"Is this the person you are talking about?" Max asked calmly as he looked at Anna and observed her expression.

Anna stared at the photo and her eyes widened. She nodded her head vigorously and replied, "Yes, it's Will!" Her voice was filled with shock and joy. It had been a long time since she had seen Will even though it was only a picture of him.

Lear too looked at the picture with curiosity.

Only Max was the one who was dumbfounded. He couldn't believe it. This seemed a bit too unreal.

'Damn! Wilson? Him…he even knows what love means? I thought that time bomb only knew how to explode….besides, the way she described Wilson like a god….damn her eyes must be rotten. He is a devil!!!'

"..."

"Are you sure it's him, Anna? Did Will have any twin brother?" Max couldn't help but ask. He still felt it hard to believe. He couldn't relate it to Wilson. There had to be some misunderstanding or supernatural activity here.

"No, he doesn't." Lear was the one to reply. His expression look calm and talked with a hint of seriousness.

He stared at Max before continuing, "He is a Scarlet…."

Max too knew about this. The Scarlet family…..Wilson had a younger brother….there was a gap of less than a year between them. Aside from that, he had an older sister and his parents.

His sister was one of the leading figures of the younger generation.

Erina Scarlet, one of the 12 Celestials of this generation as well as a renowned beauty queen. She was said to be the contender for the stronger female in the younger generation and it might not be a surprise if she turned out to be strongest of all too.

This was how her popularity was among the mass. Specially after the All Academy Competitions had been started to be promoted among the masses.

But Travis...

Max found it hard to believe, no matter how much of an a** Wilson was, he was nice at the core. Yet his brother doing something like that to him …..Max couldn't understand that.

"It's all clear now. You have been caught in between a family feud, Anna." Lear calmly said.

"Family feud?" Anna asked in confusion.

Max too looked at Lear.

"Yes, family feud. Wilson Scarlet, that red hair and all the other clues that I got from your story confirm his identity. He belongs to one of the 12 Noble Houses. The Scarlet House." Lear replied.

"Noble House?" Anna asked in confusion.

Lear knew that ordinary people most of the time didn't know about the noble houses and just took them as people from high-class society. He went ahead and gave her a brief instruction about the 12 Noble Houses.

Max heard Lear and couldn't help but feel that he was being biased. He framed the 12 Noble Houses as the defender of humanity. Well, Max might not be the one to speak as well.

"We heard already. Stop that sh*t and get to the point!" Max said when he couldn't take Lear's words anymore.

Lear glared at him in annoyance before he finally continued, "Well, you see, Erina and Wilson are true siblings. But isn't true for the other one. Travis Scarlet is a stepbrother to them."

"Are you sure?" Max asked. He had never heard of that.

"Of course I am. You may not have heard it because it's been 17 years since the Lord of the House remarried. We were just born back then. Do you think people will still talk about it like it's spicy news? If it weren't for the fact that I am well informed, you wouldn't even have known about it." Lear snorted.

"But what has this got to do with me?" Anna asked in confusion.

"There can be only one heir to the throne…." Max said with a dark face. This was the reason he hated these Noble families.

"Indeed….Travis was using you as a weapon against Will or Wilson...What do you think would have happened if he saw you in a situation where Travis wanted to put you?" Lear asked calmly.

Anna's face turned pale as she imagined the outcome of such an event.

Lear looked at her and shook his head. He didn't say one thing and Max too knew about it. There were rumors that Travis Scarlet was impotent. It looked like it was true and has saved Anna from something worse.

Max could imagine what would Wilson do when he came to know about it. Well, that was only if he didn't catch this Travis guy first.

....

"If Wilson attacked Travis without any proof, he would have been done for. Just to let you guys know. Wilson hates his father to his core because he abandoned his mentally ill mother...and their relationship is barely hanging by a thread because Wilson's mother is still alive... at least that's what I have heard in my circle…" Lears said with seriousness.

Max too nodded. He had heard it too during his time in the trial. Now that he had confirmed that this Wilson was his friend, he couldn't help but get worried.

"This is too cruel…" Anna couldn't help but speak as tears slid out of her eyes. No one knew whether she was talking about herself or Wilson.

"Things could get ugly between your very own and you think that it wouldn't in case of stepbrothers," Lear said with a sigh as he looked towards Max. Max still hadn't told him about what was going on. He wanted to get a clear idea about the situation too.

"Don't worry, Anna. He isn't just your lover. But my friend and brother too. I won't let anything happen to him.." Max said with a serious expression on his face.

"Yes and truth to be told, Wilson has to be the one to inherit the family. With the current division in power, it will be a disaster if Travis takes control of Scarlet House." Lear said with a troubled expression.

"What do you mean?" Max asked with a frown.

"Scarlet House is in support of Walker House which heads the Mage Association. This has kept a balance in power. But do you know, Travis's mother is an Oven? I can't imagine what would happen if Travis inherits the Scarlet House." Lear said as he shook his head.

"Slam!"

"Shatter!"

The moment Lear completed his sentence, he was frightened by the sight of the glass panel of the table being shattered by Max's palm.

Anna was no different than him. They couldn't understand what was wrong with Max.

Max whose face was twitching only knew what was wrong with the situation.

'Damn it! F*ck! The situation is even more messed up than I thought. I should have conducted even more research in the trial….the first two houses that I came to know about have both been in the influence of these demons...I don't even know about the situation in other noble houses…'

"You are alright, Max?" Lear asked with wide eyes.

Anna too stared at him. Waiting for Max too reply.

Max looked at Lear as blood continued to drip down his hands. He was once again reminded that the Demons already had people in the Noble Houses. He needed someone too.

Lear was definitely the best choice to handle the situation in Barnes House and Max had faith in him. A guy who could put his life on the line like that was definitely worth putting one's trust in.

"You wanted to know about the situation, right?" Max suddenly asked as he looked at Lear with a seriousness in his eyes.

"Yes….." Lear said seriously as he observed Max's expression.

"You should pay attention too, Anna. This isn't just about him. You have to get a better idea about the situation too." Max said as he looked at Anna before beginning to speak.

"Long ago, Humans used to leave at the bottom of the food chain...weak, powerless and at the mercy of strong...The strongest creatures at that time were Demonic Beasts also called Demons…."

Lear couldn't understand why Max was telling a story suddenly. But he didn't interrupt and continues to listen.