Please Don’t Remember Me - Chapter 2 Part 1. The Maids

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A month has passed and the day has come for Clara to leave for Bajona.

Last night Anna, the first princess, and Amarina, the second princess, also returned from their in law families, and for the first time in many years the whole family dined together.

Cuddled by Amarina in the morning, Clara was late getting in the carriage, unable to shake off Amarina’s crying hands.

“Stop it! You’ve been married long enough!”

Anna shouted at Amarina to stop delay the journey any longer, and the carriage was finally on its way. As Clara’s luggage was small, the carriage was heading towards Bajona at a good speed as planned. She looked out the window, thinking that she might not be able to see the streets of the Kingdom of Corafran for a while, but as she didn’t go out much to begin with, so she just looked at the scenery in a very fresh feeling.

They stayed two nights before reaching the border, and one night after crossing, arriving in Bajona just as the sun was setting. Bajona was smaller than the Kingdom of Corafran and the streets were somewhat more modest. But the people were just as lively and friendly as ever.

“When I get used to life in Bajona, I’ll ask the Duke to bring me to the city.”

She hoped he was a kind man. She was certain that the Duke was fine because the King and the Queen approved of his character. They said he was a hundred times better looking than his picture and he looked good from every angle. She was actually looking forward to meeting him. The bar had been set very high for the Duke in Clara’s mind.

“I’m looking forward to it this much, I’m sure it’ll be fine in the future.”

When Clara heard the announcement of arrival, she used the window as a mirror to fix her hair. Then, after checking her dress for disorder, she slowly got out of the carriage. An elderly man in butler’s clothes gave her a hand. Behind him, about twenty maids lined up and bowed their heads.

“Huh? Where’s the Duke?”

She was expecting to be greeted by a handsome man she had heard so much about, so she was a little disappointed when he wasn’t there.

“Welcome, Miss Clara.”

“How do you do, I’m Clara. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Where is the Duke ……?”

“I’m sorry. My Lord is unable to come due to urgent business, so I was sent to escort you instead.”

“Oh, yes. The Duke is very busy, isn’t he? Thank you for your help.”

Being escorted by the butler to the mansion, the maids glanced at her but did not smile. Even a young maid with freckles looked down frightened when Clara met her eyes.

“I can’t do this. I don’t think we can get along…”

She smiled and walked briskly like a princess, but inwardly she was very upset. First of all, she had to build a relationship of trust with the servants from scratch.

Twenty maids were busily carrying in Clara’s luggage. If it were up to her, she would have joined them, but she was wearing a dress, and the princess hadn’t made friends with them enough to walk around with a heavy load. She would only give them instructions such as “take that over there”, “take this over there”, “put this away there”, etc., out of the way as far as possible. When she did this, she tried to smile and said “thank you”.

She was careful to end the sentence with “thank you for your hard work”. By the time the luggage had been brought in, it was well into the night. The knight from the Kingdom of Corafran called out to Clara.

“Your Highness, we will stay at the lodgings provided by the Duke, and return to Corafran tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, I thought you were going to stay here?”

“We were planning to rent a room, but it seems that the Duke had arranged for us to have a restful stay…”

“…… Well, it’s still a bit hectic here with all the luggage being brought in, isn’t it ……?”

“Does it look that way? It seems to me that there are plenty of empty rooms in this duchy.”

“We’re leaving here in the morning. …… Your Highness, is everything all right?”

“Yes? What?”

“Well, it’s a little …… plain for a Duchess’s room. It’s more like a guest room.”

Clara looked around the room. Now that he mentioned it, it did look like a guest room. But it didn’t bother her because she didn’t want to live a flashy lifestyle that didn’t suit her.

“This building is not the main house, is it? It’s a detached house, isn’t it? I’m very worried about leaving Your Highness alone in a guest room that’s not ours.”

When she looked out of the window, she saw a large mansion standing across a large garden. This was certainly a remote room. She was so busy giving instructions to the maids that I didn’t have time to look outside.

“I think it’s because we haven’t done the formal marriage ceremony yet. Or maybe I’m not used to being engaged. I grew up in a detached mansion, so I feel more at home here.”

“If that’s what Your Highness says, ……”

“Thank you very much for everything today, and tell the others how much I appreciate their hospitality. You have travelled a long way. Have a good rest and have a safe journey home.”