Chapter 40. What the Stars Say (Part 1)

It had been some time since Remesis had returned to the northern fortress. The girl felt a little depressed.

She couldn't understand why she was feeling this way. After all, nothing particularly bad had happened. Things in the castle went on as usual. Impressions from the trip to the capital gradually subsided. And at the same time, a strange apathy did not leave her. The girl often held the handkerchief given to her by Liana, and for some reason it calmed her down.

«I guess I'm just too tired these days.»

Remesis had begun her duties as soon as she arrived, as she felt she needed no rest. These couple weeks on the return trip, where she did almost nothing while sitting in the carriage, had been quite enough. The past one and a half months had accumulated enough work reports that required her direct review. This was the first thing the girl did when the maester of the northern castle kindly volunteered to help her. Leeuwen Iter was overjoyed at the princess' return.

They talked the whole evening away. Remesis told the maester what had happened in the capital and how the Small Council had gone. In order not to upset the old man, the princess deliberately left out some details. Instead, she said that everything had gone well.

Luwen Iter sighed.

— Well, I'm glad to hear that.

They were drinking hot tea in the maester's study, and the room was filled with the tart scent of ginger. Remesis took another sip.

— His Majesty… How did he feel about you? — He asked warily.

Remesis hesitated for a moment. All in all, nothing remarkable had happened. Aside from a single private audience, they hadn't crossed paths in person again. So, one could say she was lucky.

— Um… His Majesty was not feeling well and rarely left his chambers. I didn't have the opportunity to see him often.

Hearing this, Maester Luwen tensed up slightly. His eyes glittered.

— Was the emperor unwell? — The old man intervened.

— I suppose so, yes. But I don't know what the cause is…» the girl hesitated.

After receiving the news of the Emperor's condition, Maester Leeuwen was lost in thought for a while. As if thinking about something in his head, he practically stopped paying attention to his surroundings. The cup of tea had long since gone cold. Remesis had to call his name to get his attention.

— Huh? What? The old man came to his senses.

— What is it? — Remesis was worried. Maybe you know something about it?

After all, Luwen had worked in the palace for decades and was well acquainted with the imperial family. But in response to the question, Remesis gave a strained smile and shook his head.

— I was only a mentor at the court. How could I possibly know such information? The secrets of the imperial family are equal to the secrets of the state. One does not tell such things to just anyone.

Remesis bit her lip.

— I was just remembering something from the past,» he continued, «The previous emperor had two sons, and I was mentor to both of them at one time. And as I recall, the current ruler has always been known for his good health and stamina. I marveled that he could actually get sick.

Something else interested the girl in Maester's words.

— You said that the emperor had two sons,» she asked, «But where is the second one? I have never heard of him.

The biography of the imperial family was known to every educated citizen of the empire. Down to distant relatives and ancient ancestors. There was even a special glossary that described the genealogical tree of the Ashelot Dynasty's ancestors from the founder of the empire to the current emperor. Therefore, this kind of information came as a surprise to Remesis.

Before, she only knew that Alexis Cesius Asheloth had a younger sister. Aunt Asil. A secretive woman who did not take part in the affairs of the palace, and therefore almost no one remembered her existence. But this was the first time the girl had heard of another brother.

Looking at the girl in surprise, Maester Luwen shook his head vigorously.

— Did I say that? You must have misheard.

— А?

— I mean, I'm old now, and I might have foolishly said something nonsense.

«…»

Soon, the old man quickly turned the conversation to another topic. Remesis didn't try to insist. Either Maester Luwen really said it casually, or he just didn't want to tell. In any case, discussing the imperial dynasty was not the best and even dangerous topic for reasoning. So the girl decided to just leave it at that.

They casually talked about matters of the day until deep into the night. A cup of ginger tea and extreme fatigue did their job, and the girl quickly fell asleep. But the next morning the apathetic mood returned to Remesis. An inexplicable state of anxiety, as if something was about to happen, but its bearer was left to guess about it. Could this be what they call the «seventh sense»?

Watching the girl sighing heavily while sitting at her desk, the servant cleaning the office could not resist asking:

— Did you check on Her Highness today?

— What?» Remesis suddenly raised her head, «Why would I do that?

— Just…

The very maid who had been carrying full trays of food from the princess's door all these days was a little embarrassed.

— …The princess has been longing for you very much.

«…»

Remesis was involuntarily confused.

«Asil missed you? Me?»

— While you were gone, she waited for you every day,» the girl continued, «She refused to eat or leave her room. We were even afraid that if you didn't return soon, Her Highness might die of starvation or exhaustion.

The girl looked at the maid who suddenly spoke of this with wide-open eyes.

Of course, she had no idea that it could be so serious.

— And also…'' The maid hesitated for a moment before saying it, but still decided, ''I want to say that Her Highness really cares for you very much! In fact, all this time, our castle has been under constant attack. Mercenaries tried to kill you and Her Highness every night. But the princess dealt with them herself so as not to disturb your peace.

«…»

Remesis couldn't believe what she heard and remained silent.

— Every morning, before you even woke up, we took the bodies out of your chambers and cleaned them up. All so you wouldn't notice.

As the maid continued to speak, expressing everything that had built up inside her, Remesis involuntarily dropped the quill from her hand. She was so confused that she didn't know what to think. Of course, the news of the assassins did not come as a shock to her. On the contrary, the girl even wondered why everything was so quiet in this life. Not once during the night she woke up with a knife at her throat, demanding the whereabouts of the deposed princess.

As it turned out, Asil simply hadn't told her about it…

She dealt with everything on her own, just so Remesis wouldn't worry. Before, the girl thought that the princess had such a hard time getting up every morning just because she was sleepy and liked to sleep. But as it turned out, she just didn't have the opportunity to get a proper night's sleep.

Remesis never thought that Asil would do something like this for her, and so she was shocked. She even experienced a small prick of guilt.

«At least I should at least say thank you to her…»

The girl sincerely thanked the concerned maid for sharing these revelations with her. Then, breaking away from her mid-afternoon duties, Remesis went to their chambers. She wanted to personally thank Asil for what she had done for her. After all, given the status of their relationship, it was not at all necessary. Nevertheless, the princess still cared for her in her own way.

Remesis opened the door quickly, but at the same moment she froze on the threshold. Asil was asleep, curled up curled up on the bed. Just like a puppy. Seeing this sight, Remesis was surprised at first, but soon smiled and closed the door behind her.

She quietly walked over and sat down on the corner of the bed.

The peaceful expression on the princess' face in her sleep was so sweet that the girl didn't dare to wake her up and just watched her. Asil must have been very tired after being away from rest for so long.

«She's been waiting for me for a whole month…» — the thought jabbed her involuntarily.

Remesis gently brushed a silver strand away from her face, revealing her forehead. Without knowing the true nature of this wolf cub, one would think that this child was a true angel. But in reality, it was nothing more than a short-lived illusion.

Remesis sighed and decided to spend some time with her wife this way.

At one point, she noticed that Asil was clutching some sort of object in her hands. She was holding it very tightly, even in her sleep, so Remesis couldn't take it away. But she discerned that it was a small black stone. It was the same flint that Remesis had used to light the fire in the cave during their wanderings in the north, and then given it to her. The girl hadn't expected the princess to still have it in her possession.

It was only a stone. But the princess cherished it as the greatest jewel in this world.

«…»

Remesis pressed her lips tightly together.

— I even feel a little sorry for it…» she muttered to herself, «Soon she will grow up and stop being like this.

The thought that it wouldn't be long before Remesis would have to face her abusive spouse again made her a little uneasy. The little Asil and the adult seemed to her to be very different people now. The princess was only acting like that now because she was still a child. But soon enough…

«You will only leave the North if you die.»

Remesis shuddered, and a painfully familiar chill ran down her spine. She looked again at the peacefully sleeping girl.

A heavy sigh cut through the silence of the room.

Remesis smiled weakly and tucked another strand of Asil's hair behind her ear. A slightly sad thought lurked in her mind. But, after all, she should have gotten over it by now. Nothing would last forever. And her pet she had once tamed wouldn't always stay that way either.

— My wolf cub… Will soon stop being so cute.