I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess - Chapter 199



199 – Coincidence or Inevitability?

Heavy air that descended in an instant.

The weight was not even compared to when the two mentioned what happened in the imperial palace just a moment ago.

Edgar had already expected this, but he did not dare to open his mouth due to the silence that lasted longer than expected.

It was none other than Yulken who opened the topic on his behalf.

“… “I think you understand the meaning of what you are saying.”

“Yes, father.”

When Yulken first confirmed the weight of what he said, Edgar shook his head.

Of course I was aware of it.

If I hadn’t done that in the first place, there would have been no reason to hide it from Ariel.

Even if this guess is correct, it would be a serious accident, and if it is wrong, he would be guilty of insulting the royal family.

There was no bright path either way.

Nevertheless, the reason Edgar said this was because he believed that he was the one who could look at this situation most calmly.

“I don’t know why you said that… “I wouldn’t have said it so recklessly since it was you and no one else.”

“Do you mind if I answer honestly?”

“I see.”

It may have been an act of betraying Yulken’s trust his, but Edgar thought that certain and uncertain points should be closely examined.

Even if it is an opportunity to hear cold words from the Robeheim family.

“Honestly, there is no physical evidence. Even if you say it’s a heart attack, there are a lot of uncertainties.”

“Surprisingly. It was a remark that put His Majesty the Emperor, and no one else, on the same level as the evil enemy. Nevertheless, does this mean that you only said it based on such light reasoning?”

There was no anger mixed in Yulken’s question.

That was not a reprimand, but rather a statement made out of pure curiosity.

The intention was to ask him, ‘Why did you do that?’ To him, who made an unexpected choice that no Edgar Vilhark would have made.

“To put it bluntly, it’s because we don’t have room.”

From noble mtl dot come

“I can’t afford it?”

“Yes, at least assuming my inference is correct, the Robeheim family will be at a significant disadvantage. “It would be a waste of time to peacefully exchange opinions with each other in the castle.”

It’s just as Edgar said.

If the emperor was truly taking Albrich’s side, then this side had no power advantage.

And since he has the emperor’s power on his back, Albrich will be able to run amok more actively without worrying about what people around him think.

Perhaps even the secret attack that took place in the imperial palace may be reduced to cute charm.

“That’s why I thought I should let you know as long as there was a possibility. “If it turns out that Your Majesty is innocent, you may behead me.”

“… Ed, I don’t mean to say things like that. No one here wants that.”

Edgar made a statement to show his will, but Helen shook her head and gently grabbed his hand.

Of course, disparaging the royal family is a serious crime worthy of immediate beheading.

However, the reason he expressed this speculation was not to disparage the emperor or to be jealous of him.

It was just to spit out the worst-case numbers that could be drawn right before things got to the worst.

And in that case, the number just happened to include the emperor.

“Yes, Mom is right. It’s not like anyone is listening to this, and it’s just an assumption.”

Ariel was also in a hurry to agree with her mother’s words her her her, so her her old tone her her her came out.

Normally, either Edgar or Helen would have pointed this out and made fun of it, but there was no time for that now.

It wasn’t that kind of atmosphere to begin with.

“Anyway, I understand what you want to say. Then, wouldn’t you at least let me know when you became obsessed with it?”

“I think this will be a bit of a long story, but if you don’t mind…”

After arriving, eating, and spending some time, we started talking. The sun had already set.

One corner of Yulken’s mouth rose as he looked out the window at Edgar’s words at her, then he glanced at his wife who was sitting next to her, and only after exchanging glances with her did he respond.

“It’ll be okay. Neither I nor her wife can fall asleep while making up stories like this… The same goes for her daughter.”

“Hehe, that’s right. “I can’t just fall asleep like this.”

“If the story is going to be long anyway, should I ask you to grab some coffee so I can wake up?”

As Helen let out a small laugh to brighten her mood, Ariel followed her, quietly putting her teacup aside and asking.

Although there are not many people in the Robeheim family who enjoy coffee, they still enjoy it from time to time when they have to work for a long time, thanks to the unique eye-opening sensation that comes with drinking it.

At least Edgar and Ariel had a chance to have a drink recently for various reasons, but it had been a really long time for Yulken and Helen.

Just looking at the period, I don’t think I can remember mentioning it for about a year.

“Hmm, that’s good. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had it.”

“I see. I don’t think it would be a bad idea to try it for the first time in a while.”

After receiving permission from her parents, Ariel immediately picked up the small bell placed on the corner of the table and shook it.

Because the story was so close, it was natural that the room was empty, and there was warning that no one would wander around the hallway, so it was thought that the person using it would not be returning anytime soon.

Knock.

“… It’s fast.”

“I think it will be okay at this speed?”

Of course, exceptions exist anytime and anywhere.

“Did you call me, lady?”

When he was alone with Ariel, his tone of voice seemed a little relaxed, but when others saw him, he showed himself by bowing politely like Shuri, who maintains a more polite attitude than anyone else.

“Yes, I would like to ask for some coffee.”

“You mean coffee. Are all four of you eating it?”

“I think so.”

“I will prepare it right away.”

After receiving only a brief confirmation of her request, Shuri bowed again and left the room.

A happy smile appeared on Helen’s lips as she watched her.

‘She used to be a child who cried a lot, but now I am proud to see her acting as a full-fledged person beside her daughter.’

This means that it is not only Ariel who has grown.

As her master she grew, the squire she watched grew along with him.

Otherwise, Shuri would not have been able to catch up with Ariel, who had already gone ahead, and it would have been difficult to even support her.

Although she had become more insensitive to the changes of time as she grew older, as Helen watched each passing scene, she realized that time had passed.

Every time she did that, her heart was truly touched.

Anyway, as Shuri left, the atmosphere was refreshed for a moment and the conversation stopped.

It wasn’t that there was an uncomfortable silence like before, but rather, it was time to take a break to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere.

Grumbling.

“You’ve waited a long time.”

Soon after, Shuri, who had left the room, returned accompanied by her two maids.

In the trolley, there were coffee, salty snacks, sugar, and lemon slices to go with it.

“Hmm.”

As soon as they were on the table, Yulken picked up a slice of lemon and took a bite of the flesh in one go.

It was like that. The true identity of the lemon slice was none other than a type of stimulant that Yulken consumed to awaken consciousness when he was tired or used up a lot of mental power.

It was a fairly famous habit within the castle, and Shuri was aware of it, so she prepared it separately on purpose.

Grinning approvingly through her teeth, Yulken took another bite of her lemon and praised her.

“Your consideration stands out. Thank you.”

“That’s too much praise.”

After finishing setting up with her maids, she walked out of her room with as much breath as she could.

Whoop.

At the same time, the four people drank together without even considering who went first.

As the coffee, which was not too hot but just right for drinking right away, entered my mouth, I definitely seemed to come to my senses.

“Actually…”

“Hmm?”

While Yulken was enjoying the aroma of coffee, Edgar’s mouth suddenly opened.

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he realized that it was pointless to think about it at the point where he said it, so he nodded and continued speaking.

“I don’t know if it’s presumptuous to say this, but I was a little suspicious of Your Majesty from the beginning.”

“… Is it. “I guess there was an opportunity.”

“Yes, after the incident at Whitewood, when I arrived at the imperial palace with His Majesty’s edict. To be precise, that incident was the trigger, but it was later that I started to have serious doubts.”

He was also proud when his name was first written on the Hero’s Monument and he received a precious award from the emperor himself.

However, when he later contacted Albrich and learned that he was a person who did not appear in the imperial palace often, he began to feel a vague sense of heterogeneity.

First of all, when Edgar was called to the imperial palace, it was around the time when the incident was over and slowly being forgotten from people’s minds.

Considering that most non-gong ceremonies are held immediately after a major event takes place, it was unusually slow.

However, since there was a succession ceremony held along the way, this was understandable considering both circumstances.

However, it did not stop there, and the suspicion gradually deepened due to the presence of Albrich who visited the imperial palace.

As he said, once suspicions about Albrich became confirmed, Bartheus was added to the list of suspects.

“I heard later that Albrich was very curious about my existence even before I came to the imperial palace.”

This was definitely what I heard from the knight commander, Rudric.

Of course, it is not entirely possible that he is in the same league as Albrich, but if that were the case, there would be no reason to give such false information, so he can be considered as a person unrelated to this incident.

“That’s where my first suspicions arose. “The timing was so appropriate.”

“Right. If Albrich was truly behind the whole incident, he would have regarded you as quite a thorn in his side for solving the problem at Whitewood. That’s why he wanted to see his face at least once…”

If the two were really on the same page, Albrich would have used this as an excuse to tell the emperor to summon him.

Certainly, as Edgar said, the timing was too perfect to be just a coincidence.

Above all, it was also awkward that Albrich, who was famous for not showing his face in the imperial palace, personally came to the banquet hall to see Edgar’s face his.

“Actually, until then, I just thought it was strange, but it wasn’t to the point of being suspicious. However, when I stopped by the imperial palace this time, my suspicions grew.”

“From what I heard from you earlier, there wasn’t anything strange, but could you say that again?”

Yulken has heard in quite detail what the two experienced in the imperial palace.

Nevertheless, he did not realize that the emperor had a strange side.

That would mean that there was a sense of heterogeneity that only Edgar felt. I wanted to hear that from now on.

“The first time was when Ariel cornered Marquis Bertus.”

“I remember. I’m sure it was canceled due to His Majesty suffering from hemoptysis, right?”

“Yes, this could also be dismissed as a coincidence, but… At least when I saw His Majesty before that, he seemed fine.”

If you think everything is just a coincidence, it could be so.

However, the problem was that both situations could be explained plausibly if we were to assume that the two were indeed the same team.

Is it a coincidence? Is this a ploy to pretend it was a coincidence?

In order to assume the worst among them, Edgar raised the latter’s hand.

That was just the story.

Yulken was lost in thought for a moment, stroked his chin, and shook his head slightly.

Edgar’s brilliance was acknowledged by him, but this alone was not enough to even reach the level of mental illness.

“Are those two reasons the only reason to doubt Your Majesty?”

Indeed, if this were all, it would be difficult to give Amman strength even if his opponent his was Edgar, so Yulken asked with a concerned expression

In response, Edgar shrugged her shoulders as if she couldn’t possibly do that and moved her gaze to Ariel who was sitting next to her.

“If I do that, even Amman Ariel will try to eat me.”

“Hmph, I know.”

Ariel, who was watching her situation next to her with the same thoughts as her father snorted her.

Although she lacked a bit of confidence, she was willing to take Edgar’s side her, but she decided that this alone would not be enough to convince the other two.

“Perhaps this will be the final basis. Ariel will tell you about this on your behalf.”

“Huh? Me?”

Ariel, who had no idea what to do, blinked her eyes as the bow she had been aiming for was suddenly placed in her own hands.

That’s because she really didn’t have anything to think about.

“Yes, that’s what you remember too. “You talked to His Majesty before I silenced you, right?”

“Your Majesty… ? What was the story about?”

I may have remembered it from just a few hours ago, but it took about two days to arrive, so it was a fairly recent memory.

Moreover, at that time, she was confused because Edgar suddenly covered her mouth her her, so only a somewhat blurry afterimage of what happened just before she remained of her.

Still, Ariel somehow tried to rack her brain and recall her memories of that day.

She mentioned obviously her personal letter that the emperor had sent separately the day before Edgar silenced her, and then she said it in her own words…

“… Ah.”

“Has something come to mind?”

Helen asked hurriedly as a small exclamation escaped Ariel’s mouth as she recalled her memories of that day.

What kind of memory is this?

“Your Majesty mentioned the letter you sent me the day before and said that you would personally take charge of the matter between the Robeheim family and the Bertus family…”

“If you say you’ll take charge of it, then it doesn’t mean anything good… Hmm?”

Yulken, who responded to Ariel’s muttering her, frowned at her for a moment, and then he, like her daughter her her, made a questioning expression as his thoughts reached her somewhere.

It was like that.

The other meaning of the word “I will take charge of it” Is that the investigation into the Bertus family will be conducted solely through the power of the imperial family.

If the Robeheim family only believes his words and withdraws from this incident even for a moment, what will happen if the imperial family does not actually act?

“… Right. It doesn’t mean that you will take charge of it, but it means that you want us to take our hands off it.”

“At least that’s my guess.”

As Yulken spoke of the results of Edgar’s reasoning her while trying to hide his shaking fist her, Ariel’s pupils shook her violently.

I finally found out.

Why didn’t Edgar change his mind immediately after hearing those words and tell the emperor what had happened the previous day?

It was not a simple change of mind, but a change in plan as suspicion toward the emperor turned into confidence.

Here, the Robeheim family was given a choice.

They overlook this incident and overlook it, saying that this is just the third coincidence.

Or, you can put emphasis on the assumption that the two people are accomplices, and dismiss all the coincidences so far as a play disguised as coincidence.

“… I told you everything to the best of my knowledge. From now on, it is up to you and Ariel to choose.”

Maybe the answer was already decided the moment I heard that story.