"Everyone leave..." Malik said while suppressing his anger, clenching his jaw as he glared at Rasmus. "That also applies to those women of yours, Count."

Rasmus didn’t need to tell Aris and the others to leave since they already stood up and were ready to leave. Malik’s wives and children also made their way out of the room, and they were checking their youngest, checking if he was really fine after what had happened to him.

Once the room was empty, leaving only Malik and Rasmus alone in the room, Malik took a deep breath and exhaled deeply. He was furious, but for the first time in his life, he felt powerless that nothing would matter, that nothing could change anything, that he couldn’t do what he wanted to do to Rasmus.

"That was your fault, not mine. Blaming me for it is foolish," Rasmus said before Malik could find anything to say. "You were the one who led to this, not me." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"You just made yourself an enemy of Ashenvale, Count Blackheart. Nothing will change that," Malik said with a cold gaze, his desire to slit Rasmus’ throat was unbearable.

"Is that what you want? Fine, I’ll kill your whole family then," Rasmus responded with a serious expression. "You were powerless once, you want to be powerless for the second time? For someone like you to be swayed by emotion, it seems the empire you have built will soon to crumble," he asked as he looked at his hand, the hand that was covered in the blood of an innocent child.

Malik clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white, he then slammed against the golden table. He wasn’t built like a warrior, but his anger and his desire to shred the man in front of him into pieces was so strong that his fist made a dent on the gold table and broke his whole hand. However, he didn’t feel pain, he felt anything but pain. When he glanced at Rasmus, he saw something worse than he had expected. He didn’t see arrogance, didn’t see satisfaction, or even any emotion coming out of Ramsus’ eyes, utterly nothing.

"So I just brought a lion into my den," Malik scoffed as he held his wrist, slowly registering the pain.

"No, you made me become one," Rasmus responded with a calm expression.

"Fine, what do you want?" Malik knew that nothing would change anything if he kept wasting his time dwelling with his emotions against someone who didn’t indulge in one.

"Nothing, I want nothing but to meet with my former student, Valari. I had no intention of doing anything," Rasmus answered as he crossed his legs and leaned back to make himself comfortable. "But now that you asked, I guess I want to know about the situation here, especially about a woman called Anastasha Asghar and her situation. You must have heard that I came here with her, so might as well ask the obvious," he added.

Malik narrowed his eyes, and it was jarring to see someone who could be so impassive yet so threatening and dangerous.

"I don’t know anything about her, not like I care about her and her family. I never tried to make any connection with them," Malik answered as he felt the stinging pain that had slowly overwhelmed his mind. "If you’re asking about the situation here in East Neva, you already know a lot from her in the first place. I don’t think you need to hear anything else from me," he pointed out.

"Then what about the rest of the south of East Neva? Your position is threatened by the Urion family, at least that’s what I heard. The shift in power, what do you see?" Rasmus raised his brows.

Malik scoffed as he shook his head, and then suddenly the same creature appeared behind his couch. A creature that looked like a garuda, something that Rasmus had finally registered after what had just happened earlier. Malik showed his broken hand to the garuda and the creature suddenly brushed his hand with its feathered wing. The hand had healed, and the garuda stayed behind him as if it was his request to have someone or something by his side while facing Rasmus.

"The Urion family? They’re nothing. This wasn’t the first time they tried, they have tried this for generations, but they failed miserably. I’m not being arrogant here, Count. The Urion family, they’re nothing like my family, they’re divided. Do you think a divided family can achieve something when their desire never alligned?" Malik crossed his arms and stared into Rasmus’ eyes.

"Divided? And your family isn’t? Seeing as you have so many children, meaning you also have a lot of siblings. What makes yours different than theirs?" Rasmus furrowed his brows.

"Because a desire for revenge isn’t for anyone. The Ashenvale family doesn’t have any desire for revenge. We all have a desire for power, yes, but here, you saw it, didn’t you? The submission, the absolute power I possess over my own family. I made sure I understand their characters from the early age, give them what they need and prevent them from wanting more," Malik revealed, his expression still cold, still harboring a desire to rip out the eyes of the man in front of him.

Rasmus narrowed his eyes, finding it applaudable and fascinating. He then remembered the connection between Ashenvale and the Sand Tower, the place where the most skilled and deadliest assassins were raised. He remembered his time when he was there, the fact the Sand Tower raised the children, turning them into cold killing machines.

"So you raised your children just like the masters of the Sand Tower but with a more subtle and acceptable method?" Rasmus’ brows arched.

Malik wasn’t surprised that Rasmus suddenly mentioned the Sand Tower when he found out Rasmus had been with Anastasha. He didn’t need to deny Rasmus’ question, but he didn’t need to answer it either. He chose to be silent and didn’t give any response to Rasmus’ question.

"That doesn’t change the fact that the Urion family got supports from two of the Sultans. There’s always first in everything," Rasmus continued, knowing that Malik chose silence from the question.

"And why is that matter to you, Count? What’s your purpose here?" Malik arched his brows. "You have been asking me a lot of questions, I believe it’s my turn to ask," he pointed out.

"I believe you already have some ideas as to why I’m here, especially when I came here with Anastasha Asghar. I came to give my support," Rasmus answered. "Her plan aligns with mine, or to be exact, it helps with mine in the future," he added.

Malik narrowed his eyes this time, not expecting Rasmus to answer with the truth.

"And what exactly is her plan?" Malik tilted his head, staring at Rasmus with a serious expression.

"She wanted to take over the Asghar family and rule over the whole continent," Rasmus answered without hesitation.

Malik was surprised that Rasmus once again answered without even thinking, without hiding anything. He had never seen anyone without hiding their agenda, but then he realized that Rasmus might be revealing it on purpose, that his agenda was somewhere beyond that.

"And what about your plan?" Malik asked, his gaze fixated on Rasmus’ eyes.

"If you want to know, you have to join the ride. If I’m allowed to say, it would benefit you and your family," Rasmus said with a serious expression. "Or even better, your family wouldn’t be a threat to us," he smiled coldly.