ABRF CH 00

Prologue – 00

The man standing in front of me was far from the “Northern Duke” type you see in romance fantasy novels.

His deep crimson eyes burned hotter than the rising sun, and his red hair looked as if it had just been soaked in blood.

Most of all—his gaze.

His eyes were so cold and sharp that they seemed incapable of knowing words like kindness, consideration, or courtesy.

Was it even normal for a man who kidnaps and ties up a princess of a nation to be sane in the first place? No matter how handsome he was, I couldn’t forgive him—this bastard!

…That’s what I wanted to curse out, but I only had one life.

“Your Highness. Please calm down. If you keep me tied up like this, it will definitely cause diplomatic issues. Shall we resolve this through conversation?”

“Conversation.”

He—that bastard Leonald—slowly approached me.

Clack, clack. The sound of his boots echoed eerily through the empty space.

Soon, he bent down, grabbed my chin, and pulled my face up toward him.

He was sculpturally handsome, but I had no time to admire his looks. His eyes were just too terrifying.

“Princess. How did you break my cipher?”

“A cipher?”

“What’s written on this paper is encrypted information. Yet you read it exactly as it is. Does Sinkester possess some kind of sacred relic that can decipher any code?”

“I don’t!”

“Then tell me how you knew.”

Leonald forcefully gripped my chin and pulled me closer.

His strength was so great that tears welled up in my eyes, but he didn’t look like the kind of man who would care.

He looked down at me with a cold gaze, then reached toward his waist.

Gasp. A dagger.

“If you won’t speak, I have no choice. Your neck—”

“F-FINE! I get it!! I’ll talk, I’ll talk!”

For reference, I was someone who valued their life very much, and my mouth was lighter than a feather.

“A cipher? Of course I know it!”

“You know it? How?”

“Well…”

I glanced around and muttered in a shrinking voice.

“It’s not your cipher… It’s the great script created by King Sejong.”

The Korean alphabet—Hangul.

He froze, and I let out a long sigh.

If you’re wondering how things ended up like this, we have to go back quite a while.