The Perils of Curiosity
Edgar never imagined just how dangerous a child's curiosity could become in the midst of an unexpected crisis. He regretted his mistake and hurried after Ariel.
“Ariel! I told you it's dangerous!”
“Hmph! If you're scared, Edgar, you can stay right there! I'll go look by myself and come back!”
That doesn't even make sense.
If anything happened to her, he wouldn't be able to face Helene. Even if a dangerous wild animal appeared, in the worst case he could get Ariel to safety first and then run away himself. There was still a chance. After all, his physical abilities were currently a step above hers.
“Besides, there's no way we'll even see any. Wolves and boars are nocturnal.”
“Then that means it's safe! So hurry up and follow me!”
She's insane. At this point, it went beyond positivity and straight into pure optimism. Having unintentionally said something that only encouraged her, Edgar bit his lip and quickened his pace as much as he could.
The silver lining was that even though the distance between them had grown, the difference in their walking speed meant he could catch up quickly.
At this rate, I have no idea how far we'll end up going.
Until just a little while ago, he could still recognize the path they'd taken, but as they moved deeper into the mountains, even that became difficult. Still, it was fortunate that the creatures she was so fixated on were nocturnal. The chances of encountering them in broad daylight were slim.
Eventually, even their hurried footsteps began to slow. No matter how hard she pushed herself, a ten-year-old girl simply didn't have the stamina to keep climbing a mountain. On top of that, she wasn't dressed for mountain hiking, which only made things worse.
Huff— huff—
Ariel sat perched on a cut tree stump, breathing heavily. It seemed she'd pushed herself to the limit, trying to act tough. Edgar was panting too, but not nearly as badly. His usual training was finally paying off.
Is there any water around?
After sweating so much while wandering the mountain, thirst naturally followed. Normally he would have brought a leather bag with a canteen, but today's plans had been decided so suddenly that he hadn't had time to prepare.
He strained his ears, hoping to hear the sound of flowing water nearby, but unfortunately, nothing came.
“Huh? Edgar, look over there!”
“What is it now?”
“There! Right there!”
While he was still trying to catch his breath, this reckless young lady pointed excitedly at something, her face lit up with joy. With clear annoyance in his voice, Edgar followed the direction of her finger.
There, hidden behind thick trees, was what looked like a cave.
“I've only ever seen caves in books! Let's go check it out!”
“Sigh… Fine. Let's go.”
There was no point trying to stop her. This stubborn young lady wouldn't listen anyway. Since it was right in front of them, they could rest comfortably inside for a while. With that thought, Edgar stood up and began walking at a leisurely pace.
“That's unusual. I thought you'd run ahead.”
“We came to play together. It'd be sad to leave you behind all by yourself, Edgar.”
“Ah… I see.”
Her consideration ran so deep he nearly teared up. Why hadn't she shown this kind of understanding and care before?
Maybe it's some advanced social strategy.
Perhaps she deliberately caused trouble first, then showed kindness so that even small gestures would feel twice as grateful. Anyone would call it ridiculous to suspect a ten-year-old of such schemes, but given who she was, it somehow seemed plausible.
I wonder if that's part of the Grand Duke's royal education.
Anyway, he should at least thank her for letting him rest for a bit.
Just as the cave came into full view, something cold suddenly plopped onto his head.
Bird droppings? Or maybe a leaf?
He reached up to check and found that the hair in that spot was damp.
No way.
Whoosh—
“You've got to be kidding me.”
“Hm? What did you say?”
“Nothing. Let's get out of the rain first.”
“Okay.”
Was it just a passing shower? The raindrops poured down in an instant, and the two of them dashed straight into the cave.
Plop. Plop.
Once inside, Edgar shook the moisture from his clothes. Thanks to the trees acting as a rain shield, his clothes weren't too wet.
That's a relief.
If his clothes had been soaked through, he wouldn't have been able to avoid hypothermia. The only worry now was not knowing when the rain would stop. They would have to wait for it to pass before returning to the mansion. If this wasn't just a passing shower but a downpour that lasted until night…
“E-Edgar.”
“What's wrong?”
Ariel's trembling voice cut through his grim thoughts. When Edgar turned to look, she was standing there hugging her arms, shivering violently.
“I'm… c-cold…”
“…!”
He'd thought he was fine since he hadn't gotten very wet, but apparently Ariel was in a different situation. Even though the weather here was considered mild compared to other regions, that was only relative to the rest of the North. In a place where temperatures were generally low, wearing wet clothes was practically suicidal.
“Ariel, take off your top first. I'll give you this to wear.”
“What about you…?”
“Stop talking and just put it on. I'll turn around.”
Fortunately, the coat Edgar had been wearing was quite thick. He shook off the remaining moisture and handed it to her, then turned his back.
Just removing one layer of clothing let the chill rush in, but there was no helping it. After taking off her soaked top and putting on the coat Edgar had given her, Ariel walked over to a rock inside the cave.
“Ouch…!”
A low, pained groan escaped her. When Edgar asked what was wrong, she confessed that she'd sprained her ankle.
“When did you sprain it? Why didn't you say anything?”
“W-well… I thought if I told you the truth, you'd say we shouldn't go any further…”
“Haah.”
She really was impossible. From the looks of it, it must have happened when she'd stopped for a moment earlier. He'd thought she was just out of breath, but it turned out she'd twisted her ankle. It was one disaster after another.
“I'm sorry, Edgar… Are you mad?”
“Of course I'm mad.”
At his sharp tone, Ariel hung her head dejectedly. Seeing her like that, Edgar let out another sigh and shook his head.
What am I even doing to a child?
Of course he was angry. But that anger included self-blame. He should have stopped her sooner. Maybe if he'd firmly declared they were going back, she would have reluctantly followed. His complacent belief that he could handle most things on his own had led to this situation.
“For now, let's wait for the rain to stop. It'd be nice if we could start a fire, but that seems impossible.”
“Yeah.”
If he brought back some less wet wood, he might be able to start a fire somehow, but in this situation, even running out into the rain was dangerous. If he got completely soaked and still couldn't light a fire, things would only get worse. To overcome this crisis, he needed to stay calm. After all, Ariel had no one else to rely on but him.
Still, it's a good thing we found this cave.
The cave Ariel had discovered played a crucial role. If she'd been caught in the rain in that condition, things would have been far more serious than they were now.
By the way, why was there a cave in a place like this?
Edgar looked around but didn't notice anything unusual. There was a strange stench and what looked like odd debris, but nothing particularly stood out.
After spending some more time like that, Edgar began to feel his own body starting to shiver. Even though he tried not to show it so Ariel wouldn't worry, his legs and shoulders trembled involuntarily.
Crack. Crunch.
It was then. Even through the pouring rain, a bizarre sound reached his ears, making them perk up. It sounded like a large number of tree branches being torn off. And when he listened carefully, he could also hear what sounded like an animal's guttural cry.
…No way.
The puzzle pieces clicked together in his mind in an instant. Edgar strode quickly over to Ariel and grabbed her wrist.
“Edgar, what's wrong?”
“We need to get out of here. Come on, Ariel.”
“O-okay.”
She didn't understand what was happening, but she could tell from his serious expression that something was wrong, so she followed without protest.
And at the cave entrance where the two of them headed—
Of all things.
Just as Edgar had feared, a massive wild boar was glaring at them with fierce eyes. This place was the creature's den. The acrid stench from earlier and the debris scattered in the corner of the cave were likely remnants of its meals. It would be best if it didn't attack, but judging by its behavior, that seemed unlikely. Its heavy breathing, which had been quite loud moments ago, had grown quiet. It was probably waiting for the right moment to attack, viewing them as intruders who had disturbed its peaceful sanctuary.
— Grunt!
“Ariel!”
The moment the boar, which had been holding its breath, charged fiercely, Edgar yanked Ariel toward him with all his strength. He hadn't considered their center of gravity, so they both tumbled onto the forest floor, but there was no time to worry about that.
What should I do? I have the knife I brought. But with my current skill, can I really defeat that boar? Even if we run, I'm not sure how fast I can escape while carrying Ariel with her injured ankle.
“Ariel, wait here for a moment.”
“What are you going to do…?”
“It's fine. Don't worry and stay out of the rain.”
Fortunately, the rain had lessened compared to earlier. At this level, they could probably take shelter among the thick trees. After reassuring Ariel, Edgar carefully gripped the knife tucked at his waist with his right hand.
If he moved first, the boar would naturally shift its attention away from her. Then, if he could just aim for that one moment…
Whoosh.
When Edgar deliberately made a loud noise and sprang up, the boar let out a cry and chased after him. A little more. Just a little more.
Even as the boar closed in rapidly, Edgar held his ground for a long moment before finally opening his eyes wide at the perfect instant.
Thud.
— Squeeeal!
His target was the eye. Stabbing the hide recklessly might only provoke it further. To stop it from chasing them or at least threaten it, this was the only way.
As the boar thrashed in pain from the knife embedded in its eye, Edgar left the blade in without pulling it out and ran toward Ariel.
“Ariel!”
He dropped to one knee and immediately demanded she get on his back. Ariel protested that it was ridiculous, but when he sternly repeated the order, she had no choice but to climb on.
“Huff… huff…”
His severely reduced stamina from shivering in the cold had already reached its limit. Honestly, carrying Ariel down the mountain was nothing short of reckless. No matter how much he'd trained, his body, which hadn't finished growing, had its limits.
So what?
But Edgar ran anyway. He nearly slipped on the rain-soaked grass several times but barely managed to stay upright. As his breath caught in his throat and his vision began to blur, he bit down hard on his lip, desperately trying to stay conscious through the pain.
“—sir! Young lady!”
“Are you there? If you can hear us, please respond!”
It was then that hope reached Edgar's ears.
Beyond his fading vision, he could see a pure white light. And behind it, two sturdy men were desperately calling their names.
“Over here! We're over here!”
Ariel's desperate cry pierced through the rain and reached them. The soldiers, finally spotting the pair, rushed toward them like lightning.
It's okay now.
Those words became the catalyst that caused Edgar to finally release the thread of tension he'd been clinging to.
Thud.
With that final memory, Edgar lost consciousness.