I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 22

Bringing this foolish princess to the town might be the biggest blunder I’ve made this year.

Suddenly, such regrets swirled in Edgar’s heart.

“Ed, look at that! What is that, a cloud? Can you eat that too?”

“That’s probably cotton candy….”

“Wow! Did you see that? What if she makes a mistake while jumping? That’s amazing.”

Without a doubt, I hadn’t seen her chatter like this since about two years ago.

Moreover, this workshop had been going nonstop for a while now.

She would ask a question, and Edgar would try to answer, only for another question to follow right after.

In this infinite loop, Edgar was feeling an unprecedented level of fatigue.

She was no country bumpkin, yet everything she saw made her squeal with delight, and now his ears were ringing from it.

Had she really lived without seeing any of this before?

Of course, given the cold regions, while it might not compare to the imperial capital, Hespania should have had plenty of food and sights worth enjoying.

“It’s nice to be outside after a long time. I guess people need to move around.”

Stretching her arms and looking around with an excited expression, she let slip a phrase that made Edgar furrow his brows slightly.

“…You haven’t been outside in a while? Have you even left the castle recently?”

“Yeah. I think it’s been about three weeks?”

“What? Three weeks?”

Crazy. Is that even possible?

Hearing her say it so matter-of-factly made Edgar widen his eyes.

She claims it’s been three weeks, but regardless of how large the castle is, to have been holed up in one place for three weeks?

Sure, as an heir to a grand family, there must be things she needs to do at a young age, but even accounting for that, three weeks is quite a stretch.

“What have you been doing all that time?”

“I had some necessary training… and a lot of things to do.”

“You must have had a tough time.”

“I’ve gotten used to it now. There are still hard parts, though.”

Is getting used to it enough?

The way she tacked on that last part felt like it was hinting at her deeper feelings.

With a small sigh, Edgar walked toward the stall selling cotton candy that Ariel had pointed out earlier.

It didn’t seem to be the cotton candy machine he remembered, as it appeared to be made differently, but its appearance was similar nonetheless.

“How much for one?”

“Are you going to buy it? You don’t really like stuff like this.”

“Just wait and see already.”

Ignoring the comment from the side, Edgar paid for a cotton candy.

Then, the shopkeeper started making the cotton candy with a flourish of hands.

“Wow…! Ed, did you see that? It’s so cool.”

‘Is she pure or just plain silly?’

Without a word, Edgar firmly pushed Ariel’s head down.

Not gently, but rather with enough force to make her feel embarrassed.

“You idiot…! Why are you pushing my head down…? I can’t see it!?”

She needed to enjoy the magical spectacle of the cotton candy being made, but here she was, being sabotaged by this useless childhood friend.

Though Ariel struggled vigorously, Edgar’s strength was more than enough to easily restrain her.

Eventually, after the cotton candy was complete and stuck on a stick, he finally let go.

With a lifted head, Ariel puffed her cheeks up.

“Geez, you pressed my head down when I wanted to see!?”

Flailing her arms and trying to attack him, Edgar evaded her with ease until she cornered him, breathing heavily, and he glanced at her with pity before extending the fluffy cotton candy toward her.

“Sweets are the best when you’re feeling weak. Here, eat this.”

“…? You didn’t buy that for yourself?”

“Have you ever seen me eat anything sweet?”

Of course, he didn’t refuse when offered, but he had no particular taste for sweets.

Ariel knew this well, which was why she’d said that earlier.

As she stared blankly at the offered stick, Edgar nudged her, saying her arm would hurt if she didn’t take it.

Eventually, Ariel took it cautiously, letting out a quirky “Eek!” as she took a big bite out of the cloud-like cotton candy.

“What’s it like?”

“Mm… it just tastes like sugar mixed with fruit? A bit unique. Want to try?”

“No, I’m good. Besides, it’s not really something you share.”

Anyone who has had cotton candy knows that taking a bite leaves a mark on it.

In other words, unless you’re in a relationship, it’s not something you just share carelessly with others.

When Ariel belatedly realized there was a bite mark left on the cotton candy, she lowered her head and murmured, “I… I see.”

“Aren’t you cold? You can’t handle the cold very well.”

“This is fine. Hespania is colder.”

“Oh, right.”

Even someone who struggles with the cold can adapt somewhat after living in chilly regions for a while.

Though it was technically still spring in Ardeunum, the weather was decent enough to endure.

Thinking she might get cold, he had planned to lend her a coat, but it turned out to be unnecessary.

“Shall we go then? There’s still a lot to see.”

“Ah, um… I guess so.”

As he stepped forward, standing against the wall, Ariel, having finished her cotton candy, followed behind him.

Even though his long coat drew her attention, she chose to ignore it.

“Do you want to go see the performance from earlier? Or is there something else you want to see?”

“The performance? You mean the ones doing tricks earlier?”

“Yeah. They’re relatively famous around here.”

Edgar hadn’t seen them much but had heard that a troupe often visited nearby.

Those earlier folks were probably part of that group.

Since it didn’t cost anything and there was no need to queue, it was perfect for killing time.

“Yes, if you want to see it… I don’t mind going with you.”

Much to her surprise, when she thought he’d say yes right away, he seemed to hesitate, and a glint of mischief appeared in Edgar’s eyes.

He smirked.

With a playfully exaggerated gesture, he shrugged his shoulders, acting like he was considering other options.

“Really? If you don’t like it, that’s fine. There are plenty of other things to check out.”

Edgar feigned disappointment, licking his lips and casting his gaze elsewhere.

Ariel, obliviously captivated by his spontaneous acting, widened her eyes in surprise.

“Ah, no. I wouldn’t mind going with you…”

“You don’t want to impose on a friend who came from far away. Let’s see something else.”

She wanted to retort, asking when he’d started being so polite, but Edgar was holding the cards in this situation.

If she mishandled this, she wouldn’t get to see that intriguing performance from earlier, and so Ariel decided to swallow her pride.

It felt ridiculous for the proud daughter of the Robeheim family to bow her head over something so trivial, but this wasn’t the time to debate.

‘When have I ever cared about that in front of this guy?’

He was someone who knew all of her flaws, for better or worse.

If she threw a tantrum now, she’d probably never get what she wanted.

So for now, she should speak her mind honestly as a fallback.

“Um, um… can we just go see it?”

“Why?”

“Geez…”

Pretending not to know when he clearly did.

She didn’t have the courage to say, ‘Because I want to see it,’ instead just mumbling without articulating fully.

Watching her struggle, Edgar smirked and nodded slowly, conceding as if he’d won.

“Alright then. Let’s go. At this rate, the precious princess might just cry.”

“I’m not a child! I wouldn’t cry over something like this!”

“Got it, got it. Now hurry up and let’s go see it. How about I buy you another piece of cotton candy?”

“Geez!”

Eventually, when he started clearly acting like he was dealing with a child, Ariel’s patience finally hit its limit.

Swish!

At that moment, Ariel swung her right foot fiercely and kicked his calf.

It was an impressive kick that could have knocked down an average man, but unfortunately for her, Edgar was different.

“Ow…!”

“What are you doing? You kicked and then complain about it? Hey, are you alright?”

“You fool…! Just growing tall is useless…!”

Hearing how hard her kick was, she felt pain in her own foot.

She had heard they didn’t just swing wooden swords but also trained in basic physical fitness, but she never expected it would hurt this much.

Tears welling in her eyes, she sat down on a bench next to the stall while Edgar had no choice but to kneel in front of her.

“What are you doing, feeling awkward. You idiot.”

“Just show me your foot. It could be serious if you’ve broken a bone.”

“Geez, now you’re pretending to care after doing this to me….”

Yet, it was so in-character for her to obediently take off her shoes and extend her foot.

Edgar placed her foot on his thigh and examined it carefully.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be swollen, so it appeared it was only a brief moment of sharp pain.

“Can you walk?”

“I have to walk… there’s no other choice.”

The pain had gradually faded, and now she barely felt it.

Once she put her shoes back on and stood up again, Edgar’s unexpected words rang in her ears.

“I was actually thinking of carrying you if it hurt. Glad it seems okay.”

“…Huh?”

Did he really intend to carry her?

“Let’s just go. I feel sorry for causing you trouble, so I’ll buy you something.”

“Hey, hey…! More than that, what you just said… let’s go together!”

Ignoring the escort and moving ahead with his usual unbothered demeanor, Ariel called out to him, but she was already too far behind to catch up.

If you’re going to say something like that, why even mention it?

Since she was planning to mooch a bit, she regretted not feigning injury a little longer.

‘Not that I expected anything in the first place.’

She didn’t want to be carried by that fool.

She had a few experiences with that when she was younger, but now she was just embarrassed about others’ gazes, fretting unnecessarily.

Right. She was simply too lazy to walk.

And she just wanted to give that guy, who had come all this way, a piece of her mind.

For whatever reason, she regretted losing this golden opportunity.

He really was such a careless fool. This was why she disliked him.

Fool, idiot, Edgar.

Next time she gets the chance, she’ll make him pay for this.