“Fucking greedy bastard!” Carrion punched the wall and made a small crack. He was so blinded by anger that he didn’t realize he had dislocated his wrist from that punch.

Rasmus and Aris were sitting on the couch, enjoying their tea, while Javi was leaning against the wall next to the window. Daryus was as angry as Carrion, but he could control his emotions better, standing in front of the window next to Javi.

“They could hear you if you keep doing that,” Rasmus said and took a sip of his tea.

“I don’t fucking care! Those old farts only care about wealth even though we are going against demons! They think their wealth would make any difference when their lives might be taken away by those demons at any time?!” Carrion said as he gritted his teeth, beginning to feel the pain in his wrist.

“If they do that, they’re giving those revolutionary parties to side with demons, knowing that the humans who pretend they do it for humanity are worse than the demons. Do they not think that?” Carrion asked, his voice trembling uncontrollably from anger.

Rasmus didn’t say a word and let Carrion pour all his anger out of his system.

“I don’t think that would change anything,” Daryus said as he looked at the snow outside. “The Revolutionary parties have made up their minds, and once they’re cornered, the only one who will embrace them is the emissary and his demon army,” he pointed out.

“No matter how hard I think, war is inevitable and it will get worse from here…” Daryus muttered and placed his hand on the cold window. “I hate to say this, but the Alliance and their greed is the only thing that prevents them from joining the enemies…” He continued and clenched his fist.

Suddenly they heard a knock on the door, and everyone immediately looked at it with cold gazes. Rasmus stood up and opened the door to see Garret standing in front of him.

“My brother is throwing a tantrum? That’s new,” Garret glanced at the crack in the wall in front of Carrion.

“Come in,” Rasmus said as he walked back to the couch.

Garret walked in and sat down on the couch while he kept staring at Carrion who was hiding his face. He had seen Carrion lose control a lot of times since Carrion had been like that since young.

“I heard from His Grace, about your plan kicking me out of the South Neva Union,” Garret stared at Rasmus with a serious expression.

Carrion and Daryus instantly looked at Garret and Rasmus with confused looks on their faces when they heard that.

“What do you think? I believe that will put you in a better spot in the future,” Rasmus asked and took a sip of his tea.

“I must say, Count, that’s quite a genius move,” Garret smiled and raised his brows as he tilted his head slightly. “And yes, I believe that makes me in a better spot, giving me infinite opportunity while at the same time gaining more influence,” he added and nodded his head.

“Wait, what are you two talking about?” Carrion asked as he sat on the couch.

Rasmus explained to Carrion about the conversation he had with Thalior about letting go of the Earnwind family from the South Neva Union. Rasmus planned to let Garret unbound from the South Neva Union since Garret had already made connections with the Alliance. With that being said, the Alliance would try to bring him toward the Alliance, but little that they knew, Garret was going to be the neutral party between South Neva Union and the Alliance.

“How is that a good thing?” Daryus looked so confused as he joined in and sat beside Carrion.

“First, the Alliance would want someone as influential as Garret since he’s now the family head of the Earnwind family. Second, South Neva will gain stability when both South Neva Union and the Alliance have someone to act like a bridge for them. Third, Garret will become so influential that he can give and take informations to both sides if needed,” Rasmus answered with his arms crossed. “Just imagine that two rooms separated by a wall got filled with water, and one is higher than the other. You will notice that it will break the balance, but then Garret came, acting as a hole in the wall. What would happen?” He asked Daryus.

“It will balance the water level…” Daryus answered as he slowly saw the big picture behind the plan.

“But that wouldn’t prevent the Alliance to find Garret’s status to be suspicious. What if they don’t trust Garret at all? Wouldn’t that be a waste of time and a loss for the South Neva Union?” Carrion furrowed his brows.

“No, it won’t change anything because you almost forgot about the nobles who had run away from South Neva because their territories got taken away by the revolutionary parties. Once we managed to take back their territories and wealth, and Garret would be the face of that heroic move,” Rasmus shook his head. “What would happen if the whole Neva saw Garret as a prominent figure not only in South Neva but all Neva?” He looked at Carrion.

“It would be a loss for the Alliance because Garret is already a part of the Council of Neva, and with that amazing achievement, he would raise his status beyond what South Neva could offer…” Carrion muttered and realized it was a foolproof plan.

“Greedy people are easy to predict, Carrion,” Rasmus pointed out as he crossed his legs and leaned back. “You can’t understand ants and where they hide, but put a sugar cube and you’ll find them where you want them to be,” he added.

Daryus stared at Rasmus and once again he was terrified by how Rasmus could think that far while at the same time made it a solid move. He realized something that was hard for him to swallow, it was that something morally questionable moves would be the only best approach to achieving greatness. It was no longer wrong when it was used to avoid conflicts and preserve peace.

“(If Rasmus had been the one ocastrated the whole plans from the very beginning before the emissary could take control of South Neva, would things have ended before they even started?)” Daryus thought as he stared blankly at the floor.

“Well, I just came to tell you that…” Garret said as he stood up and fixed his attire. “Once again, I owe you something, Count Blackheart. The Earnwind family will remember this, and I will support you when you need me,” he continued as he bowed his head at Rasmus before he left the room.

As soon as Garret left the room, Carrion glanced at Rasmus with a serious and cold expression.

“What if he betrayed you? Do you also have the solution to that problem?” Carrion asked in a quiet voice.

“As I said earlier, Carrion. Greedy people are easy to predict,” Rasmus answered calmly as he grabbed his teacup. “All you have to do to put the sugar cube and once the ant came, just crushed it,” he said coldly and took a sip of his tea.

“Never trust anyone because it will only make yourself vulnerable. That’s another way to say what trust truly is,” Rasmus said and put down the teacup.

“So you don’t trust us?” Daryus confronted Rasmus’s words.

“And what do you gain from geting my trust? To exploit me? But I already allowed you to exploit my power and influence, making yourself here in this place,” Rasmus asked back as he stared coldly at Daryus. “I never asked any of you to believe in me or to follow me. You followed me because I gave you an opportunity to fulfill your ideal. I’m not your friend, and just make sure that I’m not your enemy,” he warned and stared at Carrion and Daryus.

Even after hearing that, neither Carrion nor Daryus found that warning as a threat, it was quite the opposite of what it was assuring. At that moment, they realized that they had never thought of betraying him or trying to put themselves on the bad side. They became conscious of their decision to follow Rasmus that they weren’t forced, they followed him willingly without trying to go against him.

“Logic is more assuring than emotions, isn’t it?” Rasmus asked and stared at both of them.

Carrion and Daryus slowly nodded their heads in agreement.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep