I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess

The mountain the two were climbing was quite famous for it's mountain path that was quite rugged and there was no man made path to walk on either.

You'll probably be able to spot some of the trails that the mountain animals used to wander around if you searched carefully. But if you chose the wrong path you never knew what kind of beast you would meet at the end of the road.

‘The beasts might not appear.’

Since he had only visited once before, Edgar had no idea what kind of beasts inhabited this place.

Judging from the fact that wild boars occasionally come down from the mountain and ruin the crops in the village, it seems that at least wild boars live here..

“Why did you want to come here?”

“Mom said that. Young people should be close to nature and admire them. Aren’t mountains the best for that?”

“… … .”

What a great way of thinking.

Of course, it's not wrong, but don't you usually think of open places like fields, flowers and gardens to get close to nature .

Even Helena herself, who gave the advice, would never expect for her daughter to head to the mountains thinking that she was right.

‘I’m sorry, Madam Helena. It's my fault for not stopping this guy.'

To be honest, if she were someone who would listen to it with just words, he would have said it with words, but she is a girl who is more childish and self-reliant than anyone Edgar had ever seen.

Now all he could do was to deter her from committing more dangerous acts.

“Ed! Look at this, isn’t it amazing?”

“What is it?”

When Ariel pulled out a bunch of weed and showed off, Edgar, who was picking his nose with his pinky finger, replied curtly.

"What do you want to show me today?"

Still, seeing how he responded to her calls, he realized he too had become accustomed to this life naturally.

In fact, most of the objects and phenomena that Ariel showed off were quite surprising to his eyes.

“I saw it in a book, it is April.”

“Where is the weed used for?”

“The juice from here is said to be applied directly to the wound. And the leaves are grounded to be used as ingredients for making potions.”

You are indeed well informed.

At least , for a 10 year old kid, it's quite rich in knowledge to know about such contents .

Could this be a fragment of the education handed down from the grand duchy?

Edgar involuntarily exclaimed and observed the cross section of the cut stem intently.

"It's really great."

"You don't believe me, do you?"

I told you this excitedly, but you look like you are talking half-heartedly.

Ariel sprang up from her seat, and a blood-colored aura resembling her crimson pupils surrounded around her body.

Is this the magical power of domination that is passed down only to the lineage of the grand duke?

Edgar felt the hairs all over his body stand on end. Regardless of whether or not you are at the age where your hair had yet to grown out properly.

"A little bit?" (This reply is for Ariel's Don't you believe me?)

Although the reaction that followed was somewhat frightening, his words were sincere.

Because he had this kind of personality even before he came to this world.

" Never mind! I won't tell you anything from now on! Humph!"

Angered by his candid remark, Ariel turned around her body .

And as if expressing her anger, the April leaf she held in her hand turned into powder and fell to the ground.

‘If I do something wrong, I will die.’

A drop of cold sweat ran down Edgar's back.

Still, the fortunate thing is that unlike her appearance, her personality is quite simple, so her anger calms down subtly.

‘Let’s take a chance.’

Even if you call her name with a soft voice right now, it is certain that only a cold response will come out saying, “Why!”

How to hold your breath and wait for the right timing is a must for these situations.

Edgar got up from his seat and followed after her quietly.

Crunch. Crunch.

A Glance.

Crunch . Crunch .

“… … .”

“… … .”

The air that had been quite friendly until just a moment ago suddenly subsided, and there was no conversation between the two.

Only the sound of twigs and growing grass being stepped on fill the quite atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Ariel paused her steps once in a while to check on Edgar with a roll of her eyes.

‘It’s cute.’ Of course, Edgar was aware of this.

But here, he also knew that if he didn't notice why she kept looking at him, he would be in an irreversible state.

That's why when she stopped, he would look away from her or swing the branch in his hand for no reason.

How many times have he repeated that?

While Ariel paused her steps again, Edgar, who had discovered something, called over and stopped her.

"Huh? Ariel, wait a minute."

"…what's wrong with you?"

It was a reflexive mumble though.

Ariel belatedly realized that it was a chance for them to reconcile but she ruin the chance with that one sentence. However , it is now a boat that had already left. (Meaning she has already messed things up and it is now irreversible.)

‘Ariel, you idiot!'

Although she is a maverick, she is by no means an idiot. She was far wise than anyone among her pears.

Even if Edgar did something wrong first a while ago, she is aware that it was not something big to grumble about for so long.

However, from a certain point on, she was reluctant to reach out first, and as she was stubborn, it came to this point.

First of all, what needs to be done immediately was clear.

Anyway, since he is the one who called her first, she shalll turn around as calmly as possible, ask why he called her and when they conversation is over she will then talk about real business.

Ariel, who visualize the situation in her head, nodded in satisfaction.

It's something she can do well with her own ability. Because she's the eldest daughter of the Robeheim family, no one else. (Means she can handles this much of problem with her own strength bcoz she is the little duchess.)

‘Good.'

As soon as she turned around, something touched her head.

Huh? What is it?

When she looked around what was happening with her eyes wide open, Edgar stood there with his hand outstretched to her head.

She was told to wait for a moment , while Edgar smiled, saying "Don't be angry"

He carefully retreated his hand and Ariel felt a foreign abject on her head.

Rather than having the feeling of something on top of her head, it felt like an object was stuck in her hair.

"Oh, I can't check it because I don't have a mirror."

"What is it? It's not a spider, is it?"

While guessing what is on her head, Ariel's complexion turned blue when she thought of this possiblity that was difficult to put it into words.

She could forgive all other bugs, but she hated spiders as much as they hated her.

If he dare put such a demonic creature on her dark raven hair which is her pride, even as a prank, he's gonna met with the best revenge plan she can cook up.

"How can I put a spider, am I crazy? It's a flower, a flower."

"Flower…?"

Why flower all of a sudden?

Ariel, who was puzzled, carefully reached out her hand above her head, and touched something delicate and soft like a flower petal.

I know Edgar isn't a bad friend, but he wasn't the kind of person to do this either.

What kind of wind was blowing that made him do such an honorable act?

“There is a flower that you said was pretty before. what was it… I can't remember the name, but it's red and long."

"ah."

Amaryllis.

Ariel couldn't keep the name of the flower in her mouth and muttered it to herself.

The other day, when they were climbing the mountain together, they found amaryllis which was in full bloom.

She remembers saying that she was delighted because it was her favorite flower, and she never thought he would keep note of that.

"Do you see there? It is the same as the one on your head."

When she followed Edgar's hand direction and looked, she saw a red amaryllis that really bloomed next to the rock.

Why did he suddenly gift this to her?

As Ariel turn hed head and stared at him, Edgar coughed and gave a low murmur while avoiding her gaze.

"It was my fault earlier. So don't be angry."

Only then did Ariel know.

This amaryllis is a gift from him as a token of apology.

She don't know if it's really bad or good, but coincidentally, the timing of the two's apology overlapped. (They both thought of apologizing together.)

Humans are such a peculiar animal that they tends to stop when someone does exactly what they were about to do.

Especially, the more you think about it, the more you do it.

‘Come on, Ariel Roveheim! What are you doing?’

I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have been so angry.

That's all I need to say, but why am I so speechless?

While blaming her tight lips as if they had been glued, she suddenly looked back on her memory.

Come to think of it, she seldoms said sorry to him.

Maybe she can't because she's trying to do something she's never done before.

If she knew this would happen, she would have made it a habit to apologize earlier.

When she looked back on her mistakes, she felt emotional and felt like tears were about to come out.

‘No, that's why I have to do it.’

There is something that her mother, whom she admires, told her.

A person can make a mistake, but it is right to realize it and correct it afterwards.

That's right. This is the moment to clear up the karma that has accumulated so far.

There were such complex problems and high obstacles for a 10-year-old child to apologize.

"Eh, Ed!"

"What?"

‘Yeah, let's just say it in another way, not sorry.'

‘I want to apologize, too.' Yeah, she thought she could said it out loud easily.

Ariel's mouth, who clenched hwrt fist and was determined, finally opened.

"I, I S……!”

"Sa?"

"S…"

Do you want to play word chain?

As Edgar tilted his head to the side and expressed his wonder, Ariel's face turned red like a beet.

And soon after,

"I'll accept it as an apology, you idiot!"

The princess was embarrassed.

The previous resolution was turned into dust at once, and she rather took out her frustration.

Edgar was dumbfounded, but anyway, he decided to let go because she seemed to be accepting his apology.

"Oh, yeah… Anyway, you're going to forgive me, right?”

"Well, yes."

"That's fine, then."

What do you mean?

Ariel wanted to shout that, but the ship had already been unable to leave and sank to the depths of the sea.

She turned again and bowed her head as before.

Her ears were so hot, but she tried to ignore them.

‘It's all because of Ed. It's just that I was surprised that he gave me a flower like this all of a sudden.'

Shouting a protest inside her mind that would not be heard by anyone, the two head further into the mountain.

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