Layla bowed her head slightly. Malyn spoke sharply,

“And that outdated support structure in your dress bothers me. Can’t you get rid of it? That style is already out of fashion in Dion.”

In Dion, it didn’t matter if she wore outdated clothes. In fact, the Queen of Dion probably welcomed it, because anything less beautiful was preferable. But here in Veldam, a lady-in-waiting insisting on wearing such an outdated dress was an eyesore.

“Is that so? But…”

Layla hesitated, then spoke.

“I’m going to learn how to style my hair from Anessa or Anne.”

“Why are you hesitating? You haven’t said a word to Anessa since that day anyway.”

It was true. Since Malyn had been summoned to the king’s bed, it seemed as if her hairdressing lesson had never taken place. Malyn signalled to Layla with a nod, causing her to turn and bend awkwardly in front of her.

Malyn reached for the top of Layla’s head, then stopped when she realised that the top of her head seemed unusually far away. After a moment of confusion, Malyn remembered that Layla was much taller than she was.

“Sit down on the floor.”

“Yes.”

Princess Layla didn’t seem curious about Malyn’s intentions; she just tilted her head slightly and sat down on the floor between Malyn’s knees. Watching Layla sitting on the cold floor she had just mopped with water, Malyn mischievously grabbed a strand of hair from the crown of Layla’s head and gave it a sharp tug.

“Ouch!”

Layla let out a small cry of pain as her hair was pulled. Malyn laughed softly. So even someone as stoic as you can feel pain.

Well, you can also get angry.

Malyn thought as she continued to pull at Layla’s hair, pulling her closer between her knees so that Layla ended up leaning against her. She noticed the bright red of Layla’s neck.

***

When Princess Layla got angry, the back of her neck, her ankles and her ears would turn bright red. Malyn had noticed this after watching her for a few months. Layla often spent her free time visiting Paradi, and some of the more ill-tempered people in the castle would occasionally try to bother her. It was probably because Layla never screamed or made a fuss, no matter what happened to her.

‘If a knight’s kick only made her catch her breath, then of course she would behave that way.’

Malyn thought as she watched Layla, her neck flushed red, sweep out straw in the stables. The library window gave a good view of Layla coming and going from the stables.

‘Oh, she’s still wearing that old-fashioned support structure under her dress.’

Malyn looked Layla up and down and noticed that she was once again wearing that old and outdated support structure under her dress. Layla was slowly walking out of the stable when the stable man passed by and tapped her on the waist. At first glance, it seemed like nothing and appeared purely incidental, but Malyn knew very well how humiliating such simple actions could feel, so Layla raised her eyebrows.

Perhaps Layla feels even more humiliated now than Malyn ever did.

Malyn began to wonder how it would feel for someone who had always lived a noble life to suddenly be exposed to the crude and malicious intentions of a despicable person.

Would she want to die? Would she want to escape? Or would she want to kill them all?

That was how she felt.

An involuntary smile spread across Malyn’s face, not of pleasure, but of disbelief. She tapped the glass window of the library with her hand and thought briefly about Layla

Does the princess think it would have been better to be under King Veldam?

That was exactly what Malyn thought as she looked at Layla.

Layla cleans Malyn’s room every day, her face flushed with anger. Although she’s the princess’s maid, Veldam Castle is understaffed, so she’s occasionally called upon to do odd jobs like weeding the garden or working in the laundry. Of course, she also has to deal with men who make bleach in the laundry, gardeners and knights passing through. They come in all shapes and sizes: some men just come up to her and touch her, others try to seduce her. And…

Malyn glanced up briefly before looking down again. As Layla was about to leave the stable and head for the castle walls, someone confronted her. He appeared to be a knight’s squire, wearing a tunic too short for a knight and bearing the Veldam crest.

There was something in the squire’s hand that wasn’t easy to see from where Malyn was standing. Subconsciously, Malyn took a small step forward, even though it wouldn’t help her to see better.

The squire held out the object several times, and Layla hesitated before taking two steps back. The man was insistent, and Layla shook her head before saying something. It wasn’t clearly audible, but it was probably a refusal.

The man looked disappointed. He shook his head, placed the object at Layla’s feet and turned to walk away. Layla stood there, confused, before picking up the object. After examining it for a moment, she tried to return to the castle walls with it. But something troubled her and she hesitated again. Finally, she approached the stableman she had avoided for so long and handed him the object.

Idiot.

Malyn could tell by the shape of his mouth that he was trying to stop the stableman from saying that. Layla shook her head and stepped back. He must have instructed her to return the object when the man returned. Regardless of the stableman’s opinion, Malyn thought Layla wasn’t completely stupid.

Accepting this gift would only make things more difficult.

It’s easier to reject men who are rough or blatantly harassing. But men who slowly approach and passionately confess their feelings, and those who won’t accept a gentle rejection – these are the really problematic ones. The moment they accept a gift after being rejected once, they believe she has accepted their feelings.

However, acting like this would make it difficult to spread rumours that she met the man and ran away. It might be better to act like a carefree girl, even if it’s a bit embarrassing…

Then Malyn suddenly snapped out of her thoughts.

‘What am I doing?’

Why was she thinking about when Layla would run away? She had even put down the book she was reading. Malyn realised that she had unconsciously leaned her forehead against the window glass, lost in the scene, and tried to step back. Then…

Layla, who had turned around, suddenly looked up and met Malyn’s eyes. Malyn was startled, but tried not to show it.

Their eyes met for a moment. Malyn tried to smile, to appear calm, but she realised that she was already smiling. In fact, she had been smiling all along.

It must have been a smile of mockery or disbelief. It had to be. Malyn involuntarily covered her mouth with her hand and took a step back.

Layla stared at her for a long time before entering the castle. Only after Layla had hidden herself did Malyn look away from the window. Since the window was still open, Malyn pressed it tightly shut.