I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess

Translator : Idris

2 years later.

Maybe two years is not long enough to clear away all the misunderstandings and sorrows between family members that have accumulated so far, but it was enough time for them to change their views on each other and quietly return to their place.

Over breakfast, they share each other’s current situation, then gather together and have a small tea party later.

It was an ordinary sight that could be seen in any family, but this daily life was so refreshing and precious to the Robeheim family.

“Ed did that yesterday! It is a pity father didn't see it personally, hmmph!”

Today, while they were sitting around drinking tea and talking, Ariel’s complaint came out briefly.

Most of the things she complained about were related to only one person, so it was a sight that the Robeheim couple were already quite used to by now.

“Heh heh, that’s right. How about this father call him over to give him a sound of scolding?”

“Arrr, father, no need for that. After all, with just one word from me, he can't even move a finger.”

When she heard that Yulken, not anyone else, would scold Edgar, Ariel hurriedly stopped her father.

And a soft smile graced Helena’s lips as she watched this scene from the side.

It is a very cute lie to say that the boy is unable to move with just one word from her daughter.

There seemed to be dozens of scenes Helena could refute that statement, but for today, she kept her mouth shut to side with her daughter.

“Well? Come to think of it, it’s already been quite some time. Didn’t you say you had an appointment?”

“Ah, yes… It’s even a promise.”

Recently, Ariel has been learning swordsmanship and other martial arts from Edgar whenever she has time.

There were many better teachers than him, but Edgar was the only one she could learn from most comfortably.

Besides, it has its own good harvest, so the idea wasn't rejected.

“You have made progress these days, daughter. Is it because of Ed's teachings?”

“Well, what did that idiot teach me well? There's progress in my learning because of my own hard work.”

Although Ariel has already made up her mind to be honest with her feelings, she still can't help herself from saying things like this in front of others.

Meanwhile, Helena, who had been watching this with sharp eyes, opened her mouth in a coy tone.

Recently, she carefully watched out for her daughter as she seems to have come to terms with her feelings, but if her daughter is going to turn out like this again, she needs to have some backup plans.

“Oh, really? So, dear daughter, how about we hire a new teacher for you to learn from? ”

“Huh, new teacher?”

“Yes. Recently, Creed also said that he has quite a bit of time left. If it’s Creed, since I know him well, it’ll be easy to learn, wouldn’t it be fine?”

Ariel’s eyes widened at the unexpected single shot.

If it was Creed, he was definitely a great teacher who fit well with Ariel’s requirements.

Basically, she knows him well and has seen him often, so it won’t be awkward, and since he’s a former knight commander, his skills are at a level that makes her teeth itch.

Isn’t even her ‘teacher', Edgar is also under the tutelage of Sir.Creed.

In other words, it means a higher level teacher who taught her current teacher.

“How is it? If you want, Mommy can talk to Sir.Creed.”

“That, that… … .”

At the moment when Ariel was unable to say this or that in a situation where the front and back were blocked, a voice like a savior resonated quietly in the room.

Knock!

– This is Edgar. May I come in?

“Come in.”

To think that the person who has risen to the topic personally steps forward.

Yulken smiled intriguedly and squirmed at his favorite savory biscuits.

“Sorry, I have been waiting for a while and didn't see Ariel, so I came along to fetch her. "

“What do you have to be sorry for? We were chatting and forgot the time, so I’m sorry.”

Now that he had reached the age of eighteen, Edgar gradually matured in his way of speaking and his voice became that of a full-fledged adult.

As for Helena, the friendly tone of the old days were more to her liking, but this solemn tone was not bad either, so she didn’t say anything further.

“Why not sit down?”

“Ah, thank you for your consideration, but it seems difficult to fit in with Ariel’s schedule.”

“Then, it can't be helped.”

Yulken licks his lips as if he is truly regretful.

Although his daughter was so pretty and precious that it wouldn’t hurt to put it in his eyes, it was quite enjoyable to talk with Edgar as he had longed for a son.

However, as a father, he couldn’t ruin his daughter’s schedule, so Yulken nodded lightly and encouraged Ariel to go.

Ariel cautiously got up from her seat and headed towards the door.

“Then I will go.”

“Okay, don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Yes, mother.”

The first time she spoke out this title, she shuddered with awkwardness, but now she’s quite used to it.

She couldn’t call out ‘Mum' like a child forever, so she made up her mind and called ‘Mother' from the day she turned 17.

After saying goodbye to her parents, Ariel left the drawing room with Edgar.

She was still in her normal clothes, so she had to go back to her room and change her clothes first.

* * * * * * *

This is one of the places Ariel visits the most these days.

The gymnasium right inside the castle.

Edgar always stuck to the backyard, saying that it felt good to pratice outside in the fresh air, but Ariel chose this place as her training spot because she didn’t want to show off her unsightly appearance to others.

In fact, there were a few other reasons as well.

“No, there are still a lot of superfluities. Swing it like this.”

Edgar’s teachings were very easy to understand and concise.

Maybe the teacher he studied from is very good, but basically, he did well in education tailored to the opponent’s eye level.

As he tested the posture and showed off the shape of the legs and arms, Ariel tilted her head as she copied his figure.

“Like this?”

“No, it’s a little different.”

It was quite angular, but not yet the feeling Edgar wanted.

It is necessary to hold this posture at the beginning without any superfluities, so that it will be easy to move on to the next position later when it is used in actual combat.

Even when he was being taught by Creed, he was able to learn fast because he had built a solid foundation from this posture.

“I don’t know… Can’t you show me directly?”

“Ah, um… Okay.”

Recently, Edgar has a problem.

He likes Ariel’s willingness to learn with all her heart, but when he teaches her something, she always wants him to correct her posture after subtly misbehaving.

If you ask what’s wrong with that, in this case, you will inevitably have to use skinship to correct her posture.

Edgar was also one of the decent men, and he couldn’t help but be conscious of this situation.

That’s why he didn’t teach her directly, but the Young Miss, who was busy all day long, followed him straight, and it was ambiguous to refuse because of his personal reasons.

It’s just that he's been in trouble because she can’t even do this or that.

“What about the legs?”

“Ah oh… Like this… … ?”

“Idiot, I don’t know where to go or what to do. Tell me properly.”

“… … .”

Amm but, isn’t the place a bit in a dangerous area though?

It wasn’t even just a leg, the place she said was about the middle of the thigh coming down from the waist.

Of course, it’s covered with pants, so it’s not bare skin, but there’s a line that should be followed even if it’s close.

‘Am I the one being so conservative.’

No, Edgar could be sure that his conservativeness is not that much.

In this case, it would be correct to say that Ariel became strangely very open-minded.

In the past, if he put his hand on her head incorrectly, she would be busy screaming, but he guessed that something had changed in her mind in the middle.

Anyway, the important thing now is not to make inferences about what has changed in her state of mind.

It was because he had come to watch Ariel’s training.

He should show appropriate behavior.

“For now, we have to do it this way here. How do you feel, these muscles are a little tight?”

“Yes. It feels a little pulled from the inside.”

“That’s right. This way, when you move on to the next step, you will have momentum and it will be easier.”

In the end, after confiscating her face, he grabbed her thighs and corrected her posture.

“Once you are done with this position, let’s rest for a bit. You are sweaty too.”

First, basic training, then simple sparring with hands and feet.

Finally, briefly reviewing what he had done today and finishing the arrangement, Edgar lay down on the floor of the gymnasium.

“Yes. Oh, and the water… … .”

“I brought it. Wait for a sec.”

Ariel was also quite tired and sat down on the floor, so Edgar had no choice but to stand up and bring a small bag.

Inside, there was a water bottle, medicine for emergencies, and simple clothes in case the clothes were torn.

“Why lie down? You want to sleep?”

“I have no plans to sleep, but I am a bit tired. I had a drink with Creed yesterday.”

“Stupid. Then why did you wake up so early in the morning?”

Today, Ariel also woke up fairly quickly, but Edgar had risen earlier to greet her.

It is safe to say that he woke up almost immediately after dawn.

‘If he's tired, he should sleep some more and come out later.’

Ariel looked at her childhood friend who was lying on the floor with his eyes closed and gave a pitiful look.

His actions were put to fit her schedule, but it is a worrying matter if he overdoes it.

“Ed, how are you feeling?”

“… … .”

The sound of his breathing gradually calmed down, so Ariel called out just in case, but it seemed that he had fallen asleep in the meantime.

Ariel first turned her head to look around the empty gymnasium, then quietly approached Edgar from a seated state.

‘He must have been very sleepy.’

Today was the day her friend Sylvia was visiting, so she couldn’t waste too much time.

But waking him up from such a sound sleep made her feel guilty.

On the other hand, she also thought that she wanted to keep watching him sleep.

‘Somehow pissed off.’

Ariel pursed her lips as she watched him exhale gently.

When he is next to her, she gets nervous for some reason, so it’s hard for her to act normally, let alone when he's asleep.

He must not have known that her heart almost exploded when he acted as aggressively as he did earlier.

Ariel held her face over his sleeping face.

A strange sense of distance, neither far nor near.

She wanted to give him a flick on his forehead for being careless like this, but he didn't know anyway, so he couldn’t even get revenge on her.

Seruk. Slick.

At that moment, Ariel’s hair, wet with sweat, stung Edgar’s face.

Perhaps because the hair fell around the corner of his eyes, which was a sensitive area, Edgar frowned and rubbed his eyes as he stood up.

Embarrassed, Ariel hurriedly tried to pull her face away, but the reaction was somewhat delayed.

And..

“No, wait… Whaa!?”

Her shrill scream echoed throughout the gymnasium as their lips overlapped.

And for a moment, everything around them freezed along with time.