The Kind of Evil

There was nothing grand when Astrea came back home because she had requested in the letter a while back that she didn't want that. She also didn't want her arrival to be known by the people because she didn't want to worry the people with her current condition. With that being said, only those who lived or belonged to the Holy Nation knew about her arrival.

Rasmus and the others were brought into the temple, and it was quite dark for a temple. There was barely any source of light because of the giant trees around the temple that blocked the sunlight. For Carrion, Erlina, and Daryus, they found the temple was eerie, while Rasmus, Serena, Aris, Javi, and Videl found the place to be comforting because of the sacred atmosphere.

"Count, there's someone here with us..." Aurelia looked at Rasmus, who walked beside him as she pushed the wheelchair. "It's one of your former students, make a guess," she pointed out with a smile on her face.

"Isador? What is he doing here?" Rasmus asked as he raised his brows.

Aurelia was baffled that Rasmus immediately knew that it was Isador Suncrown, the future emperor of the Sun Empire. She knew that Rasmus knew that Isador was close to the Angelis family, but she didn't expect he would be so confident in guessing it.

"I told him..." Aurelia said as she looked down at Astrea, who was sitting in the wheelchair. "You don't mind, right? Mother?" She grimaced as she frowned.

"Of course, I don't mind, Sweetheart," Astrea slowly lifted her head to look at Aurelia. "But since the Crown Prince is here, that means His Imperial Highness is here as well?" She raised her brows as she stared at Aurelia.

"Yes... but..." Aurelia paused as she leaned in to Astrea's ear, and she began to whisper something into her ear.

Astrea listened carefully with her brows furrowed, but then suddenly her eyes were wide open. She slowly turned her head toward Rasmus and cleared her throat. She then leaned toward Aurelia's ear and whispered something back to her.

"Hmm, Count. Can you wait for us for a moment? There's something that Aurelia and I have to take care of. I'll ask someone to guide you to the parlor where all of you can relax and enjoy some snacks while you wait," Astrea said with a smile on her face.

Rasmus nodded with understanding and then watched Astrea signal one of the archbishops to guide Rasmus and the others to the parlor. He watched Astrea and Aurelia go to the other hallway, and then he glanced at Aris, who seemed to have overheard their conversation earlier.

"What's it all about?" Rasmus said under his breath as Aris walked beside him.

"They mentioned someone called Arandil D'Armond," Aris answered quietly.

Rasmus suddenly stopped walking, and the others immediately stopped walking and stared at Rasmus with a confused look. They glanced at his left hand, where he gripped his cane tightly. They didn't need to say it out loud, but they all knew that he was quite angry about something that they didn't know about.

‎Rasmus felt a knot in his chest when he heard Arandil's name. That feeling was similar to when he was haunted by his past, it was a foreign feeling that was enough to shake his core. It had been a while since Rasmus had been reminded of the painful and unimaginable suffering of the past. Something within him was screaming in fear, anger, and desperation, something that he believed wasn't his.

‎Videl was the only one who knew of the issue with Rasmus's existence. Although Rasmus knew that he and his past life as Kyros were the same person, there was a gap in between those two. Rasmus still believed he was Kyros from Earth, and the past of Rasmus wasn't completely his. That gap or error was the reason Rasmus always felt conflicted when his past was brought to the surface.

‎"Arandil D'Armond, he was the one who beheaded my parents, Aris. He was the one who killed your predecessor," Rasmus said as he stared into Aris's eyes.

‎As soon as Aris found out about that, her hair suddenly raised and everyone got pushed to the ground by an immense and thick energy. The glass windows in the hallway shattered into fine dust, the walls and the floor cracked open, and lastly the Archbishop, Carrion, and Daryus fainted by the immense pressure. Rasmus was the only one who wasn't affected by her energy, his body reacted quite the opposite because his body resonated with the energy that she released.

‎Aris was about to turn around to go where Astrea and Aurelia had gone. However, Rasmus grabbed her wrist and prevented her from taking the first step.

‎"It's not the right time, Aris..." Rasmus said with a serious expression. "You're breaking the place down. Calm down," he continued as he tightened his grip on Aris's wrist.

‎Aris slowly unclenched her fists and stared down at Serena, Videl, and Javi who struggled to keep themselves conscious. Videl, the devil who had regained half of his power, couldn't withstand Aris's wrath.

‎(At the same time in the cloister room)

‎Arandil was standing beside Emperor Julius Suncrown, listening to the conversation between Astrea and Julius. However, suddenly he felt his whole body like being rubbed eerily for a moment before he felt like his body was being scratched by sharp nails. He immediately unsheathed his greatsword on his back and pointed it at the door.

‎Julius, Astrea, Aurelia, and Isador turned their focus to Arandil. They were startled by his sudden hostility, but then they noticed his hands trembled when he held his sword tightly.

‎"Lord Arandil?" Astrea asked with her brows furrowed.

‎"I feel a dangerous killing intent coming from this building, Your Holiness. This place is dangerous, someone is about to commit a murder..." Arandil answered as he kept pointing his sword at the door.

‎Aurelia and Astrea looked at each other for a moment, and they might have known who that might be.

‎"Lord Arandil, Your Imperial Highness, there are people who came here with me. They're Count Rasmus Blackheart and Lady Aristoria, the Orthias. I believe they overheard and knew that you were here in this building," Astrea pointed out as she stared right into Arandil's eyes.

‎Arandil, who heard those names, suddenly flinched his eyes. He didn't expect to meet those two in a place like this, especially since he was the one who was responsible for the deaths of both Rasmus's parents. He killed Rasmus's parents, and he also killed an Orthias, not a great responsibility he had.

‎"Count Rasmus is here, Your Holiness?" Isadora asked Aurelia with his brows raised, not knowing about it since Aurelia hadn't told him about it.

‎"Yes, and he should be in the left wing of the temple right now," Aurelia answered as she nodded. "Or maybe not..." she muttered with a worried expression.

‎"Someone is coming..." Arandil said as he tightened his grip on his great sword.

‎

‎Everyone perked up, their backs were straightened like they had never been before except for Astrea since she had known Rasmus and the others enough. They stared at the door for a few seconds until someone knocked on the door and their hearts skipped a bit when they heard it.

"Come in," Aurelia said calmly.

When they saw it was a Cardinal, they suddenly felt intense relief and slowly slouched on their chairs. However, they could see the panic in the Cardinal's face.

"What's the matter, Cardinal Rudell?" Aurelia asked with her brows raised.

"Your Holiness, my apology for disturbing your time... but, there's an issue right now. The left wing of the temple is badly damaged..." Cardinal Rudell answered as he lowered his head. "Count Rasmus Blackheart said it was his doing. He wanted to apologize and he would love to pay for the damage he caused..." he continued.

Astrea closed her eyes, hiding and holding back the smile that was trying to reach the surface. She already knew it would be the case, and she knew that it wasn't him since he was unable to use any magic because of his condition. She believed it was Aris's doing since she was quite expressive, especially toward things that she despised.

"Mother? What should we do? I don't know what I should do in this kind of problem," Aurelia asked with a concerned look written on her face.

"Hmm? Why do you ask me, Sweetheart?" Astrea chuckled, teasing Aurelia. "You should be discussing this matter with Count Blackheart himself. You need to learn to deal with any kind of problems, while I can just lie back and enjoy my leisure life," she continued.

"Mother..." Aurelia pouted.

Everyone looked at Astrea, and they were shocked at how laid-back her personality had become. She had never shown that side of her personality, or perhaps she didn't have it before. However, ever since the war and her condition, something within her had changed.

"Let's meet him later, Sweetheart. Right now, there's a more important issue to discuss," Astrea's demeanor changed into a serious one as she looked at Julius. "We don't have time to waste because this involves the future of Central Neva," she continued.

Everyone nodded in agreement, and the Cardinal excused himself, giving them privacy.