In the end, that conversation of theirs remained unfinished — cut off mid-sentence.
After a long, drawn-out pause, neither Asil nor Remesis herself uttered another single word.
Their journey all the way to the north continued in almost complete silence.
Only the steady clatter of hooves on the frozen ground and the howling of the wind outside the carriage windows broke this silence, which had become almost tangible. Gloomy forests gave way to snowy plains, the gray sky pressed down on the horizon, and it seemed as if nature itself echoed the tension that hung between the two women.
And Remesis, for the first time in a long while, felt a strange numbness in the princess's presence — a feeling she could not explain to herself in words.
Unlike in her previous life, where every appearance of Asil made her heart sink into her heels and her mind feverishly calculate survival options, in this life Remesis had almost never felt fear or tension next to her. Everything had changed. Now she could afford to speak to the princess casually, could even object to her — and yet not fear for her life.
Because in this life, everything was different.
All because, unlike in that past, this was now a beast she had raised herself.
She herself had taken the reins of their shared destiny into her hands. She herself had raised this dangerous predator — and at some point, she had stopped being afraid. Because who fears the wolf they raised themselves? Who would flinch at the bared teeth of the beast that slept curled up at their feet?
No one. That was what Remesis had thought all these years.
But then why was her breath catching now?
Why, when the princess's golden eyes accidentally met her own, did everything inside her clench into a tight knot?...
This feeling was painfully familiar. It belonged to that other Remesis — the one who had died in her previous life at the hands of this very woman. But it was foreign to the present Remesis, the one who stood one step ahead of fate.
Why then... why was it returning now?
She did not know the answer. And this ignorance frightened her more than any enemy.
In the end, it took Remesis some time to pull herself together and feel calm again. She took a deep breath, slow and controlled, as she had taught herself to do in moments of weakness. And then she asked the princess the question — the very one that had continued to gnaw at her throughout the entire journey:
"Your Highness... so what were you actually doing in the capital?"
Asil, who until that moment had been motionlessly watching the landscape fleeing past the window, slowly turned her head. Her lips curved into a slight smile, but her eyes remained serious.
"Wife... don't you already know?"
Remesis swallowed. The lump in her throat made it hard to breathe, but she forced herself to maintain her composure. Her face remained a mask — cold, impassive, flawless.
"The entire Astrological Order is dead, isn't it?" she asked, and there was not a drop of doubt in her voice. Only a statement, demanding confirmation.
Asil smirked.
"Indeed." The princess tilted her head. "Are you happy to hear that?"
"Happy"?
Remesis almost laughed out loud. Happy that hundreds of people had lost their lives? Happy that someone — whether enemies or friends — had stopped breathing?
Only one woman in this world could be happy about that.
And that woman was now sitting opposite her, her golden predator's eyes gleaming.
Remesis sighed heavily, and this exhale took away some of the tension, but not all of it.
Of course, the news of the annihilation of the Astrological Order had not come as a surprise to her. Because in her previous life, everything had happened exactly the same way. The same bloody massacre. The same death. And including the death of Iliana Alseid — that very woman who had once been her sister's wife, that very woman whose name had thundered across the empire and then disappeared forever.
Remesis did not know what feelings had overcome her at the moment she learned of that woman's death. Was she completely indifferent? Or... had a heaviness nonetheless constricted her chest? Perhaps the latter was closer to the truth.
She sighed again and raised her eyes to the princess. Asil looked at her point-blank — without looking away, without blinking. In the dimness of the carriage, her eyes burned with a dangerous gold, like a beast lurking in the darkness.
The duke's youngest daughter suppressed the conflicting feelings seething in her chest and continued her interrogation:
"Is that all?"
"Hm?" Asil raised an eyebrow, feigning ignorance.
"Besides this... did you do anything else?" Remesis clarified, steely notes cutting through her voice.
After her words, Asil was perplexed for a few moments. Her eyebrows drew together slightly over the bridge of her nose, her gaze became thoughtful — as if she were truly trying to remember something, sifting through the events of the past few days in her memory. And then a supposed gleam of insight flashed on her face — as false as an executioner's regret before a beheading.
"Ah, right," the princess drawled, and that very same smile blossomed on her lips. "Since I was passing by anyway, I also stopped by the Imperial Palace... and did a little cleaning there."
Remesis's back was instantly seized by an icy cold that had nothing to do with the weather outside.
"Surely..." her voice trembled slightly, but she pulled herself together. "The deaths of the Emperor and Empress are also your doing?"
"Well..." Asil tilted her head to the side. "You could say that."
"And what about the Crown Princess?" the question followed immediately, without a pause, as if Remesis was afraid that if she hesitated, she would never dare to ask at all.
"Ah, her?" Asil grimaced. "That girl was too insignificant... Would I dirty my hands with her? In the end, she died without even waiting for my arrival. Someone else probably decided to do the dirty work for me."
Remesis exhaled convulsively.
As it turned out, almost the entire imperial family was now dead by Asil's doing.
And again — was she surprised?
No. Not particularly.
But...
"...Now that the imperial family is dead, why are we returning north?" Remesis asked, genuine bewilderment sounding in her voice.
"Hm?"
"Wasn't that your original goal?" Remesis leaned forward, her eyes boring into the princess's face, searching for an answer. "To overthrow the Emperor's power. To take the throne. Isn't that why you... we started all this?"
Asil heard this and suddenly... laughed.
"Wife," she said. "When did I ever say that?"
"What?" Remesis froze.
"When did I say that I needed that place?" the princess continued, and her voice suddenly became colorless — devoid of emotion, like a doll's. Her golden eyes did not leave Remesis's face, burning right through it.
"What..." Remesis felt the ground give way beneath her feet. "If that's not it, then why did you kill the imperial family? Why destroy the entire Astrological Order? Why shed so much blood if you don't want the throne?"
"Because you asked me to."
"...What?"
"Didn't you yourself always say that?" the princess continued, and her voice became thoughtful, almost dreamy, as if she had plunged into cherished memories. "'I want the imperial family to fall. I want the Carter house to burn to the ground. I want everyone who hurt me to pay with their blood.' You said it so many times that I lost count... I only did what you asked. Everything you desired."
She paused, and then added, icy notes sounding in her voice:
"Of course, your vile family remains... They probably deserve even greater punishment. But, to my surprise, they are doing an excellent job of destroying themselves." Asil laughed. "Like rats gathered in a single jar. They devour each other even without my participation. And it is... a truly beautiful spectacle."
"...."
"But don't worry," Asil continued, and tenderness suddenly appeared in her voice. "I'm not going to let them go. When they sink to the very bottom — when only pathetic shadows of them remain, when they beg for mercy... then I will come. And I will take their lives myself."
Remesis swallowed.
For a while, she did not utter a word.
The silence in the carriage became almost tangible. Only the creak of the wheels on the snow and the distant howl of the wind could be heard.
Her thoughts were too tangled. For some reason, what was happening to her now suddenly ceased to make any sense.
She clearly remembered the goal for which she had agreed to this mad alliance. It was all simple. She wanted a better life. For herself. For the princess. And then, when both achieved their goals, they would part ways. Each would go their own path.
That was their original contract.
But now...
What goal remained for her now?
The imperial family was destroyed. Her own family — the Carter house, which she hated with all her soul — was inexorably heading towards collapse, devouring itself from within. Asil... Asil could take the throne at any moment. The current Emperor — a boy, underage and weak — posed no threat to her. And she, Remesis, had done everything in her power for the princess.
She could leave. Finally retire. Live a free life — the one she had always dreamed of. Without fear. Without bonds. Without the chains that had bound her all her life.
But then why...
Why, when it was almost over, were they heading north again?
Why was she still here?
Remesis opened her mouth.
"Your Highness, our contract..." she began, but Asil did not let her finish.
"Wife."
The woman with silver hair and a face carved from permafrost took her hand without warning. This touch was scorchingly tender — the kind that takes your breath away. Asil's red lips touched the back of Remesis's palm, and she shuddered all over.
"I have already done enough for you to stay with me, haven't I?" the princess whispered, her voice like velvet.
She rubbed her face against Remesis's hand — like a huge wild cat that had suddenly decided it was domesticated. Like a dog seeking affection from its master. This sight was so wrong, so incongruous with the image of a ruthless killer, that Remesis's head spun.
"If you are not with me, it can only be because you are dead," Asil continued, and there was not a drop of doubt in her voice. Only absolute, all-consuming certainty.
Remesis swallowed.
"Besides," Asil raised her eyes — and Remesis drowned in their golden maelstrom, "you will never leave me."
Those eyes... there was so much stubbornness in them, so much dark, bottomless obsession, that goosebumps ran down Remesis's skin. This was not love. Nor was it hatred. It was something more primal — obsession intertwined with gratitude, and fear mixed with loyalty.
Remesis wanted to say something, but her lips would not obey. She opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat — sharp as shards of glass. While she remained silent, unable to force out a sound, Asil continued to kiss her hand — each finger, each knuckle, each line on her palm. The tips of Remesis's fingers were scorched with heat, as if she had thrust them into an open flame.
"I know," Asil whispered, her breath burning her skin. "You never put a leash around my neck. I myself took the leash and came to you. All of this is merely my greed."
She paused, and in the silence of the carriage, Remesis's treacherously loud heartbeat became audible.
"But, wife..." Asil raised her head, her eyes boring into Remesis's face. "Have you ever seen a dog without a master?"
"Your Highness," Remesis's voice sounded hollow. "You are not my dog..."
She tried to pull away, but the princess's fingers tightened around her wrist. Tightly enough to make it clear: she would not be let go.
Asil's golden eyes flashed — like shards of the sun, like molten gold.
"Wife... I have done so much for you, but you have never even asked what it is that I want."
She paused and looked straight into Remesis's eyes — so that the latter could not look away.
"Then I will tell you what I want."
Remesis did not answer. This was because she instinctively felt that the princess had said this not in the hope of her response.
If the woman before her said what she wanted, she would have to give it.
This was not her choice.