The Grand Duchess Thinks Differently
The two children who had become friends at their very first meeting were now old enough to toddle about, and the time it took for them to grow into children who could run and play together passed in the blink of an eye. Before they knew it, the pair had turned ten, and whenever they were together, they roamed without a hint of fear.
On the days when Ariel visited the Bilhark family estate while holding her mother Helene’s hand, Edgar’s feet and hands were kept endlessly busy. She was a tyrant. More precisely, she was closer to a spoiled brat. Whatever she wanted, she had to have in her grasp. Whatever she wanted to do, she had to do. In a sense, it was a personality befitting the next head of a grand ducal house.
Edgar had begun devoting himself to physical training from an early hour. It was a personal routine he had developed after turning ten. He had always been hopeless when it came to using his head, so he figured that as the next head of a baronial family, he should at least train his body in advance. In this world, powerful martial prowess was also recognized as a form of ability.
“Edgar! Let’s go to the mountain today!”
She had come without even sending word in advance. Considering the difference in their families’ standings, perhaps this was only natural. Edgar responded to the suddenly appearing Ariel with a sullen attitude, skipping any greeting.
“Again? We got scolded last time for sneaking off to the mountain.”
“It’s fine! This time we just won’t get caught!”
Ariel puffed out her still-flat chest and boldly declared her ambition. Edgar was certain. This was the least trustworthy statement he had ever heard in his life. Had this little grand duchess already forgotten what happened just last week?
“…Are you going to fall and cry again?”
“Who’s going to cry?! You idiot, Edgar!”
Who’s going to cry? You are. Although Ariel, as the eldest daughter of the Robeheim family, had been studying imperial studies and various other subjects from a young age, deep down she was the very picture of a delicate girl who would burst into tears at the slightest scrape.
“You really don’t remember? When you fell while climbing that hill and came crying to me… Ack!”
“Say one more word! I’ll really beat you up!”
“You’re already hitting me… Ow, okay! It hurts, so stop!”
Just where did such destructive power come from this frail girl’s hands? Getting smacked on the back made Edgar feel like a single tear might actually well up. Still, why on earth was she so obsessed with that mountain? Had she recently read an adventure novel that caught her interest?
‘Does a ten-year-old even read novels?’
He wasn’t sure. At least in his opinion, novels were something you picked up after entering puberty. It was questionable whether a ten-year-old would enjoy a book made entirely of text with no pictures. Perhaps she had found an illustrated storybook that depicted exploration in a vivid way. If the chance came, he would have to ask her to show it to him later.
“But how are you planning to sneak out? There are guards, you know.”
The previous mountain expedition had only been possible thanks to sheer luck. No matter how close they were as friends, her status was that of the sole young lady of the empire’s one and only grand ducal house. The guards always stayed by her side, hiding in the surroundings or trying not to draw her attention. Slipping past their eyes would be no small feat for a ten-year-old’s body.
Yet even as she listened to Edgar’s concern, Ariel wore a strangely confident expression. It was almost as if she had been waiting for that very question. Her shoulders were even a little more squared than usual.
“Good question! Let’s go inside first. I can only show you if we do.”
“Inside?”
She said they were going to the mountain, so why was she suggesting they go into the building? It was full of questions, but he had no choice but to follow. Whatever the case, spending time with Ariel at the age of ten was rather enjoyable. Of course, her occasional childish games sometimes made him wonder why he was doing this, but thanks to his young mental age, he usually found them fun too.
“Oh, right. Edgar, I brought you a present today. Did you know?”
“How could I? I didn’t even hear that you were coming.”
A present, though. What was this about? As mentioned earlier, she was a tyrant. She was used to receiving things, but rarely handed over anything she owned to someone else. No, correction. It was simply that she had never yielded anything to ‘Edgar’ before.
‘She’s not a bad kid.’
Ariel was especially quick to snap at Edgar. When they actually played, they ran around laughing like the best of friends, completely losing track of time. But the moment that passed, she would pout her lips and poke at him for no reason.
‘Kids’ hearts are impossible to understand.’
If they were even the same gender it might be different, but since they weren’t, it only deepened his confusion. Moreover, because of her past behavior, he couldn’t simply take her offer of a gift at face value. Maybe she had caught a caterpillar somewhere and was going to place it on his palm while calling it a present.
“Can I look forward to it?”
“Of course! Mom said you’d definitely be surprised!”
“Heh.”
Hearing that finally put his mind at ease. No matter how much of a tomboy the grand duchess was, a ten-year-old wouldn’t invoke her mother’s name for something bad.
‘If it’s Lady Helene, I can trust her.’
To Edgar, Helene was practically a saint. Thanks to her, he could speak casually with the young lady of a grand ducal house whose status was overwhelmingly higher than his own. She had always treated him and Ariel without discrimination, as if they were her own children. Because of that, Edgar’s faith in Helene was close to religious devotion.
‘I’m curious. What could the present be?’
His mental age had long passed the stage of getting excited over gifts, but since it was a present given directly by the daughter of a grand ducal house, curiosity stirred within him. Honestly, considering her family, it wouldn’t be surprising if she brought an entire mansion and said, “It’s a present!”
‘That’s a bit much.’
Whether she could or not, there was still a proper range for gifts that could be exchanged between two ten-year-olds, even if they were friends. It would probably be something modest. Lately he had taken an interest in reading, so it would be nice if she gave him an interesting book. In any case, he could only look forward to her sense of style.
The two of them continued chatting as they entered the building. Ariel walked through the main house of the Bilhark family with familiar steps, as if it were her own home. That was only natural; aside from her own residence, this mansion was probably the place she visited most often.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve never been to the Robeheim estate.’
From what he had heard in passing before, it was an enormous castle. He wondered if he would ever get the chance to visit someday. From his perspective, the Bilhark family mansion was already quite large, but he still wanted to see a massive castle like those in books at least once in his life.
“Hm? Where are you going?”
While he was lost in thought, Edgar spotted Ariel heading down the left corridor and widened his eyes. There were only a few places the two of them would go inside this mansion: the dining room at mealtime, Edgar’s room when playing, or the reception room when one of their parents called. Right now, it should have been playtime, yet Ariel’s steps were heading somewhere else.
“I’m going somewhere other than your room, Edgar.”
“Somewhere else?”
The more he heard, the less he understood. Still, since she was the boss of their little group, Edgar quietly followed behind her. If he complained now, there was no telling what kind of reaction he would get.
“Over there! Edgar, hurry up!”
“Ah, yeah.”
The place she pointed to was a small storage room tucked away in a corner of the first floor. It was a shabby space normally used by the servants to store unneeded items or miscellaneous junk. Even Edgar, who lived in this mansion, had rarely visited it.
Creak.
The wooden door opened with a characteristic screech, probably because it hadn’t been properly oiled lately. At the same time, a cloud of pale dust engulfed the two of them. It was so bad that it stung their eyes.
“Achoo!”
“Cough! Cough!”
Just how were they managing this place to let it get this bad? Even if they only dusted once a week, it shouldn’t have been this severe. Edgar immediately pulled out the handkerchief he always carried and offered it to Ariel.
“Cough…! Hurry and cover your nose and mouth with this.”
“What about you?”
“I’m fine.”
Ariel stared at the dark blue handkerchief for a moment, then shyly nodded and accepted it.
‘Why did she want to come to a place like this?’
Had she spotted something she needed here? Having been covered in dust before he could even breathe the mountain’s fresh air, Edgar idly poked through the piles of luggage in the storage room. At least in a place like this, they wouldn’t have to worry about the guards’ eyes.
“What are you trying to do?”
“I’ll show you right away, so wait a little.”
So she had prepared something after all. Ariel suddenly walked to the center of the storage room and crouched down. She rummaged through the small pouch attached to the chest of her top and pulled something out. When Edgar looked closely, he saw a mysterious powder piled softly on her small palm.
“I put it in here because they’d notice if I used a container. Pretty smart, right?”
Ariel looked up at Edgar with a triumphant face, clearly expecting praise. But since he had no idea what the substance even was, it was only an awkward question for him. He needed to know what it was before he could praise her.
“What is that?”
“It’s powder made by grinding up a mana stone. Have you never seen it before, Edgar?”
“No.”
He had no talent for magic to begin with. More precisely, the Bilhark family had a bloodline that could not handle magic across generations. Naturally, there were almost no books or items related to magic inside the mansion. At most, there were a few magic tools that ordinary people could use.
“Watch closely. Using this…”
Ariel half-closed her hand as if making a loose fist and began muttering something. Although Edgar was completely ignorant of magic, he could tell it was the incantation chanted before casting a spell. He had seen people use magic several times before.
‘She can already use magic?’
Even geniuses called the greatest mages of the age only awakened their mana around ten and could not cast spells until they were at least twelve. Just how much talent did the girl before him possess?
Without realizing it, goosebumps rose on both of Edgar’s arms.
Whirrr.
Before long, the light growing brighter in her hand floated into the air and shot toward the storage room wall. The moment it touched the surface, it expanded into a circle larger than both of their bodies. Beyond it, astonishingly, was a view of the outside of the mansion.
“It’s the first magic I learned. Cool, right?”
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to use this magic to sneak off to the mountain?”
“Yep.”
It was an answer of pure innocence, yet it was hard to believe the process had come from the mind of a ten-year-old. What kind of child would learn magic just to enjoy a day of mischief, then punch a hole in the wall to slip out?
‘Her way of thinking is completely different.’
Of course, it was only possible because she had that level of ability. Feeling utterly dumbfounded, Edgar gave up and jerked his chin toward the wall. He also picked up a small knife that had been lying in the corner of the storage room.
‘I can use this to clear away any branches while we go.’
Since it had come to this, it would be better to finish quickly and return. Seeing Edgar’s actions, a bright flower of a smile bloomed across Ariel’s face.