The appearance of his sister made Livius sigh. Although it was an unexpected situation, he tried not to show his excitement. While he was thinking of a suitable excuse for this situation, Katrina did not give up and continued to demand an explanation from him.
— Livius, are you going to tell me what's going on here? — his older sister asked defiantly.
— Sister Katrina. What are you doing here? — Livius decided to ask a counter-question as calmly as possible.
However, the duke's eldest daughter clearly did not like her brother's reaction and became even more angry.
— Isn't it right to answer my question first? — exclaimed the girl. — I just happened to see you in town and decided to check on you. But who would have thought that you would actually show up here!'
— So you were following me?
Livius sighed deeply. On the other hand, it was his mistake.
Although he had chosen an inconspicuous carriage to visit the temple and tried to behave as cautiously as possible so as not to attract unnecessary attention, in the end, he couldn't have foreseen everything. Who could have known that he and his sister would end up in the same place at the same time? In other words, it was just a coincidence.
— I told you I didn't do it. Instead, do me a favour and answer my question!
Livius Carter pursed his lips.
— I had business here, that's all, — he finally replied after a pause.
— Business? In a temple? — Katrina smiled sceptically. — What kind of business?
— I just wanted to see an acquaintance who works here. Is that a problem?
— An acquaintance? — Katrina asked. — Are you saying you have a priest friend?
— Why? — Livius asked calmly. — Why are you so interested in my business?
Katrina, who was offended that her younger brother, usually very reserved and calm, had reprimanded her, now looked annoyed.
— Your business? — she reacted impulsively. — How can you say that, being a member of the Carter family? All your actions and deeds can in one way or another reflect on the family's reputation. Besides, by visiting this damn place, you are jeopardising the authority of our father, who has always supported the astrological order and has never had anything to do with priests...
After listening to her calmly the whole time, the guy finally interrupted her and asked:
— Okay. But why are you telling me this?
— What? — Katrina looked puzzled.
— Are you still a member of the Carter family? — he asked calmly. — How can you be responsible for this family and speak on its behalf?
Katrina, who looked completely stunned to hear this from her younger brother, was momentarily taken aback. Unable to believe her ears, she stared intently at the young man in front of her. Her younger brother, whom she had been used to seeing by her side since childhood. The boy who, at first glance, had no interests or hobbies of his own and always just followed his brother and sister wherever they went.
A shy child whom Katrina had never considered a threat before. But now...
— Livius! How dare you speak to your older sister like that? — she asked indignantly.
— I'm speaking to you quite politely, Sister Katrina.
— But for some reason, your expression doesn't reflect that at all.
Katrina couldn't understand where this radical change in her brother had come from. For some reason, he no longer seemed like the easy-going, sweet child he had always been.
"......."
— Liv, I don't understand why you're behaving like this. You've never been like this before...
The older sister tried to get through to her brother and elicit some emotion from him by calling him his childhood nickname. But instead, the young man standing before her, who looked very much like the duke in his youth, didn't even blink.
Staring impassively at his sister for a couple of seconds, Livius's expression changed slightly and he replied:
— How would you know what I was like? As far as I remember, you never took an interest in my affairs, but only cared about your older brother. Isn't that right?
Her hazel eyes froze. This cold tone was completely unfamiliar to her.
But in reality, the girl had no idea that these were the very words her younger brother had wanted to say to her for a very long time. Only now had he finally gathered the courage to stop endlessly pleasing his relatives. Although he might regret it in the near future, Livius did not want to think about the consequences right now and simply said what he really felt.
Nevertheless, it was obvious that his sister's reaction to these words was not very positive. The girl lowered her head slightly, and a noticeable shadow fell across her face.
— Livius, you... You may regret these words, — said Katrina in a trembling voice. It seemed as if she was holding back some emotions that she wanted to express.
Nevertheless, Livius also replied dispassionately:
— So will you, if you don't behave yourself. Considering your status, sister, you shouldn't even be allowed to set foot in the temple.
Livius took a step forward, intending to leave first.
However, before he could leave, the following words reached him.
— Aren't you afraid I'll tell Father everything? — Katrina asked with quiet malice.
Although he tried to remain calm on the outside, the duke's second son's heart still skipped a beat.
After a moment's hesitation, he said:
— Sister, for your own good, I advise you not to interfere in the affairs of this family from now on.
With these words, Livius quickly passed by her, not wanting to hear any more of what she had to say. At that moment, his mind was in turmoil.
Leaving the temple, Livius did not stop for a moment. The coachman quickly jumped to the ground when he saw him and unlocked the carriage door. The young man paused for a moment.
— Sir, did everything go well? — asked the young man, who was actually his disguised personal servant.
— Everything is fine, take me home, — replied Livius without looking at him.
— Yes, sir.
Unlike all the other servants on the duke's estate, this servant was Livius's man. The young man paid him for his silence, and he obeyed his orders without question and asked no unnecessary questions.
Livius paid him five times more than a regular servant earned for his work, and for this money, the man also worked as a secret intermediary between him and Remesis. So far, he had done his job well, and Livius was confident that he could trust him.
The carriage door closed behind him. The servant jumped onto the box, grabbed the reins, and the carriage started moving. The wheels rolled over the cobblestones. Livius was not sure if this would be his last visit to the temple, but in any case, it did not matter much. He listened to the clatter of the horses' hooves, gazing out the window at the tall spires of the temple and pondering his fate.
***
If Remesis could, she would have completely erased the events of that morning from her memory. But, unfortunately, she couldn't do that.
The sensation of foreign fingers touching her skin was still too vivid, and Remesis couldn't get it out of her head as she walked down the corridor. "Can I just pretend that nothing happened?..." Although the girl doubted that such a thing was even possible.
Lost in her thoughts, Remesis stopped when someone called out to her in confusion. Before entering her room, Remesis bumped into her maid, Julie, in the hallway. The girl was clearly upset to see her.
— Princess! Where have you been all this time? — she exclaimed. — I couldn't find you anywhere! Have you been with the lord all this time?
— I... — Remesis stammered, not knowing how to answer the question.
— So it's true? Did you spend the whole night together? — the curious maid continued to ask.
— What nonsense! Of course not!
— Princess, why do you call it nonsense? You're married...
— Oh, never mind...
Remesis finally decided to just brush off the subject.
— Just tell me how messy my room is right now.
— M-messy?
— Yes, I heard from Her Highness that last night, um... Well, after certain events, my room is now in a depressing state. So I wanted to know how bad it is? How long will it take to clean up?
When Remesis asked her about it, the maid reacted very strangely. As if unable to find the words, she just kept mumbling incoherently:
— Uh... well... it's...
While the maid looked at her with a desperate expression, opening and closing her mouth like a fish, Remesis finally lost patience and decided to check for herself.
She thought that things must really be bad if Julie was so upset and couldn't even tell her about it directly. However...
When Remesis opened the door, she was surprised to find that everything was almost exactly as it had been before. Although the princess had told her that the room had been in complete disarray after their argument, it was now surprisingly clean. In fact, almost nothing had changed. Even the comb Remesis had used yesterday morning was lying in the same place.
"Was there really a fight here...?" The girl was completely confused.
At that moment, Julie, who had been watching the scene from the sidelines in confusion, finally came to her senses and exclaimed:
— Oh yes, we managed to clean everything up before you arrived!
— What? That quickly? — Remesis was surprised.
— Of course, we couldn't leave the lady's room in such a state, so we worked hard all night to clean it up... — The maid desperately tried to justify herself, stumbling over her words.
— So you didn't sleep all night?
— Y-yes!
— I'm sorry, — Remesis sighed, — because of one person's recklessness, you've all been put to unnecessary trouble.
— Princess, don't say that! — she hastily objected, — after all, it is our job to serve you and the lord!
A slight smile finally appeared on the previously troubled face of the castle mistress:
— All right. Since everything is in order here, help me get changed. And then, please prepare lunch in my room. I don't want to waste any time and will get straight to work.
— Yes, princess!
Although the morning had started rather chaotically and Remesis was completely overwhelmed by recent events... that was still not enough to let the rest of the day pass her by.
"Besides, didn't I wake up at noon?"
It was much later than she usually got up. Therefore, despite everything, the girl was determined to return to her duties as soon as possible.
Remesis dressed as usual and washed with the help of her maid. A few minutes later, luxurious dishes were brought into the room on silver trays. Picking up a fork and knife, Remesis began her meal, which she planned to finish as quickly as possible. During the meal, she couldn't stop thinking about the princess and what had happened between them, but Remesis stubbornly pushed these thoughts away. It was a real curse.
"Damn it. At this rate, I'll go crazy soon."
Her fork hit the plate as another thought crossed her mind. Remesis managed to force herself to eat a couple of bites. Her appetite was completely gone, and she decided she wasn't hungry anymore. It would be much more productive to spend her time working instead of thinking about all these things.
Returning to her office, Remesis began reviewing the latest reports delivered to her by her subordinates. Among them, a report with statistics and analysis of the urban population and local distribution policies in the northern region caught the girl's attention. This report was devoted to in-depth work on improving the lives of residents in the northern region.
The mistress of the castle looked at the documents in her hands for some time, until she finally realised that she could not make such a decision on her own.
Before giving her approval and signing the document, Remesis first wanted to consult with Hannes, who undoubtedly knew more about this topic than she did.
Unlike Remesis, who spent most of her time in the castle doing routine work, the commandant of the fortress spent a lot of time outside its walls, communicating with the northerners and often organising reconnaissance patrols in the territories himself.
Thus, this man should have known better what the northerners needed and what improvements could be made to their living conditions.
— Heitz, could you call Hannes? I need to discuss something with him about work.
However, her assistant replied unexpectedly:
— I'm sorry, Princess, but I haven't seen Sir Wrightley since this morning.
— What? Where could he have gone? — the girl asked in surprise.
— I don't know... — he hesitated, — Perhaps he went on patrol and will be back soon. Shall I send someone to find out?
After a moment's hesitation, Remesis sighed and shook her head. No, if the knight was really busy with something important, she didn't want to distract him.
— No, don't worry about it. It's not urgent, I'll just wait for him to come back.
— As you wish, princess.
At that moment, Remesis looked out the window at the sparkling courtyard, which looked as if it had been sprinkled with flour.
Although the sun had been shining brightly just a moment ago, the temperature had dropped significantly, and it was clear that a severe cold spell was approaching the northern region.
For some reason, Remesis felt a strange premonition just looking at the majestic snow-covered fortress stretching out before her.