The Imperial Palace
The Imperial Palace
The Emanuel Marquis House was one of the empire's most prestigious noble families, counted among the Seven Great Nobles of the capital.
And as the marquis's only granddaughter's birthday approached, the vassal families and neighboring houses were thrown into chaos.
'No matter what, we have to prepare a better gift than the others!'
A noble family on the level of the Emanuel Marquis House would have at least ten vassal families beneath it.
Moreover, if one counted the guests who came seeking the marquis's favor, the number would reach dozens.
If one prepared a mediocre gift, one would end up being mocked in front of countless nobles.
In particular, the marquis's love for his granddaughter was famously extreme, so if the prepared gift was shabby, one could be tormented for an entire year.
Thus everyone was busy preparing rare gifts, and when the granddaughter's birthday finally arrived, vassals and various nobles flocked to the marquis's mansion.
And among them, one noble entered the mansion's banquet hall with a stride brimming with unusual confidence.
In his hand was a single book.
"Tsk. What's that book you've got there? Surely that isn't your gift?"
One noble clicked his tongue as he looked at the book a fellow noble had brought.
It was a book with <Snow White> written on the cover, and the noble who had brought it bristled as he answered.
"Surely you're not failing to recognize this book? This book has recently even been in the imperial family's..."
"I'm asking because I do know. Where in the world did you get such a shoddy item?"
"What?"
Clap!
The noble who had disparaged the other's book as a shoddy item clapped once. A servant waiting behind him approached and handed over a book.
"That's—?!"
"This is the genuine Snow White. Only a hundred copies were released, so those who were slow to hear the news or lack connections probably couldn't even get a look at it."
Indeed, the <Snow White> in the noble's hand was different from the other noble's book even in appearance.
The leather material of the cover was different, and the color of the paper was whiter, making it look luxurious at a glance.
Not only that, but the illustrations that appeared when the book was opened were on an entirely different level.
"Who in the world drew something like this?"
Since the only pictures nobles ever saw were portraits, the illustrations drawn in the picture book were all the more shocking.
Beautiful colors, of course, and delicate, dreamlike illustrations.
"Then what in the world is this book I worked so hard to obtain?!"
Because it was plainly evident that the illustrations in his own book were of a wretched level compared to this, the noble flung the book he had brought as a gift onto the floor.
"Both Cinderella and Snow White are no easy books to obtain, so shoddy counterfeits are said to be circulating. Yours is probably one of those."
The noble who had received the scathing criticism felt rage welling up. Enough that his anger would not subside unless he threw the merchant who had sold it to him into prison.
"Snow White is certainly a fine book. But the one you brought looks rather poor in quality too, doesn't it?"
Another nobleman who had newly appeared had been watching the two nobles. At his words, this time the noble holding the genuine <Snow White> bristled.
"What? You must be saying that because you don't know. This book is..."
"This is a deluxe hardcover edition of Snow White, of which only thirty copies were issued."
"No—! How did you get that...."
"I'm personally acquainted with the head of the Yuren Merchant Company, so I heard the news early."
The deluxe hardcover was indeed different. The white cover leather of the <Snow White> in the newly appeared noble's hand—that was unmistakably white calfskin.
Also, the paper was not merely white but had a bluish sheen. It was undoubtedly Magic-Stone Paper, made by scattering precious Magic Stones into it.
Even the lettering on the cover was gilded, giving it a different luster from the start.
Before the dignified appearance of the deluxe hardcover, both the noble who had brought the counterfeit and the noble who had brought the hundred-copy official publication could only hang their heads,
and so the newly appeared noble seemed to be the final victor.
'I did it! It was worth signing a year-long contract for my house's goods with the Yuren Merchant Company to obtain this book.'
He had taken a loss by canceling his original contract with another merchant company to obtain this book, but compared to winning the favor of the Emanuel marquis, it was cheap.
With all the surrounding nobles admiring the thirty-copy limited edition he had obtained, its value was already as good as proven.
"Oh? Yours is a bit different from mine."
But an ominous voice came from somewhere.
As if it had spotted prey, the voice barely concealed its excitement, and heads turned toward it of their own accord.
And in the hand of the voice's owner was yet another <Snow White>.
***
"Have you been well, Master Rupert?"
I said nothing and simply drank my tea as I stared steadily at the merchant company head.
Did he know what he had done wrong? He did not dare meet my eyes, and pretended to look around the reception room he had already visited several times.
"You're shameless. Even after selling me out to the Imperial Princess."
Thud.
Before I had even finished speaking, the merchant company head placed a pouch on the reception room table.
"What are you doing right now? What I want to ask is why Her Highness the Imperial Princess...."
"Open it, Master Rupert."
Seriously, I was trying to talk and he kept cutting me off. I had resolved to give him a thorough scolding the moment he showed any sign of making excuses.
"I don't know what this is, but I will once again reconsider doing business with a merchant company head who has broken the trust between contractual partners...."
I couldn't finish my sentence.
The pouch was full of glittering, round golden objects.
The sight was so dazzling that I flinched in surprise and my hand trembled slightly.
Jingle.
The sound of beautiful metal clinking together.
"Alain, a guest has arrived, so why haven't tea and refreshments been brought out yet?"
"Pardon? Master Rupert, just earlier you clearly said the only thing to give a traitor was death...."
"Whatever his status, Esteban here is my dear friend. What dreadful nonsense are you spouting?"
I smiled, and the merchant company head smiled as well. Only Alain did not smile.
***
"Master Rupert, do you know how the picture books are being received on the market right now?"
The company head and I chatted over tea about how things had been going.
We even shared stories about the imperial family, laughing as we recounted the experiences that had startled us.
"To be honest, I don't know much. I only know that they're somewhat popular."
The books I had sold at such high prices had sold out completely, so I thought they must be popular.
But at my words, the merchant company head clicked his tongue and said it was far beyond that.
"You may find this hard to believe, but among the nobility your picture books have become a measure of fashion."
"The measure of fashion?"
"These days, at banquets and social gatherings, nobles are said to compete based on the quality of the picture books they bring."
It wasn't even a duel. I could hardly imagine people competing over the quality of books.
"So much so that counterfeits of Cinderella and Snow White are running rampant in the market right now."
"Wait, counterfeits? You mean someone is actually copying these?"
The merchant company head nodded at my words.
My hand went to my forehead on its own. There was no way something like copyright existed in the Middle Ages, so in a sense, the copying of a popular product was only natural.
I hadn't thought about it at all.
"This is serious. What method...."
"It isn't that serious. Rather, it's been helpful."
What nonsense was this man spouting right now? Could he not hear the sound of my money leaking away?
"Your drawing skills are so superb that the imitations all fall far short in quality."
"Ah!"
Only then did I understand the merchant company head's utterly relaxed attitude.
My drawing skills—it was a bit awkward to say it myself—were truly outstanding.
I felt it every time I drew: Rupert, the original owner of this body, had been born into the wrong world with this kind of talent.
If he had been born on Earth, he could already have been making a comfortable living as a famous artist.
The pictures I drew combined Rupert's inherited talent with the style I had honed in my previous life, producing something unlike anything in this world.
The existing painters, who were already looked down upon and only drew portraits, could not easily imitate them, and even if they did, the quality of the pictures was bound to differ.
"For a true luxury item to shine, there must be counterfeits to compare it against."
The idea that the existence of knockoffs raised the value of the genuine article—the merchant company head's insight sometimes impressed me.
'No matter how I look at it, that man would have succeeded in business even if he'd been born on Earth.'
A person who had already grasped modern commercial theory. It seemed I had chosen my business partner well.
"But it isn't something we can simply let slide. My art is unrivaled for now, but if it's merely a matter of copying, something plausible will appear before long."
Just look at RolXs watches.
Experts had now reached the point where they couldn't distinguish the ones made in China from the genuine article.
No matter how outstanding my art was, if it was only a matter of counterfeiting, there was no law saying products of similar quality wouldn't appear before long.
"As it happens, hasn't a solution to that very problem emerged this time?"
"A solution?"
At my question, the merchant company head merely smiled and stared steadily at one spot in the reception room.
His gaze went to one wall of the reception room, where a gleaming golden plaque hung.
***
"Why in the world are you saying you can't draw the pictures?"
Jansen, the head of the 'Jansen' Merchant Company, was frustrated by the painter's sudden declaration that he could no longer copy the pictures.
He had promised generous pay for simply copying pictures, and now that the painter had gotten used to it and was producing plausible work, he suddenly said he couldn't do the job.
"Esteban, haven't you heard the news?"
"What news are you talking about?"
The painter began painting over the pictures he had been diligently coloring, blacking them out with his brush.
"What are you doing!! Have you gone mad?"
"You are the crazy one, Esteban. Do you want to be arrested for insulting the imperial family?"
"What?"
Without answering, the painter continued erasing the pictures he had drawn.
"Speak, will you! Why in the world are you doing this?"
"To plagiarize the works of a person who received an imperial commendation plaque—only a madman would do that!"
At the painter's answer, the merchant company head's face drained of color.
An imperial commendation plaque.
It was useless for anything except proving that the imperial family vouched for someone as an honorable noble—but that was exactly why it mattered.
'Guaranteed by the imperial family.'
"How in the world...."
"I don't know the details either, but Her Highness the Imperial Princess bestowed a commendation plaque upon the picture book author 'Rupert Somerset,' so copying his works amounts to insulting the imperial family."
He was right. Only then did the merchant company head realize what he had to do now.
"Is there no one outside!! Recall the sold books at once, and bring in every book that's out there and burn them!"
Not a trace could remain. Not only he, but his entire house might vanish from the empire.
***
I had believed in it.
I thought as I looked at the golden plaque engraved with the dragon symbolizing the imperial family.
At first, I had grumbled that they gave me a single worthless commendation plaque as a reward.
'Those imperial bastards are like daylight robbers. Trying to fob me off with this instead of money.'
But I hadn't known that even dog shit has its uses, and that it would be put to use like this.
Copyright?
This uncivilized medieval world didn't have modern concepts like copyright, but it did have genuine users of Dragon-Tongue Magic.
Namely, the imperial family.
"If you touch me, you touch the imperial family."
With nothing more than a commendation plaque saying, "I guarantee this person's honor," the imperial family had made the illegal counterfeiters disappear without a trace.
Truly, there is no such thing as a bad other world.