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“Hah, but the princess has helped me enough…!”
Dorothea had already helped her a lot with regard to the funeral, so Clara was uncomfortable getting more help.
“The Princess said Clara’s family is like her own.”
Family. At those words, Clara finally burst into tears that she had been holding back.
She was just a maid.
In addition, Dorothea was too mature for her age and had a wall that was difficult to reach, so Clara worried that Dorothea was still distant from her.
‘Someday you will open your heart to me and you will laugh out loud.’
With that in mind, she served Dorothea with all her heart.
Furthermore, she cared for Dorothea with the heart of becoming a mother or eldest sister.
For Clara, being a ‘maid’ was not just a job, it was life.
But she never thought Dorothea would do this.
No matter how much she cares for the princess, to the princess, she is a maid. Even among ordinary nobles, it was rare to take care of the maid’s family this much.
‘I have been so thankful that you gave me a vacation…’
Clara, who had to take care of Dorothea, felt cared for by Dorothea.
* * *
According to the custom of Ubera, the funeral took place over a week.
It was to wait for guests from afar. Clara greeted the guests with deep grief and fatigue.
All the guests who came to the funeral stopped in surprise when they saw the wreath placed at the entrance.
It was because the splendid wreath was standing even with black eyes.
Those who can read letters were even more surprised than that. The name of the royal family on the wreath is Dorothea Milanaire.
“She worked for the imperial family, and then she made a career out of it.”
“She is serving the princess directly.”
“He has children well, so even if he dies, his children are still happy.”
Those who visited the funeral said that Clara’s father would benefit from his daughter.
And the second day of the funeral. Clara, who was standing by her father, felt the noise outside.
Clara looked out for a moment because it was strange for mourners to become noisy at a rare late hour.
And what she witnessed was the royal carriage.
Dorothea gets out of the carriage, Stefan is following her, and Joy and Po, and the people at the Palace of Converta where Dorothea is staying.
Clara was so startled that she ran outside.
“Princess!”
“Sorry for coming so late, Clara. I thought it would be a nuisance if I came at a busy time.”
Dorothea was wearing an unadorned black dress and a black hat.
Stefan, who was always wearing a knight’s uniform, was also wearing a black uniform, and so were the others.
Clara’s throat was choked again, and the corners of her eyes were itchy.
“Why did you come all the way here, really… !”
Clara criticized Dorothea even though she knew she shouldn’t do that to the mourner.
‘Thank you, I was so grateful. I couldn’t help it.’
‘How can I repay this?’
Tears were dripping down her cheeks, and Dorothea quietly hugged her.
Dorothea grew taller and could hold Clara in her arms. Then Clara fell into Dorothea’s arms and wept.
Even forgetting the fact that she had let a precious guest outside.
* * *
Clara, having managed to wipe away the tears, belatedly brought Dorothea and the others inside.
After giving flowers and prayers, Clara took Dorothea and her party to a room reserved for mourners.
“Thanks to the princess, preparation was easy.”
Clara said in a hoarse voice and smiled. It wasn’t a pleasant smile, but she seemed more comfortable than before.
“But are you alone without any other family members?”
Dorothea asked cautiously.
Then Clara rolled her eyes as if hesitatingly, then parted her lips.
“No, I have one older brother. However, since he is not in a situation where he can welcome guests…”
‘It’s their father’s funeral, but it’s hard for the eldest son to welcome guests?’
With a slightly puzzled expression on Dorothea’s face, Clara spoke again with difficulty.
“His legs are uncomfortable. It’s late, so he’s probably asleep by now.”
Clara pointed to a tightly closed room.
Clara explained that her brother had helped her father with his poor body.
However, shortly after she and Dorothea came to Lampas from the detached palace, his father’s health deteriorated rapidly.
After that, her brother and her father came to a situation where they took care of each other.
Clara had to act as the head of the family because of two unhealthy families.
Two sick people. One daughter earns money.
Even though Clara’s wages were never low, it was for that reason that the maid’s rules were tight.
Dorothea had no idea that this was the case with Clara, who was always bright.
Dorothea, who did not like her own family affairs, did not want to inquire about the affairs of others.
‘So I didn’t know what Clara’s family was like, or what Stephan’s family was like.’
But only now did Dorothea regret her indifference.
“You should have told me.”
If Dorothea knew, she would have been able to take care of Clara in some way so that Clara could focus on her Family.
“No. I’m good enough…I didn’t really like going home.”
Clara lowered her head helplessly. Her tone of voice, disguised as a joke, was once again pitiful.
‘After work at the Imperial Palace, when I went home, I had to take care of the sick again.’
Two adult males and one female alone.
Cleaned the mess all the way through the house, prepared a meal for tomorrow, and washed the dirty clothes that they couldn’t handle.
Clara did not like such a house, so she stayed longer in the Imperial Palace as if to escape. Instead, the time spent with Dorothea was much more enjoyable and happier.
Clara thought to herself as she hated going into the house.
‘If I hadn’t made this much money, they would starve to death together. They wouldn’t have been able to even take medicine.’
‘But now, my heart aches.’
A time when she was fed up with both her father and her brother, when she knew they were sick, but were annoyed by the accumulated housework, and when she was pessimistic about her own situation with two sick people by Her side.
‘It was painful to recall those moments one by one.’
As Clara dropped her head like that, a heavy hand was placed on Clara’s shoulder, giving her comfort.
It was Stefan.
He comforted Clara without a word, patting Clara on the shoulder a few more times as if he had patted Dorothea.
When Stefan seemed to be saying ‘You have been good enough’, Clara nodded.
“Still, thanks to the princess, I hear that my father has a good daughter taking care of his last days.”
Clara said, trying to remove the dark shadows.
“Clara is a good daughter. Clara is also a good person.”
Clara’s lips trembled at Dorothea’s words, but luckily she held back the tears.
Then there was the sound of a creaking door opening.
When she turned her head, a man was crawling out of the floor, dragging his legs, from inside the room.
“Brother!”
“Clara… It looks like a guest has arrived.”
Clara’s older brother was wearing a wrinkled black jacket that was loosely said to be polite in his own way.
His scruffy hair, as if he had just woken up from lying down, was enough to cover his eyes, and his chin had a beard that had not been trimmed for a long time.
Clara looked at Dorothea and Stefan with bewildered eyes.
“Brother, just sleep. Why did you come out?”
Clara blamed her brother.
In fact, she tried not to introduce her brother on purpose. It was because she hated seeing her brother in front of others, especially in front of the princess.
At least as far as Clara knew, no one was welcoming the disabled.
When a child with a disability was born, they cursed the immorality of their parents, and there were people who were angry at them saying that they didn’t want to have a disabled person as their neighbor.
Unable to find a job, he could not earn enough money and raise a family as he got older. For him, ‘self-reliance’ was not allowed for the rest of his life.
Clara was both ashamed and afraid to show her older brother in front of the princess.
And then.
“Stefan.”
When Dorothea called, Stefan quickly recognized her gaze and ran to help Clara’s brother to his seat.
“Oh, sorry…”
Clara’s older brother apologized to Stefan, who helped him get to sit down.
Clara tried to turn away from her brother.
‘Usually, I did get along with my brother, but when moments like this came, I would lower my head.’
Until now, she had a habit of bowing her head whenever she was with her brother.
“Brother, greet with courtesy. This is the princess.”
Clara tells her brother who had been sitting opposite Dorothea. It was then that he found out who Dorothea was and fell flat on the floor.
“Ah, I didn’t know you were a princess! I am Anton, Clara’s older brother.”
“Don’t do that, get up. I came here for condolences, not to be treated as a princess.”
At Dorothea’s words, Anton barely raised his upper body and sat down.
“You must be very sad.”
“I never thought that the princess would come to visit us in person.”
Anton said, surprised by Dorothea’s deep consolation.
‘I couldn’t believe the princess was sending the wreath, but the princess is coming now!’
“It’s because of Clara.”
“Still, thank you so much for taking care of Clara like this. I also heard a lot about the princess. She’s smart, beautiful, and perfect without lacking anything…”
“It’s not…”
Dorothea smiled awkwardly at the compliments that flowed from Anton’s mouth.
“Clara is the most precious person to me. She is also my family.”
Dorothea talked with Anton about Clara. She talked about what a good maid Clara was and how Dorothea thought of Clara as her family.
Dorothea deliberately did not ask about his father or what his life would be like in the future.
“Thanks to Clara, I was able to get my health back.”
“I was very proud of Clara because the princess said so.”
Anton was delighted to hear about Clara, which he had not heard while in the house.