TVMF 1

Chapter: 1

Prologue

“I’m doomed.”

Tears welled up at the overwhelming sense of despair.

“Did you hit it that hard?”

In front of me, a red-haired boy was inspecting the edge of the table. He looked almost exactly like me.

Idiot… He’s worrying about the desk hitting his little sister’s head without a clue about how miserable our future is.

Feeling even sadder, I burst into tears. Seeing me like that, Erden lifted me up and got me back into my chair.

“What’s the matter, Rohesia?”

What isn’t the matter? Everything was a problem.

From the fact that my brother and I were named Erden Utel and Rohesia Utel, to the fact that this world was inside a bleak novel called The Sacrifice of the Thornflower.

In the story, Erden, as the reverse harem male lead, was obsessively attached to the female lead. His behavior was so grotesque that a normal person couldn’t understand it, and every time he appeared, the readers’ hopes and dreams vanished.

All the male leads, without exception, were lunatics, and the novel’s ending was catastrophic.

In short—a total annihilation ending.

In my case, it was even worse.

When it was revealed that I had persecuted the female lead, the black-masked male lead, Adrian, killed me horribly, so I couldn’t even reach the destruction ending.

The sudden realization of all this was partly because I’d hit my head on the desk, but the fundamental reason was what had just happened.

“What does this mean?”

I found a word I didn’t know while reading a book. Luckily, my brother was in the next room, so I took the book and hurried over on my short legs to ask him.

“Annihilation? It means killing everyone.”

It was a familiar yet regrettable word.

Annihilation, annihilation… annihilation!

“!”

Suddenly, unfamiliar memories poured into my mind. Staggering in shock, I hit my head again, and more memories came rushing back.

This place… I… that guy…! Damn it!

“Erden…”

I wiped my swollen eyes and called my brother.

“Why?”

“Behave properly. Even if you don’t understand, try to do something kind.”

“…?”

From his perspective, a little sister suddenly barged in, asked him a word, hit her head, fell over, and then started quarreling—it would have been baffling.

But I decided to finish what I wanted to say. As they say, you can tell a promising tree by its first sprout; education can be powerful.

“Even now, when someone falls and cries while with you, you should ask if they’re okay and show concern. It doesn’t matter if it’s your sister or anyone else.”

I got up, leaving my dumbfounded brother behind. I was still short, so there wasn’t much height difference from the chair.

“Take the book.”

On the desk was the fairy tale book I had brought.

“How boring…”

Losing interest in the book all of a sudden, I shook my head and turned away.

That’s when it happened.

─Ding!

The sound ringing in my ear was unmistakably electronic. Not in my previous life, but here, it should be impossible to hear it.

At the same time, a blinding white light exploded before my eyes.

[QUEST: Congratulations. You have completed “Quest: Awakening of the World.”]

[SYSTEM: Reward +10 EXP]

[Level Up!]

[SYSTEM: You have completed 1 quest.]

[SYSTEM: Welcome to the world of <The Sacrifice of the Thornflower>!]

W-what is this!

Even though I had regained memories from my past life, this was something I could not accept. Being inside a novel was already insane, and now a status window was appearing in front of me.

Unable to withstand the shock, my young body wobbled and I fell with a thud.

“Rohesia?”

[SYSTEM: Welcome to the world of <The Sacrifice of the Thornflower>!]

And though I didn’t notice it as I fell, another message appeared on the white screen filling the void.

[ADMIN: Are you alright?]

I’m supposed to farm male leads? Me?

The Sacrifice of the Thornflower.

The preview I had read before was a dark, adult reverse harem novel.

“Oh.”

The keywords were enticing, so I purchased it. As I read, the unique character designs of the male leads caught my interest too:

Duke Adrian Bellas, the Empire’s Sword.

Nathaniel Stewart, the rising star of a chancellor’s family.

Erden Utel, an alchemist with a mysterious charm.

“Hmm, nice, nice.”

But as I turned the pages, something felt off.

The male leads, whom I expected to show moderate obsession and occasional kindness, instead killed everyone except the female lead. They really did.

The female lead, already battered by the chaotic events, followed them in atonement.

The emptiness I felt turning the last page was indescribable.

“…Author?”

That was the first time I gave a 1-star rating on a novel site.

Shortly after, I was diagnosed with cancer, and eventually died after battling the illness.

“Could it be that I got possessed because of the rating?”

Tears flowed from my dazed mind.

“Do people really drop someone in a place like this?”

Rohesia Utel. The only daughter of the alchemist Utel family.

I recalled the scene where, in the latter part of the story, she succumbed to Adrian’s poison, turning pale blue and dying.

[Finally, she looks like the Poison Rose.]

Did Adrian really say that?

“This crazy bastard…”

I clenched my small, powerless fist and realized something.

I hadn’t even met him yet. By now, Adrian was probably locked in the basement, unable to come out. His personality would be deteriorating in real time.

I hadn’t done anything wrong either—at most, I’d stolen my brother’s allowance to buy candy.

That meant there was still a chance to survive.

Opening my eyes, the system window still glimmered before me.

[SYSTEM: Welcome to the world of <The Sacrifice of the Thornflower>!]

“Oh right, that too.”

It was so absurd I had forgotten.

Noticing my blank stare, a new popup appeared.

[ADMIN: Only you can save this world. Complete quests to prevent characters from turning evil and receive rewards!]

What’s this about… saving the world? Of course, if all the protagonists die, the world would end.

But regardless of the world, the most important thing was my survival.

The part about preventing the characters from turning evil was particularly interesting.

Looking closely, this popup wasn’t from the system—it was from the administrator, marked “ADMIN.”

Of course, every system has an administrator.

I stared at the sparkling popup and asked,

“How do I prevent them from turning evil?”

I was alone in the room, muttering to myself. A window appeared with the answer.

[ADMIN: Childhood experiences hold great power. Meet the characters and reduce their evil influence.]

[You can do it!]

Was I imagining it? The administrator’s tone sounded oddly cheerful.

Meanwhile, I was just confused.

“Why do you trust me so much?”

—Beep

[ADMIN: That is…]

[Secret.]

This guy?

I was annoyed for a moment, but decided to say what seemed most appropriate.

“Status window.”

In any media with a system, this is usually how it starts.

The moment I said it, a translucent window appeared before me.

[Status Window – Rohesia Utel]

Lv 2. “Youngest Daughter of the Utel Family”

Skill Points: 1

Status: Slight headache

Charm: C

Fame: – (Unranked)

The background even had a faint rose pattern, matching my future nickname.

But the stats were modest, befitting level 2.

In short, I was low-level, and I wondered what I could do with this…

While staring at the status window, the door suddenly opened.

“You’re awake?”

It was Erden.

My brother casually sat on my bed and placed his hand on my forehead.

Looking down, shadows from his red lashes fell on my pale cheek. It was hard to believe this boy, who would later do all sorts of immoral things to the girl he loved eight years from now, was the same.

He had always been somewhat indifferent and quirky, but to that extent…

─Ding!

As I stared at Erden, another popup appeared.

[Status Window – Erden Utel]

First Son of the Utel Family

Status: Calm

Charm: B

Fame: C

What? Why is his charm higher than mine? Honestly, I’m prettier, aren’t I?

Also, we both haven’t debuted in society, yet he has a fame rank.

“I don’t like this!”

Having already lived ten years as Rohesia before realizing I was possessed, I fully recognized Erden as my brother.

That also meant I wanted to save his life.

“I thought you were crazy.”

“What?”

Should I give up on saving him?

“You suddenly cried, babbled nonsense, and fell over.”

Hmm.

I guess it did look like that. The status window was shining clearly, but Erden probably couldn’t see it.

If I told anyone I could see this, they’d think I was insane, so it was best to keep it a secret.

Phew, carrying such a heavy secret at ten years old…

Feeling worn out, I scolded Erden.

“Knock before entering a lady’s room!”

“You’re fine if you’re whining.”

─Ding!

The electronic sound I’d heard before falling rang again, and the bottom of the system window flickered.

[SYSTEM: You have completed 1 quest.]

I glanced at Erden’s sharp green eyes and gave a slight nod; the quest window opened.

[QUEST: Sternly advise the morally confused male protagonist ‘Erden’. (112/3)]

…?

The count of 112 far exceeded the completion threshold of 3.

Well, I’d never stopped dissing Erden since I learned to speak.

[QUEST: …Auto-Cleared!]

[SYSTEM: Reward +20 EXP, +1 coin]

[Level Up!]

[QUEST: Quest progresses to the next stage.]

[QUEST: Sternly advise the morally confused male protagonist ‘Erden’. (109/10)]

[Auto-Cleared!]

For a while, the words “quest,” “auto-clear,” and “level up” alternated with the dinging electronic sound. When the flashing lights subsided, my level had risen to 10.

It was too early to celebrate an easy level-up.

[QUEST: Sternly advise the morally confused male protagonist ‘Erden’. (99/300)]

Looks like the nagging sessions would continue for a long time.

From what I could tell, that guy had been morally broken from birth. What went wrong in the womb to make him torment me like this?

Glaring at him in resentment, his green eyes reflected faint, pitying sympathy.

“You still need to work on your mind…”

“Nope.”

Was he really the male protagonist? Looking closely, Erden’s status window had additional information below.