Chapter 457: Roselle Family Meeting?
In a long and narrow hall of blackstone was the dining hall of the Roselles.
Their dining hall had vaulted ceilings, supported by curved pillars shaped like twisting thorns similar to those of a thorned stem of a rose.
In the middle was a massive dark oak table, so polished that the lights from the candles could be seen reflecting off of it as though it were still water.
Placed around the dining table were high-backed chairs—painted in a deep crimson velvet—and bore the symbol of the Roselle family’s emblem on the back, burned into the wood.
The walls of the dining hall were painted in a blood-red and gold combination that went hand in hand, especially as they boldly showed off the common steel weapons hung on them.
Seated on them were each individual family member of the noble assassin family, taking time out of their day to attend their once-per-day supper in the evening.
Marionette looked around with her mask off, something that would be allowed when either in the dining hall or in her room.
While slicing into her meal, she swept her gaze across the table, settling her eyes on the faces of her family.
There were six members of her family in total, including her.
The Gardener of Roses, The Thorn of Roses, the Blades of Roses, the Veil of Roses, the Heir of Roses, and lastly, the Crown of Roses.
All the other members besides her had already reached the fabled 4th Tier, a stage where it would be near-impossible for anyone below the 3rd Tier to win against unless absolutely prepared.
The Gardener of Rose and Thorn of Roses were biologically her uncle and aunt, but under house rules, she was to refer to them by their title—only rarely had she ever been able to call them by those familial terms.
Marionette gazed up at them.
The Gardener of Roses had short black hair, piercing red eyes, and a handsome face that—despite reaching his late twenties—was without any signs of wrinkles.
This was the same as well for the Thorn of Roses, who looked nearly identical to the Gardener of Roses, leading one to come to the definite conclusion that the two were twins.
Although there were, of course, differences, as the Thorn of Roses had shoulder-length glossy black hair and a soft look in her eyes as she sliced through the meat on her plate.
Both of them looked up from their meal and gazed at Marionette, noticing her stares.
She met their gaze and nodded respectfully before immediately shifting her gaze away from them.
Marionette moved her attention to the Blade of Roses and Veil of Roses. They were essentially her grandparents, but, obviously, due to the family rules, she couldn’t refer to them as such.
Although they did seem to be more lenient with her in that regard.
They were in their late 70s, but they still had their youth, seemingly appearing as though they were only in their late twenties, just like the Gardener of Roses and Thorn of Roses.
And just like everyone with her blood or a part of their family, their appearance could only be comparable to a high-class model. But even then, those model would fall short of their beauty.
Unfortunately, besides herself, she would be unable to appreciate the sight due to her Flaw that affected even those of the same blood.
Marionette then slowly turned to the end of the table, where she would find the Crown of Roses, otherwise known as the Family Head.
The figure sat at the end of the table wasn’t a human, but a mechanical body that only watched as they ate silently.
When everyone had finished eating and had their plates and silverware removed from the table, the Crown of Roses finally spoke through the mouth of the machine.
"Let us begin the family meeting."
Unlike the mechanical body he had used to watch the tournament held in the Louis Mana Academy Realm, this one was of high quality and didn’t have a skin-crawling stutter or static with every word.
"As you all are aware, for the past month, mysterious activities have begun to appear within our territory."
With a press of a button, a large hologram appeared from the centre of the table, causing everyone’s eyes to rise towards it.
What they saw were 2D images of large, unorganised gatherings of thugs and mages in photos.
"While it is within the law of our territory, such unusual gatherings have been happening all over."
The hologram switched to a 2D map, which was sparingly littered with red dots that pointed towards the locations of the recent odd gatherings.
"After having a few of our members blend into their group and gathering intel and attacking a few of their hideouts, we could safely assume they are working for a malicious organisation—one that we do not know of..."
The Crown of Roses then summoned five separate folders before skillfully throwing them to each individual family member.
Marionette watched as the folder slid in front of her before opening it.
What she found were malicious organisations that the Roselle family had already kept note of.
The Dark Thieves, Midnight Organ Traders, Lone Sharkwhales... Just to name a few.
Besides the name, the current status and activities of these organisations were also included.
Inactive were those who hadn’t made any large waves for the past couple of months.
Disposed of, for those that had already been destroyed by the Roselle Family’s hands, which she played a hand in, the moment she joined the business.
She would also find statuses labelled Active, but those appeared rarely and only for organisations that had been tamed by the family and now worked as either delivery teams, informants, or just to describe them as a whole...
Errand Boys.
’Hm?’
The more files Marionette flipped through, the more she realised something. These organisations listed inside the folders were crossed out.
All... Except one...
"I’m sure all of you have discovered the only malicious organisation that hasn’t yet been crossed out."
With another flick of a button, the hologram began to warp into a 3D image of a cultish mask.