Chapter 323: Beneath the mask.

‎Rasmus went to an inn with a built-in small pub, a place that the Jester guided him to. The place was quite empty since it was located in the far southeast of the capital city. There was barely anyone there except locals who supported the inn’s owner by drinking and eating there.

‎The Jester’s unique and eccentric attire made everyone look at him with disgust. Everyone looked at him similarly, and Rasmus noticed that, believing the Jester was well-known by the locals. However, Rasmus never bothered to ask, and wanted the information that the Jester had.

‎”We are renting this whole place for two days,” Rasmus said as he pulled out a pouch of gold coins from the ring, and placed it on the counter. “Can we?” He stared at the inn’s owner with a straight face.

‎The inn’s owner’s face brightened and immediately grabbed the pouch. He looked at the amount of Gold coins that would be enough to live comfortably for months.

‎”Yes! Yes! I’ll get rid of everyone now!” The inn’s owner said and immediately signaled everyone to leave the inn immediately.

‎Aris went to the table in the corner, hidden in the shadow. She wasn’t interested in the Jester at all, and she was confused as to why Rasmus was fond of the Jester.

‎”Now you may leave,” Rasmus said to the inn’s owner. “I will make my own drink and food,” he added.

‎”Yes! Of course!” The inn’s owner was happy because he didn’t need to serve his customers while getting paid a lot. He then left the inn, leaving the Jester alone with his customers.

‎Rasmus walked behind the counter and looked at the barrels in front of him. He poured the ale into two mugs while he tried to use the silence to test the Jester’s reaction to it. However, to his surprise, the Jester began to hum and dance, using the silence as a cue to express himself.

‎The Jester didn’t make a sound once again when he moved his body around. The only thing that I heard was his humming of the song he danced to.

‎Rasmus listened and observed the Jester as he offered the mug of ale to Aris. He sat down across from Aris, but their focus was on the Jester. Even for Aris, she couldn’t help but avert her attention to the Jester because of how eccentric he was.

‎”The Grace has fallen, the greed has spread, the people are fooled. The truth is spread, lies corrupt the truth, and together they become curse of suffering…” The Jester sang as he danced gracefully and silently. “The eyes are blinded, the ears are deafened, the lips are sealed, and the minds are altered…” He continued as he began to smile widely and his movements began to feel aggressive and absurd, portraying the words he had just said.

Rasmus and Aris silently listened and watched the Jester perform, and it was the first time Aris felt captivated by such words and movements. She began to realize why Rasmus was fond of the Jester, and the answer was because the Jester could express something more than any word could.

“The Grace chose against the people while the corrupted embraced the people. The light has become so blinding it hurts, and the darkness so calming it comforts…” The Jester continued as he spun around slowly and gracefully. “What the world has become when a King speaks blasphemous and the people raise their hands to the king proudly. Alas, beauty is seen as hideous and the hideous is seen as beauty. The wrongs are believed to be the righteous, and the righteous choose to be silent,” he continued as he tried to reach the lamp above him, but his hand couldn’t reach it.

The Jester closed his eyes and clenched his fists so that he couldn’t reach the lamp. He was waiting, silently, but there was nothing. He slowly peeked with one eye at Rasmus and Aris, and there was no reaction from them. He immediately stood straight, tilting his head with curiosity, staring at them intensely that was enough to make people punch him or walk away from discomfort. However, what he saw, there was no disgust, mockery, or even amusement, only the gaze of someone who listened without judgment.

“Oh Sire, you must have wondered why such grace and light are so stagnant and powerless?” The Jester asked as he spun around, and when he faced them again, there was a huge grin on his face. “This nameless performer believes when the light is too bright, and the grace is too powerful, the shadows won’t reveal themselves, and the corrupts will keep hiding…” He revealed as he approached Rasmus and Aris eerily by the way he walked like a snake ready to devour its paralyzed pray.

Rasmus casually took a sip of the warm ale and stared into the Jester’s eyes who stood in front of him. The make-up that the Jester put on was nothing but terrifying that would bring discomfort to those who stared.

“What if the grace and the light you portray are wrong? The grace and the light you have depicted are nothing but to hide the corruption and the darkness within,” Rasmus said as he crossed his legs and raised his brows. “What if you were wrong, nameless Jester?” He asked.

“Blasphemy!” The Jester acted shocked and petrified as he took a big few steps away from Rasmus, covering his mouth with his hands and eyes wide open. “Sire! If such grace and light aren’t real, then is evil the one that’s truly real?” He asked in a trembling voice, however, when he lowered his hands from his mouth, he revealed a huge mischievous smile.

“Who would have thought?! That the world is just a big stage where everyone performs a spectacle! There’s nothing real, only convinience,” the Jester said as he spun around repeatedly. “Oh, what an unexpected revelation?!” He laughed manically.

For the first time, the Jester felt like he was running out of time and ideas. He always had ideas to entertain or to bring discomfort to those who listened to him. However, this time, he felt like his space was shrinking, and his time was ticking, something that unnerved him.

“Ah, Sire… why are you so cold when you asked for such entertainment…” The Jester asked as he stood still under the light, staring at Rasmus with a frown on his face.

“If that unnerves you, Nameless Jester, you must have a lingering feeling that puts you under such pressure. What’s holding you back from seeing the whole truth, what are you seeking from this worldly affair?” Rasmus asked as he stood up and slowly walked toward the Jester. “Wealth? I don’t think so. Power? You’re not a fool. Influence? Perhaps, but what for? Or perhaps, a pain… revenge?” He added as he saw a glimpse of discomfort in the Jester’s eyes.

“The only one who has such an empty gaze is the one who has put aside their inner self. However, your act and the way you express it in your performance, they’re unnatural, too perfect. How can someone be natural when there’s nothing but hollow underneath,” Rasmus said as he kept staring into the Jester’s eyes. “Now, tell me, Nameless Jester, the price for you performance?” He asked, standing still in front of the Jester.

The Jester unconsciously took a few steps away from Rasmus, finding how unnerving it was to be seen through those masks. He thought the person in front of him was someone he had encountered before, but he was wrong. He realized that Rasmus wasn’t looking for such entertainment in the first place but to dissect the man he was dealing with.

“Oh, sire! Why are you interested in a nameless man like me? I’m just a man who seeks nothing…” The Jester said as he bowed his head down, still performing.

“Funny that you’re reciting about truth, light, grace, evil, and darkness, yet you’re not brave enough to embrace your own words,” Rasmus said as he stared down at the Jester. “The dead won’t come back, and the pain remains. Are you planning to drown on your own, or are you planning to drown with the one that caused you the pain?” He asked.

The Jester was still bowing and his head lowered like a statue for a long time. There was only silence in the room, and Aris was watching from the corner of the room, enjoying her ale without making a noise.

“Death…” The Jester answered, still with his head lowered and unmoved body. “I want to see deaths…” He continued in mumbles.

“Whose death?” Rasmus asked with a stoic expression as he looked down at the Jester.

“The royal family and their followers… I want to see deaths, the sweet embrace of deaths…” The Jester grinned as he slowly lifted his head to look at Rasmus. This time, there was nothing but madness and rawness in the Jester’s eyes.

“Are you willing to perform if I offered you the stage? To entertain me with your natural, unmasked, isn’t fabricated performance?” Rasmus asked, staring into the severity of the madness that the Jester projected.

“This nameless man will walk down the stage and stare into the corpses’s eyes with a smile,” The Jester answered with his shrunk pupil and manical laughter.

Aris closed her eyes and emptied the mug once she found out that Rasmus had found another one that would follow him. This time, a madman who had lost everything and wanted nothing but the downfall of humankind. She noticed how dangerous the Jester was, and knew that the Jester had a dagger hidden underneath his attire, and Rasmus also knew that.

“How many monsters you’re going to feed?” Aris asked as she stared at Rasmus.

“I wonder…” Rasmus responded as he walked to the counter and put down the empty mug.

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