How much time has passed from being

How much time has passed from being shaken due to the cart.
While stroking the hair of my daughter, who was sleeping using my lap as a pillow, I noticed the sky growing lighter. Daybreak must already be near.

But still, Clara wasn’t feeling drowsy and was feeling a fluffy sensation as though she was floating in midair.
In these past 2 days, her world had turned around completely.

When she was imprisoned in the jail, she already thought that she was going to be executed. The only thing she felt was the fear towards death and despair for leaving her only daughter alone.
The one who saved her from that was a boy, whose age differed from her daughter’s by only a single year.

For the sake of a servant, who could be changed easily any number of times, he had handed over clothes, horses and a cart and also, a huge amount of money for them to start a new life, free of charge.
There was no way Harold’s parents, who had abused Clara by calling her an 『inferior species』, would allow such a thing. Which meant that this was something he himself had done.

While they were being escorted to the cart, she heard from the 2 soldiers about how the boy had saved them.
First, telling that he wanted a sword from a famous blacksmith in Lietze, he obtained the transit permit. He gave it for the coachman’s use and then, asked him to pretend departing to Lietze early in the morning, while he hid in the forest which was in the vicinity of the highway, where there were less people, a bit away from the town.
Meanwhile, the 2 soldiers, who were in civilian clothes so that they wouldn’t stand out, went to the town to loan the horses and to buy and gather the necessary goods. 「Thanks to that, we ran around the town for the whole day」- smiling wryly while telling that, but also feeling a bit proud, the soldiers narrated.

And then, after entering Brosch, Clara and Colette would remain in the village, while the horse-cart and 1 of the soldiers would continue on to Lietze. It wouldn’t look to be suspicious because, on the shortest route from the Stokes territory to Lietze, they would need to pass through Brosch village.
The round trip to Lietze would roughly take 4 – 6 days, so a delay of 1 full day was also within calculations.

When Clara heard this, she couldn’t help but be surprised. A 10 year old boy had thought up such an elaborate plan in not even half a day, and had splendidly accomplished it like this.
To add to that, the money given to her was the money given to him by his father to buy a sword for himself.

Then, when they went to Lietze, they wouldn’t be able to buy the sword – when Clara was worried about that, the coachman stifled his laughter.
When she asked the reason for his laughter, he told her that he had asked Harold the same question when he had revealed the series of plans to him. And, he had gotten this reply back.

「Bastard, are you an idiot. Won’t it be fine if you choose a cheap sword randomly」

It was as though there was some gentleness mixed in those sharp words. Maybe he had sensed that, since hearing the coachman telling it as though it was enjoyable, left a deep impression on her.

By no means could Clara’s lifetime be called as smooth sailing but still, Colette being born and encountering Harold, she thought that those 2 things were irreplaceable.

「Clara-san, are you awake?」

「Yes. Did something happen?」

「Brosch village is coming into view」

Hearing the coachman’s words, she peeked out from behind.
The thing that came into Clara’s view was, illuminated by the sun rays rising from the horizon and covered in morning mist, a sparkling Brosch village.

「We’ll have arrived by the time the sun has completely risen. Until then, how about resting for a while?」

「Thank you for your consideration. But, for now, I want to burn this into my memory………」

「Is that so. Well, I understand, those feelings」

Clara, the coachman and even the 2 soldiers, had their hearts stolen by the scenery which was like an illusion.
By that form of Brosch village, which was as though it was blessing Clara’s and Colette’s new life.