I left the dungeons in a bad mood. The young man confined in the prison cell had confirmed that he was Cassis Pedelian. Even though I had sort of expected it, I couldn't deny any longer who I was and what sort of evil family and story I had been thrown into. I raised my fingers to my lips.
F*ck, I had to plan my next move.
The novel… I remembered almost everything clearly. It was the story of how the heroine led the demise of the Agriche family..
** Past Life **
I was in Korea. I was anxious about my thesis. During one of the worst points of my student life, a classmate suggested a popular novel to me.
I was sleep deprived and tired. If it was any other day, I had too much dignity to believe that a romance novel would cheer me up, but when my classmate pushed the book in my hands, I automatically read the name of the book:
Hell's Flower.
It was a book with a revolting title. I had to fight the impulse to throw the book away when I turned the page to read the summary on the back. The advertisement claiming it was a reverse harem novel turned me off, if the 19+ age sticker hadn't already. The story revolved around Sylvia who picked a lover among many male candidates during a terrifying adventure.
The heroine and the male protagonists were descended from five noble families that ruled a realm and could be identified by their respective house colours of blue, white, red, gold, and black. Sylvia came from the Pedelians of the "blue crest."
I turned to the first page without further introduction.
In the first chapter, Sylvia was described in the opening chapter as a lovely and endearing young woman with stunning azure hair and radiant golden eyes that resembled sunshine. She was born into a wealthy loving family and grew up without any hardships. She had a special bond with one of her older brothers among all of her siblings.
Could the story already be so unrealistic? I pondered. Siblings are normally mean to each other, aren't they?
The warm brother-sister bond between Sylvia and her was extensively described in the book. She and her older brother were the ideal siblings to their parents, exchanging loving hugs and saying "I love you" to each other often. There was enough garbage to make you spit blood.
I muttered, "This is fiction alright" and laughed.
Sylvia's journey began after her fifteenth birthday when her precious brother disappeared.
Before he lost communication, Cassis had been assigned to spy on suspicious activity along the Pedelian border. Naturally, his family desperately sought to locate him, but in vain.
The "black crests", the House of Agriche, were the obvious offenders.
I had thought that it was a fitting description for the villains. My eyes turned to see a book illustration of the Agriche family crest.
The "blue crest" Pedalians, who battled for justice, and the "black crest" Agriche, who committed crimes, had no love lost. Never have the families gotten along. Furthermore, there had been a major fight between the Agriche and Pedelian Heads just prior to Cassis Pedelian's abduction.
The noble houses were on an equal footing. In the end, the Pedelians could not initiate an investigation against the Agriche family, due to there being no evidence of the black crests being involved. Cassis's father could only burn in shame for failing to find his son.
I knew from the start what would happen to Cassis Pedelian as a reader. The author casually noted that a body had been disposed of on the Agriche estate.
And so, three years went by….
Sylvia persisted in trying to find out where her brother was. When she turned 18 and became an adult, she made the decision to track down Cassis on her own. Thus began the Rated 19+ scenes…
In her journey, Sylvia came across her family's enemies, friends, and at some point I closed my eyes while reading… the male lords and heirs. Ah, the interactions Sylvia had with the men. I felt those scenes were crazy at the time. I started to stan the female lead and enjoyed the NSFW and romantic scenes, especially the kidnapping and confinement parts….
I came to the conclusion that all of the characters in the book were freaks after reading it. Surprisingly, Sylvia had won over an Agriche as well.
Sylvia had been captured by an Agriche during her journey. In some ways, she couldn't have been more fortunate. She was able to easily enter the enemy den that she had long wished to sneak into. There, she discovered that her brother Cassis had been killed by torture on Lant Agriche's orders. She then joined forces with the other male protagonists who had fallen in love with her, the lords and masters of the white, red, and gold houses, to get revenge on the entire family. Together, they destroyed the Agriche family, and the novel has an open-ending where Sylvia is still making decisions on her love.
** Past Life End **
The plot was neither rich nor feminist. Simply put, the majority of the novel focused on Sylvia's sub..submissive encounters, with the male protagonists and her life while she had been locked in a cage..
F*ck it.
Sylvia's happy conclusion in the book made me pleased, but the House of Agriche was completely destroyed. The Pedelians' rage was so intense that once Sylvia came home and informed her family of Cassis's fate, they gathered their allies and slaughtered everybody who was connected to the black crest. Any servant, lady, or child received no pity. The family line of Agriche was exterminated.
As for the character Roxana, she had only been a side character in the novel. Suddenly I felt sympathy for her. She had somewhat of a cliché ending. She had been ordered by her father to seduce one of the male protagonists but failed and fell into disgrace. When the Pedelians and their allies seized the castle and carried out the Agriche massacre, she perished.