I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 152

The next morning was wrapped in silence.

Of course, Silvia and Hagel, unaware of the details, simply stood there looking blankly, but the other two were the real problem. Especially Ariel.

“Uh, good morning.”

Thinking she should say something, Ariel managed to greet them about 30 minutes after they met.

Edgar, watching from the side, slapped his forehead in frustration, but no one noticed.

“Good morning, Ariel. But what’s up with your face?”

“What? My face is fine!”

Usually skilled at reading the atmosphere among nobles, she would rarely reveal her true feelings, but in this case, her expression was unconvincing.

It made sense, as even the practical skills and studies she had learned since childhood didn’t cover how to handle such situations.

“Really…? You look a bit red. Are you coming down with something?”

“Just as Silvia said, your face is definitely red.”

“I’m fine! I, uh, it’s just because of the morning sunlight, that’s all.”

It wasn’t like her face was glowing like a sunset; there was no reason for her to look this red under the bright morning sun. Yet, her strong insistence left the two no choice but to back off.

“Anyway, Shuri, I’ll leave the villa to you. I’ll handle breakfast and come back, so you should take it easy today.”

“Yes, take care.”

As Shuri bent politely and saw the group off to the carriage, Ariel waved lightly and set the carriage into motion.

‘Now that I think about it, this will be my first time walking around Hildak on foot.’

Suddenly recalling memories from the past, Ariel enjoyed the changing scenery outside the window.

She had seen many views of Hildak while commuting, but this was the first time she was exploring it purely for pleasure.

Usually, she thought it was pointless to pay attention; today, knowing she would be walking those streets herself, the experience felt different.

Glance.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, nothing….”

However, over the scenery, the graphic sounds from yesterday seemed to resurface, and Ariel’s gaze unintentionally turned to Edgar, who was seated next to her.

She tried hard to wipe the memory away, but the more she struggled, the more vividly it stuck in her mind, showing no signs of fading.

‘Why is this happening?’

Chastising herself that she was not some indecent woman, Ariel finally decided to give up and talk to the others in the carriage.

Even if the conversation was trivial, she thought maybe focusing on it would help her forget the memory.

Unfortunately, the effect wasn’t quite dramatic. People’s memories are such that the more you try to forget, the more they come back.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before they arrived at their destination, allowing Ariel to breathe a sigh of relief.

If they had stayed for just a few more minutes, her head would have probably exploded from overload.

* * * * * * *

As expected, Edgar wore a wry smile as the situation unfolded.

Regardless of how things went, he figured Ariel, completely inexperienced in such matters, wouldn’t even look at Silvia and Hagel today.

The problem was that she wouldn’t even be able to face him properly.

‘Was it too much stimulation?’

From what Edgar recalled, Ariel’s knowledge in the area of romance was rather shallow.

The Robeheim Family had likely kept her from gaining too much exposure to avoid raising her curiosity, but it was understandable that the current situation arose as a result.

If anyone asked how he knew, they’d need to go back to about three days after he dealt with the assassin who had intruded on the castle.

On that day, Edgar had been lying on the bed in the assigned room, recovering.

After staring at the same view and meeting the same passersby, boredom set in as he vented his complaints to Ariel, who visited as usual.

– Can’t I see the outside? I’m so bored.

– No way. If you’re that bored, should I read you a book?

– What book?

– You used to read to me a lot when we were kids. This is payback.

Edgar found this absurd.

The reason he read to Ariel was that she was still learning to read, and most importantly, it was the only way to get her to sleep.

Since Edgar was mentally more mature, he just thought of it as reading to a younger sister.

But flipping that situation and thinking about what he was going through now made him blush with embarrassment.

The problem was, even if he refused, it didn’t seem like Ariel would let him get away with it.

Moreover, remembering how much trouble he had as a child because of her, it didn’t seem bad to get a little repayment for that trouble, so Edgar blurted out that she should go ahead and read.

However, there was a condition…

– I don’t want to read a fairy tale.

– Then should I bring a book from Mother’s study? There seemed to be a lot of interesting ones there.

– Not a bad idea. But is it okay to take one without asking?

– It should be fine.

That pretty much meant she wouldn’t get permission.

In fact, Edgar didn’t think Helen would say anything if he just read a book from the study, so he didn’t particularly stop her.

Not long after leaving the room, Ariel returned with a fairly small book in hand.

The cover looked quite sophisticated, and Edgar expected it to be a rather highbrow novel.

– How about this? It seemed interesting, so I brought it.

– Anything is fine. But are you really going to read it to me?

– Yup. You’re lying here because of me, so I’ll do this much.

Edgar had thought she could just toss him the book, but Ariel sat down on the chair next to the bed, determined to read to him.

The story began with a heartfelt tale of love between a man and a woman, but that was where the issue arose.

After all, isn’t the climax of romance novels always a scene where relationships bear fruit?

However, sometimes the descriptions are subtle, and other times they are rather explicit, and the novel Ariel chose to read fell into the latter category.

– Anne pressed her lips against Medius’s. As their heated gazes met, Medius pushed Anne onto the bed…

– Hey, wait a minute. Stop.

Sensing that the content was going south, Edgar reached out to stop Ariel from reading another line, but his body wasn’t quite cooperating yet, so he hesitated for a moment.

Taking advantage of that brief moment, Ariel buried herself in the book, silently reading on her own.

Of course, the following lines contained all the graphic descriptions.

– E-Ed, this…?

Fortunately, Ariel paused, stumbling over her words, and when she put the book down, Edgar snatched it up, looking rather awkward as he scolded her.

– I told you not to read that.

– B-but I didn’t think that’s what it would be… Is this… that kind of book?

Ariel wasn’t entirely ignorant, but it was her first time seeing such explicit descriptions, making her utterly flustered.

Her face turned bright red, and she covered it with her hands, fidgeting in confusion before she suddenly bolted up.

– I-I didn’t know it was such an indecent book! You know that!?

– Y-yeah… I know.

Just from her reaction, it was clear Ariel hadn’t deliberately brought that book.

Moreover, she had conservative views on such matters, so even though they were close friends, she wouldn’t dream of reading such novels in front of a man.

Despite her desperate protests, Ariel still seemed riled up, her face steaming as she bounced around the room.

– Why on earth would there be such a thing in Mother’s study…! Ugh, I should’ve checked the content before taking it…!

The phrase “such a thing” made Edgar realize how her notions about romance were framed.

Honestly, it was just a pretty ordinary romance novel with explicit descriptions meant for adults, but for a girl who was inexperienced in that area, it could come across as somewhat inappropriate.

In other words, it meant that Ariel had a lack of knowledge in that aspect and held somewhat conservative views.

‘And to think she can speak freely about such subjects in front of others.’

Returning to the moment, as he reflected on it, although somewhat incomprehensible, Edgar thought this.

Perhaps in her mind, ordinary actions like kissing and more affectionate acts held different meanings.

As his thoughts about her deepened, his gaze naturally fell on Ariel.

As they stepped off the carriage, Ariel, who had quietly been walking along, noticed Edgar’s gaze and casually glanced up to ask.

“…What are you staring at? Is there something on my face?”

“Hmm? Nothing. You just look a little cute today.”

“W-what are you saying? Just look ahead and walk.”

Feeling more embarrassed at being called cute than pretty, Ariel hid behind him.

Edgar reached out and playfully ruffled her hair, then wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they strolled down the street.

Initially startled by his touch, Ariel began to softly caress the back of his hand resting on her shoulder and stole a glance at him.

But as soon as their eyes met, she jerked her head away in surprise.

‘No need to rush.’

Fear of the unknown is a common human feeling, and Edgar figured Ariel probably felt similarly, so he chose not to think too hard about it.

After all, there was still a long way to go and plenty of time ahead.

For now, he was satisfied just walking calmly together.