I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 131

Edgar had never had a younger sibling before, so Sonia’s existence felt truly fascinating to him.

When he was younger, he at least considered Ariel as a younger sister and treated her like a friend, but there was inevitably a psychological difference compared to a real little sister.

“Pwah! Mukogi!”

Sonia had impressive language skills for her age.

Of course, her pronunciation was still a bit clumsy, but every now and then, she surprised Edgar and Ariel with her vocabulary.

Even now, just looking at her immediately thinking of fish while gazing at the waterway beneath the castle showed that she was quite sharper than most kids her age.

“Fish? Sorry, Sonia. There are no fish living here.”

Unfortunately, contrary to Sonia’s wishes, there were no fish in this waterway.

There were no fish in the ponds of the castle’s gardens either.

Meanwhile, Sonia pouted at her brother’s crushing reality and raised her hand high, shouting again.

“Mukogi!”

She seemed to really want to see fish.

Seeing this, Edgar forced a smile and began to look around, pretending to search for fish.

Not that fish would suddenly jump out or anything.

“What should I do? Do you really want to see fish?”

“Uung!”

Seeing Sonia shake her head vigorously, Edgar couldn’t help but chuckle.

It was truly amazing how a baby about to turn three could understand words so well.

“You want to see fish?”

“It seems so? Should I go find some fish or something?”

At Ariel’s question, Edgar joked and offered a brief apology to his little sister.

To show her fish, they’d at least need to leave the castle, but since Yulken could call for them at any moment, leaving the castle right now was tough.

Maybe tomorrow or the day after would work, but right now, it was quite burdensome.

This made Sonia frown and hang her head.

The kid who had been eagerly pointing at everything around her just moments ago suddenly looked weak, causing concern to flare in Ariel’s eyes.

Of course, Edgar’s distraction was somewhat annoying, but no matter how he looked at it, she was still his biological sister.

Additionally, since she was only two years old, she was just so cute that it made him want to fulfill whatever she wished for.

“Sonia. Should I show you some fish?”

Ariel gently bent down, matching Sonia’s eye level, who was nestled in Edgar’s arms, and kindly asked, making the downcast face shine with a hint of hope.

“Mukogi?”

“Yeah, fish.”

“……!”

Sonia’s eyes widened, sparkling in response to Ariel’s smile.

She must have really wanted to see fish.

Ariel couldn’t know if it was because she had a hard time seeing fish where she lived, but one important fact remained: she had to show Sonia some fish, no matter what.

‘By the way, this is quite strange.’

As Ariel stared at Sonia, who boasted her soft, plump cheeks, she felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity.

Normally, she wouldn’t pay attention to such childish whims, as she wasn’t particularly fond of babies.

But somehow, she found herself wanting to satisfy whatever Sonia asked for.

Was it because of how adorable she looked? Or perhaps because she was the sister of someone she loved?

“Just trust me. I’ll definitely show you fish.”

“Huhehe!”

Sonia opened her arms and gleefully smiled at Ariel’s confident declaration.

In stark contrast, concern appeared on Edgar’s face.

“How are you going to show her? It’s a bit inappropriate to leave the castle right now.”

“Who said I’m leaving the castle? Just follow me.”

With a bold smile, Ariel started to stride forward, and Edgar, feeling like he had no choice, hugged Sonia tightly and followed her.

As they circled around the castle for a bit, they arrived at the garden, where a pond for landscaping greeted the three of them.

The size was sufficient that several dozen fish could swim around without a problem, and as Ariel observed, she spoke to the man tending the garden.

It was Bram, the father of Shuri’s lover Ronan, who was in charge of the gardens here.

“Bram, is it possible for fish to live in this pond?”

“Ah…! S-sorry, Miss. I didn’t even notice you were here…!”

Ariel jumped straight to the point without a proper greeting, prompting Bram to hurriedly hide the tools he had been using to tend the garden and bow deeply to her.

It was a principle that all the servants working in the castle, including the users, would try to not catch the attention of their superiors as much as possible.

Of course, it couldn’t be helped in busy situations, but that was the unspoken rule.

However, Ariel seemed uninterested in such matters, instead furrowing her brows and chastising Bram for not answering her properly.

“Skip the apologies and answer me. Can fish live in this pond?”

“F-fish… you mean? My grandfather mentioned that fish were once raised in the pond, so it should be possible.”

“Raised? I’ve never heard of that before.”

Ariel couldn’t recall anyone, be it Yulken or Helene, ever sharing such a story.

But since Bram, like Shuri, had been part of the Robeheim family since previous generations, there was a good chance what he heard from his grandfather was true.

In any case, now that she had received the answer she wanted, Ariel’s next task was clear.

“Anyway, if what you said is true, let’s put a few fish in this pond. If it’s beyond your capabilities, I’ll just find someone else.”

Even though the pond belonged to the garden, someone else might be responsible for it.

If that were the case, she couldn’t impose an unreasonable request, so she planned to look for someone else right away.

Fortunately or unfortunately for Bram, it was a task he could easily handle, so he nodded right away.

“Ah, no. I have full authority over landscaping the garden, so I can definitely manage that.”

“Really? That’s great news. Then I’ll ask you to get it done as soon as possible.”

‘As soon as possible.’

That phrase sent shivers down Bram’s spine.

If she merely meant by tomorrow, putting a few fish in wouldn’t be a big deal, but somehow, her definition of ‘as soon as possible’ felt like it meant even sooner.

“So, as soon as possible means… right now?”

“Yep, preferably within an hour?”

“…I’ll do my best to make that happen.”

Without giving Edgar a chance to interject, Bram promptly turned pale and darted off somewhere like an arrow.

“Should we just sit here and wait? He’ll be back shortly anyway.”

“…I can barely survive because of you. Look at the state Bram’s in over a child’s whim!”

As Ariel casually hummed and took a seat in the corner, Edgar responded with a look of disbelief.

No matter how powerful they were, forcing a hardworking person to scramble around just because a two-year-old babbled a few words seemed absurd.

He’d have to apologize to Bram separately when the opportunity arose, so he sat down next to Ariel.

“But I always wished they’d keep at least a couple of fish in the pond. It’s too dull right now.”

“Well, there are probably reasons for that. Who would be pleased tossing them in haphazardly?”

“Pfft, so what? It’s the garden of my house, so I should be able to decorate it as I please, right?”

Despite Edgar’s rebuke, Ariel unabashedly wrinkled her nose and sought Sonia’s agreement.

“Uung!”

“See, Sonia agrees with me.”

“My little sister’s your spokesperson now…?”

He couldn’t shake the feeling of how oddly well they seemed to connect.

Just a moment ago, he had been envying an adult woman casting judgment on a mere two-year-old.

“Sonia seems to like me too. She’s sticking to me now, huh?”

“Seems like it. Did she taste power and switch sides that quickly?”

Nestled in Ariel’s arms now, Sonia called for her with a clumsy pronunciation.

Still unable to grasp her name or properly form any titles in her mind, she merely repeated words she didn’t even understand.

A glance at Sonia stirred a peculiar desire in Ariel, and she lifted her underarms, bringing her closer to her view.

Then, with a flutter of excitement, she cautiously made a heartfelt request of Sonia in a trembling voice.

“Hey, Sonia. Want to try calling me ‘big sister’?”

“Onni?”

“Yeah, big sister.”

“Onni!”

The exact moment laughter erupted among them was impossible for either to pinpoint, but Sonia, beaming with a beaming smile, quickly put her new title to use and started playfully grabbing Ariel’s hand.

“Now, Sonia will be with me, so you just have to hold my hand.”

“…You’re not serious about taking Sonia, are you?”

“Who knows? Give it your best guess!”

With Sonia snug in one arm, Ariel slyly reached out and poked Edgar’s thigh lightly.

‘Oh, come on.’

Having fallen into her trap, he found himself without a way to resist.

Not that he wanted to resist in the first place.

Eventually, he had no choice but to accept her request and took her outstretched hand.

Her hand felt beautifully smooth, almost like a glasswork piece, hugely contrasting with his own roughened hands from wielding a sword for long.

In that moment, Edgar suddenly recalled that Ariel disliked rough textures.

When they were younger, whenever she came to visit Ardeunum, she’d complain about the rough bedding compared to the blankets used at the castle.

Thus, instinctively, he tried to pull his hand away, but Ariel was slightly quicker in grabbing hold of it.

“Don’t just slip away. Are you uncomfortable with this?”

“It’s not that… I just thought you wouldn’t like those rough hands.”

Edgar scratched his cheek awkwardly while chuckling.

He used to feel less bothered about how rough his hands were when he was in better shape, but since he had been training fiercely since right before his coming-of-age ceremony, his hands were now at the level of a rag.

It was no exaggeration that even Creed joked he could mistake Edgar for someone his own age just from his hands.

Recalling that moment, he uttered something unusually soft for him, and Ariel, staring right at him, entwined their fingers completely to ensure his hand had nowhere to escape, adding, “It’s perfect. This is just the right amount.”

“Perfect? I can see it’s ugly myself.”

“Maybe to you, but not to me? Want to keep nitpicking?”

“If someone overheard, they’d think I’m talking about your hand, not mine. Geez.”

In this strange role-reversed situation where the critic and the supporter were swapped, Edgar could only manage a wry smile.

Regardless, Ariel gently lifted his rough hand, inspecting every inch while letting out a slight puff of air, like a cat nuzzling for affection.

She secretly hoped to express the sincerity she kept inside.

If it weren’t for this hand, neither she nor her father would have survived, and she wanted to uplift him.

However, understanding that Edgar was particularly sensitive in such atmospheres, she kept her mouth shut and rubbed his hand affectionately like a cat.

“Why are you doing something you normally don’t?”

“For moments like this, you keep your mouth shut and stay quiet, you big dummy. I’m giving you a reward.”

“……?”

There was no way for Edgar to grasp the meaning behind that ‘reward’ or why she was giving one, but since she said it was a reward, he decided to stay quiet.

And so, the two shared moments of tenderness for a while until Bram returned, along with the help he enlisted.

Of course, the fish to be placed in the pond came with him.

In that short time, he even pondered about which fish would be best and carefully selected the ones that would suit the landscaping the most, showcasing an unexpected level of meticulousness.

Splash.

As the fish were released into the pond, they began to disperse and swim around, and a beaming smile blossomed on Sonia’s face.

“Onni-! Mukogi!”

“See, there are fish! How about it, Sonia? Do you like it?”

“Chua!”

Sonia responded to Ariel’s question without a hint of hesitation, staring wide-eyed at the pond with sparkling eyes.

Watching the pure actions of the little princess, Edgar and Ariel weren’t the only ones captivated; even Bram and those nearby smiled brightly, enjoying the fruits of their labor.

“If Sonia asks for the castle later, I’ll get her one.”

“There’s nothing I can’t get. Sonia, do you want a castle?”

“…….”

And that day, Edgar learned that Ariel was far softer on babies than he had realized.