The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 368 Ghost Sirius (8) - The Influence of Culture Objectively speaking, Seria Rinkle was a fairly excellent writer. Having grown up like a flower in a greenhouse, unfamiliar with the world's suffering, might be a flaw for a writer, but by the same token, she had received a fine education and possessed abundant knowledge and refinement. Never having received proper criticism, she'd once been thoroughly rattled by a mysterious 5,700-character fan letter, but seen another way, it also meant her standards were firm enough that her writing hadn't spiraled out of control and fallen apart even while everyone around her indulged her. Theater itself wasn't her field of expertise, so it was difficult for her to judge things like the actors' skill or the stage direction, but it meant that at least from the standpoint of "story," she could bring an expert's eye to bear. And to Seria's eyes, this play had serious problems in more ways than one. 『Tch, why does this food taste like this? You're seriously putting this in front of me to eat? You want to die?』 For one, Heroine C's personality was foul. Too foul. Selfish, wildly fickle, forever hurling abuse and insults, beating her servants, and firing them without a moment's hesitation. 'No matter how you look at it, this is the position of the wicked woman who torments the protagonist and heroine.' To Seria, who held the fixed notion that a heroine ought to be pretty, pitiable, and noble of heart, Lady C was, no matter how she looked at it, not a character suited to being a heroine. Of course, among the more adventurous writers, there were those who deliberately put forward heroines who committed evil deeds for the sake of individuality, but even such writers tended to prepare at least one excuse to make readers understand later on. For instance, that she'd been cursed and an evil heart had taken root in her, or that she was deliberately pushing people away with harsh words and behavior because anyone who got close to her would be in danger. But Lady C wasn't even that. If one had to name an excuse, it was that she'd never received proper love from her parents since birth, having been raised as a young lady meant purely for a political marriage, which was why her personality had turned bad — a reason Seria, who likewise came from a noble family, could sympathize with, but one that would be hard to convince ordinary readers of. In this case, since it was a play rather than writing, the audience would surely feel hostility toward her. 'Just how are they planning to resolve this?' And to Seria's question, the story's development gave back a very clear answer. 『Ha ha ha, my lady. A servant who can't even properly follow his master's orders is third-rate. A servant who follows his master's orders without thinking is second-rate. A servant who thinks and acts for himself for his master's sake — that's the true first-rate servant. Of course, he might then evolve into a corrupted servant who runs wild in the name of serving his master, but so what! As long as he's evolved, that's a good thing either way!』 Q. The heroine is a wicked woman who's crossed the line — how do you clean up her image? A. Why clean it up? Just have her suffer at the hands of someone even worse. "What is this." Forgetting even the dignity befitting a noble young lady, Seria's mouth fell open in a blank stare. The development unfolding on stage was that shocking. Lady C orders her servant to look after a ferocious beast that treats humans as prey — to frighten the servant, so he'd tremble and beg for mercy. ─The servant simply beat the beast into submission and tamed it. Lady C demands of her servant an unreasonable task that would normally require dozens of ordinary people working together — so that if he fails, she can use it as an excuse to punish him. ─The servant completed the task as casually as taking a stroll, and even enjoyed some leisure time on top of it. Lady C orders her servant to attend her while she dresses — so that if he fails to manage where he looks, she can use it as a pretext to mock him. ─The servant put a bread bag over his head and carried out the task like a perfect gentleman. 『Just what is wrong with that guy!!』 Stella was originally an actress with a somewhat haughty, nose-in-the-air image, but the her up on stage right now was entirely different. Rolling this way and that across the bed, kicking wildly at the empty air, there was no dignity in her at all — only the venomous rage of a spoiled brat pushed past their limit. Seria, who'd let out an unconscious snort of laughter at that petty screaming and thrashing, was soon struck with surprise at herself. 'Did I just feel a sense of closeness toward that wicked woman?' Objectively speaking, there were still plenty of problems with Lady C's personality and conduct. The more the story progressed, the more rounded she became, but that was merely a slight softening from the servant's influence — it was hard to say her essential nature itself had changed much. And yet, Seria no longer found Lady C simply distasteful or hateful. The sight of her suffering and screaming because of the servant's antics was funny, and seeing her snap and grumble while still craving the servant's attention made Seria want to cheer her on. Even though she was still a wicked woman. 'Ah….' In this moment, Seria the writer realized something. 'A heroine doesn't necessarily need to have only strengths. No, in fact, if she has nothing but strengths and no flaws, her charm dies.' People feel drawn to what's beautiful and excellent — that is, to a person's "strengths." That alone can win a certain degree of popularity. But to truly draw people in, one needs to highlight "flaws." People feel a sense of closeness toward something a little lacking, after all. And the protagonist, too, has no particular reason to be portrayed as nothing but cool and perfect. No, rather, being a little unhinged and running wild is what makes him charming. 『Hm. Before you go on and on about affairs of state, shouldn't you first properly play the role of a parent? From what I can see, it looks like you can't even manage your own household properly.』 Behold! Some lowly servant blurts out something like that to a high-ranking noble who happens to be the heroine's father, and yet it doesn't come off as a break in plausibility — instead it convinces you, "well, that guy would say exactly that"! The development that followed afterward, too, gave Seria a great realization. 'A servant coughing up blood in secret! Cheerful and lighthearted on the outside, but behind the scenes, devotion pushed past his limits for his master's sake!' 'The shock and terror when the heroine finds out about it!!' 'The servant who leaves, and the heroine who clings to him! A situation where the evil deeds and karma the heroine committed come crashing down upon the servant — the first man she'd ever opened her heart to!' 'Regret! Obsession! Ruin!' …Well, it seemed less like transcending the Orthodox Faction and more like the extreme-demonic path of the Unorthodox Faction or a demonic cult, but a realization was a realization, wasn't it? Before long the play ended, and Seria stepped out of the theater feeling thoroughly satisfied. All around the theater, various cafés and outdoor tables had been set up, and at each table, patrons were sharing their impressions of this story. "I already knew Stella was a brilliant actress, but I never imagined she could pull off a role like that." "Up until now she'd only taken roles as calm, noble women. That's why her characters had felt a bit samey, but it turns out she could do this all along — no one around her had just asked her to." "Anyway, the heroine sure is a nasty piece of work. Even if she's supposedly pretty, with a personality like that I don't think I could live with her." "Oh, my friend. The heroine probably wouldn't want to live with you either, so rest easy." "What did you say, you bastard?" "Anyway, the heroine's father, the Marquis, really is a rotten piece of work. Isn't he the root of all this misfortune in the end?" "You think so? If anything, isn't he a rather admirable and capable noble? A head of household ought to prioritize the family over personal happiness." "First off, the servant is a madman." "A groundbreaking madman, though." "Before that, that's not even a servant. Where in the world is there a servant like that." Sitting alone at a table off to one side, Seria listened closely to the opinions of the people around her. As a writer who dealt in stories herself, such vivid opinions were tremendously useful reference material for her. Then, all of a sudden, someone sat down across from her. "Did you enjoy the play?" A beauty with black hair and red eyes, striking enough to send chills down the spine even of a fellow woman like Seria, asked the question in a friendly manner. Given the upbringing she'd received as a noble, Seria would normally have refrained from opening up and speaking her true feelings to someone she barely knew, but for some reason, no such worry or hesitation crossed her mind now at all. "Yes, it truly was a wonderful play." "What do you think about the servant and the young lady?" "They made a great pair. The chemistry between a young lady who wasn't like a young lady and a servant who wasn't like a servant was charming. Well, the servant's competence and how far over the line he went felt a bit unrealistic, but I suppose that's within acceptable bounds for a work of fiction." "And if it weren't fiction?" "Wouldn't he just be a madman?" "Right!?" For some reason, the black-haired, red-eyed beauty burst out laughing. As if she were delighted to finally be able to share, with someone at last, impressions she'd wanted to share for a long time. Perhaps it was because that face looked so genuinely pleased. Seria suddenly felt like sharing the realization that had come to her earlier as well. "Though I did find the ending a bit disappointing. It could have landed the perfect final stroke, but instead it felt like the brush was deliberately left trailing off vaguely." "You mean you didn't like the parting ending? Then what kind of ending should it have had?" "He should have been killed!" "…Hm?" For some reason, the beauty stiffened slightly. Not noticing this, Seria continued on with her passionate speech. "The heroine has this backstory of having committed a lot of karma-inducing deeds before meeting the protagonist, right? In the story, it wraps up with her and them reconciling nicely, but if it were me, I'd have thrown in a victim who never manages to resolve their grudge to the very end." "The victim can't accept that, thanks to the servant, the heroine's life keeps getting better and she starts winning everyone's approval. Before, the victim could at least vent their grudge by badmouthing the heroine together with the people around them, but as more and more people start taking the heroine's side, even that becomes impossible." "In the end, that grudge explodes, and the victim makes a plan to kill the heroine. It's not a delicate plan — just something thrown together on impulse, unable to bear their resentment any longer — but precisely because of that, it catches everyone off guard." "Normally, the servant could have stopped it without any trouble, but having already pushed himself past his limits for the heroine's sake in so many ways and grown sickly, he has no way left except to throw his own body in the way." "Beside the bleeding, collapsed servant, the heroine shakes him with a blank look on her face. Calling his name over and over, again and again! As she finally realizes, with full force, how her own irresponsible and vicious past has now cost the life of someone she'd newly come to love!" "So, what do you think?" At the sight of Seria's eyes sparkling brightly, the black-haired, red-eyed beauty fell silent, for some reason. It was a very long silence…. *** The next morning. Seria woke up feeling refreshed. "Hmm?" She felt like she'd had some kind of dream, but she couldn't quite remember its contents. Still, judging by how strangely refreshed her body and mind felt, it must have been an unusually good dream. "I feel like the writing's going to flow well." The moment she got up, Seria dove straight into writing her new work without even bothering with breakfast, and completed it at a speed several times faster than usual. A few weeks later, [Rose and Pocket Watch ~Rondo of Sin and Punishment~] was published and caused a huge sensation in the Empire's literary world, receiving both harsh criticism for poisoning the industry and praise as nothing less than the literature of a new era, all at once. There was the minor issue of a certain 5,700-character hate-filled fan letter that had come from another kingdom growing to 11,400 characters, but Seria, having already attained her subconscious epiphany, paid it no mind. The Crown Prince's own original goal of stirring up a new wind in the Empire's culture had been achieved, so he, too, must have been pleased. "Lucidra?" "This is a naturally occurring poisonous mushroom!! It's not my fault!!" Probably.