36 – Words I wanted to hear
The meal was good enough to satisfy Ariel’s palate.
In particular, the fact that the spices were not overused and the overall clean and subtle taste made her tongue happy.
We were full, and it was good that the wind was blowing just right, so the two of us decided to sit outside a little longer and then move on.
Just to share a story that I couldn’t finish.
“Did you like the meal?”
“Huh, heh… Well, it wasn’t bad for where you brought it.”
Would it hurt my pride to just say that it was delicious?
The pride of the grand duke’s daughter seemed too high for him to measure.
Although she was trying hard to pretend not to be, she had a faint smile on her profile.
Edgar, who confirmed this with a sidelong glance, also drew an arc one after another.
It’s not fun to go on like this, so it would be okay to tease them a little.
“Oh right. I talked to your family guards on the way today.”
“What story?”
When the two of them meet, it is usually Ariel who brings up the topic, so her ears perk up when he suddenly brings up a daily story.
“You know I practice every morning, right?”
“yes.”
“Actually, at that time, men who were on patrol or had a little free time came to watch.”
The story behind it was something she already knew.
It was just that I hadn’t heard from him, and occasionally watched Edgar train through the window or heard from Shuri as a gift.
Ariel responds with a small nod of the head as if this is the first news she hears, not wanting to show it off.
Edgar didn’t notice because he was too excited to make fun of her, so he just continued talking nonchalantly.
“Originally, when the sparring is over, I sit there and chat with the men and then return to the dorm.”
“By the way?”
“So today, as usual, I was sitting there, and Mr. Creed told me with a wink. I heard you asked to meet today.”
It’s not wrong, but Ariel was embarrassed to hear that for no reason.
I feel like a frivolous woman flirting with a man who is in the midst of training.
‘no.’
This all happened because that man hadn’t come to see her for three days.
he was never wrong don’t be like that
“Anyway, I was about to wake up after receiving the news, but the men were busy asking where I was going. He said he had a girlfriend.”
“Hey, girlfriend… … !?”
With one word that jumped out, Ariel’s face turned as red as her current hair.
What foolish soldier dared to say such a thing?
When it comes to being a girlfriend, there’s a certain level to overflowing.
‘Of course, if I’m hanging on there, I might consider it at least once.’
However, that is ‘consideration’ to the end. never consent
Couldn’t it be that the opportunity to welcome the proud Lady of the Loveheim family as his spouse could come so easily?
If I found out the soldier’s name, I would have summoned him right away and punished him severely.
It was a truly unpleasant experience.
“That, so… What did you say?”
I don’t think my girlfriend said it was right.
Ariel asked him in a tone mixed with anxiety——it was definitely not anticipation, it was anxiety——.
If he even expressed an affirmation, he promised that he would turn it into porridge right away.
The heat that had risen around Ariel, who was looking at him with such burning eyes, cooled down in one short reply.
“What do you say? Of course I said no.”
“… … .”
There was really only one thought in her head.
‘That’s right.’
what is it Neither anger, nor anger, nor contempt, this emotion that is neither one nor the other.
If I had to express it, would it be close to despondency? No, it didn’t seem like that either.
Just the thought that the result came out as expected dominated my head.
“… Phew, so what did you say after that?”
“Is there anything wrong? He asked me if I was too pretty, so I did say something.”
“Heh, what you said would be obvious.”
She must have said all sorts of evil things, such as asking how she could be pretty, and saying that she looked like a slob.
In the first place, she hadn’t heard from Edgar that she was pretty since she was ten years old.
Even that was at the level of being stabbed in the side.
I didn’t even ask what he said because I wasn’t expecting it.
I just turned my head and took a sip of the tea I ordered separately after dinner.
A mischievous smile formed on Edgar’s lips as he looked at her.
It’s true that I didn’t say I was pretty, but I didn’t mean to curse at all.
I felt like I should tell you the truth.
“Actually, I didn’t say it was pretty, I just said it was cute.”
“Ears, cute… … !?
Ariel swallowed the back talk with a face as embarrassed as when she heard the word girlfriend a moment ago.
Her blushing face showed her emotions.
“Puha, what are you so surprised about?”
“Who, who is cute! I told you not to treat me like a child!”
What to the future ruler of the North? Are you cute?
There was also a level of nonsense. If you let it go like this, you’ll climb up again next time.
Ariel rushed at him, spewing steam in all directions as if to take this opportunity to uproot him.
“That’s not to say, ‘You’re not pretty.’ The atmosphere is so cheap when you come out like this. So I put it in moderation.”
But who is Edgar?
It was a boy who had come to teach this immature princess in front of him for nearly 13 years. Truly, a body that is well equipped to soothe a child.
In this situation, it was possible to look around without blinking an eye.
“I’d rather say it’s pretty… what is cute it’s annoying.”
“Still, isn’t praise better than cursing?”
“Sir, it’s worse than swearing, you idiot!”
To be honest, if I divide it into a bad mood or a good mood, I belong to the good side.
After all, it was a compliment, and she still felt embarrassed and happy when her mother called her cute.
But for some reason, a feeling of displeasure tickled a corner of his chest.
Even the person in question, Ariel, couldn’t put it into words, and that strange sensation made her so flustered.
Meanwhile, Edgar was busy giggling and laughing despite her screams.
An ordinary same-age, opposite-sex friend would cringe at the thought of being cute, but it wasn’t too difficult to say that she was cute, perhaps because she still felt like an immature younger sister.
Perhaps if I said this to myself, a spark would come out of my hand right away.
“Okay, okay. In the future, if you ask me that question, I’ll tell you that I’m pretty. So, let go of your anger.”
“It annoys me more because I think I’m patronizing… … !?”
Originally, praise is a law that must come from the heart.
What’s the point of compliments that aren’t sincere?
As Ariel’s tone of voice, which was trying to calm herself down somehow, angered her even more, she slammed her hand down on the table violently.
‘Anyway, only with high eyes.’
I feel sorry for the woman who will marry such a man.
Even so, since I was young, if I used to go somewhere holding my parents’ hand, 100 out of 100 would definitely have been teased by boys my age.
That’s why Ariel was well aware of how much her appearance was and how much it affected the opposite sex.
Even so, this man always approached me indifferently, without the slightest flutter.
Did my tastes diverge? Maybe the standard of beauty is different?
A thousand thoughts raced through her head, but nothing came to her mind.
“Stop pouting and get up soon. I will shoot you hard today.”
“No thanks. Do you know what kind of child I am?”
Anyway, it’s always like this.
Does he know how to get over it if he just yells at him and tells him?
Of course, I can’t say that there was no such period, but now I have to tell you properly that it’s not worth half a penny.
Ariel, who bluntly said the words, turned her head away and did not even meet his gaze, but pouted her lips.
It was a kind of declaration of war that I would not deal with him.
‘See if I wake up.’
Now, if you try to win favor by saying that you are pretty or something, you will burn and kill Marira.
I wasn’t the type to fall for flattery with an empty stomach anyway.
“Hey, Ariel. Would you like to see me?”
“… what.”
With such a firm determination, Edgar, who had walked around the table toward her, sat down on the floor and tried to make eye contact with her.
Ariel somehow averted her eyes and tried not to fall for his deception, but a word that came out of nowhere shattered her firm resolve in an instant.
“You don’t think I’ll find you pretty, do you?”
“… … ?”
What are you talking about? Did I hear you wrong now?
She tilted her head sharply in Edgar’s direction at the tone of his tone, as if he thought she was pretty.
“What, did you really think so?”
It was Edgar who was taken aback by the red eyes staring at him silently.
What a stupid guy.
Did he think that he wasn’t blind, and that he wouldn’t have the ability to tell whether she was pretty or not?
“Well, then… Even in your eyes I… Pretty?”
“Oh, I guess it was real. You are you too.”
Edgar, who had been giggling without a clear answer, stretched out his hand to Ariel.
Embarrassed by the sudden outstretched hand, she hesitantly placed her left hand on top of it.
Then the smile on Edgar’s lips grew thicker.
“How do you tell your friends that you are pretty? You know you’re pretty, but you don’t express it with words.”
“Gee, really… do you think it’s pretty I?”
Seeing her lips tremble in disbelief, Edgar couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“I have no conscience. Hey, if you’ve looked in the mirror at least once in your life, you shouldn’t worry about that.”
“Chi, it’s because you’ve never said anything like that… … !”
Who are you blaming this now?
If I had told her that I was pretty at least once a year, if not every time we met, the current situation would not have happened.
Even so, Ariel was speechless at the act of passing the guilt on to herself.
Of course, they’re not lovers, but isn’t it possible to praise that much for a childhood friend who has been together for nearly 13 years?
It wasn’t that he was open-minded about his thoughts, it was because the man’s consideration was not as good as rat poop.
“Yeah, sorry. Even though we’re friends, I could have said at least once that I was pretty. right?”
“Look, knowing everything… ! You idiot!”
I felt like crying out of regret, but I managed to hold it in.
To be honest, right now it was harder to control the muscles in my lips trying to smirk at the word “prettier” than tears.
“Come on, don’t shed tears on a good day at best. We don’t have much time, so let’s go out and play, pretty immature princess.”
“Again, again… ! You put something weird on it!”
If I just call you a pretty princess, what’s the point?
However, I wondered if this was also a means to overcome my own shame, so I endured the anger that was about to boil.
Giving herself to Edgar’s attraction, Ariel stood up and followed him with her head bowed.
It was because I was so embarrassed when I pictured myself from a moment ago in my head.
“So, pretty Princess, you said you had dinner, would you like to go for something sweet?”
“… it’s okay. After all, you can’t even eat sweets.”
‘And don’t call me a pretty princess.’ Ariel cut off his mischievous title with a single knife.
Edgar, who shrugged at him, said he would understand and treated her as usual.
“But at least once a year… can you tell me Even friends.”
Edgar seemed dazed for a moment at the sudden request he handed over with his eyes wide open, but he quickly regained his original form and smiled.
I wonder why a guy who hears the word “pretty” dozens of times a day is asking this of himself.
I said that, but it wasn’t particularly difficult, so I nodded my head coolly.
“If you use your heart, it’s possible once every three months.”
“… That’s enough for now. There’s no point in hearing it often.”
Now is? To Edgar’s ears, that line sounded as if he would ask more often in the future.
‘It’s a little embarrassing even in Amman.’
I wondered if I had said it for no reason, but the bright smile on her profile with her head raised before I knew it made that thought disappear.
I guess I’ll have to try harder.
In the future, in order to somehow appease this immature princess.