章節 76: Chapter 35. Report of danger
After a difficult return journey that lasted as long as the previous one, the princess of the north was incredibly relieved that it was all finally behind her. Along with this, immediately upon her return to the north, Remesis quickly set to work at Castle Nord.
The work that had accumulated during this period was even more than she had realised. After the once disparate parts of the northern region had been united into one great northern principality, the total territory that Remesis had to manage now was of enormous size. It was like several feudal domains combined.
Eventually, though the princess was tired during their journey, but she had no time to rest, as it was necessary to get down to business immediately. Remesis had sat over the paperwork for days on end, practically keeping her head down, but she still hadn't managed to sort out even a tenth of it all.
— It's driving me crazy, ' the girl exhaled with helplessness, 'How could so many cases have piled up during our absence...?!
Come to think of it, it had been a little over a month and a half since they had left. But it seemed like Lord Severa and her consort had been absent from their workplace for at least half a year. This really annoyed Remesis.
— Until Your Highness arrived, it was all mine...
Her subordinate said this with a humble expression, but he was clearly complaining at this moment. Remezis, who was sitting in front of the table, smiled guiltily at the young man.
— Heitz, I'm sorry. I've already apologised to you several times for that...
Though, in truth, Remesis couldn't understand why it was her who had to apologise. After all, wasn't it because of her spouse's careless attitude? If Remesis had any objective reason to go south on business, then the princess of the north had followed her simply because she 'missed her'! Every time she thought of this outrageous situation, Remesis was still angry.
After all, just because of Lord North's personal whim for that, the entire main burden of running the estate had to fall on an inexperienced trainee.
— Before you arrived, I had thought several times that I simply wouldn't be able to live up to this moment... — muttered Heitz to Adelfo, who indeed looked pale and had visibly lost several kilograms of weight.
Remesis couldn't resist the remark. The girl smiled awkwardly and drank a glass of water that stood beside her on the table.
Outside the windows, the north wind continued to rage.
This was Remesis's private office, which had changed noticeably over the past few years. The floor was completely covered in beautiful red silk and the curtains were richly decorated. The room had a wide glass window that the servants cleaned every day. For a person sitting in such a study, even drinking tea is a luxury and a hassle.
Heitz Adelfo, who was incredibly happy to see the princess of the north as if he had finally found his salvation, ended up continuing to sigh in front of her. He had helped Remesis after her return for three days and two more days, though he had originally intended to sleep off after all of this for at least a week. Reinhardt laughed, looking at his focused and tired expression.
— It must have been very hard on you, ' she sympathised sincerely.
— ...
— I didn't want to do something so reckless either.
Though... Remesis did not want to mention once again the name of the person who had indeed acted recklessly in this situation.
Perhaps the biggest surprise to the girl upon her return was that no one had actually tried to attack them during this time. Although it was a great opportunity to lay siege to the northern castle, but for some reason no one had taken it. Could it be that the empire's fear of the northern principality was so great...?
Although Remesis felt a bit confused about this, but she was also relieved when she learnt from Heitz that the northern lands had been quite peaceful during their absence. It saved the already tortured adjutant even more trouble.
— No, you don't have to apologise... — The boy answered her shyly: — I realise that circumstances demanded it. I'm just glad you're finally back. And... You're not going anywhere else, are you?
The hope that flashed through the young servant's tone at that moment was hard to hide. Remesis took on a slightly pensive look.
— Hmm... No. I wasn't planning any other business trips in the near future.
The adjutant's eyes glittered happily after he was assured that he would not have to go through such a severe stress again in the near future. The girl chuckled faintly as she watched this reaction of his. And, needless to say, Remesis felt sorry for him once again.
'I think I should give him an award for the work he's done...'
After that, Heitz looked noticeably happier. He continued chatting about something while going through the documents Remesis had already seen.
This year's food supplies in preparation for winter were to be even more plentiful than the previous year. New wide roads had been built, and the people of the north were also now able to afford many other things besides food. Even those living in hard to reach areas were now starving much less, as the northern principality offered food at a very low interest rate.
Many things had indeed undergone strong changes. Remesis was still mindful, however, that there was still a long way to go that had to be cleared.
— Good, I think we can increase the supplies for this winter even more, ' the girl spoke thoughtfully as she looked over the latest financial statements, 'Heitz, get on it. Hire those who are taking a break from farming now and pay them generously. The wages should be much higher than for growing potatoes.
— Yes, Your Highness!
Heitz Adelfo, who listened to her order carefully, nodded readily. His eyes, like the other inhabitants of the northern castle, showed an undisguised reverence for the girl. It was the young princess of the north, Remesis Rania Asheloth, who had cared for the neglected northern region more than anyone else in the past decades. And, after all, it was not for nothing that she earned the nickname 'mother of the north'.
So, in the midst of the work process, when Remezis had just given permission for the construction of a large new road connecting the capital of the north and the nearby residential settlements, there was a sudden knock on the office door.
Knock. Knock.
— Just a moment, Your Highness!
Heitz Adelpho was the first to hurriedly stand up and quickly walked to the door. The princess of the north's visitor turned out to be the commander of the fortress, Hannes Reitli. Immediately noticing that the man had a somewhat unusual expression on his face, the girl suspected something wrong.
— Your Highness, an urgent report! — He seriously announced right from the doorstep.
As expected, the knight seemed agitated for a reason.
And that frown even directly said that there was no good news here. The princess of the north already had plenty of urgent matters to attend to. 'What else have we been missing? '
Remesis only sighed and commanded her subordinate:
— Heitz, could you give us a moment? I need to discuss something with Commander Reitli in private.
The adjutant readily responded.
— Yes, of course! Then I'll take the documents you've already looked over to the archives in the meantime.
Remesis, after a moment's hesitation, gave him a satisfied nod.
— What is it? — The Princess of the North asked after the door had closed behind the young man.
Hannes Wrightly came swiftly to her table and knelt down as usual. Without delay this time, he immediately continued his report without raising his head:
— Your Highness, we received an urgent message from the borderlands this morning.
— An urgent message? — Remesis interjected.
— That is correct. I think that you should first of all familiarise yourself with it...
After these words, the knight handed her the paper, holding it with both hands. Feeling a strange excitement in her chest, Remesis took the message and carefully ran her eyes over it. This report had been sent from one of the watchtowers that sat on the border of the north. And as soon as the girl familiarised herself with its contents, she immediately couldn't even believe it.
'What is this? Irony of fate or a coincidence...?'
Remesis' heart, which had been beating rapidly at one point, froze in an instant.
Licking her parched lips, the princess of the north faintly grinned. Either way, this was quite interesting.
When her worried heart had calmed down, Remesis looked again at the knight in front of her, who had been waiting for her answer all this time.
— Okay, I get it, ' she said slowly, 'I'll think about what I can do about it.
Hannes hesitated and looked at her worriedly.
— Your Highness, but...!
No matter how you looked at it, this was quite an emergency. How could the princess of the north be so calm?
— It'll be fine,'' the one sighed, ''This is a problem whose solution I already know the solution to. So don't worry about it.
'...'
After Hannes Reitli received a confident answer from the princess, then the need to be challenged in this situation seemed to fall away by itself. The girl looked like she knew exactly what she was doing. So the knight didn't bother to continue arguing with her.
— Yes, Your Highness, ' the man only nodded briefly, as he had always trusted his lady's intuition, and decided to trust her this time as well.
Soon, having finished a certain part of her work, Remesis decided to take a short break and take a walk around the northern castle. Sitting in her office for too long was definitely not good for her health. As she strolled down the corridor, the faces of the servants who stopped to greet her politely flashed in front of her. Even the common labourers who worked in the castle were well fed and had a good complexion.
Life in Fortress Nord was hectic and went on and on.
Eventually Remesis, who had been strolling around the grounds all this time, stopped after walking outside. A wide area opened up before her eyes. The young recruits who had joined the northern army not too long ago were lined up in a row, each of them wielding a real sword already. Apparently, the girl had caught the timing of their training.
Remesis froze the moment her attention was caught by the massive but graceful back of the Lord of the North, who stood in front of the soldiers and occasionally made remarks.
Since training, especially of new recruits, was a process that required concentration, normally Asil didn't like anyone distracting her during this time. However, in the next instant, Remesis opened her mouth without hesitation:
— Your Highness.
Even though Remesis had called out to her softly, and it might well have been unheard amidst the general bustle of the training ground, but the princess's ears perked up at the same moment, like a dog that had heard its master's call. Asil turned to her with an enlightened expression on her face.
— Wife, what are you doing here? — Rejoicing, she interrogated, - Did you come because you wanted to see me?
The girl exhaled patiently. The Lord of the North was right in front of her in the blink of an eye. Remesis gave her a hard look.
— Your Highness... — Remesis spoke slowly, 'I apologise for interrupting you during your training. But there was an urgent matter that I needed to discuss with you as soon as possible.
— What was it?
— Today we received an urgent report from the sentries on the border. The youngest daughter of the Daehsin family just happened to be on our borders and is now in trouble. You know that the number of demonic beasts in that area is still high. There's no telling how long the lady will be able to hold out there. To avoid the worst consequences, we should send help there as soon as possible...
Asil didn't say anything for a long time and just looked at her expressionlessly after saying those words.
'.....'
Remesis thought the princess would be surprised or ask some questions, but no. The girl was also a bit embarrassed by her consort's unexpected reaction and unconsciously changed her facial expression. Finally, after a while, Asil opened her mouth.
— Wife... What are you trying to say with that? — She spoke softly.
— I... — Remesis hesitated for a moment, but almost immediately continued confidently: — I think you are the only person in this castle who will be up to the task.
The princess opened her eyes wide, as if watching her, and then chuckled quietly.
— So, wife, do you want me to save this lady? — this question came out of her mouth in such an unfamiliar tone that Remesis involuntarily flinched.
'.....'
Remesis was embarrassed by this reaction. Nevertheless, though she didn't say anything back at this point, she still nodded her head after hesitating. Asil, continuing to look directly at her, grinned.
— If that is your will, wife, then... It can't be helped.
Just then, the previous unusual expression wiped off her face and Asil smiled broadly. As before, it was a pure and joyful smile. But Remesis felt uneasy about it for some reason.
'Everything's going to be alright, right...?'
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