By the time she finally lay down in bed, she had already missed breakfast, and the sun was high in the sky. As she pulled the thick blanket over herself, she heard the faint sound of weapons clashing outside the window. It seemed to be the knights on their morning drills. She wanted to sleep, but it felt as though there was a sharp edge at the back of her mind, preventing her head from fully sinking into the pillow.

Just as she was drifting off to sleep, a loud sound suddenly woke her. It was the crackling of embers. Someone needed to tend to the fire in the fireplace, but Anessa and Ann had decided not to come in until the afternoon, knowing she was resting. Malyn shifted slightly, sensing someone moving in the room. She turned her head slightly and saw Layla. She had thought Layla had returned to her own room, but apparently not. Layla was sitting in front of the fireplace, carefully tending to the fire with a poker. Along with the sound of coals being moved, small sparks scattered gently.

Layla quietly added a couple more pieces of wood to the fire before standing up again. Malyn hadn’t even heard when she set down the poker she used to tend the fire. Layla didn’t know that Malyn was watching her from the corner of her eye. Layla took a thick blanket from the corner, spread it out, and lay down on it.

Her long, golden hair spread across the floor. Layla’s movements were different now; unlike the careful way she had tended the fire earlier, she now roughly pushed her hair aside and curled up slightly. She took the edge of the blanket, draped it over her shoulder, and wrapped it around herself, as if hiding within a single blanket. Malyn suddenly felt a surge of irritation. Why didn’t she go back to her own room to sleep? And why did she have to rest here?

Layla’s nature was obsessively clean, almost compulsive. When she was Princess of Dion, she hated showing her body to others and always bathed alone. Layla only asked one thing of Malyn: to use the excuse that she was a companion maid from her homeland and to have her room placed next to Malyn’s. Normally, two maids shared a room, so Layla was the only one with her own room.

But now, instead of sleeping in her own comfortable room, why was she here, in a corner of Malyn’s room? From a maid’s point of view, the answer was obvious. From morning to afternoon, she was the only one who could tend to the fire in her mistress’s room while she slept.

But Layla wasn’t really a maid.

Malyn became even more confused. Was it because of her obsessive cleanliness that Layla wanted to play the role of a maid so perfectly? If that was the case, she could just leave tending the fire to Anessa, who seemed eager to serve Malyn.

‘They both stayed up all night outside the door, so why does Layla look so pathetic now?’

‘Pathetic’

Malyn repeated the word in her mind. Yes, that’s exactly what it was—nothing more, nothing less. Layla almost seemed to be making a statement of sorts. After being told to act more like a proper maid, she’d stayed up all night at the door, given her shoes to Malyn like a princess, and now, instead of using her own room, she was tending the fire in Malyn’s room.

If it were Anessa, Malyn would have thought she was simply a very kind woman. But because it was Layla, she found it irritating. In a way, it felt like pity. It was absurd. After all, it was Layla’s fault that Malyn had to stay up all night and walk back barefoot. That’s probably why it bothered her so much.

Malyn let out an audible sigh. Layla’s shoulders flinched.

“Princess.”

“…Yes.”

Layla, who obviously had no intention of pretending to be asleep, slowly sat up and leaned forward.

“I didn’t mean to wake you. I’m sorry.”

Her voice was calm and steady despite the apology. Whether it was the morning or the exhaustion of staying up all night, her voice sounded hoarse. Normally deep, it now had a harsh quality, as if her throat was being squeezed. Malyn thought briefly of the King of Veldam, who sometimes squeezed her throat. He loved it when she let out a piercing scream when he did it. If Princess Layla made such a sound in the king’s bed… who knew. Would he enjoy it?

Maybe I’m better off.

With that thought, Malyn lifted herself slightly and patted the bed beside her. Layla looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Come here.”

“…”

“I can’t sleep because I’m cold.”

Malyn realised a little too late that Layla’s strange expression was one of confusion, as her face grew even more perplexed. After a moment, Layla spoke in a voice as harsh as a crow’s.

“If you’re cold, I could put more wood on the fire…”

“And wake me every time?”

Layla closed her mouth at Malyn’s sharp tone. Malyn knew only too well what Layla would say if she told her to stop tending the fire and sleep in her own room. If she told her to leave, Layla would probably stay anyway, whether out of pity or some kind of silent protest. Layla never seemed to like it when Malyn did anything that made her feel like she was giving her something.

After all, a princess’ pride didn’t break after only three months. To be taken as a handmaiden by a girl of unknown origin, who now practically commanded her as if she were the princess – that probably didn’t go down well, even if she had brought it on herself. It was unlikely that Malyn’s acts of kindness would ever make her feel comfortable.

So Malyn patted the bed again.

“I know how much I hate sleeping on a cold floor.”

She spoke deliberately in a low voice.

How she must hate it!

A pretentious, ill-mannered maid offering her pity just because she’d endured sleeping on a cold floor as some kind of protest!

She seemed to have guessed right, because Layla stood there for a long time, staring at her intently. After choosing her words carefully for just as long, Layla finally replied with an exasperated remark.

“…I never thought someone who once slapped me would say something like that.”

Ah, damn.

Malyn could barely hold back a laugh. So she was still holding on to that slap from three months ago, when she’d asked to be slapped back on the mountain. This princess, it seemed, still did not like her. Still. Malyn rested her chin on her hand and smiled faintly.

“It is said that the one who is slapped can sleep well, but the one who slaps can’t. I wonder if the princess has heard that.”

“…It’s not like I don’t know.”

“Yes, Princess. You see.”

Malyn said, tapping the bed with the fingers of the hand that wasn’t propping up her chin.

“for people, it’s hard to get used to rough or tiring tasks, but there’s something even harder. Being driven out of a warm bed—that’s the most miserable thing.”

“…”

“No matter how exhausting a day may be, there should be at least one warm place to rest. I know just how soul-crushing it is when even your bed is cold.”

Layla frowned slightly.

“…So, right now, you’re saying that you’re…”

“So I want to sleep warmly. I’m freezing to death here, especially after being tormented all night.”

Malyn cut Layla off before she could finish. Layla frowned but didn’t push any further. Hesitantly, she moved closer, slowly. The bed was so large and spacious that there was plenty of room for both of them to lie down. Malyn lifted the covers to make room for Layla. As Layla’s cold body slipped under the blanket, Malyn felt a shiver run through her. No matter how warm the fire was, it often stayed cold under the blanket.

Layla closed her eyes the moment she lay down facing Malyn. Her long lashes were also golden. They say fairies have golden eyelashes—could this princess be a fairy, too? The silly thought made Malyn laugh. She couldn’t help it; the whole situation was absurd.

At the sound of her laughter, Layla’s eyelids trembled slightly. Falling asleep wouldn’t be easy, especially sharing a blanket with her maid.

“…Was that from experience?”

Her voice was so soft that Malyn realized only a moment later that the question was directed at her. Just when she was about to drift off. With a tired sigh, she curled up and answered without much hesitation.

“My mother passed away when I was thirteen.”

“….”

“Every day, I had to dig in the dirt, covered in soil, just to survive, but when my mother lay beside me and gently rubbed my back, it was always so warm.”

Layla still didn’t open her eyes. Malyn watched her for a moment, then turned away, not wanting to face her. Pulling the blanket over her shoulder, she finished her words in a small voice.

“After that, no matter where I went, I still had to work to the bone, my face covered in dirt every day, but when the bed was cold, it felt as if my heart was sinking into the ground.”

“….”

Yawn.

She yawned, and as a few tears gathered in her eyes, she rubbed them away against the blanket. Then, mumbling under the covers, she added.

“I hate being cold…”

Even though the princess’s body was as cold as ice, having another person under the blanket brought a touch of warmth, and soon sleep came over her. Malyn drifted off just like that. And for the first time in a long time, she dreamed. In the dream, her mother, whose face she could no longer remember, gently rubbed her back. Slowly and for a long time.