I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 24

In the end, Edgar, who had been tossed around by Ariel all day, ended up solving dinner outside before returning to the mansion.

Katria, who was watching the garden, chided her son for being out so late, but with Helene backing her up, the situation was smoothed over.

After all, it was Helene who had suggested he take a moment to play. It wasn’t wrong.

She was just a little surprised that he had returned so late.

But seeing her daughter, who was pretending not to smile while grinning, made her relieved that they must have had fun.

“Did you have dinner out?”

“Yes, Mother. I had something simple.”

“Is it fine to just eat simply? You may be okay with it, but the young lady probably wouldn’t like outside food.”

Though years passed, Katria’s manners towards Ariel remained polite.

She likely viewed her more as a precious gem from a family to be honored rather than just a friend of her son.

Ariel did feel somewhat uncomfortable, but she understood it was inevitable due to the difference in their families’ standings and kept quiet.

She had come to realize that adding unnecessary comments only burdened her friend further.

“I’m fine. I haven’t had outside food often, and I actually found it quite delicious.”

“If that’s the case… but if you felt that the meal was lacking, please let me know right away. I’ll instruct the cook.”

“Yes, madam.”

One side addressed the other as ‘madam’, and the other side referred to her as ‘young lady’, a truly peculiar relationship.

Watching this, Edgar couldn’t help but smirk wryly.

Helene, standing behind, seemed unable to suppress her smile and, together with Katria, walked back into the building.

The two left in the garden decided to take a moment to stroll around to digest their full stomachs.

“It hasn’t changed at all, even after a long time.”

Ariel’s brief comment while circling around the main building left Edgar with a look of disbelief.

“Come on, you’d think you were gone for a year or something!”

“That’s just my way of saying it, you idiot. Read the atmosphere.”

At Ariel’s teasing, Edgar shrugged and evaded her gaze.

Well, even though he said that, it was true that compared to when they were kids, he visited less frequently.

Until he was ten, he used to come by two or three times a month and once even stayed for nearly ten days.

Compared to that, this visit had been nearly two months since she last came to the Billhark family.

It must be because the training at her family was getting stricter by the day, and the burden on her shoulders was becoming heavier, making it difficult to move freely.

‘I could never live like that. She’s amazing.’

On paper, he was a noble, but as the head of a small local family, he didn’t have any heavy responsibilities like Ariel.

His life was just a bit wealthier than the average person, enjoying a nice bed and plenty to eat—the good life.

Education at the family? That was non-existent.

Besides, it aligned with the educational policy of Ransel, his father, the head of the family.

If there was any, it was basic manners and interpersonal teachings, and even those weren’t felt to be harsh; just enough to avoid embarrassing themselves in public.

“What’s wrong? That feels unpleasant.”

“Just. Do I need a reason?”

Without thinking, I placed my hand on top of my struggling childhood friend’s head.

Seeing her glare at me and retort in an indignant tone made me chuckle.

“It’s weirder that there’s no reason at all, you idiot.”

Ariel shook her head, trying desperately to brush off the hand resting on her jet-black hair.

If there had been a reason, it wouldn’t have mattered; but doing this without any explanation just felt belittling.

That had always been the case.

Despite being the same age, she always appeared more mature, relaxed, and carefree than him.

He didn’t intend to say that was a bad thing, but sometimes he felt there was a distance between them.

A daunting distance that made it seem impossible to catch up with her merely by pushing himself a little harder.

“You always treat me like a child.”

“You are a child. Both you and I.”

“That’s why I’m saying I don’t like it!”

There might be children in the world who can praise themselves for being mature, but none could call themselves a child.

But Edgar had always done just that.

That he was also a child, and not much different from her.

When would he be able to become an adult? Wasn’t he already an adult by now?

He saw the world fundamentally differently than she did, who always asked herself those questions.

“Why are you sulking again? Was dinner not good?”

“It’s nothing. Just…”

Women’s hearts are often compared to reeds, changing and sensitive.

The heart of a girl in puberty is perhaps the most unpredictable of all.

Her emotions were not something she could easily control either.

‘What was I trying to say?’

The words she couldn’t answer Edgar with from a moment before lingered in her mouth.

‘It feels like you might drift away,’ she had thought; even now, reflecting back, she had no idea what she meant to say.

If she said that, even he, her childhood friend, would likely be speechless.

“By the way, have you made some friends? You don’t hang out with anyone but me, so I was a bit worried.”

“Yeah, I have a few. Not to the extent of talking openly like with you, though.”

When she mentioned introducing them if the opportunity arose, Edgar smiled softly.

‘At least that’s a relief.’

That was one of his biggest concerns.

Unlike Edgar, who enjoyed being alone, she seemed cheerful on the outside but actually liked relying on others and enjoyed being with someone.

If she spent several weeks stuck in a massive castle without any friends, no matter how much she whipped herself for her duties as a successor, she’d eventually reach her limit.

After all, she was still just a fourteen-year-old girl.

Edgar had sensed it since they went to town together.

Perhaps, more than the frustration of being unable to go out, she might find it hard having no one to converse with and empathize with.

“Ed.”

“I’m listening. Go ahead.”

He could immediately catch that her voice was heavier than before.

Not wanting to make eye contact, she turned her head, kicking the ground absentmindedly.

So Edgar turned his body, acting as nonchalant as possible as he responded.

“It must be difficult for you to come to Hespania, right?”

“…It probably is.”

There wasn’t a suitable place to stay, and above all, there was no justification.

Even if she stayed at the Robeheim family castle, it wouldn’t just be for the reason of being friends.

Typically, people stayed only a few days to a couple of weeks as a friend, not for months or years.

If she pushed through using her title as the eldest daughter of the Robeheim family, it might not be impossible, but there was a high chance they would view her request as just childish pouting, given she hadn’t even come of age yet.

In reality, it was indeed childish whining.

“Well, let’s head inside. We can change into comfortable clothes and talk…”

“Yeah, it’s already late.”

Normally, the foolish young lady would have directly refused, claiming their conversation wasn’t finished yet.

That must mean she had plenty on her mind.

Edgar felt a sense of déjà vu seeing her like that, but it was regrettable that he had no immediate solution.

He could only tell her to come by more often.

As the two entered the mansion together, they saw someone waiting on the first floor.

The long black hair reaching the waist wasn’t something you saw frequently, so both instantly recognized who it was.

“Mom, why are you outside?”

“Ah, I had a message for Edgar. Ariel, can you come in with us?”

A message? What could that be? And why would her presence be necessary? She had no idea.

Suddenly, a curiosity flitted through her mind.

‘By the way, why was Mom trying to come to Ardenum?’

She had only heard verbally before coming here that there was something she couldn’t send an agent to take care of, but she hadn’t heard the specifics.

Ariel just speculated that there had to be important talks between their families.

“Ed, I’ve already asked your mother, but since your opinion matters the most, I wanted to ask you.”

“My opinion… on what?”

What could possibly involve his input?

He thought hard but couldn’t come up with anything suitable.

After a brief silence as they pondered, Helene’s lips curled into a gentle smile as she alternated her gaze between the two.

“Would you like to stay with our family for a while?”

“Excuse me?”

Staying with our family? That sounded like being accommodated by the Robeheim family.

Ariel blinked, unsure if she heard correctly, and exchanged glances with Edgar.

As if asking, ‘Did we hear that right?’

“I know this is sudden, but would you consider it during this opportunity?”

Helene continued.

It wasn’t just a matter of wanting to link the two friends together; she genuinely wished to open a path that might help both of their futures.

Edgar should also benefit from seeing a wider world, and since he had been repeating his training, learning from a good teacher would be immensely beneficial.

And given the relationship between their families, if Ariel later wanted to keep Edgar close by, it would be fine to pursue that route as well.

“Don’t you like the proposal?”

“Oh, no. I’m just surprised it’s so generous…”

“Don’t think that way. Of course, there are plus points for being Ariel’s friend, but aside from that, it’s also because I see potential in Edgar Billhark.”

She left them with the assurance that if they needed time to think, they would have about three days until their departure, then she exited.

The two were left staring at one another, dazed.

Was Helene perhaps guessing Ariel’s feelings well enough to offer this opportunity?

“…What will you do?”

“What about?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Are you coming to Hespania?”

Well then.

Edgar sighed deeply and stared at the ceiling.

Of course, he knew going to Hespania now would be beneficial in the long run.

But after all, he was the only successor of a family, and he wasn’t truly prepared to lead that family yet.

Was it really right to suddenly move away now, right when he was still trying to learn about his own family and its affairs? That was his concern.

“What do you think I should do?”

“…I don’t know. You decide.”

Ariel turned her head sharply, responding nonchalantly as if it wasn’t her business.

But,

A glance.

He saw Ariel sneakily glancing at him, rolling her eyes, trying to read his mood.

That was just so unhonest.

It was funny how she used to ask if he could come to Hespania, but now that the opportunity presented itself, she acted indifferent about it.

‘Should I just give in this time?’

Edgar silently shuffled over to her and placed his hand on her silken hair.

She complained about her hair getting messed up, but he had no intention of backing down.

“Fine, let’s go.”

“Huh? Are you really… coming to Hespania?”

“It’s an enticing offer. Plus, I get to see you often, so that’s nice.”

Who would have thought such words would come out of Edgar’s mouth?

Ariel could feel her facial muscles loosening, but she tried hard to pretend it didn’t matter and turned away sharply.

“Nice? Don’t be a nuisance.”

“If you think it’ll be annoying, should I not go?”

“That’s not what I said!”

“Alright, alright.”

Edgar chuckled to himself as he comforted the sulking Ariel, while mentally reflecting on Helene’s suggestion.

Perhaps both of them would owe Helene a significant debt for the rest of their lives, he mused to himself.