Chapter 500: A similar goal.

‎Rasmus listened to Anastasha’s conversation with Usman and he began to see why Anastasha chose Usman over the other brother. Usman’s plan was to change the direction of his family’s future, which was to avoid a confrontation with the Ashenvale family.

‎Usman was nothing like Carrion, Daryus, Arka, or Javi, he was similar to Anastasha. Usman was a man who would do anything to achieve his goal but he had a compass that prevented him from being blinded by greed. That compass was the survivability of his family, especially in the current situation where demons have tried to take over the world.

‎”Your goal is the same as your brother. I don’t see the difference when both of you want the same thing, and for me, the goal is what matters,” Anastasha said, her eyes cold when she stared at Usman.

‎”Yes, we both want the same thing, the survivability of our family. However, he only sought support from the North. His desire isn’t just to save our family, he wants to bring a powerful force to the East. He wants dominance, Lady Anastasha,” Usman answered with a serious expression.

“You’re saying that but what makes you different from him? What makes you so sure that you won’t do the same thing as your brother? To dominate the world through business,” Anastasha asked, her gaze judging all of the body gestures that Usman did.

“Because I’m not into this kind of world, Lady Anastasha. I don’t have any desire to take the seat as the family head, but knowing that my brother is planning to take that seat from me and made deals with questionable people. He’s blinded by desire and power. I have to stop him and sabotage his plan by taking the family head position,” Usman answered with a serious expression.

Anastasha didn’t need to glance at Rasmus to know that he didn’t believe every word that Usman said. She could see Rasmus’ body gestures and how he kept staring at Usman that he wasn’t convinced by what Usman said.

Rasmus found the similarity between Anastasha’s desire to protect the family with Usman’s desire, but he found it unconvincing.

“The East is a place where one will kill their own blood to achieve their goals. Why don’t you get rid of your brother to achieve yours since it’s the easiest path?” Rasmus asked, and finally decided to join in the conversation.

Usman was surprised that Rasmus would say his first sentence to be that brutal. He was caught off guard that he couldn’t answer the question immediately and it took him a few seconds before he could think of an answer.

“If I had I to, I would,” Usman answered with determination written on his face. “But I would rather have a different approach to this matter when there was a possibility for it,” he added.

“What’s stopping you from killing your own brother?” Rasmus asked as he crossed his legs. “You didn’t say that you cared about your brother as an answer, so I’m assuming that you didn’t really treasure your brother or even bothered if he died. So why?” He raised his brows.

Usman narrowed his eyes, a bit offended by what Rasmus said, especially when Rasmus accused him of not caring about his brother.

“Just because I didn’t say it, doesn’t mean I don’t care about my brother. It’s a given that I care about my brother because he’s my brother. I’m not sure if you understand since you have nobody, Count Blackheart,” Usman said, his gaze sharp and cold toward Rasmus. “If you don’t understand, I suppose you should keep quiet because you don’t understand the situation,” he warned.

Anastasha couldn’t help but chuckle after she heard Usman’s words. On the other hand, Rasmus wasn’t offended or even showing any reaction, he simply just drank his wine without averting his gaze.

“You should be careful when it’s only one-sided. Your brother might not think the same,” Rasmus said after he let Usman’s words sink in.

Usman knew that possibility, but he never gave it a thought because he knew his brother well. It wasn’t that he trusted his brother, but he knew that his brother wasn’t that desperate to get rid of him because he had never tried to compete before, until now.

“I can see it that you believe your brother won’t do it. But, now that you’re blatantly trying to sabotage your brother’s moves, don’t you think you just make yourself a threat to your brother?” Rasmus asked as he put down the wine cup. “You said that your brother is blinded by greed and power, you believed that your brother would do anything for those and yet you believed that he wouldn’t get rid of you?” He added.

“He doesn’t know that. We both use the same pretext that we are here because Lady Anastasha reached out to us. My brother still think that I’m not interested in taking the family head’s position, and I’ll keep it that way while at the same time doing it behind his back, unnoticed,” Usman answered with his reasoning. “I’m not naive, and I know what I’m doing. This isn’t about getting rid of my brother, it’s about prevention, that’s a big difference,” he pointed out.

“If you believe you can change someone especially with such desire without having to cripple them or even kill them, I think you are naive,” Rasmus responded with a calm expression. “You believe you have the high ground, believing that you outplay your brother, but that’s based on what you believe, not reality. You have no idea what your brother is thinking, you have no idea what kind of move he’s making, you have no idea if he realized what you’re doing here. How can you be so confident with so little of information?” He asked with his brows raised. “You said you’re not naive, but none of us here are convinced that you’re not. You underestimate your brother, not overestimate him, and that makes you naive.”

Usman clenched his jaw so that it was visible to Anastasha and Rasmus, revealing his frustration and emotion. However, when Usman glanced at Anastasha, he saw nothing but a woman who looked disappointed in him.

That was what made Anastasha and Usman different from each other when they both had the same goal. Anastasha would cripple her brothers from succession and make herself the family head of Asghar. On the other hand, Usman didn’t want that, and didn’t believe it was necessary when the Urion family was currently in its prime to reach the high that could surpass the Ashenvale family.

“Your brother know this is the only opportunity the Urion family to surpass the Ashenvale family, to become the greatest family merchant in the world. He’s not blinded by greed, he has a strong desire to pull his family to where it belongs. You on the other hand, you’re being naive, unmotivated, and you would rather drag your brother down with you just because you find his ambition to be dangerous. That’s what I heard, and I believe now Anastasha also sees it that way,” Rasmus summarized what he had heard from Usman’s words. “If you see someone else in your shoes, you would call him a fool, a useless person, someone who’s better to disappear from this world,” he pointed out.

Usman clenched his fists, where his black leather gloves made the squeaky sound from how tight his clench was. If Anastasha wasn’t there, he would force Rasmus out of his tent and even ask his people to threaten Rasmus by cutting off his tongue, but he couldn’t.

“There’s no point of being angry, Usman,” Anastasha said as she unfolded her fan, revealing the lower half of her face. “You should admit that you’re just pretending to be a better person than your brother by saying that he’s endangering the family. I don’t find a single fault with your brother’s methods and his desire for greatness. I don’t see it as a threat at all, and so far I don’t see it that his desire would harm my plan,” she added, her expression cold.

“So, tell me. Why shouldn’t I support your brother? After all, the Urion family has sworn their loyalty to the Asghar family, and as the future head of Asghar family, I would rather to have someone like your brother, not someone like you,” Anastasha asked as she crossed her arms.

Usman was silent, unable to answer the question and afraid that whatever answer he gave would only act as the last nail in the coffin. He was confident with his belief that his brother would only endanger the family with his ambition, but after Rasmus said it from a different perspective, he lost all the confidence he had.

“Well…” Anastasha unfolded her fan and covered the lower half of her face. “I like you more than your brother. So, give me one thing that will make me stay and not go out there to your brother’s tent,” she smiled with her eyes.

“Because I know the secrets that my brother has, the secrets of his involvement with the demons,” Usman answered reluctantly.

Rasmus and Anastasha raised their brows slightly.

“Now that’s an interesting answer,” Anastasha chuckled softly.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep