The Kind of Evil

‎It had been 3 days since Rasmus came to Gratlan and the news had been spreading like wildfire. So many powerful figures came to the tower, requesting an audience for Lenin. They wanted to seek justice, to bring him to court, and some of them wanted him dead.

‎The Magic Tower had closed its doors to all the guests no matter who they were. Thanks to the Magic Tower's independence, nobody could touch it without Lenin's permission. The Magic Tower had always separated themselves from any political affairs, making it both powerful and powerless in the eye of the law.

‎Lenin had been busy reading Erglade's journal, not letting her eyes close other than from wetting her eyes. She had uncovered all the majority events and unraveled the truth behind his rebellion. She also found out about the Zevrathi and their followers that led toward powerful figures in Neva.

‎"Master, the Council of Neva is summoning you. They have the Council Supreme Court with them," Novia said as she stood in front of Lenin's desk. "They're questioning your decision to protect Count Blackheart in the tower, giving him protection from the law," she continued.

‎"How many council members attend this matter?" Lenin looked at Novia with her brows raised.

‎"Seven, so far. I'm not sure there will be more of them coming," Novia answered as she sat down across from Lenin.

‎Lenin scoffed as she shook her head, finding it funny.

‎"What can those people do? Put handcuffs on him? Point their swords at him?" Lenin asked as she kept reading. "Tell them I don't have a reason to answer their call since the majority of the members don't attend for this matter. If they don't like it, then come and try to breach the Magic Tower. If they manage to breakthrough, I'll give them Count Blackheart. If they think it's impossible, then don't even bother to think they're powerful enough to arrest him," she continued.

‎Novia didn't say a word and just stared at the book in Lenin's hand. Her expression was stoic, but her gaze was distant and almost empty. Lenin could see that, and decided to put down the book.

‎"Answer me, Novia. What do you call a soldier who kills their enemy?" Lenin asked, staring into Novia's eyes.

‎"Loyalty, because the soldier is following an order," Novia answered without hesitation as she stared back at Lenin.

‎"That's right. Loyalty trumps guilt, wrongdoings, and regret. However, the truth isn't that simple, it never is," Lenin said as she crossed her arms on the table, tapping her index finger against her forearm. "The only one who can be called innocent is a small child, the rest is naive. That's what Rasmus said back then, during the White Flower ceremony, once we won the war against demons in South Neva," she continued.

‎Novia's expression was unreadable when she kept staring at Lenin. She understood what Lenin was trying to say, about the Council and the current situation.

‎"Why are you quoting him, Master?" Novia asked, her voice cold, unable to hide her disapproval. "Are you really going to allow yourself to play in his game? To be a pawn?" She asked.

‎"Hmm, then give me a suggestion, Novia. Tell me, what do you want me to do," Lenin asked, her gaze and voice gentle as she clasped her hands and rested her chin on them. "The moment I chose to not play his game, that would be the day everything toppled to his will, including myself," she said, staring down at Erglade's journal.

‎"He could easily kill everyone, but he didn't. Why? Because he doesn't find joy in killing, and perhaps he rather has an audience, eye witnesses when he achieves his goal. He wants to prove to us that we are wrong and incapable. He wants to show that everything that happens, it will be our fault, not his..." Lenin continued as she closed her eyes.

‎"Right now, the reason why I chose to play along with Rasmus and chose to give him protection in this tower, is because I'm protecting humankind from bloodbath. It's not that I trust him, I would never trust him. It's because I trust the Council even less because they failed to see the reason why I'm keeping Rasmus here for everyone's safety," Lenin slowly opened her eyes and stared into Novia's eyes.

‎"If I showed my loyalty to the Council, I would open the gate, letting Rasmus go. If that happened, the moment he stepped foot out of the tower, death would follow him everywhere. So? Should I show my loyalty like a soldier that follows order?" Lenin raised her brows, staring into Novia's eyes.

‎Novia knew that, and she knew the reason behind Lenin for keeping Rasmus in the tower. She knew, she understood, but she was furious that they were so powerless that allowing a criminal, a man who did a genocide to stay in the tower.

‎"I can read your thoughts through your gaze and silence, Novia. You're angry and feel powerless, and I am too," Lenin said as she looked at the other book that Rasmus gave her. "Read this and see if humankind is truly far more innocent than Rasmus than you think..." She slid the book across the table toward Novia.

‎Novia looked at the book for a few seconds before she grabbed it. She looked at the book belonging to the Runesche royal family of the Refenus Kingdom. She raised her brows and was ready to read it when suddenly someone knocked on the door.

‎"Come in," Lenin glanced at the door.

‎A sage entered the room and lowered his head before he opened his mouth.

‎"His majesty Suncrown is asking for your audience, Great Sage," the Sage said.

‎Lenin was surprised when Julius Suncrown came to Gratlan. She looked at Novia, but Novia shook her head, not knowing that Julius was in Gratlan either. However, that changed everything since Julius held a high position in the Council of Neva.

‎"Julius is here in Gratlan? He's asking for an audience? Where? In the Council palace?" Lenin asked as she stood up.

‎"No, Great Sage. His Majesty Suncrown is at the entrance, on his own..." The Sage answered. "He said that he wouldn't be leaving until you told him to leave, Great Sage.

‎Lenin furrowed her brows and immediately walked to the center of the room, snapping her finger to activate the teleportation magic. The Sage lowered his head and immediately left the room while Novia decided to follow Lenin and stood by her side.

‎They teleported to the ground floor and hurriedly walked toward the entrance. Lenin found it weird that Julius came to Gratlan on his own, meaning he came not for the issue but for something else. When they arrived at the entrance, he saw a man wearing a black cloak, hiding his face with a hood and sitting on a bench.

‎"Your Majesty?" Lenin asked as she stood in front of Julius.

Julius slowly looked up and pulled down the hood, revealing his golden hair. He slowly got up and lowered his head to Lenin. It was as the Sage said that he was alone with no knights with him, not even Arandil.

"Great Sage..." Julius said, and then looked at Novia, "Lady Novia."

"Let's talk in private, Your Majesty," Lenin said as she pointed her hand at the big magic circle at the center of the massive hall.

They went back to Lenin's office and sealed the room with Mana barrier. There was only silence, and something seemed to be bothering Julius. He was shocked that Rasmus was in the tower as well, meaning that he didn't know anything about the issue and came for another matter.

"The reason of my visit isn't for Count Blackheart, but to inform you that the war is about to break," Julius said with a serious expression as he looked at Novia offering him a cup of tea, giving her a nod. "There has been movement from Nemu and the numbers of his followers are getting bigger every hour. There have been so many cases of murder and missing people, and the worst part is that some nations are planning to take over land that belonged to the Holy Nation. They want the corpse that the Angelis family has been preserved," he explained and took a sip of his tea.

"There have been movements on the other nations as well, forming factions everywhere. The land that belonged to the Refenus Kingdom is slowly being taken by all the neighboring nations, and it's a matter of time before they wage war to take the capital city," Julius said as he stared at his reflection in the tea. "The peace is so fragile that it's easily broken from the moment Saint Aurelia chose to reveal the dark secret to the world," he added.

"Fragile?" Lenin asked with her brows raised. "If Count Blackheart heard that, he would laugh at you, Your Majesty. He has predicted that all along, and he would love to hear that word, coming from you," she smiled as she stared blankly at the window.

Julius furrowed his brows and glanced at Novia, shocked by Lenin's comment about his words. Novia didn't say a word nor move her head, slowly realizing that things were exactly like what Rasmus had said.

"And why are you here, Your Majesty? Are you asking me to prevent the war from happening?" Lenin asked, crossing her legs.

"I would be a fool to believe that preventing the war was possible," Julius shook his head. "I'm here to ask you what you're going to do with this information? What kind of plan can we make," he answered.

"The Magic Tower will protect those who have nothing but the truth. I will protect Aurelia because she's the only one who's brave enough to reveal the truth, uphold the truth, embrace the truth and prepared for the worst," Lenin answered as she stared into Julius's eyes. She knew that the Sun Empire wouldn't be able to follow her decision because it would question their decision and risk their position in Central Neva if they decided to join hand with Aurelia who revealed the rotten and dark truth behind the Angelis family's sainthood. "That's my answer, Your Majesty. That's my plan," she added.

Julius's expression was unreadable until he closed his eyes, nodding with understanding. He realized that the discord had happened even among the Council, and feared that the damage would be more severe than he could predict.

"As long as there are lies, deception, and greed, Aurelia's faction will be the only faction I'll protect as I have sworn to protect someone like her, not the people," Lenin said with a serious expression.

"Yes, I understand, Great Sage," Julius slowly got up as he took a deep breath. "Thank you, for your time. If there's a chance for us to see each other again, I hope we will be fighting for the same cause," he said as he lowered his head and decided to leave.

Lenin didn't stand up nor looked at Julius, but she glanced at Novia, giving her a nod to escort him. Novia nodded with understanding and followed Julius, escorting him out of the Magic Tower.