Making Up His Mind (1)
Just because he had made up his mind didn’t mean his worries disappeared. After all, the problems he still needed to solve were right in front of him.
Edgar, who had lain awake all night staring at the ceiling, left the mansion at first light, following his usual routine. The sword Helene had given him rested at his hip, and in his hand was a wooden practice blade that had already been replaced three times over.
When his mind was this crowded, the best remedy was to move his body. Normally he would have eaten a light breakfast and tried to catch up on sleep, but right now even a nap felt impossible.
“You’re a little late today.”
“What are you doing here?”
When Edgar arrived at their usual spot, an unexpected early guest was already waiting. Ariel had been leaning against a shabby wooden crate, and she stood up the moment she saw him.
“I just woke up early. I thought I’d come watch your magic practice while I was at it.”
“I appreciate it. To be honest, I was thinking about asking you yesterday, but the mood wasn’t right.”
Ariel smiled as if she had expected that answer and slowly walked over to his side. On the pinky finger of her left hand sat a mana catalyst ring, clearly worn to signal that she was ready to assist with high-level spells.
“Why? Does it look tempting?”
“Tempting? I couldn’t even use it if I tried.”
Edgar shrugged at her teasing tone and drew the sword from his waist. It might be called a catalyst, but he knew full well that the object was a dangerous artifact no ordinary person could handle. It drew out the user’s mana to its absolute limit, yet consumed a massive amount in return. Only someone like Ariel—born into the grand ducal bloodline with the vast Mana of Domination—could wield it safely.
“Isn’t that a bit much just to watch one training session?”
He knew the ring was meant for casting spells that would otherwise be too taxing for her. So he wondered why she had bothered wearing it simply to observe. Ariel shot back in a firm, almost scolding voice.
“I have something to show you too, so I killed two birds with one stone. I’m not an idiot, you know.”
“……”
There were plenty of things Edgar wanted to say, but since she wasn’t wrong about not being an idiot, he swallowed them. After all, who could call a girl who began using magic at ten and touched high-level spells by fourteen anything but a genius? People would probably praise her as an unparalleled prodigy.
Though in my eyes she’s still a silly young lady.
That side of her was charming in its own way. At least to Edgar, the slightly dense and clueless young noblewoman was far more appealing than the flawless genius the grand duchy had produced.
“Wh-what? Your eyes look weirdly annoying right now.”
“Do you really have to say everything that comes to mind to your friend?”
“Then don’t look at me like that!”
To stop her loud complaints from echoing across the morning air, Edgar covered both ears and stuck his tongue out. The provocation had worked perfectly when they were ten, but using it on her now that she was worked up only led to—
“Just wait till I catch you!”
“Please catch me first before you talk big.”
She charged like an angry boar. What began as a sudden midday chase always had the same winner. Ariel’s stamina wasn’t bad, but she could never keep up with Edgar, who trained every single day. Eventually she collapsed onto the wooden crate, panting heavily.
“How are you going to train if you wear yourself out before we even start?”
“Haa… haa… Go away. I don’t even have the strength to answer you right now…”
Maybe he had taken the morning teasing a bit too far. Thanks to that, he had done a proper warm-up, but it seemed he had exhausted his teacher before lessons even began. Edgar kindly opened the water canteen he had brought and handed it to her. When she looked up at him with a questioning gaze, he gestured for her to drink. She snatched it and gulped the water down as if she were dying of thirst.
“You’re tired too, so let’s rest a bit before training. There’s something I want to talk about.”
“What is it?”
“About yesterday.”
Only then did Ariel realize what he wanted to discuss. She let out a short sigh. She had told him to accept Helene’s proposal, but he had added that he still had things to think about, leaving her with a lingering anxiety. Is he going to refuse after all? Did he not like the offer? Leaving the family he had lived with his whole life and moving to a new place was no small decision.
Ariel had hoped he would choose to stay by her side even if it meant accepting those burdens, but the world rarely worked out so neatly. Besides, the proposal had come from her mother, Helene, not from her. At the end Helene had even added that she would respect whatever opinion he offered, so Ariel had no right to pressure him one way or the other.
“…You can just do whatever you want. Mom said she’d respect your choice.”
The excitement that had kept her up all night at the thought of possibly returning to Hespania together quickly sank. Her tone turned curt. For a girl who had spent her days shut away in the castle with no real friends, Edgar—the companion of her entire life—accepting Helene’s proposal had been an unprecedented piece of good news. She wasn’t the only one who had spent the night tossing and turning.
It was disappointing, but she had to understand. She was nodding to herself in acceptance when a puzzled voice reached her ears.
“What are you talking about? I said I’d go.”
“…Huh? Y-you’re coming? Then what you meant by ‘something to talk about’ was…”
“Even if I go, there are still problems waiting afterward. And I haven’t heard all the details yet, so I thought we should discuss them together.”
There was the matter of where he would live, and how their relationship would be perceived once they reached Hespania. Privately they were friends, but in public they were heirs of families bound by a master-servant relationship. Even with Helene’s permission, it would be difficult for him to treat Ariel casually in front of others. In noble society, where honor and proper etiquette were paramount, this was a more serious issue than it appeared.
“Even if I stay in your family’s estate, there will be plenty of problems. Not many people will look kindly on an outsider who suddenly showed up.”
Edgar had no idea how Helene planned to explain his situation to those around her, but it was unlikely that the powerful figures of the empire’s greatest house would welcome a nobody from an unremarkable family with no proven abilities. This wasn’t about territoriality or absurd customs—it was simply the fundamental distrust people felt toward someone who had yet to prove themselves.
“I can take care of that for you.”
“You idiot. It’s not that simple.”
Ariel had spoken lightly, but to Edgar it sounded like the naïve idealism of someone who had never faced such realities. If he was going to live inside the massive fence that was the Robeheim family, he needed at least one clear opportunity to prove his worth. Otherwise, even Helene and Ariel, who wanted to protect him, would face criticism. That was the worst outcome Edgar could imagine.
“So from my perspective… it would be better if we avoided contact for at least a few months.”
“Why? Do you really need to worry about what other people think?”
“It’s a difference of perspective. Of course it would be hard for you to understand.”
Explaining his situation to Ariel, who had never once cared about others’ opinions in her entire life, would only lead to the same argument on repeat. Still, in Edgar’s eyes this was the best compromise. He wasn’t asking for a long time. He only needed to endure until he could prove he was someone worthy of staying in the Robeheim household under Helene’s protection. It was about changing the order in which people perceived him.
If he clung to Ariel’s side and occupied the spot next to the grand duke’s heir before earning any recognition, people would sneer that an untalented brat was using connections to fuel his ambition. But if he first earned acknowledgment that he was at least qualified to hover near her, then the way they saw him would be far more favorable.
In the beginning, I just need to avoid standing out—whether in a good way or a bad one.
No matter how well a hawk hides its talons, they eventually show. Edgar might not have absolute confidence in his skills, but he knew objectively that they weren’t bad. This was simply a necessary checkpoint he would have had to pass eventually. Since he had already resolved to stay by Ariel’s side, proving himself to others was something he had long since prepared for. He had simply been lucky enough to receive Helene’s help in advancing that opportunity.
“Why are you going this far? If I just use my power, I could easily—”
“You call that talking?”
Of course, if he borrowed his friend’s help, he could ignore public perception and stay by her side. But that would be nothing more than an empty shell built on the influence of the grand duke’s heir rather than his own strength.
“A man has his pride. I’ll create the place where I belong.”
He rolled up his sleeves and grinned proudly. Ariel stared at him blankly for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“You’re such an idiot. There’s an easy road right there, yet you insist on taking the hard one?”
“I don’t need an easy road. I only need a path that will definitely lead me to my destination.”
Walking while holding her hand would be like strolling down a perfectly paved road wrapped in mist. The destination was unclear, and the only reason to walk it was that it was comfortable. The path Edgar wanted to take might be a rough mountain trail, but at least the peak was clearly visible ahead.
That was why he chose the latter. To keep the promise he had made the day he first met this girl, he needed to be able to stand by her side no matter what position he held.
“I’ll speak with Lady Helene today, so come and listen together.”
“Hmph. If you run away halfway because it gets hard, I won’t let you off easily.”
“You’re not secretly hoping I do, are you?”
With a playful tone, Edgar tossed the remark out and snatched the canteen Ariel had drunk from, taking a long swig. Watching him, her eyes filled with embarrassment and both cheeks flushed bright red like the sunset she had watched as a child.
“Ah, that’s refreshing. We ended up just talking the whole time… Hm? Are you feeling sick?”
“I-I’m not sick. I just don’t even want to look at you because you’re such an idiot.”
“Hey, even if you can’t respect your friend’s choice…”
In the end, the two of them finished their morning routine with nothing but idle chatter and no proper training. Only when the cool morning breeze no longer ruffled their hair did they return to the mansion. When Helene gently asked where the two of them had gone together, Ariel’s face turned scarlet. Without answering, she darted straight into her room.