I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 6

I never could have anticipated how terrifying the curiosity of a lively little kid could be.

Edgar lamented his mistake as he chased after Ariel.

“Ariel! It’s dangerous!”

“Hmph, Ed, if you’re scared, just stay back! I’ll go look for it myself!”

“Come on, can you make some sense?”

If something were to happen, he wouldn’t be able to face Helene again.

Even if a wild beast appeared, at worst, he could get Ariel to safety first and then escape himself.

Right now, physically, he was certainly stronger than she was.

“There’s probably no chance of seeing anything anyway. Wolves and boars are nocturnal.”

“Then that means it’s safe, so it’s fine! Hurry up and follow me!”

This girl was mad.

At this point, she was being nothing short of ridiculously optimistic.

Edgar bit his lip, having accidentally said something unnecessary, and quickened his pace.

If only there was some comfort in the fact that despite the distance between them, the difference in their walking speed meant that he could catch up quickly.

‘At this rate, I don’t even know how far we’ll end up going.’

Until a moment ago, he could at least look back at the path they had taken, but as they moved deeper into the mountain, that became more difficult.

Fortunately, as the creatures that had caught her attention were nocturnal, the chances of encountering them in broad daylight were low.

Yet, the hurried pace they were maintaining eventually began to slow down little by little.

No matter how much she tried to push herself, a ten-year-old girl wouldn’t have the stamina to climb a mountain.

Not to mention, she wasn’t even dressed appropriately for hiking, making it even tougher.

“Hah— Hah—”

Ariel perched on a cut tree stump, panting heavily.

It seemed she’d been trying so hard to act strong that she had exhausted herself.

Edgar was out of breath too, but not nearly as bad as her. Guess all that training paid off at times like this.

‘Is there any water around?’

Sweating profusely while darting around the mountain, the thirst was creeping up on him.

On any normal day, he would have brought along a leather bag with a water bottle, but with the sudden change in schedule today, he hadn’t packed anything.

He listened carefully, hoping to hear the sound of flowing water nearby, but sadly, nothing of the sort happened.

“Hmm? Ed, look over there!”

“What now?”

“That way!”

While still trying to catch her breath, this reckless little princess pointed excitedly at something.

With a voice dripping with annoyance, he turned his gaze following her finger.

Behind the dense trees, a cave-like opening came into view.

“I’ve only seen caves in books! Let’s go check it out!”

“Ugh… fine. Let’s go.”

After all, he knew that even if he tried to stop her, this stubborn princess wouldn’t listen.

Since it was right in front of them, taking a cozy rest in there wouldn’t be a bad idea.

With that thought, he stood up and walked leisurely toward the cave.

“What’s up? I thought you’d run ahead.”

“Well, I didn’t want to leave you alone since we came out together.”

“Ah, sure…”

Her thoughtfulness almost brought a tear to his eye.

Why hadn’t she shown this kind of understanding and consideration sooner?

‘Maybe it’s a masterstroke of social maneuvering.’

Was she intentionally doing bad things first and then bestowing good deeds to make even the smallest consideration feel like a huge deal?

You’d think that such elaborate thinking was beyond a ten-year-old, but considering who she was, it somehow seemed plausible.

‘There must be something like that in the Duke’s house’s lessons on ruling.’

In any case, he should be grateful for her allowing him to relax, even just for a moment.

Just as the cave became visibly close, something cold suddenly dropped on his head.

Was it bird droppings or a falling leaf?

He reached up to check, only to find the nearby hair damp.

No way.

“Crap.”

“Hmm? What did you say?”

“Nothing, nothing. First, let’s get out of the rain.”

“Okay.”

Was it just a passing shower?

Caught in suddenly pouring raindrops, the two ran straight into the cave.

Tap. Tap.

Once they arrived in the cave, Edgar shook off the moisture from his clothes.

Thanks to the trees blocking the rain, his clothes weren’t soaked through.

‘Thank goodness for that.’

If his clothes were drenched, he would’ve been at risk of hypothermia.

However, the fact that he had no idea when the rain would stop remained a concern.

In any case, they needed to wait until the rain ceased before returning to the mansion, but if this wasn’t a passing shower and it continued until night fell…

“E-Ed.”

“What is it?”

Ariel’s trembling voice cut through the worst-case-scenario thoughts he was entertaining.

Turning to her, he found her hugging herself, shivering uncontrollably.

“I’m… c-cold…”

“……!”

He thought he was fine since he wasn’t too wet, but Ariel was apparently not the same.

Even if this weather was relatively mild compared to other places, that was only when comparing it to the northern regions.

Wearing soaked clothes in a place with generally low temperatures was practically suicidal.

“Ariel, for now, take off your top coat. I’ll lend you this.”

“What about you…?”

“Just put it on. I’ll turn around.”

Fortunately, the coat Edgar was wearing was quite thick.

Shaking off any remaining moisture from it before handing it to Ariel, he turned his back.

Even just taking off one layer brought chills, but there was no other option.

Once Ariel stripped off her drenched clothing and put on the coat he had given her, she walked over to a rock in the cave.

“Ouch…!”

At that moment, she let out a quiet, pained moan.

When Edgar asked what was wrong, she confessed that she had twisted her ankle.

“When did you twist it? You should have said something.”

“W-well… I was afraid you’d say we shouldn’t go if I told the truth…”

“Ugh.”

What a stubborn little brat.

It must’ve happened just when she briefly stopped walking earlier.

At first, he’d thought she was just out of breath, but it turned out she twisted her ankle.

Just adding to the pile of troubles.

“I’m sorry, Ed… Are you angry?”

“Would I not be?”

Faced with his sharp retort, Ariel hung her head in disappointment.

Seeing that, Edgar sighed again and shook his head.

‘What am I even doing here with a child…’

Of course, he was angry. But that included a part of self-reproach.

He should have stopped her earlier. Perhaps if he had bluffed about going back then, she might have followed along reluctantly.

His overly relaxed assumption that he could handle things led them to this predicament.

“Let’s just wait for the rain to stop. It’d be nice if we could start a fire, but that seems impossible.”

“Okay.”

If he could manage to find some dry wood, maybe they could light a fire somehow, but in this situation, even stepping out to get some was dangerous.

If they went out only to get drenched and failed to start a fire properly, their situation would worsen significantly.

Remaining calm was essential to navigate this crisis. After all, Ariel was depending on him.

‘Still, it’s fortunate we have this cave.’

The cave discovered by Ariel proved to be extremely helpful.

If they had been caught in the rain without shelter, things would have been far worse than they were now.

But why was there a cave in a place like this? Scanning the surroundings, Edgar saw nothing peculiar.

There was a strange odor and some bizarre remnants, but nothing obvious stood out.

After spending some time in silence, Edgar felt himself begin to shiver as well.

He tried not to show it, worrying Ariel might fret, but his legs and shoulders started shaking involuntarily.

Crash. Crash.

Then, he heard it.

Amidst the heavy rain, a strange sound pricked up his ears.

It sounded like branches being torn off in bulk.

And upon listening closely, it seemed like a gurgling animal noise too.

‘…No way.’

In a flash, Edgar rushed toward Ariel and grabbed her wrist.

“Ariel, we need to get out of here. Follow me!”

“W-what’s going on…?”

She couldn’t understand, but the seriousness of his expression was enough for her to follow without any words.

At the cave entrance, there was…

– Gurgle. Gurgle.

‘Of all things.’

Just as Edgar had guessed, a massive boar was glaring at them with ferocious eyes.

Just as he had thought, this place was its den.

The earlier foul smell and the debris in the corner of the cave were certainly remnants of its meals.

As long as it didn’t charge at them, that would be best, but given the tension in the air, that would likely not happen.

The beast’s breathing, which had been loud only moments ago, had grown quieter.

It must have sensed them as intruders in its peaceful resting place and was now watching for its chance to attack.

– Gurgle!

“Ariel!”

As the beast that had been holding its breath leapt forward, Edgar yanked Ariel toward him with all his might.

He hadn’t thought about his center of gravity, so they both tumbled into the underbrush, but now was not the time to care about that.

‘What do I do?’

He had a knife on him.

But even with his current abilities, could he really defeat that boar?

Even if they fled, how fast could he escape with Ariel, who had a twisted ankle?

“Just wait a moment, Ariel.”

“What are you going to do…?”

“It’s alright. Don’t worry, just stay out of the rain for now.”

Fortunately, the rain had lightened up a bit compared to before.

At this point, he could probably hide a bit among the thick trees.

After reassuring Ariel, Edgar cautiously grasped the knife at his waist.

If he moved first, the boar would surely focus on him instead of her. Then he could find a moment to…

Flinch.

When he loudly burst from his hiding spot, the boar let out a roar and chased after him.

Just a bit more, just a bit more.

Watching the rapidly approaching boar, Edgar didn’t shy away and finally opened his eyes wide as the moment he waited for came.

Thud.

– Gurgle!

His target was the eyes.

If he missed and stabbed it incorrectly, it might just aggravate the situation. He had no choice but to use this method to either stop it from chasing them or at least threaten it.

As the boar squealed in pain from the knife piercing it, Edgar didn’t bother to pull it out and sprinted back to Ariel.

“Ariel!”

He knelt beside her and demanded she hop on immediately.

Ariel protested, arguing it was absurd, but when he firmly repeated the request, she had no choice but to comply.

“Pant, pant…”

Shivering from the cold and the steep drop in stamina, he was nearing his limit.

To be honest, carrying Ariel down was just sheer craziness.

No matter how well-trained he was, his growth wasn’t complete yet.

‘So, what do I do now?’

But Edgar ran anyway.

Almost slipping on the wet grass didn’t matter; he barely kept his footing.

As his breath began to hitch and his vision blurred, he bit his lip, trying to maintain focus through the pain.

“── Ma’am! Are you there!”

“Please respond if you hear this!”

That was the moment.

Hope reached Edgar’s ears.

Through his fading vision, he saw a bright white light. Behind it were two burly men calling out their names anxiously.

“Over here! It’s over here!”

Ariel’s desperate cry pierced through the rain, reaching them.

Finally spotting the two soldiers, they bolted toward them like arrows.

‘We’re safe now.’

That single thought caused the tension he had been barely holding on to snap like a taut string, and—

Thud.

Edgar, succumbing to fatigue, fell into darkness.