The Kind of Evil-Chapter 273: Maturity.

‎"Count, there's something that I would like to ask," Anastasha asked after she chewed her food. "Your battle, I heard you were the ones who made it possible. You planned everything from the moment you raised the conflicts between people from distrust to the point you defeated the demon army and the revolutionary parties," she continues and wiped her mouth with the napkin.

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‎"You did all that in a span of a year. You brought the whole continent into chaos and managed to conquer it in just a year. How did you do it?" Anastasha asked as she tilted her head.

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‎Rasmus chewed his food, and he could barely taste anything because he was losing his sense of smell and taste. He noticed the curiosity in Anastasha's eyes, and there was something else in them.

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‎"Do you think it's possible? For someone who came to a new continent with no power and wealth to do something like that?" Rasmus asked and looked at Anastasha.

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‎"I would say no, that would be impossible. A year would only make them know enough about the place they were living in, and a few people in it," Anastasha shook her head. "But here you are, the man himself who could achieve that," she pointed her hand at Rasmus.

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‎"If I have to be honest, Count. I wouldn't be able to do it in a year, perhaps three years," Anastasha said as she clasped her hands together in front of her mouth. "Was it even a year? The appearance of the emissaries wasn't even a year ago, so you did it in less than a year," she continued.

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‎Rasmus took a sip of his tea and looked into Anastasha's expression. The curiosity and confusion were written all over her face.

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‎"It wasn't me who did it, Princess," Rasmus shook his head. "It would be possible if there was no momentum," he revealed.

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‎"It doesn't matter, Count. Even with the appearance of the emissaries of evil, the distrust, and the fear, a year wouldn't be enough to do what you did," Anastasha responded with a serious expression. "You fooled Kiel, a being who could see through your mind. That alone is bothering me," she added, and how she remembered her encounter with Kiel that made her sit on the edge of the seat.

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‎"I wasn't fooling him, Princess. I do want to destroy humankind. I told you, I'm only using the momentum. I only hit the cracked ice and made it shatter, that's all," Rasmus answered calmly as he continued eating. "I used the information I had, the people I needed, and places to be. That was all," he continued and chewed his foot.

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‎Anastasha sighed as she leaned back, showing a bit of disappointment that the answer was so simple. She hoped that Rasmus would tell his methods because the mood was right. She was wrong that Rasmus would lower his guard, but at the same time, it baffled her because she didn't know if he was telling the truth or not.

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‎Based on the reports Anastasha got about Rasmus, she knew a lot about him from the moment he set foot in Eddenvilla. She knew about his schemes against the trading and shipping companies, his involvement with the Corrupted faction. Every small detail of him, she knew all of them, and that included his personality.

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‎"(A man who never speaks lies...)" Anastasha stared at Rasmus with a sharp gaze. "(No wealth and no power? You don't desire them in the first place. You want destruction of humankind, but you fight against the very thing that shares the same goal as yours...)" she continued.

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‎"You played with both sides and yet you chose against both of them. You don't want humanity to fall to those demons because you would lose your ground in the end. But why does it matter?" Anastasha asked the thing that had bothered her for a while.

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‎"Peace of mind, Princess. What's the point of achieving what you want but don't have peace of mind?" Rasmus asked back as he glanced at Anastasha.

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‎At that moment, Anastasha realized the gap between her and him. She was trying to think like Rasmus and went far ahead with her thoughts. However, when she got the answer, she found out how mature he was. There was no ego behind his reasoning, only clarity.

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‎The moment she realized that, the more it opened her eyes. She tried to recall conversations she had with him, and she noticed that he never pried on her. He only asked questions and accepted the answers as is. On the other hand, she kept prying on the answer, trying to dig more and more from him.

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‎Anastasha sighed quietly as she clenched her jaw, feeling like a child who stood in front of an adult. Her level of maturity was nowhere near Rasmus's, and she only found out at that moment. She thought she was level-headed and could suppress her ego, but she was wrong because she had never met someone that was on her level.

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‎"Have you ever thought that, Princess? That every goal and achievement are basically to achieve peace of mind?" Rasmus asked as he took a sip of his tea.

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‎"No... I have not..." Anastasha answered, and there was a bit of shame in her voice.

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‎"Do you agree with me in that, Princess?" Rasmus asked as he glanced at Anastasha.

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‎Anastasha couldn't answer that question so easily because she felt like the answer would define her. She shouldn't have been bothered by it, but she did. She knew the answer wouldn't change anything or affect anything, and yet she hesitated.

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‎"Somehow... I disagree, Count," Anastasha answered as she looked at Rasmus with a straight face. "But I could be wrong..." she averted her gaze and stared at her plate.

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‎"It's not what's right or wrong, Princess. It's a question that differentiates who we are," Rasmus put down his teacup. "You have a burning ambition within you. The thrill when you achieved the impossible, it felt really great, wasn't it?" He asked.

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‎"Yes, it did. But that's how everyone should feel, no?" Anastasha furrowed her brows as she stared at Rasmus. "Goals and achievements are important to us. If you don't feel anything, I don't believe you're living a life," she continued.

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‎Rasmus smiled as he poured tea into his cup while Anastasha found his smile unnerving.

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‎"You're wondering how I could achieve something impossible in less than a year. Then here's my question. If I wasted my time to be thrilled or euphoric about it, clouding my senses whenever I achieved anything, you think I could achieve this in less than a year?" Rasmus asked as he stared into Anastasha's eyes.

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‎Anastasha narrowed her eyes, finding out how unnerving it was to know that Rasmus didn't even think his achievement was worth thinking about. She had never seen anyone like him other than those who had already lost everything and lost the purpose of living. She then wondered if it was the case? But if that was the case, he wouldn't bother to find peace of mind.

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‎"Perhaps not..." Anastasha answered as she shook her head. "So you're saying that all you feel right now is peace of mind after you manage to defeat the demon forces?" She asked.

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‎"That's why I'm here, princess, having a casual conversation. You on the other hand, invite me here because you have ulterior motives. There isn't a glimpse of peace in your eyes, Princess," Rasmus answered and took a sip of his tea.

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‎"It's better than pretending nothing bothers me, Count. I would never live in an illusion, pretending to be someone I'm not," Anastasha responded with a serious expression.

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‎"That we both can agree on, Princess. We both live in a different reality, however, maturity is beyond realities. One day you'll find the peace of mind to be the most important thing to have," Rasmus said with a soft smile.

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‎"Maybe you're right, Count," Anastasha smiled as she stared Rasmus in the eyes.

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‎"And maybe you're not wrong either, Princess," Rasmus responded and took a sip of his tea.

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‎"You sounded like an old man, Count. Terrifyingly, you remind me of my father," Anastasha looked at Rasmus as she took a sip of her tea. "Not something that I would like to see in anyone," she muttered.

The moment Rasmus heard Anastasha's father being mentioned, it piqued his interest. He wondered what the head of the Asghar family would be like if his children were all so cunning and smart. Seeing how Anastasha wasn't fond of her father and the look in her eyes that showed a bit of fear in them made him even more curious.

"Princess, let's not use each other as you wanted," Rasmus suggested as he looked at Anastasha. "How about we help each other in the future, without asking for anything in return. Something that only friends would do," he offered as he leaned back.

Anastasha was surprised when she heard Rasmus's proposal, and somehow, it assured her and intrigued her at the same time.

"What a nice offer, Count," Anastasha smiled as she put down her teacup. "Yes, I would love that. As a friend," she nodded in agreement.