Chapter 2: Roxana Agriche
----------
(3rd Person POV)
The Black Agriches...
A family that is called an epitome of evil.
Filled with nutjobs, psychopaths and lunatics.
The head of the family is Lant Agriche, a person with ten wives who only cares about his capable children.
Not even worthy of being called a father or a husband.
Lant Agriche had many children but the core of the future of the Agriches was -
Dion Agriche
Roxana Agriche
And Jeremy Agriche
These three formed a major part of the strength of the Agriche Family.
Agriche Family dealt with crime, murder, assassinations etc. They were one of the two leading groups in the underworld.
They were one of the most ambitious families in the empire.
They had started more than half of the rebellions against the Phoenix Empire since its founding.
Though, they were almost annihilated...in almost all rebellions.
For the past 200 years, there haven't been any rebellions as the last rebellion resulted in a long-running famine for all families.
They entered into a non-aggression pact together which was so that they do not enter into any conflicts.
Though, that's just so families do not fight blatantly. There are still skirmishes disguised as the work of bandits or underworld forces.
The Agriches played an extremely important role in developing the underworld over the years.
They truly were the family designed to be called the heinous of all...
-----------
(??? POV)
The Flower of Hell
A romance novel that was popular among my friends.
In this novel, the female lead, Sylvia along with the other male leads is captured, incarcerated and has erotic affairs with the male leads of the novel.
It was a 19+ Reverse Harem Novel.
She belonged to the family of righteous judges, The Pedelians.
This was a novel that I read in my previous life and...
What a twist that I got reincarnated here after my death...
I reincarnated as a person in the cruellest family to ever exist, The Agriches.
My name is Roxana Agriche.
I should have considered myself extremely lucky to have another life and I would have been happy about it.
But this family has an unfortunate fate...
They were wiped out in the novel by the female lead, Sylvia Pedelian.
The spark that led this tragedy(for me) to occur was the kidnapping of the elder brother of the female lead, Cassis Pedelian.
However, this world is a lot different from the novel, in that novel, there was no Phoenix Empire and the Phoenix Family. All families had their territory and were independent of each other.
The Phoenix Family is an unpredictable factor. I can't just depend on my knowledge of the plot now. It had sprung up on me, out of the blue and I couldn't understand at all why such a variation would come up. The only thing I could think of is that this might be fanfiction based on the novel 'The Flower Of Hell'.
I have never seen the members of the Phoenix Family but have heard of them quite a lot.
Their family consists of only two people - the emperor, William Phoenix and the crown prince, Aston Phoenix.
The crown prince of the empire is the same age as mine and the emperor is in his 50s but looks at least two decades older than his current age.
I had heard of the feats of the crown prince, becoming the youngest member of the council at the age of 15, staying in the Northern Forests for several months, defeating a wyvern and many more.
He had all the traits of being an important character and he might be a new original addition to the reverse harem of Sylvia Pedelian if this was written as a novel or a fanfiction.
---------
(A few days later)
Ah, shit is finally hitting the fan...
My father has finally done the deed which resulted in the death of the Agriches.
He has caught The Prince of Blue, Cassis Pedelian.
A person who can reverse my fate...
---------
It has been a week and a half since I have been visiting Cassis Pedelian in secret.
The guards are always so foolish, men are always susceptible to beauty...
He was in a worse state than expected. Several wounds on his body, a part of his legs paralyzed and with lots of blood loss...
He has been extremely wary of me but, understandably, he won't trust anyone in his enemy's house.
I have given him an antidote and several medicines to eat.
He is still wary but I hope he gets more inclined to listen to me.
---------
There is a custom in the Agriche family, originating from the first leader of the Agriches. The three most capable children dine with the head of the family every month.
A detestable custom just to solidify the loyalty among the children.
Fortunately, Or maybe, unfortunately? I am one of them.
Today is the day of the grand banquet and I am currently walking toward the dining room with my younger brother, Jeremy Agriche.
Jeremy Agriche, this punk was the person who captured Sylvia Pedelian and was the main cause of our tragedy.
Though he is quite different than in the novel. He is quite cute now, maybe because he is young, he just needs some affection from me so that he can listen to me.
A good pawn to use...
I enter the dining room and settle myself on my designated seat.
What greets my sight is my villainous father with his usual crazed smile, glancing outside the window with a cup of red wine in his hands.
After a few moments, his voice enters our ears, "Congratulations on your successful results over the past month. Shall we enjoy the great banquet?"
Then, we start dining upon the feast laid out in front of us.
While we were dining, he asked me with an expectant expression, "How are the results from the venomous butterflies eggs? I am expecting a lot from this project and from you, my dear Roxana."
I answered him with a smile and a confident expression, "The first two eggs failed in incubation but don't worry, father. The last one is growing very well. Even I can't wait to show you the results to you."
"Hahaha, I hope you won't disappoint me."
"You seem to be in quite a good mood father. I think it might be because of the game you caught this time..."
He said in a pleased tone, "You are quick-witted as expected, Roxana. The Pedelians are in a hurry to find him."
Jeremy, in confusion, said, "Who in the basement is there to make them act like that?"
My father said with a smirk, "The Prince of the Blue."
As expected, the shock and surprise could be seen on Jeremy's face plainly.
"The Prince of the Blue?! Really?!?!"
This is a moment that I have to partake in for my plan to be successful.
I soaked my words in flattery with a tinge of fake awe, "Really? Father is incredible."
This took up his attention and he said, "It is unexpected that you are interested in this, Roxana. From what I remember, you have never even given a second look at the toys I bring."
"It's because this toy is special compared to others. Father, the Pedelians are known to be righteous judges. Among them, Prince of the Blue is the Pedelian of the Pedelians."
My lips curl into a smile as my tone filled with faked excitement, "That noble Pedelian, Doesn't the sight of him pinned under my foot, dirtily barking like a dog in a rut. Seems quite fun?"
After a still moment of silence, his voice rings out, "Hahahaha. It's better than I thought. Alright, Roxana. I give the toy-"
His words were interrupted as a butler of the house ran up to us nervously and with a pale face.
Father's voice growled out irritatedly, "What is the reason for interrupting our grand banquet?"
The butler said, "A letter for t-the Head Of the A-Agriches."
"I will check the letter later. There is no need to disrupt the banquet."
"B-But it's from the P-Phoenix Family."
My mind immediately goes into deep thinking, this must be the butterfly effect of having an unknown person in this world.
Surprisingly, My father had an ashen face, and his hesitating voice said, "Give me the letter."
This was the first time in my life that my father looked scared. His hesitating voice is enough proof that he is terrified of something or someone in the Phoenix Family.
My father had never been hesitant in front of anyone but this...
This is very interesting. I must make use of this weakness of my father for my plan to escape this insane family.
My father grabbed the letter from the butler and I could see the royal seal of the empire pass in front of me.
He unfolded the letter and read it. Moment after moment, his face turns more and more pallid.
After he had read it, he slammed his hands on the table in a violent way.
Both I and Jeremy were startled but I maintained my composure.
He stood like that for a couple of minutes, growling and then shouting in a loud voice, "Bring all the main servants to me. NOW!"
He addressed me quickly, "Roxana, you won't have this toy currently. Agriches are facing a major problem and that mutt could lead us to perish."
Jeremy asked in a startled tone, "But father, what happened?!"
He said with apprehension and with a hint of being terrified which did not miss my eyes, "The crown prince is going to visit us."
-------------
(End of the Chapter)
[Roxana Agriche Illustration]
[Lant Agriche Illustration]
[Jeremy Agriche Illustration]
If you enjoyed the story, please drop some power stones. Comment about things that you liked, disliked or any suggestions for the fic. Give a review as well to ensure I can improve my work.
Join my discord server - https://discord.com/invite/Vr4cnbxGvy
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone