***

The world was full of people with strange tastes. So it wasn’t surprising that the king might not be interested in a woman’s body.

But still…

‘A child should be the way to remove his mask.’

Malyn thought and walked slowly. It was early morning. Despite going to bed late the night before, she found herself awake at dawn, unable to fall back asleep. As sleep eluded her, she decided to get up. It was so early that there was only one guard stationed outside her room. When he saw her coming out, he tried to call a maid, but Malyn shook her head.

Maybe it’s because of my low status, but I really don’t like having someone at my side all the time, even in places that aren’t exactly pleasant.

The guard looked worried, but Malyn reassured him: “Don’t worry, even if I stumble and fall somewhere, I won’t blame you.”

She didn’t have many places to go anyway. Even if she wanted to leave the castle, the knights at the gate would surely notice her, so she told the guard not to worry about her.

The mid-winter air was so cold that it felt like it was piercing through to her bones. As soon as Malyn stepped out of her room in the inner castle, she immediately regretted not wearing a thicker cloak. Her breath hung thick in the cold air, and it seemed as if large snowflakes might fall at any moment.

“This is how it works.”

Malyn jumped at the sound of a familiar voice as she tried to avoid the path behind the inner castle. Behind the inner castle were a number of toilets, each with a drain that emptied directly into the moat that surrounded the castle. Although the waste was channelled into the moat, it often splashed onto the path or gave off unpleasant odours, so most people in Veldam Castle avoided the path behind the inner castle.

But it seemed that Layla’s preferences were a little different.

Malyn cautiously approached the back wall of the inner castle.

“Sometimes… yes. Your base nature is truly amazing.”

As expected, Layla was at the back of the inner castle. Her familiar straw-coloured blonde hair was loose, unbraided and unpinned, and with her back turned she hadn’t noticed Malyn. Layla’s companion hadn’t noticed Malyn either. The companion, also facing Layla’s direction, was not human.

“Ah, damn it. It’s not your fault. Why are human women always so mean?”

A talking horse.

Malyn frowned. Paradi, the princess’s horse, stood beside Layla and sighed heavily, unusual for a horse. Only then did Malyn remember that the stableboys took the king’s horses out for a morning walk to warm them up. Paradi must have been out for his morning exercise. But he wasn’t a man – he was a horse. Walking alone like that, he was bound to be noticed.

“And why are human men so obsessed with touching women’s butts? They don’t even have smooth fur…”

“Paradi.”

Layla said, patting the horse’s neck with a hint of amusement in her voice. Paradi muttered a complaint.

“That evil human girl, she makes me uneasy. I just…”

Hearing her own name from the horse’s mouth, Malyn instinctively hid behind the castle wall. It seemed that the “evil human girl” they’d been talking about was indeed her. So the two of them had been gossiping about her together. Malyn wrinkled her nose. It was no wonder that Paradi had no good feelings towards her – after all, he was the one who had screamed when she had slapped Layla hard across the face in the mountains…

“Paradi.”

Malyn was about to drift into her thoughts when Layla gently comforted Paradi, her voice so calm and low that it startled Malyn. Layla, unaware that Malyn was watching, continued speaking.

“Don’t be uneasy. If my worries and yours combine, it will only bring more trouble.”

“But…”

“Just hold on a little longer.”

Layla’s hand moved over Paradi’s dark brown mane and glossy coat with a touch that felt dry and restrained.

“When I leave, I’ll make sure to take you with me, at least.”

“Please do. The stables here are so suffocating. Spending the whole day inside is frustrating, truly frustrating. By the way, what happened to your hand?”

“Oh, I was cleaning with cold water yesterday…”

***

Malyn glanced down at Layla. As usual, Layla had removed all the carpets in Malyn’s room and was cleaning the floor with cold water. Though this was typically a task for the lowest-ranking maids, Layla insisted on cleaning the room herself.

She rolled up her long sleeves and dipped the cloth into a wooden bucket filled with cold water that rippled with each dip. Most women in Veldam wore long, wide-sleeved dresses, and in the cold winter, they usually wore long-sleeved undergarments to keep warm. However, Layla, whether out of lack of knowledge or dislike for layering, wore nothing beneath her sleeves.

The sound of water splashing filled the room. Malyn had a warm cup of tea in front of her and Anessa and Nadia were busy with their embroidery. Anne had just left after tending the fire. Pretending to look at her mug, Malyn watched Layla. It was winter, so her hands must have been cracked and sore, probably bleeding most days, yet she dipped them into the cold water with that resigned look, her expression calm as ever.

As she looked at Layla’s straw-colored blonde hair, Malyn remembered the conversation she’d overheard that morning between Paradi and Layla.

‘Sometimes, yes. Their humility is truly amazing.’

Paradi and Layla had been talking about Malyn. It was obvious who they were referring to with “low nature”. The term was surely aimed at her and her spiteful ways! Although a little annoyed, Malyn kept her expression neutral and raised her teacup to her lips. The tea had a slightly sweet aftertaste, indicating its high quality.

“Anessa, just a moment…”

Anne, who had returned, poked her head in from outside the door and called for Anessa. It was winter, so they had to gather charcoal from the castle kitchen, and there seemed to be more than usual. The King of Veldam had been quite pleased with Malyn lately, which might explain the increase in the amount of charcoal sent from the kitchen. The quality of the bedding sent from the linen room had also noticeably improved. She was beginning to understand why there was such a thing as “pillow talk has power”.

… if even being beaten fell under the category of “pillow talk”.

Malyn laughed to herself. The idea of ‘earning’ by being beaten was ridiculous, but compared to the times when she’d had to worry about freezing to death in the street after a beating, it could almost be considered a luxury.

Anessa rustled as she stood up. Without even looking in her direction, Malyn said, “Nadia, go with her,” and sent them both out. As soon as the maids were gone, Malyn motioned for Layla to come over. Layla, as if expecting to be called as soon as Nadia and Anessa left, quickly tidied up the cleaning cloth and stood up.

“What do you need?”

“Come here. It doesn’t look good.”

“But it doesn’t seem right to leave the cleaning to the other maids…”

“Cleaning is certainly a task that a princess who’s never done hard work should learn, I suppose. But I’m not talking about the cleaning.”

“Then…?”

“Your hair is still a mess.”

“Ah.”

Layla made a small sound of acknowledgement, though her expression remained unchanged, making her look almost like a scarecrow, which gave Malyn an eerie feeling. Malyn murmured.

“No matter how noble a lady-in-waiting is, it doesn’t make sense that she doesn’t know how to do her own hair.”

“I… I’m sorry.”