Looking at my blood-stained clothes made me sigh, so I stepped out of the shed where the dog pen was, wondering what to do. Then I heard this crunching sound behind me – bones being chewed. I’d never realised how horrible the sound of someone’s bones being crushed could be. The story goes that neither the king nor the queen left the dog pen until the dogs had devoured the entire body. Tough bastards. Even the dogs themselves must have felt overwhelmed.

But here’s the strange part: from that point on, the king began to change. About three days later, the knights returned to the castle. You could tell by their defeated faces as they entered the gates – they hadn’t found the troublemaker who had caused chaos at the tournament. I thought, ‘These men are as good as dead.’ I was in the hall when it happened – twenty knights on their knees, begging, “Please, kill us!” and I wondered, ‘Is he really going to kill them all?’ I’d heard from other servants that he’d done it before.

The Knight Commander took off his helmet, tucked it under his arm, and offered his sword to the king, asking him to end his life. But the king was behaving very strangely that day. He actually sat on the throne, something I’d never seen him do before. He just sat there and stared at the commander for a long time. Normally he’d be shouting and causing a commotion. The knights began to murmur among themselves, uncomfortable but too scared to look up, so they kept their heads down.

Then, after a long silence, the King spoke.

He said, “You have done well. Go and rest.”

The Knight Commander was so shocked that his eyes grew as big as lanterns. Normally he shouldn’t look directly at the king, but he was so stunned that he lifted his head and looked straight into the king’s eyes. Straight ahead. In those days, looking directly at the king could get you dismissed or even executed. But the Commander, almost in a trance, just stared at him. The other knights began to cast furtive glances forward as well.

The atmosphere was strange, and we also began to look at the king. ‘Is he really showing mercy?’ we wondered. But then the next thought was, ‘Mercy? From the king?’ It didn’t seem right at all. Mercy and the king didn’t belong in the same sentence. He’s changed now, but when he wore the mask, he was ruthless. You wouldn’t know it from a distance.

Anyway, instead of bowing quickly and expressing his gratitude, the Knight Commander kept staring at the king, which made the whole scene too weird. I thought, ‘Is he going to be killed too?’ Finally, the Commander managed to thank him deeply for his mercy. He bowed his head, but the king sighed, as if the whole thing was pathetic. The knights, realising they’d better not push their luck, immediately thanked him profusely and bowed.

And then, two days later, I was fired. Damn it.

I wasn’t the only one fired. All the servants, maids and attendants working at the royal castle at the time were fired. They said they didn’t know who had conspired with the knight. The funny thing is that the knights were left alone. So they thought knights didn’t conspire? Ridiculous.

Oh? Yes, I have some money – ten silver coins. Hey, be careful though – I told my mum it was only five, so don’t let that slip. I kept half of it and invested it in a small business at the time. Frankly, I was surprised. The King actually gave us money? We even joked among the dismissed servants, wondering if we’d get a bigger payout if we revealed secrets. There was one servant who had been in the King’s bedroom more than anyone else, and he said that the King didn’t seem any stranger than usual

But what could we really say? We didn’t know anything useful.

Oh, but there was a rumour. It was said that the Queen’s maid was actually a man. When they were cleaning up after the dogs, they found a finger that looked like a man’s. Honestly, that’s just gossip. I saw the maid myself. She was a bit tall for someone from Dion, but still not as tall as people from our country. She did walk with a bit of a hunch though…

There were also rumours that the princess had secretly taken the maid as her lover. But that was just something a maid who had been fired said, so who knows if it’s true. What’s her name? Anyway, she wanted to get close to the princess, but it didn’t work out.

What? You want to know what happened after that? How should I know? I got fired! I took the money I was paid and went out drinking. They were looking for new servants at the castle, but they wouldn’t take anyone who had worked there before, so I went to the border and tried my hand at business and I Lost everything. Haha!

Anyway, when I got back, I heard that the king had a child. I thought, ‘Could it really be the princess who became the queen?’ And sure enough, it was. Actually, the Queen is the one who made the King a decent person. Think about it. The King who used to beat people without a second thought and didn’t value life at all suddenly became someone who would do anything for the queen. After their first princess was born, he became even more of a whipping boy. Portrait? I haven’t seen it yet. There’s a portrait of the King? Where is it? Seriously, why do you have a portrait of the king in your tavern? I thought it was just some cheap painting you got somewhere.

Wow. He really handsome. No wonder his personality is all messed up. I’d be frustrated too if I had to wear a mask for decades with a face like that. With looks like his… even that Julia down the street would be impressed. He could easily win over ten women. Handsome indeed.

He took the mask off after the princess was born? He took it off immediately after she was born? And no one died? Unbelievable. Anyway, witches – they should all be caught and burned at the stake. Why curse an innocent person and drive them mad like that? How many people died because of that king?

What? Witch hunts are forbidden now? Since when? Since when? Unbelievable. Why is that? Seriously? I don’t get it. If I were King, the first thing I’d do is hunt down every witch in the land. People really do change, don’t they? I suppose marriage and children change even a king. Well, then you better hurry up and get married. I’m still in my prime. What, rejected again? Hahaha, you poor fool. Hey, next time let’s go to that tavern over there. I hear the barmaid is really pretty…