Rasmus sat on the chair next to the bed where Astrea was resting with Sisylia and Garcia taking care of her wounds. Daryus was helping those two understand Astrea’s condition and told them about Sima the divine physician. Daryus himself admitted that both Sisylia and Garcia might be on par with Sima based on their knowledge. However, Daryus was a bit skeptical because Astrea’s condition was different from anything, especially that Serena couldn’t even heal Astrea’s condition.

“Count…” Astrea slowly opened her eyes to look at Rasmus, her face pale and tired like someone who was ready to face their deaths, the face of acceptance.

“Lady,” Rasmus nodded his head, his expression calm and non-judgmental, especially with the horrible smell that the wounds all over her body produced. “You look worse than the last time I saw you,” he said and looked at the open wounds.

“Yes, it is…” Astrea muttered weakly. “My time is coming, Count,” she slowly closed her eyes.

Daryus, Sisylia, and Garcia listened to Astrea’s words and their hearts clenched. They were the kind of people who would do anything to achieve their goals to make people’s lives better. They wanted to assure Astrea that they were still trying and that she shouldn’t give up, but they couldn’t.

“Nothing? Not a single word?” Astrea asked Rasmus, slowly raising her brows and having a smile on her face. “You’re truly a heartless man, Count,” she jokingly said.

Aurelia, Maximilian, Monica, Alexander, and Isador were in the room as well. They came because after the meeting was over, Rasmus immediately excused himself to meet with Astrea. They wanted to follow him and wanted to know the reason for his visit.

“If I’m heartless, I won’t be here, Lady Astrea. However, here I am,” Rasmus answered.

Aurelia clenched her fists, knowing what Rasmus was implying. What Rasmus said was basically that he knew that Astrea was dying, and his visit was to show his concern and respect while he could.

“I know you’re here not just because you want to see me, Count. Please, speak your mind. There’s no need to hold it back because I might die before you could even finish your intention here,” Astrea opened her eyes, glancing at Rasmus with that same dark joke coming out of her mouth.

“This is about Aurelia,” Rasmus said with a serious expression. “The cult wants her, they want her power, her ability, and her body,” he revealed.

Monica, the future Saint of the North and the others looked at Aurelia with the same gaze. Aurelia on the other hand felt weak from the waist below that Monica immediately wrapped her arm around Aurelia’s arm. Isador and Alexander immediately placed their hands on Aurelia’s shoulders to tell her that she wasn’t alone and that they had each other.

“Why?” Astrea asked weakly, with a frown written on her face.

Before Rasmus answered Astrea’s question, he had to explain everything about the cult to her so she could understand the big picture. Astrea listened silently, and she never thought there was a person who could bring bad news with such calm and straightforward, making her feel disturbed and somehow a little bit at peace. There was something about Rasmus’ presence that gave her both the unnerving and peaceful feelings.

“Aurelia is special, and we both know that,” Rasmus answered, looking into Astrea’s eyes filled with fear and concern. “Her body is a perfect vessel for an angel to reside in. The cult, they want her for that. They need bodies like Aurelia’s so the angels can descend and fight those demons,” he explained.

Astrea didn’t know what to say, and she felt guilty because of her ancestors, the Angelis family who made a deal with the Zevrathi, the day of paying the debt had finally come. She could only stare at Rasmus as her only pillar to keep herself from collapsing even more.

“NO!” Aurelia shouted, her voice was trembling and her breath was shaking. “I don’t want that!” She shook her head repeatedly.

Monica immediately wrapped her arms around Aurelia, hugging her tightly. Aurelia trembled in Monica’s arms, hiding her face in the crook of Monica’s neck. Alexander, Isador, and Maximilian could only watch because they didn’t want to be inappropriate to hug her or to touch her. They could only watch and gave all the burden to Monica to comfort Aurelia.

Rasmus glanced over his shoulder, listening to Aurelia’s quiet sob and how much it scared her.

“You heard her, Count…” Astrea’s voice was quiet and filled with sadness that she couldn’t stand to comfort her daughter. “Please, Count…” She reached Rasmus’ hand and held it weakly.

Rasmus looked at his hand where Astrea was clinging onto it like a lifeline. He slowly flipped his hand and allowed Astrea’s hand to hold his hand more firmly.

“Isador, do you remember what I taught you about manipulation?” Rasmus asked.

Isador was startled that suddenly Rasmus called him out like that. Isador wouldn’t forget about Rasmus’ teaching about manipulation, and he would never forget that. He remembered that every choice whether for the greater good or for personal reasons, was counted as manipulation. Manipulation in its purest form where one side will benefit and the other side will be harmed.

“Yes, Count,” Isador answered as he nodded his head. “Manipulation in its purest form where one side will benefit and the other side will be harmed. If we chose to protect Aurelia, then we would sacrifice those other candidates. Or to be exact, offering those innocent lives to the cult…” He clenched his fists, realizing that he was finally having to face this dilemma. He despised manipulation, and yet here he was, planning to use manipulation for what he believed it was the right thing to do.

“Would all of you ready to carry that guilt and burden?” Rasmus asked without looking back at Aurelia and the others, his former students.

They all wanted to answer the question with confidence and without hesitation, however, they all held back, they used the silence to think. They knew if they answered the question without thinking of the risks, the consequences, the weight of their answer, Rasmus would look at them like he always did, dissatisfaction.

“Count, we can just prevent the cult from taking the candidates or everyone. We can prevent this from happening from now on,” Alexander said as he looked at Rasmus’ back.

“What makes you so sure that the cult won’t be of any help to us in the future? What makes you think that we alone can defeat the demons? What makes you think that the future will be as easy as you think if you think like that?” Rasmus asked, his expression calm as he looked at Astrea, waiting for her to give her answer.

“Question your question, question your answer, question your confidence, and question your hesitation because in the end, reality won’t question your decision and it will send back all the consequences and risks of your choice without a warning,” Rasmus said as he glanced over his shoulder at Aurelia and the others. “Reality will treat you like how you treat reality. It’s a mirror of what you choose. Treats it arrogantly and you will be punished, treats it with fear and you will be overwhelmed, treats it with confidence and you will be disappointed, treats it with clarity and you will survive,” he warned.

Everyone went silent, including Daryus, Sisylia, and Garcia who suddenly learned something new from Ramsus’ worldview. Sisylia and Garcia heard a lot about Rasmus from Monica, but this was the first time they saw him in person. They realized why Monica had changed ever since she came back from the academy, and that man was the reason she could think more maturely.

“I want to protect her, Count,” Monica said as she kept hugging Aurelia tightly. “I don’t care if others have to suffer from this, but to turn Aurelia into someone else’s tool, we are giving power to them and that will cause more damage and problems in the future. People die, but I want to choose who will die. We are going to be leaders, we will choose soldiers to die, what make this different? We are choosing who will die the moment we inherit our family names,” she said with such conviction.

Maximilian and the others finally looked at it like how Monica looked at this situation. At first they believed this was wrong until they looked at it from a different perspective. At that moment, they felt relieved because they had been doing that without them even knowing, without guilt, so they thought why they should feel guilty when they had sacrificed others to protect others.

“Finally you see it, Monica,” Rasmus said with a smile on his face, looking at her. “I believe all of you begin to see it as well?” He raised his brows.

Maximilian and the others nodded their heads, understanding what Rasmus meant when he said to treat reality with clarity and they would survive without a burden of guilt or regret. They finally saw the core of Rasmus’ worldview and that was to see things with such clarity and nothing would bother them anymore.

“So? What’s your choice?” Rasmus asked.

“We will protect her, Count. In your eyes, she’s also a valuable asset, right? You wouldn’t let the cult to take her away because of that,” Maximilian responded with a serious expression.

“Yes, you’re correct,” Rasmus nodded.

Astrea suddenly held Rasmus as tight as she could, taking his attention to her.

“Thank you, Count… I’m grateful,” Astrea smiled weakly as she closed her eyes.

Rasmus watched Astrea release his hand from her grip before he pulled his hand away and got up from the chair. He knew that Astrea needed some rest, and both Sisylia and Garcia lowered their heads, thanking her for understanding that Astrea needed rest. He then left Astrea’s chamber on his own, and knew that he had a plan to have a drink with Lazarus.

“What a day…” Rasmus muttered to himself as he walked in long hallway.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep