is it true that you told Ariel and someone else?”

“That’s right.”

Who could that other person be? If they were precious enough to be entrusted with such a story, they must be at least a blood relative or a romantic partner.

Feeling a headache coming on, Edgar decided to stop thinking about it.

Since Ariel used the expression ‘yet’, she might share it with him someday.

“Thank you, my lady. I’ll ask Ariel myself when I get the chance.”

“Oh my.”

“…?”

Helene, who seemed startled as though she had just heard an audacious declaration, smiled as her eyes met Edgar’s as if it were nothing unusual.

“I sincerely hope that day comes, Edgar. Ariel is likely looking forward to it as well.”

“Indeed.”

As their conversation wrapped up, Helene took her leave.

At the same moment, the sound of someone running quickly down the hallway reached his ears.

Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter.

It sounded lighter than a person’s footsteps, almost like a rabbit jumping around.

In this mansion, it could only belong to one person.

Edgar couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

“Ariel, where have you been?”

“Uh? I, I just… went to the dining room for a moment!”

“The dining room?”

What dining room? Wasn’t she on the terrace?

Edgar’s mind was flooded with question marks as her statements contradicted what Helene had said.

Was there something she was hiding? Her hands were fidgeting nervously.

Moreover, why would his childhood friend, who had poor appetite, go to the dining room out of the blue?

Suspicious vibes were definitely in the air.

“Aren’t you on the terrace?”

“Me? Why would I be on the terrace?”

“Why not…”

Was there an unspoken law saying one shouldn’t go to the terrace in the morning?

As Edgar stood there dumbfounded at her absurd response, Ariel finally spoke up.

“What did you do this morning?”

“Me? Just the usual training, I guess.”

“Hmm… I see.”

Why was she suddenly asking about his mundane routine?

Was she attempting to claim she hadn’t realized it? Her exaggerated tone and actions felt off.

With that question in mind, Edgar suddenly recalled a flower he had seen in the garden during his training earlier and figured it was worth bringing up, thinking Ariel would like it.

“By the way, did you see the flower blooming in the garden? It looked similar to the one you liked.”

“Oh, the one you were crouching down and staring at?”

“…What?”

How did she know if he was crouching or standing while looking at the flower?

Edgar’s brain short-circuited from the unexpected answer.

Before he could even ask her how she knew, Ariel froze in place.

Realizing her mistake, she maintained silence for about three seconds, her face turning a bright shade of red.

Heat began to surge from below, escaping through her head like a pop.

Finally,

“I-I’m going to go get some sleep! Good night, Edgar!”

“What? Hey, you never take naps… huh?”

Why suddenly want to nap out of the blue after a lifetime of not doing so?

Did she have some rough dreams this morning? But she had just gotten up early for some reason.

‘Did she see something great on the terrace or what?’

Maybe she saw a dragon or something?

Nah, if she had seen that, he’d probably be six feet under right now, considering he was training in the garden.

Shaking off the absurd thoughts, Edgar shook his head.

In the end, he learned nothing about the Star God’s story or why Ariel went to the terrace this morning.

It was indeed a fruitless morning, leaving him empty-handed.