章 16: Chapter 16. Another way
When the princess looked at her with that look, Remesis' throat went dry. She fell silent and stared at her as well. This pause lasted for a while.
In the time they had spent together in this second life, Remesis had gotten used to Asil's feral demeanor. Though she still couldn't fully understand her thoughts, a beast was still a beast after all. The princess lived mostly guided by her instincts.
All intentions were clearly displayed on her face at the same instant. Whether it was a lust for killing or food. Asil's two main urges. The princess' urges were straightforward, just like a bear doesn't think before doing something. If he's hungry, he just takes it and eats it. If it wants to kill, it just kills.....
Based on that, from a human perspective, Asil was quite 'harmless' in Remesis' eyes. Aside from her bloodthirsty nature, which was to be avoided, she could coexist peacefully under certain conditions. Unlike adults, a twelve year old child is not capable of scheming or going behind their backs. 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 older Asil, who had been a schemer and had been able to plot in the palace without even being there, the current Asil was just a small animal, hardly capable of even deception. So Remesis decided that she could not fear her in this regard until a certain time.
Before, Remesis had never felt any danger from the princess other than physical. But now… That alien gaze made the girl involuntarily question what she was seeing. She held her breath, as if in that moment Asil could see right through her.
But it didn't last long. After a few seconds, the princess's face returned to a serene expression and she let go of her hand.
— ...
Remesis coughed a dry cough. It had all happened so quickly that she had no time to regain her senses.
— Y-Your Highness, is something wrong?
Asil opened her mouth slightly. Then she looked up at her with a concerned look in her amber eyes.
— Oops… Danger…
— What?
— Danger. Danger. Danger.
Asil continued to gibber this word like a parrot, which puzzled Remesis even more. After the heavy aura disappeared in an instant, the princess's gaze continued to dart restlessly around the room. Soon, Remesis realized what she meant.
— Are you saying it's dangerous here?
Aseel nodded her head machine-like.
Remesis frowned. At that moment, Hannes found a pause to cut into the conversation.
— Your Highnesses, if I may…
He cleared his throat awkwardly.
— Yes…? — Remesis addressed him.
— I'm sure our castle is well guarded. You have nothing to worry about.
«Well guarded? With an army that doesn't even number a hundred men?» Those words flashed through her mind, but the girl didn't say them out loud. 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 didn't matter against the mercenaries from the capital. The empire's best hidden assassins operated under the direct control of the emperor. They were the ones who had tried to eliminate her and Asil after their arrival in the North.
As soon as news reached Alexis Cesius Asheloth that his daughter was not dead and had reached the northern castle, he did not stop trying to get rid of her. Assassins one after another were sent off to the northern region. But in the end, none of them came back alive.
Of course, Remesis knew that once they arrived at the castle, the dangers in their path would not end. Not even counting the monsters and barbarians, there were still many who wanted to get rid of them. Nevertheless, somehow they still managed to survive then.
In particular, it was mainly Asil who was in danger. She was the one the Emperor's minions were trying to eliminate in the first place. After all, if Remesis died and the princess survived, there would be no point. Remesis' existence was not as annoying a stain in the emperor's eyes as his daughter.
Thus, as long as Asil was alive, Remesis, conventionally speaking, could sleep peacefully. The girl was about to tell her that her presence here was not at all necessary. However, the princess continued to act extremely restless, like a dog that fusses before a thunderstorm. «Even without knowing about the mercenaries, she senses danger with her gut?»
Remesis slowly spoke:
— Your Highness, we are already in the castle after all. We are no longer in danger as we are outside. I don't think there is a need…
But Asil, disagreeing with her words, shook her head.
— Aaaa… No… It's dangerous here. Dangerous.
Remesis sighed and put a hand to her forehead.
— So you don't want me to leave? — She summarized.
— Yes.
Remesis drew in air noisily again. After all, she was dealing with a child. Especially not an entirely ordinary one. She should be more understanding.
It is quite normal for a girl to be afraid to sleep alone in a new place. Though the concepts of «Asil» and «fear» had once been perceived in her mind as incompatible. Well, sometimes such rare manifestations, showing that she was indeed a child, were even a little comforting.
Remesis wasn't particularly eager to stay here, but she agreed nonetheless.
— Good. Then I'll stay here for a few days. But only for a few…
Seeing the gleam in Asil's eyes, Remesis grinned to herself. Then she certainly didn't think her 'few' days would stretch out somewhat…
***
It had been a few weeks since the new lord and her wife had settled into the Nord fortress. They were getting used to living there. The Nord castle greeted Remesis each morning with a cold dawn and an equally cold sunset.
As Remesis had not anticipated, her «temporary» overnight stay in Asil's room dragged on. At first, when she tried to leave, the princess complained that she was plagued by nightmares. Then, suddenly, she started having feverish fits… Anyway, one way or another, Remesis had to put up with it.
She decided to wait a little longer before Asil grew up and stopped worrying about such things. Who would have thought that a princess known for her bloodthirstiness would turn out to be so impressionable? It came as a surprise to Remesis as well. Apparently, she didn't know her as well in her past life as she thought she did.
Especially at the moment, Remesis had bigger problems to deal with. She needed to make money somehow to survive. But how?
All this time the girl puzzled over this question.
The North was a very poor land. During her wanderings, the girl could see enough of this. However, before solving the problem of the whole region, she first needed to deal with her home. Thus, Remesis slowly began to settle into the role of princess of the North.
The money that was currently available in the residence was categorically lacking. Many servants had not been paid for a long time. The condition of the castle itself left much to be desired.
Remesis and Asil had potato soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Meat, cereals, and other foods were in short supply. And soon these modest supplies would run out. In other words, if nothing was done, they would be on a hunger strike just as they had been in that life.
To postpone this period for a while, Remesis prepared herself in advance. During their journey to the capital, Asil killed several monsters, including some large ones. The resources left from them the girl had thoughtfully put away in her bag.
Remesis asked Asil to cut off their fangs, skins, and anything else that might be useful. After all, the monsters themselves were quite a valuable source of raw materials. Their skins were very tough. Much denser than any animal. And their fangs were as hard as metal. If you sharpened them, you could make a good dagger.
Monster products were highly sought after by merchants throughout the empire. Moreover, due to the dangerous process of obtaining them, they were also rare, which made them even more valuable. Remesis, of course, couldn't waste so much money.
Upon arriving at the castle, Remesis contacted traders from the South and sold them everything she could gather. In the end, she managed to net a whole sack of gold coins. The people of the northern castle were truly amazed that a little girl was so knowledgeable in financial matters. Was she really only eight years old?
The servants, who had initially taken the arrival of two children as nothing more than a burden, were stunned. Even the maid who had previously treated Remesis with disdain brought her fresh bread in the morning. That was quite a treat. Especially considering that in her previous life, these same servants had not treated her in any way.
However, it was still only a drop in the ocean.
The money Remesis received was enough to buy food for a couple more months ahead. She was also able to spare some money for basic repairs, like those to patch up the holes in the walls and roof. However, the big question remained: what would happen next?
The reason why Fortress Nord had gotten so rich in her past life was because of Asil. For the first two years, they had survived on pitiful scraps, thinking only of how to live until the next day. Remesis' stomach even swelled with hunger. She thought she would die simply because one day her eyes wouldn't open due to starvation fainting.
Asil's situation was no better. She had become like a walking skeleton, with only her burning amber eyes. However, one day, everything suddenly changed.
That next winter, Remesis was ten years old and Asil was fourteen. They had been in this desperate situation for two years.
When Remesis had given up hope and all the remaining servants had scattered away from them, the princess suddenly disappeared. She didn't return for a long time. About two days. Then the girl thought she was dead or had run away.
But after a while, Asil returned. And not empty-handed. The princess was accompanied by barbarians who carried sacks of gold on their backs. Lots of gold. Remesis opened her mouth then and thought she was dreaming it all in a starving delirium.
But no.
As it turned out, Asil had sneaked into one of the barbarian tribes alone, and killed their leader… According to the traditions of the people, she became their new leader. The barbarians' customs were not much different from the laws of the animal world. The strongest man was followed by all others, no matter where he came from.
Once the princess proved her strength, these mindless savages, in Remesis' mind, followed her unquestioningly. Since the barbarians had been plundering and pillaging for decades, they were also the richest people in the North. Thus, Fortress North gradually began to revitalize.
After subduing one tribe of barbarians, Asil would almost immediately attack another. Thus, she managed to conquer several barbarian communities in half a year. After learning that there was money in the capital, people from all over the North also flocked to the Nord Fortress and swore an oath to Asil. The army of the North was literally growing by leaps and bounds.
Through endless wars and bloodshed, the girl was able to achieve all of this in such a short period of time. After all, it wasn't for nothing that she had earned the nickname 'Northern Devil'.
«All of this is certainly not bad. However… Can I really send a twelve year old child to fight the barbarians?»
When Remesis first thought of this, she immediately shook her head and sighed heavily. That even sounded crazy. That was at least a teenager. But right now, Asil was only a child. And if she loses and dies in the barbarian camp, it will all be over.
Surely there is another way.
To avoid a two-year hunger strike, something had to be done. Remesis did not believe that one could only get rich through violence and appropriation of other people's property. The world couldn't be so black and white.
And while Remesis was puzzling over this dilemma, next to her, as if from afar, she heard the squeak of a quill followed by a loud thud.
— There!
When the girl was distracted from her thoughts, she saw that the princess was proudly holding out a sheet of completed work to her.
— Oh, you've already done it? Let me see.
Amidst the harsh life of the north, Remesis was teaching Asil literacy. A necessary skill that surely every lord must possess in order to rule his land. Since there were no other suitable people in the castle, Remesis personally took on the princess's training. After all, she had promised to be her right hand after all. Therefore, this was also part of her tasks.
The girl herself dedicated a few hours a day and taught her writing and reading.
All other disciplines, like philosophy or etiquette of the nobility, could be mastered sometime later. The main thing was to learn the essentials.
Like Remesis, Asil had also been illiterate for a long time in her previous life. However, until a certain point, she didn't need it. After all, you don't need to know what letters look like to slaughter on the battlefield. Asil began to learn when it really became a necessity. After all, letters won't answer themselves. Neither would the castle's accounting department.
In just a year, she had managed to recover all the necessary gaps. The teachers who had tutored Asil called her a genius who only needed to see once to memorize. Well, it seemed to be true.
As Remesis checked the princess's written work, she found almost no errors there. They had only recently started learning grammar rules. But it looked like they could move on to the already more difficult topics.
— Your Highness, you are doing very well,» Remesis praised her, «You have spelled all the words and prepositions correctly. I think now you can practice making word combinations.
— Ahhhh…
Asil listened to her attentively.
— In the next lesson we will study the construction of simple sentences. In the meantime, you can rest.
At that moment, Hannes entered the room. He knocked tentatively.
— Yes, yes. Come in.
When the teacher's work for the day was done, Remesis poured herself a cup of freshly brewed black tea and sat down in a chair. Asil fidgeted at her desk and wrote diligently, making no sound other than scratching the tip of her quill on the paper. Even though the class was over, she continued to complete the assignments Remesis had given her. She seemed to be enjoying her studies immensely.
— Reporting to the princess and princess,» the knight bowed to them in turn, «we have received a letter from the temple. The chief bishop asks if the new Lord of the North will be able to participate in the rite of ancestor worship.
Remesis was thankful that she didn't have time to bring the cup of drink to her lips. Otherwise, the entire contents would have spilled down her skirt.
— Did you… Did you say temple?
— Answering the princess. Yes, maybe you didn't know. Every four years, the Central Temple holds services throughout the empire. And here, too. Usually, the lords also attend this event. That's why the temple is wondering if you can…
The knight's further words were lost to Remesis.
A chill ran down the girl's spine. When she realized what she was talking about, the corners of her lips lifted involuntarily. Indeed… Why didn't she think of it right away!
In the Nadal Empire, it wasn't just the North that was abandoned by the emperor. The temple was also the one who had been abandoned.
***
Chapter 20 is already available on Boosty: https://boosty.to/meredit
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