EVIL RED ROSE

There was indeed a red rose in the room in the damp tower. The red rose was inside a glass vase, and it wasn't in very good condition because the red petals were starting to lose their beauty.

And instead of standing proudly, the red rose started to lower its head as if it was going to die any time soon.

Prince Reigen was confused because he suddenly found a red rose inside the damp and unkempt tower, and one thing that made him even more curious was that someone had deliberately locked the door just to lock the red rose.

He studied the red rose carefully, but he didn't find anything special about it. It was just a red rose with green stems and some green leaves that were starting to wither as well. He could also see some of the thorns on its stem, and it did look normal in his eyes.

"Perhaps it was the witches' special red rose, Your Highness," Connad finally responded to the prince's question.

Prince Reigen turned to Connad with a frown on his forehead. "What do you mean it's the witches' special red rose?" He asked the guard again.

"The witches are famous for their evil tricks, Your Highness. Perhaps this flower has a special power that had been helping those witches all along," Connad carefully voiced his suspicions.

The prince once again turned to the red rose, but the creases on his forehead were still apparent. "If this rose had been helping the witches all along, then why did they lock it in this room?" He asked another question to the guard.

Prince Reigen had indeed studied witches for many years, but he had never heard anything about the special red roses possessed by witches. He only knew that witches depended heavily on their wands, but he knew nothing about roses as the witches' weapons.

"Maybe this rose is too powerful for the witches, Your Highness," Connad answered the question again. "Maybe the witches couldn't even control it, so they decided to lock it here."

What Connad had just said made sense, and Prince Reigen silently agreed.

"Perhaps you are right," the prince voiced his approval. "This rose indeed looked special because instead of being planted in the ground, it's only placed in a glass vase without water in it. It hasn't completely withered even if it's just laid out like this, so maybe it's indeed a special rose."

Prince Reigen put forward that hypothesis after he realized that there was no water in the vase. The red rose had been plucked from the bushes and should have withered if it were just a regular rose.

The rose may not look perfect anymore, but it was not completely dead yet. The petals hadn't turned black yet, and the redness was still quite bright.

"Maybe we should just burn this rose, Your Highness," Connad suddenly spoke again with an idea.

"Why do we have to burn it?" Prince Reigen asked a question while glancing at the blue-haired man.

"It's because this rose might be dangerous or has an evil spirit in it," the guard replied. "Even the witches had to lock it here because they couldn't control it, so we better not risk our lives, Your Highness."

Prince Reigen did not give an immediate response as he was still considering his guard's suggestion.

They didn't even know the origin of the red rose, and perhaps the guard was right that they shouldn't risk their lives.

However, the prince had another opinion in mind as he said, "The thing about witches being unable to control this flower is just our assumption, right? No one can be sure that this flower is dangerous, so why should we burn it?"

Prince Reigen was acting stubborn again, and Connad didn't even dare to argue as he just listened to the prince in silence.

"And maybe there's another reason why the witches locked this flower in this room," the prince spoke again because he didn't get an answer from the guard. "Perhaps the power in this flower is against the evil power possessed by the witches, and that's why they decided to lock this flower here."

Neither the prince nor the guards knew anything about the red rose, and they could only come up with some theory. Connad had only voiced his theory before, and Prince Reigen could also put forward his theory.

His theory was different from Connad's, but he was pretty sure of it. He knew that the witches had purposely locked the flower in the rooms, and he also knew that the witches used to visit the red rose every day in the past after he found out about the different thicknesses of the moss on the stairs.

The witches were willing to spend their time to give this red rose a daily visit, so this red rose was indeed meaningful to them.

There were two possibilities related to the rose. The first possibility was that the red rose was an ally to the witches, and the second possibility was that the red rose was a contender for them.

Prince Reigen didn't know why, but his heart was inclined towards the second possibility. He assumed that the flower was the enemy of the witches.

"I don't think we should rush to a decision regarding this flower, Your Highness. Maybe we can find some information before we can do anything about this flower," Connad once again dared to voice his opinion.

Neither he nor the prince knew anything about the rose, but perhaps someone could help them find more information about the flower. That was what was on Connad's mind, and he had voiced his opinion. Now he was waiting for the prince to give him a response.

"You're right," the prince finally answered, and Connad almost smiled if only the prince didn't continue his speech, "We can search for information tomorrow, but I will bring this flower to my bedchamber tonight. I will keep this red rose in my bedchamber starting tonight."