บท 50: Chapter 9. Seeing you off before you leave
Although southerners thought otherwise, it doesn't just snow and rain in the North.
The sun shines quite brightly in the summer, although the weather is not as hot or humid as in the South. The problem was that the sun could only be seen in one season a year. And on this one of the last of the last clear sunny days, the departure of the Princess of the North from Nord Fortress was to take place. Many people, if not all the inhabitants of the fortress, came out to see the girl off before she left.
Remesis looked at her servants and knights with both warmth and longing in her heart, for it was the first time she would have to leave these people, even for a relatively short time. She had grown fond of many of them whom she had spent a dozen years with in the north. So this farewell had come out rather touching.
Remesis grinned as she saw her maid's face flushed and tear-stained.
— Julie, there's no need to be upset. We won't be separated forever.
At least not yet.
— Oh, Princess, I shall miss you very much! And I hope you'll come back as soon as possible.
— I'll miss you all too.
— Princess, you must eat well when I'm not around, okay?
— I will. I promise. You have to take care of yourself until then too.
Remesis smiled at the maid who kept struggling to contain her emotions before her mistress left. The blonde-haired girl had come to Castle Nord from the other side of the North years ago to better her life, and in time had become a maid whose duties included taking care of the princess of the North. And because the latter was only sixteen years old, Remesis treated her more like a younger sister and stroked her head affectionately.
— Don't cry, silly.
Still in tears, Julie couldn't bear it and clutched the lady in her arms so tightly that she could hardly breathe. Remesis even marvelled at how such a thin girl could have so much strength. Perhaps the belief that northerners were stronger than southerners from birth was true.
Month.
Though Remesis was still unclear what would happen after she returned home, and why her older brother suddenly needed to meet with her, one thing was certain: she wasn't going to stay at her family estate longer than that.
Even if all sorts of troubles awaited her there, Remesis was sure that this time she would be able to handle them with fortitude.
— Wife.
Remesis heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching behind her back. And the girl could guess the identity of this person without even turning back. With that thought, she was about to let Julie go, except that this man intervened first and beat her to it.
Asil, who had been watching from the sidelines the whole time, stepped up and broke that embrace.
— That's enough. You don't want to strangle your mistress, do you?
The princess' chilly remark made the poor maid immediately pull back and become covered in sweat. Like many in the castle, Maid Julie respected their lord as the heroine of the north, but at the same time felt fearful of her because of her terrible reputation. She muttered in a stammering voice:
— No, I apologise, your highness.....
Remesis sighed as she watched her maid hastily retreat backwards. Asil impatiently stood in front of her, blocking her entire view and thus drawing all attention to herself. The princess didn't like it when Remesis paid too much attention to other people, a bad habit that had followed her since childhood. Remesis, who was powerless to influence it, had no choice but to accept such quirks of the princess.
Remesis raised her head to look at her. The girl's eyes were blinded. Either from the bright sun or from the sight before her.
The princess's pointed jaw and long eyelashes were delicate, almost angelic, in stark contrast to the deep, mysterious look of her golden eyes. Her face glistened, covered in sweat from her recent workout, and her downward-flowing silver hair was like precious threads. Being quite tall, the Princess of the North resembled a marble statue, well, or according to her consort, no different from a demon that had just escaped from the underworld.
'...'
— Wife. I would have travelled to accompany you on your journey myself, but it is unfortunately impossible right now. As Lord of the North, I feel it is my duty to stay and see to the order here.
And thank goodness. It was frightening to imagine the commotion that would rise throughout the empire if Lord Severa suddenly left the northern region with his escort without any warning. Anyone could reasonably assume that the princess was plotting nothing less than a coup that many in the capital had feared for years.
Even if it was part of their future plans, Remesis still didn't think that they should take such an important step without prior preparation. Therefore, unnecessary fuss was completely unnecessary for them right now.
But in any case, it was rare for Remesis to hear her wife say something so sensible. Was this woman finally beginning to grow up, not only outwardly but inwardly as well? If so, it would be a relief to Remesis.
— Wife, — Asil addressed her by that nickname again as usual.
— Yes, your highness…
The princess kissed Remesis on the forehead before she had even finished speaking. Remesis was taken aback by the sudden expression of affection, and the servants behind them immediately turned their heads. Without wasting a second Remesis pushed her away with a red face.
— What are you doing all of a sudden?
— I'm going to miss you.
Saying that, Asil grabbed her wife again and kissed her several times on her ear and cheek. The servants and guardsmen with reddened faces had to take a step back as the couple's love affair became more intense. Only then did Remesis finally come to her senses to drench herself in colour and try to push the princess away again. But it wasn't that easy.
— Your Highness! — The girl could hardly hide her embarrassment behind her loud indignation.
After kissing her a few more times, Asil nuzzled her face into her neck and then pulled away as if with regret. Remesis looked at the princess as if she was shocked, but the woman with amber eyes only squinted and smiled at her.
— …Ugh! Have you completely lost your mind?
Remesis whispered this in an angry whisper, but she didn't dare to raise the scandal in public. It was obvious that the princess did so knowing that Remesis wouldn't be able to reject her as emphatically as she would if they were alone together. In other words, she had seized the opportunity. The princess of the north had only to be silently angry.
— Wife, when you return, I will do it again.
Apparently, Asil was determined to drive her crazy.
— …So come back as soon as possible.
The princess smiled widely when she saw that she couldn't say anything. It was a flawless tactic that Remesis couldn't do anything against.
Eventually the girl opened her mouth.
— I'll try to get back as soon as possible.
That was all she could say, looking into the face of her unscrupulous spouse.
At this moment, this wasn't the first time Remesis felt strange. It was because the woman who had just recently acted unconcerned had become surprisingly unfamiliar at this moment. Remesis unconsciously felt her body tense up. She fixed her gaze on the man who was a head taller than her. She could feel his golden eyes staring straight into her soul, like snakes wanting to strangle her.
The girl felt a thrill and, without realising it herself, a shiver ran down her back.
It was the same trembling fear that Remesis had once felt for her wife in the past. And in many ways, this woman now reminded her of the princess from a previous life. It even seemed to Remesis that her vision was deceiving her.
But that was only for a moment. The darkness dissipated without a trace and gave way to the soft smile with which Asil usually looked at her. Remesis found nothing else to do but smile weakly back at her.
***
At least one nice thing about the long journey was that Remesis had plenty of time to think about everything. Leaving the castle for the first time in a long time was also nice.
It was an extremely rare experience for Remesis to have a long trip like this one. Admittedly, though, it was actually the first time she had left the northern castle since she and the princess had settled there, since that little bit of unpleasantness at the council in the imperial palace. In other words, it had been almost twelve years.
Since this was not an official visit from the northern lord to the grand duke, and Remesis simply wanted to visit her relatives, she didn't want to make a fuss and attract unnecessary attention.
She asked the princess to limit this trip to a minimum escort: Hannes Wrightly and a dozen good knights would be enough to accompany her. Besides, crossing the northern lands was much safer now than in the past. Nevertheless, Asil was still worried about her, so she had ordered the guards to be doubled. Remesis sighed, but there was nothing she could do about the princess's whims at times like this.
After crossing the northern border, they still had a few more days to travel to the Grand Duke's residence. For Remesis, the travelling time proved useful to take her mind off her heavy thoughts. After Maester Luven's funeral, the girl had been depressed lately, and the change of scenery had definitely had a beneficial effect on her. The girl looked at the views outside the window, at the green fields and forests she hadn't seen in what seemed like an eternity, and her anxiety gradually receded.
The girl clutched on her chest the silver cross given to her once by the place and sighed quietly.
'Maester Leeuwen must have wanted to visit his native lands at least one more time before he died.' But sadly, that wish was never fulfilled.
Remesis' thoughts were interrupted in an instant. The carriage that was taking the girl along the forest path suddenly shook violently. Unfortunately, in a carriage without windows, it was impossible to recognise what was going on.
— What's the matter? — Remesis shouted, knocking to the coachman.
In response, a shriek sounded.
— Ahhhh!!!
Bang!
The screaming stopped. It resembled the scene of someone forcibly pulling the coachman out of a rushing carriage and throwing him to the ground. But it wasn't just imagination — it was obvious that things had suddenly gone wrong.
— Hannes! — screamed the princess, trying to call out to her knight, who, with the others, was supposed to be guarding the carriage. But the man either did not hear her, or was too busy fighting the enemies who had suddenly made an attack upon them.
In the blink of an eye, chaos reigned outside. Remesis did not know what to do, as she had not at all anticipated such a development. Who knew that danger would be waiting for them in the south and not in the north? In any case, the girl kept her cool and tried not to let panic take over. She had to be ready to fight back the enemy at any moment.
The next instant the carriage came to a halt. The sudden stop caused the carriage to shake violently, and Remesis nearly fell, managing to grab onto the wall.
Bang!
In the commotion, someone snuck into the carriage and covered Remesis' mouth. The girl's eyes went wide. She saw a knife next to her throat.
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