"My head... Why is my head spinning so much?"

  Remesis struggled to find the strength to pull herself together. She didn't even remember falling asleep. But now her head was splitting, as if struck by a sledgehammer. What was happening...? Had she really been that tired last night?

  Opening her eyes, the girl suddenly discovered she was not in her room. Moreover, not even in the tavern where they had stopped. Unexpectedly, Remesis found herself outside, in the middle of the village. And... She was tied to a post.

  Rough ropes painfully constricted her body and prevented her from moving.

  Remesis couldn't understand what was happening. Was this a dream?

  But...

  "Aha! She's finally awake."

  A man's voice sounded nearby.

  Only then did Remesis realize she was surrounded by a crowd of people. These were the residents of Araken village. Men and women, old people and children — all looked at the eight-year-old girl with undisguised hatred and contempt. As if... before them was trash, not a person.

  When Remesis comprehended the situation she was in, she swallowed. Her heartbeat quickened, as what was happening around her seemed completely incomprehensible.

  "What...?" she stammered with difficulty. "What are you doing?"

  A woman stepped forward from the crowd. The same kind tavern owner who had sheltered them. But now, instead of the former softness in her eyes, the woman's expression had hardened.

  "Imperial scum...! How dare you set foot in our village?!"

  Everything inside Remesis went cold.

  "Wh-what... What are you talking about?"

  The next moment, something completely unforeseen happened. The woman spat in her face. The girl was stunned.

  "Bitch... You still have the audacity to look us in the eye? Look at the ground!"

  Remesis couldn't find words. At the same time, she didn't lower her head as the woman commanded. She simply couldn't understand why. Why were these people treating her like this?

  "What... What did I do to you? Why... Why are you..."

  Smack!

  The tavern owner, grimacing with disgust, slapped her with all her might.

  From the sharp pain, the girl's face burned. Remesis's eyes widened in shock. But not at all because of the blow, but because she couldn't understand why this kind auntie was treating her like this... Just a few hours ago, she was smiling sweetly, asking if this dinner would be enough for them.

  Wait. Was there a sleeping pill in that food?!

  It seemed now it was clear why she had suddenly lost consciousness...

  "Disgusting," the woman's voice was filled with undisguised revulsion. "Just as expected from an imperial bitch. Insolent trash. Because of people like you, our lives are ruined.

  And you still dare to ask what you did?"

  "Your life... Ruined because of me?" Remesis interjected.

  Some man shouted from the crowd:

  "Ha! These southerners have no shame or conscience!"

  "That girl must be the Emperor's daughter!"

  "Exactly! I saw the Northern Lord's ring on her!"

  "That bastard sends his daughter to rule us after they abandoned us thirty years ago?

  That's just laughable! That will never happen!"

  Remesis was stunned. Had they mistaken her for Asil?

  Before leaving for the North, the Emperor had given Asil a ring, confirming that from now on she was the ruler of the northern lands. Such a symbol of authority was held by every lord of the empire. The ring given to the princess was wide, covering half her finger, and made of cast iron. The diamonds on it were split crosswise.

  It was this ring that was supposed to confirm Asil's identity when they arrived in the capital.

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  However, for safety reasons, Remesis had decided to temporarily hide their identities, so she had taken it from Asil. Before entering the village, the girl had hidden the ring on herself. The princess, generally speaking, didn't care.

  Remesis was going to return it to her later anyway. Of course, she couldn't have expected her idea to lead to such consequences... The tavern owner, contrary to her benevolent appearance, had searched their belongings. And discovered the ring.

  Remesis was mistakenly taken for the princess. And right now, all these people wished her dead. Honestly, she had no idea how she would get out of this situation.

  What was happening seemed extremely unfair to her.

  "They're all looking at me as if I'm really a criminal. But... I'm just a child."

  Even if they had accidentally mistaken her and Asil, it still clearly reflected people's attitude towards their new lord.

  Suddenly, anger awoke in the little girl. Clenching her lips tightly, she cried out:

  "I don't understand! If you hate the Emperor, then take revenge on him! What has a child done wrong to you?!"

  Undoubtedly, Remesis did not deny the fact that the imperial family had treated the North extremely unfairly. More precisely, it was done by the previous Emperor. And the current one simply continued to adhere to the same policy. They left the people of the North to survive without any support. Therefore, the northerners' anger was quite justified.

  Only... What did that have to do with Asil? The princess, who was born only twelve years ago. And, moreover, lived no better, if not worse, than all these people. At least, none of them had been tried to be killed from birth just because their origin displeased some stars.

  But in response to her words, the tavern owner kicked her in the stomach.

  "You have nothing to do with it? Huh, imperial vermin? So then our children, who have suffered all this time for nothing, shouldn't be blamed either?"

  The woman continued to kick her. Cruelly and completely mercilessly. Remesis spat, horrified to see her own blood on the white snow.

  "When barbarians killed our people and looted our homes, where were you, huh?

  Enjoying a luxurious life in your palaces?!"

  "…"

  "When our people froze from cold because they couldn't afford firewood, you were probably spending lots of money and having fun at balls?!"

  Thump.

  "You say you're a child? Then why can someone like you afford anything you want, while my children are forced to starve? Tell me, huh? Why did this happen?"

  "You're mistaken... I never... I could never afford anything..." These unspoken words stuck in her throat as the violence against the girl continued.

  The stunned Remesis simply had no strength to respond to the attack. Not to mention she was still tied to the post. Her twenty-year-old soul was in a weak eight-year-old body. What could she do?

  The enraged Northerners had no way to get to the Emperor, so they vented all their indignation on the little girl who happened to be at hand. They used her as a punching bag. Remesis was completely helpless in this situation.

  At some point, she even stopped feeling the pain.

  Remesis didn't know how long the beating lasted. But after a while, the blows finally stopped. Apparently, the woman had exhausted herself.

  "Bitch, don't even think you'll get out of here alive. We'll bury you and that creature right here."

  "Kkh..."

  Remesis spat blood. She had no strength to speak. It seemed to her that she was about to lose consciousness.

  Voices next to her sounded as if from afar.

  "That girl who was with her... The daughter of Duke Carter?"

  "Exactly. They were sent together. I heard the Carters are one of the four great families.

  So these bastards are in cahoots with the Emperor."

  "Is that so. So we have another piece of capital trash in our hands? Excellent. Then we'll beat her too. Where is she?"

  "I've already sent a man. They should be here soon..."

  The man didn't have time to finish. He and the hostess were interrupted by a loud sound.

  Bam! Thwack!

  The villager was thrown back sharply, he fell and hit his head on a stone pillar. Death was almost instantaneous.

  Cries of terror arose.

  "Wh-what?!"

  Remesis also looked in that direction. To her great surprise, Asil stood there. Her expression remained impassive and unruffled. Only her shining amber eyes trembled furiously.

  "It can't be!" the tavern owner cried out. "Didn't I give her a sleeping pill too? Then why..."

  The woman didn't have time to finish the sentence as Asil pounced on her. The princess effortlessly knocked the woman to the ground and climbed on top of her. Then she began ruthlessly beating her head with her fists. Almost the same way she had kicked Remesis earlier.

  But unlike her, the princess's blows were immediately aimed at killing. The woman had no time to react and simply froze as her head was soon crushed. As if struck by a jackhammer.

  The bloody scene was horrifying even in the cruel North. No one could have expected such savagery from a twelve-year-old child. The villagers were stunned by what had happened.

  Only a bloody stain remained of the tavern owner's head. Asil climbed off her corpse.

  Then her cold, deadly gaze turned to the other villagers.

  "Aaaa!"

  "Monster!"

  "It's a monster!"

  People screamed in terror and immediately fled in all directions. Asil didn't pursue them. Instead, she approached Remesis. They silently looked at each other. Despite the spectacle she had just witnessed, the girl wasn't scared for some reason.

  Perhaps because she had already seen many murders. Throughout her marriage to Asil — blood had flowed like a river before her eyes. Sooner or later, even if you didn't want to, you got used to it. To avoid going mad, the girl had simply resigned herself at some point.

  Remesis didn't flinch as the cursed princess's face came even closer. She felt the aura of the adult Asil emanating from her now. The same one that made you feel completely helpless.

  The next moment, the ropes holding her fell away. The princess tore them with her bare hands.

  Remesis experienced long-awaited freedom. Although her body still hurt badly from the blows. She struggled to stand up and straighten. A red face, covered in blood and dirt. Tangled hair. Her dress had turned into rags... But honestly, right now Remesis didn't care about any of that.

  "That woman, she had children, it seems... So they'll be orphans now?" This thought circled in her head, but the girl didn't dare voice it. After all, Asil was unlikely to care about that in the slightest.

  Asil was silent. Remesis glanced covertly at her.

  The girl's expression had taken on incomprehensible, unreadable features. She slowly opened her mouth. The words that escaped her lips sounded as cold as the northern wind.

  "You said I don't live in the imperial palace anymore. But then why... why is this place no different?"

  She said this in a surprisingly even tone. As if there were no defects in her speech at all.

  Remesis faltered and remained silent. She suddenly realized she had absolutely nothing to say in response.

  The girl only lowered her head.