***

“Can I ask you a favour?”

When Layla said this, Malyn looked up at her quietly, lost in her own thoughts.

‘She seems a little better today.’

Since the day Malyn had braided Layla’s hair, carefully pulling each strand, Layla had become noticeably more tidy. It was a stark change from before, when even a single ponytail would leave her hair sticking out everywhere, to the point where Ann would be amazed.

Today Layla only had half of her hair braided and tied up from the top, but she still looked good. Also, thanks to the good food at Veldam Castle these days, her face seemed to have gained some weight.

‘She also seemed taller.’

The maids at Veldam Castle ate together unless they had a specific master to serve. The maids assigned to Malyn could eat leftovers if they wished, but Layla refused and ate her meals in the maid’s dining room. This was only natural, as Layla probably didn’t want to eat Malyn’s leftovers.

King Veldam was generous with his servants. So generous, in fact, that even the castle’s servants eagerly awaited their meals. Layla used to eat only as much as birdseed, but her appetite had noticeably increased. Ann had mentioned it in passing when they had eaten together.

The workload wasn’t too heavy. When Malyn worked on the farm, she would sneak radishes and carrots out of the ground and eat them whenever she had the chance. Wasn’t stealing and eating turnips a common occurrence at Dion Castle as well?

‘But…’

Malyn looked at the top of Layla’s head to estimate her height. If Layla was considerably taller than most men, wouldn’t she really stand out? In Dion, tall women were often compared to the Maiden Tristan, who was said to have reached the moon. After losing everything, the Maiden Tristan begged the gods to give her the strength to protect herself. The gods ordered her to fetch one of the two moons that made people shiver with cold at night. Tristan, who was exceptionally tall, climbed the highest cliff in the world and managed to grab a moon. But the moon’s cold froze her heart and turned her into a man.

‘If she grows that tall, people will call her Tristan.’

“Excuse me.”

“Ah.”

Malyn was jolted from her thoughts by Layla’s cautious request. Layla felt uncomfortable as Malyn stared at her blankly. Malyn frowned and acted as if she had already heard.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Could you please take Paradi out and ride him?”

Paradi. In other words, Layla was asking Malyn to take Paradi, the princess’ horse, out for a ride. Malyn understood Layla’s request immediately. Paradi had been the princess’ horse since her arrival from Dion. Even though the princess was a hostage and a bargaining chip, the king’s knights couldn’t just take the horse away. Besides, King Veldam, who had about ten excellent horses, had no reason to ride Paradi. As a result, Paradi remained in the stable for two months without anyone riding him.

“Doesn’t the stableman make him exercise?”

“Yes, but… he still seems frustrated.”

I understood. Running a few laps around the castle courtyard is different in terms of movement than someone driving him across open fields. But Malyn frowned.

“I don’t like that horse.”

“If you take Paradi out, he might be less moody.”

That was indeed the case. Malyn didn’t like Paradi. Whenever Princess Layla and she changed clothes together in the mountains, and Layla rode Paradi, the horse would be deliberately rough. This inevitably led to criticism, so Malyn had no reason to favour Paradi. She then added

“I’m not even good at riding.”

And it was true. Riding Paradi in the mountains was fine, but whenever Paradi picked up even a little speed, Malyn would grab hold of his mane. Paradi would then shake his neck and complain that it hurt, which only frightened Malyn more. And that wasn’t all. During that week, Paradi sometimes teased Malyn for not being used to riding, and even snapped at her, asking why she hadn’t learned to ride properly. With Paradi behaving like that, there was no way she could run while riding him.

“If you could just take Paradi out into the fields, I could…”

Layla trailed off. She meant that if Paradi was only taken to the less populated fields, she wouldn’t know what to do. Malyn clicked her tongue in frustration and thought: ‘Seriously, me.’

“And I would be alone in the fields?”

“…”

“While you ride Paradi, without any guard knights?”

Finally Layla fell silent. Malyn snorted. Layla’s request had been absurd from the start. To avoid being seen by the others, they would have to go out into the fields without guards. Malyn really didn’t want to do that.

From the beginning.

“Why should I do you a favour?”

She didn’t have to comply with Layla’s request. Their positions had already been reversed and Malyn was living in Veldam Castle as a princess. Layla was in no position to ask Malyn for anything. What would Malyn gain by taking Paradi to the fields? Malyn thought that perhaps Princess Layla was still under some misconception. Maybe it was because she had been respectful when they had been alone together.

” Do you still think you’re a princess?”

So Malyn decided to correct Layla’s misunderstanding. She snapped at Layla, who stood in front of her, confused.

“Don’t be mistaken. Your situation is, well…”

“……”

“Just by looking at your fingers, anyone can tell.”

Layla looked down at her hands. They were cracked, bright red and swollen from working with cold water in the increasingly cold weather with no time to warm them. Her once long, neatly trimmed nails were now short and cracked. Her cuticles were rough and peeling, and the backs of her hands were pale and dry.

Her hands had never been particularly delicate or beautiful, but now they looked even worse. Layla stared at her hands, then back at Malyn. Malyn frowned and fumbled around beside her until she found what she was looking for.

Without hesitation she threw the item. It struck Layla’s chest with a thud and fell.

Awkwardly Layla picked it up. It was a wooden container filled with hand oil, the same oil that Ann carefully applied to Malyn’s hands every day. The white oil, mixed with perfume and stirred for a long time, was a luxury. Malyn snapped sharply.

“I can’t bear to look at it. Just use it and be quiet.”

“……”

“Do you really think you’re capable of taking care of something like this horse?”

The wooden container looked strangely small in Layla’s long, large hands. When Malyn held it, she had to spread her fingers wide to get a full grip. Somehow that bothered her. In Layla’s hands – the hands of a true princess – it fit easily, while for her it was a struggle. It felt as if it symbolised something Malyn would rather not acknowledge.

So Malyn spoke more sharply. There was a limit to how naive and clumsy one could be. The always composed Princess Layla, even with her hands in that pitiful state, was still worried about that troublesome horse.

“What’s wrong with a horse in the stable? It’s probably just eating its food, wrapped up in a warm blanket and dozing off.”

“Being full isn’t everything.”

“Do you really believe that?”

Malyn found it absurd. The horses in the king’s stable were dressed for winter in quilted coats lined with warm feathers. These coats were far better than most human clothing. In front of her, however, Layla wasn’t dressed in anything like that. The best she had was a thick woollen cloak and a velvet maid’s dress provided by the castle.