Between that night and the following dawn, two pieces of news spread. The first was about the knight with the injured arm who had hanged himself. People whispered, wondering who might have helped him, but by morning the answer was clear. It was Alexis. Her black hair hanging like a ghost, she had hanged herself where the knight had taken his life.

The castle was in an uproar.

Rumours circulated among the maids that this woman, Alexis, had often been seen with the knight and that he was her assigned guard. No one really knew the nature of their relationship, but her death alone revealed what they shared.

In his anger, the king ordered that Alexis’ body be torn apart and fed to the dogs. This grim task would normally have been carried out by the knights, but with all of them away on the king’s orders, a handful of gardeners, stable hands and servants reluctantly took on the task. Closing their eyes tightly, they pushed the cart into the courtyard to carry out the terrible task.

Finally, Malyn took the two gold coins she had and handed them to Anessa, instructing her to arrange a proper burial for Alexis’ body. Anessa frowned at the request, but quickly ran out to give the coins to the servants. The servants were worried that the king might check on Alexis’s body, but they also knew that was unlikely. The king ruled by cruelty and violence. Throwing the body to the dogs was the important part; it was obvious that he wouldn’t investigate afterwards. The king’s hunting dogs would be able to feast on beef instead.

The king acted violently all day. As evening approached, Anessa gave Malyn a worried look before leaving the room. Malyn had a feeling it would be her turn tonight. It was terrible, but she had no choice. She opened the window, feeling a desperate need to escape.

“Hey, hey!”

Someone called to her in a low voice. Malyn looked down and her eyes widened. It was Paradi. She had no idea why Paradi, who was supposed to be locked away in the stables, was standing below her window. Looking around quickly, she asked in a whisper.

“What are you doing here?”

“There’s no time, girl. I’m leaving right now.”

“What did you say?”

Whether Malyn answered or not, Paradi tossed his head with a snort and laughed.

“I have fulfilled Layla’s wish! Now I will leave the castle before sunset! I only came to say goodbye one last time!”

“You…”

Malyn opened her mouth, then closed it. Paradi hopped like a rabbit, jumping on all fours – a sight strange enough to leave anyone speechless, but Malyn couldn’t bring herself to laugh. Paradi looked around, then whispered again.

“Neither you nor he can leave this place, can you? So I have no choice but to leave alone! Still, a little fondness builds up over time, so I had to say goodbye!”

“So it really was you.”

At her urgent, whispered words, Paradi raised his head, bared his teeth and smiled with a smugness that seemed almost human, even though he was not.

“Is there another magnificent, extraordinary horse like me?”

It was then that Malyn realised that Paradi was indeed the one who seemed to understand human thoughts. She had suspected it, but the confirmation took her breath away.

“And so…”

“Oh, you poor girl.”

The horse looked up at her and snorted softly.

“I have no desire to see you both go to ruin. But it’s strange, isn’t it? That a girl with nothing she really wanted would end up wanting something like this.”

“Paradi!”

Malyn leaned further out and talked softly. She understood the words of the talking horse, but she didn’t want to believe him. But Paradi did not seem to care whether Malyn understood or not.

“But, girl, I’ll tell you one thing out of loyalty.”

The horse puffed proudly. Malyn, still watching anxiously for anyone who might approach, gestured for her to dismount, but Paradi ignored her and continued.

“Live shamelessly, girl. Just do it, please.”

“…”

“You, and Layla too. Even if you both behaved as shamelessly as possible, you’d barely get what you deserve, yet here you are, acting so foolishly.”

How such a big horse could have reached her window unnoticed was beyond Malyn’s comprehension. Glancing around, she asked quietly.

“Paradis, do you mean……”

Just then, a small rustling sound interrupted them. Though faint, it was enough to make both Malyn and Paradi jump. Paradi reacted first, moving quickly.

“Ah! Someone’s coming! Goodbye!”

With a quick backward step, the horse turned and trotted off.

Malyn remembered that the gardeners, stablemen and all the field workers had been out to deal with Alexis’ body. Paradi ran across the empty courtyard, and the sight of a horse galloping away into the sunset sky was so absurd that she couldn’t help but be taken aback.

“Oh my goodness! What on earth!”

A maid carrying laundry from inside the castle caught sight of the scene, shrieked in surprise, dropped the laundry and collapsed to the floor. Though it was hard to see clearly in the setting sun, Malyn recognised the familiar voice – it was Anessa, no doubt. The horse whinnied loudly and quickened its pace, soon breaking into a run. It disappeared through the open castle gates, left open by the servants, and Malyn leaned forward, laughing.

A truly remarkable horse, right to the end. She wiped away the tears that threatened to fall and turned her back to the window, laughing. In a castle where two bodies had been carried out that day, such laughter was an unusual sound. Even as passers-by glanced curiously at her window, Malyn ignored them.

“Princess, um… shall I help you with your bath?”

Anessa carefully pushed open the door to her room. Only then did Malyn stop laughing and sit up. She had thought that laughing would make her less afraid, but it didn’t. It brought some comfort, though.

That ridiculous horse had managed to make her laugh to the end. And that was enough.

Malyn stood in front of the king’s chamber, freshly bathed and perfumed. Layla was behind her. She turned to look at Layla, whose calm blue eyes met hers as usual. Malyn whispered softly.

“Don’t wait for me tonight.”

Layla’s eyes widened slightly. Without waiting for a reply, Malyn entered the room.

The door closed.

* * *

As expected, the king took his anger out on Malyn. Unlike before, she didn’t show any interest or charm, which seemed to make the king even angrier. Malyn was badly beaten and strangled. Barely free, she gagged and the king kicked her as she coughed and tried to catch her breath, causing her to vomit again. The king sneered.

“Are you disgusted?”

“…”

Under normal circumstances, Malyn would have begged or tried to charm the king. But instead of responding, she swallowed the saliva that was pooling in her mouth. Seeing her silent, the king kicked her again. Malyn curled up, then finally spoke.

“It’s not that.”

“Oh, then what?”

“Your Majesty.”

Lying on the floor, Malyn looked up at the king. Beneath his mask, he gritted his teeth in anger.

“This and that, treating people like they are nothing…”

Slowly, Malyn got to her feet, feeling a strange clarity in her vision. From beneath the hem of her dress, she carefully pulled out a piece of cloth. The king continued to stare at her. Though his mask hid his expression, Malyn noticed the slight flinch when he saw the cloth.

“Do you know what this is?”

“What is it?”