Clara noticed her aunt ogling her once again when she mentioned her gown. At this time, she couldn't even be bothered to frown. She only let out a sigh under her breath. It had happened so many times she was starting to become used to it.

Her aunt then mentioned how they would be taking a rest in Viscount Crooper's place for the evening.

Clara didn't know him that much, as she never really met him for much amount of time. However, she did know that she was an ally of her uncle, as he had vouched for him in front of the king. And how he was given some land for it. 

That was enough to make him an enemy in her eyes.

"Very well, half-to-noon it is," Clara said as she rose up from her seat. Her breakfast could have gone for longer as there were still some food left over on the table, and that she herself was not that full either, but she couldn't stand being there with her uncle for longer than necessary.

"I shall return to my chambers and prepare for the journey," she announced before leaving, going upstairs back into her room. She had decided to spend her remaining time reading, while drinking some tea and eating some bread that she ordered her maids to bring to her. She pretty much finished her breakfast there, though technically, she was only "snacking". It was yet another way she could avoid her uncle.

"You're departing again, Miss? And with Milord as well?" one of her maid asked after she announced that for the next few days she would not be here. Her expression was that of worry, as she shared the same sentiment regarding Karl as Clara did.

Ria was her name, and she had been serving Clara even before she had come here. Indeed, she was pretty much her caretaker ever since she was little. That led to her being really close to her, and not a day they were ever separated.

And thanks to her good looks, she too was a target of ogling by Karl.

"Indeed," Clara replied. "And we would be meeting the new Earl that had just been crowned."

Clara paused, sighing before she continued to tell her of the bad news.

"And I believe he would be pawning me off to marry her."

Ria gasped, covering her mouth with her right hand.

"Oh Miss, poor Miss!" She went up to her and gave her a tight embrace. It was as if there were no status difference between them, and that she was just a really good friend that wished to comfort her.

"Oh, Ria, please don't shed any tears for me." Clara slowly took Ria's arms and released her embrace. "I perfectly know this time would come. And I have told you so many times before that this would be the most likely outcome for my future."

"And besides," she continued with a wry smile. "It's still better than marrying that perverted old man," she added, referring to her uncle.

"B-but what if he too was some old, lecherous man?" Ria rebuked, her face full of worry.

"Haven't you hear the rumors? He was a young man. He might be lecherous but at the very least he was in the age that a man could acceptably be lecherous," Clara answered. "And before you asked, I've accepted the high probability that he would have one or two whores he brought to his bed on the side. It wouldn't really bother me, really. I wouldn't marry him for love after all. It would be more akin to a business relationship. And with him taking me as his wife, I would finally be free of that old coot."

Such was Clara's thoughts, a reflection of the pessimistic rationalism she had adapted over the years.
[hr]
At the promised time they departed, with Ria on her side. They sat together on one side of their carriage, while Karl sat on the other.

She didn't speak much on the trip, and neither did Ria. Clara would respond to her uncle's remarks here and there, but never for long, and she never actively initiated the conversation. While Ria herself only whispered to Clara, not even daring to look Karl in the eye.

Clara filled the hours with looking at the landscape outside through her window, while Ria fell asleep quickly.

It was beautiful, and sometimes, she wished she could just leave it all and travel the land on her own, responsibilities and nobility be damned.

It was just a foolish whisper of the heart. She knew she wouldn't be able to survive out there without her fancy dresses and her maids.

Eventually, they finally arrived at their stop for the night, the place of the Viscount Cooper. The keep he lived in was small, at least in relation to Karl's place, fitting as he was a lower ranked nobility compared to Karl.

Clara was thankful for their arrival, as well as Ria. They had been sitting for so long that they welcomed the ability to stretch their legs once more very much. Even Ria was being all fidgety for the last half an hour of their trip.

The Viscount naturally welcomed them personally. He first greeted Karl, then Clara, while ignoring Ria entirely. She was just Clara's maid after all.

"We wish to rest at once. It has been a long journey," Clara announced firmly once the formalities were over. "I trust dinner can wait?"

The reason she did so was not just because she was tired, though her joints certainly could be soothed by a soft bed. She also needed to "powder her nose", as the polite euphemism said. And looking at Ria's fidgeting, she clearly needed to as well. They had journeyed non-stop for the better part of the day after all.