The attack took place as the sun was slowly setting.

The road was rough and they had to cross three mountains to get to Veldam. They barely managed to cross two of them by stopping at villages along the way, but the last one was a huge mountain with no villages, forcing them to camp. Princess Layla was shivering and insisted on sleeping in the carriage.

As usual, Princess Layla ate very little, and whatever she left behind became Malyn’s share. Serving the princess alone had its perks—every leftover dish intended for the princess ended up in Malyn’s stomach, making her feel, if only for a moment, like royalty herself. And those dishes! Malyn didn’t even have to use her wooden utensils. The most delightful moment was eating an untouched ruby-red apple pie served on silverware that the princess hadn’t even used. Though the honey-glazed pie had grown cold and soggy, the way it melted on her tongue was indescribable.

The Twelve Knights were always kind to Malyn. Perhaps they pitied her, the poor girl accompanying the princess to her arranged marriage. At the end of the meal, Malyn offered to collect and wash the knights’ dishes, and they gratefully accepted.

When Malyn returned, her hands dripping with water and holding thirteen plates, she heard a sound. It wasn’t a rustling at her feet, but a wet splash. Malyn instinctively turned her head to the side, covered her mouth and took a step back. Bright red blood splattered across the ground and at the end of the path lay the body of one of the knights. The only reason she managed not to scream was probably because she was used to situations like this. Malyn carefully gathered the plates in her arms so as not to make any noise and quietly hid behind a bush some distance away.

Clang, clang.

The faint sound of weapons clashing began to fade, replaced by loud, chaotic noises.

“Hey! Didn’t these guys have anything on them?”

“There must be something in the carriage! What about the carriage?”

“I opened it! Some guy tried to run away, so I hit him in the back of the head with an axe…”

Malyn closed her eyes tightly for a moment, then opened them again before moving further away. It was definitely bandits. In mountainous areas like this, bandit attacks were common. The head knight had confidently assured everyone that with twelve knights, no one would dare attack – but it seemed he was wrong.

‘What should I do?’

She couldn’t afford to leave the plates behind. The bandits would probably search the area to see if anyone else had escaped. If they found abandoned plates, they would definitely start looking for their owner. The carriage was also a concern. She didn’t even know if Princess Layla was still in it or not…

And then it happened.

A thud.

Someone grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth tightly. Malyn almost fainted and instinctively bit down hard. The attacker’s little finger slid into her mouth. With a crunching sound, the taste of blood spread across her tongue. She felt the person behind her flinch, but made no sound.

Fighting the urge to scream, Malyn turned to see who it was. It was Princess Layla, her face pale.

Malyn’s eyes widened. She had assumed it was a man because of the strength of the hand covering her mouth. But before Malyn could fully process her surprise, Princess Layla gave her a quick signal. Malyn didn’t quite understand the gesture, but nodded anyway. The meaning was clear – Layla wanted her to run.

Slowly, Malyn opened her mouth and the princess carefully removed her hand. Her right little finger was soaked in blood. Layla looked at her bleeding finger and shot Malyn a sharp look, but she remained silent. This was not the time for scolding.

The princess bent down to pick up the box she had set beside her, moving slowly while staying crouched. Malyn followed her, quietly eyeing the box. It was the box containing the princess’s jewels.

Inside were a pair of gold earrings, a necklace adorned with a blue gemstone, and the golden tiara the princess always wore on her head.

Even in the midst of all this, she had taken the jewels with her to flee.

‘You might die because of that things,’ Malyn thought.

But Malyn didn’t bother to tell her.

The two climbed much higher than where the carriage had been. The princess wanted to go back down, but Malyn insisted.

“Your Highness, the bandits will assume that the fugitives went down the mountain. Shouldn’t we go up instead?”

Malyn thought she would be slapped for saying that, but after a moment’s thought, the princess nodded.

Malyn and the princess spent the night under the large root of a tree on the side of the mountain. The mountain night was cold, and as the princess shivered, Malyn asked, “Shall I hold you, Your Highness?” but was immediately refused.

As the dawn dew began to fall, Malyn rose from beneath the tree root. The princess, her lips blue from the cold, was dozing with the box held tightly in her arms. She blinked awake, looking up at Malyn in confusion. Shivering, Malyn rubbed her hands together for warmth before finally managing to speak.

“With the morning dew, even the predators return to their nests. This is the only time it’s safe.

“…Have the bandits retreated as well?”

“I believe so.”

Malyn nodded and extended her hand. The princess stared at it for a moment before finally reaching out her right hand. Malyn took it firmly.

“Ah.”

But at that moment, as the princess winced, Malyn quickly pulled her hand away, slightly alarmed. They had both forgotten about the princess’s injured right pinky finger, which had been bitten.

In the end, the princess shook her right hand as if trying to shake off the pain and stood up on her own. Malyn stood beside her, somewhat awkwardly, waiting until the princess had dusted off her clothes before slowly leading the way.

In the faint light of dawn, the bodies of the fallen knights came into view, and Princess Layla shut her eyes tightly.

The carriage was half destroyed, and it appeared that the bandits had taken only the horses. While the princess stood dazed, Malyn quickly searched through the remains of the wrecked carriage.

“They must have taken all my belongings.”

“I’m not looking for that.”

Startled by her own unintended bluntness, Malyn paused for a moment and looked at the princess. The princess, holding the box in her arms, looked at her but didn’t seem offended.

“I’m looking for my things, Your Highness.”

“Those insignificant…”

“Yes, they may be insignificant, but they’re important to me,” Malyn replied, cutting the princess off.

Malyn then crawled under the wrecked carriage. It seemed that the bandits had even torn apart the floor of the carriage, probably looking for something hidden there.

Amid the shattered remains, Malyn finally found her bundle. It was badly trampled but, fortunately, not stained with blood. As she dusted off the bundle, covered in morning dew and dirt, the princess, still holding her box, wandered among the bodies.

The way the princess walked, almost leisurely, annoyed Malyn a little. However, it soon became clear that Malyn had misunderstood her intentions. The princess was actually searching through the corpses. But her efforts yielded little. The reason was obvious. Malyn sighed.

“Weapons are valuable, Your Highness. The bandits probably took them all.

“……”

The princess immediately pulled her hands back at Malyn’s words. Malyn watched her, clutching her bundle tightly. After more than half a month of carriage travel, the princess had thrown off most of the robes she had worn at the start of the journey. She still wore her green velvet gown, and the pearl necklaces remained in her hair. During their journey, Malyn had made sure to comb her hair and keep her clothes neat and tidy, but after a night spent shivering in the dew-soaked forest, the princess looked pitiful. Her already pale complexion had become even paler.