'Is this right?'
On the way back to her room after finishing the talk with her mother, Natalie Grace.
The situation being far too different from what she had thought, Noel found it hard to hide her perplexity.
"I-I said I would write it as soon as I finish the fairy tale I was writing…."
In the end, flustered by her mother's reaction which was truly different from what she expected, making up that excuse and leaving was all she could do.
Still,
"Ah, I scolded Noah sternly. Please do not be too harsh on her. Result-wise, it worked out… well?"
She didn't forget to look out for her younger sister.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't a wrong statement either.
She had her debut work recited in a place with a Royal and various nobles, and successfully debuted as an author.
Considering how few people in the world could grasp such glory and luck, it was indeed an amazing thing.
However,
'This isn't it. I wouldn't mind if it was just for fun, but I had no intention of making a living by writing in this life too…!'
The problem was that Noel, who enjoyed such privileges, wasn't very happy with the current situation.
Noel had already experienced what it was like to live as a novelist to a sickening degree in her past life.
She was finally born as a noble, and the eldest daughter of a wealthy and powerful noble family at that.
She intended to bite down on this golden spoon, play and eat, see her bias in real life, and enjoy life, yet here she was writing again.
If it was just writing as a hobby, she wouldn't mind, but this flow was something a bit….
Her mind felt complicated.
But thinking complicatedly wasn't going to produce a solution.
'Let's think of it as labor to present a direction to the world so that dopamine can be produced on its own, and also for me to enjoy it a bit.'
Noel was quick to accept things.
Because she knew well that was good for mental health.
Not only the Royal, but even her own mother was shouting "Next story!" in this situation.
She had no choice but to quietly show them the taste of dopamine as they wished.
Comparing it to a restaurant, she opened it as a hobby, but a wrestling team barged in.
Her retreat was blocked.
Wouldn't it be better to just surrender obediently, cook like crazy, and earn a thick pile of money?
'First, finish the fairy tale promised to Noah, quickly wrap up 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」, and then… go on an indefinite hiatus.'
Then, if she fled to the Academy, wouldn't it be somewhat resolved?
Noel was thinking that, but whether it would work out as thought remained to be seen.
"Lady Noel~."
No.
"P-Princess?! You went back to Imperium… didn't you?"
"Fuhu, well about that. Like a fool, I made a 'mistake' and miscalculated the Mana Train schedule, so I missed it, you see? So, with the Viscount's consideration, I decided to stay at the Grace Viscountcy for a while before leaving."
Without needing to wait and see, it looked like her plan was ruined immediately.
Is the 'while' Princess Lydia speaks of── really just a while?
Trying to shake off the ominous prediction, Noel decided to focus on receiving this snake-like Princess with her best efforts as a Viscount's daughter.
While doing so, she was suspicious about from where to where she had planned this surprise visit to the Viscountcy.
To tell the answer, contrary to Noel's conjecture, the Princess's action this time was close to purely impulsive.
She proceeded with things because she fell head over heels for the novel, wanted to see the author in person, and wanted to possess the book.
She was in a position where she could afford that level of selfishness.
And having achieved her goal, she intended to return obediently to the Imperial Capital, Imperium, but—
"Wait, since I'm already here, if I see the next story before I go…?"
She realized belatedly.
If she stayed put in the Viscountcy like this, wouldn't she be able to access the new work written by Noel the fastest?
So──
"I beg you. I want to see at least the next story of 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」 before I go."
"Princess…."
She acted spoiled to her escort knight, changed her schedule, and laid the groundwork to stay long-term in the Grace Viscountcy.
Anyway, admission to the Academy, which even a Royal couldn't avoid, wasn't far off.
The things she had to do until then were obvious, and those obvious tasks weren't necessarily things she had to do in the Capital; she could do them while staying in the Grace Viscountcy.
Regarding voices saying it would be troublesome for a Royal to show favoritism to a specific noble, she could just make an excuse about her health and say the purpose was to recuperate in the Grace Viscountcy, where the water is good and the air is clear.
And watching such a plan of Princess Lydia and her execution power, the escort knight Rosalyn Miller found it hard to suppress the sigh flowing out.
It wasn't the first time something like this happened since she took charge of escorting the eccentric Princess Lydia, but she felt particularly perplexed this time.
'Just what is that novel to go this far….'
When other noble ladies were embroidering and arranging flowers, Rosalyn Miller, fitting for a daughter of a famous swordsmanship family, walked the path of martial arts, swinging swords and stabbing swords.
Because of that, she didn't have hobbies typical of a noble lady.
『Romance novels? It's better to read one more line of a swordsmanship manual.』
『Dresses? I prefer shopping for famous swords rather than cumbersome clothes that are uncomfortable to move in.』
『Dessert? As long as I can intake nutrients, anything is fine.』
It was exactly like this.
Beyond the realm of understanding, her sensibility itself was different.
If Noel heard she was like a tomboyish lad, Rosalyn Miller was truly a female warrior, a heroine.
Naturally, she couldn't help but be displeased that things had come to this pass because of that damn romance novel or whatever.
Although she intended to follow the will of Princess Lydia to whom she dedicated her sword as a knight, that was that, and she simply couldn't understand.
"Is that novel about some bridge or whatever that good?"
"Yes! It's good! And it's not 'some bridge,' it's 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」."
Already among the young ladies who attended the reading session that day, heated debates were on the verge of erupting over exactly which bridge in the Capital the title was referring to.
That's how many various meanings the 'bridge' appearing in 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」 held.
Yet Princess Lydia lectured her that calling it so insensitively was too much.
It was a sensibility Rosalyn couldn't understand at all, and,
"Rosalyn, this work is a piece that will become a basic virtue for ladies in the future. Not knowing it is a serious loss as a woman."
"Even if you say that…."
Seeing Rosalyn like that, Princess Lydia seemed to think this wouldn't do and tried to bestow teachings upon her.
"I've decided. I'll give you homework."
Saying that, the Princess held out the manuscript of 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」 in front of her escort knight.
The first draft she had slyly pocketed instead of returning to the owner under the excuse of taking responsibility to make it into a book.
It goes without saying, but she intended to keep it for life as a sort of merchandise.
"Here, read it all and tell me your thoughts. Ah, I'm going to check, so pretending to have read it roughly is prohibited."
"P-Princess… that is a bit…."
Rosalyn made a face that said she genuinely hated it.
To read a novel about love and dating that makes one's hands and feet curl (cringe)?
She felt like devoting herself to training in that time.
However, Rosalyn had never once won against the Princess when she came out like this.
Seeing Lydia smiling silently with the manuscript held out, Rosalyn eventually raised the white flag.
"If I read it all within three days──."
"Two days. Ah, and please be careful with the manuscript. It is the truly, truly precious handwritten draft of the author."
"If it's that precious, then just later when the book comes out──."
"Fuhu, it's a good opportunity, so build up your lady-like virtues."
"Ugh…."
Rosalyn, total defeat!
Accepting the manuscript with both hands, Rosalyn ended up dropping her head in front of the smiling Princess Lydia.
She was a female knight who learned defeat.
Loyal as she was, she eventually followed her liege's instruction to 'read'.
In fact, this wasn't the first time for something like this.
The people the Princess could treat without reserve were naturally limited, and as such, she often naturally recommended works she liked to Rosalyn and wanted to share her thoughts.
Every time that happened, Rosalyn would digest Princess Lydia's request while submerged in embarrassment.
So although she wasn't a prolific reader, she had some experience reading romance novels and such, but,
'This is… what on earth?'
She came to feel emotions in 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」 that couldn't be compared to any of those experiences.
Usually, when you say romance novel, the story starts in an atmosphere where people seem like they would hold hands and dance around laughing haha hoho.
It meant the story started with a feeling like a calm lake and continued while observing the introduction, development, turn, and conclusion, but the texture of 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」 was different.
It was a climax from the start, and it felt not like a calm lake but like a sea with a storm raging.
It was understandable, as the story began with the heroine Elise's fiancé being caught having an affair.
'T-The Princess reads a novel like this…?'
Was that all?
She heard that other noble young ladies were also expressing deep affection for this work.
Imperial social circles── she suddenly wondered if they were okay like this, but what could she do?
Honestly, not everyone was like that, but considering how promiscuous a life real nobles led, this novel was actually beautified to some extent.
Even so, the thought of whether it was okay for young ladies to read such a romance novel continued endlessly.
And because of that very point, unlike other romance novels she usually read while yawning, Rosalyn started reading 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」 with interest.
Unlike other novels she read forcibly to keep the Princess company, this one strangely piqued her interest, making her read voluntarily.
The structure made it unavoidable.
It wasn't written with those made-up sentences Rosalyn disliked—the kind that beat around the bush and required reading two or three times to understand.
The readability was incredibly good.
It was so good that some might say the text lacked dignity, but it wasn't a specialized book but an entertainment novel, so what did it matter?
It was good that it read smoothly, and the content was unconventional and extremely stimulating, making it exciting even for a knight like Rosalyn who knew nothing but the sword to enjoy.
"Falling in love isn't a sin, he says… truly sounds like something a noble son who lives on his own high horse would say."
Rosalyn clicked her tongue seeing the fiancé who acted as if asking what the problem was, saying it can happen, even after being caught having an affair by his fiancée Elise at the scene.
"...Is this perhaps a true story?"
Having picked up many rumors of the social circle while following the Princess around, such a thought occurred naturally.
Wondering if it was reconstructed based on an incident that actually happened.
That's how needlessly realistic it felt, and it had to be.
『I will see you in 4 weeks.』
Earth was a place where one could easily encounter realistic Makjang love stories, like the divorce drama famous for that line.
The authenticity was unknown, but there were stimulating internet stories too.
If one mixed things that appeared in famous dramas and such stories appropriately, a needlessly vivid adultery story was bound to be born.
And that very point turned even the female warrior-like Rosalyn, along with the Princess and other noble ladies, into an Ajimae (middle-aged woman) watching soap operas in her living room.
"Indeed, is this what they call a revenge affair?"
Giving a strange admiration, Rosalyn continued reading.
Fitting for a purely cultivated noble lady, Elise receives a huge shock at her fiancé's affair.
The partner's attitude wasn't one of reflection to let it slide as a one-time mistake.
At that fact, Elise, who was in the prime of her youth, got angry, and unable to endure that anger, she also committed a deviation for the first time in her life.
She went out alone willfully without telling her parents.
Normally, she would go out with grand protocol, starting from escorts to maids to wait on her.
Elise, whose dream was to walk the streets freely alone without such an outing, used her fiancé's affair as a trigger to slip out of the mansion secretly to achieve that dream.
My fiancé lives as he pleases, so why can't I?
Coincidentally, the streets were in a festival.
Intoxicated by that atmosphere, Elise gradually became intoxicated with joy, as if her initial wariness was a lie.
Because of that, she didn't realize she had now become prey for a bad crowd.
Festivals are fun, but attracted by that fun, even street thugs who usually lay low run wild like unbridled foals.
Eventually, Elise ended up surrounded by people throwing passes at her.
Excerpt: The Bridges of Imperium Town 「Let go of me!」
Elise looked ready to slap the man who grabbed her wrist willfully and forced her to enjoy the festival together, calling him rude.
At that undaunted appearance, the group surrounding Elise laughed boisterously as if it were even more fun.
「Ugh, s-someone…!」
By the time Elise frowned at the pain in her captured wrist and asked for help, it was already too late.
Because everyone was moving their feet pretending not to see, as if they didn't want to get involved.
Just as she wondered if she would be dragged away and suffer harsh trouble like this.
「That's enough. If you apologize for the rudeness to the lady and leave now, I will pretend I didn't see it.」
Although he wasn't riding a white horse, and wasn't officially knighted yet, a 'Knight' appeared.
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