It was late at night and Rasmus was busy reading the assignments that his students had made. He was surprised that each of them used their unique approach to gain recognition from the people around them. Deep down he felt proud about this and he didn't realize he was smiling the whole time.
"These kids are bright..." Rasmus chuckled, but then his smile disappeared as he put down the papers. "Too bright for my taste as I had expected. These kids will make a better world together," he muttered as he looked at the stars through the window.
Rasmus got up from his desk and went to bed since it was late.
Rasmus stared at the massive painting on the wall above the stairs while holding a book. He was still young, and the book was almost as big as his torso.
He looked at the woman, who wore a veil that covered her whole face. She wore a long white dress that only showed off her silky, smooth, long white hair. He wondered what his mother looked like because he had never seen her.
"I knew you would be here, Young Master," a maid hurriedly walked down the stairs. "Come, your father is waiting for you in his office," she reached out to Rasmus with her right hand.
Rasmus walked into the long hallway where all the maids were busy cleaning the mansion he lived in. Every wall and space on the wall, they were filled with paintings of his faceless mother. People always told him that his mother was the most beautiful flower in Neva that could be called one-of-a-kind.
"Count, are you looking for me?" Rasmus looked at the handsome man sitting at his desk, busy with the documents in his hands and on the table.
The man was Rasmus's father, Erglade Blackheart. A man with his long black hair and sharp eyes with silver pupils. He had his sleeves rolled up, showing off his battle scars on his arms. The proof of his achievement and loyalty to the Refenus Kingdom.
Erglade stood up and approached Rasmus who was only as tall as Erglade's knees. He went down to his knees and slowly removed his black gloves, showing the burned scars that looked hideous.
"I'm a great man that the whole kingdom looks up to, but I'm nowhere near to being called a father," Erglade looked at Rasmus with his cold expression.
"You have grown up and got taller than the last time I remembered. You must have begun to realize that something isn't right about me and your mother, but I can assure you that one day you'll understand," he explained as he put his left hand on Rasmus's head.
Rasmus had no attachment toward his parents which made him look so confused by what Erglade said. He never looked at Erglade as his father, he looked at Erglade as an admirable and respected family head of the Blackheart family.
"Do you want to see your mother?" Erglade asked, still with his cold expression.
Rasmus raised his eyebrows in disbelief that the day had finally come. He slowly nodded his head because he was wary of the offer.
Erglade left his office with Rasmus following him from behind. He walked down the long hallway, and there were two doors in the center of the hallway. He walked past those doors which made Rasmus confused because Rasmus thought his mother was in the room at the right door.
Rasmus's confusion and curiosity turned into fear when Erglade brought him to the entrance to the dungeon. There were guards near the entrance, and they immediately lined up to bow their heads to Erglade.
While Rasmus was in fear, he noticed all the knights were gathering around the training ground at night. It was unusual since he had always observed the training ground for years. He had never seen all the knights gathered and trained since the morning.
Erglade and Rasmus walked into the dungeon. Rasmus was welcomed by the damp air with a weird smell that made him cover his nose. Erglade kept walking and didn't care about what Rasmus was going through.
The dungeon became darker the deeper they went. Once they reached the end, there were two torches on the wall with a steel door in the middle. There were three knights guarding the door, and they immediately moved away from it.
Erglade unlocked the door and slowly pushed it open. The door looked heavy because of the sound it made.
The room was dark with no light, only the torches from outside the room that illuminated the entrance. Rasmus was a bit scared to walk into the room because he heard the rattling sound of chains.
"Say hi to your mother," Erglade coldly stared at Rasmus.
Rasmus was frozen still as he stared into the darkness. He saw a pale hand come out of the darkness, and when it was about to reach his face he woke up. His eyes fluttered open and realized it was a dream.
"That dream again..." Rasmus muttered under his breath as he massaged his nose bridge.
After he washed his face and took a bath, he took a stroll in the garden to enjoy the morning sun. He watched the students not wear the uniform since it was the weekend. They all left the academy and went to Gratlan City to enjoy their free time.
"Good morning, instructor," Monica greeted Rasmus when she saw him in the garden as well.
"Good morning," Rasmus nodded. "Oh, I almost forgot. Do you have any plans for today?" He raised his brows.
"No, I don't waste my time like other students," Monica shook her head as she watched the other students laughing and talking in groups as they all walked toward the entrance gate.
"Perfect. Shall we discuss it now? About demonic beasts and why Aurelia can handle it while you can't?" Rasmus asked as he crossed his arms. "Let's talk about this matter in my dorm room," he looked at Monica with a serious expression.
Monica stared at Rasmus for a moment before she agreed to follow him to his room.
All the staff looked at Rasmus in disbelief as Monica followed him into the staff's dormitory. They were curious, but they respected Monica's status and didn't dare to do anything.
"Would you prefer the door to be closed or open?" Rasmus asked as soon as Monica entered his room.
"You want to talk privately, correct?" Monica asked back.
Rasmus nodded and slowly closed the door and then escorted Monica to the table.
"Where should we start?" Rasmus removed his suit and hung it on the chair he was going to sit on. "I believe the last time we talked, you said that Aurelia could fend off the demonic energy..." he pointed out as he sat down.
"Yes, compared to the previous saints, Aurelia holds a tremendous amount of divine power. They said her devotion and love toward their God is incomparable which is the reason why," Monica nodded.
"That's that, but why is it impossible to find a way to defeat demon beasts? Letting the public not know about any method to defeat them is baffling," Rasmus furrowed and stared at Monica.
Monica took her time to think of an answer to that question.
"Because it's not their concern, and even if they knew how, they would have zero chance to win against them. The records are proof that only the Paladins and the Templars have successfully defeated and eradicated them. All the civilians and the other knights were killed during their attempt to subjugate demon beasts," Monica explained in detail.
"Even magic won't work on them?" Rasmus raised his eyebrows.
"Demonic beasts are the result of them getting corrupted by demonic energy. As we have known, demonic energy originated from Dragon's Veins which also means that magic is the accumulation of Mana that originated from Dragon's Veins," Monica explained. "With that being said, demonic beasts are immune to magic, but only to some extent. Powerful spells could kill them depending on how strong the demonic beasts are," she added.
Rasmus realized there were still a lot of things that were hidden. If he wanted to take over Neva, he needed to know everything about it. He knew that he was nowhere near knowing the world he lived in.
He needed to know about Paladins and Templars. He only knew that Paladins were knights who were blessed by the saints and received divine power. On the other hand, Templars were the elites among the elites that belonged to the Angelis and the Sancticus families.
Their job was solely to eradicate demonic beasts to prevent them from growing in numbers. Their works and their achievements weren't known to the public. Another thing that made them different was the fact that their identities were hidden from the public as well.
"So the easiest way to defeat them is using divine power which only the blessed knights or Paladins and Templars can have..." Rasmus hummed as he rubbed his chin. "Now that you said it that way, I'm getting more interested in finding a demonic beast," he smiled as he leaned his back against the chair.
"You're going to kill yourself if you think you can deal with it by yourself. You have no idea what you're dealing with," Monica said with a serious expression, giving a stern warning to Rasmus.
"Thank you for your concern," Rasmus stood up and walked toward the door. "I don't want to take your resting time. We will discuss this matter with Aurelia in the next discussion," he opened the door for Monica.
Monica stood up and left the room without saying a word.