The stableboy led the princess to a hill that was far away from the prestigious residences and other landmarks of the Imperial City. Aveline had never been to this part of Imperial City before. There was no one on the hill. To be more precise, there was nothing here at all. It was a hill that didn't have a single blade of grass growing on it.
At the slightest breeze, dust would rise. This hill in the midst of shrubs and flowers looked like a desert. Aveline was still puzzled and couldn't understand why the man had brought her to this place.
— Uncle, why did we come here?
The princess made an unhappy face because she was tired of walking for so long and her legs were aching. Then Fred finally stopped and said:
— Your Highness, you can sit down here.
The stableboy spread out his shabby old jacket so the princess wouldn't have to sit on the bare ground.
Aveline Nevita Asheloth was still not happy about it, but she obeyed quietly nonetheless. The girl leaned her back against a thick tree at the top of the hill and watched the stable boy's actions. Soon Fred Harper sat down quietly beside the princess.
— Uncle, what do you want to do here?
The princess pouted her lips resentfully. She thought that the man probably just decided to play a joke on her when he made her walk so far to end up on this empty hill with nothing on it. Isn't this a waste of time?
— Your Highness, this is the place I wanted to show you.
— А...? — There was a look of confusion on the princess' face.
— Although I think you look disappointed, ' he chuckled.
— Well...
Actually, it was true, but Aveline didn't dare to say it directly. Meanwhile, the stableboy continued:
— I often come here when I want to be alone or meditate on something, since hardly anyone visits this place. Isn't it nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the world once in a while and be quiet like this?
— Oh, well, perhaps you're right... — The girl scratched her cheek thoughtfully.
— Your Highness, you better look over there.
— А?
— Isn't it a marvellous sight from here?
Fred looked at the Imperial Castle. The Crown Princess' gaze followed the same direction. The castle they were looking at from the hill seemed to be in another world. The bright, twinkling lights, the small, dressed-up people... But Aveline knew: every day in this 'beautiful place' confusing, sometimes terrible things happen, and the breaths of the innocent die out like candles.
Strangely enough, Aveline had similar feelings. In this magnificent Imperial Palace that seemed so small from here, she never felt happy. Every day she wished that tomorrow would never come. And when the sun did rise, she prayed for a peaceful day. Sometimes when she looked at the maids or the businesslike nobles, she thought that it would be nice to be one of them. They could go wherever they wanted without having to answer to anyone.
But anyway...
Amazed, the princess turned to the stable boy.
— Uncle, you brought me here to show me this?
Fred bestowed a bright smile on the princess.
— Are you feeling better now?
— Oh, well... I think so.
Aveline paused for a moment, then spoke up:
— Thank you.
- ...
Every time she thought about it, she was grateful.
— Thank you for being on my side, Uncle.
Fred Harper worried and cared for the princess in a way that even her mother didn't. Swearing and sometimes even manhandling was the whole truth of life for the precious Crown Princess, which had to be put up with because she had no other choice. Aveline thought that no one in this world really cared about her existence. That she would have to live in this loneliness forever. Until this man came into her life.
After all, the stable boy had taken his time and effort to bring the princess here, just to ease her worries. The man had never, ever expected anything from her in return for his kindness. Aveline was so grateful she wanted to cry.
Meanwhile, the stableboy looked at the Crown Princess intently and sighed. This sigh seemed somehow heavy to Aveline. It was as if the stableman was thinking about something at that moment, but the girl could not read his thoughts.
— You are a good child, ' was all he said.
The man smiled affectionately and stroked the princess's hair. She looked at the stable boy, who looked down at her in return. Then the girl opened her mouth:
— Uncle.
— Hm?
— Why are you being so nice to me?
After hesitating for a moment, Aveline asked this question to him that she had been wondering about for a long time.
Fred Harper did not immediately answer her. For some reason, there was a complicated expression on his face. Finally, he slowly opened his mouth:
— I'm doing this because I want to see you happy, your highness.
'А...?'
Aveline Nevita Ashelot looked puzzled, as if she didn't quite understand what the stable boy meant by his words. But Fred, seeing the confused expression on her face, only laughed and stroked the girl's head again.
— Don't think about it too much. Just know that I am the person who will always support you, ' at that moment the stableboy's rough hand reached out again to fix the princess's red hair sticking out slightly near her face.
— Umm... Good.
After Fred Harper's words, a slight smile blossomed on Aveline's face. The girl really decided not to give it a second thought. The most important thing was that she was so happy right now. At least, thanks to this man she had met by chance, there was at least something good in her hard life as a Crown Princess.
A brief moment of happiness for someone like her was more than enough.
***
Today is a day of mourning for the late Duchess.
While in Katherine Annis Carter's memorial room, Remesis glanced at her portrait. Blonde hair and brown eyes that radiated kindness even though it was only a canvas. Everything was just as it had been before.
— It's been a long time, your lordship.
The girl looked at her mother's portrait and placed the chrysanthemum on the table. The white leaves fell to the floor.
— I am here to visit you, and I hope you are not disappointed by this.
Biologically they were related as mother and daughter, so you could say they were family. But in reality. it was hard to call it that. Remesis had never met the Grand Duchess, as the latter had died giving birth to her. And so it was hard for her to see the woman she had only seen on portraits as a complete person. At any rate, it was said that, unlike her cold husband, the Duchess, on the contrary, was characterised by good-heartedness.
The older children of the Duke, Michelle and Katrina, completely inherited the appearance of the late Duchess. While the younger children on the contrary were more like their father. Looking at the canvas in front of her, Remesis had somewhat contradictory feelings as she didn't see a single bit of resemblance to herself. How could this woman who looked like a dazzling sun be her birth mother?
The duchess' death during childbirth was also one of the reasons why the youngest daughter had been dubbed a «harbinger of misfortune» for the Carter family immediately after her birth. And Remesis herself didn't know how the woman would have treated her if she had stayed alive. Would she have hated her as much as the rest of the family? Well, she probably would have.
In any case, all those childish musings regarding the past were now pointless. Remesis had long ago given up her expectations of her family. So now she looked at the portrait before her with indifferent eyes.
— I wonder where the road I have chosen will lead me...? — muttered the girl into the void, not addressing anyone in particular. She was here alone.
Remesis was the last person to come visit the Duchess in her memorial room. All the other members of the ducal family had already come beforehand to check on her.
- ...
Remesis raised her head. The bright smile of the grand duchess in the portrait remained the same. After some more thought, finally, the girl quietly left the memorial room.
The Duchess of the North simply walked down the corridor, her thoughts involuntarily returning to her recent conversation with her older brother. After Remesis had learnt of Livius' sudden intentions to take over as successor, she had continued to think about it for a long time. In fact, it was no wonder that that conversation still kept her in suspense.
When Remesis imagined the chaos that would soon reign in the Duke's estate because of the family feud, a strange excitement gripped her. This was something that didn't fit into her plans originally.
Remesis' original plan of revenge against her family was to completely destroy the grand duke's family. The girl wanted to erase the Carter family name, causing it to fade into oblivion. However, before, she had not considered that her revenge plan could have been realised in some other way.
Now Remesis regarded it as prudent of the lad to speak to her on the subject face to face. After all, it would have become too dangerous to discuss such things in correspondence. Just one intercepted letter — and the consequences that would follow were hard to overestimate. So, it was really worth it to have travelled all this way and come here.
In the event that Livius Carter did indeed rebel against the Duke and the current rightful successor, it would certainly cause unrest among the nobility and the entire secular society. After all, nothing like this had ever happened before. Especially when it came to a powerful dynasty like the great Carter clan.
'I suppose it will indeed be interesting to watch...'
Remesis decided to support Livius' plan, not only because he was the only family member she genuinely sympathised with, but also to fulfil her own ambitions for revenge. After all, the spectacle that was looming in the near future might be even grander than she had originally imagined.
Since the duke's second son could certainly not be called a 'shortsighted' fellow, Remesis remained certain that Livius had some ace up his sleeve with which he intended to prevail. Thus, the princess of the north was indeed willing to bet on him.
'In any case, if brother really does become a duke, then perhaps that will be the starting point to change this family for the better...?'
The Carter's, one of the four great families of the empire, came from a lineage with centuries of history. And that didn't mean that Remesis harboured hatred for all generations of the family's descendants. She only disliked the people who stood at the head of that family now. So, if Livius could take control of the Carter clan and steer its development in the right direction, Remesis thought she would be okay with backing off from her original intentions of total annihilation.
Perhaps that would put a new future in place for this family. To destroy the old so that something more worthy could be erected upon those rubble at a later date. Is it possible that this is the kind of revenge that would be more right?
Distracted by her own thoughts that had taken her far away from here, Remesis only came to her senses when something outside caught her attention. Just then, the girl was walking down the corridor of the floor where the Grand Duke's office was located.
A pair of voices came from behind the office door. Remesis had no trouble recognising them immediately. It was Liana Dehsin and Duke Carter.