Chapter 1
I'm a Homebody, But I Possessed a Dark Captivity Romance
Chapter 1
“The Princess… has no intention of going outside?”
At the calm voice, I, who was about to put a piece of cake into my mouth, froze.
“…Yes?”
The person who spoke to me was a man sitting across from me, like a figure from a masterpiece painting.
As my gaze met the eyes of a man, a century’s worth of beauty with deep green eyes and hair as black as a crow’s, I felt an inexplicable sense of awe.
Though I had grown quite accustomed to it, the oppressive aura he exuded was still somewhat burdensome to face directly.
Whether I felt that way or not, he said what he had to say.
“How about going outside a bit today.”
“Yes?”
“They say taking a walk or doing light exercise after meals is good for your health.”
To an outsider, it might have seemed like a thoughtful concern from a handsome man, but my thoughts were a little different.
‘As expected, today too….’
I swallowed my disappointment and put down my fork.
The man’s gaze, which had followed the crystal fork, fixed directly on me.
“I am a sinner. Being invited to a meal like this is already more than I deserve.”
Speaking with a look of utter bewilderment, I lowered my eyes and bit my lip.
Based on my experiences so far, in situations like this, I had to start by playing the victim.
“So… I think it’s appropriate to spend today in self-reflection.”
If possible, I didn’t want to go outside tomorrow, or rather, if I could, I never wanted to leave my room.
“Do you know that self-reflection has already been two weeks long?”
However, the man, Grand Duke Blale, replied with an utterly cold expression.
“And it started with the reason that the weather was too hot.”
“Ah… haha.”
If I had to make an excuse for his words, it was that if I, the Princess, were to roam outside on such a hot day, even those assigned to watch me would suffer.
Well, in truth, that was just an excuse, as the Grand Duke said, and I simply didn’t want to go out.
Perhaps because the Grand Duke knew that well, he continued his interrogation.
“Before that, the self-reflection was because you slept on top of comic books. Did you say you were sorry to the artists who created the comic books?”
“Mmm….”
Please stop the harsh truths.
As if my earnest gaze worked, the Grand Duke fell silent and attacked me with his eyes.
‘Persistent….’
An awkward silence fell between us. I turned my head away from the Grand Duke’s piercing gaze.
But soon, I offered a clumsy excuse.
“…Your Highness, I must be punished for daring to crush the comic books you prepared with my butt, which is as large as my room. Th-that’s right, isn’t it?”
Pfft. The corner of the Grand Duke’s lips, which had been rigidly set, twisted.
“Anyone would think I treat you too harshly.”
“It’s a misunderstanding. Ha, hahaha.”
The battle of spear and shield, which had continued for days, always ended like this, but I had no intention of backing down this time either.
“We-well, the truth is… I am a person with a very high moral compass who feels at ease only when being punished.”
“And so?”
“As a sinner like myself… um… even breathing the same air as Your Highness feels sinful.”
“Go on.”
The Grand Duke even crossed his arms, watching my excuses.
From the strange determination he exuded, I instinctively felt that he was deliberately trying to provoke me.
‘Why does he keep trying to make me go out?’
He called me useless!
When he told me to just stay in my room!
Now he’s urging me to go out, citing my health, which is completely different from how he appeared at first.
Why on earth did the cold-blooded Grand Duke’s eyes feel like a mother nagging me to go outside?
Unable to escape the strange pressure, I swallowed my tears inwardly.
“So… that’s why…”
Screech.
As I pushed my chair back and got up, his persistent gaze followed my movement.
“I was already suffocating from guilt. So, the sinner April Solt will now return to her room.”
Before he could react, I quickly stood up.
In times like these, running away was the best strategy. He wouldn’t follow me into my peaceful and comfortable prison.
“Wait…”
I heard the Grand Duke calling from behind, but I walked on as if I hadn’t heard him.
Holding the sweet cream cake in my arms.
‘Surely he won’t complain about me taking food, right?’
Cake is high in calories.
So, if I finish this, I can endure until lunch tomorrow without eating anything else, that’s my grand plan.
If I just lie in bed, my calorie consumption will be extremely low, so I won’t even feel dizzy, right?
In case the Grand Duke followed me, I hurried into my room.
“Hoo…”
As I entered my cozy room, draped with blackout curtains specially made of Poleta Leather, I finally felt my mind and body stabilize.
As expected, I was a true homebody.
\ \ *
I was a pitiful 20-something K-office worker who died from overwork due to excessive workload.
To put it simply, I died meaninglessly and possessed a novel that morning on my commute. This much was a common trope.
The problem was that the novel I possessed was a dark, passionate romance titled <Forced Empress>, featuring a madly obsessive Crown Prince who would even taxidermy corpses, and a pitiful Princess.
‘Humanly speaking, shouldn’t I get some kind of possessor’s buff!’
Tears welled up from sheer injustice.
The protagonist of this novel was the treasure of the Kingdom of Salt, a beautiful single flower, and a Princess of ill-fated love who was evaluated as having the makings of a king if she had been born male – Lemeia Solt, who was ardently courted by the iron-willed Crown Prince Raiden.
However, contrary to what was revealed in the novel, all her actions were achieved by stepping on the sacrifices of someone unknown.
The sacrifice of April, the illegitimate daughter and half-sister, who was not really treated as royalty.
‘But what if I am that April?’
In a word, I was screwed.
Lemeia, who was praised with all sorts of good adjectives like kind, wise, and chaste… was actually a heartless person.
She locked me in the office and didn’t even give me food until I finished mountains of paperwork!
Even finishing the paperwork didn’t end the day.
“April, I’ve been feeling tired lately, like my body is breaking down. Can you give me a massage tonight?”
My arduous day ended only after I had to use my brain during the day and perform personal labor at night.
Possessors in novels often received dramatic protagonist buffs, but I didn’t get any of that.
Instead, I lived like a slave for three months in an environment that was the same as before I died from overwork, or perhaps even worse.
But.
But…?
The chance for escape came at an unexpected moment. Or rather, I wasn’t even sure if this could be called an escape.
“Shh, if you don’t stay quiet, your face will be scarred.”
One late night, while reviewing documents in the office in place of Lemeia due to piled-up work, I was suddenly grabbed and my mouth was covered before I could even prepare for an attack.
“Mmph, mmph! Ughh—”
“Princess Lemeia has been secured.”
Even as I panicked, I clearly heard the voice of the man presumed to be the kidnapper.
‘Lemeia?’
I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s not me!
I widened my eyes and looked up at the man.
The real Lemeia is currently overworking me like a slave while she sleeps soundly in her room!
I’m not Lemeia, I’m Lemeia’s slave!
“Ughh!”
Oh no, this is crazy!
The kidnappers, who moved in the darkness as if well-trained, made no sound.
Who are these people? Are they people who envy the protagonist Lemeia? Or criminals after money?
As tears welled up, the man covering my mouth whispered,
“If you don’t fall asleep now, your beautiful skin will be ruined, Princess.”
This is insane, I’m innocent!
I twisted my body, trying to express myself somehow, but it only led to a worse outcome.
“What an incorrigible Princess. Knock her out!”
Just before a strong hand chop struck the back of my neck, a lightning-fast realization flashed through my mind.
Until just now, I thought the character I possessed was an extra who wasn’t properly mentioned in the novel.
However, April Solt, the illegitimate Princess, was briefly mentioned in the middle of the original work.
Even the scene where she was kidnapped instead of Lemeia was described so briefly that it seemed to have slipped from memory.
「Grand Duke Blale, who promised Raiden a deal in exchange for kidnapping Princess Lemeia, later realized the target had changed.」
‘Ah, April….’
Her fate was never revealed until the novel reached its end.
Therefore, there was a 99.9% chance she was a supporting character who met a meaningless end.
And that was the fate that awaited me from now on.
