50 – An Unwelcome Encounter
Edgar glanced at his childhood friend, who had been silently walking for a while without saying anything.
I wonder if this moment of following her through the corridors of the castle had ever felt so heavy.
The unknown air surrounding her was more suffocating than the pressure of facing the owner of the grand duchy.
At first glance, it looked like a warrior ready for a decisive battle, but Edgar didn’t see it.
If I had to express it, I’d say it’s like a child who puts a lot of energy into his eyes not to show what he’s afraid of.
“Ariel.”
“Uh, huh?”
“Release your strength. Then I will break my neck.”
Edgar playfully patted her on the back and pointed at her shoulder.
Only then did Ariel realize that she was putting too much effort into it, and she smiled shyly and lowered her shoulders.
Edgar had to feel an unprecedented sense of alienation from that appearance.
‘If it was like normal, I would have definitely shot him.”
‘Do you think I’m going to be nervous?’ Instead, he would have shouted loudly.
However, the fact that she obediently responded to his words instead of doing so was an example of the fact that she was nervous.
As we were walking down a corridor that seemed to continue endlessly, a familiar figure approached us from the other side.
Ariel, who was moving while looking only at the floor in the shadow suddenly cast, lifted her head, and when her eyes met, her complexion brightened.
“Have you been? Ariel. Both of you suffered a lot.”
After giving thanks to all the two people who stood by Ariel’s side, Helen held Ariel in her arms.
Feeling the warmth in her mother’s arms after a long absence, Ariel belatedly asked where her father was.
“Mom, Dad… … ?”
“You will be in the office. I’m receiving business reports from Lord Elfeld.”
office.
At that word, Ariel licked her lips with a pale complexion, as if she had a bad memory.
Helene, who was aware of this, smiled sadly and patted her daughter’s hair, inviting her to go to the office together.
“Ed, Shuri. You may go back to your respective rooms. I’ll take Ariel with me.”
At first glance, it seemed like a word given out of consideration for the two people who had traveled a long way, but neither Edgar nor Shuri’s expression brightened.
Rather, Shuri carefully opened her mouth with a look in her eyes that she had many things she wanted to say but couldn’t bring herself to say.
“However, madam… … .”
“Shuri, do as Mom said.”
It was Ariel, not Helen, who firmly cut off Shuri’s words and drew a line.
As if she didn’t want to show the scene in front of her, she lifted her head and made eye contact with Shuri, smiling helplessly.
Confirming this, Shuri pursed her lips and bowed her head in gratitude, probably feeling that she could not protest against her master’s words.
Ariel, who sank Shuri like that, cast her eyes to the left this time and looked at her childhood friend.
It’s like, ‘I don’t have to tell you, right?’ eyes that seemed to say
Edgar delayed his answer, avoiding his gaze, and eventually opened his mouth with a laugh.
“Ed, you too… … .”
“No, I’m not busy, so I’ll accompany you.”
However, Edgar dismisses her request at once and responds in a tone that makes her feel cold.
At this, Ariel’s angry voice rose at once.
“It’s okay, go to your room and rest. Why don’t you listen to me even if you’re considerate? you stupid.”
“I’m not tired, so why don’t you listen to me saying you’ll go with me? you idiot.”
“Don’t hold the horse’s tail. I’m serious now.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Because I am serious now.”
Ariel glared at Edgar as if feverishly exploded at once, and Edgar stared at Ariel with a cold gaze that he wondered if he had shown her so many times before.
Only Shuri, caught between the two, was about to die in an out-of-the-ordinary quarrel.
In the end, Helene, who was watching this, interrupted the conversation and intervened between the two, as if the atmosphere was overheated.
To be honest, she had expected Edgar’s reaction to some extent, so she wasn’t too surprised.
“Come on, don’t fight. Then, since it’s been a long time, let’s go with Ed. It happened that he also wanted to see you at least once.”
“Yes, because he was someone I really wanted to meet at least once.”
What does that really mean?
Since I was a child, I wasn’t a child who acted within her expected range, so I felt anxious, but I also felt some kind of anticipation.
Meanwhile, Ariel was still looking at her mother with worried eyes.
Helene, who belatedly noticed her gaze, gave her a pat on the back to be relieved, sent Shuri to her room, and the three of them headed to the office together.
Arriving at the door, Ariel couldn’t keep her hands still and straightened the hem of her clothes.
Observing this, Edgar reached out and grabbed her wrist and nodded silently.
Ariel nodded her head, as if she had calmed down a bit, and confidently moved her gaze towards the closed door.
Helene, who had been waiting for her daughter to relax, knocked on the door belatedly, and a solemn man’s voice came from inside and gave permission.
Sigh.
It looks like it may have been less oiled.
The office door opened with a short scream, and soon the three of them saw a middle-aged man with light hair sitting in a seat and Elfelt standing next to the desk.
“Sorry for making you step twice, madam.”
‘wife’.
Edgar reacted to the title with a small raised eyebrow.
That would mean that this man is Yulken Loveheim, the owner of the Loveheim family.
‘big.’
Edgar condensed his first impression of a man named Yulken into a short expression.
I’m not talking about physique or appearance.
It seemed that the weight and vessel of this man’s life were revealed just by meeting him face-to-face.
It feels like a huge mountain is standing in front of you.
I had a similar feeling when I saw Creed the other day, but it was more distinct and majestic than that.
“What is it all of a sudden? Since you brought the child you were looking for, let’s talk.”
“Hmm.”
Yulken got up from his seat and approached the three without saying a word. Instead of saying hello to his daughter, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, he reached out to Edgar first.
Edgar’s eyebrows slightly furrowed at that foreign sight, but he didn’t try to show it, and held the rough hand.
“My name is Yulken Loveheim. I’ve heard a lot about it from my wife, so I really wanted to see it at least once, but it turned out well.”
“My name is Edgar Bilhark. It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness Loveheim.”
“It would be Yulken. I don’t want to receive such a generous courtesy from my daughter’s benefactor.”
Contrary to Edgar’s expectations, Yulken’s reactions and actions were very ordinary.
Rather, on the outside, he was closer to the ideal father who cares for his daughter.
I just feel that I look blunt because I don’t show my emotions well.
After exchanging short greetings with Edgar, Yulken’s gaze turned towards his daughter, who bowed her head as if she had committed some crime.
“Ariel, long time no see.”
“Yes… father. I’m glad to see you unharmed.”
It’s a very different look from when he was dealing with Helen.
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Looking at the father and daughter who seemed to be having a conversation across a wall, Edgar only licked his dry lips.
“Yeah, how about math for magic and martial arts?”
Yulken did not ask after the daughter he had met for a long time, but wanted to check on her progress in learning.
It was something that Ariel expected in advance, but when it happened, it felt like her hair went white.
“Poem, actually, there has been quite a bit of progress on the magic side, but the martial arts side is still… … .”
“… yet?”
Yulken repeated Ariel’s words behind him and urged him to answer.
Ariel couldn’t help but open her tightly closed lips with a hint of nervousness, knowing that one of the things he hates the most is procrastinating an answer.
“I haven’t done much math yet… sorry.”
“It must have been quite a while. Still, do you think it makes sense that there is no progress?”
“… No, it’s all because of my negligence. I’m sorry, father.”
At the icy voice that came out of the ruler of the north, Ariel just bowed her head and asked for forgiveness.
Watching this scene, Edgar’s left hand tightened and his teeth gnashed.
The conversation between these two people was closer to that of a retainer than a father and daughter.
The figure of a father simply disciplining his children was not there, only the figure of the monarch who exposed the shame of his subordinates and strictly scolded them for the sake of punishment, and the figures of his subordinates who bowed their heads.
When Edgar’s gaze, unable to hide his resentment, met Helene’s, she narrowed her eyes and shook her head slightly.
He knows what he wants to say, so he must pretend he doesn’t know for now.
“Since your father said he was away from the castle for a while, it seems that you played as if it was your own world. Don’t you have any sense of duty as an heir?”
“… … !”
“honey! What does that mean to you!”
Those were the words Ariel never wanted to hear from her father.
When Helen realized that her husband had crossed the line, she felt sorry for him and stopped him, albeit belatedly.
At that, Yulken threw his gaze at his wife, then stared at Ariel, who bowed his head again, and left the office without saying a word.
bang.
The door closed violently, and Elfelt, who had been watching this scene from afar, hurriedly followed Yulken.
After that, there was only cold silence in the office.
“Huh… Whoops.”
The sound that broke the silence that seemed to last forever was neither someone’s voice nor the sound of a book falling from the bookshelf.
Just the sad cry of a girl.
Edgar took a handkerchief out of his pocket and held it out to her in silence.
Took.
“… Get rid of it, because you don’t need it.”
However, Ariel brushed it off coldly, wiped away her tears with her sleeve, and raised her head to meet his eyes.
Not the usual lively red eyes, but bloody eyes full of sadness.
Edgar couldn’t say anything because the look in his eyes seemed to ask why he did that.
“This is why I told you not to follow me… I didn’t want you to see such a pathetic side.”
“Ariel, calm down. It’s not Ed’s fault.”
“I know! I know!”
Ariel wasn’t a stupid girl.
Whichever way it is, it’s rather that they have a smart and outstanding brain compared to any of their peers.
That’s why I felt pathetic, and there was no way to express it, so I expressed it with anger like this.
To show such a pitiful appearance in front of a friend whom I have seen for over ten years.
Even though he knows it’s not his fault, he has no place to express his anger and throws it out at random.
I was so pathetic that I trembled at the feeling of contempt for myself.
“Ed, you better go back for now. When Ariel calms down, I’ll tell Shuri to call her separately… … .”
“no. I’m the one who has to take Ariel now. It was my fault, so I think I have to fix it.”
As a friend of ten years, Edgar could guess what she was feeling right now.
She is a girl who has higher pride than anyone else, has strong self-esteem, and is reluctant to let others know her weak side.
It meant a woman who longed for always being upright, firm, and noble.
Even his anger now is more like a sense of contempt and shame towards himself for being caught in a scene like this, rather than directed at his childhood friend who blindly followed him.
Then, the only person who could solve it was the one who knew her current feelings best.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. This kind of Satan… … .”
“No. To put it bluntly, it must be his fault. But I hate myself for not being able to blame my husband.”
Edgar felt a strange sense of deja vu from Helene’s words.
Somehow she seemed to know that the reason Yulken was treating her daughter so severely was not simply because of educational policies.
But it would not be appropriate to inquire about it now.
And it was not in his temper to carelessly ask about other people’s family affairs.
It would be nice if Ariel herself answered, but judging from the current situation, that would be impossible.
If she had known the detailed reason for this situation in the first place, she wouldn’t have been driven to this point.
It seemed that there were complicated circumstances in many ways.
“Ariel, let’s go.”
“… no. Leave me alone.”
“okay. I’ll leave you alone, so let’s go to your room first. If I’m uncomfortable, I’ll even call Shuri.”
It could be said that the worst thing to do was to scold him for what he should do when he is alone in the current situation.
The right option is to somehow calm her down, create a private situation, and try to talk when she calms down.
That’s why Edgar deliberately mentioned Shuri’s name and said that he would disappear right away if she came.
It was only then that Ariel’s emotions seemed to have subsided a little, and she nodded slightly and left the room in his arms.
Today was also the first day that Ariel did not feel the warmth of being held in Edgar’s arms.