NOVEL WEB Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Patronage for artists is basically an encouragement to keep creating.
Now, this might just be a tribute from fandom, but honestly, it feels more like a threat demanding the next work ASAP.
“Struggling with financial difficulties hindering your creativity? Here’s some cash. Go spend it!”
“Income unstable because of fluctuations? Here’s some cash. Use it!”
“Not feeling like your work is getting the recognition it deserves? Here’s some cash. Write more!”
Sure, it’s a bit of a simplification, but fundamentally, this is the deal. Artists may call their creations “works” instead of “commodities,” but the people with real power seriously “consume” art.
So, having received patronage from the prince, I had to keep writing.
Honestly, even without the money, I was planning to release more “reincarnated” works to promote literature in this world. In that sense, the prince and I shared the same goal.
“I need to publish a new work…!”
* * *
Here I was, sitting in front of a blank sheet of paper, rolling my fountain pen for half an hour.
Inspiration? Yeah, it wasn’t coming.
It’s not like I suddenly awakened a burning desire to create something original.
“What kind of work should I write…?”
“Anything you write, Young Master, will surely be a masterpiece!”
“Oh, thanks!”
Sure, a masterpiece would probably pop out. I mean, I planned to just plagiarize some past life greats.
But which one to rip off?
“Sion. If you were a reader, what kind of novel would you want to read?”
“Me? Oh, something humorous yet touching, like Don Quixote!”
“Well, that’s a classic response.”
“Really?”
Tons of potential works flickered in my mind. Anna Karenina, The Little Prince, Les Misérables… Heck, diving into sci-fi could be fun too.
But simply copying literature from my past life wasn’t enough.
My goal was to “increase the number of enjoyable novels.” For that, I needed genre-specific novels to serve as references. Pure literature could flourish later.
“I wish I could write a mystery novel…”
“A mystery? Like, with a detective as the star? That might get a bit tricky.”
“No, um, in a genre sense, a mystery or thriller would work too.”
“Really?”
All genre novels use three plots: ‘mystery,’ ‘fantasy,’ and ‘romance.’
For instance, chivalric literature combines the fantasy plot of the ‘hero’s journey’ with the romantic plot of ‘the brave knight saving the noble lady.’ These fundamental plots are the backbone of all novels.
And in this era, what’s most lacking is, of course, ‘mystery.’
Foreshadowing and twists, suspense and mystery, questions and answers, tracking and analysis. These mystery plots are soaked in the influences of modern rationalist thought.
“But writing that is not an ordinary task…”
Here’s the kicker: magic and mystique exist in this world.
To apply detective stories like ‘Sherlock Holmes’ or ‘And Then There Were None’ here, I’d have to revamp them from the ground up.
“Feeling the pressure?”
“If you call it pressure, then yes, it is pressure.”
“Is it because of the funding?”
“That’s part of it…”
Thinking of the prince made my head throb again.
The empire’s third prince, who identifies as a “woman.” I noticed some hints telling me he was a guy, but visibly, he was all woman. No Adam’s apple and a delicate voice to boot.
Plus, he had some pretty advanced thoughts on ‘the soul.’
So advanced, in fact, that if the church found out, he’d be labeled a heretic.
“Sion, what do you think the soul is?”
“A soul? Hmm, an immortal spirit and life, I believe…”
“And the relationship between the soul and the body?”
“A spirit with personality that merges with the body to form a complete entity… Am I right?”
Sion’s answer was quite religious.
Most people around here probably think similarly, except for our prince who never achieved the perfect union of soul and body since birth.
But that doesn’t mean the prince is an unbeliever or indifferent.
Actually, he reached his own spiritual conclusions based on his experiences. The notion that the imperfect union of soul and body makes things more beautiful is a romantic outlook for sure.
“From my point of view, neither perspective is entirely correct…”
The mind and body influence each other.
It all operates at complex levels like hormones, tendencies, and social interactions. So, sometimes it can go sideways in a serious way.
On one level, a person might define themselves as ‘male,’ and on another as ‘female.’
“What we lump together as mind or instinct isn’t just one thing… Hmm?”
I feel like I’ve read a novel tackling this exact topic.
That novel must be…
“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde…”
Suddenly, an odd certainty washed over me.
This is brilliant.
“…Sion.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Get ready to do some research.”
* * *
[I have drawn closer to the conclusion that in terms of ethics and intellect, ‘the human soul is not one, but two.’]
‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ is a mystery novel.
Atterson, Dr. Jekyll’s friend, is on the hunt for a strange figure tied to Jekyll named ‘Hyde,’ which makes up the plot. Knowing the ‘answer’ to this novel, my writing style shifted from the ‘answer’ to the ‘question,’ piecing together clues backward.
I wrote the part where Jekyll and Hyde’s true identities are unveiled first, then layered in the hints afterward.
The unforgivable crimes of Hyde and the horrifying insights from those around him got interwoven into clues, crafting it into an actual detective tale.
“This is quite fun.”
The first to read the finished puzzle was, once more, my loyal attendant, ‘Sion.’
With a pounding heart, Sion grabbed the stack of manuscripts I passed him.
“This novel is pretty short, huh?”
“Well, I didn’t have to cram in as many episodes as in Don Quixote.”
If I had to categorize the style of ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,’ I’d say it skews toward hardboiled.
Hyde’s crimes are described in a dry, gnarly way, contrasting the bone-chilling reactions of those around him, crafting a surreal dread for the reader.
Sion plopped down on the floor, lost in reading my manuscript.
He could’ve sat in a chair, but excitement seemed to have made him oblivious to his surroundings.
“…”
His eyes darted back and forth crazily, showing he was totally immersed in the story.
He even shuddered every so often.
Honestly, his reactions were rather amusing, and I found myself staring at him.
After about an hour, I think.
“Ah…?”
A sigh slipped from Sion’s lips.
It was that kind of sigh you let out when you hear a surprising truth, slightly stunned.
Finally tearing his gaze from the manuscript, Sion glanced at me for a moment before diving back in to finish the novel. Since there wasn’t much left, it didn’t take him long.
With the manuscript closed, Sion exhaled, his voice still tinged with disbelief.
“To think Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were the same person…”
“That was quite the shocking twist, right?”
“Honestly, I never saw that coming. Looking back, there were enough clues to guess it, but why did I firmly believe they were two different people? It was like I had been possessed by a demon…”
“That’s the beauty of a detective novel.”
“…While I was reading, I felt like I was committing a sin.”
Sion confessed, looking as lost as someone spilling their secrets in confession.
“It was uncomfortable, terrifying, unsettling—yet captivating with a strange mystery… It felt like I was reading a forbidden book. I just had to keep flipping the pages to uncover that ominous secret.”
“Have you ever read a forbidden book?”
“Oh, no! I just meant if I did, it would probably feel like this!”
Though his frantic denial was mildly suspicious, it wasn’t a big deal.
“So, did you enjoy it?”
“Yes! I’ll probably be thinking about the ending all night.”
“Just don’t go around blabbing about the ending, alright?”
“Of course! This secret goes to the grave!”
Great.
Now all that was left was to publish it.
* * *
News of the publication of ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ quickly spread throughout the empire.
Thanks to my fame as the author of Don Quixote, first editions flew off the shelves faster than when I released the first part of Don Quixote.
“Hey, have you read the new ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ by Homer?”
“Ah, not yet. I haven’t had time! But I hear it’s a fantastic masterpiece again, especially the ending twist!”
And of course, there’s the inevitable issue that pops up once a mystery novel gains fame.
“That’s right! In the end, it turns out Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are actually the same person, and it gave me chills—”
“Wait, what?!”
That was a spoiler!
“It’s a duel!”