Ironically, the King still allowed Layla to remain at Malyn’s side. After their affair was over, the King lay on the bed and watched Malyn as she lay face down, breathing heavily. He stroked the top of her head gently and smiled.

“I know well enough. You said you loved me, but I understand that this act must be quite overwhelming for a woman like you. So you should have some pleasure as well.”

“You mean…”

“Enjoy yourself in moderation. After all, there’s no chance of you having a child, so what does it matter?”

Malyn stared at him with horrified eyes, unable to fully comprehend his words. The king looked down at her as if he were a kind man, with a benevolent gaze, and said,

“I am not even aroused by this maid. What’s the use of hearing her scream? She’s as big as a giant and all skin and bones.

“…”

“If you feel like it, let me watch you with the maid next time.”

All Malyn could manage was a strained laugh. She couldn’t tell if it was fortunate or unfortunate that Layla was not to the king’s particular taste.

Afterwards, the king would occasionally bring up Layla, making remarks like telling Malyn to indulge her in his presence, or suggesting that if her own cries were unsatisfactory, the maid’s might be more entertaining.

Each time, Malyn clung to him in desperation. The scars on her back accumulated over time, while Layla’s complexion grew paler and more exhausted with each encounter. When the king pinched her and asked, “Aren’t you going to show me your affair with the maid?” Malyn would smile and say.

“One experience with another woman is enough for me. For me it’s only Your Majesty.”

But Malyn wasn’t all the king had. As he grew tired of her increasingly desperate attempts to please him, he began to call for Alexis more often. The tragedy was that as the king became more sadistic with Malyn, he did the same with Alexis.

The days had warmed, but Alexis, whom Malyn often passed in the castle, wore clothes that covered her neck and shoulders completely. When these two women, wrapped tightly in their garments, passed each other, they avoided even making eye contact.

“I’d rather die than serve that king any longer,” Malyn muttered, lying on the grass near the castle, eating early grapes. It was something she often said, yet Layla gently cautioned her.

“Someone might hear you.”

“Let them. I doubt there are many in this castle who don’t feel the same.”

Malyn went on to say that even the knights guarding the king’s chambers were frequently slapped and kicked by him. The maids with striking appearances were constantly worried about catching the king’s attention, while those less attractive could only work in places where he wouldn’t see them.

“Everyone’s so anxious about the knights coming for the summer jousting tournament that they can hardly sleep.”

“The jousting tournament?”

“It is said that they were the former king’s champions, fierce beyond compare.

The Lords of Veldam are said to be almost as powerful as the king himself. The king cannot treat them as ordinary servants, so maidservants must be careful around them. Years ago, at a tournament, one of these lords noticed a beautiful maid. Instead of the usual prize, the king gave him the maid as a tournament prize, and the lord took her with him. Nothing has been heard of her since. She probably didn’t become his wife, as the lord already had one.

“I hope he falls and dies alone in the tournament.”

“Me! Let me do it!”

The one who answered was Paradi, nibbling at some grass nearby. Paradi shook his head enthusiastically.

“Let me go before the tournament! Say you let me go by accident! Then I’ll act crazy, foam at my mouth and trample the king to death!”

“Idiot. You just want a chance to escape, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t!”

“Of course not. That makes no sense.”

“Why not?”

Paradi snorted. Malyn was about to feed Layla a grape, but when Layla shook her head, she laughed and popped it into her own mouth, chewing as she answered.

“The king sits on a high throne, far out of reach. Even though I’ve never seen a tournament, I know that much. Acting crazy and foaming at the mouth won’t get you close enough to trample him to death.”

“Then I’ll just rush in and knock him down!”

“Fool. Do you really think the knights would let a horse trample the king to death? Before you could even get close, the archers stationed around would shoot you down. “

Malyn’s mocking tone made Paradi huff in frustration.

“Ah! Honestly. Layla, where did you even find a girl like her? All she ever says is ‘it won’t work’! Can’t she try to think positively for once?”

“Taking life advice from a horse – maybe my life really has taken a wrong turn.”

Malyn replied calmly, looking up at Layla. Layla smiled slightly.

“Would you like a drink?”

“Damn. Layla, don’t just go and serve that girl. I think Ayla took your courage with her when she died.”

“Ayla?”

“His mother.”

Paradi answered Malyn’s question. Layla stared silently at Paradi, who jumped back.

“Alright, I get it. I won’t mention Ayla again. But… just so you know, as soon as I’ve paid my debt to her, I’m leaving, whether this girl lets me go or not. I’m going to run away from this stable and never look back.”

“Debt?”

“Paradi owes my mother.”

Layla replied quietly.

“My mother saved Paradi, a witch’s horse, from the brink of death. Paradi wanted to gather all the evils of the world and become a nightmare.”

“A nightmare…”

“It is said that nightmares take the form of a horse.”

But Paradi didn’t know from the start that he could never really become a nightmare. The evil he had accumulated weighed on him. Just before Paradi’s soul was consumed by darkness, he was saved by Layla’s mother, Ayla.

“At that time, Layla was still in Ayla’s womb. Ayla told me that once she’d granted Layla one thing she truly wanted, I would be free to go.”

Paradi muttered. Malyn’s eyes widened as she looked at Layla.

“And you still haven’t let her go?”

“Can’t you just look at him, girl?”

Paradi snorted in annoyance.

“Ever since his mother died and he ended up in Dion Castle, he’s been acting like he’s done with life. What could he want? It drives me crazy! If only I could carry him on my back and roam the world – maybe then I’d find some peace!”

After that, Paradi went on for a long while, complaining about the stables at Veldam Castle – the hay was too damp, there were too many horses, and so on. Malyn half-listened to these petty complaints as she glanced at Layla. Sitting beside her, gazing at the castle in the distance, Layla looked as if everything in life was meaningless, as if she wanted nothing at all.

And so Malyn felt a flicker of happiness. She knew Layla when he was in bed, knew the look on his face when he was inside her, breathless and filled with raw desire for her. But as she recalled those memories, her heart grew heavy again.

Layla hadn’t touched her since the day she’d been badly beaten. No matter what she did, what she ate or drank, what she wore, he remained at her side, acting as if he were her hands and feet, but he never made love to her again.

The reason was obvious – he had stood outside the door the whole time she was screaming and being beaten. But it wasn’t as if he hadn’t known before. Malyn popped another grape into her mouth. The grape that had tasted sour a few moments ago now tasted strangely bitter.