Carrion rubbed and massaged his forehead as he put down the document in his hand. He didn’t know what to feel about the whole thing anymore after what he found out.

The secrets that the Carns family hid, were beyond immoral. The whole family, except the youngest child had done a few questionable deeds. They weren’t as innocent as they looked.

“So you knew and killed them all?” Carrion looked at the documents and letters he had read on the table.

“No, I killed them before I discovered their little secrets. I did it to send a warning, a message to those people who are like Edymur,” Rasmus shook his head and began putting the documents and letters in the box.

Carrion still didn’t know how to feel about it and continued to massage his eyebrows. He knew that Rasmus had a reason for showing him those things, but he didn’t know the reason.

“Why are you showing me these?” Carrion looked at Rasmus with his brows furrowed.

“Do I really have to explain it to you?” Rasmus crossed his arms as he stared at Carrion. “There are a lot of people like Edymur and his family out there, toying with human lives for their own satisfaction, entertainment.”

“The poor think that the rich don’t deserve such power and wealth because the rich use them for their own benefits. But then when someone gets rid of the rich, the poor become in power. Then what? They will use that power to hoard the wealth for themselves, making them hypocrites. No matter how many times to change the water inside of a glass, they’ll end up contaminated if left alone for too long,” he continued as he looked at the box of documents.

“Everyone is being a hypocrite somewhere in their lifetime and that’s the nature of humankind. They will change their way of thinking when they’re placed in the right situation, after all, it’s always about survival,” he added as he rested his head on his fist.

Carrion listened to every word Rasmus said and his eyes never left Rasmus’s eyes.

“You’re wasting your morality on people who would do anything to survive and hoard all of the opportunities to make themselves in power. I killed his family to break the cycle, to avoid chaos, and to make the poor and the unfortunate have a better life while at the same time not letting them become hypocrites,” Rasmus stared into Carrion’s eyes with a cold gaze.

“You said that I was being a hypocrite back then, and I didn’t deny that. But who would you rather choose? Some greedy people who don’t know when to stop and only care about themselves, suffering the lives of others, or someone who understands and controls human nature and gives them a decent and fulfilling life? If you chose the latter, that’s exactly what leaders are, kings, queens, emperors, and empresses. Does that make me different from them? Or does that make them morally questionable just like me?” Rasmus raised his brows.

Carrion closed his eyes as he covered his eyes by placing his hand above his eyes. His belief was crumbling and he began to think as if his emotions were just playing tricks on them. He knew well how leaders ruled the nation and knew that they were indeed controlling the people to attain peace. After all, that was what a leader does, to be in control.

“You think I’m trying to mess with your head, but that’s not the case, Carrion. I only make you see how I see the world. Am I wrong? No, because I know the history of this world, both the dark ones and the bright ones. Neither of them didn’t use control to maintain order,” Rasmus said as he crossed his legs.

“I’m not a good person, Carrion. I’m as evil as you think I can be, but we both know that I don’t put myself with people as corrupt as Edymur and people like him. I may be heartless, but I don’t let people suffer just because I want them to without any purpose,” Rasmus pointed out as he stood up. “You can follow us, or you can be a bystander, watch everything as a stranger who keeps dwelling on your useless emotions and morality that doesn’t serve anything for the greater good because you can do nothing,” he looked down at Carrion with a cold expression.

Rasmus had crushed Carrion’s belief to dust and he knew how broken Carrion was at that moment. He pushed Carrion to the corner that Carrion couldn’t see what was right or wrong anymore but rather if he would be with everyone else or be alone. Humans were social beings, and putting someone in isolation would be the last thing they wanted.

“If I follow you, how many innocent lives will you take away from them?” Carrion looked up and stared into Rasmus’s eyes. There was a hint of resistance in his eyes, something that nobody could break.

“I don’t know, but if you follow me, every cause isn’t just about me and what I can reach. I don’t mind if you want to be someone who keeps me in check once in a while. I treat those who follow me with loyalty and respect. As long as you can argue with my decision and convince me that it isn’t the right thing to do, then I’ll listen to you,” Rasmus answered.

“All right…” Carrion nodded. “Just don’t put innocent lives at stake anymore.”

Rasmus stared at Carrion for a moment before he gave a nod.

“Now that you’re in, it’s time for me to take this evidence to your brother,” Rasmus said as he grabbed the box.

Carrion furrowed his brows as he watched Rasmus lift the box from the table.

“My brother, why? You can just give this to the parliament and let them deal with the issue immediately,” Carrion asked.

“This issue has something to do with the demon worshipers, of course, I would give this to the right people who can handle it. Why would I waste my time with the parliament of this nation where I can give this directly to the people who represent the whole continent?” Rasmus answered as he walked toward the door. “Of course, I don’t want to put myself in unnecessary problems. You said that you don’t want me to put innocent lives at stake, right?”

Rasmus brought Carrion’s courier to deliver the box to Garret who was on Earnwinds’s estate with his father. Since Earnwinds’s estate was in a neighboring country, it would take only days. He wanted Archduke Thalior to deal with the issue and make him invisible to the power struggle while at the same time controlling it from behind the scene.

…

Garret woke up by the sound of a knock on the door. He slowly got up from the bed and opened the door to see the butler with a box in his hands. He looked at if for a moment before the butler said it was for him and the courier said that he would know the sender.

He grabbed the box and walked to his desk. When he opened the box, he saw a stack of documents and letters. He grabbed a random one and read it as he sat at his desk. His eyes were wide open when he found out how bad the situation in the Republic of Cruen.

“Marquess Esteban is a demon worshiper, and he has a lot of figures behind him…” Garret muttered and then glanced at the stack of documents. “Archduke needs to know…” He immediately got up and informed the maid to prepare the carriage for him.

…

The journey took six hours for Garret to reach the capital city of Silven Empire. He had read the whole content of the documents and letters and he didn’t expect to gain such information. He would protect that box with his life because it would give him massive leverage in the big league.

When he arrived at Thalior’s estate, he hurriedly walked into the mansion with the servant guiding him to Thalior’s office. Thalior didn’t expect to see Garret at all, but after listening to the reason for his visit, he looked at the box in Garret’s hands.

“Who gave you all of this documents?” Thalior asked as he looked at the documents that were scattered on his desk after he had read all of them.

“A colleague of mine, Rasmus, Rasmus Blackheart, your grace…” Garret answered without hesitation.

“Rasmus Blackheart…” Thalior narrowed his eyes.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep