There is No Paradise Where You Run To
There is No Paradise Where You Run To
"Next? There is no next."
"Why not?!"
"Well, I wrote this just for Noah. I never even thought about publishing it──."
"That won't do! Not publishing a work like this is committing a huge wrong against the world!"
Sophie shouted as if in anguish, asking how she could say such irresponsible things after writing a story like this.
Noel blinked at her intensity.
'Ah, so this is how it turns out?'
She had expected this to some extent.
A mystery novel set in the near future where magical engineering had advanced a bit more than the present.
Honestly, it was a story drenched in codes that were bound to be a hit.
Even while writing, she had secretly thought it would be a shame to just give it to Noah and leave it at that.
But a promise is a promise.
"Well, this is a story for Noah. Whether to publish or not is up to Noah, and as for next... well, I'm at a time when I need to focus on my studies."
She had enjoyed quite a few investigation dramas and thrillers in her previous life, so she could quickly come up with tricks and write them, but time had passed even while writing.
Considering that there were less than ten days left until enrollment, even if she were to write the next story, it would be after she had fully adapted to academy life, perhaps during vacation.
Even so, it was still quite early.
For any other author, even if there were a next story, it would take at least a year to come out, but because it was Noel, it would be around vacation time.
"Aah... that's right.... Studies... ugh...."
Sophie was, after all, a former tutor until not long ago, even if she had now become the head of editors.
Because of that, she couldn't bring herself to say that creative work should take priority over studies.
Seeing that, Noel felt a very strong sense of satisfaction.
'This is it~.'
With the shield of studies in hand, I am invincible.
Now I can just write and enjoy whenever I want, as much as I want.
Noel smiled a triumphant smile.
In truth, she had enough ability to write even while attending the academy, but she didn't want to.
She wanted to heal in the utopia called the academy~.
And also watch some original dating sim events~.
With that mindset already loaded.
"There was a time when I thought that way too."
But things somehow... grew bigger.
No one can stop me!
Noel had been feeling cocky with that momentum──.
"Our daughter is in your care."
"W-well, not at all... I am the one who is greatly indebted to Her Highness the Princess. Please refrain from such humble words, Your Majesty the Empress."
She never thought she would end up meeting Empress Marian Ashley Aurelion because of 「Magic Investigation Unit」.
Ah, so even the imperial family doesn't escape from anyone, it seems.
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Marian.
The wife of Emperor Aurelius, a woman who could be called the mistress of the empire.
As if to boast of their harmonious marriage, she had borne six children and, despite vowing to restrain herself, even had a late-born child, Lydia.
Noel received a summons from Empress Marian Ashley Aurelion, the mother of the nation who could be called the woman of the empire, receiving abundant love from her husband, a devoted husband.
The reason, needless to say, was 「Magic Investigation Unit」.
It was the novel that eonni had written for her.
Noah had actively agreed to publication, wanting to show it off everywhere, and that snowball had rolled, leading to being summoned to the imperial court just before academy enrollment.
At least, it wasn't a summons for something bad.
After reading the work, she became curious, and since she had always wanted to meet her in person anyway, the Empress thought it was a good opportunity and summoned Noel through her daughter Lydia.
She also had things to say as a parent to her daughter's friend, like asking to take good care of her daughter at the academy, and as a fan, she wanted to meet the author.
Until then, she had refrained out of concern for causing burden or interfering with writing activities, but after encountering 「Magic Investigation Unit」, Empress Marian, who had been holding back, could no longer contain herself.
And that wasn't the only reason.
"In truth, this invitation is also related to official duties."
It wasn't just personal; there was an official reason as well.
"Official duties, you say...?"
The audience was granted.
Holding her fluttering heart, Noel continued the conversation while having tea time with Empress Marian in the Imperial Palace garden.
"I felt many things after reading 「Magic Investigation Unit」 written by Lady Grace."
The empire growing day by day.
Technology advancing day by day.
But how much were people's perceptions and especially the nation's institutions and administration keeping up with those changes?
There were already signs of that now, but if various crimes became more sophisticated than now, could the empire properly respond to them?
If not, what would happen to the country's public safety? As a member of the imperial family, it was something to think about at least once.
It was an era when the perception that a woman should not meddle in state affairs still lingered, but reality was a bit different.
There was even a saying about "pillow talk politics."
As the mother of the empire, Marian thought she needed to pay some attention to domestic administration—or at least not ignore it—so that the people, like her own children, could live securely and engage in their livelihoods.
That thought and 「Magic Investigation Unit」 were a story that aligned perfectly.
That system in the novel—where crimes were investigated professionally and systematic forensics were carried out using various magic—she wondered if they could actually create something like that in reality.
"Yes, yes...?!"
And she wanted Noel to give some advice on that.
At those words, spoken during the elegant tea time, Noel was so astonished that she forgot she was before the Empress and raised her voice.
The Empress smiled gently at Noel.
"In fact, even without Lady Grace's novel, similar matters were already being discussed in the State Council."
At that point, a more systematic and advanced system had been presented through the novel.
She judged there was no reason not to adopt it, so she asked Noel not to feel too burdened and to share various thoughts.
At that request from the Empress, Noel felt her mind go blank.
She looked desperately at Princess Lydia and Knight Rosalyn, who were also having tea with them.
"Wow! That's really a great story! So a Magic Investigation Unit is being created in reality too, that's a good thing."
The princess, who had been listening silently to the conversation between her mother and friend the entire time, clapped in approval as if saying "right on."
『You just get out.』
At that reaction that practically begged for such a remark, Noel looked at Rosalyn as if grasping at straws, but Rosalyn only shrugged slightly at Noel, who was signaling for help with her eyes.
Rosalyn also thought this wasn't such a bad idea.
Because as a knight, she had also felt a lot while reading 「Magic Investigation Unit」.
She sympathized with the necessity of such an institution.
"Well..."
A situation with no one on her side.
She could just not be stubborn and share some ideas while thinking of various investigation agencies from her previous life, but the impact of it being state affairs was too great, and with that impact came some pressure.
Thinking that she might end up taking responsibility for speaking carelessly, it was burdensome.
What was the motto of the Grace family?
"The best way to get along in life is not to increase your enemies."
Thanks to that motto, the Viscount Grace household was one of the few families without any political adversaries.
On the flip side, that was also why it couldn't grow bigger, but if one was satisfied with their current position, that motto was truly the best teaching.
But for that motto to be made meaningless by offering advice on state affairs?
Thinking that she might get caught up in troublesome central political games, Noel instinctively felt aversion.
Empress Marian easily saw through Noel's heart.
She had already looked into Noel and the Grace family before summoning her to the palace, and she noticed that unlike other nobles, Noel felt burdened and averse to this matter.
An ordinary noble would have enthusiastically jumped at the chance to elevate their own name, even going beyond what was asked, but Noel was different.
"I promise on my name. There will be no harm to the Grace family from this matter. After all, the establishment of a professional investigation agency has been under discussion for a long time."
The reason it had only been discussed but not officially launched until now was due to old ministers' doubts about whether it was really necessary.
But then a mystery novel set in the near future called 「Magic Investigation Unit」 had appeared and explained its necessity.
Now the discussion would gain momentum, and honestly, regardless of whether Noel gave advice or not, things would proceed using 「Magic Investigation Unit」 as a model.
Since it was going to happen anyway, the idea was that it would be better to call in the author herself and hear her thoughts.
This was a matter that the Emperor had already agreed to, and the ministers had also given tacit consent.
In other words, Noel was now in the same position as those famous military novelists from her previous life who actually advised on national defense.
"Maintaining and leading a huge empire like this requires a lot of expertise. But there is a limit to the expertise an individual can achieve in a lifetime, so even the Emperor and his ministers handle affairs by listening to scholars' advice. What I'm asking Lady Grace to do is just that kind of advice, so there's no need to feel too burdened."
Truly befitting the mother of the empire who had raised seven children.
She gently melted Noel's worries with kindness, tolerance, and generosity.
But despite her calmed heart, the burden didn't completely disappear.
It couldn't be helped.
'Do I really have that level of expertise?'
That question naturally arose.
Just telling them about things she had heard and seen in her previous life would be helpful to those building an investigation agency from scratch, but...
Noel's head was still in a whirl.
"If directly giving advice is too burdensome, how about this?"
For Noel, the Empress offered an alternative.
"Yes?"
Indeed, it was somewhat unseemly for a girl who wasn't even an adult to stick her nose into state affairs.
So instead of giving direct advice, Noel could just continue serializing 「Magic Investigation Unit」, and the Emperor could use it as a reference to push things forward.
"Uh, um...?"
With a dazed expression, Noel nodded as if spellbound, thinking that was certainly better than lecturing the Emperor and all the ministers on crime investigation with only superficial knowledge.
And then Noel belatedly grew suspicious.
'Could it be that from the start...?'
But by the time that suspicion arose, everything was already settled.
"Alright. Let's do it that way, huhu."
Truly the dignity of the mother of the nation.
Her design was an art.
I think I know who Lydia takes after.