The town was filled with joy, everyone was busy hanging festival flags from one pole to another, making the streets colorful. Everyone had been busy preparing the tables, chairs, and benches for the townspeople and the merchants to enjoy the celebration of the hero’s party that arrived in their town. When the sun went down, everyone went to the street and took a seat with their friends, families, and colleagues.

Rasmus, Aris, and Serena were the main attention in town, they stayed in the townsquare for a moment to let the people and the children see the heroes who saved South Neva from demons. Once they satisfied the people’s desire to meet and speak with them, they went to Carrion’s mansion where everyone had gathered.

When Rasmus entered the mansion, the first thing he heard was the laughter and joy in the air. He then glanced at Rullein chasing Erlina because Rullein wanted to see Erlina’s memory of her honeymoon. On the other hand, he looked at Carrion talking with Daryus, asking and consulting about some medicine that could help him stay vigorous even after the night activity due to his insecurity that Erlina might not be satisfied with just a few rounds.

Javi and the Blackhands were in the other room, silent and enjoying their drink like they didn’t exist. Anastasha was also in a different room because she wanted to prepare a plan to go back to East Neva. Rasmus then went to where Eduard and Gorge who ran the trading companies, Matthias and the other former pirate captains who ran the shipping companies. He sat among them and they all immediately offered him a jug of rum.

"So, Count. Why did you choose to let the snake inside your house?" Matthias asked as he rubbed his fat belly, sitting on the couch so comfortably.

"Snake?" Rasmus raised his brows as he sat beside Matthias and noticed the same concern from Rosalind, Marigold, Ferdinand, Seamus, Declan, and Cygnus, the former pirate captains that used to rule the South Sea. "Are you perhaps talking about Anastasha?" He raised his brows.

"You have some balls to even call her by her first name. Do you have any idea if any common folk who spoke of that family name would either die or be watched depending on their words?" Matthias shook his head. "That’s how powerful that family is. And here you are, walking side by side with her," he sighed.

Johan from the Poor Man’s Hand had warned Rasmus about the Asghar family back then. He still remembered what Johan had said about them, that the Asghar family had intel in every corner of the world. Rasmus had heard a lot about Asghar family from rumors to truths, and at this point, he believed every single one of them.

"You particularly called her snake, and I remembered that Arka also called her a snake..." Rasmus hummed with his brows furrowed. "Is that figuratively or literally?" He narrowed his eyes and looked at them.

"Why not both?" Anastasha answered as she covered her lower face with a fan.

Matthias and the others immediately felt chills down their spines, shuddering when they heard Anastasha’s voice. Their faces turned pale and none of them dared to even move a muscle, and moreover to even answer the question.

"You know you can ask me personally rather than ask about it to a bunch of drunkards that spent their whole lives like rats and playing cat and mouse with authorities..." Anastasha stood behind Rasmus, who was sitting on the couch. "You never showed any interest in my personal life when we were face to face, but you were interested in me behind my back? Why do I feel a sting in my chest knowing that?" She leaned down and whispered into her ear, her eyes smiling while her lower face was still hidden beneath the fan.

Matthias and the others stared at Rasmus and they all had the same stare at him as if they were saying, "We told you." On the other hand, Rasmus put a smile on his face when he slowly turned his head to stare into Anastasha’s eyes.

"I’m not the one who started this conversation, I’m just letting it flow. If you have any problems, you should point that pain toward the ones who inflicted it to you," Rasmus answered.

Anastasha hummed as she slowly leaned away from Rasmus’ personal space and then glanced at each face as if she was etching them in their brains. Matthias and the others glared at Rasmus, couldn’t believe he had just said that and put them in grave danger.

"Joke aside, I would love to ask more about your family whenever we had a conversation, but I didn’t because I wanted to respect the boundary we have," Rasmus said as he looked at Anastasha.

Anastasha smiled as she unfolded the fan and put it aside, she then walked around the couch and sat beside Rasmus. She crossed her legs and stared at everyone in the room, whose faces had turned pale by her presence alone.

"Go on, answer Rasmus’ question about me being a snake..." Anastasha smiled coldly, the smile that didn’t reach her eyes as she stared at Matthias.

"Well... we heard rumors..." Matthias paused to gulp, realizing that even though the tension had been resolved, he was still in danger. "That the Asghar family always had a Celestial Beast’s blood running through their veins..." He muttered, didn’t dare to speak it with confidence.

"Celestial Beast? Is it the same as beasts in West Neva?" Rasmus furrowed his brows.

"No, it’s a spirit," Yur appeared from thin air and floated above Rasmus. "The spirits from the East, the people called them Celestial Beasts because the spirits there always showed themselves as beasts instead of true form," Yur explained.

Matthias and the others rubbed their eyes, couldn’t believe what they were seeing. They heard spirits were mischievous child-like beings, and seeing Yur for the first time, they realized they were in the presence of a spirit, a great one based on Yur’s appearance.

"Spirits can have offspring with humans?" Rasmus looked up at Yur.

Yur slowly descended and stood on Rasmus’ lap, Yur’s eyes stared at Anastasha.

"Yes, that’s right. Spirits can have offspring with humans or even other animals. Some of the beasts are offspring of spirits with animals, but not all, only some of them. However, the chance of having an offspring with humans is extremely low due to the exsitence of humans that are more complex than animals," Yur explained.

Rasmus remembered what Sanya said about half-breeds in East Neva, and he had been wanting to ask that question but had always forgotten it due to the immediate issues that kept his mind occupied. Now that the topic was about half-breeds, he turned his gaze toward Anastasha and observed her.

"So you’re a half-breed?" Rasmus asked with a serious expression.

Anastasha stared back at Rasmus and the first reaction she gave was a slight shrug on her shoulders.

"I’m not sure if that matters because I don’t feel like I am," Anastasha answered. "However, I cannot give you any details about it. Not yet," she smiled at Rasmus, a soft smile that was different from earlier.