"We will arrive by midnight Thanks to the Great Spirit Yur who has been manipulating the sea current and the wind current for us," Arka informed Rasmus when Rasmus came to his cabin.

Rasmus hummed as he looked around at the displayed weapons and a set of armor in the room. He remembered that Arka was trained to befit his title as a naval commander, but he never knew how strong he was because Arka hadn’t been in combat before. He knew that being a Commander required them to be on par with Swordmasters.

"I heard from Doctor Daryus about what actually happened there. You abandoned them," Arka looked at Rasmus as he took a seat at his desk. "I’m not trying to judge you, Count. I understand the reason behind your decision. But I’m curious if they would be alright? North and Central Neva have lost their power, South Neva is currently being rebuilt. West Neva supposedly became one of the remaining pillars of humankind, but now it’s in the enemy’s grasp," he explained with a serious expression.

Rasmus pulled out the chair and sat on it, sitting across from Arka.

"They should be fine if they don’t show any resistance. They might join the enemy side from behind deceived or will be forced to submit. They know they have no chance to win against them, and the demons know that too," Rasmus nodded. "I’m more curious as to why the navy hasn’t made a single contribution in this whole situation when you possess such power to help," he raised his brows and looked at Arka.

Arka couldn’t deny Rasmus’ accusation because he knew it as well that the navy was also a pillar of humankind.

"We are too spread, Count. The chain command takes weeks, and if we moved without order or permission, it would be called a rebellion or treason. The world is too big for one institution. We are lucky that there’s no rebellion or treason in this, but I can’t say it doesn’t have any corruption," Arka answered, there was a bit of shame in his voice. "Before we can move, either the situation has been resolved or it’s too late," he pointed out.

"Believing the world would stay peaceful forever has turned this whole fleet paralyzed when chaos arose all over the world. The institution no longer works, and it needs to be reformed or broken into smaller ones," Rasmus looked at the small wooden horse on Arka’s desk.

Arka knew whenever Rasmus spoke, it always had a hidden meaning.

"You want me and my fleet to separate ourselves from the institution? You want me to do an act of treason?" Arka narrowed his eyes. "I can be easily replaced, even the ships that I have can be easily destroyed if the Fleet Admiral has decided to sink them all," he warned.

"Treason? Do you think I always do things unlawful? We can request it, officially," Rasmus stared into Arka’s eyes with a sharp gaze.

Arka thought for a moment and remembered that Rasmus planned to visit East Neva, which was where the headquarters of the navy was located. However, he knew enough about Fleet Admiral Gustav that Gustav wouldn’t let anyone, not even a powerful family to touch his fleet, especially endangering what he swore to protect.

Arka’s vice commander suddenly knocked on the door and walked in without asking permission.

"There’s a ship coming toward us, and the ship is heavily damaged," the vice commander explained with a serious expression. "But the problem is the person in that ship, Commander," he pointed out.

"Who?" Arka furrowed his brows.

"It would be better for you to look at it yourself," the vice commander answered as he walked out of the room.

Rasmus and Arka went to the deck and saw a ship that had so many holes and even a broken mast. Arka used his telescope and saw the person standing on the deck, it was Anastasha and her bodyguards. Rasmus was mildly surprised to see the ship in that condition, and it seemed that it had been ambushed by someone because he could see blood on the deck.

"Princess Anastasha Asghar..." Arka muttered with his brows furrowed. "Let them aboard the ship," he commanded.

The battleship closed in the distance and anchored next to Anastasha’s ship. The soldiers watched as Anastasha boarded the battleship with no scratch or even a single stain on her attire. She looked calm and didn’t even show any sign of fear or anxiety, she even stretched her arms like she had just woken up from sleep. When she saw Rasmus, her eyes widened and showed a glimmer of joy as she approached him.

"What a coincidence to see you here, Count. Looks like my journey will be smooth with you around," Anastasha stood in front of Rasmus with a smirk on her face, however, she noticed a big difference in his appearance. "Look at you, every time I see you, you look different like you’re a different person," she stared at Rasmus’ heterochromatic eyes. "Looks like the west treated you so badly," she chuckled mischievously.

"Let me guess, one of your brothers did this to you?" Rasmus glanced at Anastasha’s ship.

"One? All of them were trying to assassinate me, Count. They have joined hand to get rid their biggest threat, how touching is that?" Anastasha turned around to look at her ship. "Well, they managed to assassinated most of my men, leaving only these handful loyal servants of mine," she looked at Andrei with injuries and blood all over his body, the man that had been accompanying her since forever.

"Well, enough about me, Count..." Anastasha tapped her folded fan on Rasmus’ chest. "Tell me about yours. I have heard lots of bad news from West Neva, and for whatever reason that a dragon suddenly appeared and then disappeared without a trace," she stared into Rasmus’ eyes with her dark green eyes. "I would love to rest and have some privacy with Count Blackheart if that possible?" She turned to look at Arka as she unfolded her fan, hiding her smile.

"You can use my office, Princess Asghar. We will treat your men as well," Arka nodded with understanding and gestured to Anastasha to follow him.

"How kind of you, Commander," Anastasha chuckled and followed Arka from behind.

Rasmus and Anastasha were alone in the room after Arka left them alone. That was when Anastasha clenched her fist, breaking her folded fan, the fan that was worth more than a single mansion that took Rasmus’ attention. He looked at the cold and pissed expression that he never thought he would see from someone like her. However, he didn’t say a word and just stared at her without any sign of judgment.

"He has gone too far," Anastasha said under her breath as she put down her folding fan.

"He?" Rasmus asked with his brows raised.

"The old man, my father," Anastasha answered as she crossed her arms, her gaze focused on the spot on the wall. "He was a part of this whole thing. I know the moment I saw one of the assassins that belonged to my father’s, an assassin without a tongue and the carving on the crown of his tooth," she pointed out, and she showed a sign of anxiety in her eyes.

"How do you know he was your father’s assassin? Your brothers could easily fabricated that. But you should have thought about that, so I’m curious at how confident you are about this," Rasmus asked with his brows raised.

Anastasha took a deep breath and exhaled deeply, trying to calm her mind. Her lower back leaned against the edge of the desk while her hands rested on it.

"Because my brothers don’t know about that. My brothers and the whole East Neva don’t know about that, and that’s how easily for my father to detect if there’s a spy among his assassins," Anastasha crossed her arms. "And how do I know? Because my mother told me about it. You can say that I’m the only child that my mother accepts as her own child," she revealed and glanced at Rasmus, showing nothing but the truth.

Rasmus nodded slowly, trying to understand the reason behind Anastasha’s father that have decided to kill his own daughter. However, when Anastasha revealed that she was the only child that her mother acknowledged, that was a good hint behind her father’s act.

"Do you find out the reason behind this?" Rasmus asked, trying to get the answer from Anastasha instead of thinking about it. After all, Anastasha had decided to reveal the truth and chose to trust him.

"Because I planned to break the tradition," Anastasha looked down, her words coming out under her breath. "The Asghar family tradition is that only one child should survive and take the seat. It has been going on from generation to generation, and I’m planning to break that tradition. He has decided that I’m a threat to the family," she turned her head to look at Rasmus.

"I see, looks like I’m going to have to deal with that as well," Rasmus leaned back, making himself comfortable in his chair.

"You?" Anastasha was so confused that she almost forgot about anything else at that moment.

"Yes, because I’m planning to go to East Neva soon," Rasmus nodded and looked at Anastasha. "I abandoned West Neva, that place is beyond saving," he revealed.

Anastasha’s brows slowly raised before she furrowed them and stood straight with her arms rested on her waist. She knew about the continuous catastrophes that had happened in West Neva, but she didn’t know that Rasmus had decided to give up on it.

"Tell me what happened," Anastasha said with a serious expression as she pulled a chair and sat in front of Rasmus. "Every single detail..."