‎Rasmus and the others used the house that belonged to Eros to stay in for the night. Carrion, Daryus. And Erlina heard everything from Rasmus about what he did and what he found. They had been with him for too long, and they knew that questioning his methods was pointless.

‎”But still… to think that the Holy Nation has been infiltrated by the emissaries of evil, the other nations stand no chance…” Carrion said as he tapped his knee with a troubled expression. “Am I the only one who thinks that Central Neva is more dangerous than South Neva back then?” He asked and looked at Erlina, who sat beside him, and Daryus across from him.

‎”You can say that…” Erlina nodded in agreement as she took a bite of the grape. “But the real question is. What about us, Count? Carrion and I are planning to explore Central Neva to spread our influence here. If they found out that we are associated with you, even if we hide in a sewer, it won’t be safe,” she pointed out as she looked at Rasmus staring at the fire in the fireplace in front of him.

‎”Marquess Garret can help you two with that. There are business partners that I have here, they will help you two get what you want. Esprella Bleuman and Rouben Orbeliani,” Rasmus answered, remembering that those two were still getting a lot of profits from selling wristwatches. “As long as you both can keep them interested, they will do anything to protect you,” he continued.

‎Carrion had heard enough about those two families with great backgrounds and connections from Garret, his brother. He was planning to approach them even without Rasmus telling him to. It made him realize that it was a perfect opportunity for him and Erlina.

‎”Javi, you will follow them,” Rasmus said as he glanced at Javi in the corner, staring at the ruined temple of Angelis.

‎Javi responded with a simple nod, without any question or doubt.

‎”Then what about you? Are you going to be on your own with Lady Aris since Saint Serena, Videl, and Daryus will be staying here in the Holy Nation?” Erlina tilted her head.

‎”Yes, it will be just the two of us,” Rasmus nodded as he put his hand on the fire. “We will be the bait to attract their attention,” he muttered as he watched how the fire couldn’t burn his hand anymore.

‎”I’m a bit worried about Aurelia…” Serena said as she placed her hand on the window, staring at the palace where Astrea and Aurelia lived, which seemed gloomy, no longer sacred and holy.

‎”The rise or fall of the Angelis family will be in her hands. Tonight, she will decide the future of this continent,” Rasmus responded and pulled his hand away from the fire, rubbing the ashes on his palm.

‎(At the same time in the Angelis’ Palace)

‎Aurelia was sitting at the dining table, her eyes trembling as she stared at Astrea, who was sitting across from her. Her fork and knife couldn’t even reach the meat on her plate, even though it had been an hour since they had made dinner. She was so shocked that she had been sitting there like a statue, her eyes were the only thing that moved and revealed what was in her mind.

‎”What do you mean by that, Mother?” Aurelia finally spoke, her throat was dry because her mouth had been hanging since she found out the whole truth about what had happened.

‎”Every archbishop and Cardinal who died today had become pawns by Nemu, the emissary of evil. I was there when Count Blackheart killed Cardinal Eros, and I was powerless… no… I was letting him kill Cardinal Eros,” Astrea answered as she stared at the food in front of her, the food that they both always made when they were both at home.

‎”I know how special Cardinal Eros is to you, Aurelia. He was the only one who stayed by your side whenever you felt happy or sad. He was a great man, one of the few, but unfortunately, he took the wrong path and was consumed by his emotions,” Astrea continued as she clenched her fists, and didn’t dare to look at her daughter in the eyes.

‎”He made one mistake, Mother… He was being used! Why was it fair for anyone to be judged and condemned to die because of a single mistake?!” Aurelia raised her voice for the first time to her mother.

‎Astrea was deeply and utterly shocked when Aurelia raised her voice at her. She was both angry and felt guilty, and she didn’t know what to do at that moment. However, she realized that it was a perfect moment for her to reveal the truth.

‎”Because everything that we built, what we have, and what we have achieved, those things were built based on a lie, Aurelia. This nation, this family, we used a lie to get to where we are right now,” Astrea answered with her eyes closed.

‎”What do you mean, Mother?” Aurelia furrowed her brows, confused and suspicious of Astrea’s answer.

‎”We lied, the Angelis family lied to the world. We lied to protect their lives, and we used that lie to our advantage, and that same lie had turned us into something that we fought against…” Astrea answered as she lowered her head. “Anything that’s made of a lie, not come from a truth, something that isn’t real, will break into pieces the moment the truth is revealed. That truth, Count Blackheart has it, and that’s why we lost everything while he gets away with it…” she continued as she clenched her fists.

Aurelia dropped her fork and knife, making a loud noise that startled Astrea and made her heart drop for a moment. She couldn’t stop staring at her mother, in disbelief that someone who she loved so much and cared so much for turned out to be hiding something that made her see her mother in a different light. She felt as if she was sitting at the dining table with a stranger, not her mother.

“Aurelia, there’s something that I want you to see…” Astrea said as she tried to stand up on her own, but she was too weak, mentally and physically, after what had just happened. She was about to collapse, but she didn’t want her daughter to be worried about her. She believed that she didn’t deserve her daughter’s love anymore. “Come…” She said quietly, enduring the pain of the wounds all over her body.

Aurelia stared at her mother for a moment before she decided to follow her from behind.

They went to the deepest part of the palace, and then Astrea showed a secret door by tilting the painting of the first Saint of Angelis. Aurelia was shocked that there was something like that in the palace, something that she hadn’t known for almost 20 years of living in the palace.

“Traditionally, you have to swear, to make an oath, before you can enter this chamber. But…” Astrea paused as she slowly turned her head to look at Aurelia. “I don’t want you to make that promise, the promise that will turn you into someone like me, someone like our predecessors…” She continued, her expression weary and exhausted.

Aurelia stared at her mother’s expression, and she wanted to hold her, but she couldn’t do it. She then looked at the oval hole behind the painting and decided to climb into the hole while Astrea watched her from the side.

“Everything in there it’s now yours. You can take them, destroy them, or reveal them to the world. I will take responsibility for whatever choice you’re going to make,” Astrea said as she looked at Aurelia.

Aurelia turned around to look at her mother for a moment before she decided to explore the hidden chamber with an orb of divine light on her left palm to light the darkness. It took her almost a minute of walking down the stairs until she set her foot on the floor. She looked at the simple door made of wood, nothing fancy, even the handle was made of wood as well.

When she slowly opened the wooden door, she saw something that she hadn’t imagined to exist in this sacred and holy place. She slowly collapsed as she covered her mouth, fear and anxiety hitting her, and making her mind go blank.

Astrea was standing still outside, waiting for Aurelia to come back. However, she knew what was inside that chamber, and she remembered when she despised her late mother for making her swear an oath for something like that. She remembered how she felt devastated when she saw the truth, and how she wanted to reveal to the world how peace that had existed for more than a century was based on a lie. However, the older she became, the more she resonated with her late mother, that peace was more important than anything else in the world.

After what felt like an eternity, Aurelia came out of the hole with tears and red eyes. Astrea’s chest got squeezed really hard so that she couldn’t breathe or even say a single word. She then watched Aurelia walk away without saying a word or batting an eye at her.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart…” Astrea muttered as she shed a tear.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep