“That kind of rumor exists?” Erlina raised her brows in disbelief.

“It’s not a rumor, it really happened,” Rasmus nodded as he enjoyed his whisky. “Do you know that wasteland in Republic of Lineva?” He looked at Carrion who was trying so hard to not approach the courtesans.

Carrion was startled when Rasmus asked the question to him and snapped back to reality. Erlina narrowed her eyes at him but then chuckled as she shook her head.

“Yeah, the Corro Wasteland. It’s where bandits and wanted people use it as their hiding place, a hideout if I must say,” Carrion nodded as he looked at Videl who was being pampered by the courtesan because of his injuries. “That place has been like the safe haven for criminals,” he added.

“Your brother Garret. He must have heard a lot of rumors by now after he attended the meeting. He should be on his way back to inform your father about it,” Rasmus said and took a sip of his whisky. “You don’t want to go back to your father’s estate?”

Carrion averted his gaze and thought about it for a moment. He didn’t want to see anyone’s faces, especially his family. He didn’t want to go back to that place because of the bad memories back there.

“No…” Carrion shook his head. “I don’t want to be in that place again,” he muttered as he looked at the glass of whiskey in his hand.

Erlina knew about Carrion’s past and she understood why he was being like that.

Rasmus thought for a moment and he had a hunch that one of the demon worshipers had gone deep into the system and might have entered the Council of Neva. He assumed that those demon worshipers might have found out about the meeting and then it came to his mind.

“Carrion, I want you to sell me out,” Rasmus looked at Carrion with a serious expression.

“Sell you out? What do you mean sell out?” Carrion raised his brows.

“I want you to tell them what I know after I killed his men. Tell him everything, including Aris. I want to know how they would react with this information,” Rasmus explained as he put down the glass. “Right now, they must have prepared their moves because of Ermaine. I need you to be their trusted ally so you’ll be a part of it but not deep enough to follow them.”

Carrion’s heart beat fast when he imagined himself sitting among the demon worshipers. He didn’t want to imagine himself being in the same room as a demon. At first he thought it was fine until a powerful being appeared. He didn’t want to be a part of this plan anymore.

“I don’t know if I can do this…” Carrion looked anxious, staring down at his glass of whiskey. “I don’t want to do this…” He corrected himself as he shook his head.

“The risk is too high. We don’t know anything about them and how far they would do to keep their secrets from the public. If I know even a grain of information about them, my life won’t be safe for the rest of my life,” Carrion looked at Rasmus with a serious expression but with fear in his eyes.

“Then use that,” Rasmus responded calmly. “Use that to leave before you get too deep. Use your fear and tell them that you don’t want to be a part of them anymore. Sell me out as your ticket to leave,” he explained.

Carrion blinked his eyes repeatedly. He didn’t expect Rasmus to be considerate of his feelings and fears.

“I could leave?” Carrion asked nervously.

“You think I’m that heartless?” Rasmus asked back.

Everyone looked at him and raised their brows when Rasmus said that. Rasmus looked at each one of them, including Aris who stared at him with a stoic expression.

“The moment you have someone important, you grow fear within your heart and head. If only you don’t harbor feelings toward Madam, maybe you wouldn’t be afraid by now,” Rasmus chuckled and took a sip of his whisky.

Carrion’s cheeks felt like they were burning and he was so stunned that he couldn’t say a word or hide his expression. Erlina on the other hand, she didn’t expect Carrion to be that shocked and couldn’t deny his feelings.

“So, you really like me?” Erlina teased as she smirked playfully at Carrion.

“Shut up…” Carrion looked away as he covered his mouth with his hand.

“Anyway, your image as a useless second son will be useful later on. So, you can pretend to act cowardly and leave from Esteban’s grasp,” Rasmus said as he emptied the glass. “Still, since you decided to give up on the task, you owe your body and soul,” he smiled coldly at Carrion.

“Fine, whatever…” Carrion answered on impulse since he was still flustered.

Erlina sat beside Carrion and kept teasing him while the others were watching. Rasmus looked at the time and excused himself because he wanted to help Matthias build his ship.

…

“You don’t have to follow me everywhere,” Rasmus looked at Aris who got down from the horse. She wore a cloak to hide her hair and it had become her signature, wearing that cloak and hood wherever she went.

“I hate being surrounded by humans,” Aris answered. “And you do some fun things which is why I’m following you.”

Rasmus didn’t want to keep that conversation going and let Aris do whatever she wanted to do.

They both walked out of the forest, and they were surprised to see the lagoon had been filled with dozens of pirate ships. There were hundreds of pirates drinking at the shore, drunk and wasted. Rasmus wondered if it was because Mercurius had lost his fleet that the pirates had begun to roam the sea again.

“Count, the captain wants to see you,” Matthias’s crew member said to Rasmus. “He’s in the cave,” he added.

Rasmus nodded and went into the forest with Aris. The pirates from different crews were staring at him and Aris from top to bottom, and judging by the way they looked at them, there was a hint of admiration in their eyes.

They both entered the cave and it was the first time Aris had been in the pirate’s hideout. There were more pirates in the hideout, and they were all drunk or sleeping and nothing in between.

After walking quite deep into the hideout, a few pirates were sitting on guard near the door. They all glanced at Rasmus and Aris with cold gazes, but then they pointed their hands at the door, signaling them to get inside.

When Rasmus opened the door, it was quite dark and his eyes hadn’t gotten used to the darkness yet. The candles were the only things that lit the room. Once his eyes got used to the darkness, he saw seven people sitting at the table, and they all wore unique pirate hats and accessories on them including Matthias.

Rasmus’s attention was focused on the man with an eye patch on his greasy long curly hair. He remembered Matthias talking about One Eye, a crazy man. He wondered if it was the man that sat at the table.

“You’re here, have a seat,” Matthias said as he patted on the chair beside him.

Rasmus looked at the chair and there was only one chair left. He didn’t want Aris to stand and especially asked her to sit among humans.

“I’ll stand here,” Rasmus shook his head.

“Suit yourself,” Matthias nodded with understanding. “So, I guess you already know who this man over here,” he pointed at the man with an eye patch.

“One Eye?” Rasmus asked and stared at the man with an eye patch.

The man with an eye patch stood up and slowly walked toward Rasmus. Once the man stood in front of Rasmus, he offered his hand for a handshake. Rasmus looked at it for a moment before he shook the man’s hand.

“Cygnus is the name,” the man introduced himself. “We owe you for destroying Mercurius’s fleet,” he added.

“Rasmus Blackheart,” Rasmus introduced himself.

“And that lovely lady over there? Can I ask for your na—” before Cygnus could offer his hand to Aris, Rasmus stopped him. Matthias panicked but luckily Rasmus was there to stop Cygnus.

“If you wish to add more title to your name, like One Arm, be my guest,” Rasmus warned Cygnus with a serious expression.

Cygnus glanced at Rasmus and then looked at Aris who was staring him dead in the eye. He hummed and slowly retracted his hand and put both of them in the air. He then walked back to the table to sit.

“So? What this is all about?” Rasmus looked at all the people at the table.

“To know each other, firstly,” Cygnus smirked. “At least we would love to speak with the hero who destroyed Mercurius’s whole fleet single-handedly,” he added.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep