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Chapter 38
After I Die, the Little Groom
Yuria giggled as she smelled the flowers in the garden.
Could it be that Yuria really thought that way?
Nadia already knew why Arkis was being so kind to her.
“Arkis is looking out for me because of you, Yuria.”
“Huh?”
“Really. You once said you wanted me to make friends my own age.”
At Nadia’s words, Yuria’s face turned bright red.
“No way… Really? Did you really tell Nadia that?”
Instead of answering, Nadia just smiled sweetly.
Yuria crouched down, covering her cheeks with her hands.
“Oh my, this is so embarrassing! Does he really think he’s my dad?”
“Hahaha! Even if he’s not your dad, he’s still a good older brother, isn’t he?”
Nadia smiled warmly and extended her hand.
Though embarrassed, Yuria finally took Nadia’s hand and stood up.
“I didn’t mean to tease you. I just wanted to show how much Arkis cares about you.”
“……Honestly, Arkis really is something else.”
“I envy that he has a family who cares so much for him.”
Yuria let out a deep sigh, unusual for her.
“He feels sorry for me. Even if I tell him to stop blaming himself…”
“Hmm……”
As Nadia hummed thoughtfully, Yuria was surprised and asked,
“I’m sorry. I talked about something only I know with Arkis.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. Actually, I already heard a little from Arkis, so I was wondering how I should say it.”
“Eh, why would you worry about that, Nadia?”
Yuria grabbed Nadia’s hand and led her to a small table in the garden.
As Nadia sat, Yuria placed both hands on the table a bit roughly and exclaimed in frustration,
“Since it’s come to this, listen carefully to the whole story. Listen and take my side!”
The story that began with Yuria’s outcry was one from more than ten years ago, from their childhood.
From the moment Yuria was born, she was a child destined to one day become the Duchess of Baldwin.
The Crimson estate was located in the north and was extremely cold, but young Yuria grew up without ever suffering a common frostbite.
But growing up gracefully didn’t necessarily mean she grew up happily.
From the time she had tiny, delicate hands, Yuria had to learn etiquette from a strict tutor.
No matter how hungry she was, she had to eat far less than others.
That was the only way she could become an elegant and beautiful duchess.
Learning etiquette wasn’t actually that hard for Yuria. She was clever and quickly mimicked the tutor’s gestures.
Eating less was harder than learning etiquette, but she could manage thanks to the secret snacks her nanny gave her.
The hardest times for Yuria were the moments alone after all the lessons and meals were over.
Her father, Count Crimson, always demanded that Yuria behave quietly.
No running, no long walks, just sit prettily like a doll.
For a naturally lively child like Yuria, it was almost torture to sit quietly without being able to speak, even though being scolded by the tutor was preferable.
During one of these unbearably boring days, Arkis visited the Crimson estate.
The boy, as beautiful as an angel in a religious painting, was her cousin.
Arkis was six years older than Yuria, so technically they weren’t peers.
But for Yuria, who had been confined to the estate, seeing a boy just six years older than her felt like seeing someone entirely new.
Yuria wanted to get close to Arkis, so every day, she secretly followed him around.
However, Arkis was in no situation to accept Yuria’s affection.
Arkis’s father, Duke Flan, had been lucky to inherit everything as the eldest son, but he was a mediocre man.
Even if a beautiful and talented son were born under such a man, Duke Flan’s insecurities couldn’t handle it, and he resented his own child.
When Arkis showed talent in magic, Duke Flan’s envy got the better of him, and he sent Arkis away from his side.
Suddenly expelled from the warm south to the harsh north, Arkis’s temper was thoroughly twisted.
He hated his foolish father, his mother who couldn’t stand up to him, and even the core that had opened on its own.
So he naturally had no patience for a little girl he met in the unfamiliar north.
Arkis ignored Yuria, who trailed after him constantly.
But as the day went on, even his patience ran out. More precisely, he needed somewhere to vent his frustration.
“Hey.”
“Ah! So you finally see me!”
Yuria didn’t think Arkis was ignoring her; she assumed he simply hadn’t noticed her.
Arkis found her naive attitude irritating.
“Are you so stupid that you don’t even realize you’re being ignored?”
“Uh… You’re ignoring me?”
Even cheerful Yuria couldn’t help but feel hurt by his words.
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Arkis flinched, startled.
But as a teenage boy, his pride wouldn’t allow him to comfort her.
“Don’t follow me! If I see you again, I’ll tell Count Crimson!”
At that, Yuria turned pale with fright.
Arkis thought she was thoroughly scared and immediately turned to run.
If he could shake her off, no one would be paying attention to him.
He planned to keep running toward the forest. Though it would get too cold as night fell, he wanted to avoid being seen for just a little while.
While crossing the river on the way, he heard someone stepping on the stones behind him.
“Who’s there!”
Arkis shouted in a sharp voice and turned around.
Yuria, following silently, panicked and stepped back.
At that moment, her foot slipped on a rock.
“O-oh?”
Her small body tilted and fell into the river with a splash.
“Sa-somebody save me…”
Yuria’s desperate cry was swallowed by the river.
The current pulled her away in an instant.
Arkis ran along the riverbank without thinking.
He couldn’t consider calling for an adult.
‘Sh-should I use magic? But I was told not to when the core had just opened…’
The theories he had learned from his teacher mixed chaotically in his head.
He knew he shouldn’t use magic, but he couldn’t ignore the struggling little girl in front of him.
Finally, Arkis plunged both hands into the icy river and sent mana through them.
Fortunately, Yuria’s body slowed and drifted toward him.
Though his heart clenched many times, Arkis gritted his teeth and endured.
He was determined to save the girl in front of him.
Finally, Arkis’s hands grasped Yuria’s.
With his last ounce of strength, he pulled her from the water.
Arkis carried her on his back and ran like a madman.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry…”
Until the two children reached the Crimson estate, Arkis kept repeating the same words.
“Seriously, my ears nearly died from the ringing!”
Yuria banged on the table in excitement as she recounted the story.
“I was already nauseous from swallowing so much water, and freezing cold, my body went numb, and then after almost dying and coming back, you know how disoriented I was? You should’ve just run faster……”
Yuria grumbled, shaking her head in disbelief.
“…Even someone who normally doesn’t flinch was terrified.”
Of course, that wasn’t exactly her real feeling.
Nadia imagined how scared the young boy and girl must have been and felt both pity and joy at seeing them healthy.
She poured warm tea into Yuria’s cup.
“I heard Arkis said you were sick for a long time afterward.”
“That’s right.”
Yuria rested her elbows on the table, propping her chin in her hands.
With a mischievous sigh, she looked even younger.
“As you know, the northern rivers are freezing. I was only six at the time. But I don’t hold any grudges. For three years afterward, Arkis stayed by my side, saying he would take care of me. I was never bored.”
Yuria smiled nostalgically, thinking back to her childhood.
But she was fickle, and within minutes, her expression soured again.
“Still, continuing like that until I turned twenty? I’m a proper lady now, and I refuse to be treated like a child.”
“……”
Nadia felt her lips dry instinctively.
She wasn’t foolish—she understood this was the moment to empathize.
But what tone and expression should she use to show unconditional support?
She hadn’t even done this with Heinrich.
Talking about Count Crimson and the magic stone trade would have been far less stressful.
Nadia didn’t want to reveal that she was in a predicament.
But her first true friend was perceptive in these matters.
“Nadia……”
“Go ahead.”
“……You also think I’m childish, don’t you?”
