Remesis could not immediately believe her own ears.
She flinched and slowly turned around, as if afraid it was merely a trick of her imagination.
But no.
Before her were indeed those eyes.
Sparkling, piercing, golden — fixed directly on her, without a shadow of doubt.
For a moment, Remesis seemed to lose the power of speech.
"Your Highness..." she finally breathed out. "What are you doing here?"
No, really...
What the hell was Asil doing here?!
Meanwhile, the woman before her — with silver hair and a cold, almost dangerous beauty — looked as if what was happening caused her not the slightest concern. Her appearance, severe and foreign, seemed utterly out of place in the soft, warm air of the south.
And yet she stood here.
Before her.
"Wife..." Asil said softly, but with a barely perceptible mockery. "Shouldn't I be the one asking that question?"
Her voice was quiet, but it carried such confidence that Remesis involuntarily felt the tension in her chest only increase.
Remesis's throat went dry for a moment.
"You suddenly left the north," Asil continued calmly. "Without warning. Without even telling me... So what, in your opinion, am I supposed to think, finding you in a place like this?"
Her gaze swept over Remesis — slowly, attentively, almost appraisingly.
From the crown of her head to her very fingertips.
The woman known throughout the empire as the princess of the north now stood before her in a coarse, simple dress more suited to an ordinary city woman. Without jewelry. Without her accustomed grandeur.
Moreover — she had come out of a small, modest house that clearly belonged to commoners.
The picture was... more than strange.
And there were far more questions here than could be voiced aloud.
But Remesis herself had no fewer.
How had Asil found her at all? And, more importantly... what was she doing here, in the south?
"So you knew I left?" Remesis asked after all, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Of course," Asil smiled almost imperceptibly. She reached out and, almost without thinking, tucked a stray strand of hair behind Remesis's ear. "How could I not know what happens in my own castle?"
Remesis hesitated.
She didn't know exactly how much the princess was aware of. Whether her knowledge was limited to the fact of her departure... or whether she already knew far more.
Still, after a little hesitation, Remesis answered quietly:
"Nothing special... I just came to the capital to visit an acquaintance."
As Remesis said this, the princess's gaze slowly shifted — and stopped on the woman standing behind her.
Under that cold, piercing gaze, Seyla visibly flinched, as if feeling an invisible pressure upon her.
"Ah, is that so? Your acquaintance?" Asil repeated with almost lazy curiosity.
"Yes..." Remesis hesitated for a second, but then continued, trying to speak calmly. "Seyla is my former maid. We were close in childhood. We haven't seen each other in a long time, so I decided to visit her..."
She deliberately omitted everything else.
What had happened in the Carter mansion. The real reason she was here at all.
For some reason, Remesis felt that if she told the truth... the consequences might be too unpredictable.
The princess was silent for a while, as if pondering what she had heard.
And then she laughed softly.
"Is that so?" a barely perceptible mockery sounded in her voice. "It seems you really are very close. Wife, you even came all this way to meet her..."
She tilted her head slightly, and a strange glint appeared in her eyes.
"Perhaps... it's time for me to start being jealous?"
The words sounded light, almost playful.
But there was something in them that made the air around them seem heavier.
Seyla paled before their very eyes, not daring to move.
Remesis, on the contrary, flushed sharply, feeling heat rise to her face.
These words sounded like a casual joke. And yet... for some reason, something more was felt in them. As if behind this mocking tone, something entirely serious was hidden.
Be that as it may, Remesis decided to clarify the situation — if only to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
"Seyla is married," she said quickly. "And she has a child!"
Seyla immediately nodded hastily, as if confirming every word.
Asil silently looked at them both for a while.
Her gaze was calm but attentive. Then she sighed softly.
And, as if losing all interest in the maid, she again focused her attention solely on Remesis.
"Well then, wife," she said evenly, "I think you have visited long enough, haven't you? It's time for us to return home."
Remesis froze.
Return... to the north?
From the very beginning, she hadn't wanted this. Even the thought of it caused inner resistance within her.
And yet... Under Asil's gaze, something inside her wavered.
There was no obvious threat or pressure in this gaze — but the feeling was as if she had no choice anyway.
As if... no matter what her answer was, the outcome had already been decided in advance.
Remesis sighed quietly, as if gathering her thoughts, and replied briefly:
"Your Highness, you don't have to do that. You can go now... later, I will return on my own."
"..."
Asil said nothing.
"It's alright, Your Highness," Remesis repeated a little more firmly.
She wanted to be heard. She wanted to make it clear that she was capable of managing her own life. That she would return north — if she returned at all — only when she herself deemed it necessary.
This was important. At least... for her.
But as soon as she finished speaking, she involuntarily raised her gaze and met the princess's eyes.
And at that moment, something changed. Asil's gaze was... different. Not the one she was accustomed to. It was alien. Cold. Impenetrable.
Remesis felt something unpleasant tighten inside her.
"Why... am I so uncomfortable?.."
For a few seconds, Asil simply looked at her without speaking. The silence between them became almost tangible. And then... The corners of her lips slowly lifted. And she smiled.
"Wife, I said we are going home now. This is not up for discussion."
Her voice was calm.
Before Remesis could say anything, Asil leaned closer and lightly touched her cheek with her lips.
This gesture was meant to be tender.
But instead, a chill ran down Remesis's spine.
She couldn't explain this feeling, but it was too distinct — as if she had just been standing on the edge of something dangerous... and had somehow miraculously not fallen.
Although outwardly, nothing had happened.
No threats, no harsh words.
And yet... In this situation, she had no choice. None at all.
Not because she couldn't object. But because she simply... wouldn't be allowed to.
Remesis quietly pursed her lips and, finding no strength to resist, gave a barely perceptible nod.
"Alright..." she said, quieter than she intended. "Give me some time. I want to say goodbye."
"Of course," Asil agreed easily, as if she had expected no other answer. "Wife, may I also enter the house?"
"What?.." the other was somewhat taken aback.
Asil tilted her head slightly:
"Nothing special. I simply want to get to know the people who are so close to my wife."
Ultimately, despite Remesis's doubts, the decision remained with Seyla — the mistress of this house. And, of course... she could not refuse.
"Y-your Highness... please, come in!" she said hastily, noticeably nervous.
And so Asil entered this small, modest house with them without any difficulty.
She cast only a fleeting glance at the surroundings — old walls, simple furniture, everything utterly devoid of refinement. It seemed not to hold her attention for a second.
Then her gaze quickly stopped on the other two inhabitants of the house, whom she had not seen before.
The first was a man of ordinary appearance, holding a small child in his arms. He looked confused and clearly did not know how to behave in the presence of yet another unfamiliar guest.
And the second...
Asil narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Lord Carter... my, my. What an unexpected encounter."
Her voice sounded calm, but with a barely perceptible mockery.
Although the princess had never met Michel personally before, she somehow recognized him immediately. Even despite the fact that now he looked far more modest than one might expect from a representative of a ducal family.
Michel, for his part, froze for a moment, as if caught off guard. His breath caught. Of course, he had not expected to see her here either. And especially not under such circumstances.
And yet...
Silver hair, golden eyes — and that same, barely perceptible, but oppressive aura.
This was more than enough.
Michel immediately understood who stood before him.
"I... I greet Your Highness," he uttered with difficulty, stumbling over the first words.
He bowed his head low, barely raising his gaze, as if afraid to meet her eyes.
"Hm."
A short, barely perceptible sound escaped Asil's lips.
At that moment, Remesis felt the tension inside her rapidly building. She was hardly breathing.
The expectation was too obvious. Questions were bound to follow. Certainly.
After all, the situation itself looked more than strange. Why was her older brother here, in this small, unremarkable house? And in such a state?
Anyone in Asil's place would want to know the reason. And Remesis was already mentally preparing to answer. But to her surprise, it didn't happen.
Asil didn't ask a single question.
She merely looked at Michel for a few seconds intently — trembling, tense, clearly ill at ease under her gaze. And then... her attention unexpectedly shifted.
To another person in the room. To the man holding the child. And, what was even stranger, this seemed to interest her far more than the presence of Remesis's older brother.
"What a charming child..." Asil purred. "May I hold him?"
"Huh?.. What?.." The man, Seyla's husband, stared at her in confusion, clearly not expecting such a request.
"It seems this child is in a bad mood," she added calmly, tilting her head slightly. "Perhaps I can calm him down?"
And this was indeed the case.
Until this moment, the infant had not stopped crying, squirming in his father's arms. Jonas had tried everything he could — rocking, soft words, attempts to distract him — but nothing helped.
The crying did not cease for a single second.
The man hesitated.
For several long moments, he shifted his gaze from the child to Asil, as if trying to decide if this was the right thing to do. But in the end, finding no other solution, he carefully handed the baby to her.
Asil took him with surprising gentleness.
Her movements were precise and soft, as if she were holding not just a child, but something truly precious and fragile.
And in that same instant...
The crying stopped.
The child, who just a second ago had been sobbing, suddenly quieted, as if by magic. His tiny fingers weakly clenched, his breathing evened out, and he settled calmly in her arms.
A stunned silence fell over the room.
Seyla and Jonas literally froze, not taking their eyes off this scene.
Sincere surprise, mixed with admiration, was written on their faces.
Seyla even let out a soft gasp, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Who would have thought..." flashed through her mind. "Her Highness... is so good with children!"
The woman with silver hair looked at the infant in her arms with a quiet, serene smile. And the child, who moments ago could not stop crying, now peacefully quieted, as if he had found the safest place in the world.
This picture... It contrasted too sharply with what was said about her. With those dark rumors that circulated throughout the empire about the Lord of the North.
Seyla, not taking her eyes off, involuntarily clenched her fingers.
"Small children always sense evil..." flashed through her mind. "So can a person they are drawn to truly be cruel?.."
This thought troubled Seyla. But Remesis... She was thinking about something entirely different.
When had the princess started liking children?...
Remesis frowned, staring intently at her.
The expression she now saw on her spouse's face seemed alien to her. So much so that for a moment she even thought it was an optical illusion.
Was this truly the same woman?
The one she had known before.
Remesis's thoughts involuntarily darkened.
An image from the past surfaced too sharply, too clearly — and it made her feel cold inside.
That same princess...
Was this truly the same princess who, before her very eyes, could so easily tear an infant from its mother's breast, only to kill it and feed it to the dogs?