Stolen Prologue

Yi-ryung heard something strange and woke up from her slumber.

Yi-ryung was a light sleeper.

If even the slightest gust of wind caused the door to rattle and the trees outside to rustle, the noise alone would wake her up.

The doctor used to say that it was an aftereffect of a scary experience she had when she was very young.

The reason she had trouble sleeping deeply and was prone to suffer from sleep paralysis was because of a terrible and frightening tragedy that had occurred when she was ten years old.

Nine years ago, Yi-ryung had lost her mother.

While her father was away from Yi-un Palace, thugs had infiltrated and brutally slaughtered everyone inside the palace.

“You must not come out from here. Understand? You must stay here and not move. No matter what you hear, you mustn’t come out.”

After saying this, her mother hid her under the floor, where ten-year-old Yi-ryung had to listen to the terrifying sounds all night long.

She covered her ears with both hands and waited for the terrifying sounds to stop.

The sounds continued until dawn.

Screams, shouts, and scary footsteps.

“Yi-ryung!”

Her father had discovered her hiding underneath the floorboards when he had returned to Yi-un Palace at dawn.

The moment she saw her father’s face as he stretched out his hand towards her, Yi-ryung fainted.

That day, Yi-ryung lost her mother.

That day, everyone within Yi-un Palace died.

All but one. Apart from Yi-ryung, everyone had died.

After that day, Yi-ryung woke up at the slightest sound.

She was afraid of the dark, so she couldn’t turn off the lights at night, and she always had to have a maid by her side.

After that, her father gave Yi-ryung a bodyguard.

Wherever she went, Yi-ryung felt safe only if she had an escort, and she developed a habit of checking to see if her guard was there before falling asleep.

“Ja-in?”

She had definitely heard a faint sound.

It wasn’t the sound of the wind shaking the door. It was the sound of footsteps.

“Ja-in, you’re outside, right?”

Ja-in was the name of Yi-ryung’s bodyguard.

He never left her side.

“Ja-in.”

However, no matter how much she called, there was no answer.

Yi-ryung’s heart grew anxious.

There is no way Ja-in would have left his post.

“Ja-in? Eunah?”

Forget about the bodyguard Ja-in for a moment. Eunah, Yi-ryung’s personal servant, was always by her side, but she did not answer her call either. This made Yi-ryung grow even more anxious.

What in the world… Where did everyone go?’

Anxiety rose in her chest, and the nightmarish night from nine years ago floated back into Yi-ryung’s mind.

‘No. It can’t be…’

There’s no way that will happen again.

There’s no way another terrifying night like that can happen again.

“J-Ja-in… Eunah…”

Yi-ryung trembled as she came down from the bed.

Terrified, she walked towards the door.

She groped around and tightly held onto the lit candlestick.

If anything, she planned on protecting herself with this.

Just as she drew closer to the door…

‘Who…?!’

A shadow appeared in the doorway.

When the dark shadow appeared in front of the door, Yi-ryung was so frightened that she tightened her grasp on the candlestick and stepped back.

“Ja-in?”

The shadow belonged to a man.

There was no man around her residence tonight except for Ja-in.

“Is that you, Ja-in?”

If it was Ja-in, why didn’t he answer her?

“W-Who are you?!”

Yi-ryung mustered up all her courage and shouted out.

Suddenly, the door opened.

“Kyaaa!”

The moment the door opened, the flame of her candle was extinguished.

In an instant, the other candles in the room were blown out, and Yi-ryung’s surroundings were covered in darkness.

“Aaagh!”

A hand stretched out from the darkness and covered her mouth.

“Mmmph! Mmph!”

Yi-ryung struggled within the darkness.

She couldn’t see who it was.

A dark shadow flashed past her eyes in the darkness like a monster.

“Mmph!”

A strong hand covered her mouth and threw her down onto the bed.

“N-No!”

The moment she collapsed onto the bed, Yi-ryung realized what the assailant’s intention was.

This unidentified assailant was trying to rape her.

‘No! No!’

Getting raped? She couldn’t let that happen.

She was getting married soon.

But if she were to get raped here and now, how could she possibly face her fiancé?

“Mmph! Hmmph!”

She struggled with all her might, but it was no use.

“Mmph!”

A gag was put into her mouth.

Both hands were raised and tied tightly with cloth.

Yi-ryung, now gagged and tied, twisted her whole body in fear.

Then the assailant’s hand tore her clothes.

Riiiip—.

As her clothes were ripped off, Yi-ryung kicked him as he tried to pry open her legs.

‘No!’

Yi-ryung continued to kick the assailant with both legs, resisting as best as she could.

But it only lasted a moment.

Thud–.

The assailant violently struck Yi-ryung’s abdomen.

The moment the terrifying force struck her abdomen, Yi-ryung lost consciousness.