NOVEL WEB Chapter 147
Edric, a student at the Academy, had to return to the Imperial Palace on weekends unless there was a special schedule.
This was due to the Emperor’s belief that family meals should be shared.
Lately, Edric had been busy with the Comic Club’s projects, so he would’ve liked to skip meals whenever possible, but that was not allowed.
“Ioleen, aren’t you rushing too much?”
“No, I might actually be late.”
At the sight of his sister Ioleen firmly answering their father, the Emperor, memories of their childhood made Edric involuntarily shiver.
‘Looks like she’s completely smitten with her Master.’
Right now, Ioleen was urgently requesting that he hurry up with her and Rupert’s marriage.
But with the Crown Prince William’s engagement still underway, the Emperor tried to calm Ioleen down, saying that no matter how much she rushed, it couldn’t happen immediately.
She instinctively felt something.
Amelia and Jenia, the girls they’d met last time, surely wouldn’t stay idle.
Ioleen also thought it a bit cowardly to use the Emperor, her father, to arrange her marriage.
‘Rupert, that guy would stay still for a lifetime if left alone.’
Having observed Rupert until now, she couldn’t help but think he was utterly clueless and seemed to only care about comics.
If he earned that much money, most people would indulge in luxury or want to flaunt their power.
‘This is something I’m going to give specifically to Her Highness the Princess.’
Ioleen had hoped for something when she saw Rupert secretly whispering to her during their last meeting.
‘It’s a cleaner!’
However, what he handed her was a new magical item—a cleaner—asking if it hadn’t been difficult to touch up the parts that were mispainted in white while drawing comics.
Of course, it made her work much easier, but it was vastly different from what she had hoped for.
At that moment, she realized. If things continued like this, Rupert would never approach her first, even if she died and came back to life.
That’s why she thought she needed to take action before someone else beat her to it.
‘Anyway, I asked Marquis Somerset about it, but the response was disappointing.’
The Emperor was working hard to fulfill his only daughter’s wish.
He had even hinted to the nobility to elevate Somerset to a marquisate to match their family’s status.
Moreover, he had discreetly inquired about the marriage with Marquis Bradley, Rupert’s father.
‘Choosing between the Imperial faction or the noble faction won’t be easy.’
The moment he marries Ioleen, he would formally enter the Imperial faction, so considering that the nobles would increase their resistance, it was understandable that Marquis Bradley was cautious.
“It’s better to discuss this after William’s engagement is settled.”
Furthermore, since Crown Prince William’s engagement was still in progress, the Emperor had no choice but to reject the proposal for now, as it needed to be settled in order.
“William, have you talked to the Lady of the Count Tenner you’re becoming engaged to?”
Originally, the engagement of Second Prince William was conducted to instill vigilance in the First Prince Alex.
The Emperor knew all too well that his second son had darker thoughts than he appeared to.
In a way, William was the one most resembling him among his children.
Yet commendably, he prioritized the safety of the Empire instead of coveting his brother’s position with his dangerous abilities, which was a relief.
Unlike the worrying first son, the inscrutable third son, and the youngest son obsessed with swordsmanship, he was the only child he didn’t have to worry about.
“I haven’t had time yet, so I haven’t met her.”
“Hmm? It’s already been quite a while, and you haven’t even greeted her?”
The Emperor was slightly surprised by William’s answer.
He hadn’t thought much about it, believing he would handle it well, but he never imagined William hadn’t even sought out the Lady of the Count Tenner for a greeting.
Even in the Imperial family, it was common courtesy for the engaged parties to visit and greet each other.
The Emperor’s mind became complicated with the thought that his trusted second son wouldn’t commit such an oversight without good reason.
‘What is he investigating right now?’
William, who had organized his Dark Guards to eliminate those secretly threatening the Empire, caused the Emperor to wonder if something significant was happening.
And despite it being mealtime, William was lost in thought.
‘The Dark Sorcerer Deck could be the one to evaluate the skills of a Duelist.’
Already having gathered ten cards and passed the preliminaries, William was already looking ahead to the finals.
The Dark Sorcerer Deck that he had personally created was truly his pride.
It might seem weaker compared to other powerful decks, but if one could read and predict their opponent’s play, then their response abilities surpassed other popular decks.
That wasn’t all.
If only one deck was used, one’s weaknesses would quickly be exposed and countered.
So, to use his trump card, the Dark Sorcerer Deck at just the right moment, William had been preoccupied with deck ideas whenever he found some free time.
‘Your Highness, it’s time for your report this week.’
‘Unless there’s something extremely important, don’t disturb me!’
He already knew what the special prize announced for this tournament was.
‘Three cards presented to my father by Rupert Somerset.’
The events that took place in the court were already in William’s grasp, and he could infer the plans Rupert had discussed with the Emperor.
‘Wait for me, I will definitely obtain them.’
Although he hadn’t quite grasped what those three cards were, it was certain they were no ordinary cards.
With that in mind, William’s eyes glinted ominously as he thought how only he was qualified to possess them.
‘What kind of significant event has he caused…’
The Emperor’s misunderstandings deepened.
***
“Is it already the final part?”
Rupert was alone in the Somerset Workshop on the third floor, sketching the storyboard for his manuscript.
The current project he was working on was [Van Helsing], and he was down to the battle portion of the final chapter.
‘Once I finish Van Helsing, I’ll have to tackle another work of mine.’
In the past, simultaneous serialization was a distant dream, but now things were different.
The blessing bestowed by the Goddess and the magic pen had drastically reduced his working time, making Rupert’s recent life feel more leisurely than when he serialized just one work.
Recently, he even helped out with the upcoming animations [Cinderella], [Snow White], [The Little Mermaid].
There was plenty of time to serialize a new work after finishing [Van Helsing].
‘Until Manapia becomes overwhelmingly the best, I must keep pushing through.’
Of course, even now, Manapia boasted incomparable quality compared to other merchant association comics.
But Rupert couldn’t afford to be complacent.
He remembered the rise and fall of comic magazines in the great nation of Japan.
Even what was praised as the best comic magazine, Shonen Jump, had once been a minor magazine.
Then, masterpieces began to emerge one by one, competing for the top, leading to the arrival of timeless classics like Dragon Ball and One Piece that claimed the throne.
After which, they enjoyed their golden age, only to suddenly enter a dark age.
‘The Student Detective Kim Jong-il was truly remarkable.’
Rupert recalled the incident when the magazine Shonen Magazine, which started a mystery comic boom, surpassed Shonen Jump.
Readers of comics were incredibly cold-hearted.
They evaluated comics solely based on entertainment, so one couldn’t maintain the throne relying on past glory alone.
Just one work.
A singular masterpiece is what guarantees the rise and fall of a magazine.
That’s why Rupert concluded that Manapia needed a monumental work to keep its top spot.
However, in the history of comics, many monumental works existed, and creating one tailored to another world proved more difficult than expected.
‘Can people from this world accept something like Dragon Ball’s aliens and space themes?’
It was a problem even with masterpieces like Power Dunk, which was regarded as a masterpiece in the sports genre.
In this other world, sports such as soccer and basketball don’t exist, so he couldn’t base a comic on them.
To create a sports comic, one would have to popularize the sport, which would be putting the cart before the horse.
Thus, Rupert was contemplating a work that could be naturally accepted by the people of this world while ensuring its success.
‘Honestly, this work could be localized and should succeed.’
He had already shortlisted some candidates.
He was considering the work that had brought an end to the dark age of Shonen Jump and had become a guiding light for numerous boy love comics emerging in the 2000s.
‘However, no matter how adapted, it won’t be easy to finish quickly.’
Before he knew it, having wrapped up the storyboard for [Van Helsing], Rupert brought a blank sheet of paper and busily began to sketch.
He was trying to concretize the images of the new work that popped into his head.
A rolling blue sea. And a massive sea monster that resembles a moving mountain.
On top of that sea monster’s head, a ship with the head of a mountain goat perched on its prow started to appear on the paper.
‘Shall I open up the age of great voyages?’
That was the moment Rupert decided on his next work.