The Kind of Evil

‎"An envoy from where?" Aurelia asked with her brows furrowed. She looked terrified and in disbelief at the same time.

‎"They said, they're the envoy from the Blessed, Nemu, Your Holiness," a Cardinal answered with his head lowered. "They're asking for permission to enter the Holy Nation and to ask for your audience," he continues, keeping his head lowered.

‎Aurelia was irked when she heard Nemu's name, especially with the title he had, the Blessed. The Blessed was something that only the people could give toward someone who didn't belong to the Holy Nation and had the same knowledge and compassion as a Saint.

‎"Let them in," Aurelia answered as she nodded with understanding. "Bring them to the Guest Hall," she said as she stood up from her chair.

‎The Cardinal bowed with understanding and immediately left the room. Aurelia immediately went to Astrea's chamber to tell her about the envoys.

‎"The envoy?" Astrea raised her brows as she stared at Aurelia. "They have finally made a move..." She muttered as she looked at Sima who was busy preparing the medicine for her.

‎"I'm going to see them, mother. I want to bring Saint Serena with me," Aurelia said as she looked at some of Astrea's wounds that had dried up. "You should stay here, mother. Your treatment is more important than anything right now. So please, Divine Physician, you can keep treating my mother..." She looked at Sima, carefully picking the ingredients for the medicine.

‎"Of course, Your Holiness. Please rest assured, I will do my best to treat Her Holiness," Sima bowed his head slightly, and then continued to pick the ingredients.

‎"Thank you, Divine Physician," Aurelia bowed her head at Sima before she walked away and left the room.

‎Astrea couldn't stop smiling at how her daughter was cool-headed and didn't panic. She noticed the subtle changes in her daughter ever since she found out the dark truth that the Holy Nation hid from the world. She still felt guilty, but the maturity that Aurelia had shown lately when she accepted and overcame it, it was endearing to see.

‎"Divine Physician Sima. May I ask about the situation in the East?" Astrea asked, finally asking the question that had stuck in her mouth ever since Sima came to the Holy Nation.

‎"Here is a lot better than in the East, Your Holiness. The war isn't between demons and humans, it's humans against humans. People have fallen for their inner demons," Sima answered as he began to process all the ingredients.

‎"The Emissary of Evil, they haven't shown themselves?" Astrea asked with her brows furrowed.

‎"They have..." Sima paused to look at Astrea. "But with such a situation that's happening in the East, is there a way for humans to defeat them when they're still busy killing each other?" He asked with a stoic expression.

‎Astrea looked outside the window where the sunlight and the shades of the trees painted the scenery. She wondered if it wasn't for Rasmus back in South Neva, would the South end up like in the East?

‎Astrea didn't have the strength or the will to go to East Neva because of how terrifying it was. East Neva was known for the bloodbath, a continent where no man could trust their backs on someone else, not even their own family. The East was a place where death wasn't mourned, it was counted as statistics, nothing more.

‎"And what's your conclusion to that, Divine Physician?" Astrea asked, wondering if Sima was as insightful as his knowledge of medicine.

‎"I have lived long enough to say this, Your Holiness. However, what's happening in the East right now, the Emissary of Evil has so little to do with the situation," Sima answered as he crushed them together to extract them. "The Emissary of Evil, their presence is only enabling the humans' greed," he pointed out as he poured the extract into a bowl.

‎"Even so, they won't be so blinded by their greed like that. Someone must have encouraged them to unleash their greed," Astrea responded with her brows furrowed.

‎"The Asghar family, Your Holiness. They're the only ones who want to see the blood spill around them, a family that finds death as entertainment," Sima revealed with a calm and stoic expression. "They didn't need the influence to be who they are right now, they made others fight each other and gained benefit from it. That's how dangerous they are, Your Holiness..." He continued and began to mix the extract with a few more ingredients.

‎Astrea didn't need to reconsider her feelings about East Neva. From what Sima said earlier, it proved why she didn't want to spread her influence there. The goodness had long been forgotten and abandoned, only greed, pride, and hunger. East Neva was a place filled with the primal instincts of a human being, raw and wild.

‎"I apologize for asking this question, but why did you answer Princess Asghar's request if you hated the Asghar family?" Astrea asked, wondering why Sima seemed to dislike the Asghar family.

‎"My gut tells me that Princess Asghar has a different goal than the rest of her siblings. Even to this moment, I'm still thinking that I might regret this," Sima answered with a straight face. "Placing myself in a spot where I'm seen as someone who's placing favorable toward the Princess instead of the other siblings..." He muttered and grabbed the bowl of medicine.

‎Astrea saw vulnerability within Sima, a wise man who could bring comfort and be comfortable at the same time. She began to see the big difference between Rasmus and Sima, and it was a relief to her.

‎"Let us focus on your condition now, Your Holiness," Sima said as he grabbed his tools.

‎"Yes, and thank you for answering my questions, Divine Physician," Astrea smiled weakly and nodded with understanding.

‎Aurelia and Serena entered the Guest Hall, wearing an all-white robe. The envoys were wearing nothing but a simple gray robe. The moment Aurelia realized how the envoys stared at her in the eyes and didn't avert their gaze, she realized that they didn't see her as someone that they needed to respect anymore.

‎"(Perhaps I'm still standing behind my mother's shadow. Let's not take it too seriously...)" Aurelia thought as she closed her eyes.

‎"Your Holiness..." The envoys said as they bowed their heads at Aurelia and Serena. "Thank you for answering our request. There are no words that can convey our gratitude," they said as they kept their heads lowered.

"Please, there's no need to say those things. This nation is open for everyone," Aurelia said as she pointed at the chairs, telling them to sit.

The envoys sat down across the table from Aurelia and Serena. They glanced at Serena and somehow they were too afraid to even stare at her eyes. There was an aura that Serena had that made them anxious. Aurelia on the other hand, who could see divine energy saw how Serena's divine energy was released and almost wrapped the envoys with it as if the energy was about to devour them.

"As the envoys of the Blessed Nemu, it is our first time to make contact, is that correct?" Aurelia asked in a gentle voice.

"Yes, Your Holiness, and we are here to offer our help. Our Lord, Nemu, he conveyed his worries about the situation that happened to the Holy Nation. We are here to offer our money, a charity to help the Holy Nation to rebuild its sacred temple," the envoy answered and kept his eyes on Aurelia, trying to block Serena's presence from his vision.

"We are ready to offer labor, Your Holiness. We can send people to help rebuild the houses for the people here," the other envoy added as he nodded.

"I'm grateful, but I must respectfully decline the offer," Aurelia answered with a smile on her face.

The envoys were shocked when they heard the answer because it didn't take Aurelia even a second to consider their offering. That alone was enough to make them change their expression from respect to confusion and even a little bit of offended.

"Please, gentlemen. There's a reason why I can't accept your offer. The Holy Nation can rebuild itself, and I would hate myself if I had to watch others spare their money for this place. You can use that money on those who are in need, they're more important than a mere temple," Aurelia said with a gentle smile on her face.

"Then how about the labor? We can offer you that, and the people are willing to help rebuild this nation as a sign of devotion to our religion, our God," the envoy responded.

Aurelia felt like blood was running up to her head when they used religion and God. Somehow, she used to feel blessed and relieved when people used such words, however, this time she felt like it was nothing but empty words. A part of her died when she found out the truth about the Angelis family, her ancestors, and the Holy Nation. However, when she felt Serena's hand on her back, she snapped back to reality, and realized how understanding Serena was when she saw her expression.

"That also I cannot accept. We have enough people and we are already rebuilding everything as we speak, and I believe you both have seen it on your way here," Aurelia shook her head with a smile on her face.

Knowing that the envoys who attempted to help were dismissed, they both immediately put on a stoic expression, hiding their irritation. Aurelia and Serena could see it in their eyes, but they didn't bother to soothe them, and only stared at them with a soft gaze.

"I see... I guess we came here for nothing..." The envoy muttered, but then realized he shouldn't have said that.

Aurelia stared at the envoy, but this time she put on a cold gaze and smiled.

"If there's nothing else, you may leave, gentlemen," Aurelia said.

Without hesitation, the envoys lowered their heads forcefully and then left the hall without saying a word. Aurelia watched those two leave, and as soon as she was alone with Serena, she sighed deeply.

"You did the right thing. Who knows how many people Nemu will try to infiltrate into this nation? They will spread the words and rumors of how the Holy Nation will reject him, stirring issues and problems. That's his plan, and we need to prepare for the worst," Serena said calmly.

"Yes, but this time, it will be me, who's going to be the evil one. I'll reveal the dark truth that the Holy Nation has hidden for more than a century," Aurelia responded without any sign of fear. "I'm ready to be abandoned..." She nodded repeatedly.