25 – Determination (1)
Just because I made up my mind didn’t mean my worries went away.
In any case, the problem to be solved was still in front of us.
Edgar, who had spent the night with his eyes open, left the mansion as soon as the morning was bright.
The sword he had received from Helen was stuck in his waistband, and in his hand was a wooden sword that had been replaced with a new one three times before he knew it.
When you have a lot of worries, the best thing to do is to move your body.
Originally, it would be better to just finish breakfast and go to sleep, but it seemed that it would be difficult to take a nap easily in the current state.
“Are you late today?”
“What, what are you doing here?”
When I arrived at the place I always went to, an unexpected passenger came first.
Ariel, who had been waiting for him while leaning against a shabby wooden box, confirmed that he had arrived and got up.
“I just suddenly opened my eyes. I came to see your magic.”
“Thank you for that. I was going to ask you yesterday, but the atmosphere wasn’t good, so I couldn’t.”
Ariel smiled knowingly and slowly approached him.
As if to let her know that she was ready, the little finger of her left hand had a Magic Catalyst ring that could help her use magic.
“Why? Do you like it?”
“Even if I gave it to you, I couldn’t even use it, but I covet it.”
Edgar shrugged his shoulders at Ariel, who asked in a calm tone, and pulled out the sword worn around his waist.
He also knew that it was a kind of catalyst, and that it was an armament that criminals could not carelessly handle.
It is an item that draws out the user’s magical power to the maximum, but in return, it is a magical tool that consumes a large amount of magical power.
It also meant that it was an object that could not be used recklessly unless she was born with a vast amount of magical power called the magical power of control due to the lineage of the grand duchy.
“I’m only giving you one training session, but didn’t you come too loudly?”
She knew at least that the ring was an object used to cast magic that was still too much for her to use.
That’s why I wondered if it was necessary to wear it when I came to see other people’s magic for a while, but Ariel responded to it with a firm tone as if it was a direct hit.
“I had something to show you, so I came here with both a courtesy and a courtesy. I am not stupid.”
“… … .”
There were many things he wanted to say, but it was also true that he was not an idiot, so Edgar couldn’t bear to say it and swallowed it down his throat.
Well, who would dare to say that a girl who started using magic at the age of ten and dabbled in advanced magic at the age of fourteen was an idiot.
Perhaps, they will praise him with unison as an unsalted genius.
‘In my eyes, she’s a dumb princess.’
If that’s a kind of charm, it must be charm.
At least to Edgar, a princess with an immature and brusque side was better than a genius daughter born by the grand duke.
“Woah, what is it? Your eyes look bad.”
“Is there anything you can’t say to a friend?”
“Chi, then don’t look at me like that!”
Edgar, who had covered both ears to stop the high-pitched singing that resonated in the morning, stuck out his tongue.
It’s a provocation method that worked well even when she was 10 years old, but if you use this method on a girl who is in full heat… … .
“Just try to get caught!”
“Please tell me to catch it.”
They are busy charging like wild boars.
Even in the middle of the day, a random chase took place, but the winner was always decided.
Ariel’s stamina wasn’t too bad either, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with Edgar, who had been training every day.
In the end, exhausted, she gasped for breath and sat down on the wooden crate.
“What if I lose the gin before training?”
“hahahaha… go away. I don’t even have the strength to answer right now… … .”
Hmmm, was the prank a little too much in the morning?
Thanks to this, he did a proper warm-up, but it seems that he overworked the teacher who would teach him from the morning.
Edgar personally opened the lid of the canteen he had brought and handed it to Ariel.
When I asked her to drink it quickly, as she asked with her eyes, Ariel, who finally snatched it up, drank as if she was out of breath.
“Since you are tired too, let’s take a short break from training. I have something to tell you.”
“What story?”
“Yesterday.”
Only then did Ariel realize the subject he was bringing up, and let out a short sigh.
He said that he would accept Helene’s proposal, but he added that he still had more to think about, so there was a feeling of uneasiness.
Are you trying to refuse? Didn’t you like the offer?
It was not easy to suddenly leave behind the family he had stayed with all along and move his residence.
As for Ariel, she wanted him to be by her side even after taking on this fact, but was the world going on its own way?
Besides, it was Helen, her mother, who made this proposal, not her.
Even at the end, he added with the nuance that he would respect any opinion, so she had no right to discuss it.
“… You can do it yourself. Mom said she respects your choice.”
After hearing the news that they might be going back to Hespania together, his heart calmed down.
For her, who had to spend time in a castle without any suitable friends, the fact that Edgar, who could be said to be her lifelong best friend, accepted Helene’s proposal was nothing short of unprecedented good news.
Thanks to that, Edgar wasn’t the only one who stayed up all night with his eyes open.
It’s unfortunate, but it’s something that needs to be understood.
As she nodded her head in agreement, she heard a mysterious voice in her ear.
“What are you talking about? You said you were going.”
“… uh? Oh, are you coming? Then the thing I just said is… … ?”
“Even if you go, what happens after that is also a problem. Besides, I haven’t heard anything properly yet, so let’s talk about it together.”
The place of residence was also a problem, and the relationship with her when he went to Hespania was also a problem.
Even though they are friends in private, in public, the two are the heirs of a family in a master-servant relationship.
Even with Helene’s permission, it would be difficult to treat her comfortably in front of others.
This was also a more important issue than expected in an aristocratic society that values honor and courtesy.
“Even if I stay in your family, there will be many problems. I don’t think there are many people who will take a good look at an outsider who suddenly rolls in.”
I don’t know how Helene talked about him to the people around her, but at least people from the most powerful family in the empire couldn’t take a good look at the youngster, who had no special family and whose personal abilities weren’t revealed.
I’m not talking about territorialism or such an absurd culture, it’s just a matter of fundamental distrust of the unproven.
“I can handle that.”
“you idiot. It’s not that simple.”
Ariel said it insignificantly, but in Edgar’s view, it was just the idealism of a person in power who could speak because he had not experienced the situation.
In any case, in order for Edgar to live in the huge fence of the Loveheim family, at least an opportunity to prove his ability to them must be created.
If not, even Helen and Ariel, who tried to protect him, would be bitter.
It was the worst flow Edgar could have imagined.
“So it seems to me… Avoid contact for at least a few months.”
“why? Do I really have to look at other people?”
“It is a difference of perspective. Of course, you will find it difficult to understand.”
If you try to recite the situation Ariel is in, who has lived without paying attention to others all her life, it will only repeat itself over and over again.
But in Edgar’s eyes, this was the best.
It’s not even asking for a long time.
He just had to endure until he proved that he was worthy of staying with the Loveheim family and being under Helene’s protection.
It is to change the order of people’s perception.
If he sticks around with Ariel even before he is recognized and takes a seat next to her, it’s easy for him to look down on a young guy with no ability for being ambitious with his personal connections.
But at least after being acknowledged by them that he was at a level where he could hang around, if not next to, the heir to the Grand Duchess, and then stick around with her, their perception of him would be much better than the former.
‘In the beginning, it doesn’t have to be conspicuous. In a good or bad way.’
Even if a hawk hides its claws, it will eventually be revealed.
Even if Edgar wasn’t confident in his skills, he was at least aware of the fact that he wasn’t objectively bad.
This opportunity was just a passing line that I had to cross someday.
Since he decided to stay by the girl named Ariel anyway, he had already made up his mind to prove himself to others.
Fortunately, with the help of a benefactor named Helene, he was given that opportunity earlier.
“Why do you want to do that? If I only use my strength, at least one of you… … ”
“Are you saying that?”
Of course, if I borrowed the help of a friend, I would be able to stay by her side ignoring that perception and nabal.
However, it was not his own strength, but only a façade created by the breath of the successor of the grand duke’s family.
“A man has pride. I make a place for myself.”
Ariel, who had been watching him blankly, burst into laughter.
“It’s stupid. Why do you want to take the hard way when there is an easy way?”
“I don’t need any easy roads. You just need a way to make sure you get to your destination.”
Borrowing her hand was like walking on a well-polished road shrouded in fog.
The destination is unclear, and the road is walked only because the two legs are comfortable.
On the other hand, the road he wanted to walk was a road with a clear destination, the summit, although it might be a bit rough mountain climbing.
So Edgar chose the latter.
Because in order to carry out what I was determined to do when I first met this girl, I had to be by her side in any position.
“I’m going to tell Mrs. Helene today, so come and listen.”
“Hey, just try to run away in the middle because it’s hard. Because I won’t let you go.”
“Isn’t that what you’re hoping for?”
Edgar throws his words away in a playful tone, snatches the canteen that Ariel had put into his mouth a moment ago, and starts drinking water.
Ariel was watching this with embarrassment in her eyes, and her cheeks were dyed red like the sunset she saw as a child.
“Hey, that’s cool. After all, we just spent time talking… huh? where are you sick?”
“Oh, it hurts. You look so stupid I just don’t want to make eye contact.”
“Honey, you can’t respect your friend’s choice… … .”
In the end, the two of them had to finish their morning routine in idle chatter without training properly.
The two returned to the mansion only when the cool morning wind stopped blowing their hair.
When Helene asked where they had been together, Ariel went into her room without answering, only blushing.