Hae-eun stared up at the dingy room, shivering. The independence fighter had no idea how long she had been imprisoned in her prison cell. It could have been a couple of weeks or even a month— time felt much slower in the basement dungeon.

She sobbed and stayed huddled in the corner of her grimy cell. Hae-eun would do anything to get out of that place! She wanted to return to her loving family and be in Woon’s warm embrace. What had gone wrong? Why was she there? Was…there no way back home? Was she trapped indefinitely in this unknown world with that monster?

Burying her face within her arms, Hae-eun ignored the maid coming down the stairway. She knew that the maid was bringing over her meal, which usually consisted of cold rice porridge (or juk) and a side of salted laver. Why were they still trying to feed her? Did they want her to waste food yet again? Hae-eun scoffed as she glared at the stocky woman in her late 50s opening the door to her makeshift cell.

“Eat.” the elderly maid barked, sliding the tray of food towards the frail woman.

Glowering at the maid, Hae-eun threw the bowl of porridge at the elder’s face, narrowly missing her. Fuming with anger, the woman slapped Hae-eun’s cheek. Her chest rose and fell as she bared her teeth at the imprisoned woman. How dare she waste good food yet again? She was lucky to even be fed for the treasonous wench that she was!

“… You ungrateful, conniving brat! You should be thankful that our Master is willing to feed and clothe you! Someone like you deserves to rot in this dump! Hmph!”

Hae-eun silently watched the woman lock the caged door. The elderly maid made her way up the stairs and closed the metal door shut, eliminating any light that had been streaming in. The elite member of the Rose Noble laughed darkly. Thankful? Why should she be thankful for a man who had probably betrayed his own people? She bit down on her lip as she suppressed her tears at the thought of her fallen comrades.

Glancing over at the broken shards, Hae-eun carefully crawled over, gathering the biggest piece she could feel for. Hiding it in her nightgown, she waited for another maid to come down to clean the mess. She only had one shot and she was more than willing to end her own life to escape this hell.

It felt like hours had passed by when finally, a young maid in her late teens cautiously made her way over to Hae-eun’s cell. Hae-eun casted her eyes downward, pretending to ignore the girl as she unlocked the door. Swallowing hard, the freedom fighter held the jagged piece in her hand, slowly standing up from her spot. Hesitantly, she casted her light amber eyes towards the startled girl.

“M-miss? What are you— Oh my goodness!” she gasped, staring in horror. Hae-eun held up the jagged shard up to her neck, glaring at the poor girl with guarded animosity.

“… Let me go.”

“M-miss… P-please put that down! The Master will kill me if you hurt yourself—”

“Take me to your master then. But don’t you dare say anything to the others, or I will end my life.”

Scrambling to her feet, the young maid viciously nodded her head as she led the way up the stairs. Still holding the glass shard, Hae-eun cautiously followed the teenaged girl. Her eyes traveled down the corridor, wary that someone would notice her hidden weapon. She gritted her teeth as she poked the girl in front of her with it. Hae-eun felt horrible, but what choice did she have?

Soon, they reached the main floor of the mansion. Hiding the jagged shard in the sleeve of her nightgown, Hae-eun glared at the people around her with terror. What if she couldn’t escape…?

Off in the distance, she heard voices coming from the drawing room. Her breath hitched in her throat as she side-glanced at the nervous girl. Getting closer to her, she leaned forward, whispering to her in the ear.

“… Alert any of these maids, I’ll slit your throat first before mine. Open that door, now.”

Petrified, the girl obliged, ignoring the angry hisses of the maids who were attempting to stop her. Before the poor girl could knock on the door, Hae-eun shoved her aside and opened the door. Silence casted over the entire area as everyone stared at the unkempt and severely emaciated woman. Yong-joon quickly recovered as he feigned worry for the crazed-looking freedom fighter.

“H-Hae-eun… What’s wrong? Why are you—”

Before that vile monster could finish his question, Hae-eun brought the jagged shard to her throat. “… Let me go or I’ll kill myself so that you will never have me!”

In a swift motion, a tall, fit man in military uniform dashed towards her, but he was already too late. At the slightest movement, Hae-eun had already slashed her neck. Her scarlet blood sprayed the ivory walls as the maids yelled out in horror. She felt her warm blood trickling down as she fell to the ground. Maybe... she will finally be able to escape this hell and return to the warm embrace of her family and friends…

The last thing she remembered was the muffled and panicked voice of the man in her field of vision before everything turned black.

**NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**