The Hidden Side of the Grand Duchess
The grand duchess’s hidden side.
Perhaps it was because this was, after all, the birthday of the eldest son. The dishes arrayed across the tables in the hall were so varied and lavish that one could clearly sense the effort put into them.
What should I try first?
Edgar had always possessed a hearty appetite. Even in the body of a ten-year-old, he could match his father Ransel’s portions, so there was little more to be said. As he wandered about with a plate in hand, the once-abundant spread visibly dwindled.
“Edgar, you really eat a lot.”
“Why aren’t you eating? Doesn’t suit your taste?”
“I’ve eaten plenty, thank you. You’re just eating too much.”
Was that so? Edgar had no particular awareness of it. He had simply stuffed his face with whatever caught his eye. But seeing Ariel’s fed-up expression, he realized he must have overdone it. Of course, there was still plenty of room left in his stomach.
“Right. Did you like the birthday present?”
Edgar, who had been chewing on a neatly sliced piece of steak, nearly choked at the sudden question. The birthday present—she must mean that absurd mountain. He was already stunned by her audacity in calling it a gift, but looking back now, he found Helena’s approval of it even more baffling. Just what had she been thinking, giving something like that to a ten-year-old?
“Uh… well.”
“Tsk, what kind of reaction is that? I went out of my way to pick it for you, and you don’t like it?”
She had clearly expected praise, yet his response was lukewarm—warmer than a summer southwesterly breeze, but not by much. Ariel’s red eyes flashed with irritation as she huffed angrily. Edgar quickly calmed her down.
“No, I didn’t mean I dislike it… How should I put this? Receiving such a huge gift just feels strange.”
“What? So you do like it?”
“I… guess?”
Edgar answered vaguely and tilted his head. If someone held a sword to his throat and demanded a single answer—good or bad—he would choose the former. Setting aside what use a mountain might actually have, how many people in the world ever received one as a gift? Simply becoming one of those rare few brought its own satisfaction. That alone made it good. He was simply curious why she had given him something so extravagant.
“But why did you give it to me?”
“You said it yourself when you went to the mountain before. ‘If all the grass here were mine, I could eat my fill and still live comfortably.’”
“…Ah.”
Now that she mentioned it, he vaguely remembered blurting out such nonsense. He had heard from his parents that the mountain grew medicinal herbs and rather valuable trees, so those words must have stemmed from that knowledge. Still, to think of handing over an entire mountain… Truly, this was what people meant by being on a different level.
Come to think of it, aren’t mountains supposed to belong to the country?
Edgar still knew very little about the laws and customs of this world. Whether the mountain was imperial state land or private property originally owned by the Robeheim family—he had no idea. One thing was certain: it did not belong to the Bilhark family. If it had, Ariel could never have given it to him as a gift.
I don’t know.
Well, what did it matter? It was his now, anyway. If he grew up with nothing better to do, building a house on that mountain and living there didn’t sound like a bad life. He had once admired those so-called naturalists who lived in the mountains.
“Anyway, thank you. I didn’t even thank you properly last time.”
“Hmph. If you’re grateful, then treat me well! I’ll be watching from now on!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Though he sometimes missed the fragile grand duchess he had glimpsed three days ago, this version of her suited her far better. She could be pouty without being truly hateful, her reactions to pranks were always refreshing, and she occasionally showed a pure, innocent side. He had once thought of her only as a child he needed to protect, but now she had long since become a true friend to Edgar.
“But it’s your birthday, Edgar. Why isn’t anyone else coming to congratulate you?”
“The adults must be busy.”
“That’s not true… On my birthdays, the adults always come over to congratulate me.”
Well, that’s because you… There were many things he wanted to say, but Edgar swallowed them with effort.
“They must not have been busy back then.”
“Is that so?”
Fortunately, the innocent purity of a ten-year-old still remained, so he could placate her at this level. In another four years or so, it would probably become impossible to steer her attention so easily.
I’m curious how it’ll turn out.
That day felt both something to look forward to and, at the same time, a little frightening. He couldn’t imagine how wildly this already willful young lady would run amok once she grew up. He could only hope she wouldn’t become a completely unbridled horse.
“Edgar, do you know how many days we’re staying this time?”
“I don’t. Are we staying long?”
“Yep! Mom said we can stay for a whole week!”
Whoa.
Was this good news or bad? Being able to play with Ariel every day for a week without getting bored was certainly good for him. However, Ariel staying here also meant Helena would be staying as well. In other words, for the next seven days, his mother Katria would have to keep Helena company.
Lady Helena is a good person, but that’s beside the point.
Whenever an esteemed guest visited the house, everyone naturally stiffened up. Regardless of the person’s character or whether their personality was terrible. From that perspective, the coming week would be a triumph for him and Ariel, but closer to a disaster for Ransel and Katria.
“How about it? Nice, right?”
“It is. I get bored when I’m home alone too.”
“Hehe, actually I learned some more magic because I wanted to show you!”
At Ariel’s bombshell, Edgar’s eyes widened. She had learned new magic in just three days? No matter how frightening her talent was, this seemed excessive. The magic she had shown before had already surprised him when he later looked it up in books—it was quite advanced. It wasn’t high-level magic, but he had heard it wasn’t something a ten-year-old could easily manifest. Of course, the very premise of a ten-year-old manifesting magic was already absurd, but since his opponent was so far beyond the norm, he set that aside.
“I’m looking forward to it. You have to show me later.”
“Don’t worry. I can show you today too?”
Even after the party ended, it would be the middle of the night and he would be exhausted. Just where was she planning to drag him off to? She really was a lively grand duchess.
“No, you don’t have to go that far…”
Edgar tried to continue, but he shut his mouth at the sharp glint in Ariel’s eyes. Fine. If she insisted, he would comply. He didn’t sleep much at night anyway, so staying up to play wasn’t difficult. The only problem would be if Lady Helena caught them. She was rather conservative about such things.
“Then it’s decided?”
“Alright. So stop getting angry.”
“Hmph! Idiot, dummy, Edgar.”
“Edgar isn’t an insult, though.”
How had his name ended up in her mental dictionary as a synonym for idiot and dummy? For that matter, were there even worse insults a child’s brain could come up with? If anything, the proper noun “Edgar” had become the strongest curse word in her mind. It was a moment that made their ten years together feel meaningless. Well, eight years, to be exact.
As they exchanged such trivial banter, Edgar sensed someone approaching them. He set his empty plate on the table and turned around. There stood a boy slightly larger than himself, wearing a warm smile.
“Hello, Edgar.”
“Huh?”
Who was this? The boy had suddenly appeared and called his name with familiarity, causing Edgar to let out a dazed sound. He had a vague memory of seeing him somewhere, but couldn’t recall the name. Or even the family. Had they ever actually spoken before?
“Happy birthday.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
Since the boy was offering birthday congratulations, Edgar couldn’t very well ignore him. He nodded and expressed his thanks. The boy didn’t seem unpleasant. In fact, his gentle demeanor suggested he would grow into a handsome, manly young man.
“Edgar, who is he?”
“Uh? Well…”
While Edgar was mentally appraising the boy’s appearance, Ariel suddenly interjected in a sharp tone, asking for the stranger’s identity. Edgar himself wanted to ask the same thing. At the very least, the boy could have introduced himself. As Edgar hesitated, fumbling for words, Ariel’s voice grew even sharper. This time, her words were directed not at Edgar, but at the boy standing opposite them.
“You. Who are you?”
“Me? I’m Edgar’s friend.”
“It looks like Edgar doesn’t know you. But you know him?”
As had been mentioned several times before, Ariel was exceptionally quick-witted. She could easily tell that the other party knew Edgar unilaterally and had approached him first. Moreover, even though he had introduced himself as Edgar’s friend, his gaze was fixed not on the birthday boy but on Ariel.
How dare he.
Ariel had been beautiful since she was very young. It wasn’t simply that her features were more defined than other children her age—her beauty was already well-formed. That was why, whenever she attended social gatherings with her parents, she often became the target of boys her age. Those children already possessed eyes capable of recognizing beauty. But what truly twisted Ariel’s mood right now was not that.
It was the fact that he was using her precious childhood friend as an excuse to speak to her. In other words, he was insulting her friend. Though she was still young, she had been thoroughly taught that insulting another’s honor was the gravest sin in their family. She also knew exactly what kind of severe punishment followed such an act.
“Go away. Edgar is going to play with me.”
“Huh? But I’m Edgar’s friend…”
“It makes me uncomfortable, so don’t call him Edgar. The only people allowed to call him Edgar—aside from Uncle and Auntie—are me and Mom.”
Uncle and Auntie clearly referred to Edgar’s parents. The boy’s attempt to linger without even properly introducing himself was so irritating that Ariel’s tone grew even more annoyed. Then she thought of a clever tactic. She didn’t particularly like using it, but nothing worked better in situations like this.
“Do you know who I am?”
“Y-you’re the young lady of the Grand Duchy…”
“Then you also know who my mother is?”
“Y-yes.”
How could he not? From the beginning, the boy had come here under strict orders from his mother to approach those two children and become as close to them as possible. He was well aware of Ariel’s status, who her mother was, and that she had come to the party together.
“Shall I go call my mother? Or do you want to disappear right now?”
“D-disappear…”
For all that, the boy was the second son of a rather prestigious family. Had anyone—not even a sibling or close acquaintance—ever told him to disappear? The shock was so great that his lips trembled, but our young grand duchess had not the slightest intention of showing mercy.
“I’ll ask one more time. Will you disappear right now? Or shall I call my mother?”
“I-I’m sorry!”
The sudden drop in pitch from the previously sharp, high voice seemed to signal that this was the final warning. The boy immediately ran off without looking back, straight into the arms of his mother who would protect him.
Once the unpleasant face had vanished, Ariel smiled with satisfaction as if the matter were settled, then turned to Edgar with her usual bright expression.
“Edgar, if you’re done eating, let’s go outside and play!”
“R-right.”
What did I just witness?
Faced with the scene that had unfolded in the blink of an eye, all Edgar could do was stare blankly and nod.