The Kind of Evil

Rasmus and Aris looked at the white horses that Aurelia had lent them for their journey to the Refenus Kingdom, which would take them at least a month. Aurelia offered them to use the Holy Nation's blimp, but Rasmus didn't want it because it would only bring unnecessary attention. He also knew that Aris preferred to explore the continent on foot, so she could visit each city and village.

"Are you sure you will be fine riding a horse with your condition?" Erlina asked as she stood beside Rasmus's horse.

Rasmus tried to climb onto the horse on his own, but his weak body was against him. He used a lot of strength to just get on the horse, but he wasn't ashamed or embarrassed.

"My condition is a lot better than before, I'll be fine," Rasmus answered as he looked down at the horse and gently caressed its mane.

"How are we going to contact each other?" Carrion asked as he stood beside Erlina and looked up at Rasmus.

"Javi knows how to do it. He will use his ravens to convey your message. Aris knows how to speak with Javi's ravens, so it won't be hard for us to communicate when necessary," Rasmus answered as he looked down at Carrion.

Daryus looked at Rasmus's pale skin, and even now, he couldn't do anything to help with his situation. However, knowing that Rasmus's health was slowly and steadily getting better, he felt relief and knew that Rasmus would be okay without his help.

"The Divine physician should be here soon, and I was hoping that he could diagnose your condition, Count. But, knowing that you're leaving, I guess that would be impossible," Daryus said as he looked at the horse's body, which looked healthy and strong.

"Don't think about me, Doctor. Focus on why you're here, and I hope you can fulfill what you're here for," Rasmus responded as he looked Daryus in the eye. "Lady Astrea needed someone like you by her side, especially with the current situation," he added.

Daryus nodded, realizing that the things that had happened in the Holy Nation would put Astrea in a depressed state. However, he didn't know anything about the situation between Aurelia and Astrea, and soon he would know about it.

Serena looked at Aris riding the horse, and when their eyes met, Serena gave her a gentle smile and nod. Aris looked at her for a moment and responded with a simple nod as well. Serena then approached Rasmus's horse and gently caressed its neck.

"All I have to do is to protect her, right?" Serena asked with her brows raised.

"Don't babysit her, and keep an eye on every move she makes," Rasmus answered as he nodded. "You can do whatever you want here, so enjoy your time," he said, looking down at Serena.

Serena nodded with understanding as she took a few steps away from the horses, putting her hands behind her back. Videl and Javi were standing on the side, had nothing to say to Rasmus or Aris since they already knew their duty, and they weren't worried about Rasmus with Aris beside him.

Rasmus then saw Astrea walking toward him with Esper and Ulric following from behind. He didn't see Aurelia anywhere, and that meant Aurelia was still avoiding and distancing herself from her mother.

"Count... Lady Aris..." Astrea said in a quiet and weak voice. Her expression was gloomy and exhausted. "I heard you're leaving already, so I came by to see you go," she forced a smile at Rasmus.

Rasmus could see there were thousands of words that Astrea wanted to say to him, but she knew she couldn't because of the people around her. He then looked at Aris and the others. There was no word needed, and they all nodded with understanding and walked away, far enough to give Astrea some privacy.

Astrea looked at Esper and Ulric, giving them a gentle and weak smile, wanting them to let her be alone with Rasmus. They both bowed their heads and moved to the side, the opposite side of Carrion and the others.

"Thank you for giving your time, Count..." Astrea said as she smiled at Rasmus. "I believe you have heard about everything from Aurelia since I knew she would come for you to ask about the things that happened here, the secrets that we hid for more than a century..."

"I don't read the record, Lady Astrea," Rasmus responded before Astrea could continue her speech.

Astrea was shocked when Rasmus didn't read the record, the truth that the Holy Nation had hidden from the world. She stared into Rasmus's eyes, and she saw no lies in them, even though she already knew that Rasmus wouldn't lie.

"Whatever that had happened here, or what you kept hidden from the world, it's none of my business. Do I care, no, so I don't need to know," Rasmus said as he patted the horse's neck gently. "Aurelia has decided on what to do, and her path will be hard and full of grief. What will you do?" He asked.

Astrea sighed as she looked at the site where it used to be a big temple. She found out that Aurelia was planning to tear everything down and rebuild it from nothing, but this time it would be built with nothing but truth. She agreed with Rasmus's words, and she already knew the answer to his question.

"Then I'll be her shield until there's nothing left of me," Astrea answered as she looked at Rasmus.

"And I'll keep my promise, Lady Astrea. Saint Serena and Videl will protect her as well," Rasmus nodded.

"Thank you, Count. Truly, I'm grateful," Astrea smiled gently at Rasmus. "I believe I have taken enough of your time. I'll let you be," she continued as she gently brushed the horse's cheek and then walked away to be with Esper and Ulric.

Rasmus rode his horse toward Aris and gave her a nod, signaling to her it was time to leave. They both began to rode their horses toward the gate, leaving the first layer of the Holy Nation while everyone watched those two disappear into the distance.

Rasmus and Aris looked at the empty streets, people were still asleep and the sun was still an hour away from rising. After they had had enough looking around, they began to fasten their pace and let their horses run as fast as they could.

Aurelia was in her chamber, writing a journal about her feelings and the decisions she would make in the future. She was planning everything and thinking about the risks and consequences while at the same time trying to find a solution for each of them. She barely had any sleep in the past two days, and she didn't feel sleepy because a lot of things were going on in her head.

While Aurelia was busy writing, she heard a soft knock on the door, and since there was only another person that lived in the palace, she knew who it was.

"It's not locked..." Aurelia said quietly.

Astrea slowly opened the door and looked at Aurelia busy working on the journal on her desk. She took a deep breath and slowly walked toward her. She stood in front of the desk, waiting for Aurelia to allow her to sit.

"Take a seat, mother. You don't have to ask for my permission..." Aurelia said, her eyes focused on the book and a quill in her right hand.

Astrea slowly sat down across from Aurelia, and she waited until Aurelia finished with her journal. However, Aurelia didn't pause or stop writing, she kept her focus on the book in front of her.

"Count Rasmus just left, I thought you would see him go," Astrea said in a quiet voice.

"I know that, and I already gave my gave my goodbye to him yesterday," Aurelia answered as she kept her eyes focused on the book.

Astrea nodded, but she didn't know what else to say since she felt like she was standing in front of a thick wall. She couldn't break the silence because she felt like the hands of the lives that died a hundred years ago were covering her mouth and gripped around her neck. The guilt and the pain were so overwhelming that she wanted to cry and scream for help.

"Mother, I'm fine..." Aurelia said as she kept writing. "Count Rasmus made me understand how hard it would be for you. I understand why our ancestors chose to hide the truth. However, I don't want to live to protect the lies," she said as she slowly looked up at Astrea.

Astrea lowered her head, and didn't want her daughter to see how tired and exhausted she looked. Suddenly, she heard a chair being pushed away and footsteps that approached her. She slowly lifted her head and saw Aurelia on her knees beside her.

"I'm going to tell the world, mother. This is the choice that I'm going to do," Aurelia said as she held Astrea's hands. "I'm sorry for what will happen to us, to our family, and to our nation," she continued as she stared at Astrea's hands.

"No, Aurelia. You're doing the right thing. Although I swore to hide the truth, I did have a choice to reveal it, but I chose not to. I don't care about everything else, all I care about right now is you, my daughter..." Astrea shook her head as she held Aurelia's hands firmly.

"Thank you, mother..." Aurelia smiled as she leaned in and rested her head on Astrea's lap.

"No, thank you. You're going to lift us from this curse..." Astrea shook her head and began to caress Aurelia's hair gently. "Do what you must, and I'll be there behind you all the time," she assured.

Aurelia nodded and wrapped her arms around Astrea's waist.