흑막 황자에게 목숨값으로 고용됐습니다 (literally: "I Was Hired by the Shadow Prince as the Price of My Life") is a web novel by 김미내 (Kim Mi-nae) listed on KakaoPage (카카오페이지) — appearing on the platform's official landing page and its new releases (신작) list. According to the author page on SoseolNet, 김미내 is credited as a web novel author with two works.
The story centers on a palace infiltration premise gone fatally wrong: the protagonist has been bound by a 10-year slave contract to an incompetent "fixer" to uncover her brother's death — she infiltrates the imperial palace as a maid, only to catch the Third Prince, known as the "Saint of the Empire," covered in blood — and instead of being killed, her life becomes the "price" of being hired by the shadow prince.
Quick Summary
- Korean title: 흑막 황자에게 목숨값으로 고용됐습니다
- English title (unofficial): I Was Hired by the Shadow Prince as the Price of My Life
- Format: web novel (웹소설)
- Author: 김미내 (Kim Mi-nae)
- Platform: KakaoPage (카카오페이지) — listed on the official landing page and 신작 list
- Category: listed among KakaoPage new releases
- Age rating: not shown in the accessed sources
- Status: not available in the accessed sources
- Reader rating: not yet available — the novel page invites readers to "제일 먼저 리뷰를 달아보시겠어요?" (be the first to write a review), indicating a very new release
- Premise: slave contract + palace infiltration + eyewitness + shadow prince
- Characters: female protagonist (contract servant), 해결사 (fixer), 3황자 (Third Prince)
- Cover: could not be retrieved from the accessed sources
Cover
Synopsis: Ten Years of Contract, Ending in Disaster
The official synopsis from the novel page reads:
"…네? 황실에서 신성 계약서를 훔치겠다고요?" — "…Huh? You're saying we're going to steal the sacred contract from the imperial palace?"
"불만이면 뭐, 네 오빠가 왜 죽었는지 몰라도 된다는 거지?" — "If you're not satisfied, that just means you don't need to know why your brother died."
Bound by a 노예 계약 (slave contract) to an 무능한 (incompetent) 해결사 (fixer) for 10 years — promised the truth behind her brother's death — the protagonist finally infiltrates the imperial palace as a 하녀 (maid). But what she witnesses is:
"이런, 들켜 버렸네." — "Oh no, I've been found out."
The fixer, sprawled in a mess, and beside him the Third Prince, called 제국의 성자 (the Saint of the Empire). On a night when moonlight veiled by clouds casts a dim glow, the man with striking cream-colored hair and gleaming golden eyes — holding a blood-soaked stone while smiling gently — beckons her:
"목격자는 없애야 하니까…… 잠깐 이리 와 볼래요? 많이 아프진 않을 거예요." — "Witnesses must be eliminated…… could you come over for a moment? It won't hurt much."
And the protagonist's last thought: …이거 꿈인가? — …is this a dream?
Characters from the Synopsis
- Female protagonist (narrator): Bound by a 10-year slave contract for the truth behind her brother's death. An unlucky infiltrator who becomes an eyewitness at the worst possible moment.
- 해결사 (Fixer): Holder of the protagonist's contract, described as 무능한 (incompetent). Found sprawled in a mess on the night of the incident — hinting at his fate at the prince's hands.
- 3황자 (Third Prince): Known as 제국의 성자 (the Saint of the Empire) — a public image starkly contrasted by reality: lavish cream hair, gleaming golden eyes, smiling gently while holding a bloody stone. The 흑막 (mastermind behind the scenes) who, per the title, "hires" the protagonist with her life as payment.
- 오빠 (The protagonist's brother): Deceased; his unsolved case is why the protagonist endured a decade of servitude.
Why This Matters
1) The "Saint" image vs. a bloody reality. The title 제국의 성자 for a prince caught holding a blood-soaked stone is an instant hook — a holy image shattered in one night.
2) Dual contracts as the conflict engine. From a slave contract with an incompetent fixer, the protagonist "upgrades" to a far more dangerous bond: employment by a shadow prince with her life as the stake.
3) The brother's death as the driving mystery. A case unsolved for 10 years is why the protagonist stays — and likely the thread connecting her to the prince.
4) A tone blending tension and dark humor. "많이 아프진 않을 거예요" (it won't hurt much), delivered while holding a bloody stone, signals a story light on the surface and chilling underneath.
Novel Information
- Web novel by 김미내 (Kim Mi-nae)
- Listed on KakaoPage: official landing page and 신작 (new releases) list
- Novel info page available on SoseolNet
- Title: 흑막 황자에게 목숨값으로 고용됐습니다
- Premise: slave contract + palace infiltration + shadow prince (흑막)
- Setting: empire (황실/제국)
- Episode count, rating, and schedule details are not shown in the accessed sources — can be monitored on the official KakaoPage pages
Closing
흑막 황자에게 목숨값으로 고용됐습니다 opens with one night that changes everything: an infiltration for the truth ends as a "recruitment" by the empire's most dangerous prince. With the prince's contrasting image, the brother's death mystery, and a life-contract as the central bond, 김미내's work is worth watching on KakaoPage. Further details (episode count, ratings, events) can be monitored directly on official KakaoPage pages, as they were not displayed in the accessed sources.
