NOVEL WEB Chapter 8
[……The die is already cast!]
Right after the intermission that lasted a full 30 minutes,
the performance of [Julius Caesar] at the Killgrewber Theater Company resumed on stage.
The Rubicon River was depicted using stage props with a touch of magic.
With a grand shout, Mr. Renoir, who played Caesar, led the legion across the river.
[If we cross this river, the human world will be miserable, and if we don’t, I will be doomed! Let’s go! To the place where the gods await! To the place where those who have sullied our honor await!]
While Caesar embarked on this expedition, the First Triumvirate in Rome had already met its doom.
Crassus, envious of Caesar’s military achievements, went on an expedition to Parthia and perished.
Pompey secretly colluded with the Senate and completely turned his back on Caesar.
Ultimately, as Caesar brought his army to the very doorstep of Rome, a decision had to be made.
The Rubicon River is the final boundary that distinguishes the main territory of Rome from its provinces.
Thus, it has always been a rule that generals returning from battle must disarm before this river.
Crossing the Rubicon River without disarming before entering Rome signifies a coup d’état.
And Caesar boldly chose the coup d’état option.
What followed is known as the civil war of Caesar, effectively marking the end of the Roman Republic.
In this war, he defeated the Senate-supported rival Pompey and finally stood at the pinnacle of power.
[I have come! I have seen! I have conquered!]
Vēnī. Vīdī. Vīcī!
A grand triumph with the best lines of Caesar recited.
Afterwards, Caesar generously forgave the surviving rivals and implemented extensive reforms across society.
Maintaining a forward-looking vision, he reconstructed Rome, once a mere city-state, into the great Empire remembered by modern people.
Caesar was undoubtedly a man of grand ambition, seeking power.
However, he pursued it not for his private greed but for the public good of Rome.
His ambition was always intertwined with the lofty ideals of reform and revival for Rome.
But the reign of such a hero wouldn’t last long.
Assuming the role of perpetual dictator, Caesar obtained absolute power essentially equivalent to that of an emperor.
Seeing his unrestrained progress, the fearful senators secretly conspired to assassinate him.
Thus, on the fateful day of March 15, 44 BC,
assassins armed with daggers surrounded Caesar as he appeared to attend a meeting.
[Eliminate the dictator!]
[For Rome!]
[For the Republic!]
[Kuhuk!]
Sharp blades poured incessantly from all directions.
Caesar screamed in a pool of blood as he was stabbed repeatedly.
Simultaneously, the audience in the stands began to scream in horror.
“C-Caesar!”
“What the heck! What just happened all of a sudden?”
“No! Caesar! The hero of Rome!”
The audience must have thought he would once again evade the conspiracy of his rivals.
But unfortunately, the time had come for the protagonist’s luck to run out.
When the last assassin appeared, the faces of both Caesar and the audience turned to shock.
[Brutus… you too?]
His adopted son, Marcus Junius Brutus, whom he cherished like a biological child.
He emerged and thrust the cold dagger into Caesar’s chest without hesitation.
Thud!
“Gyaaaah!!”
“O-God!”
As the prop blood gushed from the actor’s chest, screams erupted from the audience.
The moment of Caesar’s assassination brought sudden turmoil.
Unable to accept it, the audience was left dumbfounded.
Yet even as time froze for the audience, time on stage continued to flow.
[Brutus. Ah, Brutus…]
With bloodshot eyes, Caesar slowly raised his arm.
His hand rested softly on Brutus’s face, the one who stabbed him.
But the emotion etched on the hero’s expression was not one of resentment.
Neither deep betrayal, disappointment, nor anger was present.
Tears began to well up slowly in the actor’s eyes.
Gently, a single tear flowed down as Caesar whispered quietly.
[I’m sorry…]
With those words, thud! Caesar collapsed onto the marble floor.
Countless wounds covered his body.
A tremendous amount of blood began to flow from him.
The audience, who had witnessed the scene, finally regained their senses.
“Aah, Caesar… Caesar…”
“He truly was a real hero. To even forgive the bastard who assassinated him.”
In reality, the final stabbing scene with Brutus had undergone considerable embellishment.
In fact, Brutus was not even Caesar’s adopted son, and Caesar never said he was sorry to him before dying.
Moreover, the famous last words, “Brutus, you too?” were actually a creation from Shakespeare’s play.
Nonetheless, this subtle alteration evoked two extremely important emotions for the future development.
The respect for Caesar, who loved his adopted son until the end, despite being murdered.
And the anger towards Brutus, who coldly assassinated such a father figure.
[Citizens of Rome! Hear my speech, I, Brutus!]
At last, Brutus, having finished the assassination, stands before the citizens of Rome with the dagger used for the assassination.
A leader who received passionate support from the common people during his lifetime.
He shook his blood-stained clothes as he proclaimed his justification in a mournful voice.
Why he assassinated his adopted father, Caesar.
Why that assassination was a necessary decision for the country of Rome.
[I loved Caesar! But I loved Rome more than Caesar, I loved the Republic more than the dictator! With tears in my eyes, I killed the one I loved the most who was about to become a dictator!]
The Roman citizens fell into chaos upon hearing his speech.
It sounded so plausible and logical at first glance.
But the audience was different.
“That shameless bastard…”
“What right do you have to speak after killing that great hero?”
“Ugh, Brutus! How dare you!”
The simmering anger of the audience beneath the surface.
It was a justified anger over losing the protagonist they had cheered for throughout the performance.
And this was just the moment to unleash that anger like a refreshing drink.
In a clever mimicry of Shakespeare’s play [Julius Caesar],
[Shut your cunning mouth, Brutus!]
Suddenly, from the opposite side of Brutus appeared a man.
Marcus Antonius, who had loyally served Caesar all this time.
[Behold, citizens of Rome! Look at what our hero, Caesar, left behind as his final words!]
He unfolded Caesar’s will prepared as a prop and shouted.
Then, extras playing Roman citizens chimed in loud unison to read its contents.
Upon his death, Caesar bequeathed all his lands to the citizens of Rome.
And he distributed his massive wealth to pay each citizen 75 drachmas.
75 drachmas, equivalent to nearly two months’ salary for a civil servant today.
This alone was enough to turn the tide against the atmosphere that had been branding Caesar as a selfish dictator.
However, Antonius’s speech was far from over.
[Citizens! Listen! What lies hidden beneath the three-inch tongue of Brutus, who accused Caesar of being a dictator and justified the assassination!]
Brutus, displaying a flustered expression, began to retreat.
Pointing directly at him, Antonius sharply declared.
[Aim! That is ambition! A dirty, ugly, dark ambition!]
[Citizens of Rome! They are not liberators who eliminated a dictator! They are merely murderers who killed a hero for their own selfish desires!]
With a single speech, Antonius flipped the citizens’ minds in an instant.
Simultaneously, a mighty uproar erupted from the stands.
“Right! Well said, Antonius-!!”
“Ugh! Brutus, that vile scum!”
“Bring Caesar back, Brutus! Bring him back now!!”
“Execute him! Execute that guy immediately! Flay him alive and tear him to pieces!!”
The astonishing spectacle of people rising one after another to shout and jeer at Brutus.
Even though most of them were upper-class nobles and wealthy individuals, they forgot their decorum and became enraged.
Had there not been armed guards maintaining order, they would have stormed the stage right away.
Requesting the imperial side to reinforce the stage’s security was undoubtedly a divine stroke of genius.
‘Otherwise, the actor playing Brutus would have been trampled to death by the audience by now.’
Incidents where an audience member kills an actor for overly immersing themselves in a role occurred even in actual history.
For example, in China, an audience member killed a performer portraying the antagonist Cao Cao in [Romance of the Three Kingdoms], who acted the role too well.
In Joseon, commoners killed the performer who portrayed the villain Kim Ja-jeom in [Im Gyeong-eop Jeon] for delivering the role too convincingly.
Anyway, fortunately, the remaining content of the play progressed smoothly and very quickly.
Showing the miserable end of Brutus and his gang who assassinated Caesar.
And closing with Caesar’s hidden heir, Octavian, inheriting the power.
[Hero of Rome, Caesar! May you rest peacefully!]
A beautiful laurel wreath symbolizing the Emperor of Rome.
Wearing it on his head, the actor playing Octavian proclaimed.
[This Octavian will carry on Caesar’s achievements as Emperor! Blessed be you, great Rome! Forever remembered, great Caesar!]
“Waah-!!”
“Great Caesar-!!”
An ending where a capable successor inherits the legacy of an unparalleled hero and completes the great cause.
The audience, having tasted overwhelming catharsis, cheered with a thunderous round of applause.
Of course, historically, Octavian never titled himself as Emperor.
Instead, he called himself Princeps (First citizen) throughout his life, claiming to be the protector of the Republic.
However, in this world, Octavian was also a creation of the Phantom Writer’s fiction.
Nobody would complain about such a trivial embellishment.
“Caesar! Caesar! Caesar! Caesar!”
Even as the curtain call was in progress and the actors came out for their final bows, the chanting continued unabated.
Everyone, regardless of age or gender, was solely calling out the protagonist’s name with a mind of the other world.
Of course, the same went for Rosalyn, who sat next to me watching the play.
However, one distinguishing difference from the ordinary audience was…
“Gyaaah, Phantom! Phantom-!!”
…that she was passionately applauding and ecstatically shouting the name of the playwright?
Seeing her lively (?) demeanor, an instant wave of unease began to wash over me.
‘Wait a minute. This isn’t just a situation for the imperial family to worry about…?’
The look in her eyes, looking not just happy but almost enchanted.
It was a complete departure from her usual calm and pure demeanor, filled with zeal.
Maybe it was just my illusion, but a hint of ‘madness’ seemed to seep through.
What if she realized I am Phantom?
How would Rosalyn then transform at that moment?
‘I want to repay you for saving my father, Balthazar. So, please never leave this basement?’
‘Balthazar? Why do you keep trying to run away? You can just stay next to me forever and write…?’
‘Right! You surely don’t need legs! You only need hands to hold a pen, Balthazar!’
“……”
Ah, I’ve watched too many movies.
No matter how extreme the fandom gets, my kind-hearted and considerate Rosalyn would never do such a thing, right? Hahaha.
…Hopefully, that is the case.