The Passage of Four Years
The passage of four years changes many things. Majestic mountains, winding rivers, even the grand castles of the empire that once seemed eternal. People were no exception. If anything, it was because they were human that they felt time’s changes most sharply.
By the time Edgar’s height had caught up to the sunflowers blooming in the garden, many changes had come to him as well. First, he could now use magic. He wasn’t particularly skilled yet, but he could manage basic spells even without a sword in hand. On top of that, after nearly four years of relentless daily training, Edgar had developed a respectable amount of muscle. His body was still growing, so the muscles weren’t bulky, but they were well-defined for his age—something that had been filling him with quiet pride lately.
“You’re as diligent as ever, son.”
“Yes. Did you sleep well?”
Father and son exchanged greetings in the first-floor hallway early that morning before heading straight to the dining room. Edgar had forgotten to put away his wooden training sword, so he leaned it against the wall by the entrance and stepped inside. Catriona, who had arrived first, greeted him warmly.
“Good morning, son.”
“Good morning, Mother. How are you feeling?”
Edgar had been worried about his mother, who had recently suffered a severe cold. When he asked right away, her lips curved into a gentle smile.
“I’m feeling much better now. It must be thanks to the herbs you brought me.”
“That’s a relief. If I head up the mountain again, I’ll gather some more.”
Since turning thirteen the previous year, Edgar had begun visiting the mountains frequently. After studying herbalism in various books, he had decided to make use of the mountain his friend had gifted him. If he delved deeper into the subject, he might eventually be able to create potions or combine herbs to make new medicines, but that was still beyond him. Still, he had memorized which herbs helped with certain ailments, and it had proven useful in many ways since then.
“Oh, that’s right. Lady Helene will be visiting today.”
“Will Ariel be coming too?”
“Most likely, don’t you think?”
Edgar tilted his head slightly, as if something felt off. He had known his childhood friend for nearly thirteen years, but her behavior lately had been rather strange. In the past, she would have clung to her mother’s hand and visited the Bilhark estate at every opportunity. These days, however, she rarely showed herself, and sometimes Helene came alone.
When he had asked Helene if something was keeping Ariel busy, she had simply smiled and shaken her head, saying she couldn’t answer. Maybe she’s hit puberty? He had heard that girls experienced it earlier than boys, so it wasn’t surprising. He had even expected it to some degree this year. Still, the one thing he couldn’t understand was what puberty had to do with avoiding her friend.
Edgar had gone through puberty himself, but rather than distancing himself from his friends, he had grown closer to them while pulling away from his parents. He wondered if he had done something wrong, but nothing came to mind. Perhaps she was busy with family matters? Yet he hadn’t noticed any such signs.
I don’t know. It wasn’t as if he could know everything about someone else’s circumstances. He would simply have to let it go. Time would likely solve it on its own.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“You finished so quickly. I still have half my plate left.”
“I’ve always eaten fast, haven’t I?”
With his hearty appetite, Edgar routinely finished meals faster than his father, even though he didn’t eat any less. He rose from his seat first, then paused as he remembered something and turned back.
“Mother, if Ariel arrives, could you call for me? I’d like to rest my eyes for a bit in my room.”
“The boy who always says sleeping right after eating is bad is suddenly doing exactly that?”
“Even I have days like this sometimes.”
Edgar shrugged and turned away. Catriona chuckled softly at the sight of her son, who seemed to be growing more cunning with each passing day.
Meanwhile, Edgar left the dining room and headed straight to his bedroom, where he flopped onto the bed. Once Ariel arrived, the day would hardly be peaceful no matter what. He needed to stockpile some energy beforehand. An hour’s nap should be enough. It would be nice to have an alarm clock for times like these, but unfortunately such a thing didn’t exist in this world.
Maybe I should get a personal attendant after all.
It was the first thing his father, Ransel, had asked him at the start of the year—whether he needed a dedicated servant. At first Edgar had refused, finding it uncomfortable to have someone constantly by his side and not particularly enjoying giving orders. Lately, however, he was beginning to feel the need. Just like right now.
It’ll happen when the time is right.
There was no need to rush the decision. With that thought, he set his worries aside and slowly sank into sleep, his body growing heavier by the moment.
Clip-clop. Clip-clop.
The carriage carrying precious guests moved briskly toward its destination, wheels ringing out with energetic sound. Inside sat a mother and daughter with long black hair. Looking at them, one might mistake them for sisters with a modest age gap rather than mother and daughter.
Ariel, who had been staring absently out the window, let out a quiet sigh at the endlessly repeating scenery that had continued for hours.
“Every time I come here, I realize it again—Ardenum really is far. Don’t you think, Mother?”
“There’s nothing we can do about it. It’s quite a distance from the dimensional stones.”
Ardenum lay near the northeastern edge of the North. Dimensional stones that enabled teleportation existed in only four locations throughout the entire northern region, and even the closest one to Ardenum still required over four hours by carriage. For a daughter who had never been good at enduring boredom, it must have been quite the ordeal.
Helene smiled and stroked her daughter’s hair in understanding.
“I’m not a child anymore. You don’t have to pet me like that.”
“In your mother’s eyes, you’re still very much a child.”
“Mother, really…”
Despite her words, Ariel didn’t seem to mind at all. She leaned her back against Helene and relaxed into her.
Now fourteen, Ariel had become considerably more mature. It hadn’t been that long since the girl who once treated her mother like a friend had learned to use polite speech and begun exercising restraint in her every action. Sometimes Helene missed those earlier days, but as a mother she knew she should celebrate her child growing into an adult, so she endured it.
She still remembered how startled she had been the first time this child had said, “Did you sleep well?” The memory remained vivid.
“If it’s too much trouble, you could have stayed at the main house. I feel bad making you come because of me.”
“It’s not trouble at all. I simply wanted to have some quiet time alone with you for once, Mother.”
“Hehe, our daughter has become quite good with words.”
The child who once clung to her mother’s embrace and expressed affection so directly had now grown shy about such words. The way she spoke without quite meeting her eyes, trying not to show her feelings, was utterly adorable.
“By the way, what brings you to the Bilhark estate?”
“Mm, there’s something I need to tell them in person.”
“It must be something that can’t be conveyed by letter or messenger.”
“That’s right.”
Only then did Ariel seem satisfied. She turned her gaze back out the window. The scenery was exactly the same as before, yet the complaints she had voiced earlier were gone. Now she stared out as if lost in thought, perhaps picturing a certain face.
Watching her, Helene held her breath so her daughter wouldn’t hear and shook with silent laughter. Ariel seemed to believe she had become quite adult-like… and in truth she had, but one thing hadn’t changed. If anything, she had become even more obvious than when she was a ten-year-old child.
“Daughter, there’s something Mother would like to ask you.”
“What is it?”
What sort of question could this be? After all, her mother already knew everything about her. There was nothing to hide. Ariel’s shoulders tensed slightly, but Helene simply smiled and spoke.
“The real reason you’re going to the Bilhark estate today isn’t somewhere else, is it?”
“……?”
Blink. Blink.
Caught completely off guard by the sudden question, Ariel wore the dazed expression of someone who had been struck in the head two or three times with a blunt weapon. Soon, heat rose from below, engulfing her entire face. She could have sworn she heard something explode with a pop.
“W-what are you saying! Why would I have any business in that backwater place…!”
“Really? I heard from Shuri that you spent the morning doing your hair and makeup far more carefully than usual.”
“Shuri…!”
Shuri was the personal maid assigned to Ariel last year—the daughter of Shephy, who served as Helene’s exclusive maid. At the unexpected name, Ariel ground her teeth, unable to hide her fury. Why would that girl blurt out such useless information to her mother and put her in this predicament? She resolved to deliver appropriate punishment the moment they returned to the main house.
“Then it seems there really isn’t another reason.”
“O-of course not! Why would I want to see that idiot Edgar?!”
“Oh my.”
Helene’s voice sounded surprised, but the curve of her lips told a different story. It was a smile full of mischief, as if to say, Got you. Without a shred of mercy for her beloved daughter, she delivered the final blow.
“Daughter, Mother never once said the reason was Edgar…”
“Huh?”
A silence of roughly three seconds followed. Ariel raised both hands to frantically cover her bright red face, then shook her head vigorously as if she had no idea what was happening. That idiot Edgar was absolutely no help to her whatsoever. He couldn’t even send a single proper letter, forcing her to make the long journey herself. He really was an absolute fool, an idiot, that Edgar. Just wait until she saw him. She would plant her fist right in his face.