[17 years ago, Sokolov Mansion]
"Oppa! Can you lend me some money? Jinx just updated."
"What do you mean? Of course, he can't, he's too busy."
"Right, I forgot you're fighting for your life now, aren't you?"
"Oppa, you should wake up now, before you die!"
"Wake u–!
The strong wind and rain rattled the windows, as sticks and branches collided against the glass, the leaves rustling like the ruffled fur of a startled cat. It was when a stroke of lightning lit up a tiny, dark sky that it illuminated a tiny room up the hill, and with a gasp, two pairs of eyes stared into each other.
Though momentarily shocked, the older pair soon crinkled in joy. A raised hand came down at the child's throat while the other pushed at the kid's chest to pin him down.
Sensing the impending danger, the child managed to crane his neck away at the last possible second, the blade nipping at the skin, blood spurting, the assassins and the sheets.
The searing pain jolted his every sense. The child reflexively aimed for the other's neck, causing the masked man to back up, but he simply choked and coughed; the hit lacked enough power to cause actual damage.
Momentarily confused at the strength and size of his hand, the child furrowed his brows, groaning as more blood gushed out of his damaged arteries. Clamping a hand shut at the wound, he felt the jagged flesh underneath.
Fuck, they must have used a serrated knife. Damn it, what the hell is going on!?
Applying even more pressure, the child who saw the glass of milk at his nightstand quickly threw it at his assailant before he could lung at him again, but the other dodged, slashing away the forearm the child tried to block him with.
The cut tore deeper this time, chipping away not just the skin but tearing down to bone- "Aaahh!"
Stifling a scream, the child kicked the assassin with all his strength, pushing his entire body back to the headboard, only to feel a slick, cold metal object behind his back.
He froze. He could tell what it was. His years of compulsory military service had forced him to, even when he couldn't see it.
"Aah!" Another scream escaped from his lips as the assailant aimed for the legs that had kicked him. Rapidly losing strength, the child grit his teeth, and just before the knife would plunge into his heart-
BOOM!
Thunder roared in quick succession, lightning bolted from the sky, striking the tallest tree it found. The bark charred as the embers had burned itself inside out, the once majestic tree falling silently, drowned by the storm.
The knife fell on the marbled floor with a metallic clang. The child's ears rang from the deafening resonant sound, his arms shook from the recoil.
Perhaps in his desperation, the angle of the shot was straight to the head, the sheer impact exploded the masked man's skull, bits of human flesh and brain matter splattered out everywhere.
A piece had even struck the child in the face, the cerebrospinal fluid and blood had made the goop slimy, and the mixture of bone and flesh was sliding down onto the shocked child's opened mouth.
The taste instantly made the child vomit; the sheer image of a half-blown skull and the close brush of death made him feel warm, flowing fluid trickling down his already injured leg.
Vomiting everything, until only clear liquid came out, the child hurriedly tried to catch his breath.
But his body was failing him, his lungs burned to breathe, tinnitus, a blurring vision, the loss of strength; he was losing his consciousness, and he knew once he did, he was going to die here.
Everything hurts. I need to get help- to figure things out and get out of the-
"---Congratulations on your first trial, young master. You have been granted an audience with the Head."
The child had forced himself awake at applause, round blue orbs straining to stare at the man who just arrived dressed like a butler, holding a laptop to a connected call.
It was then that the child had met an older man whose mere presence harked respect; it was the first and last of what he had seen of the other's appearance… at least not until years later.
The man whose Russian accent was as indifferent to the grey eyes that dissected him like prey had told him- "Hmm, not bad. A piss baby, but not useless. Caesar Sokolov, your name onwards."
He hated how that man looked at him as if he were just an ordinary rock found on a dirt-paved road, but he labored to focus, to listen.
Caesar Sokolov?
"- Try your best to survive, then maybe I'll humor you with the title of Tzar. Albert has him cleaned up before I have him killed."
The name rang in the child's name like a cursed bell. That night, he ran a high fever as every muscle in his body screamed in pain, going in and out of consciousness, and familiar and unfamiliar memories would visit him in his dreams.
There would be days he was delirious, muttering incoherent terms like gong/shou, OTP, all episodes that would get him shot with high doses of antipyretics and muscle relaxants.
It was only days after his fever broke that he realized.
He had woken up as the Possessive Mafia Boss in an R19 Straight Novel.
Well, at this time, during the villain's origin story. An heir that would take over the empire his mad father had built in cold blood.
Laughing in exasperation, Caesar balled his fist. He couldn't understand why he had become Caesar nor how he ended here, but one thing was certain- I need to find my way home.
Though not rich, Caesar liked his life. He was a law-abiding citizen, he studied, graduated, and even landed a job to support his siblings, though orphans, what did that matter? They had each other even when his 2 sisters had… Questionable taste in entertainment.
The only reason he even had a clue where he was was because of those 2.
[Sold to Serve You for 365 days] was a R19 Straight Novel, a jarring contrast to his sister's usual collection of BL books.
It was the incongruity that he remembered asking- "I thought you guys only read bl?"
"We do, it's just noona gone crazy cause all the sites she uses are down due to changes in the laws of censorship. So she's scraping for any crumbs. As an AO3 reader, honestly, I personally think it was a rookie move on her part that she didn't download her fave works in advance."
The youngest shrugs before giving her older brother a copy- "a friend recommended she busy herself with this while waiting for her sites go back online, the doomed yaoi is extra good."
"The doomed what? But this is a straight dark romance erotica?"
"Exactly why it's doomed. I'm even reading it in solidarity, you should too."
So he did, but though he couldn't remember what prompted him, he did recall how he couldn't finish it.
It was a story that followed a young woman fresh from college who had her career end before it could even start. Their parents' business had gone bankrupt, to fend off the banks from seizing their property, the main character's father struck a deal with the mafia.
What came after was, as the title entailed, instead of a turn over, her father's business partners had scammed him out of his funds, leading the new start-up to fail miserably. To protect his own hide, her father sold her off to the mafia instead.
Her buyer was the Tsar of Sokolovs, their very creditor. For 365 days, she was confined in Sokolov's mansion, made to serve him in any way he wanted her.
It was only halfway through her confinement that she saw an opportunity of escape, a traitorous heir candidate, the male lead, whose peculiar past made him loathe the Tsar just as much.
Caesar only read the story up to here, but what she gathered from her sisters 'spoilers was that it was only after 365 days of confinement, that the leads had fallen for each other and escaped the Tsar's clutches.
What came in between was what his sisters would call 'dog blood plots', and how morally upright protagonists have dirtied their hands, no longer suited for the ordinary life they further darkened to be the very demons they hated, ruling over the organized crime world.
For a novel in its genre, it had a standard plot, to the point he couldn't even remember any of the lead's names. Well, except for the villain.
Caesar Sokolov, a bastard kid made to be an heir of Sokolov, was molded to be a cold-blooded beast. But my sisters liked him, not because of what he had done to achieve his goal, but because of the very quality of him being irredeemable.
It turns out that this villain had a backstory: an encounter with the male protagonist's older brother.
A mafia boss and an upright cop, the villain and a cannon fodder. By killing that innocent passerby, he had incurred the wrath of a plot armor-heavy protagonist.
It was a doomed pair, one that didn't even scrap a whole chapter in the entire novel.
Recalling how they fangirled to him about it, even sharing fanfic links, Caesar tied his brows in a knot.
Massaging his brows, he didn't have the luxury to recall those mundane memories.
The plot starts when the main character was 22, Caesar- the villain- was 50 at the time, grimacing at the lengthy age gap. He shook his head to remember the events closely.
From what he gathered, he was currently 13, and he had just survived the first trial. The heir selection ends when the acting head declares a Tsar/Tsaritsa. In the story, the villain became the king of Sokolov at 30.
17 years until the proclamation and 20 years after that before the plot begins. 37 years of unknown territory...
Should I be fucking thankful for getting sent this far back?
"Young master, the master has provided for your meals and drinks as you recupurate, please enjoy them as you'd prefer."
Bringing a tray, the butler set down a cup of tea. The color was a rich dark brown that looked like a vibrant purple in the light. The herbal scent was unfamiliar but not appalling.
"Thank you," Caesar nodded and took a sip, only to hurl the cup at Albert.
Coughing, the tween held on to his throat in a coughing fit, eyes deadly as he glared down at the aged butler.
"What's the meaning of this!?"
His throat burned, his heart beating against his chest while his stomach churned. Sweat beaded his temples as he glared even more fiercely at the old man in front of him.
"The head has instructed you to start your poison resistance. This is wolfbane; lilyfang has been added to increase the potency to 10%."
Catching the cup, not a drop spilled as he calmly placed it back on the tray, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Congratulations on detecting the poison, young master Caesar. You are the fastest amongst your batch to detect it."
D-Damn it. What type of father poisons his injured son!?
Sucking a sharp inhale, Caesar struggled to breathe as his legs felt like lead and his sense of touch started to numb as his vision blurred. The wounds from before bleed open from the strain.
"Please survive for the next 5 minutes, then I will shortly administer the medicine."
Fuck!
This fucking nonsensical plot- Burning with fury, Caesar promised himself to survive, to live, and find the way out of this God-forsaken novel as soon as possible.