I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess

Bringing this immature princess to the village was probably the biggest misjudgment among the choices he made this year.

Suddenly, that kind of regret came flooding into Edgar's heart.

“Ed, look at that. what kind of cloud is it? Are you eating that too?”

“Maybe cotton candy… … .”

“Wow! Did you see him just running from place to place? What if he

accidentally make a mistake like that? Awesome.”

To be exact, he hadn't seen her chatter like that for two years.

Besides, this kind of loop has been going on non-stop since a while ago.

She asks a question, and Edgar answers it. No, as soon as he tries to answer, the next question pours out.

Edgar felt an unprecedented amount of fatigue in this infinite repetition.

He wasn't a country boy, and she cheered every time she saw something interesting, and now his ears are starting to hurt.

Has she never seen anything like this?

Still, Hespania is a place where one can still enjoy the food and sights of the countryside, though not as prosperous as the capital city empire.

“It’s nice to be out for the first time in a while. After all, people have to go around.”

As she stretched her body and looked around her with an excited expression, Edgar's eyebrows furrowed slightly and a phrase tinge of concern came out of his mouth.

“… Are you only coming out after a long time? Haven't you been out of the castle lately?”

"Yes. I think it's been like three weeks?”

"What? Three weeks?”

Insane. It doesn't make sense?

At her calm words, Edgar widened his eyes.

Three weeks, no matter how big the castle was, no matter how big it was, it was stuck in a familiar place for three weeks.

Of course, as the heir to the grand dukedom, there are certain things she has to do at a young age, but even taking things into account, it is impossible for her to holed up in her castle for almost three weeks.

“What have you been doing in the meantime?”

“I got some training and… There was a lot to do.”

“You must be having a hard time too.”

“I’m kind of used to it now. Of course, there are difficulties.”

Is that something you can get used to?

The words added at the end of her speech were laced with a bit of complaint; they seemed to have revealed her true intentions at least.

Edgar let out a small sigh and walked to the stall that sold Ariel's cotton candy.

It wasn't the cotton candy machine he knew, it seemed to be made in a slightly different way, but it looked similar anyway.

“How much is each?”

“You want to buy that? You don't like this very much.”

“It’s okay, just wait."

A tackle came from the side, but Edgar ignored it and paid for one cotton candy.

Then, the shop owner started making cotton candy with his flamboyant hand movements.

“Wow… ! Ed, did you just see it? It's very strange.”

‘Is it naivety or stupidity, fine you won.'

Edgar silently pressed Ariel's head.

He was not stroking gently, he pressed her head so hard that she's embarrassed.

"You idiot… ! Why do you hold other people's heads… I- don’t let it go!?

How much she wanted to see the rare sight of how the cotton candy inflates, but she was interrupted rudely.

All of this is caused by her useless childhood friend.

(T: Useless you say, but Edgar is triple times seriously SWEET😍, you reader folks will find it out in later chapters.)

Ariel resisted fiercely, but Edgar was at least two times stronger than her in terms of physical strength, so he couldn't be easily shaken off.

In the end, Edgar let go of her head only after her cotton candy was finished and was already stuck on her skewer.

Ariel raised her head, his cheeks puffed out.

“Chi, my friend wants to see it, but I press it so that she can’t see it!?”

Edgar, who was running away from her attacking her by swinging both of her arms, ended up being driven to a dead end by her.

“Sweets are the best when you’re feeling down. Come eat this ”

“… ? Didn't you buy it for yourself?"

“Did you see me eating something sweet?”

Of course, he doesn't mind buying it for her, but he personally doesn't have a preference for eating something sweet.

Ariel was well aware of that, so he said it just lightly.

Edgar urges her to take it quickly, saying that his arm hurts as she stares at the skewer held out by him.

Ariel, who received it carefully, let out a grotesque laugh and took a big bite of the cloud-like cotton candy.

“How does it taste?”

“Ugh… Is it just a mix of sugar and fruit? a bit peculiar. Would you like to eat?”

"It's okay. It's a bit like sharing in the first place.”

As anyone who has ever eaten cotton candy knows that if you take a bite with your mouth, it leaves a mark on the spot.

In other words, unless you become a lover, you cannot share food with others.

Ariel, who confirmed this belatedly, confirmed that there was a mark left on the cotton candy that looked like she was holding her mouth shut.

“Isn’t it cold? You get cold too easily.”

“This is fine. Because Hespania is colder.”

“Ah, it is true.”

Even if your body is weak against the cold, after living in a cold area for a long time, you will adapt to some extent.

Even though it was still spring, Ardenum seemed to be able to endure because the weather was sufficient.

He at first was worried that she might get cold, so he had put on a coat to burrow her later, but it seems that he was worried for nothing.

“Then shall we go? There is still a lot left to see.”

“Ah, uh… It should be.”

As he stood leaning against the wall, he took a step forward, and Ariel, who had cleaned up her cotton candy, followed him.

The long coat he was wearing caught her eye, but she tried her best to ignore it at last.

“Do you want to go see that performance? Or is there something you want to see?”

“If it’s a performance… You mean the people who did that trick earlier?”

"uh. It’s quite famous around here.”

Edgar hadn't seen much of it either, but he had heard that the wandering troupe often visited nearby.

Those people from earlier must be one of those troupes.

It doesn't cost any money, and there's no need to wait in line either, so it's a perfect entertainment for killing time.

“Yes, if you want to see… Why would I say against your wishes? "

Edgar's eyes flashed with mischief at the little lady who accepted his offer, but tried to pretend to be agreeing only because of him.

SIGH.

With an ominous smile, he shrugged his shoulders and made exaggerated gestures as if he had been very touched by her considerations.

" Is it so? I can't help it if you don't like it… There are many other things, so let’s go.”

Edgar licks his lips and shifts his gaze to another place as if he is truly regretful.

Ariel's pupils, not noticing this, shook violently at the natural acting produced by her friend's quickness.

“Oh, no. It's okay if I watch with you… … ?”

“I can’t cause trouble to my friend who has come all the way. Let’s not do that and go somewhere else.”

She wanted to argue right away, when did you start being so polite, but Edgar was the one with the knife now.

Ariel decided to give her pride a shot at thinking that if she handled it wrong, she wouldn't be able to see the performance that seemed amazing a moment ago.

She found it funny that the eldest daughter of the proud Robeheim family would have to bow her head to see such a play at best, but now was not the time for her to argue.

‘In the first place, in front of this guy, when could I ever argue about anything?’

Anyway, the other person was a man who knew every aspect of her, in good or bad ways.

If she continues to bounce around for no reason, she won't be able to get what she wants even if a whole day passes.

She treated it as a step back for the sake of a step forward, and it was right for her to express her honest feelings now.

“I-over there… Can't we just go see it?"

"Why?"

“Chi… … .”

He already knows everything and pretends not to know.

Ariel couldn't bring her words out while mumbling in her mouth because she didn't have the courage to say the words ‘I want to go see'.

Edgar stared at the little girl and after a while, he nodded with a smirk at the corner of his lips, as if he had lost completely.

"Yes. let's go, go. If she cannot get what she wants, the precious princess might cry.”

“My, am I a child!? I won't cry over something like this!”

“Yes, yes. Okay, so let's go see it. How about I buy you another cotton candy?”

In the end, she could only resort to childish means.

Eventually, her patience reached a breaking point.

baek!

At the same time, Ariel's right foot swung violently and hit his calf.

It was a great kick that would cause a decent amount of pain on any man, but unfortunately, the opponent was bad.

“It hurts… … !”

" Why would you kick me to make yourself hurt? Hey, are you okay?"

“You idiot… ! If not for you growing your body unnecessarily… … !”

Her feet hurt even more from how hard her legs had swung.

He doesn't just wield his wooden sword around, she's heard that he does a variety of exercises starting with basic physical training, but she can't believe it's that much.

As she sat down on the bench next to her stall, her tears welling up from the pain she felt at the tips of her feet, Edgar was forced to stand across from her and knelt down on one knee on the pavement.

“Boo, what are you doing? You stupid."

"Never mind, just stick your foot out. It's gonna be a big deal if you get a bone injury."

"Hey, you did something wrong and now you're pretending to take care of me…….”

Still, taking off her shoes and putting out her feet was a good representation of her personality.

Edgar put her foot on his thigh and looked around.

Fortunately, it was not swollen, so she might only be in minor pain for a while.

"Can you walk?”

"I have to walk… I have got no choice.”

Anyway, the pain was gradually fading and it was almost imperceptible now.

When she got up from her seat in her shoes, Edgar's unexpected words rang in her ears.

"I was going to give you a piggyback if you were in pain. Fortunately, it seems to be okay."

"…What?"

He really was going to carry her on his back?

"Let's go for now. I'm sorry for making you suffer, so I'll buy you something."

"Hey, hey…! More than that, that word just now… Go, go with me!"

Ariel shouted belatedly at the behavior of the moodless man who stopped escorting and started walking ahead first, but his offer was already out of reach.

If you're going to talk like that, why don't you say it before?

I would have feigned to be hurt a little more, but I seem to have made a wrong decision.

"I don't really want it anyway."

I don't want to be carried on his back by such a fool.

She had that experience a few times when she was young, but now she feels embarrassed by other people's watchful eyes, and she's just being lazy.

Yeah. She was just too lazy to walk.

And she had just wanted to take revenge on that guy who treated her poorly after traveling to such a faraway place.

Whatever the reason, it remained regrettable that such a great chance was missed.

He's a fool who lacks a word. This is why she doesn't like him at all.

Stupid, stupid, Ed.

I'll wait and see if I get a chance next time.

(T: I was pretty bored with those childish romances in the earlier chapters, this teenage romance was something refreshing and I bet that there will be more, no, I guarantee it. Trust me!💞

There was a part of Ariel's POV, it was literally written as such, so I didn't want to change it as a third person's POV and I just let it be. Well, comment on how you feel about the progress of the story. And if you guys find any mistakes in the chapter you can feel free to comment.)