148 – An uneasy first impression
“Ed, Ed!”
“uh… uh?”
“Why are you so blank? I call cancer, but there is no answer.”
Ariel asked as she ate the scone in front of her with a slightly pouty expression.
Sylvia left with Hagel, saying she wanted to look around the palace for a while, and the two of them were in the middle of taking a break together in a separate drawing room, but there was no answer when he called Amman.
“ah… sorry. You must be a little tired.”
“It’s a big deal. Are you not feeling well anywhere?”
“No, it’s not like that… … .”
Edgar laughed and blurted out his back in an incoherent tone.
Rather, when that point upset Ariel, she pursed her lips and abruptly stood up.
“what’s the matter?”
“… Annoyed.”
and then flop.
He left the seat across from him and sat next to Edgar, glaring at him with sharp eyes.
Rather than angry, it was closer to a slightly pouting expression.
“Am I so unbelievable? Why are you trying to hide it?”
Ariel tends to confide in Edgar whenever she has a problem.
Of course, in the case of too personal concerns, she would not say anything, but it was because meeting her head usually yielded good results, and Edgar was the most reliable person to her.
But on the other hand, there were frequent times when Edgar pretended not to tell her even though he had troubles or things he had in mind.
At first, Ariel also noticed that there must be a reason he couldn’t say it, but he would go over it roughly, but after repeating it several times, he began to doubt whether he had faith.
“Hiding… I’m just not saying it because it’s a nonsensical idea.”
“Heh, I said it before, but I know you as well as you know me, right?”
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Knowing where she was trying to escape, Ariel blocked the escape route with a reprehensible mind.
I don’t know if it’s a very heavy line, but at least it wasn’t a personal concern from her point of view.
In addition, he is basically a bold personality and is good at making jokes, so he brushes off most of his worries.
The fact that he couldn’t concentrate on the conversation even though Ariel was in front of him and was immersed in contemplation.
And the fact that even the reason was not revealed properly and the back story was blurred.
All of those factors put together, and I was able to notice that it was no ordinary thing.
“I decide if it’s not a big deal. Just say something.”
“It’s a big deal. I thought you’d get angry right away.”
“Are you angry? It won’t be too late if you just listen and scold.”
I plan to scold him if the reason he hid his concerns was unreasonable, and I intend to scold him even if he had an unexpectedly absurdly insignificant concern.
But since you don’t know until you hear it, Ariel tried to catch her breath.
In response, Edgar licked his lips and hesitated about whether to speak for a while, and eventually gave up his rhyme.
“That… Was it the Marquis of Bertus?”
“Yeah, why is that person?”
When the face of the man, who was rather sharp but did not know what he was thinking, came to mind, Ariel showed a somewhat puzzled reaction.
Quite an unexpected name popped up.
“What? It’s hard to express… It felt very alien.”
“You mean hello to me? I knew it was a veneer, but such a strange arrangement?”
Ariel knew that everything Albrich said was just a show.
Congratulating her on the succession ceremony and saying sorry that I couldn’t go.
The fact that he willingly shook Edgar’s hand and praised Edgar for his achievements.
But on this floor, it wasn’t particularly strange behavior.
In the first place, since the majority of nobles are smiling at each other and holding a knife or an ax lightly behind them, it could be said that they are rather gentle.
Even so, the fact that Edgar overreacted like this must mean that there was something else.
That’s why Ariel drank the tea in front of him and quenched his thirst while waiting for his back story.
“No, I didn’t even think about that. But as we shook hands, I felt… I have to say that I don’t feel like there’s a person standing in front of me.”
“What are you talking about?”
Ariel tilted her head at the expression that seemed to catch a cloud.
When expressing something, I was more suspicious of his uncharacteristic behavior, which was usually pointed out rather than metaphorically.
Edgar smiled wryly at her reaction and shook his head.
Even if you say it yourself, you won’t get a sense of what it means, but it’s because you thought about what Ariel would be listening to.
“Well. I don’t even know what I’m talking about. But I can only express it like that.”
“Hmm… Isn’t that a bit strange anyway?”
“I’m not a fortune teller, so how can I judge someone I’ve only seen once?”
He said that, but Ariel thought it was no different than making a decision at the time he was agonizing like this.
Most people tend to judge someone based on their first impression when they first meet, but Edgar was a person who did not carelessly judge people.
That he described the person he had never seen before as ‘heterogeneous’ was not something to be taken lightly.
“Honestly, in my opinion, he didn’t seem like a bad person.”
“I think so too. No, in terms of which one, it’s rather close to a good person.”
Edgar, sympathetic to Ariel’s words, followed her and nodded.
Certainly, from his point of view, Albrich was clearly a man without any problems externally.
Far from having a problem, from the neat appearance to the polite gestures and speech, it is rather a good thing to get a good impression.
Regardless of whether it was the prospective lover of the grand duke’s owner, he willingly shook hands with Edgar, who was clearly inferior to him in terms of status, and even bowed his head.
His hand gestures and tone were neither frivolous nor heavy. Edgar would not have given him a bad evaluation if it had not been for that sense of alienation.
“Nevertheless… I do not know.”
But why?
Edgar had no good feelings for a man named Albrich Bertus.
To Edgar, the sensation he felt through the hands that were readily clasped was not even cold.
To put it bluntly, nothing. I just felt like I was being held by something that had a texture similar to human skin.
Among the people I have met so far, there have been people who have conveyed various impressions such as coercion, easygoing, lightness, cheerfulness, etc., but he was the first person who did not feel any emotion at all.
“… okay. I’ll trust your senses for now.”
“What do you believe? Just let it flow.”
“it’s okay. If I had wanted you to spill it in the first place, I wouldn’t have brought it up.”
‘Right?’ Seeing Ariel comment, Edgar expressed his affirmation with an ambiguous expression, neither laughing nor crying.
“Then I’ll have to pretend that the man didn’t invite me earlier.”
Ariel murmured, remembering the words of Albrich, who said that he would hold a grand banquet to congratulate her on becoming the head of the family, and told her to attend.
I didn’t really want to go in the first place, but since the name and color was invited by the owner of the marquis’s family, I was thinking of stopping by for a while, even if it was sincere, but there was no need for that.
However, Edgar showed a somewhat uneasy look about this.
“Are you okay? He is the owner of a marquise family.”
“Hmph, it’s a new blood in front of the Loveheim family. Besides, I had no intention of going.”
It would be a hundred times better for her to spend that time with Edgar in the castle.
All kinds of delicacies, gold and silver jewels that filled the room, and fancy decorations and flower gardens were just common things that she could see at any time.
“sorry. I just made my heart dizzy by saying useless things.”
“You don’t have to apologize. In the first place, if I thought it was a story worthy of being overlooked, I would not have taken it too seriously.”
Ariel doesn’t always listen to Edgar straight away.
Because she has ears and eyes, and a brain to judge the situation.
However, the only reason I listened to his floating remarks as advice was because I believed in his people-seeing eyes and his character that never talked about nonsense.
“Fool. Were you rotting just because of that?”
“So it is. what is this… Oh yeah.”
“Ugh.”
Ariel let out a sigh as if upset and suddenly tapped her own thigh.
As Edgar stared blankly at her face and thighs at the sudden action, he couldn’t overcome his frustration and had to take action himself.
fluff.
“You mean to lie down like this, you fool!”
“… … ?”
As the vision reversed, Edgar blinked and then realized that he was lying on Ariel’s thigh.
Because she was wearing clothes, her bare skin didn’t touch her head, but she could feel the warmth.
“… Why all of a sudden?”
“Eh, I didn’t do it on the carriage, so I was wondering if I kept it in my heart… That strange man must be messing with your head.”
To sum it up, it means comforting.
It was absurd for Edgar to think that he would pout for not giving him a lap pillow.
“Seriously, I’m not even a kid, so you think I’ll keep this in my heart?”
“Heh, don’t be nervous and tell me your impressions.”
“enjoy?”
Edgar lifted his head slightly and met Ariel’s eyes, who were looking in his direction.
It is definitely a unique landscape. He hadn’t even had the experience of looking up at Ariel, even from his position on Ariel’s thighs.
What do you say about feelings?
As a man, it was natural to feel like flying. Of course, I was a bit perplexed at first.
However, Edgar replied with a grin as it seemed that this rare time would soon disappear to tell him this straight away.
“I don’t know? If you stay like this a little longer, I think you will understand.”
“… uh, then there’s nothing you can do If you’re really tired, take a nap.”
Ariel’s words made Edgar feel like his eyes were closing for some reason, but he endured it and continued the conversation with her.
I don’t know if I’ll have this good experience many more times in the future, so where can I sleep?
You have to enjoy the present even a little more so you won’t have any regrets next time.
Edgar, feeling that his stuffy stomach was gradually disappearing thanks to her, held Ariel’s hand on his chest.
Unlike anyone else’s, I definitely felt warm warmth.