134 – factorial(1)
Who said the passage of time is relative?
Edgar felt the phrase touch his heart again and changed into a neat uniform.
When I was lying in bed after coming back from Whitewood, it was such a stopped time.
When I opened my eyes after passing by like a lightning bolt, that day had come before I knew it.
As he looked at himself in the mirror and renewed his resolve, a woman suddenly appeared through the open door without a message.
“Oh, Edgar. Something cool today? Of course not to the extent of us.”
Sylvia, who appeared waving her hand, appraised him without saying hello and smiled brightly.
“… There is no message now.”
“It’s our company, so what’s up?”
Sylvia shrugged her shoulders and didn’t think it was a big deal.
Edgar, who was watching her with a puzzled expression, was able to find the number of cases from her remarks.
“Oh, between us… Ariel and your lover will love it.”
“Ha, don’t! Do you really want to see me beheaded!?”
It was only necessary to explain to her lover, Hagel, that it was a joke thrown as a joke, but there was a strong possibility that Ariel would jump out of her seat as soon as she heard that.
Sylvia let out a scream, and Edgar’s lips formed a mischievous smile.
“At most, it would be to the point of being burned. Yunan.”
“How can that be Yunan!”
How did being burned by fire degenerate into a trivial fist fight among the neighborhood kids?
Sylvia trembled as she felt the difference in values with Edgar.
Still, in the past, he was a friend with normal values, but after living with Ariel, he thought that he might have been stained with that side.
I thought that this is why the saying that lovers resemble each other didn’t come out for nothing.
“Master, you should go out soon… … .”
Just as Edgar was bickering with Sylvia, Eline, who had cautiously approached from the side, risked rudeness and spoke to him.
Time isn’t tight yet, but it would be nice to go out soon and meet the guests.
If he thinks of where he will stand in the future, he should open up his face even a little in a position like this and let him know that his butt is not heavy.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Has it already been that time?”
When Edgar hurriedly checked his watch, he could clearly see that the time had passed.
Above all, the fact that Sylvia came to visit the room must mean that other guests are also gathering one by one.
If that’s the case, it’s highly likely that Ariel will be out soon, so keeping the seat next to him would be the right choice.
The three of them left the room together only after Edgar finished the dressing.
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Looking around, he realized that Ariel was nowhere to be seen and told Elinene.
“Eline, I’m sorry, but could you go and find out where Ariel is? I’m going over there with this guy.”
“It’s not this guy, it’s Sylvia?”
“Yes, yes… Okay.”
Eline hesitated for a moment at Sylvia’s blunt approach from the side, but then nodded and headed towards the opposite hallway with gunfire.
After confirming that Elinene had disappeared, Sylvia sneaked up to Edgar’s side and spoke to Edgar with a faint smile uncharacteristic of her.
“Are you very nervous?”
“Shivering. It just is.”
Edgar responded without even looking at him, but Sylvia could already see his true intentions.
That would also be the case, because there was a habit he had heard about from Ariel before.
“Foot, why do you keep moving your fingers?”
“… finger?”
When Edgar suddenly showed a curious reaction, wondering what kind of finger it was, Sylvia was busy pointing at his right hand and puckering.
“Ariel told me. You say you can’t let go of your fingers when you’re trembling or anxious?”
‘Like this?’ Sylvia playfully demonstrated.
Edgar tends to be bold in most things, so it’s a rare case to see, but he knew Ariel because he’d only seen it on rare occasions.
The problem is that Edgar, the person involved, was not aware of this at all.
“Oh, how do you know that… I didn’t know either.”
“Haven’t you ever been like that when you were with Ariel?”
“It doesn’t.”
There are habits and habits that you recognize yourself, but sometimes other people know better about the habits you do unconsciously.
For example, Edgar knew Ariel’s habit of twisting her hair when she was uncomfortable, but she, the person in charge, did not.
“I thought you wouldn’t be nervous because you act like you’re aloof from everything… Something is surprising.”
“There is no such thing as usual. But in this case, the story is different.”
“but.”
Sylvia had heard that Edgar would sign an oath of subordination with Ariel as of today and be entrusted with the position of assistant.
That’s why I was able to roughly estimate the amount of burden on his shoulders.
Besides, since he cares for Ariel so much, he didn’t know if he was even more nervous than she, who was going to have a succession ceremony today.
“Cheer up, I’ll be cheering you on with him.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Although it is Ariel who inherits the family headship, Sylvia patted him on the forearm and offered words of encouragement, as she knew that Edgar was going through a lot of hardships as well.
Not long after that, Eline, who had been looking for Ariel, returned.
Although Sylvia hadn’t said goodbye to Ariel yet, since it would be a busy moment, she decided to tear up at this point to avoid disturbing her unnecessarily.
‘I hope it goes well.’
Sylvia turned around and sincerely wished that.
I wish the two best friends good luck in their new start, which will continue in the future.
* * * * * * *
As Edgar expected, Ariel was captured by the other guests.
Even though her personality was close to that of an infant, it was hard to coldly push away all the people who came with a smile on her face.
“I sincerely congratulate you, Princess. No, should I call you Highness now?”
“The succession ceremony hasn’t even been held yet, so it’s a premature title.”
“Heh heh, that’s right too. I hope you will take good care of me in the future.”
Of course, most of them were people who came to impress her with ostentatiousness.
Those who came with a heartfelt congratulations were only family members who had a close relationship with the Loveheim family, or her personal acquaintances.
“you’ve worked hard.”
“Don’t talk empty words, why don’t you say hello to people when you come?”
As Edgar approached her and put a hand on her shoulder and spoke succinctly, Ariel pursed her lips and pointed at the other crowd lingering around.
The rest of them are going through hardships alone, so why are they pretending to help out? Too bad it didn’t sound good.
“It should be. But most of them are people I don’t know.”
“Let me introduce you. It’s because I’m memorizing the name roughly.”
From an early age, Ariel was taught to memorize the members of other families who were said to be quite strong.
That’s why, despite the fact that there are many cases where the people present here are new to each other, she unilaterally knew the other person’s identity.
The heir to the Grand Duke’s family in name and reality, and who will be the owner from today, knows the name of a person he doesn’t know?
That alone makes the other person feel like they have been taken care of.
This is also an example of one’s own manners that one should learn as a person standing at the top.
So, with the help of Ariel, Edgar talked to and made friends with some additional people who came to greet them.
After what had happened in Whitewood this time spread like a heroic tale, some people looked at Edgar with admiration.
“Lord Billhark’s feat has been heard a lot this time, so I wanted to say hello at least once.”
“You’re welcome. I don’t know what to do when you praise me so much.”
The successive compliments were quite burdensome to Edgar, but in addition to that, the new title
“no. My father had been on the battlefield quite a few times, but he couldn’t keep his mouth shut when he heard about the sutra.”
“okay. Please make sure to say thank you.”
“Yes, you will be very pleased.”
Those who had said goodbye to Ariel and disappeared came back and talked to Edgar, and the surroundings were literally empty.
Meanwhile, Ariel deliberately did not intervene and kept a little distance, watching Edgar proudly from a distance as he was being praised by those around him.
Somehow she felt better than when she herself was praised.
It’s as if everyone recognized the true value of him.
That’s why it was possible to choose a young man who had just undergone a coming-of-age ceremony as an aide.
When she heard that his commission had been decided without objection from any of her vassals, she literally rolled across the bed and let out cheers.
“Ariel, it’s about time. People fall for it, so let’s go too.”
Edgar, who finished greeting the guests, realized that time was running out by looking at the watch at the end of his gaze, and reached out to Ariel to escort her.
Ariel, who stared at the hand that had risen from among the crowd and pointed at her, felt a sense of exhilaration welling up in her heart.
‘It’s really going to be mine now.’
The man who had been attracting so many crowds and attention just a moment ago becomes his own.
When will a woman be able to feel this satisfaction?
Even though there was no wedding ceremony, it was not strange that she felt this way, since the oath of subordination was, in a sense, a contract with a stronger bond than marriage.
“what’s the matter? Laugh without reason.”
Ariel, who had left one of her arms for him and moved forward, saw a happy smile on her lips, and Edgar reacted curiously.
“Are you not going to tell me?”
“Well, then don’t do it.”
The way she stuck out her tongue was Shuri’s trademark, but unlike when she did it, it felt more like a bad boy than cute.
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Laughing at this, Edgar quietly grabbed her hand and headed for the annex where the succession ceremony was to be held.
“Here it is. Is it very big?”
“Yeah. It’s the first place I’ve been to too. I heard that it’s not open unless there’s something special going on.”
Even Ariel, a resident of this castle, had visited for the first time, and it was open for today.
In other words, it is a place used for important ceremonies within the family, such as a succession ceremony or an oath of subordination, and is also called the Morfeo House because of the name of Morfeo, the second-generation head of the family who first inherited the family head.
No one was hanging around the annex yet, but Edgar thought it was intentional to prevent people from entering until the succession ceremony began.
“Let’s go in.”
“yes.”
As the two entered, a space with a strange structure appeared.
In the center was a huge door, probably five times Edgar’s size, and on either side were doors a little larger than the normal size.
And in front of the big central door, a woman was waiting for the two of them, none other than Helene.
“Mother.”
“Welcome. Aren’t you nervous?”
“… A little bit.”
At Ariel’s candid answer, Helen smiled and stretched out her arms to hug her precious daughter.
“I think you can do it well. He’s waiting inside, so go in.”
“What about your mother?”
“I have to wait there with my guests. Ed wants to go in with Ariel.”
When Helene pointed out the door on either side, Ariel finally understood the meaning of the door’s existence.
In other words, it means that it is the door through which those who will observe the ceremony will enter.
And today, not only Ariel’s succession ceremony, but also the oath of subordination is held here.
Usually, it was a fairly rare sight, as most of them inherited the position of head of household and signed an oath of subordination with a prominent seed, but it was not uncommon.
However, what is a little strange is that the person who will become the current family head’s lover is the subject of the oath of subordination.
No doubt, most of the guests who will come here today will doubt that they have seen something wrong as soon as Edgar appears.
“I’ll be back, mother.”
“yes. Don’t be too nervous.”
“Yes.”
Ariel nodded and went inside with Edgar, revealing a huge room surrounded by only a whitish light.
Unlike the outside where there was a little bit of sound coming in, this place was literally a space surrounded by silence.
Even making footsteps sounded cautious, so the two of them stepped on the red carpet with even more breathlessness than usual and headed towards the end.
“Come on, both of you. Hopefully, I don’t know if I’ve finished my mental preparations.”
There, Ariel’s father, Yulken, who would soon step down as the owner of the family, was waiting for them with a more happy expression than anyone else.