“Clara Holton! What a lovely name! I’m truly glad our paths have crossed like this. You might have already heard, but I haven’t been here long, and I’ve had a hard time adjusting. It’s been quite lonely.”
Paul’s eyes went wide. This was the first time he’d seen his madam so talkative and quick with her words. On top of that, having trouble adapting to Greze? Feeling lonely? She hadn’t seemed that way at all!
Clara looked down at Cassia’s hand, which was holding hers tightly and she looked dazed. She had been incredibly worried, knowing the madam was born and raised in a grand noble family, but here she was, being so friendly and warm to a mere servant like her.
“Please, let’s get along well. For some reason, I feel like you and I can become like close friends.”
Friends?! The madam from one of the South’s wealthiest noble houses wants to be friends with her?!
Despite her bewilderment, Clara felt a surge of pity for her madam. She had never been to the South, but rumor had it that Ruberno and Greze were as different as heaven and hell. She could only imagine how hard and lonely it must be for the Baroness who had likely only ever seen fine things and worn priceless clothes, to adjust to life here.
Clara was the type with overflowing spirit.
Her fluster lasted only a moment before she exhaled strongly through her nose and determination flashed across her face as she squeezed Cassia’s hand back.
“Thank you for your kind words, Madam. I will do my absolute best!”
Ten years had rewound, but Clara was still the same. Cassia smiled, a wave of emotion welling up inside her.
***
Clara Holton.
Born in the northern territory of Varnan, her father was a subcontractor for a large merchant group owned by Viscount Varnan. Although Clara was a commoner, she grew up in relative comfort thanks to her father, who ran his company quite profitably.
Her misfortune began when she came to Greze. The year she turned twenty, she was married to her husband, Matthew Holton, a marriage that held no regard for her own wishes. It was due to her father’s plan to extend his business into Greze. He was the son of her father’s friend, chosen as part of her father’s plan to extend business ties into Greze and he was ten years older than her. Clara’s role was to act as the link in Greze.
In the early days after Clara moved to Greze, her father’s business saw some success, and she received a decent fee for her work. It was enough, in other words, for her to manage the household finances in place of her worthless husband, who would get drunk at every opportunity and wake up on the street.
But Clara’s precariously balanced life in Greze collapsed after the territory war. Relations between Axios, Greze, Varnan, and Viche grew hostile. Naturally, all commercial exchange between the regions came to a temporary, complete halt.
Clara was left like a kite with its string cut. The support she received from her father vanished and having already taken her husband’s name, she could no longer return home to Varnan. Not that her father or her siblings, who had scattered after their own marriages and moves, would have welcomed her back.
She had to find work just to put food on the table. That was why Clara took a job as a maid at Greze Castle after the territory war.
At this point, it should be easy to guess why Cassia had felt such closeness to Clara. The decisive reason why Cassia had formed such a strong bond with Clara and kept her close was that their lives were frighteningly similar.
Both had once lived in comfort, only to become paupers overnight, struggling to find even a dry barley bun. Both had hopeless, good-for-nothing husbands they were supposed to rely on. And while both Cassia and Clara lacked affection in their marriages, Clara’s situation was, if one had to compare, far worse.
Because her husband, that damned Matthew Holton, also had a bad habit of laying his hands on her.
***
“Here, eat up.”
“Ah, no, madam…how can I dare accept such a precious thing?”
“Hm? It’s nothing precious at all. You can have as much as you like. It’s basically a slice of bread.”
With a table between them bearing two slices of cake and two cups of tea, Clara scratched her cheek awkwardly.
“But this is cake, not bread… a very expensive dessert…”
But really, what was one slice of cake in a noble’s castle? Except this was Greze, the poorest place in the North, perhaps in the entire continent. Here, even the lord and lady themselves were known to be dirt-poor. This was the kind of place where you had to tremble while cutting even a single slice of cake.
Clara smiled awkwardly, as if she could somewhat guess the castle’s financial situation. Cassia stroked her chin sheepishly.
“I mean, it might be a lot to have dessert like this every day but the Baron made considerable profit from his last visit to Viche, so there’s no need to worry. Besides, you love chestnut cake so…”
Cassia suddenly trailed off mid-sentence.
“I mean, I have a feeling you’d really like chestnut cake….Am I wrong?”
“Gasp! You’re right I can’t resist anything with chestnuts. Ahem. W-Well, if you’ll excuse me, though I know it’s rude…”
“No, no, it’s not rude at all. I get so gloomy having teatime all by myself. From now on, join me for a cup of tea every once in a while, okay?”
“It would be my honor, Madam.”
Clara raised her fork in a fluster. After one bite, her cheeks flushed with excitement.
“It’s so…so delicious, Madam. It’s melting in my mouth!”
Cassia gave her a tender smile. Clara really was so similar to her in so many ways. This was the same woman who, before coming to Greze, had eaten her favorite chestnut cream cake every day, thanks to her wealthy father.
Watching Clara finish the cake with gusto, Cassia’s heart swelled. It wasn’t just their shared hardships that made Cassia cherish Clara.
‘If not for Clara, I’d never have endured. Without her, I would’ve cried and demanded to go back to Ruberno under Vita’s harassment.’
Yes, Clara had been the only one in the castle brave enough to stand up to Vita.
『W-What did you just call me? A… a hag?!』
『That’s right, you hag! Anyone would think you were the baroness! I’m here to serve my lady, not to wait on you!』
If Cassia was asked to recall the few scenes that remained vivid in her faded memories, it would undoubtedly be the image of Clara and Vita grabbing each other by the hair and fighting fiercely.
The other servants of Greze Castle had taken to calling Vita ‘young miss’ and treating her with deference and Vita had grown accustomed to it. Then, like a comet, the tough-spirited maid Clara appeared. She couldn’t stand Vita and refused to be friendly. In turn, Vita would subtly try to put her in her place.
The moment their emotions exploded, the situation escalated into a physical fight. Though she didn’t say anything, Cassia honestly felt quite exhilarated.
Of course, the moment she realized Vita had run to Zester, crying after being hit by Clara, Cassia was terrified. Zester never meddled in servant matters, but she knew it would be different if Vita was involved. She was sure he would have Clara punished and thrown out of the Castle.
Not wanting to see Clara, her only friend in the castle, get kicked out for nothing, Cassia went directly to Zester. When she explained what happened and asked him to be lenient, saying it wasn’t solely Clara’s fault, Zester had furrowed his brow and replied with a puzzled expression.
『Why…are you telling me this?』
It was surprising. Zester added that he had no authority over the servants, especially the maids, and that she didn’t need to come to him asking for leniency over such a trivial matter.
It was a strange reaction from Zester, who was clearly supposed to cherish Vita. But at the time, Cassia had no leisure to ponder why he acted so indifferently. She was just relieved that Clara was safe.
‘Did he really cheat on me?’
Thinking back on it now, Zester’s attitude was highly suspicious. If he had really been in that kind of relationship with Vita, wouldn’t he have been furious with Clara, without even asking what happened?
But at the time, he showed no such indication of anger. Even though Vita must have been furious and demanding that he kick Clara out.
When she discovered Vita in Zester’s room late that night, she was convinced they were having an affair, but now, after returning ten years, she could no longer be certain of that.
Looking at Zester now, was he really the type to let his eyes wander to another woman?
‘Vita is already gone now, so there’s no way to know if they were really in a relationship or if it slowly developed into one.’
The lack of a clear answer left a lingering, unpleasant feeling in a corner of her mind.
“By the way, Clara, do you have any family?”
Clara, who had polished off the cake in the blink of an eye and was sipping her tea, coughed suddenly before smiling awkwardly.
“I, I’m married. I have a husband.”
Of course, I know. I asked because I know.
Matthew Holton. How could Cassia forget that brute, who had relentlessly laid his hands on the frail Clara, who looked as if she had no flesh to spare?
Unfortunately, Cassia hadn’t learned of it until much later, after Vita was gone and Rael was born. Clara had hidden it, never wanting to worry her lady.
Cassia still blamed herself. If only she’d been less oblivious, maybe she could have helped sooner.
Clara had come to Greze at twenty, about the same time as Cassia. They were still in the newlywed phase so surely, he wouldn’t have started laying his hands on her yet. In her past life, under Cassia’s insistent questioning, Clara had confessed that the violence had started about a year after their marriage.
‘She’s fine for now, right? Right…?’
Even as she thought that, Cassia felt anxious. Why was Clara already working as a maid? Unlike in her past life, the castle’s finances were stable, so they had hired unplanned maids. But there was no reason for Clara to need a job right now. The original reason Clara became a maid was to support her household after the territory war, when she could no longer earn money through her father’s company. So, why would Clara, whose finances should still be fine, jump at the servant recruitment notice the moment it was posted?
For some reason, Cassia’s heart sank with an ominous feeling.
‘That damn bastard didn’t push her to go earn money, did he? He’s a mindless sleaze who only drinks away Clara’s money, so I wouldn’t be surprised at all…’
However, this was their first meeting. Cassia wanted to ask outright if her husband was hitting her but of course, she couldn’t. Clara wouldn’t tell her the truth, and she would find it incredibly shocking and suspicious that Cassia even knew to ask. In the end, Cassia decided she had no choice but to wait and see, at least until she had built some rapport with Clara. Until then.
That is, until Clara stood up to say “Thank you for the delicious meal, Madam” and as she moved to clear the table, a dark, angry bruise peeked out from under the sleeve of her maid uniform.
“…Madam? Ah.”
Cassia reflexively grabbed Clara’s wrist, pulling back her cuff. Clara’s eyes widened in shock.
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