Chapter 145
Being loved by someone also means embracing the possibility of being hated by someone.
It was only natural for malicious words to mingle with the praise pouring in.
So it was well within the realm of possibility that a letter like this would arrive.
“……”
Even so, after reading the letter, Aurora couldn't say anything for a while.
Her vision grew hazy.
The sounds around her grew distant.
Her pulse quickened.
Her body trembled.
It was only a letter.
Leon caught Aurora as her mind began drifting away.
“Noona.”
“Huh? Wh-what?”
“Are you all right?”
“I-I’m……fine.”
Aurora barely managed to come to her senses. Her heart was still pounding rapidly.
“Looks like you didn't like the ending.”
“I-I guess not……”
Leon took the letter.
He read it once more.
It wasn't anything particularly harsh. It was the sort of complaint commonly found in any work.
As far as Leon was concerned, it couldn't even be called a scathing review.
He had lived in a world where malice capable of making even Satan shake poured down like rain from behind the masks of anonymity.
Leon had lived in such a place.
Compared to that, this little letter?
‘Wow, how can a person be this gentlemanly?’
Perhaps it was because this world valued honor.
If everyone on Earth had been this restrained, countless cyber parents could have been spared.
But that was only by Leon's standards.
Aurora was different.
Unlike Leon, who had swum through the deep sea of the internet, Aurora wasn't accustomed to that kind of malice.
She had the resistance of a sunfish, perhaps even less.
She was at the level where a single poke could kill her.
Leon had to take care of her mental state somehow.
“Don't take it too seriously. It's impossible for anyone to satisfy every reader.”
“……”
“And putting aside the problematic tone, it ultimately means they liked a character you created.”
“You think……so?”
At her doubtful question, Leon immediately nodded.
“They're angry because they liked Serena. If she were a character they didn't care about, they wouldn't have minded what happened to her. It means she's that well-written.”
“I suppose you could interpret it that way……”
“Of course, this person does have a problem too.”
Even if they disliked the novel, how dare they write a letter like this to an imperial princess?
They had a lot of nerve.
“So don't take it too seriously. If you worry about every single thing, you won't be able to write anything. Just let it wash over you.”
“All right. I will.”
Fortunately, Aurora was wise.
That was what Leon thought. At least for that day.
“Hehe. As expected…… They really liked my emotional descriptions. Hehehe.”
The next day.
Leon found Aurora squatting on the floor and reading letters.
She must have stayed up all night reading them, because dark circles hung beneath her eyes.
Aurora opened the next letter.
“……”
Her expression hardened.
The face that had been blooming like a flower only moments ago drooped as if someone had poured water over it.
“‘The author who abandoned Serena’……? I didn't abandon her. I like Serena too……”
She set the letter down and opened the next one.
“Huh? Really? You cried when the empress died? I cried while writing it, too. I wondered if this was how I would feel if my mother died.”
Her eyes sparkled again.
The next letter.
“What? You think Rowan is too rude? There was a reason Rowan had no choice but to become that way! Hmph. They didn't even read it properly.”
-Swish.
She tossed the letter aside carelessly.
The next.
“As expected, Eileen is the true heroine? I agree about Eileen.”
And the next.
“There isn't a woman in the world like Serena? I agree about Serena too.”
And so on.
Aurora went from heaven to hell with every letter she read.
The capital was still a long way off.
***
The Empress's palace, reception room.
Aurora's new novel was causing a stir there as well.
Noblewomen and maids sat around a spacious table with the Empress at its center.
Each of them held a book in her hands. It was Aurora's new novel.
Some had already finished reading it, while others had come to share their impressions after reaching the middle and being unable to wait any longer.
“The characters' emotional arcs are much more nuanced in this work than in the previous one.”
“Exactly. It's less stimulating than her earlier works, but it has a different charm. I actually prefer this style.”
“It feels like only yesterday that Her Highness was writing bizarre kidnapping stories. I never imagined the princess would develop her literary talent to this extent.”
“Indeed. Her Majesty the Empress must be very pleased.”
Their gazes naturally turned toward the Empress.
The Empress set down her teacup and smiled gently.
“There is no greater joy for a parent than watching their child accomplish something through their own efforts. Thanks to her, I've been smiling more often lately.”
“She must have inherited Her Majesty's intelligence.”
“You're too kind. That child honed her talents herself. I didn't do very much for her.”
“That can't be true. Don't excellent daughters grow up under excellent mothers?”
Some might have dismissed it as nothing more than sweet flattery, but the Empress was in fact famous for her intelligence.
Empress Ermillia Velcrown Argenbalt.
Her maiden house was the House of Velcrown, a marquessate.
In an age when swords and magic ruled the world, it was an illustrious family that had upheld the Empire's institutions with nothing but a pen.
The Empress, born into such a family, was exceptionally clever.
People went so far as to say that if she had been born a man, she would have risen to the position of prime minister.
But the Empress's true virtue lay in the fact that she didn't wield her intelligence like a weapon.
She never treated those beneath her carelessly, and she was even more cautious around the powerless.
That was why, when she was chosen as the Crown Princess, the people cheered and there was no major opposition among the nobility.
Aurora was the daughter of such an Empress.
So even when Aurora belatedly revealed a talent for writing, no one found it strange.
Not at all.
No one would ever imagine that a slave had written her novels for her.
That was a closely guarded secret known only to the imperial family.
‘Still, I heard she wrote most of this one herself.’
The Empress lowered her gaze to the book.
Leon had written almost all of the previous two works, but Aurora had come to brag that she had written most of this one herself.
‘Then these emotional descriptions are entirely Aurora's own……’
At the scene where Eileen looked at Rowan and realized her feelings, a faint smile spread across the Empress's lips before she knew it.
It was ridiculous.
She was already a man's wife, the Empress of the Empire, and old enough to have children who had grown up.
She was far too old to be fluttering like a young girl now.
And yet, with just a few lines of writing, she had been made to recall feelings she had left behind long ago.
‘How unbecoming.’
The Empress gave a small laugh inwardly.
But it also meant the scene had been written exceptionally well.
And that was precisely why she found it so puzzling.
How could Aurora write feelings that were so delicate yet so fresh?
Were they emotions she had learned about through books?
Feelings she had fabricated through imagination?
Or had she cautiously written down her own feelings under the name Eileen?
If so, who was the object of those feelings?
Who was the fearless man who had stolen away her daughter's heart—the heart of an imperial princess?
Only one person came to mind.
***
“Leon. This is a letter from a girl named Anna who lives in Hatem. She says someone bought all the books, so she still hasn't been able to read it.”
“They probably bought them up in bulk and are reselling them at a markup.”
“That's not right. I want lots of people to read my book.”
“You should ask the Marchioness to find a solution. Her side is handling the distribution and sales entirely.”
“I need to contact her right away.”
Aurora read the letters while consulting Leon about matters related to the novel.
Not only its internal aspects, but external ones as well.
Of course, even if they discussed them, it wasn't a matter Leon could resolve directly.
But he could at least point her in the right direction. Following that path would keep her from suffering a loss.
It was something Aurora had learned while working alongside him.
And more than anything else……
-Glance.
Aurora stole a sidelong glance at Leon.
She loved this time they spent exchanging words over trivial matters.
She had liked it before, but she liked it even more now. It was undoubtedly because of the feelings she had recently realized.
Thanks to that, every day had been enjoyable lately. She smiled so much that the smile never seemed to leave her face.
‘At this point, I ought to thank her.’
The young lady of House Edelheid who had handed Leon over to her.
She had heard that Renoa was a witch.
But at least as far as Aurora was concerned, Renoa was an angel—a beneficent angel who had given Leon to her.
“What are you thinking about that has you smiling so much?”
“Huh? It's nothing. Reading these letters just puts me at ease.”
“As I said before, there's nothing good that comes from becoming addicted to praise, so don't get too carried away.”
“Leon really does think I'm a child, doesn't he? I remember, so don't worry.”
Aurora smiled foolishly.
Leon let out a shallow sigh.
That was when it happened.
A knock sounded.
“Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress has arrived.”
“Mother?”
Leon immediately stood and moved behind Aurora.
A moment later, the Empress entered the study. Aurora rose to greet her.
“Welcome.”
“Were you writing? If I'm interrupting, I can come back later.”
“No, I was reading letters, so you don't need to worry.”
She didn't need to say what kind of letters they were.
They covered the room like flower petals fallen from a tree.
The Empress looked around the room, which at a glance almost resembled a pigsty, then shifted her gaze to the space behind Aurora.
Leon and the Empress's eyes met. Leon gave a slight bow.
“I greet you, Your Majesty.”
“Yes. You must work hard putting up with Aurora's childish antics.”
“I don't act that spoiled, you know? I have my dignity as your noona. Right, Leon?”
“……”
“Leon?”
Aurora narrowed her eyes and stared at Leon.
They seemed to be quite close.
There was a depth in Aurora's eyes as she looked at Leon.
As if she were pressing down on some kind of emotion.
“But what brings you all the way here? You could have called me if you needed something.”
“I was out taking a walk, and I thought of you, so I stopped by. There is something I would like to discuss with just you. Would that be all right?”
“There's nothing urgent, so I suppose that's fine……”
Aurora glanced at Leon.
Leon had already lowered his head.
“Then I'll take my leave. Please enjoy your conversation.”
“Ah, yes.”
Leon bowed respectfully to the Empress once more before quietly leaving the study.
Soon, only the two of them remained in the study.
The Empress sat on the sofa.
“Sit comfortably.”
Aurora sat down again as well.
“I'll have them bring some tea.”
“I'm leaving soon, so there's no need. I shouldn't inconvenience you by dropping by without notice.”
The Empress smiled gently.
Aurora met that smile and shyly looked away.
As she always felt, the Empress truly was the very model of a virtuous wife and mother.
‘How on earth did someone like me come from a woman like her?’
The thought suddenly occurred to Aurora.
“I read your novel. It was truly fascinating.”
“Really? That's a relief……”
Aurora let out a sigh of relief.
“Was there a scene you liked best?”
“Hmm, probably the scene where Eileen falls in love.”
“Hehe……”
Aurora smiled without thinking.
It was the part she had worked especially hard on, and praise from someone she respected made a smile slip out on its own.
This was exactly why she wrote.
“I was really surprised when I first read that part.”
“You were surprised? Why? Because I wrote it so well?”
Aurora had made the joke with a carefree laugh.
“For a moment, I thought my daughter had fallen in love.”
As soon as those words left the Empress's lips, Aurora's smiling face froze stiff.
“Ah, well……”
Aurora let the end of her sentence trail off as she studied the Empress's reaction.
The Empress was still smiling.
It was the same smile she had worn when she placed a hand on Aurora's forehead as a feverish child.
The same smile she had worn when Aurora scraped her knee and the Empress blew on it, telling her it would stop hurting.
The same smile she had worn when Aurora caused trouble and then tearfully looked up at her for no reason, only to be hugged despite the Empress's sigh.
It was the benevolent smile Aurora loved most on her mother.
But it was minutely different.
Only the family members who had spent their entire lives with the Empress could detect such a subtle difference.
Oh, this is bad.
“Aurora.”
The Empress smiled even more gently as she looked at her daughter, then gave voice to the unease Aurora had been feeling.
“You don't happen to like that young man, do you?”