***

But in truth, Princess Layla hadn’t grown up in the greatest of luxuries. Although she lived as a princess in Dion, she spent her early years growing up outside the castle to avoid the attention of the queen. Even after entering the castle, she was always ignored by the king and mistreated by the queen. Though no one spoke of it openly, everyone considered Princess Layla a burden.

Malyn had seen countless women married off, as if they were for sale, without love. In fact, every woman she knew had been married that way. If they were married at all, it was considered a blessing. For Malyn herself, working as a maid in an inn, it had been all too common for shady strangers to grab her wrist or drunken men to lift her skirt. If someone had offered to buy her and take her as his wife, she would have accepted – not so long ago.

And now here was someone saying she didn’t want to be a queen, telling Malyn to take her place as a princess.

What could Malyn even say to that?

‘Besides…’

Malyn gathered her thoughts and spoke again.

“In that case, Your Highness, you’d have to wear my worn-out clothes and a triangular hat, wouldn’t you?”

The princess narrowed her eyes, looking Malyn up and down before responding.

“Would that be so difficult?”

‘Difficult? Of course, it was difficult!’

Malyn wanted to respond that way but held herself back. It would be a disaster if the princess reconsidered her offer because of Malyn’s protests. The truth was, Malyn wanted to accept the princess’s proposal—she wanted it desperately. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not long ago, she had been a wandering girl looking for a maid’s position, and now she had the chance to become a queen.

So Malyn continued, trying to sound as calm as possible while making sure not to seem too eager.

“Your Highness, you would have to walk all the way to Veldam if I ride Paradi.”

“I am prepared for that.”

“From now on, you must go by a lowly name.”

“Even my current name isn’t one I chose.”

“You must also…”

Malyn paused to steady her breath.

“You have to call me by my first name.”

The princess smiled faintly, almost like a sneer.

“I don’t mind.”

Malyn barely managed to suppress the urge to shout as she spoke again.

“Even if you must kneel before me?”

“How is that any different from addressing you informally?”

Malyn couldn’t believe it. The princess wasn’t joking – she was dead serious. Malyn found herself clenching her fists. The bundle in her hands crumpled and she felt the rough texture of the apron inside. She rubbed it for a long time before finally speaking.

“You may end up living a worthless life.”

“Would that be worse than dying?”

“If you become a queen, at least you won’t die.”

Only then did Layla’s expression turn serious. The smile faded from her face as she spoke slowly.

“Marmarly, it seems you don’t quite understand, so let me explain. Marrying the king of Veldam and lying n*ked in his bed would be the same as dying for me.”

How hard could it be to lie n*ked in someone else’s bed? Malyn wanted to ask.

‘Your Highness, if you become my maid, you’ll have to lift your skirt far more often than you eat. If you refuse, it’ll get torn. The place where you’ll lie down after lifting your skirt will be a pile of straw covered in mud. If it’s in a stable, that might be a better scenario. Sometimes you’ll be forced to lie down on the fresh grass of midsummer, and your back will be terribly scratched. Summer grass drinks water and becomes strong enough to leave nasty scratches on a person’s back. Is that really worse than lying in the bed of the King of Veldam?’

But if Malyn didn’t agree now, then the life she had just pictured would still be hers. Malyn chose not to tell the princess about the pitiful reality of her life. Instead, she made a different decision.

If the princess, living as a maid, ever tried to come back—letting her hair down, weeping, and begging to reclaim her life as a princess—Malyn would never allow it.

“Then, are you planning to live your whole life as a maid?”

Malyn asked cautiously, trying to gauge how long the princess could endure. Layla rolled her eyes for a moment before answering.

“I’ve noticed, while living as a princess, that it isn’t uncommon for maids to run away.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Maybe after a year of being a maid, I could run away with a man I fall in love with. What do you think?”

Malyn’s body trembled with joy. So, the princess truly intended to give her the life of a princess and then disappear entirely. Despite the incredible proposal, a mischievous feeling suddenly bubbled up inside her.

“But if that happens, I’d be the one left behind, living the life you find worse than death, wouldn’t I?”

For the first time, Layla’s expression shifted slightly. She seemed to realize that if Malyn were to reject the offer now, it would be difficult to find anyone else willing to take her place. It wasn’t as if she could simply ask a random stranger on the road to become the princess of Dion. Of course, Malyn herself wasn’t much different from a random passerby, but at least for Princess Layla, Malyn was the best candidate she had at the moment.

Now, it no longer mattered who was of higher rank and who was of lower rank. Or rather, to be precise, Malyn was now the one in the superior position. She lifted her chin slightly, trying to imitate the dignified way Princess Layla had done earlier. Without a mirror, there was no way to tell if she succeeded, so instead, Malyn focused intently on Layla’s eyes, trying to gauge her reaction.

“Marmarly.”

“Your Highness, I should tell you now, my name is Malyn.”

“…Oh.”

“When I first introduced myself, I stuttered, and since then you’ve called me Marmarly, which has bothered me.”

Her attitude was totally insolent. In the old days, the head maid would have slapped her. But here, in the forest near Veldam, there was no one to punish Malyn. The princess couldn’t, and Paradi had no hands. The princess reacted with a slightly nervous expression.

“I see. I’m sorry.”

“And I’d have to live that life until I die. And yet all I get is a golden crown?”

“Not just the crown, but also jewels and other riches as the queen of Veldam…”

“But what value do all those things have for me if they are what Your Highness rejects?”

Now the princess’s face was fully coloured with bewilderment. Paradi snorted and muttered something.

“Honestly, it’s unbelievable. A mere maid is getting too full of herself. You wanted to live a luxurious life…”

“I’ve heard that at least one maid dies every day in the king of Veldam’s chambers.”

Malyn interrupted.

Paradi fell silent, and the princess’s face went pale. Malyn smiled to herself. Layla was so flustered that she didn’t even realize Malyn was imitating her way of speaking. Malyn continued.

“So, tell me, Your Highness. What else do I stand to gain from this?”

“…You…”

Princess Layla looked at Malyn anxiously, then at the ground, before finally fixing her gaze on Malyn’s skirt.

“…I know you dislike me. Isn’t it enough that I will be serving you?”

It seemed she wasn’t entirely naive or clueless. She knew Malyn disliked her. But Layla’s words, in themselves, revealed her limitations. Having always lived as a princess, Layla seemed to believe that simply switching roles—making the princess a maid and the maid a princess—would bring a maid nothing but joy.

Well, of course, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

So Malyn smiled brightly.

“Alright. But let me slap you across the face.”

The princess’s eyes widened. Her pretty, glass-like eyes sparkled with bewilderment as Malyn added.

“You should get used to it.”

Two days later, two women and a horse arrived at Veldam Castle. The Princess of Dion, who had narrowly escaped an attack by bandits on her way to Veldam, tearfully told the King of her suffering, pain and hardship. The maid, whose left cheek bore a dark blue bruise from resisting the bandits, had no shoes and her feet were covered in blood. Everyone felt sorry for the princess.