Fortunately, the misunderstanding about the situation was cleared up soon enough.
“Did you say you made a bet with your sister over the ending of The Hegemon-King Li’s Consort?”
Princess Diana seemed to have predicted the final victor would be Liu Bang, whereas Prince Wolfgang had his money on Xiang Yu.
And it was agreed that the winner would take the most valuable items from each other’s collection…
Our little Wolfgang really got a taste of the harsh reality of the coin market, huh?
“Sorry, I acted foolishly in front of the great author.”
Bang! Prince Wolfgang, who had ended up blowing his nose into a handkerchief, hung his head.
Now that he seemed a bit calmed down, he apologized to me with a pitiful face.
“I didn’t call you here to chastise you. It’s just that losing the bet and having my treasures taken is incredibly frustrating, so please forgive my rudeness.”
“Respectfully, if it bothers you that much, couldn’t you ask Princess Diana to reconsider the bet? I feel like she would be willing to think it over for her younger brother.”
“No, that cannot happen. A promise between royals is sacred. No matter how trivial it is, it must be fulfilled.”
Crunch, crunch. Perhaps trying to quell his gloom, Prince Wolfgang chewed on a biscuit slathered with strawberry jam, shaking his head left and right.
“Plus, when my sister lost the bet against me, she accepted it without complaint. If a woman can do it, wouldn’t it be shameful for me, a man, to speak out of both sides of my mouth?”
“Is that so? Has Princess Diana ever lost a bet?”
I asked, because it didn’t quite match the image of the princess I had in mind. She always seemed like she would pick only the winning outcomes.
“Of course! I secretly win against her many times.”
Prince Wolfgang nodded proudly.
“Especially when it comes to rare desserts that even the royals can have only a couple of. When it’s a contest over who gets to eat the special emerald melon ice cream or honey pie made with world-class molasses, I’ve never lost a bet about who will eat first.”
“……”
“Hmm? Why do you look at me like that?”
It honestly seemed like his sister had given way to her clueless younger brother.
Let’s be real, Prince Wolfgang was definitely at the age where he was crazy about sweet and sour snacks.
“Well, it is said that their relationship is almost like that of a mother and son, right?”
It’s a well-known story in the Empire that the bond between the royal siblings is quite strong. With the Empress having passed away so early, the princess had taken on the role of a mother for her younger brother.
“But desserts? Even if she concedes on those, it seems like the princess isn’t willing to give up her collection.”
It seemed there was also an intention behind reclaiming the collectibles to teach the kid some bitter lessons about life, but still, it felt sorry for the little guy who ended up getting his treasures taken and feeling down.
“Well then, how about this, Your Highness?”
Considering it was nearing the prince’s birthday, I decided to make a grand suggestion as a form of goodwill.
“After The Hegemon-King Li’s Consort, I’ll let His Highness choose the subject for my next work as a birthday gift.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Of course. Don’t feel pressured; just say whatever you want.”
“Wow!”
Finally, Prince Wolfgang returned to his age-appropriate demeanor.
Forget the formalities, his eyes sparkled as he clenched his tiny fists.
“Thank you! Really, thank you, Phantom! If you do that, it’ll truly be the best birthday present ever!”
His sorrow over losing his twin dragon sword seemed to vanish in an instant.
After all, he was only 12. He reminded me of the nephews I used to play with as Ha Eun-seong in his previous life.
The children of the sister and her husband were relatively strict about studies and academics.
Every time they got in trouble with their parents, they would come and pout to their uncle.
“Waaah, Uncle! I got yelled at by Mom for bad grades!”
“Uncle! I want a chicken burger, but Dad says it’s bad for my health!”
I often took them to see blockbuster movies or bought them fast food to cheer them up, right?
My feelings toward Prince Wolfgang were pretty similar to those times.
“So, what kind of play do you want to see, Your Highness?”
I stroked the white mask on my face, asking. But inside, I was already guessing what the prince would choose.
Transforming robots, toy swords, model tanks, masked riders and all that. Isn’t this the age where adventure, war, and action captivate young minds?
“Surely he’ll ask for something akin to a hero story, like Yuan Shao?”
Let’s see, who might that be? King Richard I, the Lionheart? The legendary sword master of the peninsula, Cheok Jun-kyung? Or the legendary sniper, Shi Mo Haiwei?
As I sorted through my mental list of candidates, I heard a sudden proclamation.
“Fear!”
……Huh?
“I want to see a horror play that makes your hair stand on end! Something so scary that it makes it hard to sleep at night!”
“H-Horror?”
Only then did I notice Prince Wolfgang’s impressive collection displayed in neat order.
Of course, it was true that the items related to my plays were well showcased.
But behind them, there were piles of completely different items.
And there was even a separate section filled with horror-related content.
The Werewolf Tales, Legends of the Vampires, Ghoul Sightings, Cases of Exorcism, and so on…
The collection was filled with horror novels and ghost stories familiar to this world’s residents.
Seeing this, I couldn’t help but shake my head internally.
Ah, this kid’s tastes are really set in stone.
A little later, as Phantom the Playwright returned from the palace…
I was standing near the academy’s main gate in my outing clothes.
Time had drifted on, and it was almost the season where midterms were wrapping up.
All the academy students were busy celebrating the end of their exams.
Of course, once grades came out, many of them would be soaked in misery, but for now, they were diving into drinks and entertainment to quickly escape from it all.
“……Speaking of which, I wonder if Professor Gabi will actually give an A+?”
I wouldn’t want her to wash her hands of me. I believed I could just skip submitting anything since the Xiang Yu spiel was my midterm substitute.
Anyway, I was also preparing to go out for similar reasons.
“Hmmm, horror. Horror.”
Tick, tick. I murmured to myself while watching the slowly moving second hand of the clock.
Once again, I realized that no matter how mature I pretended to be, I was still just a kid.
Didn’t I used to crave scary comic books and videos when I was that age?
Scary is just right, School Ghost Stories, Ju-On, precious horror masterpieces from my past.
Now that I’m an adult, I have a higher tolerance, but back then, even just looking at something scary was enough to release dopamine like a fountain.
“Ultimately, it seems like what the prince wants to see is pretty much the same…”
Honestly, this is a high difficulty level. Not just a regular one, but very, very high.
My specialty was bringing historical figures back to life to reprocess them into a play.
While I might have handled war, politics, comedy, religion, philosophy, action, and romance, horror was a completely different beast.
“Should I try to recreate some horror films that I’ve seen in my previous life, like Charlie Chaplin?”
Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, George Romero, and others.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more prominent name in the horror genre than these directors.
…But when I tried to come up with decent candidates, nothing really struck me as especially fitting.
“What really matters is what makes these locals scared, right?”
The emotion of fear is surprisingly relative.
Different cultures have various things they find terrifying due to differing values and sentiments.
For example, modern folks might fear zombies or serial killer movies.
For people living in grim cities, these elements are both alien yet relatable, hence the fear.
But what about the medieval folk in this world? Would they even see those as “horror”?
Zombies? They’d see them as nothing but undead, to be despised and eradicated. Even the concept of a serial killer is still beyond their time, right?
As far as I know, the biggest fear that people in this world have is something else altogether.
“Demons.”
Demons are fundamentally different from the demon race that appears in the far north.
Literally crawling up from the abyss of hell—a pure evil that humans cannot handle.
A dangerous entity that only the One God is said to be able to confront.
It toys with humans like mere playthings, stains their minds with madness, corrupts their hearts, and leads them into chaos and destruction.
Before such horrors, humans become less significant than insects before a storm, left to scream in madness if they lack divine protection.
Indeed, didn’t the prince’s horror collection include surreal accounts of demonic sightings and bizarre depictions of hell drawn by religious artists?
“Thus, it seems the little one wants to see chilling stories about demons…”
If that’s the case, then my modern perspective might actually become a weakness.
Unless someone is a die-hard believer, who among modern folks genuinely fears demons?
In fact, isn’t it common for modern people to mostly not believe in such entities?
While horror movies sometimes use demons as catalysts or conduits, I’ve hardly seen pure focus on the concept of demons in creative works.
“Hmm, what should I do…?”
After all, I can’t out-analyze demons better than someone from the medieval period.
Ultimately, I’ll need to borrow the life stories or works of some historical figure.
“Who among those figures had ties to demons, or at least could express unique and terrifying evil well?”
Hieronymus Bosch, known as the painter of hell?
Francisco Goya, famous for Saturn Devouring His Son?
Aleister Crowley, the occultist who shaped the foundation of occult culture?
As I kept chewing my lip in contemplation…
“B-Balthazar!”
“Ah! Rosalyn-senpai, you’re here?”
“Um… Did you wait long?”
“No, I just got here too! But you, wow.”
I unintentionally exclaimed at how she had dressed up unusually today.
Her striking red hair was neatly combed and held up with a hairpin.
Sparkling earrings and a necklace adorned with gorgeous jewels accentuated her.
And the dress, light yet perfectly fitted to show off her curves, was exceptional.
“Did you dress up with extra care today? It was worth the wait!”
“R-Really? I’m glad to hear that. Hehe.”
“Are you trying to impress someone with that look? Perhaps me?”
“Huh? W-Well… that’s…”
“Just kidding! I’m sorry.”
“N-No! It’s my fault to take it seriously!”
Seeing Rosalyn-senpai’s face turn crimson, I awkwardly made excuses.
After The Hegemon-King Li’s Consort ended, it had been a strangely embarrassing situation for us.
Of course, our relationship hadn’t distanced, really.
We were still closer than most friends, so to speak.
However, her attitude towards me had become a bit more reserved compared to before.
It seemed the sudden addition of a faux kiss scene had slightly widened the gap between us.
Though she consistently reassured me with “It’s okay” every time I apologized, it appeared she was indeed mortified and flustered as a refined lady.
So, for a while, I decided to wait silently for her feelings to settle.
“Shall we get going? We’re supposed to meet Morris and Julian at the designated spot, right?”
“Yes. Let’s hurry, Balthazar.”
Saying that, she carefully squeezed her hand between my armpit.
Just like when we went out together before, she acted like a lady receiving a gentleman’s escort.
The only difference from before was that back then, she would cheerfully laugh and lead the way, but now she was trying hard to avoid my gaze with a subtle blush.
“I guess it’s going to take time for the awkwardness to wear off.”
Still, I was genuinely grateful that Rosalyn-senpai was a good person.
Considering she must feel uneasy herself, she was making an effort to approach without simply pushing me away.
We were headed to the tent of a wandering theater troupe that had recently arrived in the capital.
With midterms coming to a close, we decided to watch a performance to lighten our spirits.
Morris, his girlfriend Julian, Rosalyn-senpai, and I lined up.
Morris teased saying it was a “double date,” but given the distance in our current state, dating was a dead end. His overzealous roommate antics only made me chuckle.
“By the way, didn’t I hear that this wandering troupe specializes in puppet shows?”
I think the troupe’s name was “Vanderbeune,” and from what I gathered, they had recently begun to make headlines in the theater world.
I heard that when it came to puppet shows, they could take pride in being the best in the Empire.
So, upon hearing about Vanderbeune’s visit, students excitedly began flocking to see the show.
Even Morris, a fan of Phantom’s works, was all for it—a must-see on his bucket list.
“Yet, how grand can a puppet show really be?”
Just how extravagant could the play be, to evoke such enthusiasm?
Dum dum dum, as we walked toward the large tent of the wandering troupe…
The sound of lively drums echoed, and then a bright voice rang out from the other side.
“Hahaha, ladies and gentlemen! A warm welcome to you all!”
Each jump brought a woman rushing over to a chair designed for the height’s advantage.
“The ultimate wandering theater troupe, Vanderbeune! The peak of puppetry with no equals! You are about to enter a perilous world filled with fantasy and fun!”
She raised a wide-brimmed silk hat high while formally greeting the audience.
A pair of bunny ears perked up adorably atop her light brown bobbed hair.
Her identity was none other than Fluffy, the head of today’s wandering theater troupe.
From her appearance, she looked like a kindergartner dressed as a magician in a school play.
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