diff --git a/packages/vite-dev-server/src/node/service-worker.ts b/packages/vite-dev-server/src/node/service-worker.ts
index c1ea7b5..9675e1b 100644
--- a/packages/vite-dev-server/src/node/service-worker.ts
+++ b/packages/vite-dev-server/src/node/service-worker.ts
@@ -347,7 +347,10 @@ export function createServer(
     claimOnActivate: true,
     debug: createDebugger('vrowzer:svc-worker-server')!,
   })
-  const honoFetchHandler = handle(middlewares)
+  // NOTE(kazupon): Without options, Hono's Service Worker adapter fetches a 404 response again
+  // from the network, so requests for missing preview files reached the host server. Requests
+  // within the base path belong to the virtual project, so answer them with the 404, as Vite does.
+  const honoFetchHandler = handle(middlewares, {})
   const fetchHandler = (event: FetchEvent) => {
     // Leave requests outside the virtual project unanswered so the browser
     // performs the fetch with the controlled client's native semantics.
diff --git a/packages/vrowzer/README.md b/packages/vrowzer/README.md
index 15bbb25..c8838de 100644
--- a/packages/vrowzer/README.md
+++ b/packages/vrowzer/README.md
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ const vrowzer = Vrowzer()
 
 The runtime `serviceWorkerScope` remains available for compatibility and for builds without the plugin. If both values are provided, they must match or `Vrowzer()` throws before registration. Without either value, the scope defaults to `/`. The scope does not set the preview URL; that is the role of `basePath`.
 
-The scope selects which pages the Service Worker controls, not which request URLs it receives from those pages. Vrowzer only responds to same-origin HTTP(S) requests within `basePath`. Cross-origin requests and same-origin requests outside `basePath` are left to the browser's native network path.
+The scope selects which pages the Service Worker controls, not which request URLs it receives from those pages. Vrowzer only responds to same-origin HTTP(S) requests within `basePath`. Cross-origin requests and same-origin requests outside `basePath` are left to the browser's native network path. Requests within `basePath` that the virtual project cannot serve get a 404 response from the Service Worker; they are not sent to the host server.
 
 `serviceWorkerVersion` identifies the Service Worker version expected by the controller and reported by the worker. When `@vrowzer/vite-plugin` is used, configure the version on the plugin and omit the runtime option:
 
diff --git a/packages/vrowzer/integration/vrowzer.integration-test.ts b/packages/vrowzer/integration/vrowzer.integration-test.ts
index 8e6c641..bdce522 100644
--- a/packages/vrowzer/integration/vrowzer.integration-test.ts
+++ b/packages/vrowzer/integration/vrowzer.integration-test.ts
@@ -41,6 +41,8 @@ let crossOriginAssetServerUrl: string
 let pageConsoleLogs: string[] = []
 let delayedServiceWorkerRequests = 0
 let hmrClientProbeId = 0
+// Requests within the preview base path that reached the host server
+const hostPreviewRequests: string[] = []
 
 function delayServiceWorkerResponse(delay: number): Plugin {
   return {
@@ -78,6 +80,26 @@ function serveHostFetchProbe(): Plugin {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Records the requests within the preview base path that reach the host server. It runs before
+ * the guard of `@vrowzer/vite-plugin`, which answers such requests.
+ */
+function recordHostPreviewRequests(): Plugin {
+  return {
+    name: 'vrowzer:test-record-host-preview-requests',
+    enforce: 'pre',
+    configurePreviewServer(server) {
+      server.middlewares.use((request, _response, next) => {
+        const pathname = new URL(request.url ?? '/', 'http://localhost').pathname
+        if (pathname.startsWith('/__preview__/')) {
+          hostPreviewRequests.push(`${request.method} ${pathname}`)
+        }
+        next()
+      })
+    }
+  }
+}
+
 async function closeHttpServer(server: HttpServer | undefined): Promise<void> {
   if (!server?.listening) {
     return
@@ -398,6 +420,7 @@ beforeAll(async () => {
   server = await preview({
     root: PLAYGROUND_DIR,
     plugins: [
+      recordHostPreviewRequests(),
       serveHostFetchProbe(),
       ...(SERVICE_WORKER_RESPONSE_DELAY > 0
         ? [delayServiceWorkerResponse(SERVICE_WORKER_RESPONSE_DELAY)]
@@ -1252,6 +1275,21 @@ if (import.meta.hot) {
       expect(report.message).toContain('500')
     })
 
+    test('reports a missing preview HTML once with 404', async () => {
+      await prepareFixtures()
+      // The SPA fallback answers other missing paths with index.html, and removing index.html would
+      // break the other sessions. The fallback skips /favicon.ico, so its request ends in a 404.
+      await mountSession('html-missing', '/__preview__/favicon.ico')
+
+      const report = await waitForLoadError('html-missing')
+
+      expect(report).toMatchObject({ id: 'html-missing', stage: 'html', status: 404 })
+      // A page that reloads the preview, such as the host's "Waiting for Service Worker..." page,
+      // would report the error again every second
+      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 2500))
+      expect(await readLoadErrors('html-missing')).toHaveLength(1)
+    })
+
     test('reports a rejected fetch of the preview HTML', async () => {
       await prepareFixtures()
       await mountSession('html-fetch', UNREACHABLE_URL)
@@ -1442,6 +1480,32 @@ if (import.meta.hot) {
       expect(response?.status()).toBe(200)
       expect(response?.fromServiceWorker()).toBe(true)
     })
+
+    test('answers missing files within basePath with 404 without asking the host', async () => {
+      const hostRequestCount = hostPreviewRequests.length
+
+      const responses = await page.evaluate(async () => {
+        const read = async (path: string, init?: RequestInit) => {
+          const response = await fetch(path, init)
+          return { status: response.status, body: await response.text() }
+        }
+        return {
+          narrowAccept: await read('/__preview__/missing-files/data.json', {
+            headers: { Accept: 'application/json' }
+          }),
+          post: await read('/__preview__/missing-files/data.json', { method: 'POST', body: '{}' }),
+          favicon: await read('/__preview__/favicon.ico')
+        }
+      })
+
+      // The SPA fallback does not answer these requests, so they end in the 404 handler
+      expect(responses).toEqual({
+        narrowAccept: { status: 404, body: '' },
+        post: { status: 404, body: '' },
+        favicon: { status: 404, body: '' }
+      })
+      expect(hostPreviewRequests.slice(hostRequestCount)).toEqual([])
+    })
   })
 
   describe('error responses', () => {