CHAPTER 2
2.
I knew this family was insane, but I never imagined the Duke would openly praise Leon after he literally devoured our sibling.
After his toast, the Duke drained his celebratory wine in one gulp.
I only pretended to drink, playing along.
“Leon, you’re officially at the top of my danger list now.”
I stole a glance at my half-brother beyond the tilted glass.
He was gnawing on his meat with that eerie grin—an utter lunatic.
White hair, deathly pale skin, blood-red lips that looked like they’d been smeared with gore, and eyes that glowed with an unsettling crimson hue.
He looked less like a person and more like a corpse.
Among all my blood relatives, he was by far the most dangerous.
I swore to myself—no matter what, I would never get involved with him.
“Bring it.”
At the Duke’s order, a maid brought out a magical box adorned with geometric patterns.
“This is Maria’s Authority.”
With a motion of his chin, the maid placed the box before Leon.
“It’s yours now, Leon.”
I swallowed hard.
Authority.
A supernatural ability passed down through the direct bloodline of House Brünnack.
It’s mysterious, powerful—capable of producing results without cause.
And the worst part?
Siblings could kill each other and steal each other’s Authority.
1 + 1 didn’t equal 2 in this twisted system.
No—sometimes 3, or 4.
Maybe even 5 or more.
For centuries, House Brünnack upheld this primitive, barbaric tradition.
As a result, every head of the house became a contender for strongest on the continent, and the Brünnacks remained rulers of the North.
“Then what’s in that box must be…”
It had to be the Authority extracted from Maria’s corpse.
“Thank you, Father. I’ll put it to good use.”
Leon rested his hand on the box and grinned.
“Follow Leon’s example, and strive to become greater Brünnacks,” the Duke said, sweeping his gaze over the remaining children.
“Smile. Just smile.”
Worried that my inner thoughts might show on my face and cause trouble, I forced a smile.
“Wow. Congratulations.”
Clark—now the fourth among the five remaining siblings—offered his congratulations in an oily tone.
But there was something mocking in the way he said it.
“Thanks to you, brother, it looks like I won’t be sleeping easy tonight.”
“Always stay on guard,” Leon said with a smirk.
“Oh, I will. You know how I can’t stand seeing others succeed.”
“That tongue of yours is going to get you killed.”
Their exchange made my skin crawl.
It wasn’t a conversation—it was psychological warfare between maniacs desperate to kill each other.
“God, I want no part of this madness.”
I gritted my teeth and tried to stay invisible, hoping not to attract any stray hostility.
But then—
“What now? Why’s he looking at me like that?”
For some reason, Clark was staring daggers at me.
And that look… it wasn’t random.
There was history in that gaze. A long-held grudge, pure and open hostility.
“What the hell did I do to deserve this?!”
With no idea what had triggered Clark, I felt like crying as the danger alert kept flashing in my head.
“That’s enough for tonight.”
The Duke stood up from his seat.
And the moment he left the dining room, I scrambled out of there like I was running from death itself.
“Ugh, I feel sick.”
Sure enough, the moment I got back to my room, I vomited everything I’d barely eaten.
It was a dinner I never wanted to remember again.
3.
I slumped into a chair on the terrace, exhausted.
I hadn’t slept a wink. My half-siblings—including the recently deceased Maria—had haunted my dreams all night.
“What a nightmare of a dinner…”
Just thinking about it made me sigh deeply.
It was hell. No other way to describe it.
“Well… I guess it wasn’t a total loss.”
At the very least, I got to see the dangerous siblings for myself.
They hadn’t appeared in the original novel, but meeting them in person and talking to them gave me valuable insight.
And experiencing the atmosphere of the Brünnack family—which had only been described in a few lines in the book—was eye-opening.
It reminded me how truly insane this place was.
“Honestly, she’s way too pretty to be a villain.”
I caught sight of my reflection in the terrace’s glass and turned my head slightly.
Long, midnight-blue hair, and violet eyes that looked like sapphires.
Mystical features that mixed Eastern elegance with the sharp grace of a black cat.
Take away the “villain” label, and she had flawless, deadly beauty.
“Too bad she’s a walking death flag.”
A final boss who dies resisting the male lead’s justice.
Yet still manages to perfectly orchestrate the revival of the Evil God.
Kiana—the ultimate villain—is now me.
“No more whining. Time to focus on staying alive.”
I had no choice but to live as her now.
The sooner I accepted it, the better.
“First things first…”
I reached out toward the empty air in front of me.
There was nothing there—but in my eyes, a faintly glowing screen appeared.
I pressed it with a finger, and a hidden scroll unfurled.
[Tutorial Quest]
Category: Survival
Description: As the succession conflict in House Brünnack intensifies, survive until the original story begins.
Time Remaining: 131 days, 14 hours, 47 minutes, 36 seconds
Reward: ??
As I stared at the holographic system window, I scowled.
“Surviving in this family is just the tutorial? What’s coming next, a massacre?”
I was already dreading the future.
“Well… not like I have a choice.”
Come to think of it, it was strange that I had access to this system at all—it was supposed to be exclusive to the male lead in the novel.
Maybe this was some small mercy from the world for dragging me into this mess.
Still, it gave me death risk warnings and quest rewards—better than nothing.
“Excuse me, My Lady.”
Click.
A glass door slid open from the inner bedroom to the terrace.
A maid entered, carrying a tray.
“I brought your meal. Shall I set it here on the terrace?”
“…Ah, sure.”
Still flustered, I nodded, and the maid began setting the table with practiced grace.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
Short sky-blue hair, expressionless face, and movements so controlled they felt doll-like.
She was clearly not ordinary.
Her name was Tia.
She had served Kiana since childhood—and more importantly—
“She’s an assassin.”
A legendary killer known across the empire as the “Silver Reaper,” who wielded razor-thin silver thread.
I watched her delicate hands as she arranged the plates.
Imagining those pale, elegant fingers ending someone’s life was… deeply disturbing.
“Don’t be scared. She’s on my side.”
Tia was Kiana’s most loyal servant.
In the original story, she assassinated nobles on Kiana’s orders and sowed chaos throughout the empire.
Eventually, she died protecting Kiana when the male lead stormed the Brünnack estate.
That’s why, to the very end, she never betrayed her.
In this mad house, Tia was the only person I could truly trust.
After she finished setting the table, I took a spoonful of the late breakfast.
My stomach was still queasy from yesterday, but I forced the soup down.
I needed energy if I was going to survive.
I was halfway through when—
“…Huh?”
A yellow butterfly fluttered over the terrace railing and hovered near the table.
Pretty from afar, but creepy up close—I grimaced.
“Shall I remove it, My Lady?”
Tia rolled up her sleeve slightly.
The silver threads coiled around her wrist shimmered ominously in the sunlight.
