I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess - Chapter 170



170 – Change Comes Without Warning

Ariel and Edgar, accompanied by several people, arrived at a place called Brueholm, a little away from Hespania, when the snowfall became even more intense.

This is because it is quite close to Hespania, so although it was originally a place where foreigners could not easily reach, there have been constant reports of them being discovered recently.

It seemed like the whereabouts of the immigrants had been quite slow these days, so Ariel sensed that she was acting strange and took her own steps.

There wasn’t any physical evidence, but maybe this was a type of intuition she inherited from her father.

“It’s no big deal. “I thought you would definitely stop me.”

“I know. “I wonder why I was like this too.”

Ariel speaks to him with a faint smile even though it is not a particularly pleasant situation.

Edgar also smiled at her, shrugged her shoulders, and spoke as if blaming her for her own actions.

In fact, Edgar initially tried to stop this behavior because he thought it was a rehash of the Whitewood era.

Even back then, the barbarians deliberately left their mark and, while acting very inconspicuous, summoned Yulken and captured him.

There was no guarantee that it wouldn’t happen this time too, so she tried to say let’s wait and see.

However, strangely enough, although the reason said something like hitting the stone bridge, the body shouted as if we had to go quickly.

Perhaps it was the most intense conflict between reason and emotion that Edgar experienced in her life.

‘It was like that before too.’

Edgar recalled how, when he and Ariel had visited her imperial palace, Albrich had approached her and invited her into his household.

At that time, her strangeness towards Albrich was also a strange feeling, but for some reason, my first thought was that I had to stop her right away.

I didn’t know why.

For the sake of justification, it would not be strange for the owner of a marquess to congratulate the new owner of the grand dukedom and create a space for this.

Nevertheless, I first heard that voice from somewhere.

You shouldn’t let her go.

But he couldn’t stop her on the spot, and even after that, she felt proud of her because she didn’t have her own reasons.

As she tells Ariel her feelings for Albrich, she decides not to accept her invitation.

That was close to luck for Edgar.

To be honest, even though they were lovers, I never thought that they would give that much trust in a story that seemed like a rumor without any physical evidence.

“I was lucky.”

“Huh? “What did you say?”

“No, I’m talking to myself. Anyway, the snow is getting heavier. “Maybe I should have delayed coming.”

Brutholm is not a region that normally snows a lot.

Of course, there are a lot of them compared to other ordinary regions, but this means that in the northern region where snowfall is usually heavy, it is less frequent.

But today, as if some kind of wind had blown, they were met with snow so heavy that it was sometimes difficult to open their eyes.

At first, Edgar took this as a bad omen and lamented that he had come for no reason, but he was refuted by Ariel’s theory.

“You idiot. This is what welcomes us. For people of the Robeheim family, the eyes are closer than the sun.”

“… “Well, it’s still ridiculous to hear that theory again.”

Edgar just couldn’t understand how he could think of the eyes as a kind of illusion, but if he somehow put it together as an interpretation rather than a dream, it seemed to fit quite well.

“So, is it wrong?”

“It’s funnier because I don’t think it’s wrong.”

After smiling slightly at Ariel, who asked a question with an angry expression, Edgar searched the surrounding area and received reports from those who had come.

“Here’s a report! Their traces have been discovered in the northwest direction! I believe they are all unarmed…”

“Are you saying you are not ready for combat?”

“Yes, I am.”

The eyes of the two people widened at the same time after hearing the unexpected news.

That’s because these people, whether children or adults, were known to always carry their own weapons such as spears and swords.

Besides, unless they were fools, they would have known that someone from the Robeheim family had arrived.

But rather than completing the combat stance, it actually shows a disarmed state?

In this case, there were two main things to think about.

First of all,

“Is it an inducement?”

As Ariel said, it is possible that the is to deliberately show a false nature and let the enemies come in before intention attacking them.

However, Edgar was somewhat skeptical about this.

“I don’t know. But even if it is an inducement, is there any reason to do so?”

As Edgar investigated in the past, the fighting style of the foreigners was mostly close to guerrilla warfare.

They fight in a way that only takes advantage when they have the advantage, and they avoid battles that do not need to be fought and shake the opponent.

However, if we assume that the other party’s actions are an inducement, it is in fact no different from a head-to-head match.

Moreover, even though he didn’t come with a large army, this time he came quite prepared, unlike the last time he was in Yulken.

If they had eyes and an information network, they would be able to know that much.

Nevertheless, there is a need to bring them in as an inducement and fight a battle of many vs. Many?

In the first place, the reason why the barbarians were able to fight against the experienced soldiers of the Robeheim family was not because they were strong enough to match their strength, but because they made good use of the small number of troops and terrain features spread out in various places.

“… First, gather people together. I’ll go to the castle and talk to you. Let everyone know that this is my order and gather everyone without exception.”

“Yes, I understand!”

After giving the order to the messenger, Ariel turned around and walked towards the castle accompanied by Edgar and several other people.

It was around the time when the snow began to gradually subside.

*

After returning to the castle, Ariel gathered his soldiers together and talked.

I mainly spent time organizing the future actions of the immigrants and the current situation, but honestly, I didn’t achieve much.

First of all, the most important thing to keep in mind now is a surprise attack, so he told them not to neglect their guard, and gave orders to the other soldiers and personnel not to let down their guard, but to take turns taking breaks .

“Haaa… “I’m exhausted.”

“Will it spread as soon as you return to your room?”

Ariel entered Edgar’s room instead of his own and immediately fell down on the bed.

To be exact, he fell down with his stomach crushing his thighs while he was sitting on the bed.

Even though such a soft female body wrapped around his body, Edgar could only laugh and not feel lustful.

Maybe it was because she was working hard to fulfill her duties as the head of the family, but lately, when they were alone together, she often acted like a whining five-year-old.

“Say whatever you want. “No one will see it anyway.”

“It’s not even my eyes that depend on me, is this?”

“Snow?”

Ariel turned her body around, looked at the ceiling, and stared at Edgar, then suddenly jumped up.

Then she suddenly pushed her face towards him and moved closer to him. At first, her red lips, which seemed like she was about to kiss him, were turned towards his forehead her her her.

She turned towards her eyes.

Side. Side.

“Now, bribe. “If this is the case, won’t you just pretend not to see it?”

When Ariel placed her lips on his eyelids and smiled seductively, Edgar placed his hand on her chin and pulled her in for a kiss.

“What would be the point of going there? “You have to give me the bribe.”

“Well, that’s right. Should I do it again?”

As she asked, Ariel immediately put her lips to hers as if she would not receive her rebuttal, and this time she properly bribed Edgar.

It is probably something more valuable and difficult to obtain than any amount of gold or silver treasure.

At least to him.

Ariel, who had been gradually mixing her tongue, parted her lips and fell on top of him again.

As his actions became more intense, I wondered if Edgar wanted to do it again, as he did the day before yesterday, but it seems that wasn’t the case.

“It’s no big deal. “I thought you would do more.”

“Yes… I don’t feel like that today. Only…”

“Just?”

When Edgar tilted his head, repeating her words, Ariel stretched out her hand and laid him down next to her.

Then, she buried her face in his chest, put her arms between his armpits, and folded their bodies as if they were one.

It was literally a sight like a cicada hanging from an old tree.

“I wanted to feel your warmth more.”

Of course, she also likes hot relationships between men and women, but today’s location and situation make it difficult to do so.

Moreover, such days come from time to time.

There are days when I just want to do nothing with the person in front of me and just lie in bed or on the sofa, making each other’s presence more noticeable.

Even if it’s not a particularly intense affair, it’s a satisfying enough time.

In particular, the more tired and difficult the day was, the more Ariel liked this time.

“Do you want to sleep like this?”

“Then you can’t sleep.”

Although Edgar is not particularly sensitive when sleeping, it is definitely difficult for him to sleep in this state.

If Ariel does not pull her arms out of her, she won’t be able to fall asleep easily because of the foreign body sensation of her.

“I don’t plan on sleeping anyway. “I’m going to watch you sleep.”

“Then let’s sleep for a bit… ?”

Ariel, who had been tempted, slowly released the arms that were binding him.

This way, if something happens, Edgar will be able to get out of the room.

Her true intention was to keep an eye on her as she slept, but she couldn’t let her foolishness go that far.

While Ariel’s consciousness was gradually fading away as she was being patted by Edgar, a sound that sounded like something crashing around her rang out from outside her.

It was enough of a noise to rescue her as she was about to fall into it, so the two looked at each other with her eyes wide open.

Clutter.

First, as Edgar opened the door and went out to see what was going on, a man waiting in the hallway shouted in an urgent voice.

“Well, it’s urgent! It is said that someone who appears to be a member of the foreign tribe is coming this way with a white flag raised!”

Ariel realized that she was not getting a good night’s sleep when she heard the sound coming through the crack in the door.

I guess I should just focus on my duties as the head of the family today.

She took off her coat and carefully left the bed.

The cloak of her, proving that she was the owner of the Robeheim family, was proudly shining behind her.