章 13: Chapter 13. This place is no different
«My head… Why am I so dizzy?»
Remesis could barely find the strength to come to her senses. She didn't even remember falling asleep. But now her head was splitting as if it had been hit with a sledgehammer. What's going on...? Was she really that tired last night?
Opening her eyes, the girl suddenly found that she was not in her room. Moreover, not even in the tavern where they were staying. Suddenly, Remesis found herself outside, in the middle of the village. And... She was tied to a pole.
The rough ropes clenched her body painfully and made it impossible for her to move.
Remesis couldn't understand what was happening. Was this a dream?
But...
— Aha! She was finally awake.
A man's voice sounded nearby.
Only then did Remesis realize that she was surrounded by a crowd of people. They were the villagers of Araken. Men and women, old men and children all looked at the eight-year-old girl with undisguised hatred and contempt. As if... they were trash in front of them, not a human being.
When Remesis realized the situation she was in, she gulped. Her heartbeat increased as what was happening around her seemed completely beyond comprehension.
— What...? — she struggled to mumble, — What are you doing?
A woman stepped forward from the crowd. The same kind tavern owner who had taken them in. But now, instead of the softness in her eyes, her expression hardened.
— Imperial scum...! How dare you come into our village?!
Remesis' insides turned cold.
— W-what... What are you talking about?
The next moment, something completely unforeseen happened. A woman spat in her face. The girl was stunned.
— Bitch... Do you still have the nerve to look us in the eye? Look at the ground!
Remesis couldn't find the words. At the same time, she didn't lower her head as the woman had told her to. She just couldn't understand why. Why were these people doing this to her?
— What... What have I done to you? Why... Why did you...
Whack!
With a grimace of disgust, the tavern owner slapped her with all her might.
The sharp pain made the girl's face blaze. Remesis' eyes widened in shock. But not because of the slap, but because she couldn't understand why this benevolent aunt was treating her like this... Just a couple hours ago, she had been smiling sweetly, asking if they had enough for dinner.
Wait a minute. There were sleeping pills in that food?!
I guess that explains why she passed out so suddenly....
— «Disgusting,» the woman's voice was full of disgust, «As you'd expect from an imperial bitch. Insolent bitch. Our lives are ruined because of people like you. And you dare ask what you've done?
— Your life... ruined because of me? — Remesis intervened.
Some man shouted from the crowd:
— Ha! These southerners have no shame or conscience!
— Is that girl really the Emperor's daughter?
— She is! I saw the Northern Lord's ring on her!
— That bastard sent his daughter to rule us after they abandoned us thirty years ago? This is ridiculous! That would never happen!
Remesis was dumbfounded. Had they mistaken her for Asil?
Before leaving for the North, the Emperor had given Asil a ring confirming that she was henceforth the ruler of the northern lands. Every lord in the empire had such a sign of authority. The ring given to the princess was wide, covering half of her finger and made of cast iron. The diamonds on it were split crosswise.
It was this ring that was supposed to confirm Asil's identity when they arrived in the capital.
However, since Remesis had decided to temporarily conceal their identities for security reasons, she took it from Asil. Before entering the village, the girl hid the ring in her possession. The princess didn't really care about it.
Remesis was going to return it to her later anyway. Of course, she couldn't expect her idea to have such consequences for her... The tavern owner, despite her benevolent appearance, searched their belongings. And found the ring.
Remesis had been mistaken for a princess. And right now, all these people wanted her dead. Honestly, she had no idea how she was going to get out of this situation.
What was happening seemed extremely unfair to her.
«Everyone's looking at me like I'm really a real criminal. But... I'm just a kid after all.»
Even if she and Asil were mistaken by accident, it still made the people's attitude towards their new lord extremely clear.
Suddenly, anger awoke in the little girl. Clenching her lips tightly, she shrieked:
— I don't understand! If you hate the emperor, then you are taking revenge on him! What has the child done to you?!
Of course, Remesis did not deny the fact that the imperial family had treated the north extremely unfairly. In fact, the previous emperor had done so. And the current one simply continued to follow the same policy. They left the people of the north to survive without any support. Therefore, the anger of the Northerners was justified.
Except... What does this have to do with Asil? A princess who was born only twelve years ago. And, what's more, had lived no better, if not worse, than any of these people. At least none of them had been tried to be killed from birth just because their origins were disfavored by some stars.
But in response to her words, the tavern owner kicked her in the stomach.
— You had nothing to do with this? Huh, imperial bitch? So our children, who suffered all this time for nothing, shouldn't be blamed either?
The woman continued to beat her with her legs. Brutally and utterly merciless. Remesis spat, horrified to see her own blood on the white snow.
— When the barbarians were slaughtering our people and looting our homes, where were you, eh? Enjoying a luxurious life in your palaces!
«...»
— When our people were freezing from the cold because they couldn't afford firewood, you must have been spending tons of money and entertaining yourselves at balls!!!!
Bump.
— You say you're a child? Then how come someone like you can afford whatever she wants and my children have to starve? Tell me, huh? Why did this happen?
«You're wrong... I've never... I've never been able to afford anything...» — those unspoken words stuck in her throat as the girl's abuse continued.
The stunned Remesis simply didn't have the strength to respond to the attack. Not to mention she was still tied to the pole. Her twenty year old soul was in a weak eight year old body. What could she do?
The angry people of the North had no way to get to the emperor, so they vented all their resentment on the little girl who happened to be at their fingertips. They used her as a punching bag. Remesis was completely helpless in this situation.
At one point she even stopped feeling pain.
Remesis didn't know how long the beating lasted. But after a while, the blows finally stopped. Apparently, the woman was exhausted.
— Bitch, don't even think you can get out of here alive. We'll bury you and that thing right here.
— Kha...
Remesis spit up blood. She didn't have the strength to speak. She felt like she was about to pass out.
The voices beside her sounded as if from far away.
— That girl next to her... Duke Carter's daughter?
— That's right. They were sent together. I hear the Carters are one of the four great families. So those bastards are in cahoots with the emperor.
— So that's it. So we got another piece of capital city trash on our hands? Excellent. Then we'll beat her too. Where is she?
— I've already sent a man. They should be here soon.
The man didn't get a chance to finish. He and his mistress were interrupted by a loud noise.
Bam! Snort!
The villager was thrown backwards, fell, and hit his head on a stone pillar. Death was almost instantaneous.
There were screams of horror.
— W-what-o-o-o-o?
Remesis looked in that direction as well. To her great surprise, there stood Asil. Her expression remained impassive and unperturbed. Only the brilliant amber eyes were trembling furiously.
— No way! — The tavern owner shrieked, — Didn't I give her sleeping pills too? Then why...
Before the woman could finish her sentence, Asil pounced on her. The princess effortlessly fell the woman to the ground and climbed on top of her. She then began beating her mercilessly on the head with her fists. Almost the same way she had kicked Remesis with her legs a little earlier.
But unlike her, the princess' blows were immediately aimed to kill. The woman had no time to do anything and simply froze as her head was soon crushed. It was as if she had been hit with a jackhammer.
The bloody scene was horrifying even in the brutal North. No one could have expected such atrocities from a twelve-year-old child. The villagers were shocked by what had happened.
All that was left of the tavern owner's head was a single bloody stain. Asil climbed off her corpse. After which, her cold deadly gaze turned to the rest of the villagers.
— Aaah!
— Monster!
— It's a monster!
The people screamed in horror and immediately rushed to flee in different directions. Asil did not pursue them. Instead, she approached Remesis. They looked at each other in silence. Despite the sight she had just seen, the girl was not afraid for some reason.
Perhaps it was because she had seen many deaths already. Throughout their marriage to Asil, blood had poured out in rivers before her eyes. Sooner or later, even if you don't want to, you get used to it. To keep from going insane, the girl at some point just got over it too.
Remesis didn't move as the cursed princess' face came even closer. She could feel the aura of an adult Asil now emanating from her. The same one that made her feel completely helpless.
In the next instant, the ropes holding her down fell. The princess tore them with her own hands.
Remesis experienced a long-awaited freedom. Though her body still ached badly from the blows. She struggled to stand up and straighten herself. A red face covered in blood and dirt. Her hair was tangled. Dress turned to rags... But honestly, Remesis didn't care about any of that right now.
«That woman seemed to have children... So they're going to be orphans now?» — this thought was going around in her head, but the girl didn't dare to voice it. After all, it was unlikely that Asil would care about that at all.
Asil was silent. Remesis furtively glanced at her.
The expression on the girl's face took on an incomprehensible unreadable expression. She slowly opened her mouth. The words that came off her tongue sounded as cold as the north wind.
— You said that I no longer live in the imperial palace. But then why... why is this place no different?
She said it in an unexpectedly even tone. It was as if there were no defects in her speech.
Remesis stammered and remained silent. She suddenly realized that she had absolutely nothing to answer.
The girl only lowered her head.
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