When the princess looked at her with that gaze, Remesis's throat went dry. She fell silent and stared back at her. This pause lasted for some time.
During the time they had spent together in this second life, Remesis had grown accustomed to Asil's feral behavior. Despite still not being able to fully understand her thoughts, a beast remained a beast. The princess lived mostly guided by instincts.
All intentions were clearly displayed on her face at that very moment. Be it bloodlust or food. Asil's two main drives. The princess's impulses were straightforward, just as a bear doesn't think before doing something. If it's hungry, it simply eats. If it wants to kill, it simply kills...
Based on this, from a human perspective, Asil was, in Remesis's eyes, quite "harmless." If you didn't count her bloodthirsty nature, which needed to be avoided, under certain conditions one could coexist with her quite peacefully. Unlike adults, a twelve-year-old child is incapable of plotting intrigues or acting behind one's back. Especially someone like Asil.
Remesis knew from her own experience that a moral blow could sometimes be stronger than a physical one. Compared to the adult Asil, who was quite the schemer and managed to orchestrate plots in the palace even without being there, the current one was merely an uncomprehending little animal, hardly capable of even deception. So Remesis decided that, for a certain time, she need not fear her in that regard.
Previously, Remesis had sensed no danger from the princess, other than physical. But now... This strange gaze involuntarily made the girl doubt what she saw. She held her breath, as if at that moment Asil could see right through her.
But it didn't last long. After a few seconds, the princess's face returned to its serene expression, and she released her hand.
"......"
Remesis coughed dryly. Everything had happened so fast she hadn't had time to react.
"Y-Your Highness, is something wrong?"
Asil slightly opened her mouth. Then she raised a worried gaze of her amber eyes to her.
"D-dan... Danger..."
"What?"
"Danger. Danger. Danger."
Asil continued to babble this word like a parrot, further perplexing Remesis. After the heavy aura disappeared in an instant, the princess's gaze continued to dart anxiously around the room. Soon Remesis understood what she meant.
"You mean it's dangerous here?"
Asil nodded automatically.
Remesis frowned. At that moment, Hannes found a pause to interject into the conversation.
"Your Highnesses, if you'll permit me..."
He awkwardly cleared his throat.
"Yes...?" Remesis turned to him.
"I am certain that our castle is well guarded. You have nothing to worry about."
"Well guarded? With an army that doesn't even number a hundred people?" These words flashed through her mind, but the girl didn't utter them aloud. After all, she didn't want to offend the knight, even though it was true.
However, even if there were more people in the fortress, it wouldn't matter against mercenaries from the capital. The empire's best hidden assassins operated under the direct control of the Emperor. They were the ones who tried to eliminate her and Asil after their arrival in the North.
As soon as Alexis Cezar Ashelot received news that his daughter hadn't died and had reached the northern castle, he didn't stop trying to get rid of her. Assassins were sent one after another to the northern region. But in the end, none of them returned alive.
Of course, Remesis knew that after arriving at the castle, the dangers on their path wouldn't end. Not even counting monsters and barbarians, there were many others wanting to get rid of them. Nevertheless, somehow they had managed to survive back then.
In particular, the danger threatened mainly Asil. The Emperor's henchmen tried to eliminate her first and foremost. Because if Remesis died and the princess remained alive, there would be no point. Remesis's existence wasn't such an annoying stain in the Emperor's eyes as his daughter was.
Thus, as long as Asil was alive, Remesis, relatively speaking, could sleep peacefully. The girl was about to tell her that her presence here wasn't at all necessary. However, the princess continued to behave extremely restlessly, like a dog fussing before a storm. "Even without knowing about the assassins, she senses danger instinctively?"
Remesis spoke slowly:
"Your Highness, we're in the castle now. We're no longer in danger as we were outside. I don't think there's a need..."
But Asil, disagreeing with her words, shook her head.
"Aaaa... No... Dangerous here. Dangerous."
Remesis sighed and put her hand to her forehead.
"So you don't want me to leave?" she concluded.
"Yes."
Remesis drew in air again noisily. After all, she was dealing with a child. Moreover, not quite an ordinary one. She should be more understanding.
It was quite normal if for now the girl was afraid to sleep alone in a new place. Although the concepts of "Asil" and "fear" had once seemed incompatible in her mind. Well, sometimes such rare manifestations, showing that she really was a child, were even somewhat comforting.
Remesis wasn't particularly keen on staying here, but she agreed nonetheless.
"Alright. Then I'll stay here for a few days. But only a few..."
Seeing Asil's eyes sparkle, Remesis chuckled to herself. Little did she think then that her "few" days would stretch on somewhat...
***
Several weeks had passed since the new lord and her wife settled in Fortress Nord. They were getting used to life in it. Every morning, the northern castle greeted Remesis with a cold dawn and an equally cold sunset.
As Remesis hadn't anticipated, her "temporary" stay in Asil's room dragged on. At first, when she tried to leave, the princess complained of nightmares. Then, suddenly, she had a feverish fit... Anyway, one way or another, Remesis had to accept it.
She decided to wait a little longer until Asil grew up and such things stopped bothering her. Who would have thought that the princess, known for her bloodthirstiness, would turn out to be so impressionable? This came as a surprise even to Remesis. Apparently, she hadn't known her as well in her past life as she thought.
Moreover, at the moment, Remesis had more pressing problems. To survive, she needed to somehow earn money. But how?
All this time, the girl had been racking her brains over this question.
The North was a very poor region. During her travels, the girl had been able to see this enough. However, before solving the problem of an entire region, she first needed to deal with her own household. Thus, Remesis gradually began to settle into the role of Princess of the North.
The money currently available in the residence was categorically insufficient. Many servants hadn't been paid in a long time. Naturally, the condition of the castle itself left much to be desired.
For breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Remesis and Asil ate potato soup. Meat, grains, and other provisions were in short supply. And soon even these meager supplies would run out. In other words, if nothing was done, the same famine awaited them as in that life.
To at least postpone this period for a while, Remesis had prepared in advance. During their journey to the capital, Asil had killed several monsters, including large specimens. The girl had prudently saved the resources left from them in her bag.
Remesis asked Asil to cut off their fangs, hide, and anything else that might be useful. Because monsters themselves were quite a valuable source of raw materials. Their hide was very durable. Much denser than that of any animal. And their fangs were hard as metal. Just sharpen them and you'd have a good dagger.
Items made from monsters were in high demand among merchants throughout the empire. Moreover, due to the dangerous process of obtaining them, they were also rare, which made them even more valuable. Remesis certainly couldn't let so much money go to waste.
Upon arriving at the castle, Remesis contacted merchants from the South and sold them everything she had managed to collect. In the end, she managed to net a whole bag of gold coins. The residents of the northern castle were genuinely astonished that such a little girl was so knowledgeable in financial matters. Was she really only eight years old?
The servants, who had initially perceived the arrival of these two children as nothing more than a burden, were stunned. Even the maid who had previously treated Remesis contemptuously brought her fresh bread in the morning. This was quite pleasant. Especially considering that in her previous life, these same servants had not treated her in any way.
However, this was still only a drop in the ocean.
The money Remesis obtained was enough to stock up on provisions for another couple of months ahead. She was also able to allocate a little for basic repairs, such as patching holes in the walls and roof. But the main question remained: what next?
The reason Fortress Nord had become so wealthy in her past life was Asil. The first two years they survived on pitiful scraps, thinking only of making it to the next day. Remesis's stomach had even swollen from hunger. She thought she would die simply because one day her eyes wouldn't open due to hunger-induced fainting.
Asil's condition was no better. She had become like a walking skeleton, with only her burning amber eyes remaining. However, one day, everything suddenly changed.
That particular winter, Remesis turned ten, and Asil fourteen. They had been in such desperate straits for two years.
When Remesis had ceased to hope for anything, and all the remaining servants had fled from them, the princess suddenly disappeared. She didn't return for a long time. About two days. The girl thought then that she had died or run away.
But after some time, Asil did return. And not empty-handed... The princess was accompanied by barbarians carrying bags of gold on their backs. Lots of gold. Remesis's mouth fell open then, and she thought she was dreaming it all in a hunger-induced delirium.
But no.
As it turned out, Asil had infiltrated one of the barbarian tribes alone and killed their chieftain... According to the traditions of these people, she became their new leader. The customs of the barbarians differed little from the laws of the animal world. All others followed the strongest, and it didn't matter where that person came from.
Once the princess proved her strength, all those brainless savages, in Remesis's view, followed her unquestioningly. Since the barbarians had engaged in robbery and banditry for decades, they were also the richest people in the North. Thus, Fortress Nord gradually began to revive.
Having subjugated one barbarian tribe, Asil would almost immediately attack another. Thus, in six months, she managed to conquer several barbarian communities. Learning that there was money in the capital, people from all over the North also flocked to Fortress Nord and swore allegiance to Asil. The Northern army literally grew before one's eyes.
Through endless wars and bloodshed, the girl had achieved all this in such a short time. After all, it wasn't for nothing that she earned the nickname "Northern Devil."
"All this is fine, of course. However... Can I really send a twelve-year-old child to fight barbarians?"
When Remesis merely thought about this, she immediately shook her head and sighed heavily. It sounded insane even. That was at least a teenager. But now Asil was just a child. And if she lost and died in a barbarian camp, everything would be over.
Undoubtedly, there was another path.
To avoid the two-year famine — something needed to be done. Remesis didn't believe one could only get rich through violence and appropriating others' property. The world couldn't be so black and white.
And while Remesis was racking her brains over this dilemma, nearby, as if from afar, she heard the scratching of a pen and a subsequent loud sound.
"There!"
When the girl was distracted from her thoughts, she saw the princess proudly holding out a sheet of completed work to her.
"Oh, you're already done? Let me see."
Amidst the harsh life of the North, Remesis was teaching Asil literacy. A necessary skill that every lord must undoubtedly possess to govern their land. Since there were no other suitable people in the castle, Remesis personally took charge of the princess's education. After all, she had promised to become her right hand. So this was also part of her duties.
The girl independently devoted several hours a day and taught her writing and reading.
All other disciplines, like philosophy or noble etiquette, could be mastered later. The main thing was to learn the essentials.
Like Remesis, Asil in her past life had also been illiterate for a long time. However, until a certain point, she hadn't needed it anyway. Because to carry out massacres on the battlefield — knowing what letters looked like was not at all necessary. Asil started learning when it truly became necessary. After all, letters wouldn't answer themselves. Neither would the castle's accounts.
In just one year, she had managed to fill in all the necessary gaps. The teachers who worked with Asil called her a genius, for whom it was enough to see something once to remember it. Well, it seemed this was true.
As Remesis checked the princess's written work, she found virtually no errors there. They had only recently started learning grammar rules. But it seemed they could move on to more complex topics now.
"Your Highness, you're doing very well," Remesis praised her. "You've written all the words and prepositions correctly. I think you can now practice forming phrases."
"Aaaaa..."
Asil listened attentively.
"In our next lesson, we'll cover the structure of simple sentences. For now, you can rest."
At that moment, Hannes entered the room. He knocked first.
"Yes, yes. Come in."
When the teacher's work for the day was completed, Remesis poured herself a cup of freshly brewed black tea and sat down in an armchair. Asil fidgeted at her desk and diligently wrote, not making a sound except for the scratching of the pen's tip on the paper. Although the lesson was over, she continued doing the assignments Remesis had given her. It seemed she really enjoyed learning.
"I report to the Princess and the Princess Consort," the knight bowed. "We’ve received a letter from the temple. The High Bishop asks if the new Lord of the North can participate in the Ancestor Worship Rite."
Remesis was glad she hadn’t raised the cup yet — otherwise, it would have spilled onto her skirt.
"You… you said ‘temple’?"
"I answer the Princess Consort. Yes, perhaps you didn’t know — every four years, the central temple holds services across the empire, and lords usually attend. So they are asking whether you will be able to…"
The rest of his words faded. A chill ran down Remesis’s spine, then a faint smile appeared on her lips.
Of course… why hadn’t she realized it sooner?
In the Nadal Empire, it wasn’t only the North that had been abandoned by the Emperor—the Church had been forsaken as well.
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