Episode 7: The Success of the Plan and a Forbidden Romance (2)
While Wade was hard at work completing his new book with his two helpers,
the royal family was not exactly sitting idle, either.
If anything, the royal side was the one in a hurry, so they moved the matter forward as quickly as possible.
—The Royal Family’s Secret History Finally Revealed!—
—Official Royal Acknowledgment! Is the Justia Royal Family Truly Descended from the Demon King and the Hero?!—
The very first step they carried out was an official announcement.
In other words, they began by admitting that the royal family truly did have the Demon King’s blood mixed into their veins.
Public opinion and curiosity, centered around the capital and major cities, had been swelling more and more through newspapers, which had recently been growing in popularity, making it increasingly difficult to ignore.
It was also to seize the initiative by making the announcement before the citizens’ fervor cooled, keeping that fervor alive for the time being.
“An issue, by nature, has a bit of an attention-seeking tendency. It lives by feeding on attention, does it not?”
“I don’t know what you mean by attention-seeking tendency, but I agree with what you said afterward.”
“So if all that attention dies down, trying to explain or announce something about the issue afterward won’t produce the effect you want.
It might even backfire.”
“Hmm.”
“Rather, when people’s interest is still hot and favorable, it may be better for us to take the initiative and guide it in our favor.”
Because Duke Lucid had accepted Wade’s advice that making the announcement after the current fervor died down might actually have the opposite effect.
Especially when public opinion was favorable, as it was now, Wade had said it would be better to go bold.
‘That’s right. The truth is, we are descendants of the Demon King.
So?
What are you going to do about it?
Are you planning to make some impious joke about the ancestors of the royal family?’
When public opinion was favorable, even if they pulled aggro this hard,
Wade knew that people would be more curious as to why they were acting that way than inclined to criticize them.
It was a method they could not have attempted if support for the existing royal family had not been solid.
But the Justia royal family had quite a high approval rating, so it was possible.
Of course, apart from that,
the royal announcement naturally caused enormous confusion throughout the nation.
“Wait, why is this actually true??”
“Then that means everything in that story was true too, doesn’t it?”
Even the capital and major cities, which had already vaguely heard the rumors and knew about the contents of “The Betrayed Hero,” were quite confused.
“You bastards in the capital and big cities! Stop talking about things only you know and explain it to us in detail too!”
“What rumors? What story?
What the hell is going on?”
For the people in the provinces, where the rumors had not yet spread and they knew little about it, it was nothing short of a hurricane of shock.
And at the height of that confusion,
“Now, now! Are you curious about what exactly the secret announced by the royal family is?
If you want to know, read this book!
All the secrets are contained within!”
“The Betrayed Hero,” which had been prepared in advance, began appearing simultaneously in bookstores all across the country.
“What’s this? Looks like the state is doing something.”
“Then should we secretly copy it first and sell it?”
“You should do it too! It makes money!”
Of course, there were illegal copyists who tried to slip in and take advantage of the opportunity.
“You selfish bastards!
Are you saying you don’t care if the Publishing Guild and the author go bankrupt?
A true reader buys the book properly at full price!”
But they were all struck down and vanished under the iron fist of public authority, backed by the copyright protections Duke Lucid had promised.
As a result,
“At this price, it’s practically free, isn’t it?
It’s way cheaper than what those illegal copyists were charging.”
Just as Wade had emphasized, the books began selling in massive quantities at a low price that even poor commoners could afford if they made the effort.
“Does the Publishing Guild even intend to make money?”
“What could possibly be left if you sell it this cheaply?”
“Haha! Why, the readers remain, of course!
If you enjoyed it, we sincerely ask that you continue purchasing genuine books sold by our Publishing Guild!”
Well, they said that, but the Publishing Guild was not simply selling at a loss.
“Hmm, the low price is good, but the paper quality, finishing, and design seem a bit lacking.”
“In that case, how about this hardcover edition?
It is more expensive than the standard edition, but it is far sturdier and neater!”
The First Form of the Breath of Capital, passed down by Wade.
They were using the technique of “selling expensive hardcovers to rich bastards.”
“It’s fine if the standard edition is a little lower in quality.
The purpose is to spread as many books as possible anyway.
And if the price is cheap, people won’t complain about those shortcomings.”
“And?”
“You take the money from the ones who have it!”
Redistribution of wealth!
For a moment, a chilly thought crossed Wade’s mind that this might not be the Breath of Capital, but the Breath of Das Kapital.
But wasn’t selling at a higher price to wealthy bourgeoisie rather than poor laborers just basic business?
In any case, “The Betrayed Hero,” distributed evenly regardless of status or wealth, drew explosive reactions from those who read it.
“My goodness! After betraying the Hero, even the Demon King?
Such tremendous events happened when our kingdom was founded?!”
“This is the truth history has hidden...!”
“Hoho! In that case, we will have to reexamine and reorganize all historical materials from the founding era.
David, gather all the relevant materials and bring them to my laboratory by next week.”
“...Pardon? Wait a moment! Professor, what did you just say...?”
Of course, an explosive reaction erupted.
They had learned the secret story behind the birth of their own nation, hidden for hundreds of years.
As citizens, it would have been stranger not to be excited.
All the more so because they had seen it through a novel filled with dramatic entertainment and emotion unlike anything they had seen before.
Even those who already knew the gist were drawn in once again by the detailed contents written in the book and the depictions of the main characters.
And for those who had known nothing at all, it was a cultural shock in the truest sense.
With the royal family’s announcement added on top of that, the entire nation was abuzz for quite some time.
Only after enough time had passed for people to think it over carefully did they finally arrive at a conclusion.
“If there haven’t been any problems until now, then isn’t it fine?”
“And it’s not as if the founding king or the Demon King did anything wrong, right?
If anything, they were the victims, so criticizing them feels a bit... trashy.”
“Is there really any reason to criticize the royal family when they’re doing well even now?”
“If having the Demon King’s blood mixed in was going to cause problems, they would have appeared right away. Does it make sense that nothing happened for hundreds of years?”
“If it’s the union of the Demon King and the Hero, then doesn’t that make our royal bloodline even greater? Isn’t that actually a good thing?”
Most reactions were positive.
After all, there had not been any particular problems up until now, had there?
They had not committed tyranny or massacres because they inherited the Demon King’s blood.
If anything, the current royal family was rather capable and benevolent.
They were not the people directly involved, and it was something their ancestors had done hundreds of years ago at that, not to mention a fact the royal family had announced of their own accord. There was slightly too little justification to pick a fight over it.
Of course, some disloyal and wicked person overflowing with treasonous intent might try to use this information to stir people up.
But at present, the people’s immersion in and fervor for “The Betrayed Hero” was no ordinary thing.
In this situation, where most people, regardless of age, gender, or status, considered the Demon King and the Hero victims,
could anyone really say, “Sure, she was betrayed by the same humanity she belonged to and rescued by the Demon King, but how could she shack up with the Demon King and even become king? She should have just died miserably after being betrayed!”?
If someone could, they might very well end up going to meet the Hero that very day.
So no one in particular attempted it.
Or perhaps they had already attempted it and been buried.
Thus, the series of disturbances that had begun with a single book concluded exactly as the royal family and Wade had wanted.
But among those who had witnessed this unprecedented incident and novel, the heat had yet to fade.
As a result, instead of the royal-family bait that had already been settled, people’s interest naturally began shifting toward the author of “The Betrayed Hero.”
“What? The book came out before the royal family even made its announcement?”
“What kind of person is the author to have known such a secret?”
The moment this nationwide fervor and attention was temporarily sublimated into recognition of Wade himself, exactly as he had intended,
“A new book! A new book has arrived!
The book everyone’s been talking about lately! A new work by Author ‘Way,’ who wrote [The Betrayed Hero Takes Revenge], is out now, so please look for it at your local bookstore!”
Wade launched his newly written work, [I Became the Ice Duke’s Maid], in a surprise release.
“How about the pen name ‘Way,’ created by removing just one syllable from your name, sir?
It can signify the path of this new literature that you are pioneering!”
This time, he proudly used the pen name “Way,” which he had chosen after accepting Aria’s recommendation.
Ah, of course, this time as well, he cooperated with the Publishing Guild and released it simultaneously nationwide.
This was something that had been discussed with Duke Lucid as well.
“Duke. When people are feeling positively toward the royal family,
what do you think about immediately releasing my new work before they have a chance to think any stray thoughts, leaving only those good feelings behind while shifting their attention elsewhere?”
“A fine method! Proceed at once!”
It was good that the people who had read “The Betrayed Hero” had become favorable toward the royal family.
But as time passed, those good feelings would gradually evaporate, and other unpleasant thoughts might begin to surface.
So, to put it crudely, while they were still intoxicated by the high,
they agreed to immediately turn attention to another topic before any stray thoughts could emerge.
It was, one might say, the classic method of covering one issue with another issue.
In any case,
this was an intentionally staged scene created through collusion between the Publishing Guild, Wade, and even the duke, who effectively represented the royal family.
Naturally, people’s attention had no choice but to concentrate on it.
“What?! A new work by the author who wrote ‘The Betrayed Hero’? I have to buy this!”
“Damn it! What shocking secret and entertaining story is he going to use this time to keep me from sleeping?! You lewd author bastard!”
“Everyone move! I’m buying it first!”
The new book once again began selling rapidly.
“[I Became the Ice Duke’s Maid], huh. Once again, it’s an efficient title with no sense of style.”
“Well, doesn’t it intuitively tell you what kind of story it is?
It must be a story about a duke as cold as ice and a maid.”
And just like with “The Betrayed Hero,” the title lacked flair but was intuitive instead.
Before even opening the book, it allowed readers to roughly grasp what sort of feeling it would have.
And so, on the first page that people turned to while imagining their own version of the story in their heads,
—If you cannot repay your debt, then perhaps you shall pay with your body! Keh-heh-heh!—
—N-no! Please spare me!—
there was a screaming woman, and a moneylender with an evil laugh, aiming for her body.
“???”
“???”
At the shocking development, which was utterly different from what they had imagined,
the people, just as they had with “The Betrayed Hero,”
began reading with their minds filled to bursting with question marks.