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Chapter – 02
Three days before the Grand Duchess Selection Party.
October 28th, Korea Standard Time.
May 20th, Imperial Year 523.
Inside her and his shared dream.
“Mm… ahh, nnngh.”
As his long fingers brushed against her temple, a faint moan escaped between her lips.
A soft flush rose on her pale cheeks, and his fingers swept gently through her silky hair.
“Haa…”
She opened her eyes. Reflected in her deep blue irises was his face—entirely filling her vision.
“This is an addiction,” she whispered.
Even her lips, once tinted violet, had turned a soft shade of red.
The man pressing her head down slightly spoke, his voice calm and low.
“I’m glad you liked it again today.”
“I never knew rubbing someone’s head could feel this good. How have I lived my whole life without this? I might as well have been wasting it until I met you.”
“An exaggeration.”
She turned to face him, her slightly upturned eyes narrowing into crescents.
“It’s not exaggeration or flattery. I’ve been trying to get head massages in real life ever since—trying to find this exact feeling—but it’s never the same. You’re one of a kind. Honestly, you’re the only reason I’m getting through the week.”
Every bit of tension from her day melted away.
No matter how miserable the day had been, falling asleep and meeting him in her dreams washed it all away.
“It’s just a dream, but it really does take my fatigue away. I don’t even know how I survived before I met you.”
His otherwise expressionless face softened at that. He frowned faintly, and she reached out to tap between his brows with her fingertip.
“If you’re not going to use that face properly, just give it to me instead. And when you smile—please—make some sound. You’re terrifying.”
He gave a small shrug at her grumbling.
“I only smile in front of you, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Well, fair. Not like your life gives you much to laugh about.”
She flicked her fingers in the air.
Instantly, everything around them vanished—the bench she sat on, the chair he was in, the scenery surrounding them—gone.
The two stood facing each other in a vast white space.
“So, where to today? I’d like somewhere I can just… sprawl.”
“In that case—”
He snapped his fingers lightly, and in a flash, an enormous bed appeared, along with ornate sofas and bookshelves stretching endlessly in every direction.
She glanced around, wide-eyed. “Where are we?”
“My bedroom. You said you wanted to sprawl comfortably. A bed seemed appropriate.”
Her bare feet padded softly across the floor as she explored between the bookshelves, peeking out from behind one with a grin.
“You actually sleep in your bedroom?”
“I haven’t slept in eight years.”
“Knew it. A workaholic like you wouldn’t.”
“Workaholic?”
“A human addicted to work.”
He didn’t bother denying it.
She plucked a book from the shelf and flipped through it.
“As expected—it’s blank. Guess dreams don’t generate full content.”
“Not down to that level of detail, no.”
“It’s a dream anyway. Not like I was going to read in here.”
Not like in real life, she thought but didn’t say aloud.
She shoved the book back and headed for the bed.
“You’re telling me you haven’t laid down here once in eight years? Ridiculous. It’s amazing.”
She rolled around on the wide mattress, a thin sheet tangled around her pale, bare body like a cocoon.
Lounging deep in the sofa, he let out a small laugh.
“I don’t need to lie down to rest my eyes. I can sleep anywhere.”
“Humans spend one-third of their lives sleeping, but I guess you’re the exception.”
“You know I can’t afford such luxuries.”
“Well, yeah… fair enough.”
He was, after all, a character from a novel—a fictional man she only knew from words.
The hidden villain, the mastermind behind everything opposing the protagonist. Of course he was busy.
She tilted her head back to look at him upside down.
“Since you’ve come, I guess it’s time for your problem of the day. What is it this time?”
“The same as always. The Crown Prince.”
His voice was dry enough to scatter like sand.
Upside down, he looked just as he had the first time they met.
Their first meeting—within a dream.
She couldn’t remember when it began.
But at some point, he had started appearing in her dreams—and she in his.
“Do you remember our first meeting?”
The question came out of nowhere, but he answered without hesitation.
Time spent with her had made such things natural to him.
“Vividly. You lunged at me and bit my arm.”
“Well, what was I supposed to do? A naked man appeared in front of me out of nowhere! You should be thankful I didn’t kick you somewhere worse.”
“How gracious of you.”
Her eyes widened as she rolled onto her side, propping her chin on her palm.
“What’s this? Sarcasm? You’re really evolving.”
“Spending time with you… I’ve become talkative.”
“That’s you being talkative? Wow.”
She sat up slowly. His eyes narrowed.
She scooted closer—completely bare, not a thread of clothing—and narrowed her own eyes back at him.
She stared at his lips. Intensely enough that the air between them seemed to hum.
“Be honest.”
“I have no reason to lie to you.”
“Before we met, did a spider take up residence in your mouth and spin webs in there?”
“…What?”
“Or do you coat your lips in wax every day so you can’t open them? Because otherwise, I refuse to believe this is what you call ‘talkative.’”
He looked down at her rounded forehead and opened his mouth—
“Ah!”
“See? No webs. No wax. Satisfied?”
“You bit my nose!”
“It didn’t even hurt.”
“Of course it didn’t—it’s a dream! Still, you scared me!”
He chuckled softly, blocking her mock attack with his palm.
“I was startled too.”
“I haven’t even bitten you yet.”
“Never thought I’d see the day someone threatened to bite my nose.”
His low, amused tone made her puff her cheeks and back off.
“It’s just a dream. I mean, I’m sitting here naked with some man I barely know—how is that not the weirdest part?”
“As you said—it’s only a dream.”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s a dream. And since we’ve already agreed that nudity’s fine, let’s move on. Now then—time for the serious talk.”
She climbed off the sofa and returned to the bed, hugging the largest pillow to her chest as she sat in the middle.
“How did the Crown Prince assassination attempt go?”
“It failed.”
The answer came immediately, without hesitation.
She clicked her tongue.
“Are you sure you hired the right people?”
“Yes. He was stronger than I anticipated.”
“‘Stronger than anticipated.’ You’ve said that before. Well, no use crying over a failed job. But trying the same trick twice would be idiotic…”
She tilted her head, thinking.
How do you kill the protagonist of a story?
A character fated to survive because he’s the main hero—while the man before her is the final villain.
There’s no way it should be possible. But she couldn’t say that aloud.
“What about poison? You do have poison in your world, right?”
“I’ve tried.”
“And?”
“He didn’t eat. Somehow, only the Crown Prince avoided it. Maybe someone leaked information. Everyone else who dined with him died.”
Her face twisted. She didn’t remember the story being that detailed—apparently, even poison had failed.
“That’s a lot of collateral damage.”
“They all deserved to die.”
“Deserved it?”
“Yes.”
He leaned back on the sofa, eyes half-lidded, then closed them fully. She fell silent too.
A quiet stillness stretched between them—not the uncomfortable kind, just… natural.
A man from a book, existing only in her dreams.
A phantom she could never meet in reality.
When she woke up, he would be gone.
If she dreamed differently, she might never see him again.
There was no reason to feel uneasy.
After a long silence, she smirked slightly.
“You said you travel by horse or carriage, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then maybe…”
Her gentle voice trailed, and he nodded slowly, moving closer.
“It’s time to wake up.”
“Yeah.”
Looking up at him as he looked down at her, they closed their eyes at the same moment.
The world around them began to collapse—
the landscape shattering like glass, fragment by fragment, until even their figures and the blank books dissolved into nothingness.
May 21st, Imperial Year 523.
The Grand Duke’s bedroom.
She stirred faintly. Her consciousness floated just below the surface.
No phone alarm yet—it must be before seven.
Maybe she could sleep a few minutes more.
Her life felt like one endless Monday, so even a few extra moments of rest were precious.
She groped blindly beside her pillow. No phone.
Maybe it had slipped under the pillow?
Still half-asleep, she reached around, frowning.
Her brows knitted. I didn’t even touch my phone last night—where the hell did it go?
Rubbing her face against the pillow, she finally opened her eyes.
Normally, without her glasses, she couldn’t see a thing.
But now…
She blinked rapidly.
She could see.
Everything.
Too clearly.
She flipped over. The blanket brushing against her skin was absurdly soft.
What… what is this?
Her mouth opened soundlessly. Her throat was dry, too tight to speak.
Calm down.
Just—calm down.
This wasn’t her room.
She looked around slowly. The bed, the sofa… all strangely familiar.
Then she looked down at the pillow she was clutching—
and froze.
To hell with calm.
She threw the pillow aside and screamed,
“THIS IS A BEDROOM—!”
She didn’t even finish before the door in front of her swung open.
Instinctively, she yanked the blanket around herself.
“…As you command, Your Grace,” came a muffled voice from the hall.
A man stepped inside.
Her blue eyes widened.
It was him.
The man from her dreams.
He closed the door behind him and set the latch.
The man who had existed only in her dreams—
the dark mastermind from a novel whose details she couldn’t even fully recall—
was now standing before her.
For the first time, the two met—
not in a dream,
but in reality
