The Kind of Evil

Alexander sat down on the couch and watched the priestess pour tea into his teacup. He gave the priestess a gentle smile and thanked her, then watched the priestess leave the room. He then looked at Aurelia grabbing a journal from the drawer of her desk, wondering what she wanted him to see.

Aurelia sat across from the coffee table and put down the journal in front of Alexander. She looked at him and nodded, telling him to grab it and read it.

Alexander grabbed the journal and opened the book, reading the first page thoroughly. He realized it was Aurelia's plan to unify Central Neva, and it was similar to the assignment that she made during their time at the academy. He smiled as he nodded with understanding, knowing what she was trying to tell him. It took him a while to read the whole plan, wanting to understand everything.

"So you have prepared this far, and you have plans for every outcome," Alexander smiled as he closed the book and gave it back to Aurelia. "Thank you, for showing me this, Lady Aurelia. I'm honored..." he said as he looked into Aurelia's eyes.

"We made a promise, Alex... all of us made a promise," Aurelia said as she looked down at her journal on her lap. "I'm grateful that you're here, and I still can't believe it that you're here," she slowly looked up at Alexander with a soft smile on her face.

Alexander nodded and then took a sip of his tea as he looked out the window.

"What about, Isador? Did he know?" Alexander asked with his brows raised, putting down the teacup. "But seeing the current situation, it seems he can't do much, can't he?"

Aurelia nodded, looking out the window and looking at the stars and moonlight that light the room.

"We might go against him, Alex. He has a responsibility to be the future emperor, and we both know how strict his parents are. I don't think he can do much about this, and he has to follow the tradition, to maintain the legacy," Aurelia answered as she sighed deeply.

"So he's in a really bad spot..." Alexander sighed as he crossed his arms and leaned back.

"Have you heard anything from Valari? We are completely blind and have barely any information on what's happening right now in East Neva. I'm a bit worried since he's from the Ashenvale family," Aurelia asked, looking at Alexander with a worried expression.

Alexander smiled and pulled letters from his spatial ring, and then showed it to Aurelia. Those letters had the Ashenvale family seal on it, and then he gave it to her since the answers to her questions were all written in the letter.

Valari and Alexander had been sending letters to each other, sharing the situation in East and West Neva. Aurelia read how bad the situation in East Neva was, but she chuckled when she read how laidback and relaxed Valari was in the letter. The Ashenvale family was so wealthy and important in East Neva that nobody wanted to be on the Ashenvale's bad side.

Aurelia began to understand the big picture of the current situation in East Neva. So many wars were on-going, and almost all of them were instigated by the Asghar family. The battle between the siblings to take the seat of the Asghar's throne was the cause of it, especially after what Anastasha did in South Neva. The Ashenvale family had chosen to stay neutral, making their territory the safe haven for refugees

In the latest letter, Valari was a bit worried with the current power shift between the Ashenvale family and the Urion family. Valari found out that the Urion family, the only family that was slowly climbing in power to where the Ashenvale was had gained support from the Asghar family, to be exact, they got support from the eldest son of the Asghar family. With the power shift, the Urion family gained a lot of support from nations that supported the eldest son of the Asghar family.

"Valari believes that the Urion family might have gained support from the demons as well because their influence grew too fast, especially when suddenly the Asghar family decided to take in the Urion family in. Valari and his father was shocked by that because not in a million years that the Asghar family needed a merchant family because they already have their own," Alexander said, knowing that Aurelia was reading the last letter.

"But the Prime Lords over there, what are they doing? There's not much information about them," Aurelia asked as she looked at all the letters on her lap.

"Hmm, because it's East Neva, Lady Aurelia," Alexander answered as he sat straight and took a sip of his tea. "East Neva doesn't believe in religion like we do, they have their own beliefs. There, they worship evil entities and good entities. The demons presence there is like a blessing for some of them, and they treat those demons like allies. Something what they call the Unorthodox and Demonic clans," he explained and put down the teacup.

Aurelia hummed and nodded, remembering the reason why the Angelis family and the Sancticus couldn't gain any influence in East Neva. There was a reason why East Neva was called a warmonger continent and why the naval fleet was there to maintain peace.

"What about West Neva? Is it a lot better than here?" Aurelia looked at Alexander.

"We still can't find the Prime Lords. There's no sign of them and we are currently on the edge because we don't know when they are going to make a move. Our only problem is the Demonic Beasts that have been coming down the mountain, spreading across the continent. More and more casualties, but at the moment we managed to set a parameter to protect every city, every town, and every village," Alexander answered, resting his elbows on his knees and staring down at the teacup.

"Do you think the demons are hiding in the Efiva mountain? After all, that mountain is place where Demonic Beasts are born. Imagining that demons are hiding there, feeding on the demonic energy there, I'm worried," Aurelia muttered as she rubbed her hands anxiously.

"That's what we believe too, but we don't have enough people or strength to do an expedition to the mountain. We can't risk anything right now while the whole continent is basically being surrounded by Demonic Beasts," Alexander answered, nodding in agreement. "We are hoping that people from South Neva would come and assist us, after what had happened there, we couldn't exactly ask for their assistance when they barely survived the war," he added.

"And yet you chose to come here..." Aurelia said with a guilty smile.

"Honestly, I don't think I'm being useful even if I stay at home. I'm no warrior, I'm no mage, and I don't possess divine power. All I have is my brain, and the only place where I can use my brain is here. You can say that I'm going to use my experience here and the knowledge to fight those demons to be used when I'm back home later," Alexander said with a huge grin on his face.

Aurelia nodded with understanding, grateful that Alexander was here with her. She had been surrounded by adults, and having him around made her feel relieved.

"I promise, Alex. As soon as we regain peace here in Central Neva, I'll come to help the West. I promise..." Aurelia said with a serious expression, staring into Alexander's eyes.

"Thank you, Lady Aurelia... we really need your help there," Alexander nodded with understanding.

"Oh, have you heard any news from North Neva? About Max and Monica? Because even after all this time, there's no news about the North," Aurelia asked.

"That, I also didn't hear anything from them. All ships are forbidden to enter the North, and even the only land that can cross from West Neva to North Neva is closed. It seems that they're taking this more seriously than all of us combined," Alexander answered, shaking his head.

"Yes, after all, the North is the closest to the Blackcliffs and where the expedition team met the true horror. The one who lead all Prime Lords is out there in the North..." Aurelia nodded in agreement. "I just hope that they're doing fine..." she prayed with her hands clasped together.

Alexander drank all his tea, and then stretched his neck and arms as he smiled at Aurelia.

"Well, I think we don't have much time to waste, Lady Aurelia. Shall we discuss your plan? Perhaps I can help you through the plan, making it easier for you to gain favor and influence of the people," Alexander asked.

Aurelia looked at the time and it was already later.

"No, we can discuss that matter tomorrow. You must be tired, and I'm quite tired because just earlier we were defending the city," Aurelia answered as she got up from the couch.

"Well then, good night, Lady Aurelia," Alexander nodded with understanding as he got up. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said and bowed down to Aurelia before he left the room.

"Good night, Alex," Aurelia watched Alexander leave.