The Fate of a Bestseller Author
"...What did you say?"
"I-I said no...?"
Her brazenness was so extreme I almost wondered if I was the one in the wrong.
I rubbed my furrowed brow, thought for a moment, then looked back at Opheli.
"Then why did you send me that letter?"
"H-Hehe... B-Because I was c-curious..."
"...Curious?"
"D-Don't you have to s-see what they l-look like...? N-No matter what trick you u-used, you t-turned high society upside d-down..."
"That was my book, not me."
"S-Still..."
"Lady Opheli de Quiliar."
I focused my gaze on her.
"Be completely honest. Why did you go to such lengths to summon me here?"
"...S-Such lengths?"
"You know exactly what I mean."
I couldn't bring myself to say pussy print out loud.
"Ah, ah... That?"
Thankfully, since she was the one who'd sent it, she caught on right away.
"I-I was just b-bored...?"
"...Pardon?"
Not that I should've expected a normal answer in the first place.
"I w-was really just b-bored..."
"......"
"I-Is that n-not okay...?"
"...Do you think it is?"
Suddenly, I snapped.
I was already steeling myself for death just from the risk of my writing being exposed, but this girl acted like it was nothing. It pissed me off.
And hell, mine was just words. Hers was a goddamn pussy print.
Yet she could brush it off with "I was bored" simply because her dad was who he was? No punishment, nothing?
"Think about your status. Your status. Aren't you Duke Quiliar's only daughter?"
"Ehe, hehe..."
"You think people won't judge you for what you sent me and what was in it—"
"Ad-Adrian...?"
For a split second, the air around us went deathly still.
It was like all sound had been swallowed whole—no one would notice a thing. A chilling sensation straight out of a battlefield.
It reminded me of my knight training excursion during academy days. The kind of silence where you were grateful it only muffled sound.
"Y-You know my st-status even b-better than I do..."
"......"
"B-But...?"
Opheli's face twisted in a bizarre way.
For a moment, I thought she was pissed and my head was about to roll. But realizing it was a smile took a damn long time.
...Or rather, accepting that it was a smile did.
"Sh-Shouldn't you be the one w-worried about my st-status...?"
"......"
"I j-just need to take o-one step...?"
...Fuck.
I'd gotten it all wrong.
The power dynamic was never in my favor to begin with.
A rural baron's son like me versus a genius mage with the empire's third-most powerful father.
I could never be the dominant one here.
Hell, even asking questions was only possible because she allowed it.
Just like she said—one step from her, and the Intelligence Bureau would be all over me.
I might hold my own against civilians without a sword, but she was a mage. And I didn't even have my blade right now. All things considered, I had no choice but to play nice.
"...Haa."
"And I d-didn't call you just to sh-show you...?"
"...Isn't that exactly what I've been asking?"
"D-Did I...?"
Her stutter alone screamed zero social skills, so I didn't bother saying anything.
Anyway, I'd never once thought a normal person would send me something like that.
"...Hoo, um...?"
The awkward silence stretched until Kiara returned from her bathroom escape.
She caught the vibe and looked even more flustered.
"...What happened?"
"Nothing."
"N-No?"
"...Then why are you both acting like that?"
"Just... have some things on our minds."
"Y-Yeah..."
"...?"
Kiara eyed us suspiciously as she sat down, staring at me like she had something to say. She kept her mouth shut, though, leaving me on edge.
It took a while before she finally spoke.
"Um, Adrian?"
"Yes."
"How... long are you staying in the capital?"
"...Not sure. Depends on when this wraps up."
"Hmm... Well, want to stay at my place?"
"...Pardon?"
The unexpected offer caught me off guard, and I fumbled my response.
The problem was, someone else jumped in with a totally out-of-left-field reply.
"Sh-She's staying at our place, right?"
"...Huh?"
"Y-You heard right. It's just like you th-think."
"...Whaaat?"
It was just as baffling from my perspective.
What the hell was this girl thinking?
"R-Right? Adriaaan?"
That creepy smile of hers still gave me chills, and my gut screamed one thing.
—Do I even have the option to refuse?
"...Yes. Exactly."
"...Adrian?"
"I-I'm the one who ca-called him...?"
I wanted to put some distance between me and Opheli, who was suddenly clinging like we were besties.
I swallowed the urge and looked at Kiara.
"S-So, I'll take resp-responsibility... right...?"
"...Responsibility?"
"Y-Yes. Responsi-bility... Hehe."
"......"
Kiara was speechless.
I tried pulling away from Opheli's advances, but she kept closing in, so I eventually gave up.
That's when Kiara's eyes filled with the most shocked emotion I'd ever seen.
If just saying "I don't want to" meant I could actually skip out, how great would that be?
But in reality, you never utter those words unless you're forced into it anyway.
That's why shit like this happens—when you have to do it no matter what.
My current situation was a perfect example.
"Heehee..."
"......"
This gloomy duke's daughter, whose intentions I couldn't fathom, was dragging me to her mansion right now.
One emotion swirled violently in my head, summing it up perfectly.
I fucking don't want to go.
"H-How is it? The capital...?"
"Same as ever."
"M-Many things need to ch-change, so this has to ch-change first..."
Opheli pointed at her head.
Meaning the emperor. And he hadn't changed yet.
Even if he did, I doubted much would shift. Not for me.
His son was the only heir anyway, backed by nearly every minister. Classic romance-fantasy tyrant buildup—the bare minimum setup for the male lead's unchecked power.
Clunk.
The carriage halted, and the door slid open automatically. I blinked in surprise.
Our rural barony was one thing, but even Kiara's marquis-heiress ride didn't have this.
Magic or some button like a car? Didn't matter.
Pointless bullshit either way.
"C-Come on...?"
I quietly trailed behind Opheli, her faintly purple-tinted hair swaying as she led the way.
Had they known I'd be coming here?
Servants and maids waited, but they didn't seem welcoming at all.
Classic Intelligence Bureau vibes, with their chief as master.
One wrong move toward Opheli, and they'd slaughter me on the spot.
Meanwhile, she grinned creepily like it was another world.
"Th-This is our house..."
"......"
From the intro that screamed "no one gets welcomed here, invited or not"—
To her erratic pacing back and forth.
She'd clearly never invited anyone before.
I even questioned if this counted as an invitation.
"N-Not interested...?"
"...No. I'm listening."
"Eh? Th-That's weird...? I was t-telling it to be b-boring...?"
"......"
Her moods were utterly unpredictable.
Finally, she led me to the glass garden inside the mansion.
A bright, vibrant space clashing with the cold image of an Intelligence Chief or her own gloominess.
Probably resembled her mother. The original story mentioned the archmage as incredibly kind.
...The only in-story reference, which irked me as a fellow extra.
"L-Like the house...?"
"...The fun stuff beats the house."
"Fun...?"
Normally.
Or if it were Kiara, I'd deflect with chit-chat about weather or the world.
But not now.
"Books in this world suck. Literary merit or whatever—they're all just rambling piled on rambling."
I just wanted to wrap up everything with Opheli and head home ASAP.
"So I craved something extreme: pure pleasure-chasing. Can't satisfy sleep or hunger with books, so I went for the strongest—breeding lust."
"Hee..."
"That's why I wrote it. To create something this world lacked."
"H-Huh..."
"No explicit, vulgar depictions of copulation anywhere here. So that's the direction I took."
I skipped mentioning the mountain of unpublished stuff.
What good would that do?
"Hmm... Isn't it a b-bit weak?"
"Weak how?"
"L-Level of sm-smuttiness..."
"...Yes. That's why I wrote it."
"N-Nooo... Your wr-writing, Adrian."
"......"
She kept talking despite my silence.
"I th-think you could go h-harder...?"
"...Harder how?"
"L-Like... more intense pl-play. Or even v-vulgar-er relationships?"
...With every word, my view of Opheli shifted.
"L-Like... siblings or p-parent-child..."
"Lady Opheli de Quiliar."
"Y-Yes...?"
"You think that'd sell?"
I'd almost liked it.
Fucking almost.
"B-But... wasn't it for your own s-self-satisfaction...?"
"...How'd you know?"
Any worry about the Bureau digging it up vanished.
"O-Obvious? No pen name at f-first, then suddenly one... M-Means you forgot to s-sign once. No i-idiot writer does th-that..."
"......"
"S-So... that's not all in your h-head, right...?"
"...Yes."
"Th-Then you can go even v-vulgarer, yeah?"
"...Haa."
She was right.
Pissed me off more coming from her mouth.
That the only one getting my vision was this stuttering gloomy lady? Tragic.
"Milady."
"...Y-Yes...?"
"How far can you handle?"
"Hehe... Y-You're quick on the up-uptake...?"
She slid her hand into her cleavage.
I averted my eyes, expecting something gross.
Then thud—something hit the table.
"...?"
A book. Incredibly thick.
"Th-This is my sketchbook..."
She stroked it lovingly like a treasured possession and looked at me.
"W-Wanna see what I made...?"
No reason to refuse.
I took the trembling book from her. A whiff of milk scent hit me.
...Unique perfume?
I flipped through casually.
Drawings. Drawings. Drawings. Drawings.
Each one screamed perfect for hentai.
But at some point, text started dominating.
Probably when she read my stuff.
Made her want to write too, I guess.
And the so-called novel that emerged—
"A massive cock brutally pounds her asshole
(Feels like shit sliding in and out)
Mom moans aaah~"
It was so crude I slammed the book shut.
"Lady Opheli de Quiliar."
"Yes?"
"If you're thinking of writing, drop it without looking back."
"Ehhh...?"
"You're better off sticking to drawings."
If she had any prose talent, I'd call her art-blind and let it slide.
But this? No. Just no.