The princess opened her mouth in surprise, then closed it again. Malyn reached out toward the box of valuables the princess was holding.

“Please hand that to me. I’ll carry it.”

“No need. I can carry it myself.”

“You can’t hold both the reins and the box at the same time.”

Princess Layla tilted her head slightly, and Malyn could see a faint glimmer of disdain in her blue eyes.

‘What if someone like you runs off with the chest?’—Malyn realized this was likely what the princess was thinking, and it made her really dislike her. However, Malyn chose not to say anything more. Instead, she bowed deeply.

“I’ve committed an unforgivable offense.”

“You should’ve said that a long time ago. Enough, get up.”

Malyn slowly got to her feet. Before she could brush the dirt from her forehead, the princess gave the horse a light pat on the neck. Paradi whinnied softly and began to move forward. Malyn glanced back, then pulled a torn cloak from the body of one of the fallen knights and followed. At least Malyn had her leather shoes on, so she was doing well.

***

The two women and the horse chose paths where no one would typically travel.

Paradi, being the princess’s horse, naturally had a well-fitted set of horseshoes. These left deep tracks with every step, so Paradi insisted on walking through the bushes to avoid leaving an obvious trail.

As a result, Malyn was busy pushing away branches that scratched at her face. A talking horse was turning out to be quite an irritating companion.

Step by step, Malyn picked what looked like wild raspberries from the bushes along the way. Since the princess ate very little anyway, there was no need for them to sit down for a proper meal.

“How long until we reach Veldam?”

When Paradi first asked that question, Malyn thought it was directed at the princess, not at her. But the princess gave no answer, and Paradi glanced back at Malyn as they walked. Startled, Malyn began counting on her fingers.

“The knights said it would take three days by carriage, but…”

At that point, Malyn glanced at the princess, unsure whether to use formal or informal speech. She hesitated, then continued.

“If we’re going on foot, it will take two to three times longer than by carriage… About a week.”

Malyn watched the princess closely, ready to quickly add, “…ma’am” if the princess reacted. But the princess remained silent. Malyn felt a tiny bit more confident.

“A week?”

Paradi asked.

“That’s if we push ourselves. No resting.”

“Why can’t we rest?”

“…We don’t have any money for the trip.”

Paradi snorted.

“Layla! Let’s sell your gold jewelry!”

Malyn, walking behind, couldn’t see the princess’s expression. All she could see was the princess slightly tilting her head.

“The necklace is off limits, but perhaps we could sell the earrings?”

“…Maybe just sell one of them…”

Malyn immediately spoke up, her expression serious.

“That won’t do, Princess.”

“…Why not?”

Only then did Princess Layla turn to look at her. Malyn took a few quick steps to reach her side and began to explain.

“Two women riding a horse like Paradi…”

Malyn stopped mid-sentence and looked at Paradi. Paradi looked at her with her beautiful sparkling eyes, but Malyn remembered clearly when that beautiful horse had blown snot all over her. Although she couldn’t confront her in front of the princess, Malyn was convinced that the horse had done it on purpose. In short:

“Riding such a fine horse is risky enough.”

She really didn’t mean it as a compliment. As soon as Malyn spoke, Paradi raised her head in pride, just to show off, and that was exactly what Malyn didn’t want. The horse was really acting human – so irritating!

Before Paradi could add anything, Malyn quickly continued.

“But showing off things like gold trinkets would get us killed and buried as fertiliser in a field.”

“…Ah.”

The princess raised her eyebrows, then lifted her braided hair to show Malyn.

“What about this, then?”

It was something Malyn had been wanting to say for a while. She quickly replied, “I’ll comb all the pearls out of your hair! Selling just a few of those pearls should be enough!”

“And the dress?”

“That can be covered with the cloak!”

Malyn held up the cloak she had taken earlier. The princess frowned but wasn’t foolish enough to complain given their current situation.

Eventually, they found a small stream, and the princess handed her hair over to Malyn. Without a comb, Malyn could only roughly braid it with her fingers, which wasn’t a pleasant experience. Still, the princess said nothing.

While Malyn combed her hair, the princess looked down at her hands. A few wild raspberries, picked by Malyn, rested on her palm.

“…Truly.”

Once all the pearls had been removed from her hair and Malyn had managed to braid it back, the princess spoke.

“Nothing special.”

The princess couldn’t see Malyn’s face, so she didn’t notice the frown that appeared. Malyn could barely stop herself from pulling the princess’s hair and throwing her to the ground. She remembered the time when the princess had said that her life was worthless.

‘As if her life is anything grand!’

Malyn glanced again at the box the princess was holding. Should she push the princess to the ground and run off with the box, even now?

But Malyn quickly dismissed the thought. Even if she could overpower the princess, there was still Paradi. It was impossible to outrun a galloping horse. Paradi seemed to think and speak like a human – how that was possible, Malyn didn’t know – but she was sure that if she tried to escape, Paradi would hunt her down and knock her down like a human..

Malyn tied off the end of the princess’s braid tightly. The princess was now looking at her reflection in the stream, still holding the wild raspberries in her hand. The sound of the little stream trickling along seemed strangely melancholy.

‘Isn’t she even hungry?’

Malyn barely resisted the urge to scoff. If the princess wasn’t going to eat the berries, she wanted to say, ‘Then give them to me,’ but she knew it wasn’t the right time. Instead, she stood up, knelt next to Paradi, and held out her hands, signaling for the princess to continue on their way.

However, the princess, who had just lifted her gaze from the stream, stared at Malyn blankly for a moment before saying something entirely unexpected.

“Marmarly, do you ever dream of living in luxury?”

Malyn almost blurted out, ‘Of course,’ but managed to hold her tongue and replied instead.

“Why ask such an obvious question? Most people would want that.”

It sounded a bit too sarcastic, but the princess didn’t argue and instead continued with her next question.

“Do you perhaps covet my gold?”

“…Do you think I’m some kind of accomplice to the bandits?”

‘Damn. If I ask, would you give it to me?’

Malyn swallowed those words too, rolling her eyes thoughtfully before replying. The princess looked at Malyn for a moment, then glanced back at the wild raspberries in her hand before speaking again.

“Marmarly.”

“Yes.”

“I always thought you were just a foolish and clueless child, but it seems I was wrong.”

‘Your Highness, when it’s just the two of us in a secluded mountain, please don’t say things like that. I might get angry and end up strangling you!’

Malyn swallowed those words as well. This time, they were long enough that she had to remain silent for quite a while, allowing the princess to continue speaking naturally.

“If I give you a task, will you do it?”

“Your Highness, whatever it is, you’re my superior, so I suppose I have to obey, don’t I?”