Chapter 60
Edgar thought.
He wasn’t exactly sure what the effects of this candy were, but it was clear that one of them temporarily degraded intelligence.
Otherwise, the situation unfolding before him was simply beyond comprehension.
“Ed, I like it… heehee….”
“…….”
Ariel had been sticking to his side on the sofa, making cat-like sounds and rubbing her face against his arm.
Given that her face already resembled that of a cat, to Edgar, she looked like a noble black-furred cat.
The red eyes were certainly a peculiar detail.
Meanwhile, sitting across from them, Silvia was watching the scene with a bewildered expression.
‘Did I misjudge the effects of the candy?’
Silvia fumbled with the glass jar containing the candy, lost in confusion.
She’d heard it brought out the words hidden inside someone, but never would’ve thought it would change their behavior like this.
Perhaps this was her opportunity to finally express her accumulated desires.
Regardless, it was quite an entertaining sight for anyone watching.
“What on earth made you bring that ridiculous thing?”
“I’m sorry. I thought it would be fun, but the effects are too strong.”
“Sigh….”
Edgar couldn’t come up with any more words as Silvia scratched her cheeks while laughing innocently.
After Ariel entered this state, Edgar had sought an explanation from Silvia, who said the candy made the user act or speak against their will.
In other words, it made one crave affection from those they disliked and push away those they liked.
Edgar had his doubts about the effects, but since the only two who knew about it said so, he had no choice but to accept it.
“Looking at it this way, it’s just like a cat, right?”
“You might find it amusing, but I don’t.”
When Silvia asked, her tone subtle as she observed Ariel clinging to him like a cicada on an old tree, Edgar sighed and waved his hand dismissively.
If she had actually transformed into an ordinary cat, it would have been easier to bear, but for him, this situation was practically hell.
He was beginning to understand what it meant to reach the limit of a man’s patience.
Anyway, it was clear that this was not a blissful situation.
“Come on, isn’t it nice to have a pretty girl like Ariel cuddled up to you?”
“Well….”
Edgar glanced at Ariel, hesitated, and then closed his mouth.
Certainly, as a man, Edgar Billhark might enjoy it, but realizing that it wasn’t truly Ariel’s intention left him feeling empty.
In the midst of that, the soft sensation pressing against him occasionally tested his mental strength, making it downright unbearable.
“Ah, did you know? The effects of that candy disappear and you won’t remember anything after it wears off?”
“Disappears? Are you talking about memories from after eating the candy?”
“Yep. Isn’t it fascinating?”
Regarding this unexpected additional effect, Edgar felt a wave of relief wash over him. He’d been agonizing over how to handle things when Ariel returned to her normal self and how to treat her now.
But if her memories vanished completely, that meant he could set aside these worries for the time being.
Of course, the fact that Silvia was the one saying it meant he couldn’t completely trust it, which worried him the most.
“What’s up? You’re not doubting me, are you?”
Noticing Edgar’s piercing gaze, Silvia asked, half in jest. He narrowed his eyes even further and shot back.
“…How can I not be suspicious? You’ve turned her into this.”
“Please! Anyone would think Ariel is your sister or daughter at this point.”
“…….”
Even while causing trouble for herself, Silvia had a knack for retaliating with full force.
Edgar, having no retort left, silently wrapped his arm around Ariel’s shoulder.
‘Sister, huh.’
With the sudden jab, Edgar smirked wistfully as he took a sip of the tea in front of him.
It wasn’t incorrect; he couldn’t think of a way to deny it.
Denying it would be akin to turning his back on his own conscience.
When he first saw Ariel, he had already been mentally an adult.
Thus, even though he was supposed to be her childhood friend, he had always seen her as a younger sister despite the age difference.
Edgar never felt that was wrong.
Though his heart was one thing, he never believed there had been any major rift in their friendship.
But he’d begun to feel that his feelings were slowly twisting since the start of this year.
‘Being too pretty can be a flaw, huh.’
A small chuckle escaped Edgar’s lips as he let out a thought he’d never share out loud.
Just like that, Ariel’s beauty only grew more exquisite by the day, and she was gradually acquiring the nobility befitting the heir of the Robeheim Family, which essentially meant she was turning into an alluring woman that no man could ignore.
And of course, Edgar was included in that ‘man’ category.
Besides, he was no emotionless corpse or disabled; though he had foolishly wrapped his conscience with thoughts of her being like a ‘sister’ and tried hard to suppress his gaze toward her.
‘This is tough.’
Edgar was in turmoil between two emotions.
One was the feelings he had for this girl named Ariel.
And the other was the feelings Ariel had for him.
He was pretty thick-skinned regarding his own affairs, but he wasn’t so dull that he couldn’t pick up on something over many years.
Yet asking whether he could be sharp enough to decipher the feelings of a girl was another story.
Were her feelings friendship? Or were they love?
Everything from her smiling at him, reaching out first, to her always being defenseless.
Wasn’t it simply possible because they were comfortable childhood friends?
In the past, he wouldn’t have needed to worry about such things.
Edgar’s gaze toward her had always been one rooted in friendship, so there wouldn’t have been a need to forcefully guess what her feelings were.
As Ariel grew older and became more honest with her emotions, Edgar went in the opposite direction.
Rather, compared to when he viewed the world with clear eyes, he was now developing a mindset akin to that of a younger boy.
Clumsy with others’ emotions, ignorant of his own, caught up in such thoughts, he had become akin to boys of his age.
Just as Ariel had subtly changed while being influenced by him, Edgar too had gradually been changed by his interactions with Ariel.
That was all there was to it.
‘Didn’t see that coming.’
Edgar let out a chuckle as the feeling of emptiness washed over him and draped his coat over Ariel, who had fallen asleep next to him.
He never would have imagined he’d come to see Ariel not as a sister or a friend but as a true woman.
But looking back now, that just might be a natural conclusion.
Edgar knew that she was undeniably a beautiful girl and the most charming of all.
Once he acknowledged that, it was also the moment the loser in this tug-of-war had already been determined.
If he wanted to avoid feeling such emotions, he should have averted his gaze.
Yet he had confronted Ariel and often looked at her with sincerity deeper than any family member.
At that point, he essentially had set off on a fight that was already lost.
“She’s worn out and fallen asleep, huh.”
“…Right?”
Silvia cast a warm gaze at Ariel, whose angelic face now emitted soft snores.
Edgar, who had almost reached out to tidy Ariel’s disheveled hair, paused, then returned his hand while smiling wryly.
When people’s thoughts and feelings begin to change, even such simple actions become difficult to perform.
Was this what they meant by a thief caught in their own trap?
“Edgar, I’ve been curious about something for a while.”
“What is it?”
“What do you want to be to Ariel? Just a close friend? Or perhaps a lover?”
“I don’t know. At first, that thought seemed right, but now that I reconsider, it feels uncertain.”
Sometimes, people realize their own emotions or thoughts much later, having not been aware of them at the time.
Edgar felt like he could speak with a smirk on this very scenario.
The fact that he had come all the way to Hespania with her was justified by the thought of needing to comfort his lonely friend.
And the loop of going into her room each night.
The night of the ball, when he had voiced that determination to Ariel.
Looking back at everything he had done, imagining it was out of friendship, it seemed now that it might not have been true friendship at all.
Swoosh. Swoosh.
Edgar stretched out the hand he had previously retracted to smooth down Ariel’s hair, then awkwardly leaned her head onto his shoulder.
That small gesture fittingly mirrored the change in his heart, making Silvia smile warmly.
“…But one thing is certain: she’s too pretty for my taste.”
“Ha, really? Then that’s good enough for an answer.”
Silvia closed her eyes and leaned deeply into the sofa.
If her friend, who was now sound asleep, had heard her, what kind of reaction would she have given?
Well, it wasn’t exactly something she needed to worry about anymore.
She simply wanted to lay the groundwork for whatever it would lead to between the two of them in the future.