Chapter 320: Truths.

‎Lenin played with a sphere Mana stone in her hand after she listened to everything that Novia had reported. She expected this to happen, especially when she was against Rasmus. She had high hopes for Novia, but she knew it would be too much to ask since Novia had never dealt with someone like him.

‎”I’m sorry, Master. I failed to reveal their true intention, or their ulterior motives,” Novia said, lowering her head a bit in guilt.

‎”Their true intention is always in the open, Novia. Their intention is to tie themselves with the Magic Tower,” Lenin answered as she shook her head. “They’re hiding nothing, and they revealed everything already,” she continued as she kept staring at the Mana stone.

‎”That’s how Rasmus plays his game. Why do you think people follow him, Novia? It’s because he’s always transparent when he persuades them. The best part? He gave them freedom, and that freedom only exists whenever he’s going, and that’s why they follow him,” Lenin explained as she put down the Mana stone and looked at Novia.

‎”You weren’t falling to their traps, you were falling on your own traps you placed. They didn’t follow your lead, they were stationed, and the moment you lost your composure, you fell into your own trap,” Lenin continued, staring at Novia who seemed bothered by it.

‎

‎Novia took a deep breath and sighed in frustration as she leaned back in her chair. She still despised Rasmus for who he was, however, she hated the fact that she always fell short when she wanted to confront him.

‎”I raised you to handle threats, including people. I taught you how to deal with cunning, manipulative, power-hungry, and scheming people. However, I failed to teach you how to deal with someone like Count Blackheart,” Lenin said as she sighed and leaned back in her chair, staring blankly at the bookshelf.

‎”Rasmus isn’t a master of deceiver, Novia…” Lenin said as she stared into Novia’s troubled gaze. “He’s the master of clarity. He uses the truth as his weapon,” she revealed.

‎Novia furrowed her brows, listening to her master’s words. She noticed how Lenin always showed her true self, raw, and transparent whenever she was talking about Rasmus.

‎”Then are we going to just let him get what he wanted? Just because he used the truth?” Novia asked with a serious expression. “If he used the truth as his weapon, then we could make the truth against him,” she pointed out.

‎Lenin raised her brows and began to chuckle when she heard Novia’s words. She slowly straightened her back, and then leaned forward, resting her arms on her desk.

‎”Novia, his truth isn’t shrouded by moral and feelings. The truth he takes, it’s the purest form of the truth. A truth where it hurts anyone but the one who presented it,” Lenin said with a smile on her face. “Have you not realized why he can go this far with only the truth as his weapon? Because none of us holds the truth as is. We are the one who’s shrouded by the shades of the truth, believing the truth is exactly how we want it to be,” she revealed as she rested her cheek on her palm.

‎Novia closed her eyes, her brows furrowed and her troubled expression was obvious to Lenin.

‎”Then what can we do? You’re thinking highly of him, but you never told me the solution to this,” Novia asked with a disturbed expression.

‎”A blacksmith won’t hit the straightened steel,” Lenin answered without hesitation. “But the cost of straightening the steel, which means the steel has to get rid of some of itself whether it likes it or not,” she continued.

‎”As long as there’s a bent in the truth, he will keep hammering his hammer. If we resist it, are we not the problem?” Lenin tilted her head, raising her brows.

‎”Master… I don’t have the mood for this. Please, stop talking in such a manner. Just answer my question,” Novia frowned, staring into Lenin’s eyes.

‎”Some tools need to be curvy, to have a bit of dent, and some even wavy and asymmetrical. You already know the answer, and it’s to use the truth against him. Once the truth aligns with us, he’s powerless,” Lenin answered as she sat straight and looked outside the window. “Right now, the truth is in his favor. He holds something that makes him invincible where humans and demons want him,” she added.

Novia looked at the Mana stone at the desk, thinking about what she had heard from her master. Although she was young and still couldn’t hold her temper, she was mature enough to listen and learn from Lenin’s words.

“So, we don’t have any plan to stop him?” Novia asked with her head tilted.

“Of course we have, my dear disciple…” Lenin answered as she stood up. “We are going to accept Lord Carrion’s offer of partnership. We are going to play along with Count Blackheart’s plan for now,” she revealed as she walked toward the window. “We will let him lead. Then there will be a moment where he has to decide when the truth will no longer align with him. That’s when we make our move, slowly cornering him,” she explained as she placed her hand on the glass, staring at the distance.

“What if that moment never came, Master?” Novia asked as she stood up and appraoched Lenin. “What if the moment came but it was already too late?” She asked, standing beside Lenin and stared at her.

“Not everyone will follow his view of the world, Novia. Those who follow him, they’re not sharing their views with him. He might give them freedom, and that freedom he gave them, that will turn into a problem for him,” Lenin answered, glancing at Novia. “He doesn’t care if he’s the evil one, and that’s what we are going to use that against him. We are going to antagonize him,” she continued as she crossed her arms.

“You’re letting more and more people see his true color, Master?” Novia asked with her brows raised.

“Yes, letting them see his true color is a part of the truth. The truth that will slowly bend the truth he’s seeing and what we are seeing. Two truths can exist at the same time,” Lenin nodded as she stared at Novia. “This is how we are going to fight against him. We are using his logic against him, and we are going to confront him like how he confronts others,” she explained.

Novia hummed as she nodded with understanding, thinking that it was a perfect plan to fight someone like Rasmus. She wouldn’t be able to pull such a master plan like her master, and the world would fall into chaos if there was nobody in the world with such a mind as her master.

“Then I’ll inform Lord Carrion and Lady Erlina about their offering. We will take their offer, yes?” Novia asked.

Lenin nodded, and then looked out the window at the vast night sky where the clouds were below her, and the moons were shining brightly above her.

(At the same time in the palace of the Holy Nation)

Sima was observing the wound on Astrea’s back left hand without blinking his eyes for almost a minute. They both were looking at the wound, holding their breaths because it had been days since Sima had used different types of medicine to test on her wound. So far, there wasn’t a single medicine that could heal her wound, and this medicine was the seventh medicine that Sima had made.

When they both were staring nonstop at the wound, they suddenly heard the sound of the flesh moving. They both immediately leaned in since it was the first time that the wound had reacted to the medicine. They saw when the wound dried up a bit, and it was a very good sign.

“What does this mean, Divine Physician?” Astrea asked, her eyes were bright.

“This means the medicine might be able to heal your wounds, Your Holiness,” Sima answered, however he didn’t sound thrilled or excited. He kept his expression stoic and his tone flat. “I’m not saying that this might work thoroughly, but this will help the wounds to dry up, and that’s the most important and crucial part,” he explained with a serious expression.

“I think you have done enough if you could make these wounds dry, Divine Physician. I’m not expecting you to be able to heal my wounds in the first place. However, seeing how capable you are, I believe this is already more than enough,” Astrea said with a weak smile.

“Are you sure about this whole thing, Your Holiness?” Sima asked as he took a few steps back and stared at Astrea with a gentle gaze. “You said those wounds are a form of punishment, a reminder from your God. If I chose to heal those wounds, wouldn’t that make you against your God’s will?” He added.

“I have devoted my whole life for God and his creations. Is it selfish if I want to be myself, to live for my daughter? If getting better is a form of living my life for my daughter so she won’t be worried about me, am I wrong? Isn’t my daughter also God’s creation?” Astrea asked.

Sima closed his eyes and nodded with understanding.

“Then I’ll prepare more of this medicine. We will begin our treatment tomorrow, Your Holiness. Please, get some rest,” Sima bowed his head, and then walked away.

Astrea smiled weakly as she nodded and watched Sima leave the room.

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