I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess

Edgar had an early dinner and left the house with Creed.

He complained that Leonel was bored and asked to take Leo and Enya along, but this time Edgar had no choice but to leave them behind.

“Today, I will briefly show you around the main building. You, too, will need to know the way around in order to meet the lady.”

“Is it okay if I go into the main building on my own?”

Even if they were tacitly allowed to stay in the holy land, in any case, all the people living in the out yard were no different from outsiders.

Judging from the appearances of Leonel and Enya a little while ago, they didn't seem to care much about walking around outside, but wouldn't it be a little too much to step into the main building where the Grand Duke's family live?

“Originally, it will be difficult. But if I am around, it will be fine.”

“It means I need a cover.”

“Haha, the way the young guy speaks.”

However, Creed just laughed because Edgar wasn't wrong in anyway.

Edgar was allowed to live here, as the boy said, but that did not mean that he was completely free.

There were rules that had to be followed, and there were some restrictions.

A typical example is to not enter the residence of aristocrats without permission, such as entering the castle.

Since most of the children staying in this place were from commoners, it was an unavoidable issue.

At least it wasn't much of a big problem, since it was possible to enter the castle when Creed was by his side.

Except for a very few people actually living in the castle, there were many times when they welcomed the children with great enthusiasm, claiming that they were brought by Helena.

For example, there were some servants who distributed snacks or played together with the childrens when they were idle.

“By the way, the place where the lady is staying is over there. Can you see?”

“… Is that the last room?”

As Edgar followed Creed's fingertips, he saw a balcony protruding from a height that he could barely see if he lifted his head up.

‘She lives in a fairly high place.'

One could say that he somewhat realizes the difference in their social status by now.

Even if they were of the same noble family, the daughter of the Grand Duke and him were different, if anything.

The difference was as clear as day and night.

“It must be difficult to meet secretly like this.”

"It indeed is so, but there is still a problem since you can only meet her when the lady comes out, and there are only a few days she could do that."

“Few days?”

At most, it's just coming out of the building for a while, but he wonders if there's a specific reason why it's difficult.

When Edgar stared at Creed with a curious look, he roughly stroked Edgar's hair with a bitter smile on his face.

“It is said that if you are born into a good family, the responsibility that comes with it is heavy. You will understand what I mean.”

“…I understand.”

Edgar gave a small nod of his head as if he finally understood, and stared at the balcony he had just seen.

Creed said that Ariel hadn't been out in three weeks, but then Edgar understood that Creed simply meant that she hadn't been out to the city.

But maybe that was simply the story of having to stay in this castle for three weeks.

‘It's serious.'

He wonders how far the Grand Duke's education policy is.

No, he thought that this was a problem about dealing with people before education policy.

Even though Helena, not anyone, was standing by the girl's side, the fact that she was in this situation must mean that strong invisible shackles of responsibilities were put on her ankles.

“Mr. Creed, can I go out of the Holy Land freely?”

"Okay. Did you see those little kids? They also come and go freely with a pass, so you have no problem either.”

As long as one doesn't enter the main building recklessly, the rest of the place seems to be okay to go around freely.

Edgar asked again when he could get the pass and if he could go right away even today, and when he got the answer, he smiled brightly.

Then, before entering the main building through the back door, he stared at the balcony he had seen a moment ago, then he just smiled a little and followed after Creed.

Returning to her room after dinner, Ariel sat down in front of her desk.

Even though she returned to her original home where she should be most peaceful, her daily life was scheduled to be busier.

As proof of that, as she looked at the pile of books on her desk, she let out a heavy sigh.

But she couldn't put them off any longer because she had work to do tomorrow after she got this done.

Having made up her mind, she picked up a book that was six times the thickness of her own hand and opened it.

It was none other than information on the leading families of the empire, and the personal information of those belonging to those families, made into a book.

After memorizing this and taking the test tomorrow, only when the test is successfully completed will she move on to the next step.

Not even a chance was given to take a small breather. She just simply has to be given new tasks after the previous tasks are completed.

‘After this, it seems to be magic education. What is next?’

Perhaps it was liberal arts classes or swordsmanship training.

A 14-year-old girl might think it's a bit early to learn, but it was a story only applicable to young girls from other families who grew up like flowers in a greenhouse.

But, she had to one day grow up to be a warrior like her own father, who would go to battlefields and deal with the invaders of the north.

In order to do that, it was important for her to build a body that could navigate the battlefield from an early age and develop that kind of strength.

Magic education was also one of a similar category.

“The Loktael family… As one of the leading counts in the central region, the family head… … .”

Ariel turns the book one by one, reading the written words aloud, since reading aloud is better for memorization.

One sheet turned into two, then ten, and eventually dozens or hundreds of sheets.

Ariel, who finished one book and immediately moved on to the next one, began to quickly scan the letters with her eyes without even reading it.

She did not forget to write down in a separate notebook any information that would be easy to forget.

How much time had passed like that?

Ariel sighed deeply as she had exhausted herself and leaned over in her chair.

Then she picked up a small bell that was sitting on the edge of the desk and waved it weakly.

“Yes, my lady. Did you call me?”

The door to the room opened, and Shuri appeared with her head bowed and calmly asked.

“Bring me something to drink and some snacks. I am so tired.”

"Please wait for a moment. I'll bring it to you right away.”

Ariel usually likes a drink made by pickling or grinding fruit in honey, but when she's focused on something, she prefers serving tea.

Of course, Shuri was well versed in this, so she headed to the kitchen, prepared tea leaves and hot water, and started brewing her own tea with her skillful hands.

Ariel's expression softened as the scent of the fragrant tea spread throughout the room.

Ariel, who got up from her seat, trudged over to her bed and collapsed with her face first like a corpse.

After all, as someone who had been watching Ariel beside her lately, Shuri was acutely aware of how heavy the position as the daughter of the Grand Duke's family was.

Shuri probably wouldn't even dare to do it even if someone gave her all the gold and silver treasures in the world.

When she looked at the pile of books on the desk, as she did now, she realized what a great person her master was.

“My lady, hurry up and have some tea and cheer up.”

"Yes… It should be.”

Ariel woke up from her bed, prowling like a caterpillar, holding her teacup in her hand, which was set on the little table beside her bunk.

The tea was set to the right temperature for her to drink right away.

As she smelled the delicate scent, it seemed that a day's worth of fatigue had gone away a little.

When she thought of what she had to do right after this, she felt the fatigue failing at her any moment, but she then decided to turn her eyes away from reality.

“When did you plan to meet Young Master Edgar?”

"I don't have any plans yet. That kind of person who doesn't even want to meet me in the first place."

The way she slurped her tea with her mouth pouting looked like a duck in Shuri's eyes.

An ugly duckling at that.

However, let's say it's not an ugly duckling in the sense of being ugly, but an ugly duckling in the sense of being dishonest in it's heart.

Even if she shows off like that, everyone around her could see it, so what is she still trying to hide?

It was only at times like this that the fact that her master was a year younger than herself came to Shuri's mind.

It was fun to watch from the side because Ariel looks cuter than her usual blunt and busy appearance.

“You can go take a break. I'm going to sleep after I'm done with that."

“I will wait outside, so call me before going to bed. I'll just clean up and I'll go take a rest.”

“You don’t even listen.”

Not wanting to argue about it any longer, Ariel nodded her head to let her go, bit off a piece of cookie, and looked around the room.

The decorations are quite fancy, but it's a bleak room with nothing to say.

Without even the common stuffed toys that girls of her age often play with, the inside filled with books and other objects even felt empty.

‘I want a doll.'

After drinking her tea, Ariel put down the teacup and lay flat on her bed.

With no doll to hug, Ariel was immersed in her contemplation, holding a large pillow the size of her body tightly around her body.

The chilly air of the moonlit night crept in through the wide open window, but she wasn't in the mood to care what was going on with her now.

‘Should I call Shuri again?'

It seems that she had strange thoughts because she is all alone.

Since the windows had to be closed, wouldn't it be better to call Shuri back and ask her to talk to her now? The moment she was so worried.

RAISED CHIN.

“Huh, I thought I was going to die.”

“!?”

Suddenly, she thought she was hearing someone's footsteps on the balcony, and the person muttered to himself in a disgruntled voice.

‘How did someone climb this high?'

She then thought of the possibility of assassin, and she couldn't even find her voice at that thought.

She needs to call Shuri right now… … .

With the idea of ​​checking her opponent's appearance, she raised herself up and slowly approached the balcony, keeping her presence as low as possible.

Soon, the figure of the opponent slowly revealed in front of her eyes.

Ariel's mouth fell open of its own accord, and she pointed at the opponent, shaking her hands as if she had seen something she shouldn't have seen.

“Oh, you surprised me. Hey, if you are here at least make some noise.”

“What, what is it? How do you.. ..?

It was none other than her childhood friend who appeared with an unidentified paper bag in one hand and a stuffed toy in the other arm.