I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 170

Ariel and Edgar arrived at a place called Bruhholm, a bit away from Hespania, just as the snowfall intensified.

This area was quite close to Hespania, and despite being a place typically hard for the immigrants to reach, reports of their recent sightings had been flooding in.

It had been a while since sightings of immigrants got scarce, so Ariel sensed something strange and decided to check things out herself.

There was no concrete evidence, but perhaps this was some sort of intuition she inherited from her father.

“Isn’t this odd? I thought you’d be the one to stop me,” Edgar remarked.

“Right? I wonder why I did this,” Ariel replied, wearing a faint smile even though it was hardly a cheerful situation.

Despite not being in a particularly happy scenario, Ariel conversed with him, which made Edgar chuckle and shrug his shoulders, almost as if blaming himself for his actions.

Initially, Edgar had thought that this behavior was reminiscent of their previous encounter in Whitewood and wanted to advise against it. Back then, the immigrants had purposefully revealed their presence, subtly drawing Yulken into a trap.

There was no guarantee they’d avoid the same tactic this time, so he wanted to hold off for a bit.

However, oddly enough, while his intellect told him to be cautious, his body seemed to shout that they needed to hurry.

This might have been the most intense clash of reason and emotion that Edgar had ever experienced.

“It was the same back then.”

He recalled when he and Ariel visited the Imperial Palace, and Albrecht approached her with an invitation to their family.

During that moment, it wasn’t just an oddity regarding Albrecht, but he had a nagging feeling that he needed to stop her right away.

He didn’t know why.

On the surface, it wasn’t strange for the owner of the marquess family to congratulate the new head of the duke’s family and arrange a gathering in honor of that.

Yet, somewhere in his mind, he heard a voice telling him not to send her away.

Still, he couldn’t prevent her from going at that moment, and afterward, with no justifiable reason, he was filled with unease.

As it turned out, when he shared his impressions of Albrecht with Ariel, she ultimately decided not to accept the invitation, which settled the matter.

That was quite fortunate for Edgar.

To be honest, even though they were lovers, he never thought she’d trust such an ambiguous story without some proof.

“That was lucky.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Oh, nothing, just talking to myself. By the way, the snow is really coming down. Maybe we should’ve delayed our arrival.”

Bruhholm wasn’t particularly known for heavy snowfall.

Sure, it got more than ordinary regions, but compared to the thick snowfalls in the northern territories, it was comparatively less.

Yet today, for some reason, they faced a blizzard so severe it was hard to even keep their eyes open.

At first, Edgar took it as an omen, lamenting if they had made a mistake in coming. However, Ariel quickly countered his concerns with her own beliefs.

“You idiot. This is a welcome for us. For the Robeheim family, snow is closer than the sun.”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing that argument again.”

Edgar couldn’t understand how one could regard snow as a sort of welcoming ceremony, but maybe it fit nicely in some roundabout way.

“So, am I wrong?”

“You’re not wrong, which just makes it funnier.”

With a playful frown, Ariel looked at him, and Edgar chuckled before he began scanning the surroundings and receiving reports from those who had come along.

“Report! We’ve found traces of them to the northwest! It appears they’re all unarmed…”

“So you’re saying they’re not in a battle stance?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Both of their eyes widened at the unexpected news.

That made sense since the immigrants were known to always carry weapons like spears or swords, whether they were children or adults.

Moreover, they weren’t fools; they would know that people from the Robeheim family had arrived.

But why on earth would they show up unarmed instead of being in a battle stance?

In this scenario, there were two major possibilities.

First, could it be a bait?

As Ariel suggested, they might be purposely showing a façade to draw the enemies in, only to ambush them afterward.

However, Edgar was a bit skeptical about that.

“I don’t know. But if it is bait, do they have a reason to do that?”

As Edgar had previously observed, the immigrants usually engaged in guerrilla warfare.

They fought only when the odds were in their favor and avoided battles they didn’t need to handle, opting to disrupt their opponents instead.

But if he assumed this was a trap now, it was essentially a direct confrontation.

Even if they weren’t leading an army, they were far better prepared than during the first encounter with Yulken.

If they had eyes and a network, they would know enough.

So, was there any reason for them to lure the Robeheim family into a large-scale fight?

The reason the immigrants had been able to oppose the well-trained Robeheim soldiers in the past was not that they were equally strong, but that they’d leveraged small forces and unfamiliar terrains effectively.

“First, gather the people. I’ll go to the castle and discuss this matter. Relay the order and have everyone assemble without fail.”

“Yes, understood!”

After issuing commands to the messenger, Ariel turned and headed toward the castle with Edgar and a few others.

It was around the time the snowfall began to subside slightly.

* * * * * * *

Back at the castle, Ariel gathered the soldiers in one place to discuss.

They mainly took the time to organize the immigrants’ potential actions and the current situation, but honestly, there was nothing too substantial to report.

For now, the top priority was to remain vigilant against ambushes, so she instructed not to let their guard down while also allowing the other soldiers to take turns resting while maintaining their tension.

“Ugh… I’m exhausted.”

“You really just flop down as soon as you come back to your room, huh?”

Entering Edgar’s room instead of her own, Ariel plopped down on the bed.

Well, to be precise, she was sprawled over his thighs as she settled.

Even though such a soft body wrapped around him, Edgar felt nothing more than a slight chuckle escape him.

Perhaps because she was fulfilling her role as the head of the family, she had been acting quite spoiled when they were alone like this lately, almost like a whiny five-year-old.

“Speak freely; no one’s watching.”

“Are you saying my eyes don’t count?”

“Eyes?”

Ariel turned to face him, lying on her back and suddenly shot up, leaning in closely, making Edgar think she might try to kiss him. But her lips were headed toward his forehead instead.

More specifically, they were aimed at his eyes.

Plop. Plop.

“Here, a bribe. Maybe this will earn me a favor?”

As she pressed her lips against his eyelids while playfully smiling, Edgar found himself drawn into a kiss as he gently grasped her chin.

“What’s the point? You should be giving me the bribe instead!”

“Well, that’s true. Should I do it again?”

As she asked, not waiting for a rebuttal, Ariel leaned in again, but this time she really offered Edgar a bribe.

It was likely worth more than any gold or treasure.

At least, for him.

As their lips intertwined gradually, Ariel pulled back and flopped herself over him once more.

With the atmosphere becoming increasingly charged, Edgar wondered if she wanted more since they had done it just a couple of days ago, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“How odd. I thought you’d want to do more.”

“Uh-huh… I’m just not in the mood today. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

As Edgar echoed her trailing sentence with a tilt of his head, Ariel reached out, pulling him to lie next to her.

Then she buried her face in his chest and slipped her arms under his, almost as if they were one person.

It was quite a sight, resembling a cicada clinging to an old tree.

“I wanted to feel your warmth more.”

Sure, she loved the heat between them, but the situation and place today made it difficult.

Besides, such days occasionally appeared.

Days when she simply wanted to linger with the person in front of her, doing nothing and just soaking in their presence on the bed or sofa.

Even a gentle exchange was enough for a satisfying time.

Especially when the day had been tiring and exhausting, Ariel cherished this shared moment even more.

“Wanna sleep like this?”

“Then you won’t be able to sleep.”

Although Edgar usually wasn’t too sensitive when it came to sleep, in this position, it would surely be difficult.

If Ariel didn’t at least pull her arms out, he wouldn’t be able to drift off easily due to the discomfort.

“I wasn’t even thinking of sleeping. I just want to watch you sleep.”

“Then can I sleep for a bit…?”

Enticed, Ariel slowly released her hold on him.

This way, if something happened, at least Edgar could escape the room.

Although her true wish was just to watch him sleep peacefully, that was a bit too much to ask.

As Edgar stroked her head, Ariel’s consciousness began to fade, only to be interrupted by a loud crash from outside.

The noise was so disruptive that it pulled her back just before she completely sank into sleep, making both of them open their eyes wide in surprise.

Suddenly,

Edgar got up to see what was happening when a man waiting in the hallway shouted urgently.

“Urgent report! Someone who appears to be a member of the immigrants is coming this way with a white flag!”

Realizing she wouldn’t be able to sleep again, Ariel understood she needed to focus on her duties as the head of the family for the day.

So she put on her coat and carefully stepped out of the bed.

The cloak that proudly represented her position as the owner of the Robeheim family flowed behind her.