I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess

Editor : Aizen

It could be because he had a busy and tiring day yesterday, filled with travel and its accompanying discomforts.

The following day, Edgar slowly rose from his bed in the mansion and went outside.

With a heart to improve, he held a wooden sword in his right hand, a weapon he had always wielded since his younger time in the mansion.

“Hueup! Suck!”

Sweat gradually formed on his forehead as he continued practicing with the sword, despite his apparent ease.

Creed had tirelessly stressed the importance of mastering the basic fundamentals, and Edgar had diligently adhered to his morning routines.

Skipping them would make the day challenging due to muscle soreness.

"You seem to have had a tough morning."

"Oh?"

Edgar maintained his movements while focusing on the tip of the wooden sword.

Soon, he lifted his head, responding to a voice coming from above rather than from the sides.

There, leaning against the terrace railing, stood a woman looking down at him with an air of superiority.

"You must be tired. You should have stayed in bed longer."

Since Ariel had a tendency to sleep in, she must have struggled to wake up, especially after a day of unresolved travel.

Knowing this, Edgar expressed concern.

"Why would someone who wields a wooden sword need to rise so early?"

"I'm used to it, but you're not."

"Aren’t I getting used to it now? Huh."

Ariel snorted and turned her head away, slightly irritated by her self-perceived sluggishness.

Observing this, Edgar tilted his head with a sense of déjà vu.

He couldn't recall the exact moment, but it felt like they had been in a similar situation before.

"Have we experienced something like this before?"

"Are we enemies in this scenario?"

"Um… It's hard to say, but I'd like to know if we've ever had a conversation like this on the terrace before.”

"No? I don't know. It may be from when I was in Hespania."

Ariel's determined tone prompted Edgar to respond with a questioning expression.

During his time in Hespania, he had seen Ariel peeking out from the balcony a few times.

However, the lingering images in his memory were undeniably associated with the time spent in this mansion.

The memories were not clear, as they belonged to a long time ago.

"…Ah!"

"Yes? What is it? Did you remember something?"

Edgar, who had set down his wooden sword and was lost in thought, let out a low exclamation. Ariel, curious about his reaction, leaned further over the railing.

Edgar grinned and wore an oddly ominous smile.

His gaze shifted to his beloved, whose eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Ariel, do you remember when we were young?"

"When was that?"

"Was it when you were ten? I think it was the day after you told ‘The Story of the Star'."

The memory of that day remained vivid in Ariel's mind.

After gazing at the stars together, as they fell like a waterfall, they returned to the mansion and fell asleep. The following morning, Ariel woke up early and secretly observed Edgar practicing on the terrace…

"…!"

"Did you remember it?"

"Oh, I don't remember anything! Don't corner me like that!"

Ariel hastily interrupted the fragmentary images of that day that were slowly resurfacing in her mind.

However, it was not easy to escape from Edgar's grasp.

"Did you wake up unusually early and go to the terrace that day?"

"I… I don't know! Will you stop with these strange questions if I say that?"

"Your sensitive reaction makes it even more suspicious. Did I ask something strange? I simply asked if you went to the terrace."

Ariel, realizing her mistake a bit too late, blushed and crouched in her seat, averting her gaze.

She should have calmly walked away and acted as if she had merely forgotten some important details.

Why did she show that opening to him?

"Yes, I did! So what?"

"There's nothing wrong with it. I was just curious why you went."

Ariel felt an urge to throw a fireball at Edgar's smirking face.

He had already deduced the circumstances before and after her actions when he asked such a direct question.

Nevertheless, his desire for honest communication revealed his temper.

Even if she tried to brush it off now, she knew he would continue to inquire about it sooner or later.

Eventually, she would have no choice but to reveal the truth.

"Must I tell you, sir? You already seem to know…"

"I don't know. It would be better if you came down here and told me in person."

"It's annoying…"

When even their final attempt at negotiation failed, Ariel had no choice but to stand up and place both hands on the railing.

Then,

widely!

With a graceful leap, she jumped over the railing.

"Ariel!"

fluff.

With a delayed realization, Edgar hurriedly ran and managed to catch the falling girl in his arms.

Ariel playfully congratulated him on his perfect catch, even in such an unexpected situation, without losing his balance.

"You're quick. I was thinking of using magic if you couldn't catch me."

"You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Hey, is this revenge for teasing you?"

"Regardless, don't startle me like that. It's too dangerous."

He could understand the desire to get revenge, but it was unacceptable for him for Ariel to be hurt, even if he knew she wasn’t hurt.

Edgar expressed his concern to the girl in his arms with a serious expression. Ariel, feeling somewhat embarrassed, averted her gaze and nodded slightly.

It was childish of her even to consider getting revenge.

She felt sorry for him, knowing that he must have been worried when she fell, so she decided to be honest with him this time.

About what she had done on that particular day.

"Um, well, that day you… um…"

"Yes?"

"…Actually, I secretly watched you practicing in the garden. I hid on the ledge of the terrace."

It felt quite embarrassing to reveal this significant detail.

Ariel finished her confession, her proud black hair covering her face.

As Edgar heard this with both ears, a deep smile formed on his lips.

On the one hand, he felt regret that he had only just understood the meaning behind her past actions. As an apology, he lightly kissed the hair covering her cheeks.

Startled, Ariel pushed aside the hair covering her face and stared at Edgar wide-eyed.

Realizing the intention behind his actions just a moment ago, she coughed lightly and gently patted her cheek.

This time, Edgar properly kissed her cheek and carefully placed her back on the ground.

Even from a distance, she had looked beautiful, but up close, she appeared even more so.

He felt a sense of pride knowing that this woman was his lover.

Overall, it was a very pleasant morning.

* * * * * * *

After breakfast, Edgar contemplated what he could do with Ariel.

He had considered going to the village for a while, but he anticipated difficulty due to the lingering effects of yesterday's travel sickness.

Then, Ariel entered his room with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Ed, wake up quickly!" She seemed to have regained her childlike innocence.

"Why? Did you find something interesting?"

"Yes! Maybe you'll be excited to hear it too?"

"Oh, is that so?"

It was surprising to find something that would make her eyes sparkle in this country, but he decided to go along with it since he had to make ends meet.

As he reached the first floor and left the mansion, Shuri, who was waiting at the entrance, gave a slight bow and greeted Edgar.

"I haven't seen you since this morning, so I finally get to say hello."

"Are you coming with us, Shuri?"

"Yeah, I asked Shuri for some help."

"… Are you helping?"

Edgar, feeling the word "help" was a bit odd, expressed his doubts.

"I'll know when we get there. Let's set off right away."

"Yes."

Following Ariel's lead was quite enjoyable for Edgar, as it had been a long-standing tradition since their childhood. He nodded his head without much doubt and followed her.

"Is this the first time Shuri has come to our family?"

"I came once before when the young master came to Hespania. But today is the first time I'm living like this."

"Ah, I see."

Edgar, who had completely forgotten about that time, nodded his head slightly as if he had just remembered it.

"Has Ariel been treating you well since then? Or are you still busy playing with her?"

"What are you talking about!"

When Ariel, who had been leading the way in silence, suddenly became heated by Shuri's teasing, Shuri burst into laughter.

"Shuri! You know I won't let you off the hook if you talk nonsense!"

Ignoring Ariel's protest, Shuri playfully pretended to be innocent.

It would have ended with a shriek in the past, but now it only made them feel nostalgic.

"Well, um… I'd like to say something helpful to Lady Ariel, but…"

"You, you…!"

Ariel trembled at the sense of betrayal that made her teeth chatter upon seeing Shuri's mischievous expression.

Whether intentional or not, Shuri wanted to expose Ariel's past mischiefs, so she revealed the truth to Edgar.

"It seems like she still does it sometimes."

"Hmm."

"…"

When Edgar let out a small exclamation and looked at Ariel, demanding an explanation with his eyes, she avoided his gaze and dashed under the quince tree.

That was her way of escaping from reality.

"Hey, Ed! Don't you remember this?"

Ariel leaned against the quince tree in a rather playful posture, putting her hand on the pillar, and threw a question at him.

Her voice trembled for a moment, probably fearing that Edgar would bring up the accusations Shuri had made earlier.

"What's this? Ah… I remember now."

Edgar, wondering if there was something in the quince tree, tilted his head for a moment, then recalled a memory and let out a low sigh.

When he was ten years old, about eight years ago, he remembered burying something there along with his memories.

"A time capsule."

He remembered that it probably wasn't called that here, but the essence of symbolizing an object remained the same.

Originally, they had promised to retrieve it together when they became adults.

However, the impulsive princess couldn't wait for just one more year and demanded to open it early.

"…Seriously, you couldn't wait for just one year, so you want to open it already?"

"Even if we open it a year early, it's no big deal. Besides, I'm really curious."

"Well, me too."

To be honest, he couldn't even remember what he had written back then.

And the same went for Ariel.

What stories did they leave behind here eight years ago?

They could have ignored it if they had walked past without knowing, but curiosity got the better of them once they realized it was buried there.

"Then let's open it a little. Even us from eight years ago would understand."

"Don't you think?"

Ariel, who had successfully persuaded him, smiled brightly and winked at Shuri.

Shuri took out three small trowels from her bag.

Edgar smiled wistfully as he finally realized what was inside Shuri's bag.

The memories from eight years ago were about to unfold a little earlier.

What stories did they have at that time?

Curiosity was already creeping up, tickling a part of his heart.