I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 286

Hespania’s Symbol of Dominion is Regaining Its Prime Glory

Just hearing this news was enough to bring joy to the residents, but there was even more good news.

“We’ll take care of it, let it be.”


“Ah… T-Thank you. You’re quite strong.”


“Well, all I’ve done since I was born is show off my strength, so I might as well do it well. I’ll clean up the rest of the baggage if you leave it.”

First of all, the Carvita Tribe has been continuing their symbiosis in Hespania, and recently various exchanges have happened between them and the original inhabitants of this place.

As this went on, the negative perceptions people initially held began to change significantly; some women secretly admired them, saying they had a wild charm that the city folk lacked, and even made excuses to meet them.

“Hey, mister!”


“Watch it, you’ll fall again.”

Among such peaceful scenes, the one most delighted was none other than Sonia.

She had often been advised not to venture into the outer regions as they were dangerous while staying in the castle, but with this area stabilizing, it had turned into a new playground for her.

Another piece of good news was that the uncle who played the best with her started visiting the castle more frequently. It’s probably safe to say she’s the only one in this world who can handle the leader of the Carvita Tribe so easily.

“It looks like things are getting organized.”

Meanwhile, Ariel couldn’t hide her satisfaction watching Hespania evolve into what she desired and the northern landscape.

She was quite proud to accomplish something even the previous patriarchs hadn’t. Of course, she didn’t consider it her merit.

“By the way, I didn’t know the Carvita Tribe was surprisingly proficient in the Empire’s language.”

Ariel quietly murmured while sipping the tea Shuri had personally served her, and beside her, even during office hours, Edgar was present.

With the recent influx of the Carvita Tribe, tasks to manage had increased, so they ended up sharing an office. As a result, approvals went through quickly, which made things much easier for them.

For Ariel, the simple fact that Edgar was working alongside her was a plus.

“Kelrag said they only brought those who could speak the Empire’s language first. They probably did it that way to help with adaptation.”


“That was a good idea.”

With a satisfied smile, Ariel shuffled through the pile of documents.

The language barrier can be quite inconvenient in many ways, but overcoming it also brings significant benefits.

Indeed, there were some residents of Hespania who had expressed concerns early on, saying it would be uncomfortable as people would come who couldn’t even understand the language.

However, seeing the Carvita Tribe speaking clean Imperial casually made them realize that they were trying to absorb into this lifestyle, leading to a certain familiarity, and it became common for them to approach first.

Whether Kelrag foresaw this or not, it can certainly be seen as quite a meaningful action.

“Ugh…!”

After some time of battling with the paperwork, Ariel finally stretched when her teacup was empty.

At that, Edgar got up with a wry smile on his face and approached her desk.

“Tired? Take it easy or you’ll collapse.”


“You’re the one who should be saying that! I couldn’t even properly play with Sonia because of work.”


“Don’t worry, I left that to Kelrag.”

With a rather irresponsible remark, Edgar winked at her, causing Ariel to give him an exasperated look.

Even though he told others to take it easy, recently Edgar hadn’t been showing much sign of resting. He even had times when he didn’t get enough sleep and would nap on the sofa in the office, spending sleepless nights.

In fact, under Edgar’s eyes, unusual dark circles had appeared.

Upon noticing this, Ariel decided something had to be done.

“Shuri.”


“Yes, Miss.”

After suddenly being called by her master, Shuri approached quickly, leaving the new pot of tea she was preparing.

As Edgar stood awkwardly, caught in an uncertain position, Ariel, who had previously been shot looks for his perplexed expression, gave Shuri a specific command.

“Clear all the documents off Edgar’s desk.”


“…What?”


“Yes, I will follow your orders.”


“Wait, wait…! Just a second!”

He thought this was some kind of tyranny and tried to stop Shuri, but as he met her pleading, wry smile, he couldn’t help but hesitate.

After all, for a maid like Shuri, there’s nothing more important than Ariel’s command.

“And I’ll take Edgar with me for a bit. If anyone asks, tell them to come back tomorrow.”


“Understood. Please be careful, Miss.”

Thud.

“Ariel…! F-First let go of my hand….”


“Warp.”

Swish!

After effectively announcing her intentions, ignoring Edgar’s protest, she cast warp magic and vanished along with her husband.

***

Thud.

Immediately after bouncing somewhere through Ariel’s teleportation magic, what Edgar saw was not a strange ceiling, but the familiar ceiling he saw every morning.

It was none other than the ceiling of their bedroom.

Realizing they had unexpectedly arrived at a place inside the castle, Edgar was somewhat taken aback.

Wouldn’t it have been enough to simply walk here?

“Hmm….”

By the way, currently, Edgar was resting his head on nothing other than his wife’s thigh.

Since they had children, it had somehow become the designated position for their offspring, so he hardly got to use it, but perhaps because of that, the long-awaited thigh pillow provided by his wife was comfortable enough to break the strong resolve of the man known as a hero of the nation.

Ariel seemed to notice this as she gently ran her fingers through his hair with a soft smile.

“How does it feel? Lying down makes you want to close your eyes right away, doesn’t it?”


“…I can’t deny that.”

If he had simply lied down on the bed, it probably wouldn’t have been the same, but Edgar theorized that lying on Ariel’s exquisite thigh was what’s making this happen.

“As I said before, if I see you overexerting yourself, I’ll snatch your work right away. So next time, work while making sure to get proper sleep.”

As she stroked his forehead, her caring words made Edgar chuckle.

After all, he never thought he’d get caught when sharing a room, but the fact that he had pushed himself even more after being let off the hook several times might be the source of his trouble.

“Got it. I’m sorry for causing you worry.”


“Hmph, when it’s like that, what should you say instead of ‘sorry?’”


“Thank you for always looking out for me.”


“Honestly, if you just can’t say something….”

Kiss.

Even with a slight pout, Ariel bent down and pressed her lips against her husband’s. Despite being expressions of affection they shared multiple times a day, they still felt fresh and new.

After breaking away from the kiss, as Edgar attempted to briefly close his eyes, he felt something soft repeatedly touching his face.

He didn’t need to open his eyes to know what it was.

“…Ariel, this is touching me.”

At this point, it seemed impossible to get any sleep, so Edgar mustered the courage to speak, to which Ariel flashed him a mischievous grin, questioning what was wrong.

“I’m purposely making it touch you. They say men feel more relaxed this way, right? Isn’t that so?”


“It is relaxing, but… in a certain sense, it’s not relaxing at all.”

While the feeling of something soft enveloping his face was pleasant, how one feels about it could vastly change based on what that something actually was.

Especially if it’s a specific part of his beloved wife that he adores most.

“Hehe, how come the cheeky guy usually acts innocent at moments like this? Why so shy?”


“I’m not being shy; I’m just in a difficult spot. Wasn’t the intention to put me to sleep?”

“See? I am putting you to sleep. Or should I sing you a lullaby?”


“At this age, a lullaby… that sounds humiliating.”

“Really? What to do about that?”

Forgetting the inherent difficulty, with her hand against her cheek, Ariel leaned down further, pressing her husband’s face into her chest.

“…Am I not tired enough for this? Maybe if I get a bit more tired, I might actually sleep.”

Then, glancing cautiously at the areas that were responding, she showed a mischievous smile and began to guide her hands from Edgar’s chest down to his abdomen and then beyond, making quite a bold insinuation.

“What are your plans for tomorrow?”


“Can’t I take another day off? With the kids around nowadays, I think everyone would understand.”

“……”

Edgar didn’t strongly oppose that idea either. It was true they had been so busy with work and tending to the children that they hardly had time for anything else, and it was just as true that they had put off their needs.

But now that they understood each other’s hearts, they probably wouldn’t need to hold back anymore.

That’s just how couples are.

Kiss.

With a kiss that extended longer than the previous one, Edgar reluctantly raised his body.

As though waiting for this moment, Ariel flopped onto the bed, extending her hand towards Edgar with an alluring pose.

The long-awaited couple’s time turned out to be quite vigorous.