I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 88

After the truth about Shuri’s actions was revealed, Ariel led the three of them to the shop selling ice cream.

The shop was quite bustling.

From a sign that Edgar had glimpsed, it seemed this place was the original store that sold the dessert resembling the soft ice cream they had seen earlier.

In the end, the four of them couldn’t wait any longer and decided to find a spot to sit down.

Fortunately, since most customers were leaving with their orders, they quickly found an empty table.

However, that was when the real problem occurred.

While the line outside gradually shortened, Shuri, with her head bowed, could hardly muster the courage to say a word, looking like a sinner.

Ariel, arms crossed, kept her mouth tightly shut, as if to observe how things would play out, leaving no room for conversation.

Ronan as an outsider was one thing, but even Edgar wasn’t saying anything, so it was safe to say the silence spoke volumes.

Silence.

Nothing could better express the current situation than this two-syllable word.

“…So.”

“Eek!?”

Unable to hold back any longer, Ariel barely managed to start a conversation, only for Shuri to hiccup as her shoulders shook.

It was a scene akin to a rabbit before a lion.

Pity flashed across the faces of the men observing from the side.

“Why is the maid quietly sneaking after her master like that?”


“I’m s-sorry…!”

As Shuri attempted to kneel abruptly on the bare floor, Ariel gestured for her to stop.

Though she was somewhat accustomed to people bowing and kneeling in front of her, this was not the sort of behavior to display in such a conspicuous place.

That wasn’t what she intended in the first place.

“No need to apologize; I just want to know why?”

“W-well…”

Trailing off, Shuri stole a glance at Ronan sitting beside her.

That was her silent SOS.

In the end, unable to bear it, Ronan stepped forward to attempt an explanation. Although it was more of a half-hearted excuse than anything else, meant to confuse Ariel.

“I’m sorry, Miss. Everything is my fault.”

“Your fault?”

Ariel’s eyebrows twitched slightly at Ronan’s sudden interjection.

Edgar, watching from the side, was slowly figuring out her inner thoughts and looked amused, though to the two sitting opposite her, she likely seemed to be in a foul mood.

“I haven’t seen Shuri much lately, so I thought I’d take her out for a bit…”

“You mean you brought her out?”

“Yes, but I had no idea you two would be here with her.”

Ronan added that their detour to Etrelle was entirely coincidental and claimed that he thought Shuri seemed hesitant while waiting, trying to divert suspicion away from them. He was adamant that if caught, they might as well hang together.

Ariel’s gaze shifted toward Shuri, as if questioning the truth of Ronan’s claim. Shuri, unable to meet her eyes, merely nodded slightly in dismay.

If Ronan’s excuse could hold up, both of them could presumably save their necks.

It didn’t matter if the boat had holes, they just needed to board it if it offered any hope.

“So you weren’t actually tailing us?”

“Well, I was trailing behind, but it was just to ensure Shuri was okay as she noted down the way, so I thought to follow for a bit. Please be lenient.”

“Hmm…”

Ariel stared at Ronan, then glanced sidelong at her lover.

She then pointed with her finger across to him and tilted her head, as if asking, ‘What should I do?’

Edgar merely shrugged in a gesture that suggested she could decide freely.

“Well, alright. We can ask Shuri for details when we get back to Hespania.”

This was her way of saying she’d overlook the current situation, though the underlying message was pretty dire.

When she mentioned asking Shuri once they returned to Hespania, it implicitly meant she would get to the bottom of things and mete out punishment all alone with Shuri.

A cold sweat trickled down Ronan’s back.

He wanted to wrap things up here and protect Shuri, but if he went too far, it could arouse suspicion instead.

“Shuri, you’re not going to refuse, are you?”

“N-no way! I-I’ll follow what the lady says.”

Her tone indicated that she knew what would happen if she refused, and Shuri ultimately capitulated.

Since it was Ronan who’d bought her a little time, once they returned to Hespania, she had to manage things as best she could.

The problem was that she was particularly bad at lying.

Just please, don’t get caught. That was the only thought she had to get through this situation.

“Shall we get going soon? I was planning to grab something earlier but stopped thinking it might melt.”

Edgar noted that the conversation was coming to a loose end and pointed towards the back.

After briefly hesitating, Ariel nodded.

Certainly, the line had decreased quite a bit, so it seemed appropriate.

When Ariel gave her approval, the servants sitting opposite Edgar quickly interjected to stop him.

If Edgar was to leave now, it would look like a private meeting with Ariel, and they didn’t have the confidence to maintain such an atmosphere.

They would prefer to stand in line for thirty minutes to an hour rather than be stuck in a room with that kind of tension.

“W-we’ll go get it, young master!”


“Huh? It’s fine. I can go.”

“No, it’s just uncomfortable for us.”

Even Ronan earnestly urged him, pleading for him to let them handle it, and Edgar finally relented and pulled out some money from his pocket.

He was sending them on an errand, but the money was a separate matter.

As the two stepped away and quickly disappeared towards the counter, Edgar chuckled and poked Ariel sitting next to him.

When their eyes met, Ariel smiled playfully.

It looked just like the usual Edgar.

“Don’t scold her too much. It’s obvious she came here because she was worried about you.”

“Who knows? I can’t say if it was out of concern.”

“Well… that does make sense.”

Honestly, Edgar didn’t believe they had come all the way to Etrelle for such a reason.

Shuri wasn’t the type to obsessively protect anyone either.

He had merely believed Ariel would have a lovely time, and he’d wait back at the castle, not that he’d consider showing up himself.

That meant the consensus was that they had followed out of curiosity for a bit of fun.

This fun was likely in witnessing a different side of their master that they hardly ever saw.

“You probably kept quiet, so they must have been really curious.”

People might assume that Ariel and Shuri chatted freely about everything, but surprisingly, the two talked relatively little.

To be precise, if Ariel didn’t initiate the topic, Shuri rarely approached it herself, for fear of igniting her master’s temper.

Moreover, Ariel was generally on the quieter side herself.

She seldom met Edgar alone with Shuri in tow, and she hardly told Shuri about her encounters with him.

So, it was almost impossible for Shuri to know what kind of relationship the two of them had developed.

However, every time she had visited Ariel’s room, and noticed her with a beaming, joyful expression, Shuri could tell that things were going well.

Ironically, this lack of information only fueled Shuri’s curiosity further.

“Hmph, there’s no need to blab about unnecessarily.”

“But you know how human curiosity is; it can’t be helped.”

“Don’t know. I’m not going to scold you anyway, so don’t worry.”

Since the whole chase-and-flee scenario had its own entertainment value, Ariel had no intention of reprimanding her.

If there were any consequences, perhaps just the casual remark she had made moments ago.

From now on, imagining what would unfold when Shuri returned to Hespania would surely make her knees weak, and Ariel would find amusement just watching it all play out.

Edgar bitterly smiled at her rather sadistic behavior but chose to let it go, recognizing it as Shuri’s own doing.

He could almost picture Shuri begging for her life with tears once they returned to Hespania, but that was a problem for later.

“We’re back…”

“Good job. Are all the flavors the same or something?”

“Yes, it seems so…”

When the two eventually returned, ice cream in hand, Ariel tilted her head at the white substance piled on top.

Normally, ice cream would have different fruity flavors or additional scents.

Thus, it was impossible to guess what flavor it could possibly be just by its appearance.

“What’s at the bottom?”

“It seems like it’s some kind of cookie or bread. They served it like this.”

“Interesting.”

Instead of being served in a cup or bowl, they just put it on some bread.

Besides, the appearance seemed to have a more solid feel compared to the fluffy bread Ariel was familiar with, which was quite refreshing.

Indeed, as Shuri said, it resembled more of a cookie than bread.

“Enjoy your meal, Shuri.”

As Shuri sat down contemplating whether to scooper with the small spoon she received or just eat it like the others, Ariel spoke up.

Shuri interpreted this as a signal of forgiveness for her earlier mishap and beamed in response.

“Ah, yes…! Thank you, Miss.”

“What’s this? You don’t usually say those kinds of things.”

Ariel’s unusual declaration elicited wide eyes from Edgar as he looked on with curiosity.

To which, Ariel responded with an immaculate smile completely devoid of any dust.

The problem was that this cheerful demeanor clashed entirely with what she said.

“Well, you should eat it well. It might be your last supper.”

“Eek!?”

“…”

Hearing her words, which could have been a joke or not, Edgar thought to himself.

No matter how he looked at it, she didn’t seem very inclined to just let this whole incident slide.

It seemed he would have to put effort into protecting Shuri’s life once they returned to Hespania.