Chapter 29: Hamlet – 3
The scalpers who had been gnawing at the cultural and artistic community were wiped out in an instant.
Of course, the scalpers had their own little confidence boosters. They had been consistently offering ‘presents’ to administrative officials and the guard, thinking they could just bolt at the first sign of a crackdown.
What a totally miscalculated thought that was.
“What, what crime have I committed to deserve this?!”
“Yesterday, the ‘Prohibition of Illegal Resale in the Cultural and Artistic Community Act’ passed in the council. Everything you were doing is now punishable.”
“How could I know about a law that just passed yesterday! This isn’t right, call the head of the guard. If it’s Layton, he’ll surely—.”
“The head of the guard? Oh, he just arrived.”
“L-Layton! What a surprise! It’s good to see you! There seems to be some misunderstanding—I didn’t do anything—eek?!”
“I came here to warn you, Hans. If my name slips out of your mouth one more time, I’ll use every connection I’ve got to ensure you can’t set foot in the empire again.”
The head of the guard growled in a voice that sounded like the low rumble of a predator. The poor merchant had no choice but to shrink back at that voice.
“I-I genuinely didn’t know. This is a misunderstanding—.”
“As a savvy merchant, you claim you didn’t know about a law passed in the council, especially one that directly impacts your little ‘tricks’?”
“Well, it’s only been a day since it passed! Isn’t it a bit excessive to detain someone for such a freshly minted law?”
“Do you even know what ‘excessive’ really is?”
“…..”
“Because I got a single bottle of liquor from you, I have to step down from my position, while the artist Homer, whom you exploited for your ‘tricks,’ is under royal sponsorship. And Ian Plummer, who co-wrote ‘Hamlet,’ happens to be the beloved youngest son of Count Plummer. Now that’s what we call ‘excessive.’ What you did here is truly over the line!”
“Th-that’s—.”
“I’m giving you another warning. Make absolutely sure my name doesn’t accidentally pop up in any upcoming newspaper articles.”
The empire was a constitutional monarchy where even commoners could enter the council, but the class and power gaps were astoundingly evident. And ‘Homer’ was under the highest protectorate.
Of course, there were folks simmering with resentment in the shadows, far from the prying eyes of power.
“This can’t be! How can they oppress us merchants like this—does this even make sense?! We need to give them a warning—.”
“Grrr….”
“…A beastman? Ah, eek!”
But just like that, they vanished.
In the end, the scalper issue was resolved more cleanly than ever.
“All the assets of those scalpers will be confiscated and used as a fund for the development of performing arts.”
“That’s great.”
So, the issue that had been gnawing at the cultural scene was settled.
But then, a different matter poked its head out.
This time, it was an issue I was somewhat familiar with, but in a different context.
“Isn’t Hamlet’s indecisive nature and terrible downfall a jab at the lazy king of the Harren Kingdom, who has absolute power but does nothing?”
“And how about Claudius, who killed his brother to take the throne? Isn’t that really a critique of the current emperor, who was only third in the line of succession originally?”
This was obviously the political zealots speaking.
“So, is it possible that Hamlet is basically a work showcasing Homer’s political stance?”
“And writing it alongside his disciples was a clever ruse to conceal the truth?”
Critics, gossips, and some chatterboxes started to ferret out political meanings from the work ‘Hamlet.’
The ‘political nature’ they unearthed soon morphed into more concrete rumors that spread among the populace.
“I heard the reason Homer kept his identity hidden and fled from the Harren Kingdom is that he was sentenced to death for criticizing the lazy king! He denied being from Harren to avoid the royal family’s wrath!”
“Um, what I heard was a bit different? Actually, Homer is the illegitimate child of the Emperor, and the royal family supports him precisely because he’s a royal bastard.”
“What, are you saying Homer is an illegitimate child born between the Emperor and the Harren royal family?”
“What.”
Of course, there were hardly any lunatics out there who took such nonsense seriously…
“This clears everything up! Homer wrote Hamlet to slam the lazy king!”
“Almost no one believed it means there’s a handful that did.”
And the lunatics generally had rather loud voices.
“Hamlet is an exposé novel! Its genuine purpose is to reveal the downfall of the Harren royal family!”
As political zealots spread these ridiculous rumors with confidence and certainty, even those who initially dismissed it as silly began to doubt, thinking, ‘Could it be?’
Eventually.
“We, the Harren royal family, intend to respond firmly to all the baseless rumors circulating about Homer and the lazy king. We kindly request the Empire’s cooperation on this matter.”
Bent on not sitting back and watching, the Harren royal family had also pulled out their swords.
Of course, there was hardly ever anything the Harren royal family could do posturing with a sword—at most, they could beg the Empire to settle the rumors down.
Their formal response only served to escalate the gossip even further.
“Let’s bring back Homer, the great literary figure birthed in Harren!”
“Homer is an Imperial! His origins don’t matter!”
“Isn’t Homer actually from the Republic of Sidell?”
“Who the heck is this guy?!”
The situation was pure chaos.
“Sir, what should we do…?”
“…Ignore them.”
* * *
“Sir!”
“Oh, yes, President. What’s so urgent that you had to use the communication sphere…?”
“A, a guest has arrived!”
“Is it Lady Es by any chance?”
“Ah, no. It’s… well…”
“Take your time and explain.”
“The Lazy King has come… personally?”
“…What?”
* * *
The Lazy King.
The king of the Harren Kingdom, located to the east of the Empire.
He was the bishop of the Eastern Church and the rightful ruler of the Harren people.
“Haha, are you Homer, the writer?”
“…Yes.”
And there he was, right in front of me.
All alone, wearing ragged clothing, not a single guard in sight.
If it weren’t for that platinum magic ID badge, I would have thought I was staring at a vagrant who mistakenly believed he was a king.
“Nice to meet you! I enjoyed all your works! Don Quixote. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The Little Prince. The Sorrows of Young Werther. Alice in Wonderland. And even Hamlet! They were all masterpieces that touched my heart. Haha!”
“Thank you….”
“But, you definitely look like a Harren! Are you mixed race?”
“Well, that is…”
“Just joking! You’re too good-looking to be a typical Harren. Haha!”
“Hahaha…. Thanks….”
I had absolutely no idea what was happening.
He was a king.
Not just any king or a lowly prince from the Empire, but an absolute monarch ruling over the eastern kingdom.
And this figure was standing right in front of me.
In the empire’s capital, no less. How do I even begin to comprehend this situation?
“The reason I came to seek you out is simply to support your writing activities.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s all there is to it! Did you expect something else? Haha!”
“Uh, well, that is…”
“I’ve been aware of the various rumors circulating recently, like how Hamlet was written to criticize me, which is completely absurd.”
“…”
“If possible, I’d actually prefer those rumors to spread even more. To the point where people might start discussing booting me from my throne!”
“…What?”
I truly, utterly had no idea.
I couldn’t quite follow the flow of the conversation.
“How much do you know about the Harren Kingdom’s ‘royal family’?”
“Well, um, not much at all.”
“The Harren royal family… well, to put it simply, they’re hybrids with ancient blood coursing through their veins. It’s not public knowledge, but most of the kingdom’s officials are aware. That’s also why the Harren royal family tends to be secretive… Anyway, that’s the gist of it.”
Is this really information I should be privy to?
“Do you know about ‘dragons’?”
“…If you mean the ones from the Bible or myths, then yeah.”
“The blood of dragons flows through the veins of our Harren royal family.”
Wait, real dragons exist in this world? Just as I pondered that, the Lazy King’s pupils split vertically, transforming into snake-like slits.
“That’s the only proof there is.”
“Excuse me?”
“Proof that the blood of dragons flows in our veins. These eyes are the only evidence. It’s quite a joke, really. To think that something this trivial would make someone a king….”
“Excuse me?”
“To cut to the chase, I never had any intention of becoming a ‘king’. Yet, due to my exceptionally high levels of dragon blood, I was crowned king.”
“Oh….”
This was a world infused with mystique. It wasn’t all that strange for a king to actually possess blue blood.
“Even if I assert that I don’t want to be king, the officials and other royals merely ignore me… Anyway, that’s just how it is. Then, your work caught my attention.”
“My work… sir?”
“Hamlet, specifically. That play has become quite popular in the Harren Kingdom. After reading it, a sudden wave of criticism started coming my way….”
“Haha….”
“Well, if folks keep criticizing me, won’t the officials eventually take me out of the throne?”
“I see….”
At that moment, I finally understood this ‘Lazy King.’
He was just like my father!
“So, I wanted to encourage you to keep up your writing efforts. Preferably works that will attract even more criticism towards me!”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Haha! Well then, I shall take my leave! May the blessings of the gods be with you!”
…Best not to think too deeply about this. I think I’ll hit the hay early tonight. I’m exhausted…
* * *
“Hehe, it’s been a while! Did you miss me, sir?”
“…Yes. It’s been a while, Lady Es.”
“It seems you’ve had some interesting adventures while I was away?”
“Interesting adventures, you say?”
“I checked the teleportation entry and exit records from the Magic Tower… and there’s evidence that someone came directly from the Harren royal family.”
“…”
“Oh, don’t be so tense! If you keep being all stiff like that, I might just end up feeling a little hurt.”
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