I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 3

The two-year-old kids, who became friends at their first meeting, grew so quickly that they soon reached the age where they could walk and play together in what felt like the blink of an eye.

Now ten years old, the two of them had become fearless adventurers when they were together.

On the day Ariel, holding her mother Helene’s hand, visited the Billhark Family, Edgar’s hands and feet were busy.

She was a tyrant. More accurately, she was like a little dictator.

Whatever she wanted, she had to have it in her hands, and whatever she wanted to do, she had to do it. In some ways, it could be seen as a fitting personality for the future head of a grand family.

From early morning, Edgar was focused on physical training. It had become his personal routine since turning ten.

He was never good at using his brains, so he wanted to at least have a well-trained body as the future head of the baron family.

In this world, strong physical abilities were recognized as a skill in their own right.

“Ed! Let’s go to the mountain today!”

Now, she was showing up without even sending notice first.

Considering the difference in their family backgrounds, maybe this behavior was to be expected.

Edgar replied to the suddenly appearing Ariel with a sullen expression, without even greeting her.

“Again? We were scolded for sneaking off to the mountains last time.”

“It’s fine! This time we’ll just go and come back without getting caught!”

With her chest puffed up in confidence, little Ariel boldly declared her intentions.

Edgar couldn’t help but be sure that it was the least trustworthy thing he’d ever heard.

Did this little noble girl forget the incident that had just happened a week ago?

“…Are you going to fall down and cry again?”

“Who’s going to cry! You idiot, Ed!”

Who’s the one who’s going to cry? It’s you.

Despite being the eldest daughter of the Robeheim Family, learning various scholarly subjects including royal studies from a young age, deep down, Ariel was a girl who would burst into tears at the slightest scratch.

“Can you really not remember? You cried after falling while climbing that hill and came to me… Ah!”

“Say that one more time! I swear I’ll hit you hard!”

“You’re already hitting me… Ah, okay! Stop hitting me, it hurts!”

How does this delicate girl have such destructive power?

Getting hit on the back, Edgar felt like a tear might just trickle down his cheek.

By the way, why is she so eager to go to that mountain? Did she read an interesting adventure novel recently or something?

‘Do ten-year-olds really read novels?’

He wasn’t sure. At least in his opinion, novels were something to enjoy after entering adolescence.

It was questionable whether a ten-year-old would enjoy a book made up entirely of text with no illustrations.

Maybe she found an illustrated adventure book and wanted to show it to him later if the chance arose.

“But how do you plan to get out? There are guards too.”

The previous mountain expedition was only possible due to sheer luck.

No matter how close their friendship was, she was still the noble daughter of a duke family.

There were always guards who kept an eye on her, hidden in the vicinity, trying to avoid being seen by her as much as possible.

It would be no ordinary task for a ten-year-old to slip away from the guards’ watch.

Yet, despite Edgar’s concerns, Ariel had a confident expression as if she was waiting for that question. Her shoulders seemed to be raised a bit more than usual.

“That’s a good question! Let’s go inside first. I have to show you something.”

“Inside?”

She said they were going to the mountain, but now she wanted to go inside the building?

He was full of doubts, but he could do nothing but follow her.

No matter what, playing with Ariel at the age of ten was quite enjoyable.

Of course, sometimes childish games made him wonder why they were doing this, but his lower mental age usually allowed him to have fun.

“Oh right, Ed, I brought a gift today. Do you know about it?”

“How could I? I didn’t even know you were coming.”

By the way, a gift? What’s this about?

As mentioned before, she was a tyrant. If she was used to receiving things, it was rare for her to give something away.

No, to clarify, she had never given anything to “Edgar.”

‘She’s not a bad kid though.’

Ariel was always nitpicking at Edgar.

When they played together, they would run around happily without noticing the time, but afterward, she would sulk and poke at him for no reason.

‘Kids are impossible to understand.’

Even if their genders were the same, it would be one thing, but since that wasn’t the case, it only deepened the mystery.

Plus, maybe due to her previous actions, it was hard to interpret her intention of giving a gift in a purely positive light.

Perhaps she was planning to give him a caterpillar she found somewhere and call it a gift.

“Should I be expecting something?”

“Of course! Mom said I’d surprise you!”

“Heh.”

Hearing that, Edgar finally felt assured.

No matter how wild a princess she was, a ten-year-old wouldn’t sell her mother’s name for her schemes.

‘If it’s Lady Helene, she’s trustworthy.’

To Edgar, Helene was almost like a saint.

It was thanks to her that he could speak casually with a duke’s daughter, who possessed a vastly different social status, and she always treated him and Ariel as her own children.

Because of that, Edgar’s trust in Helene was almost like a belief.

‘I wonder what the gift could be.’

He had outgrown the age to get excited about gifts, but considering it was a gift from the duke’s daughter, curiosity arose.

Truth be told, it wouldn’t be surprising if she showed up with an entire mansion and said, “It’s a gift!”

‘That would be a bit much.’

Regardless of her abilities, there’s a reasonable line for gifts shared between ten-year-olds, so it would have to be something small.

Since he had recently developed an interest in reading, it would be nice to receive an interesting book as a gift.

He could only hope for her good sense.

As the two of them continued their conversation, they entered the building.

Ariel moved through the Billhark Family’s main building as if it were her own home, with familiar footsteps.

Of course, this made sense since outside her home, this mansion was the place she had visited most often.

‘Now that I think about it, I’ve never been to the Robeheim Family estate.’

He had heard tales of it being a gigantic castle.

Would he ever get the chance to visit it someday?

He thought the Billhark Family mansion was pretty big, but still wanted to see some massive castle that felt like it belonged in a story at least once in his lifetime.

“Hmm? Where are you going?”

While lost in thought, Edgar’s eyes widened at the sight of Ariel heading down the left corridor.

In this mansion, their destinations were usually predetermined.

At meal times, they went to the dining room; when they played, they went to Edgar’s room; and when someone’s parents called, they headed to the reception room.

Currently, it was time for play.

Yet for some reason, Ariel’s steps were heading elsewhere.

“I’m going somewhere other than your room.”

“Somewhere else?”

He was increasingly puzzled.

In any case, since she was the boss of the place, Edgar quietly followed her.

He didn’t want to provoke her here and see what kind of reaction might come back.

“Over there! Ed, hurry up!”

“Uh, okay.”

The place she pointed at was a small storage room in the corner of the first floor.

It was a shabby spot used for storing items no longer needed by the servants or various odds and ends.

Even Edgar, who lived in this mansion, had rarely visited this place.

Creeeak.

Nowadays, the door hadn’t been oiled properly, and the typical creaking of wooden doors echoed as it opened.

At the same time, a cloud of dusty air enveloped the two.

It was enough dust to make his eyes itch and almost burn.

“Ah-choo!”

“Cough! Cough!”

What on earth had been done to manage this place?

With just a weekly dusting, it couldn’t possibly get this bad.

Edgar immediately pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to Ariel.

“Cough…! Use this to cover your nose and mouth.”

“What about you?”

“I’m fine.”

Ariel hesitantly accepted the navy blue handkerchief that Edgar offered, looking at it for a moment.

‘By the way, why did she want to come to a place like this?’

Did she see something she wanted in here?

Before even getting a whiff of the mountain’s fresh air, Edgar stood there covered in dust and began rummaging through the piles of junk in the storage room.

Surely in a place like this, he wouldn’t have to worry about the guards seeing him.

“What are you planning to do?”

“I’ll show you in a minute, just wait a bit.”

It seemed she had something prepared after all.

Suddenly, Ariel walked to the center of the storage room and squatted down.

Then she rummaged through a small pouch attached to her clothing and pulled something out.

When Edgar looked closely, he saw a pile of some unknown powder had formed in her small palm.

“If I put it in a container, someone might notice, so I brought it here instead. Good, right?”

Ariel looked up at Edgar with a triumphant expression, as if to say “You better praise me.”

But for Edgar, who had no clue what the thing was, it left him at a loss.

How could he give praise without knowing what it was?

“What is it?”

“It’s powder made from mana stones. Is this your first time seeing it?”

“Yup.”

Edgar had no talent for magic from the beginning. To be precise, he and the Billhark Family had a lineage that had never handled magic.

As a result, there were hardly any books or items related to magic around the mansion.

All that could be found was probably general magical tools that even ordinary people could use.

“Watch closely. With this…”

Ariel began to mutter incantations while half-clenching her fist.

Even though Edgar was ignorant about magic, he recognized that she was casting a spell.

He had seen people use magic a few times already.

‘Wait, can she use magic already?’

They say that great magicians barely awaken their mana at ten and can only cast spells after twelve.

How talented could this girl in front of him be?

Edgar felt goosebumps on his arms without even realizing it.

Bzzzz.

Before long, the light gathering in her hands grew larger and then floated into the air, heading straight for the storage room wall.

Upon touching the wall, it transformed into a circle much larger than both of them.

To their astonishment, the scene outside the mansion appeared beyond that circle.

“This is the first magic I learned. Isn’t it cool?”

“Are you planning to sneak out to the mountains with this magic?”

“Yup.”

That answer was unbelievably innocent, but the fact that a ten-year-old was even thinking this way was mind-blowing.

Which kid thinks to learn magic to sneak away from home and make a hole in the wall?

‘Her way of thinking is so different.’

Of course, she was only able to think this way because she had the ability to do so.

Dumbfounded, Edgar pointed at the wall with his chin.

Then he grabbed a small knife lying in the corner of the storage room.

‘This should do the trick; I can clear some branches as I go.’

Now that it had come to this, it would be best to hurry up and make the trip.

Ariel’s face blossomed into a bright smile as she read Edgar’s intentions.