Deepening Friendship
The two of them were quickly transported back to the mansion. Having witnessed Edgar collapse unconscious right before her eyes, Ariel spent the entire journey desperately calling out his name. For a ten-year-old girl, it must have been an overwhelming shock.
“Mom! Edgar…! Because of me, Edgar……!”
“Calm down, Ariel. You need to get treated first.”
After hearing the full story, Helene first soothed her agitated daughter. According to the doctor, Edgar had simply lost consciousness; there were no serious injuries or internal damage. His life was not in danger. However, having pushed his ten-year-old body beyond its limits, rest was the immediate priority.
Helene entrusted Ariel to Catria’s care and quietly made her way to the room where Edgar lay. His fiery red hair, the same shade as her daughter’s eyes, was wildly disheveled. Scrapes covered his hands and arms from being dragged across the ground, so they had been wrapped in bandages for now. One of the soldiers had added that Ariel claimed Edgar had fought a wild boar to protect her.
‘A wild boar… What a brave child.’
Though she had heard it from the soldier, it still didn’t feel real. An adult well-trained in martial arts might be able to handle a single boar, but Edgar was only a ten-year-old boy. Even the idea of charging at a creature far larger than himself seemed impossible.
Helene reached out and gently brushed Edgar’s hair back from his forehead. Allowing this child to stay by her daughter’s side might have been one of the best decisions she had ever made as a mother. Of course, seeing him suffer because of it filled her with guilt. Right now, all she wished for was for him to wake up soon so everyone in the mansion could breathe easier.
With that hope in mind, Helene softly stroked Edgar’s cold cheek. As if in response, his eyes fluttered open weakly.
“Ugh… Lady… Helene?”
“You’re awake? Don’t worry. You’re back at the mansion.”
“What about… Ariel…?”
The moment he regained consciousness, Edgar’s first concern wasn’t his own condition but Ariel’s. Helene couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. She wasn’t sure whether to feel grateful or troubled. It would be nice if he worried about himself a little more.
“She’s perfectly fine. All thanks to you.”
“No, it’s because of me… ugh.”
Lying down while speaking to the mistress of the Grand Duchy was unacceptable, so he tried to sit up. But strength failed him. Instead, he let out a short groan and grimaced. Watching him, Helene gently pushed him back down and shook her head.
“Don’t worry about pointless etiquette and just stay lying down. I can hardly demand anything from the benefactor who saved my daughter.”
In truth, she was the one who should be kneeling in gratitude. Their respective family standings and the master-servant relationship between their houses meant nothing in this moment. The only truth was that this boy was someone Helene must treat with the utmost respect.
“I’m sorry, Lady Helene.”
“For not stopping Ariel?”
“…Yes.”
At Edgar’s affirmation, Helene smiled instead. He had probably tried his best to dissuade her from going up the mountain. Since something similar had happened before, he wouldn’t have wanted to make the same mistake twice. But Ariel was stubborn to the point of charging forward like a lone general, forcing her way there anyway. The scene played out clearly in Helene’s mind.
“Even you wouldn’t have been able to stop her this time. Under normal circumstances, maybe… but not today.”
“Pardon? What do you mean…?”
A question mark seemed to float above Edgar’s head as he failed to grasp her meaning. He had sensed that her stubbornness felt stronger than usual, but he had simply assumed she was in an unusually energetic mood. Helene’s words suggested there was another reason.
“Unfortunately, it’s not something I should tell you. When you see Ariel later, ask her yourself.”
“I see…”
So he was supposed to hear it directly from her. Edgar’s curiosity was practically itching, but he had no choice but to accept it. At least he would know by tomorrow.
‘My head feels dizzy.’
Now that he had confirmation Ariel was safe, he finally noticed his own condition. His body felt chilly, probably from being out in the heavy rain so long, and his forehead was slightly warm to the touch.
‘A cold, huh.’
Well, considering the situation, if he could get away with nothing worse than a mild cold and fever, that would be a happy ending of sorts. Helene, who had been watching him, seemed to notice as well. She reached out with her slender hand, gently touching his cheek and forehead to check his temperature. It wasn’t boiling hot, but there was definitely a noticeable fever. Since he was conscious now, it would be best to have the doctor examine him again.
“You seem to have a fever. Lie down for a bit. I’ll bring you some water and something light to eat. While I’m at it, I’ll have the doctor check on you again.”
“I’m sorry for causing you trouble, my lady.”
“Children are supposed to cause adults some trouble. Though if it’s as extreme as our daughter tends to be, that’s another story.”
Helene laughed, using her own daughter as the punchline of her joke, then quickly left the room. With the tension finally released, Edgar stared blankly at the ceiling before letting out a deep sigh of relief. Honestly, he had thought they were done for, stranded and facing certain death. Thankfully, the soldiers had arrived earlier than he expected and saved them.
‘I even considered throwing Ariel halfway up the mountain.’
She might get hurt, but at least she would be found by the search party sooner. It had been his last desperate plan right before losing consciousness, so he was glad he hadn’t needed to use it.
‘It’s noisy out there.’
The mansion was quite chaotic outside. There were loud thumping sounds and creaking noises—probably people rushing up and down the stairs. It made sense. The eldest daughter of the Grand Duchy had returned in such a state; the servants must be in a panic. Once he felt a little better, he should go see Ariel…
Crash.
“Ed!”
“Huh?”
While he was thinking, the door burst open violently and Ariel stormed in. To be precise, a soldier carrying Ariel on his back had opened the door and entered, but that was a minor detail.
“Ed! Are you okay!?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. What about you? Are you alright?”
Though his head was still spinning a little, Edgar answered without showing it. He wondered if she would notice he was lying, but fortunately her sharp instincts seemed to be offline at the moment. The proof was the bright smile that bloomed across Ariel’s face.
“I’m not hurt anywhere. You protected me until the very end.”
He hadn’t really done much to call it protection. He hadn’t even properly fought the boar—just ran away—and all he had managed was to give her his coat. Still, hearing it from others was one thing; seeing her safe and sound in person brought him genuine relief. Her eyes were puffy from crying quite a lot. Even now, though she was smiling, her eyes remained watery.
“Why were you crying so much? Were you afraid I was going to die?”
Edgar deliberately spoke in a playful tone to lighten the mood. He expected the tsundere young lady to snap back with something like ‘Who was crying?’ at the top of her lungs. But for some reason, nothing was going according to his expectations today. Instead, Ariel’s face flushed red and she nodded honestly. As if the memories were resurfacing, fresh tears slowly welled up in her eyes.
“Yeah… hic. I really thought you were going to die, Ed… hic.”
“Hey, hey, why are you crying?”
“Dummy… I don’t know…!”
When he reached out to wipe her tears, Ariel turned her head away pettily and threw a small tantrum. He had no idea how worried she had been, yet here he was casually asking why she was crying. If he hadn’t saved her life, she would have punched him right then and there. Still, she was grateful he was alive, so she decided to let it slide just this once.
“Young Master Edgar, are you truly alright?”
One of Ariel’s guards, who was familiar with Edgar, spoke up. In a way, a ten-year-old child had done what they were supposed to do. Perhaps that was why his eyes held a strange sense of awe.
“Yes, I’m fine. Where is Mother?”
“She’s bringing food. She seemed very worried and said she would feed you herself…”
“Ugh.”
Even if he was truly ten years old, he wanted to decline being spoon-fed by his mother. At least the meal wouldn’t be heavy given his condition—probably just some light soup. That much he could manage on his own even now.
As he chatted with Ariel about this and that, Catria entered the room carrying a simple tray. Behind her followed Helene, who had been deprived of the task she intended to do, wearing an awkward smile. The room filled up in an instant. A look of discomfort crossed Edgar’s face.
Declining his mother’s kind offer to feed him, Edgar reached out, picked up the warm soup, and took a spoonful. With so many eyes on him, he couldn’t even tell if the food was going into his mouth or his nose.
“Catria, let’s step out for a while. He’s in the middle of eating. It wouldn’t be good for so many adults to crowd around.”
“Ah, yes… understood, my lady.”
As expected of Lady Helene! How could she read his feelings so perfectly? Edgar inwardly praised her name while continuing to eat with a neutral expression. Following Helene’s lead, everyone left the room. In the end, only Edgar and Ariel remained.
His head was still dizzy, so he occasionally dropped the spoon, but Edgar stubbornly kept eating the soup. Eating properly was the best way to recover quickly.
“U-um… Ed.”
“Slurp. What?”
Ariel called his name with a strangely flushed face. Since he was still working on the half-finished soup, Edgar’s response was a little slow.
“That… soup…”
“Yeah. Oh, do you want some too?”
“I-I already ate—!?”
What? So she wasn’t pointing at it because it looked delicious? Edgar tore off a small piece of the bread beside the soup, popped it into his mouth, and stared at Ariel with a nonchalant expression while chewing. She had been acting strange all day. Even now, she kept her head down and said nothing. The usually proud and stubborn girl—what was going on with her today?
As Edgar’s confusion deepened, Ariel, who had been watching the gradually emptying bowl, let out a small sigh. Then, as if having made up her mind about something, she gave a firm nod.
“E-Ed!”
“You startled me. What’s been up with you since earlier?”
Did this girl eat something weird?
“That… that soup… should I feed you?”
“Huh?”
The soup? He was almost finished with it. At first it had been too hot and difficult to handle the spoon, but after that he had eaten it quite skillfully. The bowl was nearly empty. And she wanted to feed him now? On purpose?
“It’s fine. I’m almost done anyway.”
“R-really…?”
“……”
She was making his heart weak again. Seeing Ariel’s face quickly turn gloomy, Edgar slightly lifted one corner of his mouth. She probably wanted to express her gratitude and guilt but didn’t know how. He could easily guess why the usually dishonest young lady was reacting this way.
‘Just this once should be fine.’
If this could lighten even a little of the burden on her heart, it wouldn’t be a bad outcome. He had no intention of using this accident to get something out of her, so he decided to give her this chance to cleanly repay her debt.
“Actually… sorry, but could you feed me a bit?”
“…Really?”
“The truth is, I still have a fever and it’s hard to hold the spoon properly. I’ll be in your care.”
The moment he gave permission, Ariel’s face lit up brilliantly. She picked up the spoon, scooped what little soup remained, and brought it to his mouth. Edgar accepted it with a smile.
‘Not bad at all.’
Being served like this by someone of high status didn’t feel bad. He wished she could be this obedient all the time, but at the same time, he thought her usual prickly self suited her better. A young lady who was quick to snap but had a surprisingly tender heart. That was the impression Edgar had formed of the girl named Ariel Robeheim after watching her all this time.
‘Come to think of it, I never got to ask what the gift was.’
It wouldn’t be too late to ask tomorrow. Thinking it was no big deal, Edgar continued accepting the soup Ariel offered him until the bowl was completely empty.