I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 17

Ten-year-old Ariel was still delighted to play with Edgar.

The peculiar thing was that he hardly did anything to catch Ariel’s interest.

It was always Ariel who hung on to him.

He was always in similar places at similar times, and Ariel had to bring something that would spark his interest to find him there.

As they say, a thirsty person digs a well. That was exactly the case for the two of them.

Edgar, although the same age as Ariel, had a strangely mature side to him.

He liked to pass the time alone without getting bored just because there was no one to talk to.

He simply didn’t block anyone from coming, and he matched well with whoever came to play.

That’s why the two of them got along so well.

“Ed! Let’s go to the mountain today!”

“The mountain? Suddenly?”

“Yeah!”

Ariel had just learned that wild raspberries grew on mountains not long ago.

Since the area she lived in was quite cold, it was usually hard to come across wild raspberries, and coincidentally, there were none among the items that were offered to the family.

This piqued Ariel’s interest.

“Why do you want to go to the mountain?”

“Shepi said there might be wild raspberries here.”

“Wild raspberries? Oh, I guess there could be.”

Ardenum, where Edgar lived, had quite clear seasonal changes for a northern region.

So many people made profits by cultivating seasonal fruits that were hard to find in other northern areas, and at that level, wild raspberries could indeed exist.

However, there was one question.

“But there must surely be places that sell them, so why do we have to go all the way to the mountain?”

“Wouldn’t it be more fun to see them directly?”

“Well, you have a point.”

To a child, fun was the most important factor of all.

Considering her background, she wouldn’t have had to go far; she could have just asked the servants to bring wild raspberries to the dinner table, and they’d show up right away.

But what fun would that be?

That was the main point Ariel wanted to make.

“So are we going or not?”

“Yeah. The problem is the guards.”

Invisible to Ariel were the guards ready at all times, watching their every move.

They hardly ever came inside the mansion, but whenever they played outside, they were always hidden nearby, keeping an eye on the two of them.

If the two of them suddenly vanished, it would cause quite a ruckus.

But Ariel’s expression was filled with confidence.

As if she had already thought of that, her nose was pointed toward the sky.

Did she have some clever plan? Edgar tilted his head.

“It’s okay! There are no guards today.”

“…No guards?”

Why not?

Edgar stared blankly, feeling as if he’d just been struck on the back of his head with a blunt object.

Of course, since the guards were people, they could take vacations or be absent due to personal reasons.

However, was it really reasonable that no substitute was appointed beside the only daughter of a Grand Duke?

Helene was not the kind of person to let such things slide carelessly.

“A little while ago, I did a good deed, so Mom said she’d grant one wish, and I asked her if I could do it without guards!”

“…You asked her to keep the guards away for just one day?”

“Yeah!”

That made sense. If Helene were in her right mind, she wouldn’t have done such a thing herself.

The root of the problem was right in front of Edgar.

“Did Lady Helene really allow that?”

“She allowed it, so I’m telling you!”

“Oh.”

That’s true.

As Edgar nodded in understanding, he let out a small sigh.

Of course, it was true that the guards limited where they could go.

He remembered the last time they tried to go to the mountain together and were stopped.

But he never imagined she would ask to keep the guards away.

Wouldn’t it have been better if it had been handled differently?

“If that’s the case, why not keep the guards and just ask them not to interfere with you?”

“…Huh?”

“Ain’t that right?”

The problem wasn’t the guards in the first place.

The real issue was that the guards restricted the area where the two could play.

In reality, that was only an issue from Ariel’s perspective; others likely wouldn’t have cared much, as exemplified by Edgar himself.

So instead of asking for no guards at all, they could simply have instructed the guards to ignore whatever they did.

He was certainly clever, but he was still a child, so perhaps it was beyond his reach to think that far.

“E-Ed is a genius?”

“You’re the foolish one, you fool.”

“Hey, why am I foolish?!”

If you look at it strictly, she wasn’t foolish. She was just a childish princess who often swung between foolishness and genius.

Whatever the case, the most important issue was resolved, now they just needed to prepare to head to the mountains.

Calming down the huffing Ariel, Edgar headed straight into the mansion.

He hoped they would return without incident.

The worry was already piling up.

—

‘Maybe I should’ve just stayed comfortably in the mansion.’

The first thought that crossed Edgar’s mind as he climbed the mountain with Ariel was that.

What a hassle this was for just searching for one wild raspberry.

In the first place, he had no clue where wild raspberries were typically found.

“Ed! Can I eat this mushroom?”

“Hey, hey, don’t touch that!”

Moreover, this childish princess found every single plant they encountered in the mountains fascinating, trying to touch them all, making it impossible to catch a break.

Just earlier, when he pursed his lips at her bulging pockets, a poisonous mushroom unexpectedly popped out.

‘Thank goodness it was a kind I knew.’

Of course, had it been an unknown mushroom, he would have tossed it away without a second thought.

Carrying strange plants from the mountains was risky without certainties.

“What tree is that?”

“That one? I think it’s a chestnut tree?”

Although it wasn’t certain since it was a bit far away, the shape of the tree and the straight stalk with its catkin suggested it was indeed a chestnut tree.

With a little gasp, Ariel darted toward the chestnut tree.

Coincidentally, right where she was headed, one unripe chestnut had fallen.

“Is this a chestnut? It looks weird.”

Until now, the chestnuts Ariel had seen were cute, round, brown fruits.

But this one appeared to be covered in spikes, making it resemble a hedgehog rather than the chestnut she knew.

“That one you saw was probably the fruit inside. Don’t touch it carelessly.”

“Eek, but I’m curious…”

“If you hurt yourself, you’ll cry and blame me.”

Imagining how she’d look, all teary-eyed and accusing him, Edgar quickly admonished her.

Meanwhile, it seemed that her curiosity about the spiky chestnut was too hard to resist.

At some point, she picked up a stick and started poking at the chestnut.

Edgar watched her with a wry smile and decided to set down the bag he had slung over his back.

“Are you going to show me?”

It seemed Ariel had been thinking about something as she sulked and then immediately stuck close to him.

‘She’s only quick to catch on when it comes to useless things.’

But still, her charm lay in how she was never truly annoying.

“Just this once.”

“Ed is a fool. You always say ‘just this once.’”

“Fool, fool.”

Continuing to mutter that, Ariel watched closely as Edgar performed the action.

Soon, Edgar opened the bag and pulled out a pair of gloves.

They weren’t too thick, making them unsuitable for rough work, but they would do for this.

He had brought them just in case, never expecting they would actually come in handy. It looked like preparation was necessary.

“Here, this is how it looks.”

“Just as you described, huh? But there are two of them.”

As he cracked open the chestnut shell to show her inside, contrary to Ariel’s expectations, the chestnuts were nestled safely within their husks.

Edgar, wanting to show Ariel what a chestnut actually looked like, peeled the outer shell away completely.

Ariel, who had just smiled brightly, was now staring at him instead of the chestnuts.

“Why are you looking at me? Look at the chestnuts.”

“Hehe, Ed is like a wizard.”

“A wizard? I can’t even use magic.”

As though it were just ridiculous, he shook off her compliment and stood up, but Ariel, having dashed over, continued to speak while keeping her hands behind her back.

“But Ed always helps me whenever I’m in trouble, right?”

“It’s only natural for a friend to help, even if I’m not a wizard.”

He never thought he’d utter such cringey words himself, but convincing her using this method seemed like the only option.

And it was, indeed, the truth.

“How about calling the two of us ‘Friend Wizards’?”

“What on earth is that?”

Now she was even creating non-existent terms to somehow associate him with a wizard.

Edgar turned his back, telling her not to speak foolishly, and began to walk away.

‘Tch, Ed is a fool.’

She had just given him a compliment, and he was ignoring her.

While she felt like flying with joy whenever Edgar praised her, he seemed unaffected.

For some reason, Ariel felt a bit down.

‘Huh?’

As she chased after him, she tilted her head at Edgar, who was scratching his cheek.

She stepped forward and turned to sneak a glance at his profile, then—

‘Liar.’

He was smiling all the while acting as if he wasn’t happy.

She felt a strong desire to poke fun at him right then and there, but decided to let it go just this once.

“So, Friend Wizard, hurry and help me find wild raspberries.”

“Do you really think it’ll be that easy?”

Edgar replied dismissively, but he didn’t stop walking.

Still, he would probably end up finding some, just like always.

Her steps, filled with anticipation, grew lighter than before.

Was she looking forward to the wild raspberries? Or was it the sight of her friend happily discovering them?

The answer would be something a ten-year-old might find difficult to contemplate.