I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 93

Chapter 15: The Food of God’s

After finishing lunch, Edgar conveyed through Shuri that he would be stepping out to visit Ariel for a moment before he left the castle.

Because they couldn’t even meet before he left, Ariel had to part from him without asking about the unfinished conversation she had just overheard.

‘Just the two of them, what could that be about?’

Ariel was aware that lately, he had been paying a lot of attention to Shuri.

She wasn’t naive enough to not notice the things she was doing to Shuri, and she thought at first it was no big deal since Edgar was just comforting Shuri as much as she was teasing her.

Today, however, when he surprisingly offered to tidy her hair, Ariel thought he would stop the teasing, but contrary to her expectations, Edgar just let that situation slide without a word.

Yet, that very fact made Ariel feel even more anxious.

‘Dining alone? Or maybe just the two of them… going out somewhere together?’

Sitting on the balcony chair and enjoying the warm sunlight, Ariel’s mind was stuck on that one thought.

After all, what woman wouldn’t worry if her lover mentioned being alone with another woman?

If it were just to offer some words of comfort and occasionally help her out, that would be one thing, but doing something alone with another woman crossed the line.

It’s ridiculous to think he would just leave her behind, have a nice meal with another woman, and boost his mood.

For Ariel, it was a surefire way to get her horns up.

‘The problem is, they have a decent reason to be together.’

However, she couldn’t just fly off the handle either, as it was true that she had been pulling some pranks on Shuri lately.

Of course, there would be those who’d say it’s fine to tease a servant since they’re in a position of power in a class society. In fact, Ariel had similar thoughts herself.

But Edgar was a man who had advised her not to treat others too harshly.

Every time he saw Shuri on the verge of tears, he’d slip in a reminder to Ariel to cut it out.

But Ariel had brushed off all those reminders, and here they were in this current situation.

In this situation, what could she even say to him about cheering Shuri up by meeting alone?

“…”

Diving into her thoughts, Ariel suddenly realized she was the root cause of it all and silently nodded her head while staring at the table.

Before asking Edgar about everything, it seemed she had someone else she needed to meet.

* * * * * * *

Shuri halted her work upon hearing a hurried voice call for her and stepped out of the kitchen.

She had been getting snacks ready for Ariel, who loved treats, but what could this be about?

“Shuri! Lady Ariel is looking for you!”

“Lady is…?”

“Yes!”

The one calling was a maid who did household chores and laundry in each room.

Younger than Shuri, she was the kind of girl Shuri often took care of, and today too, she wore a cheerful smile.

‘What could it be?’

Normally, Shuri would have headed straight to Ariel’s room without a second thought, but given the recent troubles she had faced, she hesitated unnecessarily.

However, as a sad servant, she had to go when called.

In the end, Shuri relented to the maid, saying she’d go, and with a silver trolley filled with snacks, she left the kitchen.

‘She’s not going to mess with me again, is she?’

Shuri shook her head to dispel her rising anxiety.

She never thought Ariel’s pranks had gone too far, but being in the receiving end when the other person was her master made it quite the ordeal.

So much so that at times when Edgar wasn’t around, she would grab his arm and whine about it.

Knock knock.

With that, Shuri arrived at the room and knocked on the door, and without asking who was inside, permission was granted right away.

It seemed Ariel had thought there wouldn’t be anyone else coming except Shuri.

“Did you call for me, Lady?”

“Ah… yes. Did you bring tea?”

With an oddly scrutinizing look, Shuri questioned Ariel’s demeanor but dismissed it as a mere figment of her imagination.

“Since I didn’t think you’d want tea, I brought some fruit drinks and snacks instead.”

“Thanks. Could you prepare it so I can eat right away?”

“Yes, Lady.”

As she relayed her apologies for the intrusion, Shuri moved the dishes and cups from the trolley to the table.

Meanwhile, Ariel glanced back and forth between the filling table and Shuri’s face, chewing her lips.

It was clear she had a lot she wanted to say, even to someone who wasn’t Edgar.

‘Is she looking to tease me?’

Shuri picked up on this but didn’t want to stir the pot by saying anything.

How many times had she suffered through Ariel’s antics recently?

In times like these, the right call was to quietly finish setting up and head out without stirring any trouble.

“Sh, Shuri.”

“Yes?”

At the sound of Shuri’s name being called out in a rather tense voice, she turned her head.

Catching Shuri’s gaze, Ariel cleared her throat and looked away, cautiously bringing up the topic.

“Is Edgar… treating you well lately?”

“Are you referring to the Young Master?”

“Uh, yes.”

Why was she suddenly asking that?

Still clueless, Shuri tilted her head in confusion, but since it was her master’s inquiry, she gave a straightforward response.

“He treats me very well. Sometimes a bit too much to the point I feel guilty.”

“Hm, I see… what exactly does he do that’s so great?”

Specifically?

The further this went, the more Shuri’s questions lingered in confusion.

Was she simply curious about how everyone was doing? Ariel typically didn’t care much about others’ lives, as Shuri knew all too well.

If anything, she’d only ask about Edgar or her family.

It felt like this could just be a whim, so even if Shuri was inclined to answer, that nagging feeling clung to her.

“He sometimes helps out with work… and often encourages me.”

“And that’s all?”

“Yes?”

“Oh, um… what I mean is, does he treat you more casually or like… anything like that?”

Casually?

Edgar was the type who wouldn’t pay much mind to status and got along with everyone, so it was unsurprising that he treated her kindly.

Ariel must’ve known that better than anyone.

So why was she pressing on about this in such a puzzling way? Shuri had no clue.

“The Young Master always treats everyone kindly.”

“Right. Well, he can be like that, but…”

Seeing how Ariel was studying her response, it appeared she wasn’t satisfied.

But Shuri couldn’t think of anything more to say, so they both found themselves in a bind.

If only she could guess what kind of answer Ariel wanted, she’d gladly make something up.

“Ahem! That will do for now. I just wanted to know if that guy was treating you well.”

“I see.”

Whatever the reason, since the topic seemed to be changing, Shuri kept quiet.

After all, once she was done preparing, she’d be able to escape this suffocating place.

“Actually, the reason I called you is not just that… I feel like I’ve been playing pranks a bit too much lately.”

“Yes?”

As the silence stretched, Ariel suddenly brought up something that made Shuri’s eyes bulge, like a startled rabbit.

She was apologizing? Of all people, Ariel?

In this bizarre scenario, Shuri found herself unable to grasp what was happening.

Just a moment ago, she was questioning whether Edgar treated her well, and now she was saying sorry?

“Wait, are you saying you thought I wouldn’t even know how to apologize?”

“N-No way…! I was just a bit surprised.”

Although she wasn’t completely wrong, Shuri couldn’t just admit that, so she hastily denied it.

Amidst the deepening questions, Ariel took a sip of her fruit drink, refreshed her throat, and spoke again.

“Anyway… Yeah. From now on, I’ll treat you well, so if it’s just to comfort Edgar, when he invites you to eat, please don’t just accept it.”

Ariel chose this route.

She couldn’t directly tell Edgar, ‘Don’t treat Shuri kindly!’ due to her previous antics, so she would subtly coax Shuri and then cancel any plans with him.

Ariel considered this a prime opportunity to ease Shuri’s feelings while clearing up her own.

To which Shuri replied…

“…Huh? What do you mean by eating?”

“Hmm?”

Ariel’s tone might have sounded incredulous, but since it was something she had never heard before, she responded back to Ariel.

With that, Ariel’s red eyes widened as she trembled slightly, asking a confirming question.

“Were you not going somewhere alone with Edgar? Like eating or going out…?”

“With the Young Master…? No way.”

With a gesture completely dismissed and a firm shake of her head, Shuri refuted the thought.

Even if it was meant to lift her spirits, going out alone with her master’s lover was a no-go; an absolute no-no.

“But earlier Edgar clearly said something about being alone….”

“Alone? Oh!”

Ariel, who had distinctly heard Edgar’s last words, shouted back at her as if refusing to believe it.

For a moment, Shuri was puzzled by the response, but after thinking it through, her face lit up, and she clapped her hands together.

“Are you talking about recommending a restaurant for me and Ronan to go to alone?”

“A-restaurant?”

“Yes, the Young Master knows the restaurants in town better than I do. I was hoping for a place Ronan and I could go to, so I asked him, and he suggested a good spot.”

“A…!”

As everything clicked into place for Ariel, she sighed dramatically and melted back into her chair, then suddenly started flailing her legs while banging on the table.

Thud! Thud!

“Lady!? Be careful or the dishes will fall!”

“Forget it! I’d rather break everything and die!”

“Wh-What are you even saying all of a sudden?!”

Feeling deeply embarrassed for jumping to conclusions, Ariel did everything she could to resolve her emotions but found it hard to release them.

Shuri, on the other hand, found herself confused as to why her master was having such a fit but rushed to try to calm her down, knowing full well she couldn’t overpower her.

At least if she knew the cause, she could persuade Ariel, so why on earth was this happening?

In the end, it would take about three hours before Edgar returned, fully clarifying this situation, leaving Ariel with a very amusing and pitiful story of having acquired a weakness on both Edgar and Shuri from that day onward.