An Unforeseen Kiss
About two years had passed since the unexpected accident. Though it might not have been enough time to completely erase all the misunderstandings and sorrows that had built up between family members, it had been sufficient for them to shift their perspectives toward one another and gradually return to their rightful places. They shared updates over breakfast and gathered afterward for a quiet cup of tea together. It was an ordinary sight one might see in any household, yet to the Robeheim family, even this everyday moment felt refreshingly precious.
“Did you hear what Edgar said yesterday? Even Father would agree it was too much, wouldn’t he?”
While they sat around sipping tea and chatting as usual, Ariel’s complaint slipped out. Since most of her grievances revolved around one particular person, the Robeheim couple had grown quite accustomed to the scene.
“Haha, is that so? Shall I summon him and give him a proper scolding?”
“That’s not what I want at all. He can’t even move if I say just one word, anyway.”
When Yulken offered to discipline the boy, Ariel quickly tried to dissuade him, startled. Watching from the side, a gentle smile curved Helene’s lips. The idea that the boy couldn’t budge at her daughter’s single word was an adorable lie. She could think of dozens of scenes that contradicted it, but for today, she chose to keep her mouth shut and let her daughter’s pride stand.
“Hm? Now that I think about it, quite some time has passed. You mentioned having plans, didn’t you?”
“Ah, yes… though it’s not really a formal appointment.”
Recently, Ariel had been learning swordsmanship and other martial arts from Edgar whenever she had free time. There were certainly better instructors available, but Edgar was the most comfortable one to receive lessons from. Besides, there were some worthwhile gains from it, so it wasn’t all bad.
“You’ve been working hard lately, my dear. Thanks to Edgar’s good teaching?”
“What good teaching? That idiot barely teaches anything. I’m just putting in effort because I’m making progress.”
She had resolved to be more honest with her own feelings, but in front of others, sharp words still slipped out easily. Meanwhile, Helene, who had been observing with a keen gaze, spoke again in a casual tone. She had been lenient lately, thinking her daughter was finally being straightforward, but if this was how things were going, she had her own plans.
“Oh, really? Then how about learning from a new teacher this time, my daughter?”
“A… a new teacher?”
“Yes. I hear Creed has quite a bit of free time these days. Since you’re already acquainted with him, it should be comfortable to learn from him as well. What do you think?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected trap, Ariel blinked. Creed did indeed fit Ariel’s conditions quite well. They had known each other for a long time, so there would be no awkwardness, and as a former knight commander, his skill was beyond question. Moreover, he was the very person who had taught Edgar, the one currently instructing her. In other words, he was the higher-level teacher who had trained her current instructor.
“How about it? If you want, Mother can give Creed a heads-up.”
“W-well, that is…”
Just as Ariel found herself cornered with no way forward or back, a savior-like voice echoed softly through the room.
Knock knock.
— It’s Edgar. May I come in?
“Come in.”
The very person they had been discussing had arrived in person. Yulken smiled with an intrigued expression and munched on his favorite savory biscuit.
“I’m sorry. Ariel never showed up, so I came to check.”
“There’s no need to apologize. We kept her because we had something to discuss. I’m sorry about that.”
Now nearing eighteen, Edgar’s speech had gradually matured, and his voice had taken on the tone of a proper adult. Helene preferred his old, friendly manner, but this composed way of speaking wasn’t bad either, so she offered no further comment.
“Won’t you sit down?”
“Ah, I appreciate the consideration, but I need to match Ariel’s schedule, so I’m afraid I can’t.”
“Then there’s no helping it.”
Yulken clicked his tongue regretfully. Though his daughter was so precious he wouldn’t mind keeping her in his sight at all times, he had secretly wished for a son as well, and conversing with Edgar had always been quite enjoyable. However, as a father, he couldn’t ruin his daughter’s plans, so he nodded lightly and urged Ariel to go.
Ariel rose carefully from her seat and headed toward the door.
“Then I’ll be off.”
“Alright. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Yes, Mother.”
When she had first used that title, she had shuddered at the awkwardness, but now it felt fairly natural. She couldn’t keep calling her “Mom” like a little child forever, so starting from her seventeenth birthday, she had made up her mind and begun using it. After bidding farewell to her parents, Ariel left the reception room with Edgar. Still in her casual clothes, she needed to return to her room first to change.
* * * * * * *
These days, this place was likely one of the locations Ariel visited most often—the training grounds within the castle. Edgar always preferred training in the backyard, claiming he liked moving while feeling the breeze, but Ariel had chosen this spot because she didn’t want others to see her in an unsightly state. There was another reason as well, though only a small one.
“No, there’s still too much unnecessary movement. Swing it like this.”
Edgar’s instructions were remarkably easy to understand and concise. It was partly because his own teacher was exceptionally skilled, but fundamentally, he was good at tailoring his teaching to the learner’s level. When he demonstrated the stance with exaggerated emphasis on his legs and arms, Ariel followed along, tilting her head.
“Like this?”
“No, it’s a bit different.”
Though her posture was quite structured, it wasn’t quite what Edgar wanted. Establishing a clean stance without excess from the beginning made it easier to flow into the next movement during actual combat. He knew this well because Creed had built his own foundation the same way.
“I don’t really get it… Can’t you show me directly?”
“Ah, um… Alright.”
Recently, Edgar had developed a problem. Ariel’s attitude toward learning was sincere and diligent, which was good, but whenever he taught her something, she would deliberately get it slightly wrong and then ask him to correct her posture. If asked what was wrong with that, the answer was that correcting her posture inevitably required physical contact. Edgar was a grown man now, and he couldn’t ignore the awareness that came with such situations. Yet refusing to teach her directly felt wrong when the usually sharp-tongued young lady was following along so obediently—it would be awkward to reject her for personal reasons. He was truly caught in an impossible dilemma.
“What about the legs?”
“Ah, er… like this…?”
“Idiot, how am I supposed to know what to do from that? Show me properly.”
“……”
Even so, wasn’t the legs a bit risky? And not just any part of the legs—he had pointed to the middle of the thigh, where it descended from the waist. Of course, it was covered by pants, so it wasn’t bare skin, but even between close friends, there should be lines that weren’t crossed.
‘Was I always this conservative?’
No, Edgar could say with certainty that wasn’t the case. In this situation, it was Ariel who had become strangely open-minded. In the past, she would have screamed if he so much as placed a hand on her head by mistake. Something must have changed in her heart. But right now, speculating about her feelings wasn’t important. He had come here to oversee Ariel’s training, so he needed to act accordingly.
“For now, you need to position it like this. How’s that? Do you feel the muscle tightening a bit?”
“Uh, yeah. It feels like something’s pulling from the inside.”
“That’s right. This way, when you move into the next action, you’ll have more spring and it’ll look cleaner.”
Finally, steeling himself, he grabbed her thigh and adjusted her posture. Even to Edgar’s eyes, it looked like a proper stance now.
“That’s enough for now. Let’s rest a bit. You’re covered in sweat.”
After starting with basic drills, moving on to light sparring with restrained strength, and finally reviewing what they had practiced, Edgar flopped down onto the training ground floor.
“Yeah. Ah, the water is…”
“I brought some. Just a moment.”
Ariel seemed quite tired as well and had sat down on the floor, so Edgar reluctantly got up and fetched a small bag. Inside were a water flask, emergency medicine, and spare clothes in case something tore.
“Why are you lying down? Trying to sleep?”
“I wasn’t planning to, but I’m a bit tired. I had a drink with Sir Creed yesterday.”
“You’re such an idiot. And yet you still got up so early this morning?”
Ariel had woken up relatively early today, but Edgar had risen even earlier to meet her—practically right after dawn.
‘If you’re tired, you should sleep more before coming out.’
Ariel looked at her childhood friend, now lying on the floor with his eyes closed, with a sympathetic gaze. It was good that he was accommodating her schedule, but she worried he might be overdoing it.
“Ed, are you asleep?”
“……”
His breathing had grown shallow, so Ariel called out just in case, but it seemed he had fallen asleep in that short time. She glanced around the empty training grounds, then slowly crawled toward him while still seated.
‘He must have been really sleepy.’
Today was the day her friend Sylvia was visiting, so she couldn’t afford to waste too much time. But waking him when he was sleeping so soundly made her feel guilty. At the same time, she wanted to keep watching his sleeping face a little longer.
‘Somehow, it’s annoying.’
Ariel pouted as she looked at him breathing softly. Whenever he was near, she felt strangely tense and could barely act normally, let alone sleep—yet he probably had no idea that her heart had nearly burst when she acted so boldly earlier. Ariel brought her face close to his sleeping one. Not too far, not too close—just the right ambiguous distance. She desperately wanted to get back at him while he was defenseless, but since he wouldn’t know anyway, even revenge wouldn’t count.
Swish. Poke.
At that moment, Ariel’s sweat-dampened hair brushed against Edgar’s face. Because it happened to land near his eye, a sensitive area, Edgar frowned and rubbed his eyes before sitting up. Startled, Ariel tried to pull her face away quickly, but her reaction was a moment too late.
Soon after—
“W-wait… ngh!?”
Her sharp cry echoed through the training grounds as their lips met. And for a brief moment, everything around them came to a halt.