I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess

They arrived at the Robeheim family's castle soon and as it befits the dignity of the Grand Ducal, the castle grandeur could be seen at a glance.

The castle was huge enough in size that people would feel fortunate if they didn't lose their way inside of it and there was a vast chunk of land that retains the gigantic castle.

There were not just one building in the huge ground, but all kinds of buildings in suitable sizes located one after another systematically in that huge sacred land, making one mistake what is in front of them to be a small city.

‘I am slowly getting tired from all the walking. ‘

And by any means, he never expected to walk in directly into the castle together with them.

He had thought that he would definitely be settled in a suitable residence outside of the castle, since he had asked for a place where it would be hard for people to link him with the Robeheim family.

Or, is the chosen residence for him somewhere in this vast holy land?

[T: it's not a literal holy land, but the amazed Ed refers to it as holy land bcoz it was a super duper huge land.]

"Ed, what are you doing there standing still?"

"Uh, uh… I'll be right there."

With Helena as his guarantor, Edgar was let in easily without any special procedures by the guards who at first blocked the gate for Ed.

With a totally blank expression, Edgar walked over to Ariel who beckoned him to come through the gate first.

The view of the castle from outside was a sight to see, but when he really came inside, the scene was even more splendid than one could ever imagine.

There was a small stream of water flowing through, and a small bridge was built upon it.

As he passed upon the bridge, he thought

‘If I fish here, will I catch any fish?’

Edgar, who was thinking about such trivial things, belatedly realized that the distance had widened, and followed up to the girl.

"What do you think, much bigger than the mansion you lived in?"

"Ariel, you can't talk about your friend's house like that."

"Well, but it's true. Mom."

Ariel tilted her head toward Edgar as if asking, "Right?"

She wasn't wrong and it was meaningless to make a comparison in the first place, so Edgar nodded and sided with her.

"But where am I going to stay, Mrs. Helena?"

"I'll let you know soon enough. Now we have to first meet someone for a while before that."

"Who should I meet?"

Didn't she say that nobody knew of his arrival to Hispania?

Except for her closest aides such as Sheffy and Shuri, he thought she had not spoken about this to any vassals or others in the castle.

If it is meeting someone important, is it the head of the Ducal, Ariel's father?

However, he quickly erased this conjecture from his head because there is no reason for such a high figure to meet him personally.

It's actually related to Mrs.Helena, so shouldn't she go meet her man alone?

"Ed, you shouldn't tell anyone that you're the heir to the Bilhark family while your stay here in the future. Got it?"

"That I'm Ariel's friend… You mean, right?

"That's right. You're smart."

When Edgar successfully deduced the next sentence, Helena smiled softly and stroked his head.

‘And yet… I still have a question.'

But he brushed off his doubts as it was his request in the first place.

There is just one point, that is, letting him into the castle this blatantly means that she must have a proper way to cover up his identity.

How, then, could the grand duke's mistress not be suspected of having let in an unknown outsider?

At the very least, no one can escape from being curious about the boy named Edgar.

Even so, why did she decide to let him live in this castle?

If it was just to facilitate for the meeting between Ariel and him, then it is not worth taking such a risk.

With doubts in mind, he followed after her silently, and it wasn't long before the trio reached the main building of the castle.

“Have you had a good trip, mistress?”

After waiting for a while at the entrance on the first floor, Sheffy appeared out of thin air and spoke to her mistress.

Ariel and Edgar, both flinched at the unexpected appearance of Sheffy, but Helena nodded her head calmly without a ripple in her eyes as if she had long expected it, and replied with her voice lowered.

“Yes, Sheffy. You have worked hard”

“Please my lady, come this way.”

After a deep bow, Sheffy began to guide them through the castle and they followed after her.

Edgar was quite skeptical as he didn't know where they were heading to but one thing for sure is that they weren't heading down the normal road.

It is indeed the case, as one will at least encounter one or two people from time to time no matter how big the castle is.

But for some reason, the road they were heading to was very quiet and there was not a single sign of habitation.

“He is waiting for you over here.”

Following Sheffy's guidance, they arrived at a door to a room that looked pretty shabby.

It was deadly strange to have a room for people to live in, at such a very remote corner of the castle, but the people with him were acting very casual as if it was no strange matter.

Soon Helena nodded her head slightly, and she held Ariel and Edgar's hands.

“Thank you, Sheffy. Wait outside for a while with Shuri. I'm going to take Ariel and Edgar with me."

“Yes, my lady.”

After Sheffy took her daughter and stepped back, Helena approached the door and cautiously knocked.

At the same time, someone opened the door on the other side, and a middle-aged man appeared through the crack in the wide open door.

“Welcome, Madam. Oh, young Miss is also here.”

“Sorry to bother you, Creed.”

"It's been a while, Creed."

At Helena's apology, the man named Creed smiled saying it was nothing and shook his head.

His laughter was very boisterous befitting his gigantic figure, gifted with broad shoulders.

“Haha, don’t worry. More than that, this friend… … ?”

"That's right."

“On the surface, he seems normal. But I really like the look in your eyes.”

He blatantly sized up Edgar, then put his hand on his chin and sighed.

The boy's face is rather smooth, but other than that, there was nothing special about him.

At least to the extent that his physique is not suitable for his young age and his body looks quite solid?

“As I said, I want you to take care of him together with the rest.”

“Who knows about this?”

“No one knows except for my personal maid waiting outside and those of the Bilhark family. Even the coachman who brought us today doesn’t know.”

The word "Bilhark family" came out of her mouth, and Edgar was able to realize that this man was the one who would cover up for him.

“Hey, that’s right. This seems like a pretty heavy responsibility.”

Still, he shook his head as if he didn't hate the idea, and held out his hand toward Edgar.

It's a handshake application that's sure to see.

Edgar glanced at Creed for a moment and immediately grabbed his hand.

"I'm counting on you. What is your name?”

“This is Edgar Billhark.”

“It’s Creed Downer. It won't be long, but I will be the one who will take care of you in the future.”

Creed Downer?

Edgar tilted his head at the name, he had heard it somewhere before.

He sensed déjà vu a little while ago when he first met the man, but when he heard the last name, the feeling of déjà vu grew even more and disturbed his head.

‘Downer, downer… ah!'

Edgar opened his eyes and succeeded in recalling a person's name from his memory.

The former 2nd Knight Commander of the Hellvenier Empire.

He was one of the bravest warriors whose bravery left a mark in history to the extent that it remains in the literature.

“Hey, do you know my name?”

“I have heard about you. Certainly one of the best knights in the empire… … .”

“It is only fiction in the literature. Now he's just an old man in the backyard, looking after the kids.”

When Creed let go of Ed's hands and shrugged his shoulders, Helena, realizing that it was time for her to step out, and continued explaining to Edgar.

“He was the commander of the Imperial Knights before retiring, but now he is the one who takes care of the children here.”

“Children… You mean?”

"Okay. It's his hobby, and it's also my hobby. There's a small area in this castle that takes care of abandoned children. He's in charge of them.”

‘So it's like that.'

Edgar now understood why Mrs.Helena had brought him here.

She didn't mean to hide him in a secret residence, but she wants to keep him in the castle along with the other children here.

Anyway, if this is what Mrs.Helena originally did, others would think that he was just a child she picked up from somewhere without a doubt.

In addition, the fact that he no longer need to find an exclusive teacher to teach him was also a big factor.

Creed said he had already retired, but the teachings from the former commander of the knights, who was considered one of the legends in the empire, would be more than perfect.

“How many children are there now?”

“Excluding you, there are only two people. In fact, I can't take care of them all over here, so they will be quickly sent to other suitable places to live.”

Sending them away must mean sending them to a trustworthy family as an adopted son or daughter.

It seemed like it would be perfect if there were two of them only, if not, it would be quite crowded and too noisy.

He was wondering at first if he would be lonely since he is going to stay alone, but with companions around here, it would be splendid.

"You guys are about the same age, so it would help if you guys became good friends. One child is a bit timid, but… She's a good-natured child, so it'll be fine."

“We will be living under one roof now anyway, so I will be fine.”

He wasn't a person to open up to people easily, but if they share the joys and sorrows together, they'll become good friends in no time.

The remaining problem is,

“But when can I meet Ariel? I don’t think the opportunity will be hard to reach.”

Even if everything else was resolved, there was nothing good about not meeting Ariel, anyway.

They should not be seen by many eyes, but no matter how big the castle is, there are certainly people in every nook and corner and it will be hard to avoid being seen by people.

When Edgar asked out loud, mixed with concern, Ariel's nose soared in the sky to the unimaginable height.

[T: meaning she is proud like a peacock.]

“What, what is it? Do you want to meet me that much?”

She was really happy when Edgar asked the question which she hadn't been able to ask because she was quite shy, and on the other hand, she was also embarrassed because she didn't know that she was not the only one who wanted to ask.

Meanwhile, Edgar frowned as if he was thinking hard about something.

He never expected for her to be so carefree about his concerns(meeting with Ariel) and the sole reason for him to travel all the way here.

“What are you talking about? I came here because I wanted to be with you in the first place.”

“… uh?"

Ariel's eyes opened wide at the unexpected and quick answer.

On the other hand, Helena and Creed, who were watching this, burst into laughter.

It was as if they were quipping at the young girl and boy, saying, ‘What are these guys up to?'

"because of me… You're here?'

“Otherwise, why would I come all the way here? Hey, think about it. Think.”

In the first place, who was the one who said something like "Can't you come to Hispania?"

Now that it came out like this, he was frustrated to the point of death.

On the other hand, Ariel was also very embarrassed right now.

Of course, she knew that he had come this far all for her, but she didn't know how to express her feelings honestly.

At best, she expected an answer like, ‘Why did I come all this far because of you?’

“Honey, you listen when people talk.”

“Poh, noisy! you stupid! It's all because of you!”

“Wow, are you blaming me for this now?”

In the end, the two continue their conversation drawing parallel lines until Helena intervened and calmed down the conversation.

Unfortunately, there were no winners.

It only ended with one side dyeing her face red, and the other side banging on his chest as if dying of frustration.

[T: I am honestly amazed by the character development of Ed, coz he seems intelligent in every way except when it comes to matter of love; just like a veteran FA: forever alone.

I will make sure to bring atleast three chapters per week, but if you want extra chapters, you can please tip me on Kofi. Your support is a huge motivation for this couch potato here.

https://ko-fi.com/idriselva]