My name is Vivian Clarence, although at this point, I don't know if I can be called as someone from the Clarence. Due to my distinct appearance from the Clarences, I was shunned by them and sent to the palace in order to serve the princess, in hopes of gaining favor with the king.
I know that I should be happy that I was born a noble, regardless of how they treat me, I'm sure there are others out there who suffer through something much worse, and it's not like I am being physically abused here so all I have to do is to endure everything, or maybe leave the house someday, I'm sure they wouldn't notice even if I went missing. But no matter how much I reason myself with that, isn't it just the same as being dead if there is no meaning to my life?
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Today, the headmaid, Miss Layla, was ordered by the king to bring me in front of the Princess' bedroom. It seems like the Princess had personally requested for me to be her lady-in-waiting, I was bound to be as such but.. I thought it was still far into the future.
".. Miss Vivian, are you sure you still don't want to wash your hair with hair condiments? You are not in the Clarence household anymore, as long as you do your duties properly, you will have a lot more freedom here." Miss Layla seemed to be worried about me.
"Thank you for your concern, Miss Layla, but I don't really mind much about my appearance. It'll be a lot faster and easier for me if the princess does not like me at all."
"Is that so? I'm not going to force you but remember, first impressions are quite important as well, so at least be tactful when talking with her highness.. The Princess should be waking up soon, be sure to knock before entering." Miss Layla left soon after.
After a few moments, I knock on the door three times.
"Come in."
As soon as I received permission, I opened the door and entered the room while looking down on the floor.
"Greetings, your Highness. I am Vivian Clarence, please forgive me but I will be troubling Milady with my appearance from now on." I tried to introduce myself with the way Miss Layla taught me beforehand, while trying to bow gracefully.
After I finished my introduction, I glanced at her highness. When I saw her in front of me, I was mesmerized by her beautiful, golden hair. The way it flutters around whenever she moved while the sunlight is shining through her hair was simply a sight to behold. Maybe it's because I hated my hair all my life that I was jealous how pretty her hair was, and how I almost wished that I was also born as a princess.
When her highness asked me about my name, I hesitated to tell her at first, but then I remembered my place, how would I, a mere servant, be able to refuse a princess' order. So I decided to tell her highness about my family situation. To be honest, after I said all that I had to say, I felt relieved, and it was like a huge weight on my shoulders were lifted. I never had someone to talk to like this, I didn't even know that I could talk that much since I was always alone, with no one to talk to.
I noticed her highness being quiet the whole time, when I look at her, I saw her face colored faintly with red, and her cheeks which seemed like it was going to burst due to excessive pouting.
As I watch her highness while being dumbfounded by her face, she unexpectedly walked towards me, and I was given something I never experienced before. I was shocked for a moment, then I tried to get off from her grasp, but to no avail.
"It's okay, I am here with you now, I will protect you from them, or anyone who tries to hurt you." When I heard those words, something started to well up inside me.
I felt.. loved. Ahh, I thought to myself, "This must be the feeling of having someone care for you.". When I tried to hug her highness back, she pulls away from me. It seems like my hair made her uncomfortable.
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[Royal Bathhouse]
Her highness insisted that we take a bath and proposed to wash my hair, despite all my resisting, her determination to do so never wavered, so I just let myself be on her hands.
While her highness is washing my body, I somehow feel tingly, and my body seems to heat up for some reason. I wonder if I'm sick or something? She also told me to call her by a nickname, I was elated when I heard her call me as a friend. Even though we met each other just a little while ago, I feel comfortable whenever I'm with her.
After rinsing ourselves, Ara seemed to be out of it for a while now. She kept glancing at my hair.. I also noticed that my hair had suddenly become the way it used to be before I stopped using hair condiments, but I don't really think that's much of an issue, so I wonder what is making her act like that?
As we walk out of the bathhouse, Ara stepped on something, causing her to slip. I tried to catch her, in which I think I failed miserably because I was a bit shorter than her. We fell down with Ara lying above me, our fronts touching each other while she intensely stared at me, which made my body hot again somehow. When Ara touched my chest, I shamefully let out a weird sound, but even though I was a bit surprised, I didn't want her to let go of it.
After that incident, Ara was quiet the whole time with her reddish face, did we stay too long inside the bathhouse? I think whenever I'm with her, I will get to experience a lot of things that I never experienced before. I don't care if anyone judges me for being friends with her highness. As long as I am with Ara, nothing else matters, I just want to be with her as much as possible.