The suffocating heat of the hearth filled the room with bloody fire. When Remesis woke up, she didn't want to get out of the warm bed for a long time. To her surprise, she had fallen so soundly asleep that night that she even overslept. Asil was no longer next to her on the other half of the bed.

  "I report to the Princess Consort. This morning, Her Highness left for the hunt."

  One of the maids reported to her when Remesis inquired about the princess's whereabouts. She hadn't even had breakfast. Remesis was a bit disconcerted that this time Asil had neglected her main needs and gone to the forest so early. Usually, you couldn't drag her out of bed with a stick.

  "Maybe it's because of the recent talk?" the elderly woman suggested as her rough, calloused hands styled Remesis's hair.

  "Huh?"

  "They say a couple of days ago, border guards saw a herd of wild boars on the outskirts of the garrison when they were returning. Probably, they fled into our forests because of the monsters. It's a great stroke of luck. Her Highness probably thinks so too and decided to catch them before the hunters do."

  Remesis hesitated for a moment. "So that's what it's about?" Asil's sudden urge to get up early and skip breakfast because of wild boars was, of course, somewhat unexpected. It seemed she was really interested in this.

  "Thank you for telling me, Gledis."

  For breakfast, Remesis had a cup of lentil soup and a slice of black bread. Hannes reported that the promised material aid from the Temple had already arrived. So she planned to spend the rest of the day working in the study. The received sum needed to be divided according to needs. First of all, she had to take care of the servants who had been working here almost for free in recent years.

  Any lord's estate consists of three main elements. The land, which serves as the foundation for everything; the lord, who establishes and protects order; and the people, who represent the productive potential. Without one of these components, everything collapses.

  And Remesis, unlike most landowners, intended to pay special attention to the third element. Starting from a minimum rate, wages needed to be gradually increased. Remesis thought a bit, then finally decided to set the initial salary at twenty shillings for all laborers and maids. For guards and the rest of the military, the amount was slightly increased — fifty shillings.

  Remesis worked with the account books until midday, allocating money for repairs and replenishing the fortress's supplies. There was a large breach in the roof of the western part of the castle, so a carpenter needed to be called urgently… The girl was just about to deal with this matter and call Hannes when he appeared himself.

  "Come in," Remesis immediately responded, recognizing who was at the door just by the knock.

  The knight quickly entered the room and knelt before her.

  "Your Highness, allow me to report," he addressed her formally. "Master Iter has just returned accompanied by the reconnaissance squad. He would like to greet you."

  "What did you say…?"

  As soon as Remesis heard that name, the quill she had been tirelessly writing with fell from her hand.

  "Uh… I said the castle master has recently returned, and that he would like to…"

  Remesis didn't wait for him to finish his explanation and rushed off, much to the knight's surprised gaze. Her legs carried her as fast as they could. The journey seemed to take an incredibly long time before the girl finally ran outside. There was commotion in the courtyard. Guards were unloading a cart, saddles were being removed from horses and they were being led into the stalls. People were shouting orders to each other while simultaneously greeting one another. Light snow was falling.

  Remesis searched for the silhouette with her eyes and finally found him.

  In the middle of the crowd stood an unremarkable old man. Tall and thin, he was a man of indeterminate advanced age. Despite this, the clarity of his mind was preserved just as vividly. His eyes, gray and quick, noticed much around him. The remnants of hair that years had left him had turned gray with age. His fur-lined clothing was made of gray wool. The spacious sleeves were huge, making his wrinkled hands almost invisible under the hem.

  The old master was taking his especially valuable items out of the cart, which he couldn't trust to anyone else, when he suddenly felt someone's intent gaze on him. Turning around, he was surprised to notice a little girl opposite him. Blue eyes, like topazes, for some reason were moist. But before he could utter a word, the girl suddenly rushed at him.

  Remesis hugged the old man tightly and, as far as she could reach, wrapped her arms around his waist. Her tear-wet face stained his clothes, but Remesis didn't think about that. She was too overwhelmed with emotions.

  "Grandfather!" the girl barely restrained herself from calling him that.

  In her entire life, Remesis had not had a single person who cared for her. Not one. Her own family despised her and treated her like trash, she also had no opportunity to make friends, and her wife didn't care about her existence. Thus, the girl was doomed to eternal loneliness. Until this person appeared in her life.

  They didn't share a single drop of blood, but it was he whom Remesis considered her grandfather, if she had one.

  The master of the northern castle, Luven Iter.

  In bygone times, this man was an honorary tutor to the imperial family. It was said that he once even taught the current Emperor. He was a sage with a brilliant mind, held in high esteem among the courtiers. But Luven's life at court ended when a more significant contender for the position emerged.

  A noble family with great influence in the empire intended to bestow the title of Imperial Tutor on one of their relatives. Their main argument was that Luven was already old, and his age was approaching dementia. How could such a person continue teaching members of the imperial dynasty?

  Despite the Emperor's favorable attitude towards Luven, in the end, he gave in to persuasion and agreed to dismiss him. After all, despite being a talented master of his craft, he still came from a rather poor family. Which only meant that sooner or later, he would have to lose to a more powerful rival.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  However, the former Emperor was not entirely ignoble and intended to reward him for his long service. Luven was due an estate in the southwest of the empire and a small fortune. So how did he end up in the North? It was all due to the master's excessive honesty.

  Luven Iter always strived for justice, and unlike other courtiers of the Imperial Court, despised corruption. He immediately understood that his position had been taken away in a similar manner. Therefore, before leaving, he compiled a report on all illegal machinations at the Imperial Palace and intended to make it public.

  But the Emperor found out about it and, as expected, equated such actions with treason against the imperial family. The man was seized, and all the documents in his possession were destroyed. Of course, there could be no question of any estate or monetary reward in such a situation. To be fair, the old man should have been executed altogether.

  Nevertheless, taking into account his advanced age, the ruler took pity on him. Luven was exiled to the North, assuming he would soon die there himself. Twenty years had passed since then. And, ironically, the old man was still alive, while the Emperor had died. By the time he met Remesis, he was already over a hundred years old.

  Luven was a kind-hearted man and treated the girl warmly, who, like him, had ended up in the northern lands by chance. The old man cared for Remesis as if she were his own granddaughter, taught her to read and write, noble etiquette, and even writing poetry. During long winter evenings, the master told Remesis about his distant life at the Imperial Palace and all the beauties of the southern lands. The girl listened to his stories with delight, as if it were not real life, but some kind of fairy tale.

  The old master was a support for Remesis for several years. Until one fateful winter came. Luven caught a cold, which later developed into a chronic illness. Despite all the suffering, he kept his condition a secret until the very end and continued working. Fortunately, his death was not agonizing, but very peaceful. At night, the master fell asleep, and in the morning he simply didn't wake up.

  This happened about six months before Remesis's own death. Thus, the girl lost her last hope of clinging to life in this castle. She took the loss very hard. Left in complete solitude, everything lost meaning. The girl yearned for the person who had become like a real grandfather to her, and didn't hope to ever see him again.

  For this reason, she couldn't contain her emotions now. Although it was obvious. After all, she had been reborn, and one way or another, this meeting was bound to happen again… Nevertheless, for Remesis, it was still something unexpected. A rare case when real emotions showed through the mask of habitual restraint.

  The girl continued to hug the old man, inhaling the scent of familiar warmth, when she suddenly realized everyone was looking at her.

  "Uh…"

  She slowly pulled back, seeing a surprised pair of gray eyes above her. The guards watched her behavior with no less amazement. Remesis remembered that she should behave appropriately and tried to compose herself. The tears on her face had almost dried.

  She stepped back a couple of paces.

  "Forgive me, I…" Remesis muttered embarrassedly as she tried to think of an excuse. "I… I'm just so glad you've all returned…"

  The old master paused, trying to understand how such a little girl could have ended up in the northern castle. But then, out of thin air, Hannes materialized and helpfully explained all the details of the situation to him. The old man looked even more stunned than before.

  He had, of course, already received news that the new princess and her consort had arrived at the castle. But what he could not have expected was that the new masters of Fortress Nord would turn out to be… Children.

  "Have they in the capital completely lost their minds?" the old man thought angrily.

  "How could they send children to such a place?"

  But the master didn't show his indignation, merely bowing his head and placing his hand on his heart.

  "Master of Fortress Nord, Luven Iter, greets Her Highness," he intoned in a respectful tone.

  Then the old man let out a barely noticeable chuckle.

  "Forgive me for not being able to kneel before you properly. I'm just worried that after that I won't be able to straighten up…"

  Remesis burst out laughing.

  "Your apology is accepted, Master," she assured him.

  They looked at each other with the same smile in their eyes.

  "Undoubtedly, I am glad that now there is someone to look after these lands…" Luven hesitated. "And since that's the case, I must first report to you that our trip, unfortunately, was not successful…"

  "What do you mean?" Remesis asked again.

  "No one… No one wants to help the North," he concluded disappointedly.

  As it turned out, all this time Luven had been vainly trying to find support among the empire's noble families. When the situation at the northern fortress became unbearable, a delegation of northerners, consisting of the master and only two guards, set off for the South hoping that someone would agree to lend them a little money. However, as expected, no one accepted the proposal.

  Many aristocrats refused to even let the master through the door, let alone negotiate. And after traveling for several months, the old man despaired and decided to return back. The whole way, his thoughts were occupied only with how they would survive the next winter.

  However, after Luven reported the discouraging news to the newly appointed Princess Consort, she for some reason wasn't upset at all. The girl smiled, and that smile made the old man freeze.

  "You no longer need to worry about that."

  "What?"

  "The thing is… I've already resolved this matter."

  When Luven learned that the Princess Consort had already taken care of the North's financial problems, even though only a couple of months had passed since her appointment, he was stunned. And when the details of this circumstance came to light, he was even more so.

  "You made a deal with the Temple?!" the old man exclaimed.

  "Quite right."

  "But how… That is, how did you…"

  As the old master tried to ask questions, Commander Hannes, standing nearby, just shook his head. "You see, our Princess Consort is a very mysterious person."

  Nevertheless, without exaggeration, Luven was deeply impressed. This little girl was truly a diamond in the rough.

  They chatted a bit more outside when the gates of the northern fortress opened again. The iron portcullis descended, and soon Remesis saw people riding in. Asil returned from the hunt accompanied by a modest escort of only four guards. In the cart, they carried several slain wild boars.

  When the princess saw Remesis and the unfamiliar old man next to her, her expression changed from bright to wary. She approached them. In fact, the master didn't even immediately realize that this was the princess. The girl's appearance left much to be desired, and after the exhausting pursuit of animals, she looked like a wildling who had emerged from the forest. The "image" was completed by a homemade wolf-fur coat that the princess had sewn herself. But honestly, it looked more like she had simply skinned an animal and thrown it over herself.

  Everything became clear when Luven saw her hair. Silver strands were scattered over her shoulders and back, standing out even against the white snow. Beneath them hid a pair of perceptive, serious golden eyes. At the thought of meeting a little wolf cub, the master involuntarily smiled.

  Of course, having served so many years at the Imperial Palace, he couldn't help but recognize that appearance.

  "I greet Her Highness, Princess Asil Nara Ashelot."

  "…"

  Despite the old man's formal bow and greeting, the girl didn't react at all. Instead, she hid behind Remesis.

  Remesis, understanding her wariness at the sight of a stranger, smiled and said:

  "Your Highness, this man is the master of the northern castle. In the future, he will be very useful to you. Therefore, you should also show him respect."

  Asil stared intently at her.

  "I heard you went hunting for wild boars. And it seems it was successful," Remesis glanced at the contents of the cart, where several large carcasses lay. "How about having dinner this evening in the company of the master?"

  The princess's reaction to this proposal was readable on her face even without words. She frowned angrily. Apparently, the girl had absolutely not planned that the catch she had so diligently obtained from early morning and intended to share only between them would now go to some old man…

  But Remesis didn't pay attention to the change in her expression. She was too elated by the master's return. So she took Asil's prolonged silence as agreement.

  "Oh, yes!" the girl continued. "Now that the master is here, there's no more need for my participation in your education. He will take over your instruction now."

  "…"

  Asil's already gloomy expression darkened even more.