139 – Gongnyeo has a strong back end
When the two arrived at the hall where the banquet was being held, they were first greeted with great applause.
While even Ariel was dumbfounded for a moment in an unfamiliar situation, Edgar thanked the people around her and guided her while holding her shoulders.
As if the seat had been left empty for the two of them, Edgar headed there.
It would be absurd for her, who should have been the main character of the night in name and reality, to be in such a remote place, but Ariel herself wanted it, so she couldn’t help it.
“Everyone must have come to congratulate you, so why don’t we say a congratulatory message?”
Edgar, who handed Ariel a glass of champagne, smirkingly suggested, her expression turned sullen.
Although she is quite a childish independent person, surprisingly, she did not prefer to be noticed by others.
“You know my personality, right?”
“Well, that’s just what I said.”
Edgar shrugged and took a sip of his share of champagne.
In response, Ariel spat out a brief advice not to drink to get drunk, and tilted her glass accordingly.
The tangy taste unique to champagne and the sweet aroma blended in the mouth, and the taste was quite good.
It was such a long-awaited surprise that the two of them had a good time together, but as expected, they called the people around them like the main characters of the day.
At least, it would be comforting that Ariel’s location was such that the shy people did not think to talk to her carelessly.
“Your Highness, to think that today’s hero is in such a remote place.”
Bospen, an elderly gray-haired man who approached first, spoke to Ariel with eyes as if he were looking at his granddaughter.
Considering that her off-white color meant that there were many cases in which men outside her age gave presumptuous glances at her, it could be said that this was an example of her character.
“I don’t like being in the spotlight.”
“That’s right. I didn’t even know that, and I inadvertently made an excuse. I apologize.”
“It’s okay, Lord Bospen. Oh, is it okay if I call you by your first name? My father said that we’ve been quite close.”
“I don’t know what to do, to hear that Prince Yulken said that.”
It was really awkward for her to hear that the title to call Ariel went from princess to highness, and the title to address Yulken from highness to public in just one day.
Form is as important as that, but when you see the scene changing like flipping a palm, you feel a strange sense of difference.
“Ah, the introduction is late. This is my lover, Edgar Bilhark. You should have seen it at the succession ceremony, so you should know the name.”
“Can you not know? Lately, I’ve been familiar with it as a saga as well.”
As Bospen’s gaze turned to Edgar, he stood there for a moment, then flinched at Ariel’s stab in the side and reached out his hand.
“Hey, sorry for the late greeting. Lord Bospen.”
“Heh heh, no. You might not be used to the seat yet.”
Despite the fact that it could have been a rather unsightly scene for a third person to see, Bospen held the outstretched hand with a friendly smile.
Moreover, even in the midst of this, Ariel judged Edgar inwardly, saying that he seemed to be a decent person when he readily spoke out words of consideration for Edgar and protected him.
“Originally, I was in the position of receiving a handshake… It is quite awkward.”
Even Edgar, who was as careful as possible in front of strangers, was touched by Bospen’s comfortable grandfather-like atmosphere and unconsciously scratched his cheeks and expressed his embarrassment.
In fact, from his point of view, confusion was inevitable.
Seen from his original identity, the man named Bospen was not the first person Edgar, who was only the next head of a baron family, could reach out to first.
Traditionally, the person who reaches out first in a situation like this is usually the person with the upper hand.
In other words, when meeting with other nobles, it was a position that Edgar had never experienced before, as he was always in a lower position in terms of status. So it’s bound to be awkward.
“I thought you would. However, you should get used to it now that you are favored by the person who became the owner of the grand duke’s family.”
Bospen said so, but in reality, there are few cases in which Edgar’s position is acknowledged as a superior in a situation where he has not even been married.
At the very least, even if they were recognized on an equal level, it meant that members of prominent families such as Bospen were less likely to bow down first.
However, in the case of Edgar, the situation was a little different.
Aside from anything else, it was an undeniable fact that those who saw the oath of vassalage that had been taken today were practically close to a wedding ceremony.
It was only the established theory that there was a difference in position between the two families right now, and that it was just a procedure to make sure the relationship before narrowing it down.
If so, Edgar’s current position had to be seen as the second rank of the grand duke’s family.
Of course, it would be a bit exaggerated to say this since Yulken and Helene have just stepped into the background, but from an external point of view, it is safe to say that they are equivalent to that.
Just as Bospen was giving Edgar his heartfelt advice accumulated over years of experience, a middle-aged man with a rather shallow impression approached the three of them, leading a woman.
“this. Lord Bospen has already said hello.”
“Well? Wonderful Brywood. Long time no see.”
A man named Briwood, who casually intervened between them with a smirk, exchanged greetings with Bospen quite friendly.
However, Ariel’s gaze was fixed on the pink-haired woman standing next to him rather than on Briwood. I don’t remember exactly, but I had the impression that I had seen it somewhere.
‘Who was it?’
When the question deepened, I couldn’t continue my thoughts because Bospen introduced him with Briwood at the forefront.
“Your Highness, Sir Edgar. This is Sir Briwood of the Cefer family.”
“My name is Briwood Chefer. In order to reduce today’s celebration, I risked my rudeness to visit the two of you.”
“Thank you for coming all the way to Hespania from such a distance even though the construction must be hectic, Sir Cefer.”
Ariel nodded at the greeting, which was more satisfying than expected, and responded to his greeting.
The other day, at the coming-of-age ceremony, there were many cases where Edgar’s name was omitted and he asked for greetings, so this time, he was determined not to leave it alone if it was like that, but fortunately, that decision went into vain.
“What kind of place is today and why don’t you take a step because the distance is far away?”
Unaware of Ariel’s intentions, Brywood smiled happily at the fact that she knew about his family.
After all, it’s important to take a snow stamp in a place like this, but it’s already halfway successful.
Now, if only the last blow was successfully taken, it would be possible to remember the Chefer family in the head of the grand duke’s owner.
With that thought in mind, Brywood bowed her head toward Edgar, showing off a rather clever performance.
“Oops, I forgot. Actually, I have a present for Sir Edgar today, so I’ve prepared little things… Will you take it?”
“to me… Are you talking?”
Edgar’s eyes widened at the sudden gift story.
It’s not that I don’t remember receiving gifts, but it was usually only at the level of receiving them from acquaintances around me.
Besides, he didn’t quite understand why the owner of the Cefer family handed him a gift.
“Why don’t you accept it? If you don’t accept it in a place like this, Sir Chefer’s face is worthless.”
Meanwhile, Ariel, realizing Briwood’s purpose, patted Edgar on the arm and recommended that he accept it.
Why did he dare to give the present to Edgar, not to her, who became the owner of the grand duke’s family?
Because there was no way that the clever woman wouldn’t notice it.
‘I know how to flatter you.’
As the old saying goes, you have to shoot a horse to knock down an enemy commander, so he found out Edgar’s location early and prepared a gift for him.
Besides, it must have been possible because he knew that Ariel wasn’t the type to feel uncomfortable just because he had left out all of his own, so he literally foresaw a few moves.
“A story of martial arts I heard recently touched my heart. Not as the head of a family, but as a man, I would like to express my respect.”
‘It’s obvious.’
The one person to give the gift to was exactly what Ariel expected.
It’s very obvious, but it’s a royal reason, so it won’t be suspicious, and above all, Edgar will have a hard time refusing it.
In fact, there was no way Ariel, who didn’t like things to go the way others expected, couldn’t let this go unnoticed.
Especially if it’s a bit darker.
However, the reason I wanted to close my eyes for today was because it was a very happy occasion, and he didn’t look too bad when he said things that seemed to adore Edgar, even if it was flattery.
“If that’s the case… Yes, I will accept it gratefully despite my shame.”
“hahahaha, I have to say thank you.”
Brywood burst into a big laugh that was not befitting of her somewhat pathetic physique, and brought forward a woman standing next to her.
“And I’m late to say hello, but this is my daughter. I brought it because I thought it would be okay to have him as a companion because he is a child of the same age as Her Highness… … .”
“Oh, it was your daughter.”
Ariel thought in her heart that she might be handing it over to Edgar to use as a maid, but fortunately it didn’t end like that.
If that were the case, he would have blown the heads of both of them right away, so it’s safe to say that he saved his own life.
“My name is Mirabel Chefer. I exchanged greetings with Her Highness once during the coming-of-age ceremony… I don’t know if you will remember.”
“… ah.”
Ariel let out a low sigh while examining Mirabelle, who greeted her in a rather shy manner.
He said he had seen it somewhere, and wasn’t he the one who gave her friends, Gria and Sally, a face mask the other day?
At that time, I was so distracted that I couldn’t even punish them separately, but I never dreamed that we would be reunited like this.
“Nice to meet you, Princess Cefer. Don’t remember.”
“ah… ! You remembered.”
“of course. How can I forget?”
When Ariel willingly extended her hand in an uncharacteristically warm tone, Mirabelle’s complexion brightened and at the same time Edgar’s eyes were filled with anxiety.
Because he knew better than anyone else what Mirabelle was doing.
“… Hey, what are you going to do?”
Just as Ariel was laughing hahahaha and talking to Mirabel, Edgar sneaked up to her and asked a question in her ear without anyone noticing.
In response, Ariel responded to his words while maintaining a smile on the outside, keeping her lips as still as possible, as if she were doing ventriloquism.
“Quiet. It’s a long-awaited reunion.”
“What are you happy about? Wasn’t that person the same person back then?”
“So you’re welcome.”
‘Even now, we met again.’ Seeing her comment, Edgar slapped his forehead as if he had given up.
The pink-haired woman smiling brightly, unaware of the upcoming future, looked very pitiful.