The Kind of Evil

Rasmus listened to the Jester's full story and who he was before he became a Jester. He was an ordinary farmer, but he learned the art of stealth, espionage, and assassination from Celline. He had the talent to learn those things and learned all three arts in just a few years.

The Jester met with Celline similar to when she met her end, being heavily wounded. He treated Celline's wounds and hid her from her enemies. During that whole week, he fell in love with her, but she pushed him away as she distanced herself from him. However, fate made them see each other more than once or twice.

Celline was tasked with embezzlement and stealing documents from corrupted low-ranking nobles and merchants. The Jester, who was a farmer was one of the many people that suffered from those people. Countless of times Celline came to rescue him as a token of gratitude for saving her life.

"Celline wasn't your late father's favorite, Count. She was nothing to the other Black Hands, and she always tried to push beyond her limits, and that oftentimes caused more problems. She wanted to prove herself worthy," the Jester said as he stared at the gate entrance where he hung the heads of the royal family. "Celline didn't want to admit it, but your father was a man who didn't respect others until they proved they were worthy of his respect. He was an arrogant prick in my eyes, and if only he didn't act like that, Celline wouldn't have tried to push herself beyond her limit and capability. She would be still alive by now..." he muttered with his jaw clenched, staring into Rasmus's eyes with his disfigured and deformed face.

Rasmus only heard the good things about his father from others, and he knew there was more than just that. He knew that Erglade wasn't a perfect human, and finally he could see one of Erglade's traits.

"So you despised the Blackheart family and the royal family equally?" Rasmus asked, his gaze cold.

"Yes..." The Jester answered, the word filled with unending hatred and rage. "But you weren't the one who caused Celline's death, and I'm grateful that you gave me the opportunity to fulfill my revenge," he said as he lowered his head.

"I see that you're quite rational even for someone who doesn't care about morality anymore," Rasmus said with his arms crossed, staring up at the hanging heads of the royal family above him. "But you haven't given your name, Nameless man."

For a brief moment, the Jester's gaze seemed to be searching for something. He almost forgot his name, the name that Celline used to mutter and give comfort to him.

"Aider... Aider Sullivan..." The Jester muttered.

"What are you going to do now, Aider? To live a quiet life until you finally die in peace?" Rasmus asked as he turned his head toward the entrance and saw Rullein walking beside Aris. "But the question is, do you even feel peace after you have achieved what you came for? Or is it the pain and the nightmare remains?" He asked as he walked away toward Aris, to check if she was okay.

Aider slowly turned his head toward Rasmus, thinking about what he had just heard. He knew the moment he embraced his madness, peace had turned into something dark and comforting, an illusion. He slowly looked down as he listened to the sound of dripping blood from above that hit the ground. He didn't know what he wanted to do in life because he never thought he would reach this far, to take the lives of the royal family.

Aris looked at Aider and was confused as to what had happened to his face. However, Rullein placed her hands on Aris's shoulder, allowing Aris to watch the gruesome memory of Aider first-hand. It felt like a blink of an eye when she relived Aider's memory and watched how humans butchered and mutilated Celline.

"You're feeling better?" Rasmus asked, staring into Aris's eyes.

"Yes, but it's complicated..." Aris answered as she stared at Aider, realizing and understanding how his madness was justified. "I might have been tainted," she said and stared into Rasmus's eyes.

Rasmus furrowed his brows, not understanding what tainted meant in Aris's explanation. However, Rullein chose to explain it to him that basically Aris's body had been marked. She would be easily detected by the demon's master and those who were close to the master. To put it simply, Aris wouldn't be able to hide her identity even if she changed her appearance as her whole existence had been marked by Satan.

"Smart..." Rasmus muttered under his breath, realizing that Satan had brought the wyverns with the sole purpose of marking him or Aris. "Once we regroup with Videl and Serena, let's see if those two can do something about that mark. Until then, don't bother to think about it," he said, nodding with understanding.

Aris nodded with understanding while Rullein had been smiling and grabbing Aris's shoulders as if those two had something intimate going on. Those two were usually against each other's throats, but somehow their closeness was a bit unnerving to Rasmus.

Ayla and Erdinand walked out of the palace and approached Rasmus before they lowered their heads.

"Everyone is ready to leave, My Lord. What will be our task?" Erdinand asked.

Rasmus turned around to look at the Jester who seemed to be frozen in time. He then glanced at Erdinand, wondering if he knew anything about Celline.

"Do you know Celline that used to be a Black Hand?" Rasmus asked.

"Celline? My Lord?" Erdinand furrowed his brows, surprised that Rasmus knew about Celline. "Yes, My Lord. She was a part of the Black Hand but went missing during a mission, and we assumed she's dead," he answered.

"She's dead," Rasmus nodded his head, affirming that. "That Jester over there is her husband. Do you know that?" He asked with his brows raised.

Erdinand and Ayla looked at Aider, they were shocked that Celline had a husband. They had never seen any Black Hands to have any form of relationship or intimacy toward other people. Ayla looked at the Jester's real face, deformed and disfigured, slowly understanding what had driven him to insanity.

"Aider, can I borrow your time?" Rasmus called.

Aider slowly turned his head to look at Rasmus, Ayla and Erdinand. He didn't care when Ayla showed a bit of discomfort when she saw his face. He slowly walked toward them with a cold and empty gaze.

"Have you decided what are you going to do with your life now?" Rasmus asked.

"No, I haven't, Count," Aider answered as he shook his head.

"I can't give you purpose in life, nobody can," Rasmus said as he stared into Aider's eyes, never bothered or lingered on his deformed face. "But I can give you something to do, to prevent the pain and the nightmare from consuming you completely," he offered as he crossed his arms.

"To be your worker, just like these people?" Aider smirked as he tilted his head toward Erdinand and Ayla. "To be used and then be forgotten when you're done with me?" He added.

Aider chuckled eerily as he shook his head and then slowly stared at Rasmus. He knew that Rasmus was trying to be considerate when the face Rasmus could easily make him bend and forced him to accept the offer in the end. However, he didn't want that to happen because it would only make himself look weak and powerless.

"I believed I had made a deal with you, Count. You gave me the stage and allowed me to kill the royal family with my own hands. In exchange, you wanted me to be a part of your circle, and I remember that," Aider said and turned into manic laughter, trying to prepare himself for what was about to come. "Fine, I'll accept your offer, Count. Tell me what you want me to do," he grinned as he glared at Rasmus.

"I want you to spread the words that I, Rasmus Blackheart killed the royal family and all the guests during Princess Amarylis's coming-of-age ceremony. And I want you to tell the world that I'm also the one who flattened the capital city, killing all the innocent lives," Rasmus said with a cold smile on his face.

"You want me to travel across nations to speak of your deeds? Me?" Aider asked.

"You have an amazing skill to recite, your poems, your melodies, and your songs. You will be the only person that I could think of to spread my deeds with such attraction," Rasmus answered as he looked at Erdinand and Ayla. "However, you won't be alone. I will spread the Black Hands to do the same but in their own methods," he added as he nodded.

Erdinand and Ayla lowered their heads, understanding their task.

"What about us? Where are we going?" Rullein asked with her head tilted.

"We are going to the Cerdantis Kingdom. We are going to pay Nemu a visit," Rasmus answered as he looked up at the sky. "It's time we push the rat into the corner and let it dig and bit every obstacle that prevents him from escaping."