An Unexpected Proposal (2)
Bringing this spoiled grand duchess into town might have been the biggest miscalculation he had made all year. The sudden wave of regret churned inside Edgar’s chest.
“Ed, look at that. It looks like some kind of cloud? Can you eat that too?”
“That’s probably cotton candy……”
“Whoa! Did you see it jumping in place just now? What if it makes a mistake? That’s amazing.”
To be certain, he hadn’t seen her chatter away like this since roughly two years ago. And the barrage had been nonstop since they arrived at the workshop. She would ask a question, and Edgar would answer. Or rather, the moment he tried to answer, the next question would come flying at him. Trapped in this endless loop, Edgar was experiencing an unprecedented level of exhaustion.
She wasn’t some country bumpkin, yet she cheered at everything she saw. At this point, his ears were starting to hurt. Had she really never seen any of this before?
Of course, since it was a cold region, it couldn’t compare to the imperial capital, but Hespania was still a place where one could enjoy most of the empire’s notable foods and sights.
“It feels so good to come outside after so long. I guess people really do need to get out and move around.”
When she stretched with a bright expression and scanned her surroundings, a phrase that caught his attention slipped from her lips. Edgar’s brow furrowed slightly.
“…After so long? You haven’t left the castle recently?”
“Yeah. I think it’s been about three weeks?”
“What? Three weeks?”
Insane. Was that even possible? At her casual tone, Edgar’s eyes widened. Three weeks might not sound long, but even in a massive castle, staying cooped up in one familiar place for three whole weeks was ridiculous. Of course, as the grand duke’s heir, she had duties even at a young age, but even taking that into account, three weeks was enough to make him shake his head.
“What have you been doing all that time?”
“I received some necessary education… and there were plenty of other things to do.”
“That must have been tough on you.”
“I’ve gotten used to it now. It’s still hard sometimes, though.”
Was that the kind of thing one could simply get used to? The small complaint she added at the end seemed to reveal her true feelings. Edgar let out a quiet sigh and walked toward the stall selling the cotton candy Ariel had pointed at earlier.
It wasn’t the cotton candy machine he remembered; this one seemed to make it in a slightly different way, but the appearance was similar enough.
“How much for one?”
“You’re buying it? You don’t even like stuff like this.”
“Just wait. I’ll handle it.”
He ignored her jab and paid for one cotton candy. The stall owner then began creating it with dazzling hand movements.
“Whoa…! Ed, did you see that? It’s so fascinating.”
Is she pure-hearted or just an idiot?
Without a word, Edgar pressed down firmly on Ariel’s head. Not a gentle pat, but a deep push that left her flustered.
“You idiot…! Why are you pressing on someone else’s head… Hey, let go!”
She needed to watch the cotton candy puff up, yet he was interrupting this rare sight. What a completely useless childhood friend.
Ariel struggled fiercely, but in terms of raw strength, Edgar was at least two steps ahead, so she couldn’t easily shake him off. Only after the cotton candy was finished and skewered did he finally release her.
When Ariel lifted her head, both her cheeks were puffed out in indignation.
“Hmph! I just wanted to see it and you wouldn’t let me!?”
Edgar dodged this way and that as she swung her arms at him. When she finally cornered him, he looked at her panting figure with pity and held out the fluffy cotton candy.
“Sweet things are best when you’re tired. Here, eat this.”
“…? Weren’t you buying it for yourself?”
“Have you ever seen me eat sweets?”
He wouldn’t refuse something offered to him, but he wasn’t the type to seek out sweets. Ariel knew that well, which was why she had said what she did.
She stared blankly at the offered skewer until Edgar complained that his arm was getting tired and urged her to take it. She carefully accepted it, let out a strange “Ehehe” laugh, and took a big bite of the cloud-like cotton candy.
“How does it taste?”
“Mmm… It’s just a mix of sugar and fruit? It’s kind of unique. Want some?”
“No thanks. Besides, it’s not really something you share.”
Anyone who had eaten cotton candy knew that taking a bite left a clear mark where your mouth had been. In other words, it wasn’t food you casually shared with others unless you were lovers.
Ariel realized this belatedly. She noticed the distinct bite mark on the cotton candy, closed her mouth tightly, then hung her head and muttered in a trembling voice, “Y-yeah… I guess so.”
“Aren’t you cold? You’ve always been sensitive to the cold.”
“This much is fine. Hespania is much colder.”
“Ah, right.”
Even if someone had a weak constitution against the cold, living in a frigid region for a long time probably built up some tolerance. Since Ardenum was still in spring, the weather was mild enough to endure. He had brought a coat to lend her in case she got cold, but it seemed that worry had been unnecessary.
“Shall we go, then? There’s still a lot left to see.”
“Ah, um… Yeah, let’s.”
When he stepped forward from where he had been leaning against the wall, Ariel, who had finished off the cotton candy cleanly, followed behind him. His long coat kept catching her eye, but she tried hard to ignore it.
“Do you want to go watch that performance from earlier? Or is there something else you’d like to see?”
“The performance… You mean those acrobats?”
“Yeah. They’re pretty well-known around here.”
Edgar hadn’t seen them often, but he had heard that a troupe visited the area frequently. Those people from earlier were probably part of that group. It didn’t cost anything and there was no line, so it would be perfect for killing time.
“If you want to see it… I don’t mind watching it with you?”
He had expected her to accept his suggestion right away, but when she unexpectedly tried to play hard to get, a mischievous glint appeared in Edgar’s eyes.
He grinned. With a sinister smile, he shrugged as if he had her right where he wanted her and made an exaggerated gesture.
“Really? If you’re not interested, that’s fine… There are plenty of other things. Shall we go somewhere else?”
Edgar clicked his tongue as if truly disappointed and turned his gaze elsewhere. Ariel’s pupils shook violently; she hadn’t caught on to his quick, natural acting.
“N-no! I’m fine watching it together……”
“I can’t trouble a friend who came all this way. Let’s just go somewhere else.”
She wanted to protest and ask since when he had started caring about such etiquette, but Edgar held all the cards right now. If she handled this poorly, she might miss the fascinating performance she had just seen. Ariel decided to swallow her pride.
It was ridiculous that the proud eldest daughter of the Robeheim family would bow her head over mere entertainment like this, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
Besides, when have I ever cared about that in front of this guy?
After all, he was the man who knew every side of her, for better or worse. If she kept playing hard to get, she might never get what she wanted. This was a strategic retreat for the sake of advancing. It was better to be honest now.
“U-um… Can we just go see it?”
“Why?”
“Hmph……”
He already knew everything but was pretending not to. She didn’t have the courage to say “Because I want to see it,” so Ariel could only mumble without forming proper words.
Edgar watched her for a moment, then smirked and lifted one corner of his mouth. He nodded as if he had given in.
“Alright. Let’s go, let’s go. Before the precious grand duchess starts crying.”
“I-I’m not a child! There’s no way I’d cry over something like this!”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it, so let’s just hurry and go watch. By the way, should I buy you another cotton candy?”
“You jerk!”
At the end, he was treating her like a child so blatantly that her patience finally reached its limit. Thwack!
At the same time, Ariel’s right foot swung fiercely and struck his shin. It was a splendid kick that would have sent most men crumpling to the ground, but unfortunately, her opponent was the wrong one.
“Ouch……!”
“You’re the one who kicked me, so why are you the one saying it hurts? Hey, are you okay?”
“You idiot…! All that height and nothing but muscle……”
His leg was so solid that her foot, which had delivered the blow, hurt even more. She had heard that he didn’t just swing a wooden sword but did quite varied basic physical training, but she never imagined it would be this bad.
With sharp pain shooting from the tip of her foot, tears welled up in her eyes as she sank onto a bench beside the stall. Edgar had no choice but to approach and kneel on one knee on the ground across from her.
“W-what are you doing, making it so awkward, you idiot.”
“Never mind that. Just give me your foot. If you broke a bone, it’d be a big problem.”
“Hmph, you caused this and now you’re pretending to take care of me……”
Still, the fact that she obediently removed her shoe and extended her foot showed her personality well. Edgar placed her foot on his thigh and examined it from various angles. Fortunately, it didn’t look swollen. It seemed the pain had simply been intense for a moment.
“Can you walk?”
“I have to walk… There’s no other choice.”
By now the pain had faded considerably and was barely noticeable. When she put her shoe back on and stood up, an unexpected remark from Edgar reached her ears.
“I was going to carry you if it hurt. Good thing you’re alright.”
“…Huh?”
He was really going to give her a piggyback ride?
“Let’s go for now. Sorry for making you suffer. I’ll buy you something.”
“Hey, hey…! More importantly, what you just said… W-wait for me!”
The mood-killing man had already started walking ahead, abandoning any sense of escorting her. Ariel called out belatedly, but he was already out of reach. If he was going to say something like that, he should have just done it!
She could have pretended to be in more pain and gotten everything she wanted, but she had misjudged the situation.
Not that I was hoping for it or anything.
She had no desire to be carried by an idiot like him. She had experienced it a few times when they were younger, but now it would only be embarrassing with people watching and make her unnecessarily self-conscious.
Yes. She had simply found walking bothersome. And she had simply wanted to get back at the guy who had come all this way only to treat her so poorly.
Whatever the reason, missing that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity left her with lingering regret. He really was an idiot who always fell just one word short. That was exactly why she disliked him.
Idiot. Moron. Ed. Just wait until the next chance came around.