IBHGDH 01

Chapter 01

“Stop.”

The cold voice filled the corridor that had only been filled with Esiel’s hurried footsteps.

“Keuk, keuk!”

Soon, Esiel’s body was lifted into the air. Someone had grabbed the back of her neck roughly. Because of that, her throat tightened and she started coughing reflexively.

The height she could see below her made her dizzy. Esiel shut her eyes tightly, then opened them again and turned her head, asking in a trembling voice.

“W-who…?”

The red eyes she met were sharp and intense. The man looking down at her had a gaze as cold as his voice. In that moment, it felt like a sharp chill brushed over her skin. He was not the priest she had been looking for.

“I can take this one as a hostage.”

Thud.

With the man’s icy voice, Esiel’s body was thrown toward someone else.

Clunk, clunk. She could feel the carriage running over a stone road.

Inside the carriage, the man with red eyes sat motionless with his eyes gently closed. Through the window, the grand royal castle was getting smaller.

The three years in the royal castle were so cruel that she almost wanted to think of them as a dream.

She had been living as a kindergarten teacher, but suddenly she became someone who possessed another person’s body. No one helped her. No one even allowed her close.

Instead, everyone avoided her existence. The neglected princess who was hated by the king and queen was given nothing but cold indifference.

She had hoped that priests would come, since she had a small amount of divine power. She waited for them, believing they might take her away. But even that hope collapsed.

And now, this sudden, unknown kidnapping by a man who gave off a terrifying cold aura.

It felt like someone invisible was forcing her to face reality by crushing all her hopes.

“Who… is this person?”

The scenery outside the window moved quickly, like blurred watercolor spreading across paper. Esiel looked away from it and stared at the unfamiliar man.

He still had his eyes closed. Nervously, she fiddled with her fingers.

“Should I ask him? He wouldn’t kill me… right?”

There was a saying that children, the elderly, and beautiful people should be protected. Maybe this man believed in something like that too.

She made up her mind and pressed her lips together. Her cheeks still had soft baby fat. She glanced at the man and then at the sword resting beside him.

The handle and sheath were decorated with a golden snake pattern. At the snake’s eye, a red jewel sparkled. The pattern felt strangely familiar, but she pushed that feeling away.

Esiel looked at the man’s lowered eyelids and opened her small mouth.

“U-um…”

But her voice came out shaking against her will.

The man suddenly opened his eyes.

His presence was more terrifying than anything she had ever felt—even more than her abusive parents. It felt like her hair stood on end and her body turned to stone.

Like facing Medusa from a legend.

Just as she was about to force herself to speak, his red eyes and the snake’s red jewel seemed to overlap. A bad feeling crossed her mind.

“…No way.”

She had thought she didn’t know where she had been possessed into. But that wasn’t it.

It was just that the story had not started yet.

A B-grade fantasy novel about a grand duke who conquers the world with his unmatched swordsmanship. That story was beginning right now.

The snake symbol and red eyes proved it.

The grand duke in the story was a man without blood or tears. He did anything for his own gain. That was why the small kingdom of Anais had become his target.

The kingdom had weak power and no special resources, but it was a key trade point made up of port cities. Because of its location, it made large profits and became hated by nearby empires.

Many countries tried to negotiate, but failed.

And the one who destroyed the kingdom in one strike was that grand duke.

That was how the kingdom disappeared without a trace.

Princess Esiel of Anais was just an extra who died in a single line of description during his conquest.

That was why she hadn’t realized it sooner.

“I heard something! A priest is coming!”

“Oh my, does that mean talent is finally being selected from our kingdom?”

That rumor spreading among the castle servants was about today.

Priests who searched for people with divine power were arriving at the castle.

Esiel had believed this would be her escape from hell.

If she showed her hidden divine power to them, they would take her away.

But her life as a princess had not always felt like hell.

The king and queen of the kingdom needed a son to continue the royal line. Instead, they got Esiel. They always called her useless.

Their frustration grew worse over time, and after her sixth birthday, it was all directed at her.

“What is happening…?”

Esiel nervously touched her long red hair that fell to her waist. Her sleeves slipped down.

On her thin arms, small scars were scattered everywhere.

At first, she was simply ignored. She tried her best to be loved, but it was useless.

“Esiel. I told you to stay clean… tsk. You smell disgusting. Stay away.”

“What do you even do? Esiel Anais, you are a disgrace to royalty.”

Their anger never stopped.

They valued dignity, so they hit her only where no one could see. The wounds stacked up over time.

Even for Esiel, who had possessed this body, it was hard to endure.

But she did not hate them. She only thought about escaping.

And today—the priests’ visit—was her last hope.

But something was wrong.

In the original story, there was no part where the duke took the princess as a hostage.

“…You’re saying this man is Duke Romford?”

Esiel clenched her dress tightly.

This was a clear death flag.

The Legonis family, the only ducal house of the Makairn Empire, was called the “Empire’s Sword.”

Their eyes were all red like blood.

Romford Legonis, the current head, was known as the greatest victor in history. After his wife died, he became even more brutal in war.

He was called a murderer, a demon, a madman.

No one could stand against him.

Esiel’s face turned pale. Cold sweat slowly rolled down her temple.

“It’s… hot in this carriage…”

She muttered nervously, lifting a small hand. Her body was trembling, but she tried to hide it.

She wiped her sweat with her sleeve while watching the duke.

Romford tilted his head slightly, as if noticing her. His black hair and handsome face would normally be admirable—but not now.

His presence was terrifying.

“If I even sweat, he might think I’m disrespecting him and bury me.”

The thought filled her mind completely.

Even if she returned to the castle, the priests would already be gone.

There was no escape.

“I’ve fallen into hell…”

She had escaped one den of wolves only to enter another.

Soon, the sound of horses stopped.

They had arrived at the duke’s estate.

Romford took his sword and left the carriage without saying anything.

“Ah… ah?”

Esiel quickly followed him. Knights were staring at her with cold eyes.

As she almost ran after him, her neck was grabbed again.

“Ugh… mmph.”

She turned her head and saw the same red snake emblem on the shoulder armor of the man holding her.

She almost screamed but quickly covered her mouth with both hands.

She was dragged away without any chance to resist.