The Duchess Is Not Honest
The mountain behind the two children was famous for its rugged terrain, lacking any proper trails. While one might occasionally spot paths worn by animals if they searched carefully, wandering those routes carried the risk of encountering something unpleasant.
At least there won't be any ferocious beasts.
Having only visited once before, Edgar didn't know exactly what lived here. From what he'd heard about wild boars occasionally descending to ravage village crops, it seemed those at least made their home in these woods.
"Why did you want to come here, anyway?"
"Mother told me it's good to get close to nature when you're young. And isn't a mountain the best place for that?"
"......"
What an extraordinary train of thought. It wasn't wrong, per se, but most children around that age would picture open fields, flower gardens, or courtyards when thinking of connecting with nature. Even Helene, who had offered the advice, probably hadn't expected her daughter to immediately head for the mountains.
I'm sorry, Lady Helene. This is my fault for not stopping her.
If the other party had been someone who listened to reason, he would have tried talking her out of it. But Ariel was the most self-willed girl Edgar had ever met. The only thing he could do was try to keep her from doing anything even more dangerous.
"Ed! Look at this, isn't it amazing?"
"What is it?"
When Ariel proudly pulled up a handful of some plant, Edgar, who had been picking his nose with his pinky finger, replied in a grumpy tone. She seemed to have so many things she wanted to show off today. Still, the fact that he obediently responded to her calls made him realize just how used to this routine he'd become.
In truth, most of the things Ariel proudly presented were genuinely surprising even to his eyes.
"I read about it in a book. This is called ephel."
"What do you use it for?"
"The juice from the stem is applied directly to wounds. And they say the leaves are ground up and used as an ingredient for potions."
Quite knowledgeable. For a ten-year-old child, her information was remarkably detailed. Was this a fragment of the education passed down in the grand ducal family?
Edgar unconsciously let out a sound of admiration as he examined the cut surface of the stem.
"It really does have sap flowing out."
"You idiot, you didn't believe me!"
To think he'd respond like that after she'd gone out of her way to tell him. Ariel shot up from her spot, and a blood-red aura resembling her eyes rippled around her. Was this the Mana of Domination that was said to be inherited only by the grand ducal bloodline?
Edgar felt the hairs on his entire body stand on end. Never mind whether he was old enough for his body hair to have properly grown yet.
"A little?"
Though he knew the reaction that would follow would be somewhat terrifying, he had to speak the truth. This had been his personality even before coming to this world.
"Fine! I'm never telling you anything again! Hmph!"
Enraged by his honest words, Ariel abruptly turned her whole body away. As if expressing her anger, the ephel leaves she'd been holding crumbled into powder and scattered onto the ground.
I'm going to die if I mess this up.
A drop of cold sweat trickled down Edgar's back. The silver lining was that, despite appearances, her personality was quite simple, so she tended to cool down rather easily.
Let's look for an opportunity.
If he called her name in a friendly voice right now, she'd probably just snap back with a cold "What!" For the greater good, sometimes you had to hold your breath and wait. Edgar quietly stood up and followed behind her.
Rustle. Rustle. Glance. Rustle. Rustle.
"......"
"......"
The once relatively warm atmosphere between them had cooled in an instant, and conversation ceased entirely. Only the sounds of tree branches and growing grass brushing against their bodies filled the space.
Even then, Ariel would occasionally pause her steps for a moment, rolling her eyes to check on Edgar's condition.
How cute.
Of course Edgar had noticed. But he also knew that if he pointed it out by asking why she kept looking at him, it would become truly irreparable. So whenever she stopped, he would either turn his gaze away or swing the tree branch in his hand for no reason.
How many times had this repeated? Just as Ariel paused her steps once more, Edgar spotted something and called out to her.
"Huh? Ariel, wait a second."
"...What is it?"
The sullen reply slipped out reflexively. Realizing this was actually a chance to reconcile, Ariel belatedly regretted it, but the words were already out.
You idiot, Ariel!
She might be a lone general, but she was certainly no fool. If anything, she was quite wise compared to her peers. Even though Edgar had been at fault moments ago, she knew that this wasn't something worth sulking over for so long.
But at some point she'd become reluctant to reach out first, and after stubbornly holding her ground again and again, it had come to this.
What she needed to do now was clear. Since he'd called her first, she would turn around as casually as possible, ask why he'd called her, and once the conversation ended, bring up her own business.
Having visualized the scenario in her head, Ariel nodded in satisfaction. This was something she could definitely pull off. After all, she was the eldest daughter of the Robeheim family.
Good.
Having steeled her resolve, she turned around, only for something to touch her head.
Huh? What is it?
She widened her eyes to assess the situation and found Edgar standing there with his hand stretched toward her head. When she'd frozen stiff at his request to wait, he'd chuckled and said there was no need to tense up that much.
As he carefully withdrew his hand, Ariel felt a strange sensation on top of her head. It didn't feel like something had been placed there so much as a stick-like object had been inserted among her hair.
"Ah, there's no mirror so I can't check."
"Wh-what is it? It's not a spider, is it?"
While trying to deduce what had been put on her head, an image too horrible to even voice flashed through her mind, turning Ariel's face deathly pale. She could forgive most other insects, but she didn't just dislike spiders—she loathed them. If he'd jokingly placed such a monster on her prized black hair, she would respond with the best revenge she could muster.
"Do you think I'm crazy enough to put a spider on your head? It's a flower. A flower."
"A flower...?"
A flower all of a sudden? The puzzled Ariel carefully reached up to her head, and sure enough, she felt something soft and delicate like flower petals. She knew Edgar wasn't a bad friend, but he wasn't the type of boy to do something like this either. What on earth had possessed him to do something so sweet?
"You know, that flower you said was pretty before. What was it called... I don't remember the name, but it was red and long."
"Ah."
Amaryllis. Ariel recited the flower's name silently in her mind. When they'd climbed the mountain together before, they'd found amaryllis blooming bright red. Since it was her favorite flower, she'd mentioned it with delight, but she never imagined he'd remembered.
"See over there? That's the one on top of your head right now."
Following Edgar's hand, she looked over and saw red amaryllis blooming beside a rock. Why had he suddenly given this to her? When Ariel turned to stare at him intently, Edgar cleared his throat awkwardly and averted his gaze as he mumbled.
"I was wrong earlier. So... let's stop being mad."
Only then did Ariel understand. This amaryllis was his token of apology. Whether it was bad luck or good fortune, the timing of their attempts to apologize had perfectly overlapped.
Humans are strange creatures; when someone does exactly what you were about to do, you tend to freeze up. Especially when it's something you'd agonized over.
Say it already, Ariel Robeheim! What are you doing!
I'm sorry too. It wasn't something to get that angry about. That's all she needed to say, so why wouldn't her mouth open?
As she cursed her lips, which seemed glued shut, she suddenly reflected on her memories. Come to think of it, she realized she'd rarely ever told him she was sorry. Was that why it was so difficult to try something she'd never done before?
If she'd known this would happen, she should have practiced apologizing sooner. As she reflected on her own faults, her emotions surged and tears threatened to spill.
No. That's exactly why I have to do it.
Her mother, whom she respected more than anyone, had once told her: People can make mistakes, but recognizing that fact and correcting it afterward is the right thing to do.
Yes. This moment was when she would clear away all the karma she'd accumulated until now. Even for a mere ten-year-old child, apologizing came with such complicated thoughts and high barriers.
"E-Ed!"
"Yeah?"
That's it. Rather than saying sorry directly, maybe she could say it in a different way.
I want to apologize too.
Yes, that seemed like something she could manage to say. Having clenched her fists and steeled herself, Ariel finally opened her mouth.
"I-I also ap...!"
"Ap?"
"Ap......"
Was this some kind of word chain game? When Edgar tilted his head with a puzzled expression, Ariel's face turned as red as a tomato. And then—
"I'll accept it as an apology, you dummy!"
The immature young lady immediately turned her earlier resolve into nothing but bubbles and instead shouted in anger.
Though Edgar was left dumbfounded, it seemed she was accepting his apology anyway, so he decided to consider it a relief.
"Ah, yeah... so you're forgiving me, right?"
"Y-yeah."
"Then that's that."
That's that?! Ariel wanted to scream, but the ship had not only sailed but sunk to the deepest depths of the sea. She turned her body away again like before and hung her head low. Though her ears burned with heat, she pretended not to notice.
This is all that idiot Ed's fault. He suddenly gave me a flower like this, so of course I got surprised.
Shouting her defense that no one could hear inside her mind, the two of them continued walking deeper into the mountain.