When Liana Dexsin heard this, she recoiled in shock.
— My father...? What are you talking about?! — The woman couldn't believe her ears, nor could she believe that the princess of the north had actually made such a demand.
Nevertheless, Asil simply shrugged her shoulders casually. She stepped away from her and said,
— Life for life, blood for blood, isn't that a fair price? If you want to bring someone back to life, you have to give another life in exchange, don't you?
The young head of the order pressed her lips together. At that moment, her mind seemed to clear of the fog of delusion, and she looked resolutely at the woman in front of her.
— My father, — Liana hissed, — Who do you think I am, if you think I will simply obey your orders and do something like that?!
But Asil only looked at her with a slight smile.
— Of course, I have no right to force you, — she said, — It is entirely your decision.
"......"
— The decision to kill this human or not.
The princess looked at her with an almost friendly smile on her beautiful face. Nevertheless, that look made Liana shudder, and she couldn't find the words for a long time.
— He's my father, — the woman said in a trembling voice, — you know I can't do this. Is there really no other way? If you need someone's life so badly, I'd rather give you mine.
But the princess shook her head.
— Lady Dexsin, that won't work, — she objected. — The devil sets the price, not the other way around. And I can only accept this man's life as payment. Only his.
Liana Dexsin froze. At that moment, it seemed as if all the thoughts in her head were completely confused. Killing her own father... It was difficult to imagine a worse crime than that. Khalias Dexsin, who had been an undisputed authority figure for Liana throughout her life. Despite the fact that they had never had a warm family relationship, it was this man who had given Liana everything she had now. Including her life.
And now the northern devil had ordered her to kill this man with her own hands. To kill him in order to bring her younger sister back to life... Even in her thoughts, it sounded too monstrous.
In the end, the heiress of the order wavered more and more and could not bring herself to take this truly terrible step.
— I... As I said, he is my father. I cannot do it...
After Liana muttered this, Asil looked at her with disappointment. As if she had lost interest in a toy, the princess was ready to turn away without hesitation.
— If you can't, then fine, — the princess said dispassionately. — It's your decision. But... Unfortunately, you will also lose your sister forever.
Hearing these last words spoken in a cold tone, Liana shuddered.
The princess looked calmly and indifferently at the young head of the order before turning away and leaving the room. The depth of her eyes resembled the serene surface of the sea. She was truly ready to simply walk away.
At that moment, Liana couldn't help herself and, against her will, called after her:
— Wait. What exactly are the terms of this deal?
Asil smiled unabashedly. She stopped and turned around.
— Lady Dexsin, are you interested after all? — she asked curiously.
— I... I just asked.
Ignoring her uncertain muttering, Asil approached her again, close enough for Liana to clearly hear the whisper that flowed into her ears like an enchanted melody.
Asil whispered:
— If you really decide to do this, you must do it only at a certain time and under certain conditions... Do you understand me?
After Asil quietly told her the details, she stepped back.
Liana's gaze became even more bewildered. She felt that she had already fallen into the devil's trap, from which there was no way back. At the same time, the woman's nervousness gradually disappeared.
— Lady Dexsin, just don't tell the stars about our deal, okay?
"......."
As she said this, the princess took another step back. The woman lost all interest in what was happening, and only an indifferent smile remained on her face. Her eyes flashed like a cold, smooth blade. But Liana still couldn't take her eyes off her, as if she were a moth caught in the hot flames of hell.
Against the dark blue sky, the stars seemed to shine especially brightly that night.
***
Bright sunlight poured through the round glass windows, making everything sparkle.
When she woke up, Remesis saw an unfamiliar room. It confused her. Where the hell was she? At the same time, realising that she was still in the northern castle, the girl just sighed deeply.
Remembering the events of the previous evening, Remesis felt extremely awkward. Not only had she gotten herself into this awkward situation with the young head of the order, but she had also passed out in front of everyone! Thinking about it, she wanted to sink through the floor, because yesterday she had clearly caused everyone unnecessary trouble, which was completely inappropriate for her status as the mistress of the castle.
— Wife, are you awake? — The princess, who had approached her at the same time, smiled.
Since Remesis had not heard her approach, nor the creak of the front door, she was taken aback. Had the princess been in this room all this time? Well, perhaps the girl had finally realised where she was.
The princess was holding a glass filled with plain water.
— Wife, drink this first. You must be thirsty after such a long sleep.
— Yes, thank you, — Remesis took the glass and drank its contents in one gulp, quenching her thirst that had built up over the night. Then she returned the empty glass to Asil.
— Wife, I'll bring you breakfast now.
— No, wait a minute.
— Hmm, wife?
— Well... What happened yesterday? — Remesis felt a little awkward talking about it.
— Yesterday? — the princess asked, puzzled.
— Your Highness, this is your room, isn't it?
— Yes... Wife, you don't mind that I brought you here, do you?
After the princess asked her that, Remesis was a little confused. Of course, damn it, she hadn't expected to wake up here! After all, Remesis had never been in the princess's private chambers before.
A few years ago, when they first arrived at the northern castle, they had shared a room. But then, when they had settled in enough and Remesis no longer needed to worry about the princess, she decided to move to another room. Of course, Asil protested against this for a long time.
But since Remesis was determined to have her own room, the princess had no choice but to give in. Thus, instead of Remesis moving out of their room, Asil did. In fact, this was a little wrong and not in keeping with the traditions of the castle — after all, the lord of the north himself should sleep in the master bedroom.
But Asil still preferred to move herself in order to leave this spacious room with all its amenities to Remesis. Instead, the princess moved to another room, which was smaller than the previous one and much less luxurious. However, the princess made this choice only because this room was closest to Remesis's private quarters.
And now the girl was looking around this place, which she had never been to before because she had no need to.
At first glance, the furniture in the bedroom looked expensive, but it could not be called as magnificent as the furniture in Remesis's room.
The fur on the smooth black marble floor looked fluffy. The square balcony offered a view of the entire northern fortress.
There were no decorations on the walls. Remesis thought there would be at least one portrait, but there was none. There wasn't even a tapestry. In the end, contrary to Asil's status in this castle, her private quarters were actually quite simple. She could even compare this room to military barracks, only more expensive and spacious.
Finally, when Remesis stopped looking around the room and came to her senses, she decided to return to the original topic of conversation, which still worried her greatly.
— Your Highness, could you explain to me how I got here?
— Wife, don't you remember anything? — Asil gasped.
— Don't remember what? — Remesis asked in confusion.
— Yesterday you suddenly lost consciousness.
— Yes... — The girl hesitated. — I don't know why I fell asleep so suddenly yesterday. I didn't cause you any inconvenience, did I?
— Wife, what are you talking about?
— Taking care of you is my duty, not a chore, — said Asil.
Remesis frowned.
— Well, that still doesn't explain why I suddenly found myself in your room, — said the girl.
Asil sighed and sat down on a chair next to the bed.
— Wife, yesterday, after you suddenly lost consciousness, I was just about to put you to bed in your room, — the princess began to explain, — but it so happened that Lady Dexsin and I got into a fight right in your room...
— What? You got into a fight?
Remesis was completely stunned to hear this.
— Of course, after what I saw with my own eyes yesterday, I couldn't just leave that unprincipled woman alone, — Asil muttered. — Even if you thought otherwise, I definitely saw bad intentions towards you in her eyes...
Remesis narrowed her eyes and stared intently at the princess.
— And you mean to tell me that you ended up fighting right in my room? — she asked incredulously.
— Yes, that's what happened... — Asil admitted, — I didn't want to do it there at all, but it just happened. After that, half of your room was destroyed, and of course I couldn't leave you there.
'......'
When Remesis heard all these details, at first she couldn't even comprehend them.
"Why does this sound like nonsense?"
The Lord of the North fought with the successor to the supreme astrologer out of jealousy for the duke's cursed younger daughter. Even in her mind, it sounded so absurd that if she had said it out loud, it would have been a hundred times more absurd. Remesis felt that she could no longer think about it and remain sane, so she changed the subject:
— So where is Liana Dexsin now?
— Of course, after our quarrel, she couldn't stay in this castle. So that vile woman left with her people this morning.
— What? — Remesis asked, — She left?
— Why would she stay here? — Asil snorted contemptuously, — After all, our recent trip turned out to be a failure, so there was no point in her staying here any longer. Isn't that why she came here and interfered with us?
"........"
If that was really the case, then the princess's words made sense. There was no point in the supreme astrologer's successor staying here any longer if the original purpose of her visit had not been fulfilled. Nevertheless, Remesis had not expected her to leave so suddenly, without even saying goodbye.
"Ha... She could have at least said goodbye before leaving." Just as Remesis thought this, the princess's voice brought her back to reality.
— Wife, don't you feel sorry for me at all? — Asil asked in a sad voice.
— Why should I feel sorry for you? — Remesis snorted.
— I got into a fight because of you, didn't I?
— Did I ever ask you to do something like that for me?
Asil looked at her sadly and tugged at her sleeve.
— But isn't that the way things are? I was just defending my wife's honour.
"Ha..." Remesis sighed irritably and brushed her hair away from her forehead.
— If you want to think that, go ahead.
— Wife... but it still hurts.
— Hm? And what am I supposed to do about that?
— Then feel sorry for me.
— Huh?
— If you feel sorry for me, I think it will stop hurting so much.
Just as the conversation was taking a strange turn, Remesis was stunned when the princess suddenly stood up from her seat and approached her. It was too close. Meanwhile, her mind was filling with bad premonitions.
— Your Highness, wait...!
But it was too late. Remesis had no time to think when the princess suddenly leaned over her. The girl struggled, not knowing what to do, but her back was already buried in the soft sheet.
"What's happening...?"
Finally, the princess's face was right in front of her. The beauty of this woman seemed supernatural and contradictory, cold and alluring. There were too many feelings that Remesis was experiencing at that moment. But meanwhile...
This scene also reminded Remesis of that fateful night when she lost her life. It seemed that everything was exactly the same then. But this time, Remesis did not have a blade behind her back with which to strike, and the princess did not look at her as if she were a useless insect whose life meant nothing to her. Now the princess's gaze was definitely... different.
Her heart was beating wildly.
But Remesis did not know whose heart it was.
In the end, she couldn't move because of the sudden dizziness that overwhelmed her.
No, hadn't it all happened too suddenly?
The princess's lips touched her eyes when Remesis blinked.
Kisses rained down on her eyelids, her nose, her lips and her neck.
The hand that had been caressing her shoulder slid lower, below her collarbone. Remesis tried to remain calm, but her limbs continued to tremble at the sensation of her fingers.
Finally, the long fingers touched her solar plexus and reached the lower abdomen, sliding over the soft skin through the thin fabric of her nightgown.
— Wife, could you give me your medicine right now? — the princess asked quietly.
Remesis had no time to react, and she would hardly have been able to do so in such a situation. It seemed as if her mind was completely clouded.
Remesis watched the scene with her eyes wide open. She couldn't believe that this was really happening.
Only a moment passed before Asil lowered her upper body and lifted her leg.