Chapter 639: Camaraderie.

Anastasha’s eyes fluttered open when the carriage stopped moving. The first thing she did was glance at the window and see the soldiers in golden armor surrounded her carriage. She smirked as she stood up and opened the carriage door. She saw a dozen soldiers on horses, staring down at her before they glanced at the inside of the carriage, finding out that she was alone.

"Occasion?" The captain of the soldier that guarded the entry to the capital city asked Anastasha without showing any sign of respect or fear. As a captain in the army of the Khan Empire, he held a significant position in the country that even patriarchs of great clans wouldn’t dare to tell him to bow his head.

"I’m here to meet with Young Master Cyuren," Anastasha answered as she stared at the captain’s face, remembering his facial features.

"I have not received any orders from Registrar Cyruen about having a guest. Do you have any proof of your words?" The captain asked with a condescending gaze toward Anastasha.

Anastasha didn’t blink her eyes, and she didn’t answer the question, only stared at the captain dead in the eyes. The captain knew he had no reason to fear her, but his instinct was poking at him to stop staring at her because she was an Asghar. The moment the captain averted his gaze for a moment, Anastasha smiled coldly before she shook her head.

"I suppose the letter hasn’t been read. Is that alright if I stay near the gate until the sun is setting? I believe by today, the Ministry of War Registrar will received my letter," Anastasha requested, and then she glanced at the soldiers behind the captain, and they all immediately felt the same feeling as the captain had earlier and then looked away. "I promise that I will leave by sunset if nothing happened," she assured.

"Do as you please. However, do not cause any trouble," the captain said before he kicked his horse and rode his horse away from the carriage.

Anastasha sighed as she walked back into the carriage and made herself comfortable. She glanced at the travelers and the merchants that were being checked as her carriage moved to the side. She yawned and glanced at the sun, realizing she only had four hours before she had to leave.

The sky turned orange with a blue hue, and she looked bored that she had been staring at her hand fan for a thousandth time. When she felt the ground tremble, she took a peek out the window to see, and that was when a smile appeared on her face. She walked out of the carriage and saw Cyuren riding his horse with dozens of soldiers and the General-in-Chief of the capital city himself escorting him.

"Your Highness the Princess, I have to apologize for being late. You should have told the guard to inform me about your arrival," Cyuren said as he slowly got down from his white horse. "You waited for hours..." He muttered as he stared at the sky before his gaze fixated on Anastasha.

"I could," Anastasha smiled softly. "But I want to make you feel guilty for making a lady wait for hours in the carriage," she chuckled softly.

Cyuren put on a bitter smile, and the guilt was already written all over his face.

"Don’t worry, Registrar, I know how busy you are, especially with the current situation. It was presumptuous of me to ask for an audience," Anastasha said with utmost honesty.

"Please, Your Highness the Princess, don’t be. Let’s just call it even then," Cyuren suggested.

"Sounds fair to me," Anastasha nodded in agreement.

"Well then, please, follow us," Cyuren said as he walked toward the carriage and held the door open for her.

Anastasha lowered her head as she walked back into the carriage and watched Cyuren close the door for her before he went back to ride his horse.

Anastasha arrived at the central government office complex, where it was heavily guarded by elite soldiers of the Khan Empire called the Dragon Claw Unit. Back when she was still a child, her father mentioned something about them that a single Dragon Claw soldier was worth more than five hundred soldiers. In the Khan Empire, there was a list of the oldest martial arts, and most of them were held and owned by the imperial family, making them formidable and unknown even to the Heavenly Alliance.

Anastasha entered Cyuren’s personal office, and everything was made of gold and the highest quality jade. She couldn’t imagine what kind of place the imperial palace was if an official like Cyuren had already been treated like this, which was still fifth on the rank than the highest rank a person could reach in government.

"I have read your letter, but I didn’t see any purpose of your visit, Your Highness the Princess," Cyuren said as he sat across from Anastasha while holding the letter she wrote to him.

"If I told you why I came, you might not want to see me. And please, just call me by my name, not my title," Anastasha smiled at Cyuren and watched him pour the tea into her cup.

"Then please, call me by my name as well, Anastasha," Cyuren smiled back at her and offered the cup to her.

"I’ll go straight to the reason I came, Cyuren," Anastasha took the cup from Cyuren’s hand. "I need information about the demonic cult," she said with a serious expression, her eyes staring directly into his.

Cyuren was in the middle of pouring the tea into his cup when he froze and pulled the teapot away from his cup. He furrowed his brows and stared at Anastasha with a confused and suspicion. He didn’t expect someone would bring up the demonic cult, and the worst part was the one who wanted to know about them was an Asghar.

"Is this about your succession?" Cyuren asked, his expression losing its warmth.

"Mainly, yes," Anastasha nodded.

"Mainly?" Cyuren tilted his head, his brows furrowed deeper to the point he began to feel the soreness in his brows muscles.

"I know where they are. I know where they live. I even know about the arrays surrounding their hideout, they’re pointless in the eyes of an Aristoria anyway. So, I’m asking you about them, or should I go there without knowing who they are? I’ll lose nothing, but I can’t say the same to you, right?" Anastasha revealed, her expression became neutral, but the arch of her brows was like a challenge, a warning.

Cyuren didn’t bother to continue to pour the tea into his cup anymore. He fell right into the pit of snakes, and if he decided to escape, he would lose a leg or two from the venom, or worse, he wouldn’t make it out far enough.

"I know you belong to my second brother’s faction, Zeke. But I know you joined him because of his personality. He’s impassive, and holds no control over his people, unlike his older brother, Zayn, who could kill his own people if they did something wrong or unlike Zeke’s younger brother, Zoran, who knows people that will obey him without having to use violence. That made me realize you had no desire in the Asghar family, or maybe you even despise us. That means you were told or ordered by someone, and I suspect it was your father," Anastasha’s stare was cold, and she kept staring at Cyuren like prey.

"By now, Zeke and Zoran have formed a treaty for succession. Their goal is me, and right now, if I just spread a rumor that you’re helping me, I wonder how long until Zeke realizes being impassive is his weakness? And who knows if he would copy Zayn’s method in dealing with..." Anastasha paused to take a sip of the tea. "A traitor," she muttered as she hummed, tasting the balance between the sweetness and the bitterness of the tea.

Cyuren suddenly smiled as he lowered his head, nodding his head with understanding. He let out a deep sigh, but his expression somehow became brighter, his shoulders seemed to be lighter.

"Now I understand why your brothers are so afraid of you joining the succession," Cyuren said as he stood up and walked toward his desk. "However, you’re wrong about..." he paused as he pulled the drawer and grabbed a record book. "Well, a few things..." he revealed as he walked back to the table and offered the book to her. "But I’m not confident enough to make those things matter when you have decided to bring me down," he added as he sat down and still offered the book to her.

Anastasha smirked and took the book from Cyuren’s hand. The moment she opened the book, she found dozens of names in each page, the names of the people, every household that lived in Demonic Cult territory.

"You don’t have to use threat with me, Anastasha. As you said, I have no desire in the Asghar family, and you’re right about that as well. If I can see the Asghar family fall into ruins from the front row, I would love to see that," Cyuren smiled coldly at Anastasha.

"Then we have something in common. Nothing is stronger than loyalty until you found camaraderie with your enemy for wanting the same thing," Anastasha responded as she shut the book. "Well then, Registrar. I have taken your precious time, and so I’ll excuse myself," she pointed out as she stood up.

"Then I have to apologize in advance for not being able to see you off, Your Highness the Princess," Cyuren kept that cold smile plastered on his face.

Anastasha lowered her head before she walked away and left Cyuren’s office.