Chapter 01
– Prologue
A prince from a sleeping fairy tale.
What better phrase could describe the man lying before me now—Lionel von Altehyde?
This pink bed, overflowing with delicate lace, sometimes felt overwhelming even to me, its owner…
Wow, how does he suit it so well?
His beautiful face, illuminated by the morning sunlight like a halo, proved that splendor and elegance could coexist.
Among his doll-like features—so exquisite they seemed crafted by a master artisan—the most striking were his long, delicately spread eyelashes.
They look even longer with his eyes closed…
Even though I’d seen this face many times, I still found myself admiring it whenever I looked.
Truly, not just anyone could be a romance-fantasy male lead.
If only the keyword “obsession” weren’t attached to him…
That’s right.
No one would guess from this peaceful, gentle sleeping face, but this man wasn’t just a male lead—he was an obsessive male lead.
And not the understandable kind of obsession you’d expect in a novel, but the kind that makes you think, “Uh… this is a bit much…”—the kind found in dark, tragic stories.
On top of that, he was also the type of male lead who kidnaps and imprisons the heroine in a secret room only he can enter.
If I had to summarize: a dark, obsessive, overwhelmingly intense male lead.
And the unfortunate heroine who gets kidnapped and imprisoned by this man…
Sadly—unbelievably—
was me.
When I first realized I had reincarnated into this world, I truly wanted to escape…
Fortunately, until now, as his fiancée, I had managed to prevent Lionel from falling into darkness.
It wasn’t even that difficult.
Before his descent, Lionel was gentle—almost modest—despite the “obsessive male lead” label.
The only problem was…
He wasn’t gentle only to me.
He also obediently followed the words of a family that wasn’t truly family—
even when those words were unfair and unreasonable.
Not realizing that the end of that road would be his own corruption.
So before Lionel could cross the point of no return,
I kidnapped him first and locked him in my bedroom.
In other words—
A preemptive strike is victory!
Before the darkened male lead could kidnap and imprison me,
I kidnapped and imprisoned him first.
With sturdy handcuffs and everything!
At this level, it was clearly self-defense.
Anyone disagree?
Try getting kidnapped and see if your opinion changes.
But when did he start hugging me in his sleep…?
Only after admiring his face did I realize—
his cuffed hands had somehow slipped behind my back,
pulling our bodies close together.
His body, hardened by years on the battlefield,
felt solid as stone through my thin nightclothes.
I’m sure we fell asleep facing forward…
Was he the type who hugged someone if they were nearby?
How do I get out of this…?
The key was on the table.
So I tried to push him down and climb over him to escape—
“Mm…”
With a low murmur, his long eyelashes trembled,
and like a prince freed from magic,
he slowly opened his eyes.
Beneath them appeared violet eyes, like flowers—or jewels.
For a moment I was captivated.
Then his unfocused gaze blinked a few times and found me—
Me, sitting on top of him, hands on his chest, faces extremely close.
…Anyone would think I’m about to pounce on him!
Startled, I tried to jump up—
but his arms around my back stopped me,
and I collapsed onto him again.
Our lips almost touched.
Almost—but not quite.
Th-that startled me…!
Frozen in shock,
I felt his gaze fix on my lips—
intently, almost obsessively.
“…Ahem. Did you sleep well?”
Trying to act casual, I greeted him.
“Yes. I slept well.”
“That’s good. Even if you’re uncomfortable, I don’t plan to release you.”
Because if I did,
you’d go straight down your original dark path!
“…”
“I’ll free you to wash or change clothes.
But if you try something cute like escaping—”
“What will happen?”
He looked purely curious.
That gentle face—hard to believe it belonged to the obsessive male lead who did all sorts of things in the novel.
Which only strengthened my resolve to keep that face from sinking into madness.
“I’ll lock you in a room only I can enter.
A tiny window, barely for ventilation.
You won’t know what’s happening outside—
you’ll only be able to wait for me.”
Because if I fail to stop his corruption,
that’s exactly what would happen to me.
“So you don’t want that, right?”
Terrifying, right? Horrible, right?
So listen to me and behave—
“I’m fine with it.”
“…What?”
“I don’t mind being kidnapped and confined.
If I just wait, you’ll return to me, won’t you?”
He looked puzzled—
as if there were no reason to dislike it.
“As long as I can stay by your side,
the place or form doesn’t matter.”
“Y-you mean that?”
“Yes. As you said,
there’s no one else looking for me.”
“W-wait! Why wouldn’t there be?
I’m here!
If you disappeared, I’d search the ends of the continent—
even cross the sea to find you…!”
“Yes. I know.
You have a tracking artifact that lets you watch me anytime, anywhere.”
“…Ah.”
“Whether it’s a narrow room or a sunless one—
if it’s a place you’ll someday return to,
I’m fine anywhere.”
He kissed the back of my hand, then my palm,
rested his cheek against it,
and smiled softly.
“Please confine me wherever you wish.”
Staring blankly at his beautiful smile,
my eyes drifted to the earring shining on his ear—
The tracking artifact I had given him.
And I also had other means to monitor his daily life…
…Wait a second.
I’d worked so hard to stop him from becoming an obsessive male lead—
But hadn’t I naturally evolved into an obsessive heroine instead?
Huh? That’s strange…
Where did things go wrong?
Yesterday, when I handcuffed him and dragged him to my bedroom?
The day I gave him the tracking earring?
Or perhaps four years ago—
when I realized I had reincarnated into this novel’s world,
at sixteen, when our engagement was decided.
