The Kind of Evil-Chapter 190: Ruler in the shadow.

"Knights are deployed everywhere..." Daryus looked outside the carriage's window. "Although the situation seems better here than in East Neva, the tension is the same. One wrong move, South Neva will end up like East Neva..." he muttered.

"It already is, but it hasn't happened yet," Rasmus responded as he read a book. "People learn from failures. South Neva has seen the failure in East Neva and is trying to prevent something like that from happening. However, they will soon fail as well, and that's when the other continents learn from this failure. It will keep going on until one is succeeded or all of them fail," he added.

Daryus glanced at Rasmus with a cynical look on his face, disbelief in what he had just heard.

"Are you always seeing things in the worst way possible?" Daryus asked as he closed the curtain. "That's not realistic at all."

"The reason I see things in the worst possible situation is because if I found the solution to that situation even at its worst, the other possibilities won't be a problem," Rasmus answered as he flipped the page. "The reason why I chose to see things in the worst way possible is because of human nature. The moment they don't align with each other, conflicts and problems arise," he slowly lifted his head to stare Daryus in the eyes.

Daryus took a moment to think, and he didn't find a single fault in Rasmus's words. He had heard enough that even though humanity was on the brink of collapsing in the face of an evil force, they still had disagreements in how they dealt with it. That was another reason he only helped those who suffered because they all wanted one thing as they had shared the same struggle and pain.

"If you were Archduke Thalior and the leader of the South Neva Union, what would you do?" Daryus asked. Although he knew that the answer would be a cold and heartless one, he wanted to know how Rasmus took this situation and how to solve it.

"That depends on what kind of goal I'm looking at, Doctor. Be specific," Rasmus answered with a stoic expression.

"To save humanity from the face of evil," Daryus said with a serious expression.

"If that's the case, then I'll ask those leaders, kings, and emperors what they want first. Is it revenge? Is it survival? Is it out of righteousness? Or is it desperation?" Rasmus said as he closed the book and put it in his suit pocket. "Those who are desperate and want to survive can be easily persuaded, but those who want revenge have been blinded by their emotions. Then I'll give them what they want in exchange for cooperation."

"You want to give them what they want? Even if it cost the lives of the innocent?" Daryus furrowed his brows. "If you do that, won't it raise conflicts with the other party, which is the righteous one?"

"And what can they do? Not joining the cause to save humanity? It's three against one. They either swallow the pill that's hard to swallow or keep with their ideals that will turn people against them because they're the only ones who don't want to join the cause," Rasmus answered as he crossed his arms. "We both understand that you can't satisfy all parties, some have to follow whether they like it or not, but knowing the cause, they have no choice but to follow."

Daryus sighed as he looked down with his arms crossed, thinking thoroughly in discomfort of imagining Rasmus's leadership.

"What if you fail?" Daryus asked as he lifted his head to look at Rasmus.

"I won't because I know with whom I'm dealing and what kind of method that can stop those demons from growing," Rasmus answered as he looked out the window.

"If you can, then why don't you do it?" Daryus furrowed his brows in disbelief because if Rasmus knew how to prevent war, why did he not do it?

"I tried, but the ones with idealistic views of the world brought this whole mess with them. I already gave them the perfect plans to prevent it from happening, and yet they chose morals over efficiency. Now, who's the problem? Is it me or them? Look at how their ideals made innocent lives pay the price," Rasmus said with a stoic expression and watched the capital city in the distance.

Th𝓮 most uptodate nov𝑒ls are publish𝒆d on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.

"And yet you let it all happen?" Daryus clenched his fists as he stared at Rasmus.

"Again, the best teacher in life is failure. I tried to help, but they rejected it, and I'm not someone who dwells on emotions that feel hurt from rejections. I'm someone who stays quiet in the corner as everything unfolds. If they were right, then good, if they were wrong, then it's too bad," Rasmus responded calmly.

"Calm down, Doctor. I'm here because I want to put an end to this mess. Your frustration is pointless right now because you don't even have the power to change anything. Focus on what's best right now for the people you care so much about, then do it when the time comes," Rasmus continued and watched the carriage enter the capital city.

The carriage arrived at the mansion where Erlina lived. The mansion was the biggest one compared to the ones that they had seen along the way. Knights were guarding the gardens and the walls. Rasmus couldn't help but scoff and shake his head because he couldn't believe that Erlina could reach this far in a matter of months, from a madam of a brothel to a politician with influence and power.

When the knights mentioned his name, one of the knights went into the mansion to inform Erlina. It didn't take her long to come out of her luxurious and grandious mansion with a huge smile on her face as she opened her arms.

"My lovely benefactor!" Erlina hugged Rasmus and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You have grown taller and more handsome..." she teased with a smirk as she pulled back and placed her hands on his chest.

"You're a prominent figure of the nation, and yet you still dress like a madam," Rasmus smiled as he looked at the revealing black dress she wore.

"Oh, please. What's the difference? All I do is to please people, the difference is that they're more rich and influential," Erlina chuckled as she shook her head and took a step back. "Come, I know you're here because you have something to talk about. So, let's get comfortable," she said as she signaled them to follow her into the mansion.

They were gathered in the spacious and grandious meeting hall with the servants and maids serving them tea and expensive wine to their preferences. Once all the maids and servants had left the room, Erlina instantly put on a serious expression as she took a sip of her tea, observing Javi and Daryus.

Rasmus was introduced to the additional people that he had brought under his wings. Erlina could see that Daryus was the complete opposite of Rasmus based on appearance alone and the way he behaved. It reminded her of Carrion but was more intellectual and more open-minded than Carrion. She knew that Javi was the type who followed orders, so she didn't bother to pay attention to him.

Erlina told Rasmus everything that had happened since he left Eddenvilla a while ago. She followed Rasmus's advice to become a landowner and bought more than half of the buildings in Eddenvilla and more than a quarter in the capital city. She used persuasion to the Prime Minister to sell the lands and houses to her because of the current situation.

People left South Neva, leaving a lot of buildings and places abandoned with no income to the nation. She used the wealth that Rasmus lent to her and bought land and buildings to keep the income. She had spread her wings to a few towns and small towns across the nation, making her the richest in assets compared to others.

With that much power, she finally got a seat in parliament and became one of the people who governed the nation. She knew a lot of people and gained support from those she had helped and was close with. She also gained the title of Marchioness in the process, which made her a noble lady.

"This nation is all yours to play with," Erlina smirked as she rested her cheek on her palm, staring at Rasmus with a soft and gentle gaze of admiration.

"It's yours, not mine," Rasmus responded as he shook his head with a faint smile on his face.

"Oh, my benefactor, you really love to rule in the shadow," Erlina chuckled and took a sip of her tea. "If that's what you wish for, then I have nothing to say. However, I'm here if you need anything, and I mean anything," she said as she put the teacup down.

"I know," Rasmus nodded and took a sip of his tea.