In the end, everything really turned out in the most unpredictable way.
Remesis, who least expected to encounter something like this, now stood frozen in complete shock.
A woman with silver hair, whose golden eyes shone brightly in the darkness like fragments of sunlight, stood directly in the doorway. She too had witnessed the scene, which Remesis, of course, had not wanted at all.
Although the silence that followed lasted no more than a moment, it seemed like an eternity to Remesis. Finally, Asil casually opened her mouth and asked:
— Wife, what were you two doing here at this hour? And... why are you in your room?
Remesis was stunned with surprise because she didn't even know what to say. Liana Dexsin, who also did not expect such a turn of events, did not utter a word. It seemed that everyone in the room was simply playing a game of silence.
However, the northern devil's patience was not unlimited.
The woman leaned her back against the doorframe, crossed her arms over her chest, and continued to watch the two people in front of her with curiosity. Although the princess looked surprisingly calm at that moment, there was still an ominous sparkle in her golden eyes. The young head of the order saw it particularly clearly.
Finally, Remesis cleared her throat.
— Your Highness, don't think anything of it. Lady Dexsin and I just happened to meet...
She didn't have time to finish before Asil interrupted her:
— You mean you happened to meet in your room?
— N-no! I... I... just happened to meet Lady Dexsin on my way to my room. She seemed upset that your trip had been unsuccessful, and I just decided to talk to her for a bit. Right?
At that moment, Remesis looked hopefully at Liana, hoping she would back up her lie.
After all, she couldn't tell the truth, could she? That the young head of the order had come to her specifically to convince Remesis to oppose Lord Severus. No, that would be impossible. Otherwise, no one would have gotten off so easily tonight. Hearing her unexpected words, Liana Dexsin seemed somewhat puzzled at first.
When their eyes met, a heavy tension hung in the room. Nevertheless, Liana finally decided to support her. Hesitating for a moment, the woman slowly said:
— Yes, that's right.
At that moment, when they both agreed on the same version of events, the final decision rested with one person.
Remesis lied and prayed that the northern devil would believe her words. Finally, the princess smiled coldly.
— Really? — A strange smile appeared on Asil's face. — In that case, may I see for myself how my wife comforted you?
— What? — asked Liana Dexsin.
— Was it really necessary for you to stand so close to each other? What exactly were you two doing here before I arrived?
Feeling the tension mounting, Remesis realised that something was wrong and hurried to intervene.
— Your Highness, as I already said, there was nothing between us. We were just talking... — she muttered.
Asil shook her head.
— Wife, I certainly believe your words, — said the princess. — But I would also like to hear Lady Dexsin's opinion. Perhaps she would like to add something?
Liana tensed involuntarily when the princess's attention turned to her. Finally, she too replied as she should have:
— Your Highness, I would also like to say that there was nothing between us that you could have misunderstood...
— Really? In that case, I must have jumped to conclusions...
The last words barely registered in Remesis's mind and eventually became blurred before she could understand them. Everything turned into a continuous stream of indistinct words.
At that moment, a treacherous drowsiness began to overcome Remesis with renewed force. The girl fell asleep on the spot without even realising it. After all, she couldn't believe she could be so tired that she was unable to control her own body. Her eyes also closed of their own accord. 'Wife, what's wrong with you...' Noticing her strange behaviour, Asil was the first to address her, but it was already too late.
Finally, Remesis, unable to hold back her condition, fell asleep. Her legs buckled and she lost her balance. At that moment, two figures in the room tensed simultaneously.
But Asil managed to catch her falling body easily before Liana could even move a finger. Finally, looking at her wife's sleeping face, which was covered with several dark strands of hair, the princess frowned.
— Boris.
After the woman clearly uttered that name, at that very moment, a shadow suddenly flashed in the previously empty corridor of the night castle. The mysterious figure appeared in the room in the blink of an eye and knelt before the lady.
— Yes, Your Highness? — the servant replied impassively.
— My wife seems very tired, — Asil replied in a quiet voice.
— Yes, I understand. In that case, what are your orders?
— Take her to my room.
This order came as a complete surprise. The servant shook his head insistently to stop her:
— I beg your pardon, Your Highness, but your room...
Nevertheless, Asil's head jerked, continuing to stare intently at her wife's sleeping face.
— She cannot sleep here tonight. Not tonight.
At that moment, the woman's gaze slid over the incense sticks that stood on the bedside table of the northern princess and had been lit for the last time just a short while ago. Because of this, the whole room still smelled strongly of incense.
"......"
Catching her gaze, the servant nodded, as if he finally understood. His expression changed instantly.
— Then I will take the lady to your room.
— Yes.
Boris, who had been entrusted with such a precious burden, carefully placed Remesis on his back. The lady of the northern castle frowned in her sleep and muttered something indistinctly under her breath, but did not wake up.
— Put her on my bed and watch over her until I return. Do you understand?
— Yes, — Boris replied and nodded.
Then he left the bedroom with the girl on his back.
— ......
Asil stared at the closed door for a while, then suddenly moved. She approached the bedside table next to her wife's bed. Then she grabbed the bowl of incense, which had not yet burned out. Asil opened the window and poured the contents of the bowl onto the street. The smouldering embers burned out in the snow.
Then she put the bowl back in its place with a loud clang and closed the window. Finally, the princess turned to Liana Dehsin with a smile:
— Lady Dehsin, the gift you gave my wife was undoubtedly very interesting. These incense sticks... May I ask where you got them?
The young head of the order, who had been watching her actions from the sidelines, sighed cautiously.
— Your Highness, I don't understand why you are asking me this.
— How can that be? — A cold, mocking smile froze on the woman's lips. — I must know where exactly you acquired such a precious gift for my wife. Thanks to it, she now sleeps so well that I don't even have to worry about her health suffering from lack of sleep.
Asil smiled. Her face was still bright with a smile, but her eyes were cold as daggers.
Liana hesitated before answering.
— This incense... I don't know. My assistant buys it for me. I can ask him later if you like, — the woman couldn't help but say the last words in a trembling voice.
— Of course. Your assistant... Is that the young man who always accompanies you? I think... his name is Orson, right?
Liana Dexsin's gaze froze. She clenched her fists even tighter.
— How do you know my assistant's name? — she asked.
— Lady Dexsin, you may not know this, but I am well informed about many things. Especially now that this man has done my wife such an invaluable service.
The princess continued to speak with a cold smile, slowly approaching Liana like a predator ready to pounce on its prey. Nevertheless, Liana tried not to show any signs of agitation and said:
— If you are truly grateful, I will give it to him personally. But there is no need for you to come any further.
— Of course, — she agreed, — but in that case, along with my gratitude, could you pass on something else to him?
— What exactly? — Liana asked warily.
— Next time, he should try harder if he really wants to kill me. After all, these pathetic tricks are useless anyway.
The young head of the order gasped.
— So you know?! — she asked rather sharply, forgetting her politeness at that moment.
— Know what? — Asil smiled. — That you used my wife to poison me with this pathetic stuff? Well, unfortunately for you, that idea was doomed to failure from the start. After all, my wife and I don't even sleep together.
— .....
— ...But even if everything had gone according to plan, do you really think that would have been enough to trap me? Obviously, only a complete idiot could come up with such an idea.
When the princess made this unexpected statement with a sneer, Liana Dexsin shuddered. Although her heart involuntarily froze, she tried not to show her panic, continuing to stare silently at the woman in front of her.
The Lord of the North seemed to be able to read her mind, so she smiled - her smile was so chilling that it seemed to hide something dark and terrible. However, another circumstance was troubling Liana.
Indeed, Liana had originally arrived at the northern fortress with a specific plan.
The chancellor of the imperial court had convinced her that this was the only way to take revenge on the northern devil.
According to this plan, the young head of the order was to first expose the princess to incense containing a special substance. According to Chancellor Ardelio, it was completely safe for humans and caused only slight fatigue. Only after the chancellor convinced her of this did Liana agree to give it to Remesis. However, as the incense accumulated in the body, its effect intensified. For this reason, the princess of the northern castle had been experiencing this unusual state in recent days.
Next, according to their plan, Liana was to lure the princess and her people into the forest on the northern border, where the princess would be most vulnerable without her large army. By that time, due to the effects of the incense, the princess would also be severely exhausted. This would allow the emperor's mercenaries, who were waiting in ambush in the same forest, to strike. As the chancellor had told her, 'Lady Dexsin, you can be sure that everything will work out. The princess has only physical strength, but she is not at all brilliant. She will easily fall for our trick.'
However... Now Liana thought that the chancellor could only have said such nonsense because he had never met the princess in person. All he knew about her was from rumours describing her as a bloodthirsty barbarian. How else could he have been so wrong? And now the young head of the order realised that they had all made a big mistake.
However, that was not what Liana was worried about at that moment. Continuing to stare at the northern devil, she finally smiled grimly.
— But I wasn't the only one pretending all this time. If you knew what I was planning from the beginning, why did you allow Princess Rania to use those incense sticks? Even though you all knew, you didn't stop her and just let it happen. And after that, you still have the nerve to say that you love her and care about her?
— I just wanted to see how far you would go with your plan. And in the end, when you lured me into that forest, it was very tempting to see the disappointment on your face.
Hearing this, Liana only smiled more grimly.
— And for that alone, you allowed the princess to put herself in possible danger? — she asked. — You didn't even know the ingredients of that incense, and yet you allowed it...
However, she was forced to stop mid-sentence.
After that, Asil's golden eyes flashed darkly.
— But our relationship, Lady Dexsin, is none of your concern, — she said quietly.
The princess did not look angry, but only smiled slightly, changing her tone. Nevertheless, it seemed enough to make the atmosphere in the room deteriorate significantly. Liana Dexsin even had the impression that darkness had almost completely enveloped her. Based on this, she did not dare to continue her previous speech.
Swallowing and suppressing the tremors in her body, after a while the woman asked only one question:
— All right. Now that your test has been successful and you are convinced that I was indeed sent by the emperor, what do you intend to do next? Kill me?
The princess pretended that the scene that had just taken place had not happened and said calmly:
— Hmm? Lady Dexsin, why have you decided that?
— Are you saying you don't want my life? Should I consider that mercy on your part? — The young head of the order smiled bitterly.
— Of course. If I really wanted that, do you think you would still be here in front of me? Or, more accurately, would you have been able to leave that forest?
Liana shuddered. In the blink of an eye, she remembered what had happened that time when she had nearly lost her life to a demonic beast. Or, to be precise, what had happened after that. Of course, she would never be able to forget it.
— Then what the hell do you want from me...?
The woman clenched her fist tighter.
— Oh, it's very simple.
Asil looked at the successor to the order. The corners of her lips curved into a satisfied smile, and she said unexpectedly:
— Lady Dexsin, actually, I really want to cooperate with you.