I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 7

The two were promptly transported to the mansion.

Perhaps it was because Ariel had witnessed Edgar collapsing and losing consciousness, but she desperately cried his name all the way to the mansion.

For a ten-year-old girl, it must have been a tremendous shock.

“Mom! Edgar…! Because of me, Edgar…!”

“Calm down, Ariel. You need to be treated first.”

Helene, upon hearing the whole story, tried to soothe her excited daughter.

According to the doctor, he had merely lost consciousness; there were no serious injuries or internal issues. His life was not in danger.

However, given the strain on his ten-year-old body, rest was imperative.

Helene entrusted Ariel to Katria’s care and quietly made her way to the room where Edgar lay.

His hair, a fiery red, reminiscent of her daughter’s eyes, was tousled and messy.

There were scrapes on his hands and arms as if he had been dragged across the floor, necessitating bandages to be applied for now.

According to the soldiers, Ariel had fought a wild boar to protect him.

“A wild boar… What a brave child,” Helene thought.

Even though she heard it from the soldiers, she found it hard to believe.

For an adult skilled in martial arts, taking down a wild boar would be feasible, but Edgar was merely a ten-year-old child.

The mere thought of him charging at a boar much larger than himself was far-fetched.

Helene reached out and brushed Edgar’s hair gently.

Keeping this child by her daughter’s side might have been one of her wisest decisions as a mother.

Of course, seeing this child suffer made her feel a deep sense of remorse.

At this moment, her only wish was for him to wake up soon so that everyone in the mansion could breathe a sigh of relief.

As she softly caressed Edgar’s cold cheek, he seemed to respond, slowly opening his eyes.

“Ugh… Helene… Madam?”

“You’re awake? Don’t worry. You’re in the mansion.”

“W-what about Ariel…?”

Edgar awoke and immediately showed concern for Ariel’s condition before even asking about his own.

Helene couldn’t help but chuckle softly at this.

Should she feel grateful or flustered? He should be taking care of himself!

“She’s fine. It’s all thanks to you.”

“No, it’s my fault… Ugh.”

He tried to sit up, but his body wouldn’t cooperate.

Instead, he let out a short groan and grimaced in response.

Watching him, Helene shook her head and gently laid him back down.

“Don’t worry about being polite; just lie down. There’s nothing to ask of a hero who saved my daughter.”

If anything, she should be bowing down to thank him.

Given their status in the servant-master relationship, the hierarchy mattered little.

What truly mattered was that Edgar was someone Helene had to treat with utmost respect at this moment.

“I’m sorry, Lady Helene.”

“Is it because you couldn’t stop Ariel?”

“… Yes.”

At Edgar’s affirmation, Helene smiled wider.

He must have attempted to talk her out of going to the mountains somehow. There had been a similar incident before, so he probably wanted to avoid making the same mistake twice.

However, Ariel, being stubborn as ever, must have insisted on pushing forward on her own.

She could vividly picture that scenario.

“You probably couldn’t stop her this time. Under normal circumstances, you might have been able to.”

“Eh? What do you mean by that…?”

A question mark popped above Edgar’s head as he failed to grasp Helene’s implication.

What on earth could she mean?

Sure, she felt that Ariel’s stubbornness seemed a bit more intense today, but she assumed it was just her being extra energetic.

Helene’s words felt like they hinted at something else entirely.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like it’s a question for me to answer. Ask Ariel about it when you see her later.”

“Okay.”

He had to hear it directly from her lips.

Edgar felt a swirl of curiosity bubble within him but had no choice but to agree.

At the latest, he was sure he would hear it by the next day.

‘Somehow, I feel a bit dizzy.’

Now that he was assured about Ariel’s condition, he found himself bothered by his own.

Was it because he’d been caught in the downpour for so long, or was it just fatigue? His body felt chilly, and when he touched his forehead, he found he had a slight fever.

‘Maybe I caught a cold.’

Well, considering he returned unscathed from that situation, if it ended up being just a light cold, that could be seen as a happy ending.

Helene, who had been watching over him, reached out with her slender hand, checking his cheeks and forehead for fever.

It wasn’t boiling hot, but he definitely had a decent amount of warmth.

Since he was now conscious, it would be wise to see a doctor once more.

“It seems you have a fever. Please lie down for a moment. I’ll get water and snacks for you soon. While I’m at it, let’s have you checked by the doctor again.”

“I’m so sorry for causing trouble, my lady.”

“Children are supposed to cause some trouble for adults. Of course, it would be an issue if it were excessive, like with our daughter.”

Using her daughter as a joke, Helene chuckled as she quickly left the room.

With the tension released, Edgar stared blankly at the ceiling and finally let out a sigh of relief.

He honestly thought he might have ended up dead from being lost in the wilderness.

Luckily, the soldiers found him sooner than expected, giving him a second chance at life.

‘I was even thinking about tossing Ariel halfway up the mountain.’

If that had happened, she might have been injured, but would have been found by the search parties much faster.

That had been his last resort before he lost consciousness, but he was truly grateful that he hadn’t had to resort to it.

‘It’s noisy out there.’

Speaking of which, it sounded rather chaotic outside.

There were clattering noises mixed with creaks, likely the sound of people rushing up and down the stairs.

Of course, with the eldest daughter of a ducal house returning in that state, it was only natural for the lower-ranked people to be in a frenzy.

Once he felt a bit better, he needed to hurry and see Ariel…

Suddenly, the door burst open.

“Ed!”

“Yeah?”

While he was lost in thought, Ariel barged into the room.

To be precise, it was a soldier carrying Ariel on his back who entered, but that was a mere detail.

“Ed! Are you okay?!”

“Yeah, don’t worry. What about you?”

Edgar still felt a bit dizzy but did his best to hide it as he replied.

He worried for a moment that his lie might be discovered, but fortunately, it seemed her perceptiveness was off at this moment.

The proof was the bright smile blooming on Ariel’s face.

“I’m not hurt at all! You took care of me until the end, Edgar!”

Though he hadn’t really done much “to take care of” her.

The wild boar didn’t actually fight; it had simply fled, and all he had done was strip off his cloak for her.

Nevertheless, hearing that she was safe from her own mouth put Edgar at ease.

The puffiness under her eyes showed that she had cried quite a bit. She was still smiling, but her eyes glistened with moisture.

“Why’d you cry so much? Did you think I was going to die?”

Edgar spoke in a playful tone, trying to lighten the mood.

He expected Ariel, the not-so-honest princess, to protest that she hadn’t cried, but today was turning out to be unusually unexpected.

Ariel, instead, blushed and nodded her head in agreement.

As if recalling something, tears started to well up in her eyes again.

“Yeah… hic! I really thought you were going to… hic! die….”

“Hey, hey, why are you crying?”

“I-I don’t knowoooo!”

As he reached out to wipe her tears, Ariel shamelessly turned her head away and pouted.

She had no idea how worried everyone was; being carefree and asking why she was crying only irked him further.

If he hadn’t saved her life, he might have slapped her right then and there.

But regardless, he was grateful that she was alive, so he decided to hold back for today.

“Edgar-sama, are you really okay?”

One of the guards, who had become familiar with Edgar, spoke up.

In a way, it felt like a ten-year-old kid had stepped in to do the job they were supposed to be doing.

Perhaps that’s why there was a strange sense of reverence in his gaze.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Where’s my mother?”

“She’s bringing food. It seems she was quite worried and wants to feed you herself…”

“Ugh.”

Even at ten years old, he didn’t feel like being fed by his mother.

Even if there were excess provisions for someone who wasn’t feeling well, it would probably just be a light soup. With that, he could manage on his own in his current state.

As he chatted with Ariel about various things, Katria entered the room with a modest meal.

Trailing behind her was Helene, wearing an awkward smile, as she had been deprived of her earlier plans.

The room filled quickly. Edgar’s face turned a bit tense.

He had rejected his mother’s good intentions, and now, in the company of so many, it felt more challenging to eat.

“Katria, let’s step out for a bit. It wouldn’t be proper for the adults to be here while he’s having a meal.”

“Ah, yes… understood.”

Lady Helene was quite splendid! How did she know her inner thoughts so well?

Edgar praised her in his mind while outwardly resuming his meal without a care.

Once everyone else left, it was just Edgar and Ariel remaining in the room.

Still a bit dizzy, he sometimes fumbled with the spoon but persevered to down the soup.

Eating heartily was the best way to recover his strength.

“Um, Ed…”

“Hmm? What?”

Ariel called his name, her face oddly flushed.

Since he was still swallowing the last of the soup, Edgar’s reaction was slightly delayed.

“I-I was thinking about the soup…”

“Yeah? Do you want some?”

“I-I already had some!”

What was this? Was she pointing at the soup just because it looked tasty?

Edgar, having ripped a piece off the bread and taken a bite, stared at Ariel with an expression of indifference as he chewed.

She was acting strangely today. Even now, she had her head down and wasn’t saying anything.

What happened to that confident little commander?

As Edgar pondered, a low sigh escaped Ariel as she gazed at her diminishing bowl.

Then, it seemed she steeled herself and nodded.

“E-Ed!”

“You startled me. What’s the matter?”

Did she seriously eat something weird?

“That soup… should I feed it to you?”

“Eh?”

The soup? It was almost gone!

At first, he struggled to eat it while it was hot, but he’d become quite adept at finishing it, so it was nearly empty now.

And now she wanted to feed it to him? Why?

“It’s okay. I’m almost done.”

“W-Well, I guess that’s true…?”

“…”

Ah, she was playing the heartstrings again.

Seeing Ariel’s expression darken, Edgar subtly raised one side of his mouth.

She must have wanted to express gratitude and remorse but didn’t know how to show it.

He understood quite well why the usually honest princess was acting like this.

‘Just this once should be fine.’

If by doing so he could lighten the burden on her heart even slightly, that wouldn’t be a bad outcome.

He had no intention of trying to extract anything from this incident, so he hoped this might serve as an opportunity for her to clear the debts in a clean slate.

“Never mind, could you actually feed me?”

“… Really?”

“Well, I have a bit of a fever, so it’s hard for me to hold the spoon. I’d appreciate it.”

Upon receiving permission, Ariel’s expression brightened immediately.

She brought a spoon and fetched the remaining soup in one swift motion, delivering it to his mouth.

As he accepted it and smiled back at her, he had to admit it wasn’t so bad.

Being treated like this was not entirely unpleasant.

He thought how nice it would be if she could always be this obedient, yet at the same time, he felt the real her was more fitting.

Even if she was always in a hurry, her heart remained tender.

That was the impression that Edgar had of Ariel Robeheim thus far.

‘By the way, I never did ask about the gift.’

There should still be time tomorrow, so it didn’t seem urgent.

Edgar took in the warm soup Ariel was feeding him, choosing to think lightly of it.