I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 27

After Edgar decided to return to Hespania, Helene sent a message to the family home to delay their return schedule a bit. Even though she could go back to Ardenum whenever she wanted, leaving a house she had lived in for about 14 years for a foreign land required some mental preparation.

“So, we’re leaving for Hespania the day after tomorrow… I’m weirdly nervous.”

Edgar, who was checking his magical power with Ariel’s help early in the morning, muttered quietly to himself. When he had made the decision to leave for Hespania, he hadn’t felt particularly nervous; however, as the day drew closer, a strange flutter stirred in his chest. Perhaps it was less like nervousness and more like excitement. In any case, the tingling sensation felt eerily delightful, as if he were being tickled by feathers.

“Are you nervous too?”

Ariel, who had been listening quietly, raised an eyebrow in curiosity. She didn’t seem to show any signs of nervousness and was just her usual indifferent self, so she thought he hadn’t given it much thought. Besides, the word “nervous” hardly matched the carefree nature of Edgar.

“Of course I’m nervous; I’m a person, too.”

“Huh… that’s interesting.”

After nearly 13 years together, she realized this for the first time. The bold boy who had charged at a wild boar at ten years old was actually nervous. Discovering this unexpected side of him brought her a mix of joy and concern.

“Are you really gonna be okay? I know it’s funny to ask this now, but still.”

“I told you, I’m fine. Hey, I’ve heard that question over ten times already.”

“I know. I was trying not to ask anymore, but finding out you’re nervous for some reason makes me anxious.”

Edgar sighed as if there was no other choice and suddenly stood up to ruffle her hair.

“Do you not trust me that much?”

“F-Fine! Can you at least take your hand off my head? I’ve worked hard to fix my hair this morning.”

Though she didn’t mind him ruffling her hair too much, it was still a nuisance, especially since she had finally managed to tidy it up without anyone else’s help. If her maid, Shuri, had been around, she wouldn’t care about messing it up a little, but since she had to manage everything from head to toe by herself during their time here, it was a different story.

“Then why even bother to style it so much in the morning? What, you going on a blind date or something?”

“Geez, do you think I’m doing this for you? It’s part of being a lady!”

Seriously, this idiot was something else. It was infuriating how skilled he was at getting on her nerves, making it impossible to keep her anger in check.

What? A blind date? If it were any other word, she could let it slide, but that specific term stuck like a thorn in her side, making her wonder if he was deliberately poking fun at her.

“The foolish princess talks about being a lady. You’re practically throwing punches right now.”

“That’s only because of you!”

Ariel got angry and shouted, then realized how embarrassing that sounded and quickly swallowed her words. It was easy to understand if you looked at the context, but somehow it felt like something lovers would say, which made it awkward to bring up.

Edgar tilted his head, as if to ask, “Only because of me?” but Ariel quickly turned her head away, shutting her mouth tight. She had no words to spare for such a dense guy.

“Stop getting mad and just tell me about your new maid and friends. Come to think of it, I haven’t heard much about you lately.”

“Is that how you ask someone, by annoying them on purpose?”

“Well then, should I kneel or something?”

Part of her wanted to say yes, but the image of him instantly flopping down on the grass made her swallow her words.

Huff.

Letting out a small sigh, Ariel figured there was no need to make him kneel, so she asked him to sit down for a moment.

“Here? Sit here?”

“Well, where else would you sit?”

“That’s a good point.”

The wooden box that had been here was just cleaned up yesterday, so there was nowhere suitable to sit.

Eventually, when Edgar plopped down on the grass, Ariel unexpectedly rested her head on his thigh.

They had done this a few times when they were kids, but Edgar hadn’t expected it now that they were older, leaving him utterly flabbergasted. Still, he didn’t push her away and instead smirked while trying to tidy her messy hair.

“You said my hair would get messed up, but look at you; you’re lying down like this now.”

“Well, it’s already messy. I should at least get a reward for sharing a story.”

“Can’t you share one thing with your friend for free?”

Edgar sighed heavily at the harsh reality as the air escaped his mouth.

“I’ll tell you a story, but if you dare look down on my friend, you’re gonna regret it.”

“Do you think that person is crazy enough to care about me? It’s only because of you that they even talk to someone like me.”

“…Hmph, as long as you know.”

He had been considering punishing anyone who dared cross the line so casually, but fortunately, that did not seem to be the case here.

Ariel casually let out a snort of satisfaction and started listing off her new relationships.

“First, the maid Shuri is the daughter of the chef, Shepi. She hasn’t been my maid for long but had been working for our family before that.”

Whenever she visited the Billhark Family, she always left Shuri at her family home, so there hadn’t been a chance to introduce them. Edgar had only heard her name, not knowing anything about her personality or age, so he felt a strange sense of curiosity, but not in a romantic way.

“Is she about our age?”

“One year older. But when you see her, she feels more like a younger sister. She cries a lot, too.”

“I think I can relate to that.”

It probably meant that she had a naturally cute disposition and was emotionally expressive.

Edgar knew that Ariel, excluding her family, could be quite blunt toward others, so imagining Shuri in his mind seemed like they could be a good match.

“It sounds like her personality is quite different from Shepi’s.”

“Yeah. Honestly, I couldn’t imagine she’d be related to her until I was told. Shepi says Shuri takes after her father a lot. They even have the same hair color.”

“Oh.”

So, she inherited a lot from her father. Edgar had frequently been told that he looked more like his father than his mother, so he felt an unexpected sense of kinship.

Speaking of which, he recalled hearing a superstition somewhere before that girls should take after their dads to live happily, and boys should take after their moms. If that were true, it would mean Shuri’s future was pretty much secured.

In any case, he wanted to meet her at least once.

“What about your friend?”

“Silvia? She’s nice but loves to mess around a lot. Even more than you do!”

“Oh, that sounds a bit much.”

Edgar considered himself quite skilled at playful banter, so hearing that she was even worse was astounding. It sounded like life with her would feel like a continuous joke.

“Honestly, being around her is exhausting. I can’t think straight.”

As if to show she was tired, Ariel shook her head, burying her face into Edgar’s thigh. Yet despite her complaints, Edgar could tell that Silvia was a friend she had grown quite close to. After all, every time she mentioned Silvia, a subtle smile played on her lips.

However, there was one thing bothering him.

“Are you sure you’re not taking out your frustrations on your maid, Shuri, just because of Silvia?”

As Edgar listened carefully to talk about the two, it struck him that things didn’t quite add up, so he decided to poke a bit.

How did he find out that Shuri, the maid, cried a lot? If Ariel, who had been teased, was nearly impossible to calm down with just a tiny blow-off, where exactly did she take out her frustrations?

And to prove his point, Ariel turned her face away from where it had been resting and clamped her mouth shut, avoiding his gaze.

“…….”

“Hey, don’t avoid looking me in the eye like that.”

This girl was really something else.

He had admonished her not to step on those below her since they were young, but as soon as she got a maid, she started acting like a true lady of the house, flexing her newfound superiority.

There was no way a mere fifteen-year-old girl who just became a maid could endure that.

“I’m done with my story, so I’ll take a nap. Don’t wake me up.”

“What, gonna just lie there and pretend I won’t throw you into a tree if you don’t get up?”

“Go ahead and try. I’ll tell my mom on you.”

With Edgar aware that the most lethal comeback from her was imminent, he finally hid his hand, which was about to lift her in a playful gesture, and sighed deeply.

“What if I ask Shuri what’s going on, and she gives the answer I expect?”

“W-What do you mean by that? I’m telling you, I didn’t do anything.”

“Speak properly. If you don’t, I might just toss you immediately, even if it gets to Madam Helene.”

As time went on, Edgar thought she had matured a bit, but it seemed like her core hadn’t changed at all.

It was fine to maintain her innocence, but there was no need for her childish princess demeanor to remain the same.

“At that time, I’ll make sure you get whatever punishment you deserve, alright?”

“Fine, let’s just move on from this for now.”

With a groan, Edgar reduced his resistive stance, and Ariel peeked at him, bursting into a discreet laugh.

After all, Shuri was her maid. No matter how much Edgar insisted on the truth, she couldn’t just carelessly let anything slip, especially since they had to coexist going forward.

‘This is my victory.’

Imagining Edgar’s defeated expression, Ariel couldn’t help but smile widely. She felt slightly bad for Shuri, but she figured they could just apologize later or give her a gift or something.

Tap.

A single amaryllis petal continuously swayed in the breeze and then fell to the ground.