Prologue

They say that when the human brain is soaked in dopamine, it can no longer distinguish between pleasure and pain.

‘Then… do I have a dopamine overdose?’

I thought about it seriously.

Right in front of me, an absurdly beautiful man was kneeling on the floor, gazing up at me with sparkling eyes.

No matter where you searched in this world, you would never find a human being more beautiful than this man.

My gaze drifted past him and toward the room.

Then, as if under a spell, I plopped down onto the bed.

Ah… this bed is so unbelievably soft…

I had heard that the greatest craftsman in the Empire had spent three years researching nothing but bed engineering(?) before creating it.

And that wasn’t all.

The bed frame was made of solid gold.

The books stacked beside me were all unpublished works by my favorite authors.

Each novel had been written exclusively for me over the course of three months.

Even the fruit beside the books consisted entirely of rare delicacies that weren’t even in season.

Every meal was prepared by the chef who had won first place in the Imperial Culinary Competition.

Living here was nothing short of heaven.

No mountains of paperwork to deal with.

And I could finally fulfill my lifelong dream of sleeping all day if I wanted.

‘Dear God, I have a dilemma.’

I muttered inwardly.

‘…This imprisonment is nothing like what I imagined…!’

That was right.

I had been imprisoned…

And I was happy.

I knew exactly what this was called.

Imperial imprisonment…!

The man kneeling before me tilted his head innocently, looking as though he had no idea what I was thinking.

His flawless face snapped me back to my senses.

…I’ve been seduced by comfort again!

This wasn’t right.

This world was the setting of a novel.

And that bastard was the cruel male lead of a dark captivity romance.

I was supposed to be locked up by him, sobbing miserably…

So how had things ended up like this?

“Your Highness.”

I spoke with a dazed expression.

The man blinked his long eyelashes in response.

While resting his chin in his hands like a flower pose.

His cheeks had somehow turned rosy.

“Yes, my dear.”

“…Please stop using ridiculous nicknames.”

His full lips curved into a knowing smile.

A perfectly sculpted nose.

A sharp jawline that looked as though God Himself had carved it.

His appearance truly was flawless.

“Of course, Duke. Ah, that’s right! I heard the sequel to the book you were reading has finally been released. I’ll have it brought in this evening.”

“…The second volume of Even Demons Get Tax Audited came out?”

The moment the words escaped my mouth, I slapped a hand over my face.

The man smiled brightly before answering gently.

“Yes. And the chef has prepared your favorite veal again today. Extra pepper?”

“…Yes… lots of pepper…”

Ah, this wasn’t what I was supposed to be saying.

Unable to resist the sweet temptation, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Because honestly—

Someone save me. This imprisonment is way too nice and comfortable…

The food was so exquisite it felt like my tongue would melt.

I could spend the entire day rolling around in bed reading novels, and nobody would complain.

This was nothing like imprisonment in the novels!

‘I even get spending money while staying here!’

The ultimate unemployed lifestyle.

I was the happiest kidnapping victim imaginable.

With great effort, I reminded myself why I’d come here in the first place.

“Ahem.”

I forced a serious expression before looking at the man.

“Well… that’s not the important part. Your Highness, when is that mark of yours going to disappear?”

“Hmm…”

The man—

Or rather, Jackal, the male protagonist of this novel—

Murmured gloomily.

“Judging by how badly I still want to imprison you… I don’t think it’s gone away yet.”

“…”

I barely managed to swallow the words rising to my throat.

“And our objective was to completely deceive His Majesty the Emperor.”

“But…”

“My father—His Majesty—doesn’t seem to have been completely fooled yet.”

Still kneeling, he extended his hand toward me.

He looked both devout, like the sole believer worshipping his one and only god…

And strangely languid at the same time.

I swallowed hard.

Jackal possessed beautiful golden eyes.

Looking into them felt like staring at fireflies glowing in the darkness of night.

But I couldn’t let my guard down.

Because a black aura that hadn’t been there moments ago was now swirling ominously within his eyes.

He exhaled slowly, as though enduring considerable pain.

“Haah…”

“It seems I’ll need your help again today if I’m to avoid losing control.”

The corners of his lips lifted into a dangerous smile.

“Will you help me?”

Without saying a word, I reached out toward the man wearing that breathtaking smile.

After all…

We had a contract.

My role was to keep him from going berserk.

Simply put—

The man was suffering from a curse.

And I was the only person capable of suppressing it.

The curse itself was…

A ridiculously bizarre one that forced him to imprison anyone he became emotionally attached to.

…Why am I stuck in this situation because of a curse that wasn’t even mentioned in the original novel?

The bed suddenly dipped beneath us.

Before I knew it, the man’s face was drawing closer and closer.

I tried to back away, slipped instead, and fell flat onto the mattress.

Lying on my back, I stared directly into the male lead’s face.

“When is this damned mark finally going to disappear?”

“I wonder.”

“Duke…”

“It’s agonizing…”

His face came unbearably close.

I could feel his hot breath against my nose.

His breathing slowly traveled lower.

“Ah…!”

The unexpected sensation against the nape of my neck made a soft gasp escape my lips.

The man let out a low, intoxicating laugh.

“So…”

“Please.”

“Stay imprisoned just a little longer.”

His lips drew nearer and nearer.

How exactly had I reached the point where I was used to hearing this insane nonsense?

Slowly, I looked back on everything that had happened.

So…

How did it all end up like this…?