I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess

The performance of the wandering group, which Ariel had been eyeing for a while, was still in full swing.

Ariel was struggling to see the performance, jumping from afar because she couldn't penetrate the crowd.

Shortly after, Edgar came up with a paper bag in one hand and touched her shoulder.

"I saw a rabbit from a distance.”

Edgar, who was munching something out of a paper bag held in one hand, offended her with a playful look.

"Are you making fun of me?"”

"Of course."

See.

You are making fun of your childhood friend after growing up together with no difference in height in the past.

Regrettably, Edgar's current height was about the same as her mother, Helena.

Perhaps sticking his head alittle bit out of the crowd would be enough to see the wandering troupe's performance.

It was a whole different story from her, who can only see scenes of people hopping and gliding.

"It's going to be hard to pierce into the crowd. There are too many people.”

"I know that. That's why I'm doing this.”

There was no way a concept of order or consideration to be present for the audiences watching such street performances.

They don't even pay for it in the first place, so they'll just have to enjoy themselves.

Edgar, who was staring at Ariel, who had become sullen, crouched down as if he had made up his mind.

Then he patted on his shoulder and said to her casually.

"Get on. I'll show you."

"Mi, are you crazy? It's dangerous."

She knew that he had superior muscle strength compared to other boys of his age, but the demands of simply carrying on a piggyback and riding on his shoulders were two completely different things.

There was a high possibility of a catastrophe if she were to accidentally fell down.

Above all, asking her to ride on his shoulders while wearing a skirt is not considerate of this man at all?

"I won't let you get hurt even if you were to accidentally fall, so don't worry about it. Put this around your waist first."

"Is this…?"

What Edgar threw carelessly into her hand was the thin vest he was wearing under his long coat.

Is it because he was afraid that her skirt would roll up and her skin would be exposed? Is that why he offered his vest for her to wrap around her waist?

Never before has she imagined that this dull man would have such meticulous consideration.

"The performance will be over. Make a quick decision."

"Get on, I will get on!”

Seeing his indifferent eyes looking up at her, Ariel felt agitated and strode forward.

As he has said, she wrapped the vest around her waist and, after making sure that her skin wouldn't be exposed, she then draped her legs over his shoulders.

Only then did Edgar hand her the paper bag he was holding in one hand.

A savory smell wafted up from inside her.

“ You can enjoy the performance while eating. And it is delicious.”

“Ugh, yes.”<b

She originally wanted to hold the bag of snacks only after balancing herself on his shoulders properly, but since he had already stuffed it into her hands, she just accepted it without another word.

She then mercilessly grabbed the back of his head and pressed it firmly without any hesitation as she was already told to hold his head for better keeping her balance. (T: Ed asked for her to hold his head, so she held his head to keep balance while also exerting her revenge.)

Ed- “Oww… … !”

Suddenly, a very tall human-made spire(1) was erected among the crowd.

As everyone's eyes focused, Ariel bowed her head in shame.

“Madam, people go through hardships to show you, so look ahead.”

"Okay! I will look, look!”

He doesn't even care about what others are thinking……He's a careless man after all.

A rare scene was unfolding there, where Ariel raised her head as she applauded inwardly.

"Wow-!"

“Dad, did you just see it!?”

"Miraculous… How can a person move like that?”

Along with Ariel's admiration, exclamations poured out from everywhere.

Their legs jumped up from the place, and their body went round and round without touching the ground.

It was like seeing an actual monkey, not a person. How can a human body be so light?

“Ed! That person just came back like this… … !”

Just how shall I put the scene that had just inspired a moment ago into words?

She made a fuss and struggled with both hands to portray the man's actions, but there was no way to properly express it.

Ed should have seen it himself! It was really sad that I couldn't share this spectacular sight with him.

Meanwhile, Edgar, who witnessed Ariel's eyes shining brighter than ever, raised one corner of his mouth and replied indifferently.

At first, he thought that she at least had grown up a little bit after turning 14, but looking at it like this, she seems to be still a kid.

Still, he thought this was for better because he felt this side of her was bright.

“You don’t have to explain, watch the performance closely. I've seen it a few times before.”

“Is that so?"

Ariel, who had been lowering her head toward Edgar, raised her head awkwardly to continue watching the performance.

It's a pity that they can't see this rare spectacle together, but since he said he had seen it before, she wonders if they could share the impressions after the performance is over.

Even after the previous particular tricks, all sorts of tricks were pouring in continuously, and the performance ended in great success amid high applauses from the audience.

She has seen some old-fashioned plays a few times before with her mother, but this was her first time seeing such a splendid performance, thus her childish manner resurfaced unconsciously.

Ariel applauded blankly, then she realized that she was riding on top of Edgar, and she hurriedly called out to him.

Edgar's reaction was a beat slow, smothered in the noise of the people around him, he seems to still haven't realize that the performance was already over.

“Ed, you can drop me off now.”

“Is it done already? Looks like we came a little late.”

Edgar, who cautiously lowered Ariel to the ground, gently turned his shoulders to loosen his muscles.

Unable to hide his doubt, he tilted his head at the crowd slowly disappearing, he looked around and looked for his watch.

The performance of the wandering troupe he remembered lasted longer than this.

It must be because they wasted some time earlier and ended up watching it near the end of the performance.

"It's okay. That's enough for me to enjoy. But is there any way to repay those people?”

“You will have to put the rewards in that box over there. You don't need to give a lot.”

She had the personality to give back what she received. Whether it's revenge or reciprocation.

(T: SO SCARY😱)

Edagr knew her very well, thus he didn't hesitate and pointed at the small barrel with a slight raise of his chin and moved along with her.

Ariel took out something from the small bag she was carrying on her shoulder, as if there was a separate purse she had brought along.

Even though Edgar couldn't see the performance properly, he was embarrassed to just stand there, so he tried to put in a little money… … .

“Yaya! How much are you going to put in!?”

Edgar hurriedly stopped Ariel, as if he suddenly saw something he shouldn't have seen, in the hands of Ariel.

Insane. What kind of a person is a Grand Duke's daughter?

He even wondered why in the world there would be silver coins in the purse of a mere 14-year-old kid.

"uh… Why? Is this too much?”

“… … .”

Is this caused by the different view on values of money, under the concept of difference in wealth.

(Means Ariel didn't think this sums as much but the commoner will think this as their fortune, it's the different view of value in money, because of their difference in wealth.)

From the other's point of view, this amount of silver seen be Ariel as too little could literally buy the entire performance troupe, for them, this small amount is far from just paying for their performance fee.

Even so, she only blinked her eyes and asked with an attitude as if she didn't know what was wrong.

Fortunately, the troupe members were not looking this way as they were organizing their belongings, so it was a relief, almost a catastrophe had happened.

“This is fine. Leave the rest behind.”

“Isn’t that too little? With just this… … .”

Edgar forcefully put her purse back in her bag, took two silver coins of his own from his purse and put them in the barrel.

Ariel tried to refute him, but she was stopped by Edgar's blow.

“Aww! Why are you hitting me all of a sudden!?”

“Now, stay silent and listen to me. Two silver coins is quite a lot.”

In the first place, most of the people who come to see the performances of these wandering troupes are commoners.

Even silver coins are quite valuable to them.

That's why most of them watched the performance for free and left abruptly, or at most put in a few fairy tales.

“I wanted to give them more because I enjoyed watching it.”

" Fine, fine, don't worry. As I said, those silver coins are already a lot for them."

"Alright."

Ariel, who seems to agree but still turns her head back as she follows Edgar, seems to have regrets.

It was because she felt that she hadn't paid the proper value compared to the impression she had received.

“So, was the performance worth watching?”

"Yes. It was really cool. Just as people step on each other and run…! I've never seen anything like that before.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” (T: I could almost imagine the lovey dovey expression on Ed's face.😍 )

It seems that he has found the hardships of letting her ride on his shoulders.

Now, all they need is to have a nice meal and go back quickly. Mrs.Helena had told them to go play by themselves, but they shouldn't stay late.

“Then let’s have a decent meal and go back. Anything you want to eat?”

She is the one who always puts her mouth on only quality food made from carefully selected ingredients.

Sometimes, one can feel a different vibe when eating something that is sold on the street like this.

If you want to find a nice restaurant, you might have to find it, but today, Edgar decided to look for a suitable snack stall, thinking that it would be better to give her an experience that would be difficult to have normally.

But for some reason, Ariel's face had a look of bewilderment.

A futile expression as if asking if this is the end.

“Bah, are you going to eat and go back?”

“We have to go back. Mrs.Helena will be waiting for you too. I think you have already played enough."

Of course, Helena won't be waiting literally, but he had guests at home and what is he doing wandering outside?

At least, isn’t it the least courtesy you could do for your guests who come to your house is to share their current situation and chat with them?

At Edgar's reasoning, Ariel stood still, unable to say anything, with her mouth tightly shut.

Like a child on a long-awaited outing with her family, but was told to go home now.

“Ah, not yet!”

"What?"

Edgar's eyes were filled with bewilderment at the sudden outburst of a scream.

Either way, Ariel shook her head and spoke her sophistry, as if she had returned to her 10-year-old gangster days.

“I am not satisfied yet! The performance, actually, was worse than I thought, and the cotton candy was just like that… ! You can't go home until you satisfy me! I'm not going!”

“… … .”

Wow!

Inadvertently, a sigh or exclamation sound escaped from Edgar's mouth.

If she just took another step(not the literal foot step) and laid down on the side of the road, she wouldn't be any different from a four year old kid.

Unfortunately, such a rare scene did not happen, but he had a vague idea ​​why she would use this kind of technique so often.

“Ugh, ok. Let's wait at least until nightfall.”

“I-really?”

"Are you someone who will listen to me even if I ask you to go? I'll play with you until you get tired of it, so please take the lead."

Ariel felt as if she would be blown away at any moment by his confirmation, but she turned her head away slowly, pretending to be calm and collected.

"Huh. I don't even want that much, but… Today, I decided to look at your escort skills, so I'll hang out with you.”.

"Oh, thank you. Princess."

"Ki, don't talk like that because your tone sounds so nauseating!"

I'd rather have heard it if I was cursed at, but I didn't want this man to come out with such an exaggerated attitude.

I felt like I was going to get goosebumps all over my body.

"Okay, give me your arm first."

"… aren't you just leading the way?"

"Cee, you don't even know the basics of escorting!?’

How could he be such an ignorant man?

This is the reason, if she didn't tell him one by one from the basics, his skills will be at the last of the steps.

I am the lady here.

Whoo.

Ariel, who sighed softly, calmed herself down, grabbed his arm, made a circle of his arm, and put her arm in it.

"Well, that's enough."

"…I'm embarrassed. Do I have to do this? What kind of pose is this? Argh! I got it! You can do it if you want to!"

No matter how much you train your body, pinching your flesh seems to hurt.

Ariel, who finished her revenge cheerfully, turned her head coyly.

There are more than one or two things she doesn't like, but she has to embrace these things to be a worthy head of the Robeheim family in the future.

Seriously, I swear to God, I won't have a man like this even if he is the last man on earth, but sometimes when the next seat to you is empty, it's okay to borrow a hand.

GLANCE.

"Why? Is there something on my face?”

"Nothing, just walk. You idiot."

That innocent face was very annoying.

That naive expression of knowing absolutely nothing infuriated her even more.

Anyway, a man of no help.

From now on, if there is even one part of him that offends her, she will immediately punish him.

This is just a way of improving his escort skills.

Spire- It means a thin and tall tower. Actually, as long something is thin and tall, one can describe it as spire, ex; pole, tiles or even grass blades.

(T: This word was a new one for me, so I googled it and decided to share it.)