Chapter 98
I have carried out countless masters' orders up to now. Most of them were straightforward physical labor.
Mining ore, or winning fights.
But the order that came down this time was very different from those.
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『Master's Order』
Aurora Argenvalt, the Empire's First Princess. She's a 'romance novelist' who knows nothing about love.
Turn the master, who has never experienced romance, into the continent's greatest romance novelist.
Reward: Random S-Rank Skill
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To think I'd be made to turn Aurora into the continent's greatest romance novelist.
Well, I knew the command would vary depending on who the master was, but even taking that into account, this was unusually different.
And the reward was even S-rank.
Even when I risked my life fighting, the best I ever got was A-rank. This time, it was S.
'So there really was something above A.'
I'd need a probability chart to know.
I didn't know how hard it would be, but in any case I had no choice but to do it.
If I refused, I might end up back in prison.
"By any chance, have you written a novel before?"
"Yep. I have one. Want to read it?"
"Yes. I need it as a reference."
Aurora opened a dresser drawer and handed me a book.
"Here. But can you read?"
"I learned from the young lady. She said a knight has to know how to read."
"How wise. Make yourself comfortable and read."
I settled onto the sofa.
<The Madman of the Glass Castle>.
That was the novel's title.
'A romance novel written by the princess.'
I had read a few romance novels in my old world too. I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I was confident I had at least a basic grasp of them.
With my curiosity and anticipation in equal measure, I started reading.
Thanks to [Speed Reading], which I'd gotten from a reroll back when I was gaining proficiency, my reading speed was much faster.
I skimmed diagonally across the page, then turned to the next one and skimmed again.
The sound of pages turning rang out nonstop.
Maybe because of that, Aurora said in a worried tone,
"H-Hey, are you reading way too fast? You are reading it properly, right? You're not just skimming it, are you? Or are you saying it isn't even worth reading?"
"Don't worry. I'm engraving every single letter into my head."
"It's true, right? Don't lie to me. I'll be asking you about it later."
A little more time passed. I finished the book in an instant and closed it.
Aurora was looking at me with her whole body tense.
"So? Bad boys are in style in high society these days. Worth reading, right?"
"May I speak honestly?"
"Of course. Praise it all you want. I'm ready to feel good."
"Did you perhaps learn romance from books?"
"Yep."
At my question, Aurora answered without hesitation.
An innocent expression, as if wondering what the problem was. Her clear, confident yes left me speechless for a moment.
"Why? Is it maybe no good?"
Maybe?
Not even completely terrible, but maybe no good?
It seems she still didn't really know what her own writing was like. Probably because she was surrounded only by people who flattered her.
It was only natural, considering she'd spent her whole life hearing nothing but sweet talk.
But if she wanted a ten-million-won-a-month or hundred-million-won-a-month hit, this wasn't going to cut it.
She needed to face reality.
"I'll go one by one. First, the male lead's personality is atrocious. Do you really think kidnapping the heroine and keeping her under control is genuinely romantic?"
"Kidnapping? Couldn't you describe it as restraint born from a powerful, fated attraction?"
"A bad boy is appealing, but it means a man with a flaw in his personality—not a thug with no manners or common sense. Kidnapping the princess? This man isn't bad; it looks like he has a serious intelligence problem. They say a character can't rise above the author's intelligence, and that's exactly the problem here."
"What?"
"Next."
I turned the page and pointed out another problem.
"Second, there's a problem with the heroine's emotional arc as well. She gets kidnapped by a man whose identity she doesn't even know, and then suddenly her heart starts pounding? Is that the kind of feeling a normal person would have?"
"That's the very charm of this novel! She's a noble princess who's lived her whole life pampered and cherished. But a man who treats her this roughly and forcefully is someone she's never seen before. It's a fresh shock! That thrilling moment when unfamiliar stimulation flips into attraction!"
Aurora shouted smugly as if she were declaring some great truth.
She looked exactly like an otaku getting excited and rambling about a field they knew inside and out.
I didn't go along with her at all and let out a long sigh.
"That isn't love. It's closer to the physiological defense mechanism of a hostage who's had their power over life and death taken by a kidnapper and is experiencing extreme fear, or Stockholm syndrome. If not that, then it's probably a masochist who's awakened to a taste for suffering."
"That part is just artistic license..."
"Lastly, the most important thing: the writing itself is just too far removed from a romance novel."
I opened the book and showed her the page I'd already picked out.
"You brushed over the process of the two falling in love in just two or three lines, so why is the scene where the Grand Duke drags the opposition into the underground prison and squeezes out their weaknesses so long? It's a full twenty-two pages."
"That is..."
"What's more, the scenes of threatening and torturing the other side are described far more vividly and professionally than the tender secret meetings between the man and woman. This is closer to a suspiciously detailed hardboiled noir story wearing the shell of a romance novel. The smell of blood practically wafted from the page the entire time I was reading it. Just why do you know all this in such detail?"
"To keep the plausibility intact, I interviewed the vicious criminals and interrogators in the palace dungeon one by one and researched it myself..."
"You only bothered with plausibility in useless places."
-Thud!
I shut the book with a loud thud.
"To sum it up in one sentence."
"..."
"That paper is pitiful. It's like a chimera assembled from letters. If you really want to write it, set romance aside and go noir instead. That area has plenty of potential."
Is there some law that says you have to dig only one well?
If there's already a well dug, moving to that one is also one valid option.
'Hah, I don't usually give anyone criticism this detailed.'
Since she was going to be my new master, I put in a bit of extra effort.
But why was that?
The air around us seemed to turn cold. I got chills.
I turned my gaze to Aurora.
"..."
I found her staring at me with a face stiff as stone, sending a sharp, icy glare my way.
Only then did I realize I'd made a mistake. Caught up in the mood, I'd gone too far and let my criticism get way too direct.
I hurried to find something to say in my defense.
"B-but the prose is so elegant that it's a feast for the eyes."
"..."
"And the characters' charm is very distinct as well. Especially the scene at the end where the Grand Duke confesses to the princess was quite impressive."
"...Really?"
"Yes. If it's polished just a little, I think it could become an enormous masterpiece."
"Is that so..."
A writer is a fragile being that grows by feeding on readers' praise.
With just one flattering remark, Aurora's harsh expression softened as if nothing had happened.
"Well, I was already aware that the parts where I describe the characters' emotions and build up the romance are weak."
"Yes."
"But it can't be helped. I've never seen anyone else date before. There's no one around me I can ask, and it's not something I can do myself."
That made sense.
Because Aurora is a princess.
She isn't someone who can date freely like ordinary nobles.
The only male-female relationships she can experience are the ones she sees in books.
"That's why I brought you here. A man who was a slave and became a young lady's escort knight. Love that transcends social status. Isn't that romance in real life?"
"We weren't in that kind of relationship, though."
"Whatever it is, what I mean is that we should weave your experiences into the novel. Let's join forces and make a bittersweet romance novel!"
-Ding.
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Notice: Your identity has been set.
■ New Identity: Assistant
■ New Skills
【Deadline Looming】 : As soon as you start writing, anxiety and pressure assail you. Your writing ability greatly increases.
【Worldview Synchronization】 : Synchronizes the reader's senses with the characters in the novel.
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An assistant, huh.
Not a miner or gladiator slave, but was it just my imagination, or was this even more slave-like than any role I'd had so far?
Yeah. It must be my imagination.
Since things had come to this, I decided to give it my all. I couldn't entrust my life to that sloppy pile of letters.
"Understood. From now on, I'm Your Highness's assistant. Before we get into the real planning, let's set a few basics."
"Ohhh. You're more serious than I expected. Not bad."
I pulled the paper and fountain pen on the table toward me.
"First, what kind of novel do you want to write, Your Highness?"
"Obviously, romance. Romance that makes your heart feel soft and fuzzy when you read it, romance that makes you think, 'I want to fall in love like that too.'"
"Do you prefer a mild flavor or something more stimulating?"
"Shouldn't it be a proper mix of both?"
A bit of both.
That was about as irresponsible as answering "anything" when someone asks, "What do you want to eat?"
"If it's halfway, it can end up being neither one thing nor the other. It's better to decide the overall tone clearly from the start."
"Hmm, then let's go with something stimulating."
"I thought you'd say that."
"Why?"
"If you were the type who likes a bland, peaceful everyday life, you wouldn't have written kidnapping and all that."
Emotion that swings to extremes would suit this princess far better.
"Last question. Is there any element you absolutely can't compromise on?"
"Bad boys!"
"A man who's cold and cruel, but knows how to be gentle only with the heroine."
I interpreted what Aurora wanted in my own way and wrote it down on the paper.
"Good."
"All done?"
"Yes."
It was perfectly organized.
A daring premise that could satisfy Aurora's creative urge and spark a sensation in this dull age.
"Let's go with regret, ruin, and obsession."
After all, nothing beats that.