I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess

At the birthday celebration of the eldest son. The decorated foods on the table in the hall were so colorful that one could clearly see the effort the chefs has put in and how they were meticulously made.

"What should I eat first?"

Edgar naturally has a large appetite.

Even with the body of a 10-year-old child, he ate a similar amount as his father, Lancel, so he ate everything.

As he walked around with his plate, one could see that the food, which was quite plentiful on the tablel, was quickly decreasing.

"Ed, you eat really well."

"Why aren't you eating? Doesn't it suit your taste?"

"I'm eating enough. It's just that you eat too much."

‘Is that so?'

Edgar was not particularly aware of his actions. He just ate what he could see along the table.

However, seeing Ariel talking like that with a fed-up face, he think back and thought he really ate alot.

Of course, there was still more room to fil up in his stomach.

"Ok, do you like the birthday present?”

Edgar, who was munching on a piece of steak cut into a proper bite size, managed to overcome the difficulty of being choked by the sudden question.

If you're talking about birthday present, is it the mountain you had given me?

Her visualization of the mountain as a gift was ridiculous, but now that he look back, he couldn't understand Helena who allowed the little girl to do as she pleases.

Why did she give such a gift to a 10-year-old?

"Uh… well"

"What's up with your reaction, Ed? You don't like the gift I picked for you, right?"

She had expected praise to pop out, but it was a lukewarm answer, warmer than the Southern wind of summer.

When Ariel grinned angrily with her bloodshot eyes, Edgar quickly tried to appease her.

"No, I don't mean it like that… It feels weird to receive such a big gift."

"What? So, you like it?”

" Yeah?"

Edgar answered vaguely and tilted his head.

Her inquiry felt as if she was pointing the sword at your throat, threatening to agree with her or else…

How many people in the world can get a mountain as a gift in their lives, even if they don't know where it will be used?

Just the satisfaction of being a few people in the world, that alone was good enough.

‘I just wondered why you gave me such a gift.'

"But why did you give it to me?”

"You said that when you went to the mountain before. If all the grasses here were mine, I would have lived to my fullest."

"…Ah."

Come to think of it, he think he seems to have inadvertently uttered such nonsense.

He heard from his parents that herbs and quite precious trees grow on the mountain, and it's a word that stems based on that belief.

He can't believe she really gifted him a while mountain. Only now did he realize that the way of thinking between them is really different.

‘Wasn't the mountain owned by the country in the first place?’

Edgar was still quite ignorant of the laws and rules of this world.

Whether the mountain is a state-owned land belonging to the Empire or a private land originally owned by the Robeheim family. He didn't know a thing.

One thing that's certain is that at least it's not the property of the Bilhark family. If it had been, Ariel wouldn't have been able to give it to him as a gift.

"I don't know."

He's not sure about the owner of the mountain. But it's his own property now, anyway.

Later, when he got older and had nothing to do, he thought that it would be quite a good life to build a house and live on the mountain.

In the past, he admires people who lived in the mountains, together and one with the natural.

"Anyway, thank you. I couldn't even say thank you properly at that time."

"Hmm, be nice to me if you know you're thankful! I'll be keeping an eye on you!"

"Yes, yes."

He missed the fragile Grand Duchess he saw three days ago, but she also looked good like this.

She's a little coy, but she's not annoying and when she is playing and fooling around, her body exudes the aura of freshness and pureness.

In the past, he thought he was there to protect the child, but now she's become a real friend for Edgar along time ago.

"But why aren't many people coming to celebrate Ed's birthday?”

"They must be busy because they are adults."

"It's not… On my birthday, even the adults came to say congratulations and left?”

‘No, that's you… … .'

Edgar had many things he wanted to say, but he swallowed them in the end.

“I guess they weren’t busy then.”

"Is it?"

She had an innocence of a 10-year-old, so it was still possible to convince her easily.

Will it be possible to still distract her attention this easily after a few more years passed by?

‘I wonder how it will be.'

He was looking forward to that day as it was, but on the other hand, he was also a little afraid.

Even now, he had no idea how the immature princess would run wild when that time came.

He hope she doesn't become an unbridled horse.

“Ed, do you know how many days we are going to sleep over this time?”

“I don’t know. Are you staying long?”

"Yes! Mom says we are staying for a week!”

‘Oh.'

Is this a good news or a bad news?

It was a good thing, at least for him, that he could play with Ariel for a week without ever getting bored.

However, the meaning of Ariel staying here was the same as the meaning of Helena staying .

In other words, it also meant that his mother, Katria, had to be partners with Helena for a week.

‘Mrs. Helene is a good person, but the problem is not this. ‘

In any case, when a high-ranking person comes to the house for a visit, their body naturally stiffens. Regardless of what her opponent's personality was like and whether or not her personality was the same.

From that point of view, the next week will be a splendid achievement for him and Ariel, but from Lancel and Katria's point of view, it will be close to disaster.

"How do you like it?"

"Okay. I'm bored when I'm home alone."

"Hey, I actually learned more magic because I wanted to show you."

Edgar's eyes widened at Ariel's explosive remark.

‘You learned a new magic in just three days?'

The little girl's talent is scary, but at this point, he wondered if it was too much.

He was surprised to find that the magic that the girl performed the other day was also of a high level after looking it up in books.

Of course, it's not advanced magic, but at least he learned from the book that it's not a magic that a 10-year-old would be able to perform easily.

In the first place, the premise that a 10-year-old kid could manifests magic was already wrong, but it was excluded because the said party was too out of norm to include her.

"It is expected. Show me later.”

"Don't worry. I can show you today"

Even if the party was over today, it would be in the middle of the night and he would already be exhausted, so he wonder if she is trying to take him somewhere else.

Anyway, she is a very lively princess.

Edgar: “No, you don’t have to do that…… .”

Edgar, who was about to continue talking, shut his mouth as soon as he saw Ariel showing a sad expression on her face.

Yes, if she want to do something she have to do it, he doesn't sleep much at night anyway, so it's not too much to go out and play.

However, if Madame Helena discovered them on the way, they would be in an uproar.

Because he was quite conservative in that way.

“Then have you decided?”

"Okay, let's go. So don't be angry.”

"Huh! Fool, idiot, Ed.”

“Ed isn’t swearing.”

How did Ed end up in her head as a curse word on the same level as an idiot?

He wondered if there are any more swear words other than idiots in the head of the childrens, in the first place.

If that's the case, the proper noun Ed must be the most powerful slang word in her brain.

This is at such moments where all their ten or so years of being together became colorless. 8 years to be exact.

As they were exchanging trivial matters like this, he felt someone approaching them from behind.

Edgar, who had placed his empty plate on the table, turned around.

There stood a boy a little taller than him with a deep smile.

“Hello, Edgar.”

"uh?"

Who is it?

The action of a boy who appeared out of nowhere and called his name in a friendly way caused Edgar to make a dumbfounded noise.

He remember seeing the other boy somewhere but he wasn't sure of the other party's name or even the family crest was unknown to him.

Have they ever had a conversation in the first place?

"Happy Birthday."

“Ah, yes. thanks."

In any case, it was impossible to ignore the birthday greetings, so Edgar nodded and expressed his gratitude.

It didn't look bad.

Rather, it seemed that the warm-hearted buddy would grow into a manly-looking handsome man.

“Ed, who is this?”

"uh? that… … .”

As he was reciting his evaluation over the boy's appearance, Ariel suddenly interrupted and asked the other person's identity in a sharp tone.

Edgar, on the contrary, wanted to ask himself. At the least the other party didn't even reveal his name.

Ariel's voice became even more angrier when she noticed his hesitation as he chewed on his lips.

The voice was directed not to Edgar this time, but to the boy standing across from him.

"Who are you?"

"Me? Edgar's friend.”

“I don’t think Ed knows you? You know?”

Although it has been mentioned several times, Ariel is extraordinarily quick-witted.

Even if he pretended to, she was able to notice that the other party knew Edgar unilaterally and started talking to him.

And even though he identified himself as Edgar's friend, his eyes were fixed on Ariel, not on today's birthday boy.

‘How dare you.'

Ariel was pretty from a young age.

It wasn't simply that her features were sharper than those of her peers, but that her beauty was well-formed.

That's why she was often targeted by men his age in the social world where they arrived with their parents in hands. Because they too had eyes to distinguish beauty.

But that wasn't what upset Ariel the most right now.

The fact that he tried to talk to her using her precious childhood friend, not anyone else.

It also meant that he had insulted her friend.

Although she was young, she was well educated and aware that insulting the honor of a person is the greatest sin in her family.

And what kind of punishment they should face when they discredits her own family.

"Go away. Ed will play with me.”

"uh? But I'm Ed's friend… … .”

“Don’t call him Ed because it offends me. The only people who can call Ed, are me and my mom, besides Uncle and Aunt.”

The said uncle and aunt must probably be referring to Edgar's parents.

Ariel was so annoyed by the other person's attempt to talk with them without even revealing his name yet, so Ariel tried to follow up her argument in a more annoyed tone than usual, then she came up with a trick.

It's not a method she likes very much, but at times like this, she couldn't find a method that worked better than this.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Umm, the grand duke’s daughter… … .”

“Then you know who my mother is?”

"Yes."

How can he not know?

In the first place, the boy was standing here with a strict order from his mother to talk to those children and get as close as possible.

He was also aware of Ariel's status and who her mother was and they came to this party together.

"Should I call my mom? Or will you go away right now?"

"Go away, go away…"

Even so, the boy was the second son of a fairly historic family.

Did he ever say that those who are not even acquaintances, let alone brothers, should go away?

My lips trembled as if they were shocked, but our princess had no intention of showing mercy.

"I'll ask you again. Do you want to go out right now? Or should I call my mom?”

"Mi, I'm sorry!”<b>

</b>

The sudden calm voice, neither sharp not high sounded out, seemed to indicate that it is the last warning.

Like that, the boy ran straight to his mother's arms to protect him without looking back.

As the unpleasant face disappeared, Ariel smiled satisfactorily as if a problem has been solved and then turned towards Edgar brightly.

"Ed, if you're done eating, let's go out and play!"

"Well, yes."

‘What did I just saw?'

Edgar couldn't help but shake his head lightly at the scene unfolded infront of his very eyes.