Nameless King

"Kuno, we thank you for bringing us here, but if your sister continues her aggression, we will have no choice but to fight." Wain said calmly.

"You will die." Eva said coldly, "You can't even hit us, so you better calm down and take us to your big brother. We didn't come here to fight."

"Shut up! Do you really think I would let someone threaten me on my family's estate! You seem to be out of your mind and don't know who you're talking to." The girl's aura intensified, and she used her a Beyond. A spiky armor and a tiara of several rosebuds appeared on her.

"Ahahahaha, what a shame. You were so scared that you decided to start with your trump card." Wain was amused by the situation.

The girl frowned and pounced on them.

"STOP." Suddenly there was a calm but commanding voice that entered the mind of everyone in the room.

The girl froze in place, and so did Kuno, who tried to stop her. The maid standing in the distance was practically petrified and time seemed to stand still.

'Oh, that sounds serious.' Wain thought.

He had experienced something like this once before, during his first encounter with Teres. That voice wasn't as powerful as the ancient serpent's, but it was enough to stop the battle.

"Nina, you're too flashy and arrogant as always. You need to work on your self-control more." The voice rang in their heads again.

"I apologize for my sister, sometimes she can be overly emotional. I'm the one you were looking for, Nina and Kuno will escort you out, and we'll talk."

"Brother..." Nina mumbled confusedly.

"Looks like your older brother turned out to be a more reasonable person than you." Wain said, walking over to the maid and taking two cups of tea. He handed one to Eva, "Help yourself."

Eva nodded and smiled slightly. She didn't know the reason, but today Wain was surprisingly good-natured. She didn't care if he was playing with her or what. Eva just enjoyed the situation.

"How much longer do we have to wait? Walk us out." Wain said, taking a sip of tea.

"Sure!" Kuno exclaimed, and Wain and Eva followed him.

They headed to the lower level of the manor, to a compartment that looked like prison cells. It was dark, cold, and damp.

"Is he trying to trick us and trap us?" Eva asked in a whisper. Only Wain heard her.

"It doesn't sound like it." Wain shook his head, "I don't know why, but their big brother is in this strange place."

"There, behind that door." Kuno pointed to the massive iron door at the end of the hallway, "The brother doesn't like anyone disturbing him, so I won't bother you."

Kuno quickly left.

"Alright, it's time to see the mysterious brother." Wain said and opened the door.

A powerful scent of rose wafted out, and inside, they saw a strange scene. A tall man with long red hair and amethyst eyes lay on a stone table.

His body was pierced with many spiky vines, and they were slowly moving around in him, covered in blood. Despite this, the man's face was calm and peaceful. A puddle of scarlet blood had accumulated under the table.

"Hello. You'll have to wait a little while. I'm almost done."

The man sighed, and the vines glowed. They emerged from his body and headed toward the pool of blood. The vines absorbed the blood and blossomed massive red buds of unusual plants on them. Pollen came out of the buds, which quickly healed the man and the vines disappeared.

He dressed in black robes, turned around, and said, "My name is Leon. I am the eldest son and head of the Scarlet Rose Family."

"Are you the head of the family? I was told that the head of the Scarlet Rose went into seclusion."

"I was. It happened quite a while ago, but recently the situation escalated, and I had to change my plans."

"Kuno mentioned it too. He said he didn't know much and said to ask you. He thought you wouldn't want to talk to us."

"He wasn't wrong. I'm not hospitable, and no one likes to have their privacy interrupted. Kuno did the right thing. He was only following orders. I sent him on a simple mission while the conflict had not yet reached a critical point. Have a seat, we have much to discuss." Leon pronounced, pointing to the stone benches in the room.

Wain and Eva nodded.

"It's an unusual place to talk, considering there's a lot of scents hanging around every corner of the city."

"That's one reason. It's quiet here, and over a long period, I got tired of the endless smells coming from the flowers. Eventually, I even found it disgusting, so this cool room was perfect for me."

Cities of Plants have always had many flowers growing in it, and for some, it was becoming a problem. Even the most pleasant scent could get boring over time, and then a change of scenery was necessary.

"Why did you invite us here?"

"You wouldn't have stopped anyway and found out about everything. I can smell the blood essence from you. You've recently absorbed the blood lotus. No one could have stopped you, given your power, and it would have been problematic. You came here, and I decided to take advantage of the situation and not waste any more time."

"What is this flower, and why was Kuno fighting some girl next to a blood lotus. It's definitely not a coincidence."

Leon nodded.

"The reason for this is complicated and simple at the same time. Kuno was fighting a girl from the Fallen Lotus Family. It is one of the most powerful families in Virfal, they are second only to us, the Scarlet Rose Family. Not much is known about it in the other districts, but the Rose District is now divided."

"Some support us, and others support the Fallen Lotus Family. This has happened since the merging of worlds, and war is brewing. We're trying to make sure no one outside the Rose District knows about it, so it's been a lot harder to get into the Fifth District lately."