It was another usual evening. Lorelei had just given Noah her report and the two were chatting about something insignificant. The past days had had a positive influence on her husband and now he had almost regained his full strength. This made Lorelei really delighted, as she watched him sit in his bed, his face full of vigor. Today he seemed more cheerful and talkative than usual. That is why she finally dared to address the topic, that was bothering her for some time now.

“My lord, may I ask you a question?”

“Of course, duchess.” There were some playful sparks in his eyes, as he positioned himself more comfortably in the bed.

“Well…” Lorelei suddenly regretted her decision. What if it would cause trouble? “No, forget it, my lord. It is nothing.”

“Go ahead and ask. When you start something, you have to see it to the very end.”

She cursed herself internally but there was no way to retreat now.

“Well, my lord, the thing is… a couple of days ago… one of the knights called me by a strange name. I don’t think it was meant as an offense. I am simply curious since I’ve never heard the word before and he refused to tell me what it means when I asked.”

“Oho, and what exactly did he call you?”

Noah’s expression darkened considerably, making Lorelei feel even more guilty. Now, due to her stupid curiosity, the poor knight was in trouble. The good thing at least was that she hadn’t mentioned that since then a few other knights also started calling her the same way. And there was always a strange smile on their lips when they said it.

“Please, my lord, first promise me, that you won’t punish him.”

“I can’t do that. Whether there will be punishment or not depends on what he has called you. Now spit it out, duchess.” His voice was starting to get stern.

“He called me shimshi, my lord.”

Silence fell in the cabin. Noah’s face froze. Seeing his reaction Lorelei felt her heart sink. The young knight was surely doomed. Very slowly, her husband’s brow wrinkled.

“I believe I know who said that to you. He is a young knight with silver-white hair, innocent blue puppy-eyes, and a grin from ear to ear, am I right?”

No doubt about it. Lorelei’s pale face was all the proof he needed. Then, all of a sudden, a smile crept on Noah’s lips and he chuckled.

“That rascal Gregor. I never knew he was so poetic.”

His reaction startled Lorelei.

“Do not worry, he won’t be punished. Even though, it is a bit…” Noah sighed and looked at the ceiling while searching for the right words. “To be able to understand what he meant, you first need to know some things about Norden in general and Sir Gregor in particular. Be warned, it could be long.”

Lorelei nodded energetically and Noah could see the light of curiosity kindling in her eyes. Right now, she really looked like an impatient child. Unbeknown to him, his smile became wider.

“Norden is… a strange place, to say the least,” began Noah, scratching his stubbly chin. “It is a land where myths are living and breathing just like you and me. If you live there long enough, you start to believe that the tales from the old legends about gods, giants, and elves are real. I myself have witnessed enough strange things during my years there. It is a magical place, but sadly the empire has been doing its utmost to… ‘civilize’ it for the past two hundred or so years. Many people on the mainland find the local beliefs and stories childish, gross, and even heretical and thus fear and despise the North.”

For a moment Lorelei could see the sadness in Noah’s gaze, but he continued without interruption.

“Amongst the strangest and the most intriguing tales about Norden are the ones about its indigenous folk. They are called Binshi, or the White People. Some Limerians even wrongly call them White Elves. It is said that Binshi are born out of the deepest snow in the mountains and, according to rumors, they can call down snowstorms and lightning. It is also believed that they feed on the blood of humans, especially Limerians.”

“I-is that really true?” His wife’s flustered question almost made Noah burst into laughter.

“Well, I haven’t seen Gregor drink anyone’s blood until now, and I know his mother and father, so judge for yourself.”

“Sir Gregor is…” Lorelei gasped.

“Yes, he is a Binshi,” Noah asserted calmly. “His actual name is Gerashgor of Wolf Mountain. Unfortunately for him, when he came to serve under me some fourteen years ago, Duncan could never say his name correctly, so he started calling him Gregor and it stuck.”

The young man could see Lorelei’s eyes round with amusement and suppressed laughter and somehow felt strangely happy. He continued.

“As I said, Norden is a land of myths. And the Binshi, are extremely superstitious folk. Well, most of them. They worship the Morning Star as their mother and life-giver and refer to her as the Mother Above. In one of their folktales, the Morning Star saw the terrible hardship and suffering of her children and felt pity. She shed a single tear and from it, a white swallow was born. It is believed that if one sees the white swallow, they will be cured of all ailments and be forever blessed. In the indigenous language, shimshi means white swallow. So, there you have it.”

Lorelei was stunned.

“B-but my lord, if sir Gregor calls me like this, then he…”

“Yes, he is basically calling you a messenger of the gods,” concluded Noah and savored his wife’s embarrassed face. Her next question, however, surprised him a bit.

“Would… would that not be a problem, my lord? I mean… a religious one. I am really honored but… Won’t this bring trouble to you and sir Gregor? The Church of Two Gods might view such words as blasphemy – calling a mortal, be it the wife of an imperial duke, God’s envoy… They might say that his highness and his men do not respect the church’s authority…”

“You are overthinking it.” Noah brushed her worries away. “It is just a legend and the people of Norden aren’t as strict and narrow-minded in their religion as some Limerians. Besides, you being called shimshi is totally deserved. You saved his life, after all.”

“B-but there were also others, who started calling me like that…”

Her husband interrupted her.

“Dear duchess, in my territory, my people have the freedom to believe in everything they want, unless it is the Evil Gods or the Cult of Pure Blood. If they want to call you a mythical bird, you have only two choices. You can either talk to them and convince them to stop calling you shimshi, or you can get used to it. Knowing how stubborn they are, you are only left with the second option.”

Noah had never thought that Lorelei’s face could get even more flushed, but now he had to correct himself. If he had to be honest, he found Gregor calling her shimshi to be spot-on. Besides, if she was going to live in Norden for the next year, she had to get to know its customs and peculiarities. Honestly, he was greatly relieved after seeing her reaction to the fact that one of his most trusted friends was Binshi. Normally, the mainland people were… not very polite about this, to put it mildly. His wife sure showed promise.

With the matter settled, Noah decided that it is time to change the subject. He secretly hoped that Lorelei would remain just as calm as she was up until now when she heard what he was about to drop on her. His demeanor became earnest yet again.

“Dear wife, since we are on the topic of my territory and people, there is something else that I have to talk to you about. It is related to your position as my duchess and mistress of house Norden.”

Hearing his earnest words, Lorelei straightened her back and looked him in the eyes. But… what did she see in them? Was her husband perturbed? No way. Right?

Noah took a deep breath.

“You must know, lady Lorelei, that you are the only woman I have ever wed. However, you should know that house Norden also has another lady, and this lady is my… daughter.”