The next morning arrived.
Remesis had not slept all night — she lay with her eyes open, staring at the ceiling, trying to make sense of what she had seen.
Asil's madness, which she had accidentally witnessed, would not leave her head.
In truth, forgetting something like that was indeed very difficult.
"You saw nothing. Forget everything you saw here."
But could she really do that?...
Remesis tormented herself all night with thoughts of what had happened, and even now she could not stop thinking about it.
Nevertheless, when the maid came to wake her in the morning and asked if the princess would like to have breakfast with the lord, Remesis agreed for some reason.
Perhaps because she wanted to see Asil with her own eyes. Perhaps because she hoped that what happened yesterday was just a nightmare — a product of her fevered imagination caused by fatigue and the distress over Livius.
In any case, Remesis dressed a little more carefully than usual — chose an ivory-colored dress, styled her hair in a neat updo, and even applied a little rouge to her cheeks to hide her deathly pallor.
She wanted to hide her nervous state and fear from Asil.
She took a deep breath and left the room.
The dining room was bathed in sunlight — today, for the first time in a long while, the North smiled with a fair day. The rays streamed through the high windows, playing on the silver cutlery and crystal glasses, and in this light, the room seemed almost cozy.
The princess was already sitting at the table.
She was drinking tea from a porcelain cup and leafing through some documents — probably the morning reports from her vassals. She wore simple clothes, her silver hair loose as usual, and her face was calm and focused.
No traces of yesterday's madness.
No blood. No wounds. No that terrifying, empty gaze.
Asil looked... normal.
Remesis, who had not expected this, froze on the threshold, not even knowing what to say.
Asil looked up and smiled.
"Wife," she said, her voice sounding even and calm. "You are early today. Come in, sit down. I ordered your favorite dishes for breakfast."
Remesis slowly walked to the table and sat in her usual place — opposite Asil.
The servants immediately filled her cup with fragrant tea and placed plates of various dishes before her. Everything was as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary.
"Did you sleep well?" the princess asked, setting the documents aside.
"Yes," Remesis lied, picking up her cup to hide the trembling in her fingers. "And you?"
"Wonderfully," the princess replied, her smile widening slightly. "I had a good dream. That happens rarely."
Remesis nodded and took a sip of tea. It burned her throat, but she barely felt the pain.
She looked at Asil — at her calm face, at the steady gleam of her eyes, at her hands serenely holding the cup — and could not believe that just yesterday evening, this same woman had lain in her own blood, behaving like a madwoman, having completely ceased to resemble herself.
Perhaps I imagined it? Remesis thought. Perhaps it was a dream?
But as much as she wished it were so, she knew it was not a dream. Those memories were too vivid. The smell of blood and the feeling of horror in that room were too distinct.
"Are you upset about something?" the princess asked, genuine concern sounding in her voice. "You look tired. Shall I call a physician?"
"No," Remesis answered too quickly. "I'm fine. Just... couldn't sleep."
Asil looked at her intently but said nothing. She just nodded and returned to her tea.
They ate breakfast in silence. Remesis ate mechanically, without tasting, and kept waiting for Asil to bring up yesterday. To give herself away somehow.
But the princess remained silent.
And at some point, Remesis began to lose patience.
She wanted to dare to bring up the topic herself. At least, even if the guard had ordered her to forget it, she deserved some answers. How, in the end, could she remain in ignorance about the condition of her own wife?
Remesis hesitated for a long time, gathering the courage to open her mouth and speak on the matter.
But while she was hesitating, she ultimately never managed to do anything.
After breakfast, when the servants had cleared away the dishes, the princess suddenly said:
"The weather is nice today. Let's take a walk together, wife."
At first, Remesis wanted to refuse. But in the end... she agreed anyway. She nodded, and the princess beamed with joy.
They went out into the inner courtyard of the castle — where a small garden was laid out. The trees here were low, gnarled, adapted to the harsh climate, but in spring they still bloomed — with small, pale flowers smelling of bitter almonds.
Asil walked slowly, and Remesis walked beside her. All this time, the girl involuntarily observed her behavior from the side. And, of course, she could not help but notice something suspicious.
"...Your Highness, are you limping?" she asked.
The princess turned and looked at her with slight surprise. Probably, she had not expected Remesis to notice such a subtle difference. After all, from the outside, her gait was almost indistinguishable from usual.
Nevertheless, after a pause, she smiled as innocently as ever.
"It's nothing," she said. "I received a wound not long ago; sometimes it makes itself known. But it has almost healed."
"What kind of wound?"
Asil paused and smiled.
"Wife... are you worried about me right now?"
Remesis frowned.
That this was nothing more than a trick was all too obvious.
The princess wanted to embarrass her with these words, so that Remesis herself would want to change the subject. Remesis understood this well. And yet...
Even if she maintained an impassive expression and insisted on an answer, she still couldn't get anything. The princess was too skilled at not answering her questions. It was too futile when Asil, with her cunning, twisted in her hands like a snake.
In the end, Remesis had no choice but to drop the subject. She took a deep breath and decided that if it was indeed just a minor leg injury, there was nothing serious about it. Especially for someone like the Northern Devil.
They walked in the garden for almost an hour. During this time, they touched on many topics, from the weather to discussing the spring fair that was to begin in the northern capital in a month. They also talked about trivial matters — whether Remesis would like to get a horse to ride outside the castle grounds.
But not a word about yesterday. Not a word about divorce.
Remesis felt the tension building inside her. She wanted to ask. She had to ask. But every time she opened her mouth, the words stuck in her throat because Asil looked at her so calmly and so sincerely that she could not bring herself to break this atmosphere between them and sow chaos.
She simply could not.
And it only made things worse.
***
The following three weeks turned into one long, drawn-out ribbon.
Days flowed one after another, like drops of water. Breakfasts together. Walks in the garden. Quiet evenings by the fireplace. And sometimes, spending time together in the bedroom.
Outwardly, everything was calm. Even too calm.
Asil behaved as usual. Not a hint of that madness Remesis had witnessed that night. So Remesis perhaps calmed down a little about it and decided that it had been just an isolated incident that would not happen again.
Nevertheless, even if that strange behavior of the princess did not recur (or Remesis did not see it), something had nonetheless changed imperceptibly.
Remesis could not explain it in words, but she felt it — with every cell of her body. Something was wrong with Asil.
Despite her completely ordinary behavior, Remesis noticed some changes in her condition. The princess had started coughing frequently, her face had acquired a grayish tint, and dark circles lay under her eyes. Yet when Remesis directly asked about her condition, the princess just waved it off.
She said that she had more work lately and was more tired.
But was it really just fatigue?...
"I will call a physician," Remesis insisted constantly.
"No need," Asil cut her off again. "I already told you, I'm fine."
Remesis wanted to ask why? But Asil just smiled, and that smile was so disarming that Remesis did not dare to continue.
The princess took her hand and squeezed it in her palms.
"Just stay by my side," Asil said quietly. "That's all I need."
And in the end... Remesis could only nod and agree.
After all, the princess insisted that nothing was wrong with her, and Remesis believed her. What would be the point of lying?
Probably, it was indeed just excessive fatigue or a cold.
So Remesis thought that Asil would get better soon.
That was how it should be.
But...
It wasn't so.
It happened at the end of the third week.
Asil died.