I Became a Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess

〈Episode 7〉 An Unexpected Situation

***

One could never truly predict how dangerous a child’s curiosity could be, especially when it was at its peak.

Edgar lamented his mistake as he chased after Ariel.

“Ariel! I’m telling you, it’s dangerous!”

“Hmph, Edgar, if you’re scared, then stay there! I’ll go check it out myself!”

‘What kind of logic is that?’

If something were to happen, he wouldn’t be able to face Helene ever again.

Even if they encountered a dangerous wild animal, in the worst-case scenario, Edgar figured he could prioritize getting Ariel to safety before retreating himself.

After all, he was physically stronger than she was, so he had a better chance.

“There’s no guarantee we’ll even see anything. Wolves and boars are nocturnal.”

“Then it’s safe, right? So stop whining and keep up!”

Ridiculous.

At this point, her optimism had surpassed positivity and was bordering on sheer recklessness.

Edgar bit his lip, realizing he’d only fueled her determination with his earlier comment, and quickened his pace as much as he could.

The only relief was that, despite the distance between them, his longer strides made it easier to catch up to her.

‘At this rate, I have no idea where we’re even heading.’

Earlier, they were still close enough to retrace their steps if needed, but now they’d ventured so deep into the mountain that it was becoming difficult to navigate.

Thankfully, since the creatures she was so keen to see were nocturnal, there was little chance of encountering them in broad daylight.

As Ariel’s pace gradually slowed, Edgar noticed her movements losing steam.

No matter how much energy a ten-year-old girl had, she couldn’t sustain it while climbing a mountain.

On top of that, she wasn’t dressed for the occasion, which only added to her exhaustion.

*Huff,  huff.*

Ariel collapsed onto the stump of a felled tree, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

It seemed she’d pushed herself too hard, pretending to be tougher than she actually was.

While Edgar was also breathing heavily, it was nothing compared to Ariel’s state. His regular training had clearly paid off.

‘Is there any water around here.’

Sweating profusely while wandering through the mountain naturally brought on thirst.

Under normal circumstances, Edgar would have brought a leather bag with a water flask, but today’s impromptu plans had left him unprepared.

He strained his ears, hoping to catch the sound of running water nearby, but no such luck.

“Hey, Edgar! Look over there!”

“What now?”

“Over there, I mean!”

Still struggling to catch his breath, Edgar glanced in the direction Ariel was excitedly pointing. Despite her exhaustion, she somehow still had the energy to get worked up about something.

His gaze followed her outstretched finger to where a dense cluster of trees partially obscured what appeared to be a cave.

“I’ve only ever read about caves in books! Let’s go check it out!”

“Sigh… Fine. Let’s go.”

There was no point in trying to stop her, her stubbornness was practically legendary.

Besides, it was close by, and resting inside might be a good idea.

With that thought, Edgar rose to his feet and began walking at a leisurely pace.

“Huh? What’s this? I thought you’d sprint over there ahead of me.”

“We’re here to have fun together, so it’d be mean to leave you behind, Edgar.”

“Ah, yes….”

What a touching sentiment, he could almost cry.

Why couldn’t she have shown such understanding and consideration earlier?

‘Or maybe this is just a cleverly disguised survival tactic.’

Could she be deliberately committing small annoyances and then following them with acts of kindness to make even minor gestures feel overwhelmingly appreciated?

It might sound ridiculous to suspect such a scheme from a ten-year-old, but considering Ariel’s personality, it didn’t seem entirely impossible.

‘Maybe that’s part of the royal education in the Löweheim household.’

Regardless, he figured he should at least be grateful for a brief moment of rest.

Just as the cave came into view, something cold suddenly dropped onto Edgar’s head.

Was it bird droppings? Or maybe just a leaf?

Reaching up to check, he realized that a section of his hair was damp.

Please.

*Swoosh.*

“Damn it.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Nothing. Let’s just get to the cave before we get soaked.”

“Okay.”

Was it just a passing shower?

As rain poured down in torrents almost instantly, the two of them bolted into the cave for shelter.

*Tap. Tap.*

Once inside, Edgar immediately started shaking the water off his clothes.

Thanks to the trees acting as a partial shield against the rain, his clothes weren’t entirely soaked.

‘At least there’s that to be thankful for.’

If their clothes had been soaked, hypothermia would have been inevitable.

Still, the uncertainty of when the rain would stop remained a troubling thought.

To return to the estate, they’d have to wait until the rain let up. But if it wasn’t just a passing shower and continued into the night……

“E-Edgar.”

“What is it?”

Her trembling voice shattered his grim thoughts of worst-case scenarios.

When Edgar turned his head, he saw Ariel hugging herself tightly, her whole body shaking.

“I-I’m c-cold…”

“…!”

He had thought that since he wasn’t soaked, it would be fine, but clearly, Ariel wasn’t in the same condition.

Even though Ardenum had milder weather compared to the rest of the north, that was still relative.

Wearing wet clothes in an area where the temperature was inherently low was practically a death sentence.

“Ariel, take off your top layer. Here, wear this instead.”

“W-What about you……?”

“Just do it and stop arguing. I’ll turn around.”

Fortunately, Edgar’s coat was thick and warm.

He made sure to shake off any remaining moisture from it before handing it over to Ariel, then turned his back to give her privacy.

Even after removing only one layer, he could feel the chill creeping in, but there was no alternative.

With her drenched top removed and Edgar’s coat draped over her, Ariel walked toward a rock deeper inside the cave.

“Ouch……!”

At that moment, a low groan of pain escaped her lips.

When Edgar asked what was wrong, Ariel confessed that she had twisted her ankle.

“When did that happen? Why didn’t you say something?”

“W-Well… I thought if I told you, you’d insist we turn back…”

“Haah.”

Completely unreasonable.

Judging by the timing, it must have happened earlier when she had briefly paused while walking.

At first, Edgar had assumed it was just because she was out of breath, but to think she’d twisted her ankle.

It was one thing after another.

“I’m sorry, Edgar… Are you mad?”

“How could I not be?”

His sharp tone made Ariel wilt, her head hanging low in dejection.

Seeing her like that, Edgar let out another sigh and shook his head.

‘What am I even doing, scolding a child like this?’

Of course, he was angry. But part of that anger was directed at himself.

He should have stopped her earlier. Maybe if he had firmly declared he was turning back, Ariel would have reluctantly followed him.

His complacent belief that he could handle any situation had led to this mess.

“Let’s wait for the rain to stop first. It’d be nice if we could start a fire, but that’s probably out of the question.”

“Okay.”

If he could find some wood that was at least a little less wet, maybe he could manage to start a fire, but in this situation, even stepping out into the rain to gather wood seemed too risky.

If they ended up soaking themselves completely without even managing to start a proper fire, the situation would only get worse.

To resolve this, he needed to stay calm. After all, he was the only one Ariel could rely on right now.

‘At least we have the cave.’

The cave that Ariel had discovered was proving invaluable.

If they had been caught in the rain without this shelter, the situation would have been even worse.

But why would there even be a cave here? Edgar scanned the area, but nothing seemed unusual.

There was a strange, foul smell and some odd debris scattered around, but no immediate threats.

How much time had passed?

Edgar could feel his body beginning to shiver.

He didn’t want to let Ariel see, worried that it might make her more anxious, but his legs and shoulders were trembling involuntarily.

*Crack. Crack.*

It was then that he heard it.

In the middle of the torrential downpour, there was a strange sound that caught his attention.

It was like the sound of branches being torn from trees in large quantities.

Then, as he listened more carefully, he also heard what sounded like the low growl of some animal.

‘…No way.’

In an instant, everything clicked in his mind, and Edgar hurried over to Ariel, grabbing her wrist firmly.

“Ed, what’s wrong?”

“We need to get out of here. Follow me, Ariel.”

“O-Okay.”

Though Ariel didn’t understand the words, she could tell from Edgar’s serious expression that something was wrong, so she silently followed him.

As they reached the entrance of the cave, they heard:

*Grunt. Grunt.*

‘Of course.’

Just as Edgar had predicted, a massive wild boar stood there, glaring at them with fierce eyes.

This, as he had suspected, was its lair.

The foul stench from earlier and the scattered debris in the corner of the cave were all signs that this creature used the area to eat.

If the boar didn’t charge at them, that would be ideal, but based on its behavior, that seemed unlikely.

Just moments ago, its heavy breathing had slowed, indicating it was likely planning to strike, perceiving them as intruders in its peaceful refuge.

*Grunt!*

“Ariel!”

As the creature charged at them, Edgar yanked Ariel toward him with all his strength.

He hadn’t thought about the shift in their center of gravity, and both of them tumbled over the forest floor, but there was no time to worry about that now.

‘What do I do?’

He had the knife he brought with him.

But even with that, could he really defeat the wild boar with his current skills?

Even if he ran, how quickly could he escape with Ariel, who had hurt her ankle?

“Ariel, wait here.”

“What are you going to do……?”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry, just stay out of the rain for now.”

Fortunately, the rain had let up a bit compared to earlier.

At this point, if they hid behind the dense trees, they might be able to avoid being seen.

Reassuring Ariel, Edgar carefully gripped the knife hanging at his waist with his right hand.

If he moved first, the wild boar would naturally look away from Ariel. Then, he could strike in the brief moment…

*Thud.*

As Edgar deliberately stood up loudly, the boar squealed and chased after him.

A little more, just a little more.

Even though the boar was getting closer, Edgar didn’t move for a while. When the moment he wanted finally came, he opened his eyes wide.

*Thwack.*

*Grunt!*

His target was the boar’s eye.

If he missed the mark, he knew it could make the situation worse. This was the only way to either stop it from chasing them or at least make it think twice.

The boar writhed in pain as the knife pierced it, but Edgar didn’t pull it out. Instead, he left the blade lodged and ran toward Ariel.

“Ariel!”

He knelt on one knee and demanded that she get on his back immediately.

Ariel protested, calling it nonsense, but when he firmly repeated the same demand, she reluctantly climbed onto his back.

“Huff, huff……”

Shivering from the cold, his stamina had already reached its limit.

Honestly, carrying Ariel down the mountain was reckless, to say the least.

No matter how much he had trained his body, there were still limits, especially with his still-growing physique.

‘So what if it’s reckless?’

But Edgar ran.

The wet grass caused him to almost slip, but he managed to keep his footing.

His breath was coming in ragged gasps, and his vision began to blur. He clenched his lips tightly, trying to keep his mind focused through the pain.

“—Sir! Madam!”

“Are you there? Please respond if you can hear us!”

It was at that moment that hope reached Edgar’s ears.

Through his blurry vision, he saw a white light, and behind it, two muscular men were desperately calling their names.

“Here! Over here!”

Ariel’s desperate cry pierced through the rain and reached them.

Only then did the soldiers spot them and rush toward them with lightning speed.

‘It’s going to be okay now.’

That one thought acted as a catalyst for Edgar to lose the last of his tension, and with a final, exhausted breath,

*Thud.*

And with that, he lost consciousness.

***