Chapter 663: Obsession, Ambition, Obligation.

Neesa and Rasmus ended up sitting under the pavilion where the giant banyan tree protected them from the sunlight with the melodic chirping birds in the background. Neesa still thought about what Rasmus said, but she knew that she couldn’t stay still and didn’t resist when he was trying to put her into the corner.

"We have done nothing, we have done nothing to you either," Neesa spoke and stared at Rasmus with a serious expression. "Why did you allow yourself being steered by Anastasha?" She asked the most important question that had been lingering in her mind.

"Before you say anything," Neesa raised her hand as if signaling him to pause his thoughts. "Please answer my question instead of giving a different kind of answer," she requested.

"If you have done anything, I wouldn’t be peacefully sitting here and have a conversation, Imperial Princess," Rasmus answered. "For your second question. I’m not allowing myself to be steered. I’m willing to cooperate, but cooperation has a restriction, a boundary. If you already knew the reason why Anastasha is here, if I allowed myself to be stirred, we wouldn’t be having a conversation right now," he added.

Neesa could see the immense of boundaries that Rasmus had, a man with a principal, an ideal, someone that was impossible to be moved by anything other than the purpose he had in mind. The good luck that Anastasha said to her earlier wasn’t sarcasm, it was truth and genuine.

"Then what makes you want to cooperate with her? If I can offer you the same thing, would you cooperate with me instead?" Neesa asked, there was no game of words or wits anymore, only honesty.

"You can’t offer something that you wish to protect, Imperial Princess," Rasmus shook his head.

"Why!" Neesa suddenly raised her voice, she didn’t care if she lost her composure since there were only the two of them in the whole area. "Why do you want to cause bloodbath and chaos? For what reason!" She asked as she clenched her fists on the table.

"Anastasha has an obsession, you have an ambition, and I have an obligation," Rasmus answered.

"Obligation?" Neesa’s voice became quiet, her face looked so confused and lost. "To whom? To what?" She asked as she searched Rasmus’ eyes.

Rasmus had no reason to reveal why he was reincarnated, about the deal he made with God to prove if he was capable of destroying Neva just like he did to Earth. The complexity of the deal that had brought Satan, Videl, the angels, the fallen watchers, and every higher being into the game.

"To something that you wouldn’t be able to understand," Rasmus answered.

Neesa suddenly slammed her clenched hand against the jade table, and it didn’t just crack, it crumbled by the sheer strength that she possessed. Rasmus already knew about her martial arts from the words he heard earlier. For someone who could easily break a jade table into pieces, the amount of control she had was extraordinary.

"I have offered you honesty and vulnerability... but you’re still playing games?" Neesa glared at Rasmus, her golden eyes beginning to show a faint glow around them. "Stop treating me like I’m naive and a brainless person! Tell me! And help me understand!" She raised her voice and glared at Rasmus with anger that she had accumulated from countless encounters with incapable people that had caused the death of many. The clouds began to turn dark, blocking the sunlight, and the clouds began to whirl right above the pavilion, matching the storm in her glare.

Rasmus stared at the crumbles on the floor and he flicked his left hand when suddenly the jade crumbles began to float and fixed itself until it became a table again. Neesa watched it with her eyes widened, she had never seen such power to restore something that was broken and it was done so effortlessly.

"I cannot give you the answer you want, Imperial Princess. But I want to ask if sacrificing what you wish to protect is unacceptable when it can be restored immediately?" Rasmus asked. "Whether you accept it or not, I’ll take away what you wish to protect. You have heard of what happened to South Neva and Central Neva. What’s destroyed, it can be rebuilt," he added.

"It’s not about if it could be rebuilt, Count Blackheart, it’s the lives that matter," Neesa answered as she loosened up her clenched fist.

"And yet the empire wanted expansion. What made you accept and tolerate that?" Rasmus asked.

"It wasn’t my decision, the emperor wanted it. As His Imperial Highness’ subject, I have to respect that decision," Neesa answered without any hesitation. "There’s a boundary between ideals and duties. Your offer? It’s against both my ideal and my duty," she pointed out.

Rasmus smiled at the answer, and it only made Neesa narrow her eyes, finding it both unnerving and confusing.

"Does that mean you’re ready to accept that I’m a threat now?" Rasmus asked with a serious expression. "You have explained your reasoning, and I believe it’s time for you to give me the answer for that, Imperial Princess," he stared into Neesa’s eyes as if he was staring right into her soul.

Neesa once again was speechless and couldn’t give an answer to his question. She had made it clear where she stood, and yet at the same time, she felt like she had taken the wrong time to stand up. If she made the wrong answer, either Rasmus was seen as a threat or not, she would fail her duty and her ideal.

"There was a quote that good times produce weak people, weak people produce hard times, and hard times produce strong people," Rasmus spoke as he fixed his seating. "History doesn’t repeat itself, but civilization does, it has recognizable patterns and cycles. However, that’s not absolute because sometimes, good times and hard times also produce monsters," he pointed out.

"And you’re that monster," Neesa responded with a serious expression as she stared at Rasmus.

"But some of those monsters are the ones who turned hard times into good times. It’s just history that chose to keep a blind eye on it," Rasmus pointed out. "It could be that the emperor himself is the monster, and you’re the one who has been keeping a blind eye on that truth," he stared back at Neesa.

"What are you trying to say, Count Blackheart?" Neesa asked even though she knew she wouldn’t like the answer to that question.

"Blinding oneself from the truth isn’t the same as tolerance," Rasmus answered. "It’s incapable of accepting the truth," he pointed out.

"So you’re calling me a hypocrite?" Neesa asked.

"No, I believe the more appropriate words is to choose what’s convenient, Imperial Princess," Rasmus answered. "But that still sounds unpleasant to the ear, is it?" He asked.

"That’s right," Neesa admitted to both of them, her gaze focused on the jade table. "But that’s how power works. One must respect and obey those who are above them or chaos will occur," she explained.

"That’s the truth, but that also means you sacrificed your ideals, correct? The more you find it convenient, the less of you exist, the less you will care about your ideal. In the end, what you have been throwing away is nothing but perhaps it’s your own identity, Imperial Princess," Rasmus revealed.

"You’re talking nonsense," Neesa shook her head. "You don’t know what you’re talking about, and you know nothing about me," she said with a cold expression.

"And yet you’re still incapable of deciding what I am to this empire, Imperial Princess. If you believe you know what you’re doing, what you are, and what you believe in, then you can easily say that I’m a threat," Rasmus said calmly.

Neesa wanted to say it, but something in her throat prevented her from voicing it out. She was uncertain, and uncertainty caused unnecessary problems while at the same time not knowing the result.

"I have seen people like you, Imperial Princess, powerful figures," Rasmus said as he tilted his head. "They chose to die trying to live up to what they believed. You can call them fools, but it’s better than someone who only treats an ideal as merely an idea, and not taking it as the truth that’s worth fighting for. Perhaps, your hesitation has shown you that your ideal and duty are merely words?" He raised his brows.

"There’s a difference between commitment and recklessness, Count Blackheart," Neesa clenched her fist once again, holding back the anger that had been brewing deep inside her. "Who would have thought, someone like you only see it through black and white," she scoffed and smirked at Rasmus.

Rasmus only responded with a smile and finally he slowly stood up and fixed his attire. He gave Neesa a final look that made her see both disappointment and finality in those eyes of his.

"Then contemplate for as long as you want, Imperial Princess," Rasmus lowered his head at her. "As I burn your nation to the ground," he gave her one final look before he walked away.

Neesa’s eyes widened by the warning, and she watched Rasmus walk away. She suddenly stood up and released her Mana, cracking the whole pavilion from her mere weight and pressure. Her eyes glowed golden and she dashed toward Rasmus with the intention of killing him.

Rasmus simply dodged to the side without having to look back, making Neesa’s punch barely hit his face. He then grabbed her by the throat before she could stabilize her stance and immediately slammed her to the ground, cracking the whole garden and causing the ground to shake.

"Well played, Imperial Princess," Rasmus smirked.

Neesa mirrored her smirk and immediately the imperial guards and her bodyguards came to the scene to see the princess on the ground with her throat being grabbed by Rasmus. The imperial guards and her bodyguards surrounded Rasmus and pointed their weapons at him.

"As you have seen, I can be emotionally impulsive sometimes, Count," Neesa said. "If I can’t handle you, then I’ll let the emperor decide. After all, it’s what you called convenient," she smirked again.

Rasmus let go of Neesa’s throat and raised his hands. He watched Neesa slowly stand up and rubbed her neck where his cold hand was.

"Stand down," Neesa ordered as she took a few steps back away from Rasmus and immediately the guards stood in front of her to protect her. "Prepare yourself, Count Blackheart, as you have made yourself an enemy to the empire," she said coldly before she walked away and the guards kept pointing their weapons at Rasmus as they walked backwards to follow her.