Chapter 21. Sneaking into the enemy’s lair

This hunch was a real revelation to Remesis.

Of course, on the one hand, the fact that this attempt was made by the Emperor did not seem so extraordinary. The ruler of the empire had tried many times before to eliminate his daughter by all available means. Rather, the girl was surprised that this time the target of Alexis Cesius Ashelot was her...

Had something like this happened in her past life?

Instead of trying to make the princess of the north his pawn, with the intention of doing away with Asil, this man suddenly went to kill her himself. But why all of a sudden? Was such a change due to the fact that the girl herself acted and behaved differently than in her previous life?

Compared to her previous life, the princess of the northern castle could no longer be called an easy target for intimidation, and her own fame in the north was also growing day by day. It was possible that these rumours had also reached the emperor himself. And the Emperor, considering the girl not a weak victim but a worthy opponent, had no intention of offering her a losing deal that she wouldn't agree to anyway.

And instead... Decided to simply get rid of her, deeming Remesis' existence as much of a threat to his own power.

In other words, after that conversation with the Order's successor, all of those thoughts continued to swirl around in her head for the rest of the day. After giving it a good deal of thought, Remesis came to the conclusion that other than the Emperor, no one in this country would really dare to go for such a desperate and rather reckless act. She was even surprised that she hadn't thought of this option from the beginning. But the girl couldn't understand one thing.

How could the emperor get wind of this trip, which was quite confidential and not reported to anyone outside the northern castle? Furthermore, the very moment of the attack in the deserted forest area had been anticipated perfectly. Such an attack could be planned as long as the enemy knew about their route from the beginning.

But how was this possible? Could it be that the emperor's spies had been following them from the beginning? But then how, in that case, did they manage to infiltrate the protected lands of the northern principality, screened by block posts and watchtowers on all sides? Could it be that there was a breach in the castle's security system that the girl had somehow been unaware of earlier...?

All of these thoughts kept Remesis uneasy, and even during the night she continued to ponder them.

The darkness was thickening, but Remesis still could not sleep peacefully. Many things troubled her thoughts, but no matter how long the princess thought, the answers seemed vague. The girl tossed and turned for a long time before closing her eyes. Even though she had only slept for a few hours, Remesis had to get up quite early — unexpectedly, or not really, she had received an invitation to breakfast in the dining room.

The duke's youngest daughter could have skipped the meal together and ignored this invitation, instead favouring sleep, but nevertheless she still got up as soon as she heard some curious information from the servants. It turned out that it was the family's successor who had first suggested that she eat together.

It was for this reason that she wasn't feeling quite at ease right now.

'So, what could be the reason why Michelle suggested her to eat breakfast together so suddenly?'

Since the girl was somewhat interested in this circumstance, she got up to get ready and go to breakfast.

When Remesis arrived at the sumptuous doors of the dining room, the servants waiting near them opened them before her and she stepped inside.

The Duke's successor was already seated at the table, waiting for her. It was somewhat unusual that they were the only ones here out of all the inhabitants of the manor.

— Good morning, sister.

Michel was the first to greet her in a subdued tone.

— I'm sorry, brother, I'm a little late, ' Remesis smiled kindly, feigning concern that she had arrived later than the appointed time.

— No... it's fine.

Michelle, after hesitating, answered her just as dryly. Remesis gave a barely perceptible chuckle.

To think of it. The Duke's heir looked very different now than he had in their childhood. The girl remembered well that in the old days, the young lord's pride would never have allowed him to show such condescension to anyone except his father. If anyone had kept Michel waiting, so also his own insignificant little sister, could he have remained so restrained? The Princess of the North could almost see the corners of his lips twitch. And that made it all the more amusing to watch.

— I am glad to hear that my brother is not angry.

With a quiet smile, Remesis replied politely, and then sat down in her seat at the table. The servants immediately hurried to arrange the cutlery in front of her.

— Brother Michel, where are Father, Brother Livius and the others? Why are they not present with us? — Remesis asked and looked around.

— It just so happened that almost everyone was absent from the mansion right now. Father needed to leave again on urgent business, and as for the other brother..... — in brief, Michel told me that everyone had some business to attend to. Duke Carter was away on business. Liana Daehsin had also left the manor last night, and Katrina, as her consort, had accordingly departed with her. Livius, who was able to become a graduate student at the Imperial Institute due to his natural aptitude for science, was also frequently absent from home due to this employment.

In other words, at this moment, Remesis and Michelle were indeed left alone in the Duke's manor.

After a prolonged pause that prevailed with the girl's arrival, Michel was the first to break the silence:

— Sister, aren't you hungry? I told the cook to pay extreme attention to the dishes today.

Even at a glance, the food on the table looked appetising. The princess of the north started slicing the steak that was right in front of her. Sure enough, the dishes were very tasty. Remesis put all her recent worries behind her for the time being and sent a piece into her mouth:

— This is wonderful, brother!

— I'm glad you liked it, ' Michelle replied and sipped the liquid from her cup.

Remesis then moved her spoon over to the bowl of soup.

— Brother, you should eat too, the food will get cold soon.

— Yes, of course.

In this unfamiliar atmosphere, the meal continued for some time. Soon Michel Carter opened his mouth again:

— Sister, I have something to inform you about.

— Yes?

— Tomorrow morning, I'm going to go to the imperial palace, ' he hesitated and said, 'The founding day of the empire is approaching, and all high ranking nobles are required to attend the banquet held in honour of it. Therefore, I have invited you here today to break the news. Unfortunately, because of this departure, I will not be able to see you off properly, ' Michel paused, looking at her, and then continued: — I hope you will take this with understanding.

After listening to her brother's explanation, Remesis gripped the fork in her hand tighter.

The Founding Festival was the biggest event in the Nadal Empire. The royal family and nobles attended this ceremony every year. However, Remesis and Asil were never invited. Remesis had even asked the princess about it once, but she said she wouldn't even want to be invited there.

— But aren't you curious?

As a member of the royal family, Asil had every right to attend this feast even without an invitation. Many people dreamed of seeing the grand preparations that were being prepared especially for this day, but they had no way to get to the banquet. So Remesis wondered if the princess regretted this missed opportunity even once.

— Instead of this stupid ceremony where people unknown to me gather, I would rather prefer to spend more time with my wife... — she replied dreamily.

'.....'

In the end, that conversation ended up the same way it always did.

Be that as it may, Remesis really wasn't too interested in this holiday before. In a way, she was taking the princess' point of view, since no one was expecting them at this banquet anyway. She just went on with her normal life, for she had more than enough worries without it. But not this time.

— Brother, you won't mind if I go there with you, right?

When the girl suddenly asked this, the Duke's heir couldn't hide his surprise.

— What?

— I was thinking about it. Foundation Day is an important holiday for our empire,'' Remesis smiled, ''As a member of the imperial family, I should also attend, right? Unfortunately, due to my busyness, I have not been able to do so in previous years. Therefore, I want to make up for it now.

— Sister, you... Are you serious?

Michelle stopped talking and looked at her suspiciously. But the expression on the girl's face remained the same unperturbed.

— Quite.

Remesis put aside the cutlery and looked at her brother carefully. The young man was silent for a moment, then replied:

— Good.

After his words, Remesis smiled satisfactorily.

In any case, he originally didn't have much of a choice. The argument that Remesis was a member of the imperial family was indeed undeniable. The girl had the legal right to attend this banquet. Therefore, even if he wanted to, Michel would not be able to find a decent excuse to stop her.

— What about the Lord of the North... Did you warn her about it? — he said hesitantly.

— Oh, I was just about to write a letter. I don't think there will be any problem with that.

— .....

Even though outwardly Michel was holding himself well, he was obviously worried inside. But the girl only continued to smile kindly, pretending not to notice it.

— So, it's all sorted out now. — She suddenly stood up from her seat. — Please forgive me, brother, but I will leave first. I think I need some rest before this trip.

— Yes. I don't mind.

Recovering, the guy nodded, letting me know that everything was alright. However, the expression on his face was more like a stone. With that, Remesis left her older brother in the dining room and left. Walking down the quiet and almost deserted corridor all sorts of thoughts continued to build up within her. In the end, she chose this option as the best solution to the situation.

'If the enemy doesn't come to you himself, isn't it better to sneak into his lair yourself?'