Rose Mansion, Moniyan Empire

The Rose Mansion, one of the Empire's grandest and august edifice stood proudly in its perch on the soils of Moniyan. It boasts of the colors of grandeur: red, blue, and gold. Its excellent structures are not only built for aesthetics but also for great functionality. It was designed to withstand a siege and resist the destruction caused by calamities and beasts. Though it was thrice smaller than the Imperial Palace, it is easier to manage and just as tough to invade. Numerous traps hide here and there and well-trained hunters strictly guard the premises with large ferocious wolves which also gave it the epithet Wolf's Den.

The estate also lives up to its name of Rose Mansion as hundreds of rose bushes decorate its area along with a few edelweiss plants, blue orchids, and other more. Purple glowing butterflies fly all about collecting nectar and pollinating the flowers. Diamond-shaped columns decorate the garden with rose vines snaking up on them. The walkways are made of white and red marble tiles and there are two identical statues of a huntress raising a scythe which met and formed an arc in the path leading to the entrance of the mansion. Rose vines also started wrapping around the identical statues. The left one had blooming red roses while the right one had blooming blue roses.

Inside the mansion, a handsome young man clad in blue garments followed a maid as she led him towards her master's quarters. The man had pale blonde hair and vibrant colored blue eyes yet lacking in life and joy.

The man noticed a new painting hanging on the wall and immediately stopped in his tracks to better observe it. It depicts a beautiful woman with the hair of sunshine and eyes of peridot. A golden spiked crown sat on top of her head, it didn't have any gems or any flashy design but it looked excellent on her. The woman wore a long-sleeved gown of royal blue, gold, and white which made her look like a royalty. In her lap sleeps a small blond girl about two years of age. The girl seems to be the woman's child because of the gentle loving stare she directs towards the toddler. The man found the painting heart-melting and it brought a warm feeling in his heart.

"Lord Alucard, if we could proceed to the master's chamber." the maid stated calmly, trying to hide her impatience.

"Apologies, please proceed." the man said flatly and followed her again.

They've reached the room of the Lord of the House a few moments later and the maid knocked softly and introduced her companion. After receiving a reply to let the visitor in the maid opened the door and bowed to the man in the room. Alucard stepped inside the spacious room and saw his badly injured mentor and savior, Charles Rose.

"Alucard, you're finally here. It took you long enough to get here." exclaimed a sick man in his bed.

"It's nice to see you as well Lord Charles." Alucard greeted back.

"Oh please, don't address me with such a title, I'm sick of hearing it."

"Yeah, is that the reason why you look awful?" joked Alucard.

"Ahh these are just new additions to my scar collection and even if I look like shit I'd still be a thousand times better looking than you." Charles laughed.

"But truth be told, that demon prince really did a number on me but the one that really got me was that whore Alice, the Apocalypse Queen. She placed some sort of demonic blood curse on me or something." explained the sick man showing a throbbing red symbol on his well-toned belly, where the sinister crimson veins around it started swelling and becoming more visible. The symbol seemed to be crawling throughout his skin and doing something insidious.

"Does it still hurt Lord Charles?" Alucard noticed another person in the room nearly hidden in the shadows beside the bed. The man stepped into the light and revealed his identity. He has brown hair and brown eyes and a well-built stature. His physiognomy is attractive but proud. Too proud.

"Well, well, well, I never expected to see a Paxley in this household. What brings you here, Gusion?" Alucard said mockingly.

"I live here now. Lord Rose took me in his household as an assassin and mage. Basically none of your business." Gusion retorted.

"Now that both of you are here it's time that I give you each a quest. I would have done them myself however this curse is preventing me from even lifting my sword." Charles said before further dialogues can be exchanged between the two assassins. He painfully got up from his bed and led the men to a sitting area in his room.

Charles took out a glass decanter from under the table in the middle of the seats as well as three glass goblets. "Would any of you care to join me for a Bourbon?" he offered pouring himself a cup and filled the other two when his companions agreed.

"So what's the mission?" asked Alucard.

"This quest is about my biggest guilt." Charles started and downed his drink in one swig and poured himself another. "I left my daughter in the Dark Forest." This made the two men stop drinking their liquor and stare at him incredulously. What type of father leaves their daughter in a monster-ridden forest? Though the two are not very righteous they still possess enough morality to know that leaving your child to her death is one of the most unacceptable things in the world.

"Charles, I know that you're a good man, but leaving a little girl in a forest that even Abysmal demons didn't dare set foot in is quite. . . evil, don't you think?" Alucard drank slowly from his goblet with a judgmental look. Gusion said nothing but it was evident that he agreed with Alucard.

"I wasn't finished yet. I left her there to my parents' care who are both great monster hunters. I came from the village Stark of the Dark Forest."

"The hidden village filled with great monster hunters? You came from there? I thought it was just a myth." Gusion commented.

"I assure you that my village is as real as the monsters in the forest. Moving on, I've acquired a great number of enemies other than the demons and I feared that my enemies are going to use my daughter to destroy me. We know what happened to the prince and I don't want the same to happen to my daughter that's why getting her as far away from me as possible is the best decision I could come up with even if it tortured me to do so." There was a long pause as Charles drank another round.

"Edel was born here in Moniyan and was raised here for four years until I traveled down to the Dark Forest to give her to my parents when her mother left. She was such a sweet child, she seldom cries, she never complained, and she was always kind. I used to spend hours taking care of her, playing with her, and feeding her milk because Altria was still weary due to childbirth that is why it broke my heart to leave her like a puppy." Charles took a sip and stared at the rose bouquet in the vase.

"But if I'm going to be honest, it pained me more to see her every day because she looked exactly like my wife, though she inherited my mother's face. She had Altria's golden hair and green eyes." Charles said with a broken smile.

"Is Altria the name of your wife? And how come we never knew you had a daughter? Is your wife the reason why you never pay attention to other women?" Gusion refilled his cup because it helped him digest the new information about his mentor.

"Yes, and she was the most gorgeous woman I've ever laid my eyes upon. She was smart, determined, loyal, reliable, and strong. She broke three of my ribs when we first met, I couldn't move properly for a month because she thought I was peeping her." Charles laughed and was joined by the two.

"She also kept many secrets. Secrets that can shake the world to its very foundation and some of them still haunts me to this day."

"If I may ask, why did Lady Altria leave?" Gusion inquired in curiosity.

"She needed to fight a war, no– wars to protect the world." Charles answered. "For Edel." he later added.

"So where do we fit in this?" Alucard asked.

"I don't know what this curse really does or how to stop it, but one thing is clear to me and you can't deny it too. . . I'm dying therefore I need an heir to inherit my name but more than that I want to meet my daughter and spend time with her before I die. I want to let her experience what I deprived of her, the love and care of a father."

"You want us to retrieve your daughter?" Alucard asked.

"Yes. She's the only light I have in my life, my only heir. Keep her safe when passing through the Enchanted Forest because demons are attacking the Elven Kingdom. Take my parents with you as well but it will be their decision if they want to come or not."

"Don't worry Charles. I will get your daughter and keep her safe as long as I live but never speak like you're going to die. I will do everything to break that curse so that you can live a long life with Edel." Alucard swore.

"That's reliving to hear but you only need to focus on fetching my daughter and parents. I've already asked Gusion to gather information regarding this curse so focus on your quest. I'm warning you Alucard, I am sending you to death's doorstep as well as you Gusion. There's no telling what dangers you two will face at my benefit." Charles stood up though it pained him greatly and took an old book from his shelf. It has a red cover designed with a wolf's head while rose vines wrapped around it. The book was worn and old and looked like it has been through many battles but it's pages still held and it's still in good condition.

"This is my first journal. I bought it with the first money I made when I was just a boy. I loved reading about adventures that's why I tried writing my own adventures." Charles's handed Alucard the book.

"I've written down everything I know of the dangers of the Dark Forest and Enchanted forest in this. I hope this helps you on your journey."

"Oh, thank you." Alucard said as he flipped through the pages. "This is marvelous! There are detailed illustrations of monsters and plants. I never knew you could draw, Charles."

"Ah yes that was a hobby of mine when I was younger but I can no longer draw the same way, sword fighting has made my hands heavy. But one more thing." Charles pulled a rectangular pocket with a leather strap as well as two brown boxes. He handed one box and the leather to Alucard and the other box to Gusion, who both opened the containers.

"A mask?" Gusion wondered.

"Yes, that is a roaming equipment that will conceal you. I had Edward search for this so that you can better sneak inside places. It's yours to keep."

"Thank you. I will use it wisely."

"Dear gods where did you get Haa's Claws?" Alucard questioned.

"I had Edward look for gears you two could use to give you a higher success rate. Go to Edward and get from him as much money as you need as well as transportation, equipment, and information."

"Hey Charles, what are these for? Magic tricks?" Alucard held 7 cards each with a different image but have identical brown backs.

"They are magical but they are certainly not for tricks. Each one holds a different power which enables the user to summon weapons of great power. Altria gave them to me before she left. She told me to give them to Edel because she thinks our daughter inherited great magic circuit which will enable her to harness the power of the cards. I want you to give that to her so she can better defend herself."

"I will. Don't worry I will keep her safe no matter what."

"And I will make sure that I find a way to break your curse." Gusion pledged.

"Godspeed to you both."

After the two men left Charles sat in a chair in his balcony and called for a maid to fetch him some coffee. He gazed at the garden on top of the roof of the function hall which was filled with blue rose bushes arranged in a way so that it formed a large lion head sigil. It was a tribute to his wife who greatly loved lions and the color blue while another building has red rose bushes forming the head of a wolf. This was a tribute to himself.

A sudden strong wind blew and Charles had to cover his eyes as dust and tiny objects flew in the air. When the gale passed, rose petals floated in the air creating a beautiful rain of blue and red dancing together. The sight touched his heart because it was his color and his wife's and it reminded him of his joyful times with her.

A single tear fell from his crimson eyes and he looked down at his lap where the tear fell. He discovered three roses instead of a small circular watermark. The appearance of the flowers astounded him. Two of them are already fully bloomed while the third one still has a lot of petals to unfold. The other two are of different colors, one is crimson red and the other is a royal blue. The smallest of the three is a vibrant red and it cheered him up to see it's beauty.

Is this a symbol that his family will finally be united? Will Altria return to be with him and his daughter? Will they finally be able to give Edelweiss the love of a family that's been deprived of her? If so when? How? Charles started to swell with happiness. This omen might indicate that his long time wish will finally come true.

He just hopes that he last long enough to at least enjoy it.

🌹

Dark Forest

Ruby had painstakingly finally brought Dyrroth home with her. She placed him on the sofa to give herself a break before carrying him to a guest room on the first floor. She checked for his pulse and found one albeit it being far from normal and took his temperature. The demon is heating up, it was pretty high even for a demon. He also started sweating hard and breathing heavily which greatly alarmed Ruby. She immediately went to the kitchen to prepare cold water in a basin and retrieved some towels, she also brewed tea for herself to help her nerves.

She returned to the guest room and laid the basin and towels on a table. She submerged a small towel into the cold water and twisted it to drain a little. She cleaned the dirt and blood from his face, neck, chest, and abdomen and submerged it again into the basin to remove the dirt.

"What the fuck happened to me?" Dyrroth weakly asked, his eyes still half-closed, after finally regaining consciousness.

"You're finally awake. You've been poisoned." she answered while still cleaning his body. Dyrroth sat up and prepared to attack her.

"Relax, if I was the one who wanted you dead I wouldn't tire myself carrying you all the way to my home and healing you. It was the boar that poisoned you."

"What?" Dyrroth asked in disbelief.

"The boar ate poisonous weeds, they're quite plenty in the place we met, that's why he was so grumpy. It seems like he's built quite an immunity to resist the poison so it was only a drug to him. The poison was circulating in his blood and you were splattered with quite a lot." Ruby explained.

"Then why didn't you let me die? What is your intention? Are you going to sell me to the Moniyan Empire, you whore?" Dyrroth seethed.

"I swore to you that I'm going to help you retrieve your ingredients. I don't know the list and you won't be able to accept them if you die therefore I won't be able to fulfill my oath. That's why you can't die until we're finished. After that I don't care what will happen to you so please don't die on me." Ruby said with determination.

She looked down on her bloodstained hands and whispered, "I don't want another person dying in my care." She clenched her fist and looked back at her patient but found that he lost consciousness.

Ruby sighed and took off his blood-splattered clothes and placed them on the floor. She cleaned his whole body and never shied away even though most of him was already exposed. After that, she went to the bathroom and dumped the bloody towel to the lavatory and disposed of the red water. She went to the kitchen and filled the basin with the Sapphire lake's pristine healing water. She opened the cupboard and took a jar of powdered charcoal made from the tree branches growing on Lazuli's lake and dropped a few teaspoons into the magical water. She took a glass and dropped three teaspoons of the black substance and added water into it.

She brought all of this to Dyrroth's room and retrieved her first aid kit. She laid the kit in the table with the other materials and picked up a new towel which she submerged in the magical water. She carefully dabbed and wiped Dyrroth's skin so that his injuries won't hurt and dried him with a new towel when she finished.

After completing this she started nursing his injuries and patching up his wounds. She lifted his upper body so that he was in a sitting position and opened his mouth so that he can drink her concoction better. Ruby carefully placed him down and went up to get spare clothes to change him in.

The rest of the night progressed slowly for Ruby as she tended to her visitor and only when the sun shone did she nurse herself.