As soon as the manager of Rose Mansion, Ms. Rose, appeared, Louis immediately felt the atmosphere of the entire Rose Mansion begin to shift.

It was as if a thin barrier had enveloped everything—the light reflecting off the floor even carried a faint reddish tint.

Louis blinked. A gigantic rose suddenly expanded in his vision, making his heart skip a beat as he held his breath.

The rose before him was enormous—at least five times the size of a human head—growing out of a human body. That body was unmistakably wearing Ms. Rose's attire!

The rose petals bloomed wide, exuding an overly rich, sweet fragrance that lingered around Louis's nose. Thin golden tendrils emerged from the flower's pistil, like worms writhing and swaying, inching closer toward Joshua's face.

"Is this our new student? How adorable," Ms. Rose spoke, yet Louis noticed that her voice came from her stomach—beneath that pristine white shirt.

Louis then felt the girl named Anna suddenly press closer to him. Her tall figure—half a head taller than he—now seemed like she wanted to hide behind him completely.

Louis frowned and said coldly, "She's too close to me. Step back."

Hearing that, Ms. Rose's expression twisted slightly in anger, but before she could speak, her leg was suddenly kicked. A childish voice—Alex's—rang out: "Don't you know Louis is my little brother? You're making him uncomfortable. Get lost!"

Ms. Rose was actually kicked to the ground by Alex. She laughed softly, the petals around her body slightly drooping. "Alex, don't be so rude."

But it was merely a scolding in name only—she couldn't do anything to Alex. Rising to her feet, she spoke again in a gentle, coaxing tone: "Alright, everyone, come together now."

Alex glanced at Louis and roared, "Hurry up."

Louis was almost frozen on the spot. He realized that the entire space had changed—the furniture had vanished, and beneath their feet were countless overlapping rose blossoms. The other children had become grotesque shapes; though their bodies remained human, their heads became disturbingly large and monstrous.

Just like Alex—his head had transformed into that of a wolf, the corners of his mouth torn wide open, sharp fangs jutting outward, and his blood-red eyes bulging. His tongue was so long it couldn't even fit inside his mouth.

They leapt and danced atop the carpet of roses, crushing the petals beneath their feet. The shattered flowers oozed a vivid red liquid—not perfume, but something far too thick and plentiful—more like fresh blood.

Louis swallowed hard and forced himself to step forward, though his trembling legs refused to obey.

A hand suddenly grabbed him, and Anna's timid, anxious voice sounded, "Louis, are you alright?"

Louis instinctively shuddered. The thought of something strange grabbing him made goosebumps all over his skin.

He quickly adjusted his expression and turned to look back coldly—yet the sight that greeted him next caught him entirely off guard.

Anna still looked the same. Her bright red eyes peeked out from behind her thick bangs, gazing at him with a mix of shyness and joy. "We... we're the same..." she said softly.

Louis's mind spun rapidly with thoughts, but in the end, he shook off Anna's hand and walked forward to join the others. Anna bit her lip and hurried after him.

They had clearly arrived together, and Anna merely followed behind Louis, but as soon as they took their places, Ms. Rose's angry voice suddenly rang out:

"Anna! How often have I told you to gather quickly and keep up with everyone? Why are you always so slow? Stand outside!"

Anna could only run out obediently, as if she were already used to this treatment. The other children burst out laughing.

"Guess Anna's too big to move properly!"

"Ha ha, a giant!"

"She's so ugly! I don't want to study with someone cursed—her eyes and hair are disgusting!"

The children chattered carelessly, completely ignoring anyone's feelings.

To mock Anna like that, Louis stared at their half-human, half-monster forms, utterly confused as to what their beauty standards even were.

But it was apparent—they hated her for her size and unusual eyes and hair. It had nothing to do with her not having one of their grotesque, oversized heads.

Anna stood to the side, nervously twisting her fingers. At that moment, Ms. Rose approached and handed Louis a small red paper rose.

"Good children will be rewarded," she said.

"I'm almost filling up my glass jar!"

"My mom's definitely going to reward me!"

Alex scoffed. "It's just a bunch of paper, idiots."

As soon as he said that, the children's cheerful chatter quieted down slightly.

Louis held the paper rose and asked, "So bad children don't get paper roses?"

Ms. Rose looked at Louis—or rather, the giant rose turned its bloom toward him and nodded.

After that, the morning passed by relatively peacefully. The children all seemed fairly cheerful, except for the occasional moments when Alex suddenly lost his temper and tried to bully someone. Still, none of it seemed to involve Anna at all. She stayed alone in a corner, too scared to even glance in their direction, because whenever she did, some other children would immediately rush over to mock her again.

Louis, who could hardly be considered a "well-behaved" student, still received two paper roses that morning. Only Anna received none.

[In Rose Mansion, which child is the most disobedient?]

[Time limit: 5 days]

Louis glanced at the question, then looked toward Anna and quietly said in his mind, "Anna."

The moment he finished speaking, the question disappeared before him. At the same time, another pop-up appeared.

[Correct answer. You have gained the attention of XXX. Please keep up the good work!]

[What is the Butcher's secret?

Hint: Supermarket S-54 welcomes you!

Time limit: 1 month]

The missions never mentioned any rewards—or punishments—but Louis had no intention of finding out what kind of punishment awaited failure.

"Alright then, see you tomorrow, my good children!" Ms. Rose's voice rang out again, and that same feeling of distortion returned... When Louis looked up again, everything had returned to normal.

Anna's tall figure approached him, holding a sketchbook in her hands. "Louis, can I sit next to you?" she asked.

Louis gave her a glance but said nothing.

Anna's eyes widened, and then she smiled happily, sitting down beside him and starting to draw.

The other children cast them both disdainful looks. Although their eyes were disgusted, none dared approach while Anna was sitting next to Louis—none except one.

Alex kicked Anna hard, sending her sprawling forward. "You think you can get close to my little brother? Get lost!"

Anna's eyes widened, and Louis suddenly stood up before she could even start crying.

"Alex, don't make noise next to me," he said coldly.

"What?!" Alex sneered. "I'm just driving away this unlucky freak! What, are you protecting her now?"

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