With the return of Master Luven, Remesis felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Now she wouldn't have to handle all the duties alone. After all, no matter what anyone said, a full work schedule without days off for an eight-year-old child was damnably much.

  Every day, the master came early in the morning and took about half of all the accumulated accounting. He would take it all to his study. They couldn't work together in the same room because of a certain circumstance… It wasn't hard to guess which one. The princess's caprices continued, and even after the cancellation of Luven's candidacy as her tutor, the girl still treated the old man with hostility. She refused to study if the master was in the same room with them.

  At first, Remesis tried not to indulge her whims, to make her understand that not everything would always be as she wanted, and that others' opinions should also be considered. But in the end, there was no other choice. To somehow resolve the situation, the girl had to give in and ask the master to be patient. Her initial plan to bring these two closer together had deviated slightly.

  "It seems Her Highness doesn't like me very much," Luven modestly remarked when they managed to be alone. This only happened on days when Asil went hunting.

  "You're overthinking it," the Princess Consort objected. "It's just… Her Highness is wary of strangers. She needs some time to get used to them."

  "Really?" the old man raised an eyebrow. "But I somehow didn't notice that she was afraid of me… Rather, she wants to kill me."

  Remesis laughed innocently.

  "What are you saying," she smiled. "Of course, that's not the case. If Her Highness really wanted that, she would have done it long ago…"

  When Remesis told the master about what Asil had endured in the Imperial Palace, he began to understand the situation much better. Although at first, like everyone, he was troubled by why the princess behaved like a beast that had broken free from its chain. But, as it turned out, it was simply because no one had ever treated her humanely before.

  It would take a little more time for her to learn how to behave in human society.

  Luven Iter sighed.

  "Speaking of which… Your Highness, you never answered me yesterday about what you think," he reminded her.

  Remesis pursed her lips.

  "I'm busy right now," the girl grumbled, rummaging through her papers.

  "So… you're just going to ignore the summons from the palace?" the old man asked incredulously.

  When the master reminded her of this, Remesis felt nothing but irritation. The official summons from the Imperial Chancellery had arrived along with the rest of the correspondence yesterday evening. However, upon reading it, the girl merely demonstratively spat and barely restrained herself from crumpling the paper and throwing it in the wastebasket.

  The summons read:

  "To Her Highness Asil Nara Ashelot, Princess of the North.

  By order of His Imperial Majesty, Chancellor Gregory Ardelio has the honor to inform you of an invitation to attend the Small Council on the twenty-fifth of November of the 374th Imperial Year.

  In case of inability to be present at the meeting, please immediately notify the Ceremonial Department of the Imperial Palace Administration.

  Sincerely, the Chancellery."

  When Remesis first read this, she smirked bitterly. Especially at the last lines.

  Refuse? Did they really have that right?

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  "Do you really think my answer matters?" the girl grinned. "It seems everything has already been decided."

  Although Remesis found this invitation extremely dubious, she couldn't simply refuse or ignore it. Otherwise, it could be regarded as an insult to the Emperor. And at the present moment, having problems with the imperial court was extremely disadvantageous for them… Most likely, Alexis was just waiting for a convenient opportunity to get rid of his daughter on legal grounds.

  The girl bit her lip.

  Previously, she had little interest in state affairs, but even she had heard of the Small Council. This gathering was nothing less than a closed society of the chosen ones. The most influential figures of the empire gathered at the palace every few years to discuss pressing state issues. Therefore, given the significance of the event, ignoring it would be even riskier.

  Remesis had not the slightest desire to participate in the council, especially since it could very well be a trap. The girl didn't believe that a princess, abandoned to die in the North, could genuinely be invited to the Council. True, it was still too early to judge what the catch was.

  Nevertheless, there wasn't much choice. They would have to go. Only one question remained — what to do with Asil? Remesis couldn't even imagine letting her go to the Imperial Palace alone.

  When Remesis brought this up, Luven volunteered to help.

  "I can accompany Her Highness," he offered.

  The girl gratefully accepted the master's willingness to help, but still shook her head.

  "I'm grateful for your responsiveness. But I don't think you'll be able to handle her…"

  The old man smiled wryly but didn't argue with this statement. Given the hostility with which Asil treated him even in the castle, it was hard to imagine what might happen outside without witnesses. Therefore, for everyone's well-being, it was better to reject this candidacy.

  Remesis didn't hesitate long. Since circumstances had turned out this way, she couldn't stand aside. After all, she was first and foremost the Princess of the North. "It's alright," the girl voiced her final decision. "I will accompany Her Highness."

  Though it sounded simple in words, much still needed to be done.

  The next step was to inform Asil of this news. The girl deliberately chose a convenient moment, expecting an avalanche of anger and resistance. However, to Remesis's surprise, this caused no problems at all. The princess received the announcement that she would soon have to return to the Imperial Palace rather indifferently.

  "Okay."

  Without asking further questions, the girl casually returned to her written work. Remesis, somewhat at a loss, said:

  "Uh… We'll leave in two weeks. So you'd better start packing your things in advance."

  "Mm-hmm."

  "…"

  Remesis stared at her wife, who was as serene as a sea surface in calm weather.

  Asil had many negative memories associated with the Imperial Palace. More precisely, all of them. For many years, she had lived in the empire's most noble residence worse than a yard dog. However, contrary to Remesis's expectations, the princess didn't resist this news at all. Even her expression didn't change, as if Remesis had asked if she was going hunting next week.

  This was… unusual. Especially considering her usual character.

  However, since Asil really wasn't interested, Remesis didn't continue this topic. Briefly listing to the princess what she needed to take with her to the capital, she just silently nodded. Remesis, struck by her indifference, sighed.

  "Alright… Then let's get back to the lesson," she gave in.

  Remesis reviewed the results of Asil's latest test and nodded satisfactorily. Despite the fact that the princess had never even held a dictionary before, she managed to master the beginner's program quite quickly. It could be said that her knowledge level now corresponded to that of a seven-year-old child.

  "You've memorized enough words and learned basic grammar. I think you can now write something."

  The princess silently looked at her.

  "Write an essay about yourself," Remesis suggested the simplest task. "Can you do it?"

  Asil blinked and nodded.

  "Well, good. Then I'll be back soon. Call me if anything is unclear."

  Although the girl doubted such help would be needed. Asil never asked her about anything, grasping everything the first time. It could be said she was lucky with such a capable student.

  Remesis gathered some documents and intended to take them to the master's study. She was gone for no more than ten minutes. But when she returned, Asil was no longer in the room. The maid cleaning the study said that the princess had already finished and had run off to dinner. On the table in her place lay a note.

  It turned out to be the finished essay. Remesis was surprised that the princess had managed to finish it so quickly.

  "My name is Asil. I like roasted meat. I also like to sleep…"

  The girl involuntarily giggled, running her eyes over these simple and childish lines.

  Short sentences, constructed according to the same pattern Remesis had taught her. They all had the same structure and differed only in meaning.

  The essay consisted of two short paragraphs and, as it turned out, contained no mistakes. The girl was about to give a "satisfactory" grade and praise the princess for a job well done, but then her gaze lingered on the last lines.

  "I like my wife. She is the only one who treats me well. Maybe it's naive of me, but I hope she will be with me forever."

  Remesis involuntarily hesitated. "Did we… cover these sentence construction rules?"