The dark and damp bas.e.m.e.nt remained eerily silent except for the occasional sound of clanking metal; the clamoring of chains resounded whenever the lone hostage tugged at his shackled hands and feet from discomfort.
This place had no windows, leaving the prison devoid of light; Ian could not remember how long he had been trapped in this place.
The only time he could see the light was when that mad woman would come and abuse him. It was only when she came over with her burning torch that light and warmth would finally reach this prison of darkness….Ian did not know how much longer he"ll be able to endure; his sanity had slowly begun to crumble. Every time he was greeted by that warm light, he would be abused by that woman. He felt that he wasn"t too far away from believing that "happiness is equal to being abused by her."
If he reaches that point, then he would truly lose himself.
But he couldn"t think of a way to leave, not only because he was imprisoned and unable to break free, but rather because that woman seemed to be a witch! There was no other explanation as to how he ended up here; at that time no enemy had approached him, neither did he smell any unusual scents nor consume any strange food. Still he somehow ended up losing consciousness in the hidden woods and then woke up to find himself in this dungeon.
The sound of footsteps echoed closer, step by step, and a light in the distance gradually grew brighter.
The iron gate creaked open, and a cloaked woman placed a torch on the wall, then closed the door. The face under the hood was full of fascination for him.
Suddenly, the woman flew into his arms and began to touch him without reserve, while the man cringed in disgust.
She wasn"t ugly at all. Rather, she was very beautiful and her flowing hair was golden as the morning sun….However, he had no feelings for her from the day they met, and now he could only feel loathing for her.
"Ian….Prince Ian….Oh, I miss you so much!" The woman hugged him tightly knowing that he couldn"t struggle against her embrace, "Your Highness, do you love me?"
Ian didn"t respond. He refused to say a word to this unreasonable woman, except for times when he was weak from hunger and needed a meal.
"Your Highness…." the woman tried to coax him with many words, but she still couldn"t get him to react. In her anger, the woman scratched his face with her nails, "You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" she exclaimed.
After the many times she"s come down to play him…..Ian couldn"t take it anymore; he refused to open his mouth and stubbornly held his silence. Back then he had tried to reason with this woman, saying that although they"re not fit to be a couple, they could still be friends. He even offered to introduce her to someone, but the lady seemed to selectively listen to what she wants to hear. She would respond either by pretending that she couldn"t hear his words, or she would react in anger and tie him onto a poll; and that"s how it was right now.
The woman tightened his chains against the rod, and then pulled out a whip from her waist. She raised her arm and landed several painful whips on Ian, while her mouth scolded unceasingly, "Why? Tell me why?! What"s wrong with me? Why don"t you like me?"
"Am I not beautiful? Look at me, I"m gorgeous! I"m the most beautiful girl in the kingdom!" At first the prince was confused as to why she would make such a claim; he knew that there were many girls in the kingdom who were more attractive than her. But if they were dealt with by this crazy woman…..then she would be the only beauty left. One can surmise that if she becomes more powerful in witchcraft, then it is absolutely possible that this woman will become the most beautiful lady left in the country, and even across the continent.
"Am I not n.o.ble enough? Am I not worthy of you?" Of course, she was the Duke"s daughter, so how can she not be qualified to stand by him….But now he can only see her as a crazy woman! He was unaware of her mental disability when he first rejected her in the past; now that he knows that she"s a madman, it"s even more impossible for him to like her!
"Won"t you love me? Your Highness, do you love me?" The woman whipped him a few more times, then she jumped on him and cried, "Your Highness, as long as you love me, I will set you free! We can then live a happy life together…Your Highness, my prince!"
So many whippings could not get him to cry out in pain, let alone respond to her questioning.
He even refused to make any perfunctory remarks……
Why does his heart not have me? Why? After a couple more lashings, the woman grabbed her torch and tearfully left.
Ian waited for a while, and sure enough, another servant came into the prison to take care of the aftermath.
Ian thought that the man was blind, because every he came, he didn"t bother to bring a torch. But the servant still managed to tidy up the cell quietly while also cleaning the prisoner"s wounds. This man would feed him a meal once a day…..although the food wasn"t very palatable.
Back when he first arrived, he counted the number of times he had been fed, just to keep track of how long he"s been imprisoned. However, now he couldn"t recall how many meals he"s already had.
The servant left after he had finished his work. The dark prison once again restored its former quiet and lonely state.
(for other translated works)