Roxana
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
The Way to Protect the Female Lead’s Older Brother
Chapter 2
* * *
It turned out I had more than just one older brother.
As it happened, this was a world where either polyandry or polygamy was permitted depending on one’s individual capability.
They said my father had four wives in total. Counting myself, five children had been born to him so far.
And among them, there was only one sibling who shared the same mother with me. His name was Asil, an older brother four years my senior.
“Sana, my cute little sister. Oppa will protect you no matter what.”
Unlike me—who inherited my mother’s blond hair and my father’s red eyes—Asil took after our mother from head to toe.
He was a soft-hearted pushover, much like an affectionate pup.
Unbefitting someone born and raised in such a vicious family, he was a gentle boy blessed with a pure, bright smile.
Ever since I was in the cradle, he would smile foolishly and rattle on with such cheeky promises.
Even so, watching him try to look after me like an older brother when he was actually far younger than my real age was rather amusing.
That I managed to adapt and survive in this godforsaken house was largely thanks to Asil.
The name of my family was Agriche, and the traditions of this household were quite peculiar.
To put it simply, Agriche was a criminal syndicate rooted in the underworld.
In other words, they stole, ran cons, smuggled narcotics and deadly poisons, and if necessary, killed people—scraping by to make a living through such means.
Of course, their definition of ‘scraping by’ was on a mind-bogglingly grand scale.
We weren’t some mafia syndicate, yet here we were. I was utterly dumbfounded.
What was even more baffling, however, was the fact that every child born into this family had to adhere to the same family ways.
Agriche had maintained its lineage through such methods up to this day, and they claimed that we, too, had to undergo relentless training from an early age to become true Agriches.
Yet there was no way a formerly ordinary citizen of the Republic of Korea like me could easily accept such family traditions.
No matter how fast I adapted, this was a different story altogether.
After all, the daily subjects taught here consisted of handling weapons, concocting poisons and narcotics, stealth techniques, human vital points, and the like.
If it were just rote memorization, it might have been fine, but I had no practical talent whatsoever.
“Not a single thing stands out about her.”
Even the man who was my father passed his merciless judgment. I was eight years old at the time, and that was about the same number of times I had ever seen that man’s face.
In short, we were a father and daughter devoid of any affection.
My father, Lant Agriche, had little interest in his children.
Then again, his wives and offspring had multiplied over the years; now, there were ten mothers and sixteen siblings in this household.
Expecting him to distribute his attention equally among so many would indeed be asking for too much.
“If there were even one outstanding trait, I might try to cultivate it further.”
The way his appraisal swept over me made my stomach turn. His gaze treated me like a commodity rather than a daughter.
Excuse me, but when did I ever say I wanted to work for this damn family?
Irked, I wanted to talk back, but my mother and Asil had pleaded with me desperately for days beforehand, so I simply kept quiet.
Beside me, Mother stood trembling in frightful tension.
At last, Father glanced briefly at my face before opening his mouth again.
“Still, she could be put to use in another way.”
Having decided my utility, Father ordered that I be given a different education from that day forward.
And so, the subject I was forced to learn from then on was…
The Charm Skill.
Are you insane!
I mean, sure, I took after my beautiful mother and was exceptionally pretty, but still!
What normal family would ever teach something like this to an eight-year-old child?
So this was what he meant by being put to use in another way.
Dammit all.
It seemed they intended to train me to seduce targets later on, either to pry for intelligence or carry out assassinations.
Teaching an art of seduction to a mere child like this—it truly was a revolting household.
“Mother, I don’t want to learn this. Why do I have to study such things? You seem to be forgetting, but I’m only eight years old.”
“Sana, you mustn’t say such things. You are an Agriche. You must study hard so you can become a worthy member of this family.”
Looking back, there was a desperate urgency in the way Mother gripped my shoulders back then.
I could not bring myself to refuse her pleading eyes.
Moreover, in this household where absolute obedience to orders was strictly enforced, defying the head of the family, Father, was unthinkable.
It was filthy and unfair, but in the end, I could not overturn the board and dutifully received the training as ordered.
Yet perhaps because I lacked any will to put my heart into it, my grades remained thoroughly lackluster afterward.
In the midst of that, my full-blooded brother, Asil, was ‘disposed of.’
It happened when he was fifteen years old.
* * *
“Asil…!”
Mother’s piercing scream echoed in my ears, sounding utterly unreal.
Asil, who had been smiling brightly in front of me just days ago, was returned to Mother and me as a cold corpse.
I was completely stunned. The woman who introduced herself as the ‘Executor’ stated that Asil had been deemed unfit for Agriche and had been disposed of according to the rules.
It was the first time that rule had been enforced within our generation.
In that instant, my mind snapped awake as if doused in freezing water. Simultaneously, a bone-deep chill washed over my entire body.
“Not a single thing stands out about her.”
I recalled Father sweeping his gaze over me three years ago, evaluating me like merchandise.
And the image of Mother, who had been extraordinarily tense that day.
I had known early on that this family was unnaturally twisted, but I never imagined it would be to this extent.
The frail Mother fainted on the spot before Asil’s corpse. Afterwards, she remained bedridden for nearly ten days.
Naturally, the shock hit me hard as well. I realized things could not go on like this. If Asil was disposed of, I could be next.
The very thought sent shivers crawling down my spine.
My father, Lant Agriche, favored people who possessed some form of utility.
From that moment on, I threw myself into my training with unprecedented diligence.
And at the same time, I began to coldly reassess the situation I was placed in.
“Sana, how are your studies going these days?”
“Yes, I am working hard.”
“Good. You must do your best today as well to become a proud Agriche.”
“Yes, Mother.”
I no longer argued with her words.
Though my primary focus had shifted to the art of charming people after the age of eight, I still had to learn a wide variety of skills to prove my future worth.
From basic physical combat to handling diverse weapons, knowledge of pharmacology, information gathering on overall politics and affairs, and conversational arts—there were countless subjects I had to study.
This family, devoid of even a shred of familial affection, held a ‘Grand Banquet’ once a month.
Father would summon the top three children who demonstrated the greatest achievements over the month and spend time with them at the table.
Naturally, neither Asil nor I had ever been invited to the Grand Banquet.
After Asil, two more children were disposed of.
One of them, sensing his impending death, attempted to flee Agriche.
However, he was eventually captured and shot dead in the most gruesome manner yet.
Around that time, I began harboring doubts about this world.
And I realized that the only person who held the answers was my father, Lant Agriche.
In the summer when I turned twelve, a year after Asil’s death, I was finally invited to the Grand Banquet.
And it was then that I became certain: the world I had reincarnated into was the world inside a book.
