Rasmus and Rullein saw Aider and the others coming out of the parlor room. There was an unsettling feeling around them, and the fact Aider was silent and seemed to either break his character as Krus or something else. Luke and Orlean were still inside the parlor, having a private conversation.
They both followed Aider from behind, still playing as his butler and maid without saying a word. There was only silence in the long hallway, not a single of them said a word, but their eyes filled with so many thoughts. Rullein couldn't go and check what was happening inside since there were guards that were keeping an eye on them outside the parlor, it was impossible for her to disappear into thin air.
"I'll go ahead and rest," Jurgen said and decided to follow the maid that was assigned to him.
Mira, Normen, and Vergeus nodded in agreement and also decided to rest after what they had witnessed. Aider was alone with the maid that was assigned to him, to lead him to his chamber in the mansion. Aider then decided to do the same, letting the maid know that he wanted to rest.
Rasmus and Rullein kept stealing glances at each other, wondering what was happening. Without waiting a single moment, Rullein gently brushed the back of her hand with Aider's, using that touch and connection to take his memories of what had happened earlier. Her eyes narrowed for a bit before she slowed down to keep walking at the same pace as Rasmus.
"Oh, you'll love it," Rullein muttered, quiet enough that it didn't even sound like a whisper, but Rasmus could hear it with his sensitive hearings.
Rasmus glanced at Rullein, giving her a nod with understanding.
As soon as Aider entered his chamber, Rullein pressed her finger on her lips, making sure he wouldn't say a word. She slowly wrapped the room with dark energy, thin enough that it wouldn't be detected by the demons. Once she managed to do that, she put away her finger from her lips.
"We are clear now. Nobody can listen to our conversation here," Rullein said with confidence as she walked toward the minibar and decided to indulge herself with alcohol. "Give me your hand," she reached out her hand to Rasmus.
Rasmus walked toward Rullein and held her hand firmly, allowing the memories that Rullein was about to transfer it to his head. In almost an instant, he could see Aider's memories when he walked down the stairs until he arrived in a spacious cave with the massive stone double door. He watched the dozens of big statues that were revealed to be the existing Zevrathi's family members.
Rasmus found out why those ringleaders were utterly shocked and speechless because he was too. He watched as Luke guided them around the cave until they arrived in a room, a big room inside the cave with a dozen long bench seats. It looked like a temple, a church-like hall where people prayed. At the end of the room, there was a statue of an angel-like being, holding a sword and a scale.
Luke revealed that in a week there would be a gathering, an offering ceremony down there, and he wanted all the ringleaders to join. The ringleaders had become a big part of the cult, something was oddly suspicious and unnerving rather than a reward in their eyes, and they didn't know what to feel about it.
That was when Aider's memories ended, and Rasmus went back to reality. He took a deep breath, bothered by the statue he saw on the altar rather than anything else. He poured himself a glass of whiskey and downed it in a single gulp before he decided to think. Seeing his reaction, both Aider and Rullein were confused because it seemed that he knew something that they didn't. They knew for sure nothing could shock him, and yet this did shock him, so they wondered which one was it.
"(An angel holding a sword and a scale... Saint Michael?)" Rasmus thought with his brows furrowed, rubbing his thumb against the digits of his fingers. His gaze was distant as he looked down at the empty glass in his hand. "(They worship Angel Michael? Is Michael the one who granted Divine power to the Zevrathi family? There are too many holes to connect)" He sighed as he put down the glass.
"Are you going to tell us what's going on?" Rullein asked with her brows raised. "Or are you going to stare blankly for the rest of the day?" She added and tilted her head.
"Even if I wanted to tell you, you wouldn't understand," Rasmus shook his head as he crossed his arms. "This is something that I can't even explain either, too many holes to guess and to connect the dots. First, why the Wraiths and the ones that had been hiding in the shadows and the Lord knew about the Zevrathi family members' whereabouts while someone like the Runesche royal family, a royal family knew nothing about their whereabouts? Are these two groups not on the same page? They don't serve the same cause? They keep each other blind from what they know. Something doesn't add up, and is impossible to guess," he explained as he leaned against the wall, his brows furrowing.
Listening to Rasmus's words, it convinced both of them that it sounded complicated.
"I can't tell you anything until Aider finds out what's going on down there or until I meet Videl and talk about this with him," Rasmus pointed out as he looked at Rullein.
Rullein raised her brows, wondering why Rasmus had mentioned Videl until she remembered that Videl was the Devil. She wondered if it had something to do with hell or the world that she didn't understand completely. On the other hand, Aider was completely lost, not understanding what those two were talking about.
"Should I be worried, Count? About this offering ceremony?" Aider asked with his head tilted.
"You should. We don't know if you're all going to be the offering or not," Rasmus answered as he looked out the window, staring at the highest building in the whole city, the Suncrown Palace. "Any solution to that, Rullein? A way to keep Aider safe from whatever that's going to happen. You can't leave my side because it will be suspicious," he asked with his brows raised.
Rullein hummed, thinking of a way to keep Aider alive but at the same time kept being seen. She couldn't use her power, not wanting to risk that her energy would be exposed to whoever that would be in the offering ceremony.
"There's one way, and that's to switch places with him. I'll be Krus and I can make Aider's appearence to be a maid, but that also has a risk of being caught when they felt my energy," Rullein answered, not having a solid solution without any risk. "What do you think? Do you want to trust his skill in survival and hope for the best that they're not going to use any of the ringleaders as an offering? All possible solutions have their own risks, but it's better to keep us hidden and sacrificing him other than exposing us just for this guy's life," she pointed out.
Rasmus looked at Aider, and knew that Rullein was right.
"It seems like you're on your own, Aider. Just behave, and try to use leverage if they're indeed trying to use all of you as offerings. You can reveal whatever you want about me," Rasmus said with a straight face. "I never roll a dice and hope it's in my favor, but I think there's no reason for them to sacrifice all of you, at least not yet since they still need people like Krus and the others for this situation," he assured.
"So heartless," Aider giggled eerily as he stared coldly at Rasmus. "But that's fine. Knowing that you were considering my life earlier, meaning you're not that heartless after all," he grinned as he nodded with understanding.
"I'm heartless, but I'm not unreasonable," Rasmus answered as he sat down on the chair, looking at Aider. "Survival is your utmost importance, Aider. I want you to know that," he said with a serious expression.
"Of course, but I hope that you can give me a reward for doing such a good job for this," Aider grinned, glaring at Rasmus in excitement.
"That depends on what you're asking, so you need to stay alive for that," Rasmus nodded with understanding. "You should get some rest because tomorrow, you're on your own," he suggested.
Rasmus was still deeply bothered by what he saw, the statue of Angel Michael. He found it both suspicious and concerning because an Archangel that was said to be the one who defeated Satan appeared to be connected with Satan in this world. Knowing that statue existed long before the new era, meaning there was a chance that the one who killed all the True Dragons, a force that could kill the most powerful being in Neva to be Angels or an Angel.
"Videl would laugh at this..." Rasmus muttered to himself.