After the words suddenly spoken by Remesis, silence fell on the first floor of the tavern.

  Remesis held her tightly in her embrace, fearing the princess would break free and cause bloodshed here. But she remained surprisingly motionless. Finally, the girl slowly pulled back and looked at her.

  The princess's amber eyes were wide with shock. This was the first emotion, besides rage or indifference, that Remesis had seen in her.

  They silently looked at each other. Asil slightly opened her mouth, as if about to say something. But at that moment, Remesis anticipated her.

  "Your Highness, I understand it may be difficult for you, but I beg you… Please be a little more restrained, okay?"

  The girl whispered quietly so that only she and Asil could hear. The princess stared at her but didn't answer. However, judging by her usual behavior, this could be taken as agreement.

  Remesis, satisfied with her "answer," turned to the hostess with a polite smile:

  "Forgive me… After everything that's happened to us, my sister is afraid of strangers. I hope you understand."

  The woman, who had been watching this scene with amazement, quickly recovered.

  "Yes, yes, of course… I understand everything! Poor child… How much must she have endured?"

  "As much as you could never imagine…" Remesis mentally answered her question.

  Asil's very birth, cursed by the star of death, was considered a sin in the empire. Remesis suddenly wondered: would this woman still treat them as kindly if she knew their origins? However, the girl had deliberately lied to avoid finding out.

  After Remesis paid the hostess for the rent from her small savings, she led them to the second floor, where the living quarters were located. Of course, no amenities were to be expected.

  But Remesis didn't complain, already happy that they had a roof over their heads.

  Since Remesis didn't want to leave Asil unattended, she immediately chose a double room. Two beds on short legs stood opposite each other, one old wardrobe was placed along the wall, and a thick carpet covered the cold floor.

  Sunlight streamed from a large, unsightly-looking window in the wall. It was the only source of light in the guest room. Overall, the atmosphere in the room was not very cozy.

  When the hostess showed them the room, Remesis almost choked on the dust. But she still smiled and thanked her for the hospitality.

  "Thank you," the girl bowed her head courteously. "We'll stay here for now."

  "How long do you intend to stay?" she immediately asked.

  "Hmm… A week should be enough, I think."

  "Oh, good! In that case, you can come to me for anything."

  Remesis thanked her again before the woman left. The door closed with a dull creak. Finally left alone, the girl fell onto her bed, full of happiness that tonight she wouldn't have to sleep on cold stone.

  She spread out her arms and legs as pleasant drowsiness overcame her instantly. But Remesis didn't dare rest before going to the bathroom and tidying herself up. She couldn't continue walking around in these bloodstained clothes anymore.

  And while Remesis lounged on the slightly rough linen sheets, she finally noticed that Asil still hadn't done anything. She remained standing in the middle of the room like a ghost. The girl was surprised at first, then remembered something important.

  "Oh, right! Asil was wounded."

  But considering that the princess had shown no signs of her painful condition until now, Remesis had even forgotten about it… Seriously. She had been stabbed in the stomach. Why was she still standing so firmly on her feet?

  Remesis quietly approached her. Asil looked at her silently, as before, without any expression. Although… Something in her emotions was strange.

  "Your Highness, your bed is here. You can sit down."

  "…"

  "Are you feeling unwell? I'm not sure if there's a doctor here, but I can try…"

  When Remesis spoke to her, she suddenly noticed that Asil's expression had darkened. Her eyes also looked troubled.

  "What's the matter?"

  Remesis frowned and was about to ask about it, when suddenly Asil broke the silence first.

  "You… You…"

  "…"

  "Wh… Wha… Why… Why did you say that?"

  The princess spoke in broken common language with an incomprehensible accent, struggling greatly with words. But the general gist of her speech was clear.

  Remesis involuntarily shuddered. For the first time since their meeting, Asil had uttered such a long phrase in front of her.

  Until now, all her responses were limited to either silence or the usual short "no." Remesis even thought that at that age, she hadn't mastered speech enough to carry on a conversation.

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  Therefore, when Asil first fully spoke something in front of her, it left her at a loss.

  "Your Highness, what do you mean?" she asked slowly.

  "You… You said th… that we were sisters… Wha… Why?" After a long silence, her voice became slightly hoarse.

  "Oh, so that's what she's talking about…"

  Remesis was surprised that the princess remembered this and attached any importance to it at all.

  "That's… It was necessary. I had to lie," she explained.

  Asil: …?

  "So the guard at the entrance wouldn't ask unnecessary questions. And anyway… It will be better if no one finds out for now that you're a princess and I'm a duke's daughter."

  In a place like the North, where the usual laws of the empire didn't work, it was extremely dangerous to be without protection. Especially for nobles. Since no one had overseen these lands for a long time — over the last decades, crime and similar offenses had risen here to unimaginable proportions.

  If a nobleman accidentally ended up in the North without proper escort — at the first opportunity, they would fall victim to local bandit leaders. And they, in turn, would decide what to do with them…

  Remesis was well aware of this situation. In her past life, she and Asil themselves had had to deal with such people. At least, until the girl seized power in the North. When, for the first time in a long while, the northern lands had a lord, Asil carried out a "bloody purge."

  The new princess was obsessed with maintaining order in her lands. Everyone had to obey only her. Therefore, such groups were like sewer rats to Asil. Most of them were brutally killed — and their heads hung on the pikes of Fortress Nord as a warning to others.

  After that, of course, few dared to engage in anything like that anymore… Asil managed to cleanse the North of all kinds of crime in just one year. Although, ironically, the biggest criminal in her lands was her.

  However, this didn't matter now. After all, all these reforms were still far in the future.

  If anyone found out about their noble origins — they would certainly take advantage to rob them or use them as blackmail against their families. However, since they were cursed children, abandoned by their families, no one would bargain for them. In that case, they would either face death or a miserable life as slaves in the North.

  Remesis, of course, wanted to avoid both these options.

  Therefore, until they arrived in the capital and Asil could officially assert her authority, it would be safer for them to pretend to be ordinary children.

  Remesis sighed.

  Explaining all this to a child was too difficult. Especially to Asil, who struggled to speak the common language and barely managed to express her thoughts. Remesis shortened her story to this: that there are bad people in the North who must not find out about their existence.

  Asil opened and closed her mouth. Her gaze became thoughtful.

  After a while, she looked at her warily:

  "Wh… Why are you d… doing this?"

  "What?"

  "You're with me… Why?"

  This time, Asil uttered everything in one breath. It seemed she had long wanted to ask this, but only now dared. Remesis blinked in surprise.

  "Well, because you're my wife… Aren't you?"

  "Wife…?" The princess's lips moved.

  Remesis felt a bit awkward because she had to clarify the status of their relationship. Initially, she intended to postpone this conversation for later, when Asil would trust her more. But since she was the first to bring it up…

  The girl sighed and looked at her carefully.

  "Correct," she nodded slowly. "We are married. At least for the next few years."

  Asil focused all her attention on Remesis, not understanding what she was talking about.

  "It's not a real marriage, so you don't have to worry. Even if we don't like each other, it doesn't matter."

  The princess's expression seemed puzzled. "Hadn't she heard of the existence of a fake marriage?"

  "Umm… It's a mutually beneficial agreement," the girl tried to explain. "You know, when people don't have real feelings, and they're more like business partners."

  "…"

  The princess was silent for a while, pondering her words.

  Her amber eyes were like fragments of the sun, emitting a glow. It intensified as Remesis stayed near her.

  The girl also held her breath, waiting for her answer.

  Finally, Asil Nara Ashelot slowly opened her mouth.

  "Sss… So… It's not rrr… real?" she muttered.

  Remesis pressed her lips together and nodded.

  Instead of deceiving her or putting off this conversation — Remesis decided to tell her everything honestly. Because she really didn't want any misunderstandings to arise.

  Princess Asil had never been liked by Remesis. The feelings she had for her were difficult to describe in one word. Up to hatred, resentment, or fear. But it was certainly not love. Nevertheless, paradoxically as it sounded, it was the princess she needed to survive.

  Moreover, having lived with her for twelve years, the girl knew well what kind of person the monstrous princess really was…

  Asil didn't know how to love or value human life. A devil in human form, devoid of emotions and sincere feelings. The girl was never interested in anything except her own ambitions and interests. Therefore, aware of this, Remesis from the very beginning didn't intend to have anything more than a business relationship with her.

  "It will be convenient for both of us, won't it?"

  The princess didn't take her silent gaze off her. Obviously, at that moment, some gears were turning in her head.

  Despite Asil behaving like a beast, and due to many years of life in confinement knowing almost nothing about this world, she still well understood her position. In this world, in this empire, she was a nobody.

  And suddenly, this girl, whom they had married without asking, started talking to her about some "contract"… It sounded meaningless. No, it was madness.

  Asil had absolutely no idea that Remesis was essentially betting everything on her.

  The deposed princess, abandoned to die in the North, would in the future become the one — whom the ruler of this country couldn't even approach. The stakes, obviously, were high.

  And Remesis believed that all her suffering and hardship were worth it.

  The reason she refused a quiet life in the capital under the wing of the institute. The reason she abandoned everything and plunged into the maelstrom of dangers in the northern lands, was this.

  This desire was born in her in the last moments of her past life. When she realized that everything she had done before was meaningless.

  And in this country, among millions of people, only Asil Nara Ashelot could fulfill her desire.

  The woman who would become her instrument of revenge, the woman who would be named the "northern devil," would drown this empire in blood. It's impossible to create a new order without destroying the old one. Asil would become her main piece in this chess game.

  At these thoughts, the cold heart of the Duke's daughter beat faster.

  She was no longer that naive girl who spent her whole life trying to atone for mistakes she hadn't even made. She no longer considered her birth a sin.

  Therefore, Remesis did not hesitate at all when uttering these words. Her voice was soft and melted like honey.

  "What do you think, Your Highness?"

  Sometimes silence meant more than words. Remesis waited for the princess to ask her something, but she remained silent. Finally, Asil slowly looked her directly in the eyes.

  As always, Remesis couldn't guess what she was thinking at that moment. And yet…

  "I am counting on your cooperation, Your Highness."

  She took one step and extended her hand. Asil, by habit, should have recoiled, but she didn't. She silently stared at Remesis, who was awaiting a handshake.

  The girl was calm, waiting for the princess to decide to do it. After all, any physical contact caused her stress.

  "…"

  Finally, the princess's cold hand touched her warm one. Remesis felt a tingling sensation and a strange tremor. Despite this, her face brightened in a smile.

  "I promise, as soon as you regain your throne and my family is destroyed, we will divorce."