I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess - Chapter 235



235 – After the Final Falls Curtain (2)

Bartheus, who prepared his drinking table and prepared the table, invited Yulken to his room.

Memories of a friend I lost more than 20 years ago.

Still, it didn’t feel particularly awkward. The two people continued their conversation indifferently, as if they had stopped in that time.

“It’s been a long time.”

“Yes, should I call you Your Majesty now?”

To lighten the mood, Yulken joked from the beginning.

Bartheus smiled bitterly at his friend’s behavior, saying things he didn’t mean, and personally filled his glass.

Grrr. As the red wine gradually filled the glass, I felt like the empty space in my heart was also being filled.

“It’s a private event, so leave the unnecessary honorifics alone. By the way, I didn’t know you would come.”

“She passed the position on to her daughter, but it was such a big deal.”

The reason he came here in the first place was not as the former owner of the Robeheim family.

It’s just to talk about things he couldn’t talk about with his old friend.

“He grew up beautifully. I also found a good man.”

“Yes. “Even though he grew up under an ugly father, he grew up so pretty that I feel sorry for him.”

Bartheus spoke harshly at the self-mocking remark, which was uncharacteristic of Yulken.

“If you are a bad father, what will become of me?”

“Then let’s all be poor fathers to each other. “Most parents would consider themselves poor parents anyway.”

“Well, it’s not wrong.”

Bartheus shook his head as if he understood and clinked glasses with his friend.

Braided. As the refreshing sound of this sound rang in their ears, the two people drank their glasses without even thinking about who went first.

Even though both of us are pretty strong drinkers, for some reason we felt like we would get drunk quickly today.

“When I first heard about you from my son-in-law, I was skeptical.”

“What do you say?”

“They said you might be connected to Albrich. In the past, I would have dismissed it as nonsense, but I couldn’t do that.”

At least in Yulken’s memories, the man named Bartheus Hellvenir was not a great man who could easily be tempted.

However, when he remembered the letters Beatria sent him from time to time and how his appearance had changed at some point, he could not vehemently refute it.

I thought maybe that was really the case.

A friend who was so intelligent may have abandoned his family and country and fell for the devil’s whispers.

But the intention was completely different. There were circumstances that he could not avoid, and he never changed.

“Actually, I met Beatria before I came here.”

“What did you say?”

“He just said thank you. “I had no choice but to watch my friend, who was so confident, shed tears endlessly.”

If Helen, Julken’s wife, was more of a heavenly woman, Beatria was more of a heroine, more confident and stubborn.

As she took the position of empress, this aspect calmed down a bit, but at least the appearance of Beatria back then was quite different from the times that Yulken remembered.

“It must have been tears of joy. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I guess so. So I let her cry. All she could do was protect her position while I told her everything.”

“You have a good friend. My wife and I.”

Bartheus’ words were filled with a variety of emotions.

A feeling of self-deprecation for trying to cut off a friend she was so thankful for.

Even so, I am even grateful that he did not let go until the end and came to me.

Bartheus, who was enjoying himself calmly, sweeping away all his emotions from his head to his heart, made a subtle suggestion to his close friend his.

“Do you have any intention of becoming emperor?”

“It’s bad taste to ask questions when you know the answer.”

“Well, I guess you would answer that way.”

He was rejected cruelly by Ariel and then by her father her Yulken, but he was not greatly heartbroken.

It was what I expected anyway.

Rather, I was happy that he seemed to be the same friend I remembered.

Putting aside the heavy talk for a moment, the two people only had a brief chat after that.

What happened during the time we couldn’t meet each other.

And also about future plans and wishes.

“You said that. My daughter has grown up a lot. In fact, until recently, I thought he was still a child.”

“How long ago… I guess my thoughts have changed recently.”

“It’s changed a lot. Unlike me, who only thought about maintaining the land that my ancestors had inherited, that child took the lead in change.”

“I don’t know which direction it’s going to take, but it’s going to be a difficult road.”

Regardless of the era or place, those who try to bring about change are bound to face storms.

Those who are left out and kneel there become losers and disappear into the back of history, and only those who win become known as revolutionaries and changers.

While Bartheus applauded his friend’s daughter’s choice to walk down such a thorny path, he also felt worried.

As a parent, even if I couldn’t become a great person, there was also a part of me that wanted to just live an easy life.

I thought Yulken’s feelings would not be much different.

“If you hear it, you’ll probably think it’s impossible.”

“What is it?”

“It’s symbiosis with immigrants.”

“…”

As Yulken said, Bartheus, who was reflexively trying to say that it was impossible, ended up keeping his mouth shut.

It is a very difficult path.

The amount of damage suffered from conflicts with foreigners so far is beyond imagination, and the hostility the imperial people have towards them is beyond imagination.

Nevertheless, you are trying to move forward on that path.

“At first, I thought it was too much. Because that child is my daughter.”

“Do you think you learned hatred from your parents?”

“Yes. All I taught that child was that foreigners are our enemies.”

Perhaps it was an appropriate teaching for a child who would become the head of the Robeheim family, which protects the North.

But that was nothing more than conveying his own values

In fact, Yulken never once asked Ariel what kind of head of the family she wanted to be.

“Actually, in the process of punishing Albrich this time, there was an exchange with the Carbita tribe.”

“… Since it was an exchange, it sounds like you received help.”

“It’s like we helped each other. In fact, it is said that negotiations existed between their leader and Albrich first. “I’ll probably find out more about the story tomorrow when he comes.”

Bartheus could neither laugh nor cry upon hearing the news that there were still many stories to be heard.

I just drink a glass of wine on the table and calmly listen to what my friend says.

“It seems like we learned a lot from each other in the process. My daughter said. “Once this incident is over, I want to seriously consider interacting with the Karbita people.”

“They accept that?”

“That’s another funny thing. In fact, the head of the Karbita tribe has been thinking similarly for a long time.”

In other words, the values of the new leaders of the two groups that most clashed with each other were similar.

At that moment, Ariel thought that if anything had to change, it was now.

“If that were truly possible, a lot of things would change.”

“Do you think it will be difficult?”

“Well, it’s complicated. My head is telling me that it’s definitely impossible…”

My heart was telling me that it was possible.

When I honestly told Yulken about this, he clinked his glass and snapped his fingers happily.

“Then it might be possible. This is just my theory, but when the head and heart shout at the same time, what the heart says is usually right.”

“Did you become a poet without me seeing you?”

As far as he remembers, he wasn’t the type of guy who used to say things like this.

To put it in a good way, he had a soft-spoken and serious personality. In a bad way, he was blunt and lacking in conversational skills.

Yulken smiled as if he had expected this reaction.

This is something I’ve heard often from his wife recently.

He thought carefully about why the change occurred, but only one person could come to mind.

“This is something I learned from my son-in-law. “Unlike me, he has a lot to say.”

“What kind of person is this? “I’m a little curious because we’ve only had a few conversations.”

“He’s a man who taught me a lot and helped me. “He is like a benefactor to our family.”

It was a sight I had not seen often in the past for Yulken to praise someone so highly.

Usually, when you hear something like this, you’re bound to have some doubts, but Bartheus could see himself nodding his head in understanding.

“Well, I thought he was an unusual person. For the first time, I truly envy you.”

“Don’t even think about taking it away. Aside from me, my wife and daughter might hold a knife to your throat.”

“Oh no, that can’t happen.”

With this, Bartheus, who had not yet given up on his heart, was able to completely give up his ambition to connect Edgar with his daughter.

If Yulken says this, it must mean that it is a really dangerous action.

“Our family’s wizard boasted that he would remove the curse as soon as possible. So please wait in peace.”

“So, how is Robert doing?”

“It seemed like that.”

In fact, Bartheus’s son, Robert, headed to the Robeheim family a few days before this coup, pretending that it was a trip.

The reason was to interpret the curse, and originally, it was planned to hit Albrich as soon as the curse was resolved.

However, after hearing this news, Beatria said that she could not waste her time and told her children and her husband not to worry and that she killed him quickly, so the situation progressed quickly.

“Actually, deep down I gave up. “Albrich, I thought that when he died, he would take our family to hell with him.”

“Do you think there might be a reason not to do that?”

“I don’t know. “I wonder if it was the wicked man’s final mercy, or if there was just no context at the last moment.”

It remained just a question.

However, Bartheus did not bother to find out the inside story.

The only thing that matters is the positive reality that all the precious people survived and the evil enemy was defeated.

“Hearing the story, I want to see my son for the first time in a while.”

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“Are you going to have a conversation between father and son that they never had before?”

“That would be nice too.” But I think it might be awkward.”

“I experienced it and it wasn’t that bad. That friend will think the same way.”

Bartheus asked his friend, who seemed to have surprisingly done a lot while not seeing him, what happened?

Yulken emptied the remaining alcohol into his mouth, smiled slightly, and opened his mouth as if grumbling.

“I’m going to stay up all night like this.”

“Well, isn’t it good? “Because the night is long.”

That’s right.

Morning will come again tomorrow, but the night will be long.

And it doesn’t just end today, the same night and morning continues the next day.

It took too long for Bartheus to realize that, but he thought it would be important to live with that fact even now.

Grrr.

Before they knew it, the two had opened another bottle of wine and filled each other’s glasses.

It was all trivial talk.

A story about when my daughter walked for the first time, a story about when she accidentally found something delicious while out inspecting, etc.

Still, it was fun. Everything, from the fact that I can continue the conversation with my close friend while facing each other again.