I was searching for the flower that symbolises ‘Secrecy’. And apparently (and surprisingly), it is ‘Rose’.

“Is that so?” The middle aged woman frowned. The scar faced Halseed was standing just before her. “Who?” She asked.

“‘Guests’ sent by the one above. One’s a young woman and the other’s a young man. The lady almost killed the three of us with just one snap of her fingers.” He sighed.

Her brows furrowed even further. “This is a troublesome matter indeed. I will go get her.”

“Yes. After all, you are the only one who knows where she lives.”

The woman wearing a blue dress looked as if she were in her mid twenties. She had brown hairs and black eyes- one that contrasted the majority of the inhabitants on the continent.

Her body was dainty, with medium breasts and a reserved ass.

Her black eyes met the black eyes of Adrian, the ones that were many shades darker.

The atmosphere in the room became tense; everyone’s eyes were on the two- the challenger and the defender.

“Greetings.” The woman curtsied. “Sir Adrian Darkheart.”

Everyone gasped- not at the woman’s demeanour, but the man’s identity. Adrian Darkheart? Wasn’t that the new Royal Advisor to the Queen of Nemphis.

Everyone turned towards the devilishly handsome young man. Who would expect the most highly paid official in the entire Western Hemisphere of the continent would sneak into enemy lands?

And wasn’t the new Royal Advisor just twenty years of age? So that meant, he had not taken in some potion to slow his ageing?

The more they delved further into the matter, the more scary it became. But the admiration they had for the young man only increased.

“Greetings.” Adrian nodded. “You must be Elise.”

“Indeed.” She answered. “I had been expecting your arrival.”

“Now that I am here, you should know what to do.”

The woman named Elise nodded and turned to the members of her team.

“I don’t have to introduce this man, do I?” She asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

“He is now the new leader of the Blue Rose Syndicate.” She declared.

This scenario might have come to their shock before but. But now- nope. They had already witnessed the guests’ power before. And now that they knew of the young man’s identity, they had no qualms whatsoever to serve him. If anything, they were eager to.

“She is Irene.” Adrian pointed at the icy blue haired woman beside him. “Just know that her position is just below me.”

Everyone nodded, especially Asmond, Ley and Halseed.

He turned to Elise. His hand was still pointing towards Irene. “She is totally oblivious to the situation here. Tell her everything she needs to know.”

Irene’s face was as indifferent as always while she turned to Elise.

The ex-leader nodded before giving Caleb, the giant, a look.

He nodded before fetching a sofa and positioning it before Adrian and Irene.

“Edenshield, despite being the most fortified city in the entire continent is not peaceful as it seems.” She declared. “The entire city is controlled by three spheres of power

“First of all, we have the Raymonds, the Duke family who is in charge of the city. For centuries, they had been defending the city, and they succeeded every time. Well, almost every time. But no matter the case, they are a force to be reckoned with. The army they control numbers in the tens of thousands; including the forces from outside the city- from the Duke’s other territories- the number reaches an imposing hundred thousand.

“Then, comes in the Church of Ervil. It won’t be wrong to say that they are one of the strongest forces in the continent, just below the Imperial family and standing toe to toe with families like the Greatwoods and Lochtears. But one thing made them tricky enemies, even harder to target compared to the Duke family- something they call the power of faith.”

“Hmph!” The middle aged man snorted. “Bullshit! They just control the minds of the general people and turn them into maniacs. Those motherfuckers use them as their puppets and make them do whatever they wished, even sending them to their deaths.”

Elise gave the middle aged woman a look.

The madam from the brothel nodded and stepped forward. “Calm down, will you?” She patted the man’s shoulder. “Let her do the talking.”

Halseed composed himself and sighed. “Pardon me.” He took a step back.

Irene was just about to ask something when-

“Irene.” Adrian called, prompting her to look towards him. He shook his head.

She nodded and turned back to Elise.

Elise continued. “The church is at the the exact core of the city- normally where the Duke estate should have been. You can imagine how powerful they are

“And finally, we have us- ‘the underworld’.” She declared, her tone even more serious than before. “Of course, the underworld doesn’t consist of only us. There are several other groups- some strong and some weak. Out of the three, this is undoubtedly the trickiest and also- the most persistent. There are heavyweights like the Raymonds and the Church residing in the city. But they had not been able to make any major dents to the underworld in centuries.”

“How powerful are you?”

Elise shook her head. “We might be powerful, even close to the top when it comes to strength. But the strength of a syndicate is not decided by numbers, strength or such. Of course they matter, but what matters the most is influence. And the influence we have is…” She sighed. “Too little.”

“So, you are the weakest?” Irene asked with a blank face.

Elise’s face twitched. So did the face of the other members.

Elise opened her mouth. “It’s because-“

“You have to maintain your secrecy.” Adrian chimed in. “After all, you are not Rutonians and are here with an important mission.”

“Yes.” She nodded. “We can’t put that in jeopardy to gain influence.”

A smile formed on Adrian’s face. “Well, I have a bad news and good news for you.”

She frowned.

“Bad news- we need to have authority. And good news…” The smile on his face turned into an evil grin.

“We are not remaining the weakest anymore.”