I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess

Translator : Idris

The two returned to the ballroom together, leaving behind the little unintentional fuss.

In the meantime, Shuri, who had been somewhere for a while, expressed doubts about the appearance of her master, who was quite the whole way with her head down.

"Mr. Edgar, what's wrong with her?"

"Ask yourself. But I am not sure if she'll answer you."

Edgar barely held back his laughter and pointed at Ariel with his chin.

Ariel hurriedly extended out her hand and waved it recklessly, announcing that she had no intention of speaking.

‘Why did you do that, you idiot!’

She must have read those lines from somewhere.

Otherwise, she could not have uttered such a misleading statement amid so much attention.

The reason why she was able to call Edgar as her lover in front of Diliart yesterday was because there was no one but only four people there.

‘What do you mean he has to be by your side? Are you crazy?’

The reactions from the surroundings when she said those words are still vivid in her mind.

Those young misses from other families who were sitting next to Edgar gasped quietly and began to ask what kind of relationship they were in.

When Ariel stuttered and couldn't cope properly, unlike her, Edgar, who couldn't watch, catch her and brought her back, so it was a mess.

But now that she think about it, she think it was the right response.

‘I'm sure the rumor has spread by now. What should I do?'

To be honest, it is ridiculous to think about this at the time of such a thing yesterday, but it was only a matter of situation.

If Diliart is in his right mind, he won't tell anyone what happened yesterday.

In the end, in order to spread the rumor that "Young Miss of the Roveheim family has a lover," he had to spread it like a rumor.

Since it's a rumour, it's not a definitive information, but if you heard it through someone then it maybe quiet reliable.

But what happened a while ago was different.

In other words, she declared in front of so many people, "This man is my man, so don't even think about it."

It became a situation where she just stepped up and proved it, regardless of the rumors.

"How long are you going to keep looking like that? I'm going in now."

"…Shut up, you idiot. It's all because of you."

‘Why were you involved with women you don't know.'

‘If you came as my attendant, even if you can't stick to my side, isn't it polite not to look elsewhere?'

Come to think of it, she is shivering with shame because of this man who forgot his role.

"Yes, I understand, so let's just enter. We can't just sit here and do nothing."

"Hmm, escort me."

Edgar's hand reached out in front of Ariel, who stood up with a snort.

Then Ariel pouted at his smiling face and reluctantly put her hand on his.

A calm smile was engraved on Shuri's mouth, who was watching this.

Then, just before entering the ballroom, Shuri once again checked Ariel's clothes and makeup condition.

Considering that she made such a fuss, it was amazing that she was fine without any particular mess.

"There's no fixed order of schedule, right?"

"I don't think so. If you go in, you just have to dance moderately and come out."

"You are talking as if not expecting the ball at all."

"It's true, but I can't help it.”

While there were many young people who dreamed of this situation of taking their first steps into society, Ariel's response was really businesslike.

Edgar wanted to clean up after finishing what he had to do.

The two people stood at the door and took a breath without any sort of excitement.

Then Edgar reached out and opened the door of the ballroom, which was larger than his size.

SQUEAK!

"Oh."

In front of the two, a view like the Milky Way unfolded.

Marbles laid all over the place and high decorations decorated in the center.

There were quite a few young people dancing together around it and people could be seen over the railing on the second floor.

The colorful lights from all over the place were dizzying to the eyes, and the clothes on the girls gathered for today's event seemed to shine in the light.

"You looked surprised just now."

"No, I'm not surprised. I just thought it wasn't bad."

Unable to resist, Edgar stabbed his childhood friend in the side and spoke in a sly tone, belatedly realizing that she was standing blankly and turned his head.

Although she is usually a curt princess, she looks like a woman born in heaven now.

Her behavior of concealing her surprise looks very cute in Edgar's eyes.

Now, all he have to do is to escort her as she asks.

However, he was very concerned about the gaze pouring from all around them.

Ariel's status as a very prominent figure in this large crowd seems to make them stood out.

"Well, let's go. My Lady."

"Pfft, what's that? That's cheesy. You can just do it as usual."

As Edgar stood forward with an exaggerated gesture like an actor in an opera and reached out to her again, Ariel's mouth burst into laughter.

Sometimes he jokingly called her "lady" or "duchess," but if it was just burdensome at that time, she felt happy today anyway.

What makes her feel this way?

She doesn't even know it herself.

"I'm trying to set the mood, so please dance with me."

"Cug, then I can't help it. This is your honor."

"There's no such thing as a possibility."

Ariel, who put her hands on his as if she was going to lose, grabbed both ends of the dress and curtsey lightly, showing sincerity in Edgar's actions and fitting in.

The melody filling the ballroom was quite cheerful.

Although he don't know the title because he's not familiar with the song, at least it suited Edgar's taste better than the calm and slow tune.

The two cautiously walked to the center and took their stance.

On the way, Ariel provoked him in a low voice, asking if he could catch up with her in dancing, but Edgar raised his eyebrows and responded that there was no problem.

The basic etiquette education he had received from his family included dancing, and he had been taught by the Robeheim family before the ball till he feels disgusted.

He even wondered if his dancing skills would be higher than Ariel's right now.

“Sally, look over there. It looks like the heiress of Robeheim family has arrived.”

As the figures of the two appeared around, the eyes of the two women who were watching them right in front of them widened.

It was none other than the culprits who almost had Ariel put to shame. Of course, it wasn't intentional.

“Really. I was looking for her because I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier, but I guess she finally came.”

“Anyway, they are a really good pair. The man reliably embracing the princess… … .”

Edgar's physique, even in this ballroom full countless promising young masters, was unusually reliable.

Although he may be young, his muscles gained through steady training since he was young and his superior height compared to his peers made up for it.

In fact, it was because of his dependable appearance, unlike the others, that caught the attention of the two women in front of the audience room a moment ago.

Usually, men from aristocratic families, unless they were the heirs of a military family, were often thin or shallow.

Meanwhile, Ariel, who was dancing, caught the gaze of these two women.

She then neared her face carefully towards Edgar's ear, who was supporting her own back, and whispered in his ear.

“You seems popular.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Those girls from earlier are looking at you even now.”

"Not women, but bitches."

Edgar involuntarily smiled bitterly when the titles for those two people who had done nothing wrong were suddenly downgraded.

“Shall we go apologize together when we're over?”

"Are you crazy? I didn't do anything wrong, so why apologize?"

"Are you really gonna pretend you don't know, or do you really not know?"

Of course, Ariel must have had her own reasons for being angry, but it was her fault to growl and threaten people at her will.

If you ask if it is necessary for her to apologize, her reaction will be different depending on the person.

However, Edgar didn't particularly just wanted her to apologize, the real reason is to clear up the misunderstanding that had just happened.

Ariel would be in trouble if there appears strange rumors.

“I was wrong. Apologize as you like, but let's clear up the misunderstanding.”

“ Isn't it okay to just ignore the rumors?”

“Is it that easy?”

This time, when Edgar begged her to do what he said, Ariel finally nodded her head, rendering Edgar to disbelief.

Indeed, what he said was right.

But there was one thing that bothered her.

"You are not doing this because you're interested in those girls, are you?"

"Why? Will you help me if I answer?"

“Do you want to die!!?”

When the said red eyes lit up at the joking remark, Edgar slightly averted his gaze.

He guess she was asking seriously.

At a time like this, he doesn't know what will happen if he tries to take one more step forward.

The first priority is to calm down the anger by confessing the truth, so let's take a step back.

"I'm kidding. Will those people be interested in me in the first place?”

“Well, I’m glad you seem to know your worth.”

“Honey, is that how you talk to your friends?”

In the end, the two of them returned to the light atmosphere of teasing each other as usual.

The resounding song had changed to a calming tune, but laughter leaked out for some reason.

“Anyway, I’m not interested, so don’t worry. You said it in the first place.”

“What did I say?”

Ariel tilted her head as if she really couldn't remember.

At that, Edgar took a step behind her, took her hand, held her carefully in his arms, and let out each word in a low voice.

"At least while I'm here, I'm yours."

“… … !”

Edgar smiled at her as he confidently returned the words she had spoken a moment ago.

At that, Ariel's face instantly turned red up to her neck, and she lowered her head while being hold in his arms.

She could not believe that she was being punished for the words she spat out casually.

It was clear that this man was also good at making fun of her.

At any time, under any circumstances, he will not miss an opportunity by suddenly attacking her like this.

BA-DUM! BA-DUM!

She felt a strong heartbeat somewhere, but Ariel was sure it wasn't hers, and she looked away from reality.

How could such a dull man be excited!!

Even if he pretends not to, he seems to be excited when he holds a girl like her, right?

Then, until his heartbeat subsides, she should pretend not to know and let him hold her in his arms.

As a friend, I can help you cover this much. Thank me later for my generosity, you fool.