I Am a Ruined Noble of a Ruined Kingdom

Prologue: The Woman I Saved

There are times when I think back to the moment I drifted into this world.

I ponder where my choices went wrong and regret them.

I reflect on how I changed the lives of others.

I was arrogant.

I prided myself on knowing more than anyone else, yet I failed to understand human nature. I forgot that people’s values and personalities shift as they go through life.

And so, this place became the consequence of my ignorance—the price I paid for not realizing that this world was not fiction but reality.

A narrow space, enclosed on three sides by iron walls, with a cold metal floor beneath me.

The only view of the outside was a small, rectangular opening—barred with thick iron, making it nothing more than a grim and hopeless passage.

I often stared at it, imagining myself walking free. But bound as I was, my limbs tightly restrained, such thoughts were mere delusions. Even with strength beyond human limits, I could not break free.

Because I had been conditioned into helplessness.

I was staring blankly at the iron bars, my gaze hollow and lifeless, when I heard footsteps.

Soft yet distinct.

The mere sound of them made my body tremble with fear.

Before long, the owner of those steps appeared.

“Nephi, you must have been lonely without me, right?”

The voice belonged to a breathtakingly beautiful woman.

Silvery-white hair cascaded down to her waist, framing a face with jewel-like blue eyes that gleamed with an unsettling brilliance.

She was also the one who had imprisoned me.

I didn’t answer her. I could only breathe, my breaths shallow and ragged.

“Aha, you don’t have to say it. I can tell just by looking into your eyes.” She smiled sweetly. “Don’t worry! I’ll be with you all day today, so you won’t feel lonely.”

“...”

She pouted at my lack of response.

“Why won’t you talk to me, Nephi? I want to have a conversation with you. If you keep your lips shut like that, I won’t know how to make you open them.”

Instinctively, my gaze flickered to the tools hanging on the wall.

A jagged saw with broken teeth, pliers stained with dried blood, a chair covered in iron spikes—all proudly displayed as if they were trophies.

But I remained silent.

My undying body had long since grown accustomed to the pain inflicted within these walls.

“Haa… If that’s how it is, I have no choice.”

She moved closer, until there was barely an inch between us.

A chill ran down my spine, and I shut my eyes tightly.

Then, she playfully exclaimed—

“Got you!”

In that instant, I felt something soft pressing against my lips.

Startled, I opened my eyes wide.

Before me was her dazzlingly beautiful face, so close that I could feel her heated breath.

And then, her tongue slipped past my lips, tracing along mine.

She parted my lips completely, deepening the kiss with fervent hunger. It was as if she wanted to leave a mark—something permanent.

I neither resisted nor reciprocated. I simply let her do as she pleased.

For a long while, our breaths intertwined, lost in a tangled mess.

“Haa… haa…”

A thin, silvery thread connected our lips before finally snapping.

Only then did she pull away, breathless from her indulgence.

“If you keep acting like this, I’ll just have to force you to open your mouth like this every time, Nephi.”

The boldness she had shown just moments ago was gone.

Now, she looked like nothing more than a shy girl, blushing as if she were a young maiden experiencing love for the first time.

The stark contrast was more horrifying than anything else.

My teeth clattered, and I finally forced myself to speak her name.

“Iruealfi...”

Iruealfi Yustiha.

That was her name.

The name of the woman I had saved.

That fateful day when we first met, I had been foolish enough to get involved with her.