episode_0010

Blanc Les Joaise, the Academy’s café, bathed in the languid afternoon sunlight.

A woman sits proudly at the top table, where she can enjoy the best view and the gentle breeze.

Golden hair with a splendid sheen like the blazing sun.

Sharp yet elegantly drawn pale lime colored eyes.

A body with perfect proportions that is clearly shown off by the school uniform that fits perfectly.

It was Princess Diana von Clausewitz, who looked exactly like the long-dead empress.

And in front of her, a lady was bowing politely.

“Your Highness, Princess. How was your day?”

Bow. The red-haired Duchess’s daughter, Rosaline Wenford, smiled kindly, holding onto the hem of her skirt and bowing her head.

“I don’t know what to do with myself when you call a lowly girl like this. I’m afraid I’m disturbing Your Majesty’s peaceful tea time… … ”

“You’re acting all showy for nothing.”

Then Diana responded with her signature haughty smile.

“Just do what you’ve been doing. You don’t have to worry about what your father thinks anymore, right?”

“Hehe.”

Rosaline raises her head with an immature smile at the princess’s words.

She said, sitting at the same table as Diana.

“I missed you, Diana.”

The Duke of Wenford’s daughter calls the princess by her name in a casual manner.

This was possible because the two were friends who had been together since childhood.

Then Princess Diana narrowed her eyes and whispered in a bitter voice.

“… … Was it hard for you? While I was away at the academy.”

“No. I managed to hold out somehow. Thank you for your concern.”

A bright smile like a rose that had bloomed again after a long time. Diana let out a sigh of relief at her friend’s improved attitude.

Although their fathers’ relationship was at its worst, they still did not lose the friendship they had built together.

They also entered the Brond Academy, the best educational institution in the empire.

At least while she was around, the princess indirectly served as her friend’s shield.

However, when the princess had to drop out of her studies due to unavoidable circumstances, Rosaline was eventually left alone.

Without the strong protection of being the next heir to the throne.

All she had to do was bear the stigma of being the daughter of a knight hated by the emperor.

Well, it was fortunate that she had at least been promoted to the Duke’s daughter.

‘Is it all Phantom, the playwright’s credit?’

“Huh.”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Diana?”

“Yes. A rather novel memory comes to mind.”

Since I didn’t send the letter as a princess, I didn’t expect to be treated as one.

But even so, isn’t it quite annoying to blatantly ignore it?

Because my cute little brother Wolfgang von Clausewitz recommended it so much.

I heard that Rosalind’s family was revived thanks to the play .

So I went to see with my family, and was immediately drawn into the world of Phantom’s work and became his secret fan, but all I got in return was complete disregard and indifference?

‘You’re acting pretty cute, huh?’

A car where Diana is lost in her own thoughts for a while.

As if the best friends had telepathy, Rosalind began to talk about Phantom while resting her chin on both hands.

“Oh, right. Diana, have you seen the new work by the Phantom writer? The Julius Caesar that was performed last time.”

“Of course I saw it. The entire royal family went to see it.”

“That’s right. That’s right. Hehe.”

Rosalind, who was lying down as if having a pleasant dream, said while observing the scenery outside the cafe.

“I can’t believe how someone who is clearly the same as me can write such great masterpieces. Admiral Lee, Julius Caesar, they all seem like products created by the hand of the god of art and inspiration, not people.”

“… … ”

“Diana, did you feel it too? That intense and dynamic expressiveness. The profound consideration that delicately touches on human psychology. And the flawlessly well-organized development and the beautiful emotions deeply permeating the words. The author of Phantom must be a man sent by God.”

The praise for the Phantom author flows out like a flowing stream without any sense of shame.

Maybe because it’s in front of a close friend, he might be showing his fandom more openly.

Diana snickered as she stared at her friend who had regained her energy after a long time.

Top secret information that further explains from last time.

I wonder how she will react if I tell her this.

“You know what, Rosalind?”

Round and round. Diana said, pouring sugar into the teacup with a teaspoon and swirling it around.

“Actually, the author of Phantom might be one of the students at the Academy?”

“So when is it coming out? When is the new work by Phantom writer coming out?”

“Ugh, I’ve become a body that can’t live without the new work of the Phantom author! If a new work doesn’t come out, I’ll just dry up and die!”

“Just wait a day and Phantom’s new work will come out! Because every time you wait more than 24 hours, I’ll smack your head so hard that your memories will be erased!”

… … Those crazy guys.

As I watched the complaints continue day after day, I felt genuinely scared.

So, is this what you call a clear-eyed madman?

If I were to summarize the students’ reaction after the release of , it would be exactly like that.

He literally becomes a zombie and wanders around the schoolyard like a zombie, repeating the question of when his next work will be released whenever he gets a chance.

‘I expected it to have a big impact, but I didn’t think it would be this much.’

If I was going to write a script anyway, I thought it would be better to write it quickly.

Because if we drag it out too long, a zombie apocalypse might occur due to the madmen of the Academy.

Thinking like that, I returned to the dormitory… …

“So when is the next one coming out?”

“You crazy bastard!”

I ran into my roommate who was also acting bright-eyed and urging me on.

“Am I some kind of script-writing machine? Wait patiently!”

“It’s all your fault, you damned bastard! And you’re still my friend? You made me unable to live without Phantom’s work!”

Maurice glares as he playfully grabs me by the collar.

The guy was shaking me back and forth and making a fuss as if he was being treated unfairly.

“Give me back! Give me back the eyes that didn’t see Admiral Lee and Julius Caesar! Or else, write the next work quickly to quench this burning thirst!”

… … You’re seriously a crazy kid.

Cadets who act like zombies are also fake madness.

The real madman was Maurice, the young master of the Marquis Lavallee.

How can you act like this even though you know that Phantom’s true identity is your testicle friend?

Wouldn’t it be normal to make fun of me for reading my script and cringing?

If it were me, I wouldn’t have even dreamed of becoming a huge fan of the work of a friend I grew up with.

“Ah, I got it. I got it. I’m already thinking about my next project.”

He replied curtly, shaking off the guy’s hand.

Then Maurice chuckled and said in a sly tone.

“Hehe, right. The imperial family will be keeping an eye on this now, so you can’t be lazy. What if the playwright who wrote Admiral Lee and Julius Caesar disappears? The whole empire will be turned upside down.”

“Well, there is something like that… … ”

He took the ring he had received as a reward out of his pocket and muttered.

At first, the royal family offered to give him a government position.

But I stubbornly refused to do so.

‘Who are you going to kidnap and use as Prime Minister Hwang Hui?’

The ending of being overworked to death in the palace is out of the question. And getting caught up in complicated political intrigue is just plain disgusting.

So, the compromise I got was this ring.

It was a kind of credit card that gave you VIP treatment at any facility you went to, and all expenses incurred could be charged to the imperial family.

In simple terms, this means that the cost of maintaining the dignity of the great writer Phantom will be borne by the country in the future.

‘Anyway, the material reward is really hot.’

He said to Maurice with a snicker.

“That doesn’t mean I’m writing because I feel burdened.”

The realization that I had come too far to back out was a motivation for writing, but to be honest, that wasn’t everything.

‘It’s starting to get fun as you do it.’

At first I just jumped in on impulse, and then I just couldn’t bring myself to give up the money.

But after successfully performing and , my mind began to change, even if only a little.

That the scripts I wrote actually brought enjoyment to the public.

That it has a major impact on various parts of society.

And thanks to that, someone like Rosalind, who was unhappy, can become happy.

It was a refreshing experience that I could not have felt when I was just a simple viewer.

‘Yeah, well. I have to prepare for any eventuality, like the family being completely ruined.’

It wasn’t a bad thing to continue living a double life as a mysterious playwright.

You can gain fame as a Phantom, and take advantage of the money that comes in as Balthazar.

‘Then what kind of story should I write this time?’

I sent Morris out to focus and sat down at my desk for 30 minutes.

I was lost in thought as I munched on a strawberry jam-covered cookie to recharge my sugar levels.

A special order of pastries provided by Morris to a high-end pastry shop so that he could focus solely on his creations.

However, even if I consume sweets, my brain does not work as well as before.

‘I’ve written a lot of serious and grand stories, so this time I want to write a lighter and more comical story… ‘

Is it because the biographies of Admiral Yi Sun-sin and Caesar were depicted consecutively?

This time, genre-related concerns arose before scenario-related concerns.

This is because and are essentially the same genre in that they are both heroic epics.

Even delicious food gets old if you eat it every day.

If you watch an action movie, you should also watch a healing movie, and if you watch a horror movie, you should also watch a comedy.

In that sense, I gradually felt the need to expand Phantom’s creative boundaries.

However, it faced a major limitation in that the subject matter of the creation was a ‘biography of a great man.’

‘Where is there such a thing as a light and comical life of a great man?’

Since ancient times, people have been remembered as great people because they overcame hardships and adversity to achieve great things.

At least, there wasn’t a single person on the list that I could think of right now who lived a life as humorous as a gag show.

It would be hard to find someone who has lived that kind of life, unless they have made a similar genre of movie… Huh?

‘movie?’

If you think about it, there are many artists who can be called great people.

And for artists, the work they create themselves is an important part of their lives.

When you think of Hayao Miyazaki, you think of ‘Spirited Away’, and when you think of Steven Spielberg, you think of ‘Jurassic Park’.

Isn’t it the same reason that famous directors want to be remembered for their filmography rather than their lives themselves?

And I knew a film director and actor who represented the comedy genre.

A British man who was called a master of slapstick comedy and an artist who led the flow of 20th century culture.

“… … Life is a tragedy when seen up close, but a comedy when seen from afar!”

I tried hard to recall my hazy memories while recalling the famous quotes he left behind.

Before being reincarnated as Balthazar, he lived as Ha Eun-seong, a movie and drama addict.

To recall the flow of the silent film that I watched over and over again, literally in a state of shock.