A Childhood Friend's Little Habit
After finishing their dance, the two exchanged polite bows toward each other and immediately burst into laughter. It seemed formal occasions like this simply didn’t suit them. Still, there was something refreshing about it. Even though they were childhood friends, seeing each other in such a refined light was a rare sight.
“Not bad at all. I was surprised—you dance better than I expected.”
“Of course. Do you have any idea how much I suffered learning it because of you?”
At the mention that it was for her sake, Ariel felt a strange tightness in her chest. In truth, she had never heard that Edgar had learned to dance separately. Not until they arrived at the ball. But after it was decided that he would accompany her to the debutante ball, she later learned he had asked her own dance instructor for private lessons.
Honestly, she hadn’t expected that much from him. The fact that he had taken the initiative and put in so much effort filled her with genuine gratitude.
“Since I’m feeling thankful this time, I’ll specially allow you to go talk to those girls from earlier.”
“Allow me? Oh dear, how gracious of you.”
“I told you to stop being sarcastic, didn’t I? Honestly—”
When Ariel raised her fist in a threatening gesture, Edgar made an exaggerated show of fear and quickly ducked behind a pillar. His acting was truly over-the-top. Ariel let out a helpless chuckle and waved him over, as if to say hurry up and get over here.
She didn’t want to drag this out. It would be better for her peace of mind to finish this quickly and move on to the next item on their agenda.
“Where did you say they were?”
“They were right behind you… so they should be over there.”
Thankfully, the taller Edgar was able to peek over the crowd and quickly spot the two young women among the guests. Fortunately, one of them had a rare light purple hair color, making her easy to find. There weren’t many people around them either, so striking up a conversation didn’t seem too difficult.
As they weaved through the crowd and finally reached the pair, the two women seemed to sense someone approaching and turned around with curious expressions. Then they flinched, stepping back in surprise, and stared with their mouths agape as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
“You must be Lady Dwalrose and Lady Cernin, correct? I’m Edgar Bilhark—we met briefly earlier.”
“I’m Ariel Robeheim. I apologize for my rudeness back then.”
Edgar spoke smoothly, having already memorized their family names. Ariel found this slightly displeasing, but she hid her feelings and offered her own greeting, which also included an apology for what had happened earlier.
The two women, stunned that the pair had approached them first, jerked their heads around to look at each other before quickly regaining their composure and returning the greeting in a fluster.
“Ah, y-yes…! Of course we remember. I’m Sally Dwalrose. We’re the ones who should apologize for intruding…”
“I’m Gria Cernin. I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier, but I feel terrible that you had to come to us instead.”
The girl with the bouncy short yellow hair who kept bowing her head was Sally. The one with the light purple hair that reached past her shoulders and a relatively calm demeanor was Gria.
Thanks to Ariel suddenly dragging Edgar away earlier, the four of them were only now properly introducing themselves and seeing each other’s faces for the first time. Since the area was a bit too noisy for a proper conversation, they decided to move somewhere else to talk.
Fortunately, while there weren’t many, the ballroom did have a few rooms prepared specifically for private conversations. The moment they sat down, an awkward silence fell over the group. Edgar gave an embarrassed smile, which caused the two girls sitting across from him to blush.
Thump.
At the same time, Ariel’s fist slammed into Edgar’s side. He looked at her with wronged eyes, wondering what he had done wrong, but when she shot him a sharp glare, he quickly turned his head away.
“U-um… are the two of you perhaps in a romantic relationship?”
“Given how Lady Robeheim reacted earlier… if it’s not too rude, may we ask?”
The two girls, who had been watching their brief squabble, finally voiced their curiosity. It was well known that the Robeheim family had only one heir, but they had never heard any rumors about her having a lover or fiancé. They had assumed the pair were romantically involved based on Ariel’s earlier reaction, but seeing them now, the atmosphere felt quite different.
Rather than the sweet air of lovers, it felt more like longtime friends of the opposite sex.
Edgar cleared his throat and gave them a straightforward answer.
“Ah, actually, we are not in a romantic relationship. However, while Ariel and I are friends in private, in public we share a relationship closer to that of master and subordinate.”
“Master and subordinate… Ah, that’s right—you mentioned you were the heir of the Bilhark family, didn’t you?”
When it came to families in a master-subordinate relationship, there weren’t actually that many. Naturally, the Bilhark family, which served the Robeheim Grand Duchy, was fairly well known, and both Sally and Gria were aware of this.
“Yes, that’s correct. That’s what Ariel meant earlier, but since there wasn’t a chance to explain, it seems we caused a misunderstanding.”
“So that’s why she said those things. We had no idea…”
Sally nodded in understanding. If that was the case, it wasn’t strange at all for her to speak that way even if they were friends. From Ariel’s perspective, Edgar was both a friend and something akin to a possession.
“What a very unique relationship. Did Lady Robeheim permit this?”
“You could say that. There’s no need to involve family status when it comes to spending time with a friend.”
“What a wonderful mindset…! I truly admire you.”
In response to Gria’s question, Ariel shamelessly claimed that she was the origin of this peculiar relationship. The reactions from Gria and Edgar were polar opposites.
Gria was moved by Ariel’s broad-mindedness—despite being the heir to a grand duchy, she didn’t care about family prestige and treated Edgar purely as a friend. Meanwhile, Edgar was stunned by the childhood friend who constantly bragged about how honorable it was to be the friend of the Robeheim young lady, all while spouting such blatant lies.
Regardless, Ariel continued leading the conversation with a bright, fabricated smile.
“You’re both fifteen? You both seem so mature that I thought you were older than us.”
“Then Lord Bilhark must be fifteen too. Wow…”
When the two revealed their ages and a few other personal details, the girls’ eyes widened in surprise. While Ariel’s makeup made her look a bit more mature, Edgar’s height and build made it impossible to believe he was only fifteen. For Gria, who had an older brother, it was even more surprising. Somehow, Edgar gave off a more mature aura than her own eighteen-year-old brother.
“Then… neither of you has a fiancé yet?”
“No, I’m not particularly interested in that sort of thing.”
At Sally’s words, Ariel’s dark eyebrows twitched for a moment, but she maintained a calm tone without showing it. It wasn’t that the question itself bothered her—it was because Sally’s eyes kept darting toward Edgar. Although she had addressed both of them and directed the question at Ariel, it was clear who she was actually interested in. Since she couldn’t openly flirt, she had asked in a subtle way.
“Do you have any plans after the ball ends today?”
“Not really. I’m not the type who enjoys wandering around much.”
When Sally asked again, Ariel responded this time in a rather firm tone. This question had probably been meant for someone else as well. But after realizing the nature of their relationship, she had redirected her aim. Even if they were simply friends in private, in official settings they were master and subordinate, so any future schedule would likely be decided by Ariel’s wishes.
“Lord Bilhark, do you have any separate plans? Since we’ve met like this, we’d like to introduce you to some other people we know and chat together.”
“Hmm… While I did come as her companion, I’m here in the capacity of Lady Ariel’s attendant. I don’t have the authority to set my own schedule.”
Edgar’s schedule was incredibly simple. If Ariel wanted to walk around, he would walk with her. If Ariel wanted to rest, he would rest too. That was all.
Gria looked at him with disappointed eyes, then turned her gaze toward Ariel with a subtle expression, as if asking whether she could spare Edgar some time later. Noticing this, Ariel raised her left hand and smoothly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
At that exact moment, Edgar, who had been watching from beside her, narrowed his eyes. It was as if something had caught his attention.
“Ed, once the ball is over, I’m going to rest. Why don’t you stay and talk with them a bit longer? It’s been a while—you should get to know more people.”
“Thank you, Lady Robeheim. I’m sorry for such a sudden request…”
“It’s fine. He’s practically useless anyway. I don’t need anyone beside me while I’m resting.”
Ariel smiled as if it were no big deal and gave Edgar a quick glance, as if asking, Is this good enough? He stared at her with a strange expression, then lifted one corner of his mouth and shook his head as if to say it wouldn’t do. He turned to Gria, who had made the suggestion, and spoke.
“I’m sorry, Lady Cernin, but I’ll have to decline meeting the others for now. Let’s save it for another time.”
“What? Ah, was my suggestion too sudden and rude…?”
Gria looked at him with eyes full of desperate longing, as if she might burst into tears at any moment. A small smile formed on Edgar’s lips at her pitiful expression. Seeing this, Ariel poked his side and scolded him.
“Why are you acting like this? You’re going to throw away such a good opportunity?”
Without answering her, Edgar simply smiled, then lowered his head and gently placed his hand on top of Ariel’s head.
“My master here gets very lonely. Even though she says this now, she’ll definitely sulk later, so I must ask for your understanding just for today.”
“W-what nonsense are you spouting in front of other people…!?”
Ariel waved her hands wildly in denial at her childhood friend’s sudden mention of her. Meanwhile, Gria, who had vaguely caught on from their behavior, quietly stood up with her friend.
“It seems we’ve intruded. We’ll take our leave for now and hope to see you again later. Please enjoy the rest of the ball.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Lady Cernin.”
When Edgar stood and gave a polite bow, Sally and Gria returned the gesture and left the room.
An awkward atmosphere settled between the two who remained. Eventually, unable to bear it any longer, Ariel spoke first.
“Why didn’t you go? I was fine with it.”
“Fine? As if. Do you think I don’t know you?”
“What are you talking about? Are you saying I was lying?”
At his blunt reply, Ariel shrank back slightly as if her conscience had been pricked and shot back. Soon, her red eyes met his golden ones in midair. Edgar let out a small chuckle and pointed at her left shoulder area.
“You swept your hair back earlier. Don’t you know that’s a habit you only do when you’re really upset?”
“I… I did that?”
“Yeah. You do it sometimes when you’re lying or in a bad mood. It’s not every single time, but whenever you sweep your hair back like that, it’s one of the two.”
Only a childhood friend would notice such a trivial habit. It was something even Ariel herself hadn’t been aware of.
“You idiot. You could’ve just pretended not to see it.”
Being so diligent about the strangest things. Ariel spoke in a sulky tone, but the corners of her lips kept twitching upward, unable to hide her joy. She was genuinely happy. The fact that he had been watching her so closely all this time. The fact that even though she had given him permission, he had still firmly stepped forward for her sake. The fact that he even knew she got lonely despite pretending otherwise. And—
“Anyway, it’s already over. Let’s go out and enjoy the ball. How often do I get to come to a place like this? I should make the most of it.”
—The fact that he reached out first to break the silence for her sake, knowing she didn’t know how to dispel such an awkward atmosphere. These were all things only someone who knew Ariel Robeheim better than anyone else could do.
In that case, she should respond in kind. So that this awkward air he had tried so hard to shatter wouldn’t linger any longer.
“…Pfft, you’re right. As a reward for your hard work, I’ll stay with you until you collapse from exhaustion today.”
“Oh, full of enthusiasm now. By the way, is there any food here? I’m actually pretty hungry.”
“They should have something prepared in the back. Just follow me.”
Ariel stood up and left the room first. This time, she didn’t ask him to escort her. For that, he would have to stand beside her, and if he did, he would definitely notice her current state.
Why won’t you listen to me? You bunch of idiots.
Ariel pressed her hands against her face, trying to force her disobedient facial muscles back into their usual indifferent expression. She needed to return to normal before they reached the food display. If that guy saw her grinning like this, who knew what kind of misunderstanding he would come up with.
This was simply because she was looking forward to what kind of dishes would be there to delight her palate. There was absolutely no other reason.