The Crown Prince (Revised 7.29)
The Crown Prince (Revised 7.29)
The first manga volume of this other world, <Kingdom of Ice>, spread across the empire in an instant.
"If you press this stone here, the manga's dialogue plays aloud. So that everyone can learn to read through these!"
In every region, as the Imperial Princess had ordered, Sound-Recording Crystals with the manga's dialogue recorded on them were distributed, so that even those who couldn't read could understand the story,
and above all, the reaction to the manga itself was intense.
"Dad! You said you'd read it to me, so why are you the only one looking at it?"
"Just a little... let me look just a little longer, then I'll read it to you. Wait!"
Books were, in fact, quite precious objects. Even cheap ones weren't easy for commoners to afford, so opportunities to see them were rare.
Above all, most people who read books were nobles or scholars, so the contents were mostly difficult and full of unfamiliar terms, making them too daunting to even attempt.
But this thing called manga was truly amazing.
Even commoners who couldn't read found the story easy to grasp at a glance, and it naturally made them curious about what the letters in the manga meant.
"So this word means 'ice witch.'"
"Oh-ho, so Elza's freezing ability was because of the ice witch."
"That's right!"
Among the commoners, there were some who could read, so they took on the role of interpreting the manga's contents for the crowds that gathered.
The work was normally tedious and exhausting, but in exchange the people doing it got to spend more time with the manga than anyone else, so they were satisfied too.
However, each village only had a single shared copy of the manga, so there were always more people wanting to read it than could, and those too impatient to wait their turn
"How much is this Kingdom of Ice?"
chose to go directly to the branches of Yuren Merchant Company, the sole seller of the manga, and buy it themselves.
"Kingdom of Ice is currently on sale at the special price of 10 silver."
"Damn, can't be helped. Still, if I stretch a little, I can afford this much."
10 silver wasn't a small sum for a commoner, but it wasn't an entirely impossible amount either.
If they gave up drinking or entertainment for about a month, they could buy it, so the number of people purchasing their own copy—both to show their children and to read themselves—grew day by day.
'This price is only possible because of the imperial family's subsidy.'
The Yuren Merchant Company employee marveled as they looked at the book.
Only 10 silver for a book. Even ordinary storybooks cost dozens of silver, yet this manga was every bit as well made as most books while being vastly cheaper.
'Just how is this paper made?'
The cover, made from that unusual material, fascinated them no matter how many times they looked at it.
It didn't get wet easily and didn't crumple readily, so even the shared copies being passed around among villagers were still in perfect condition.
The story itself was so entertaining that they had secretly set aside a copy and bought it early to read.
Honestly, with the previous picture books, there were parts that felt childish to him, so they were merely intriguing—but this one had captivated him from the first look.
A princess cursed by an ice witch saving a kingdom—wasn't that just magnificent?
Especially during the magical fight scenes, they had caught themselves making excited noises like a little kid.
'I heard this one's definitely coming out in other editions too.'
Rumors had already spread everywhere that, like the previous picture books, it would be released in hardcover or limited editions.
Those were probably available only at the main branch. Sales would likely be restricted to the company's best customers, but as an employee, perhaps they could get one too?
With that thought, he checked the balance of the money he had saved up.
It was tight, but it seemed like enough to buy at least the hardcover edition, and a small smile crept onto his face.
***
"How insolent. Is this not clearly mocking me?"
Crown Prince Alex was in a foul mood. When word came that the literacy campaign project led by his younger sister, the Imperial Princess, had produced results, he had ordered a copy brought to him.
<Kingdom of Ice>. The Crown Prince originally disliked books, so he had intended only to check it, but once he started, he found it interesting and ended up reading the whole thing on the spot.
But once he finished reading, irritation welled up.
Could it be mere coincidence that the protagonist of a work the Imperial Princess was involved in was a princess?
And moreover, the male villain named Hans who tormented the protagonist sisters.
The character felt as though he had been modeled on Alex himself. At first, Alex had assumed his inferiority complex toward the Imperial Princess was simply making him paranoid.
But no matter how he looked at it, this was clearly a work satirizing his relationship with the Imperial Princess.
'You pathetic fool. How much more must I tolerate you? If you were even half of your younger sister, there would never have been any talk about succession rights.'
The Imperial Princess, who was always mentioned as a comparison against him.
He knew. Compared to his own incompetence, either the Imperial Princess or the Third Prince was far better material for emperor.
But
'I believe the empire must follow the law of primogeniture. I have no desire for the throne.'
He hated his younger sister, who lived aloofly as if she had no interest in such things, to the point of madness.
If she would just curse him, criticize him, or call him incompetent, at least he would not feel so bottled up. Instead, the Imperial Princess always offered nothing but empty encouragement, telling him he would do well.
With nowhere to vent that anger, he drank every day and took out his irritation on those around him, so his reputation worsened, and that in turn made him angry and drove him to drink again—an endless vicious cycle.
He knew he had to break this cycle, but it wasn't easy.
Each day was such agony that he sometimes wanted to just throw the throne at someone else.
"The second one has it easiest. I envy him."
His father, the Emperor, only paid attention to his eldest son, himself; his only daughter, the Imperial Princess; and the youngest, the Third Prince.
The second son, the Second Prince, spent every day busy seducing women and carousing, yet received not even a scrap of attention.
The man himself was dissatisfied with that and caused even more trouble, but from his perspective, that was enviable beyond measure.
"I should at least issue a warning."
The mastermind behind this whole affair was probably the Imperial Princess. He couldn't tell whether she meant to rebuke her lazy brother or was quietly revealing that she truly wanted the throne.
Would an artist really have drawn such insolent satire entirely on his own?
Of course, if he accused the Imperial Princess on suspicion alone, everyone would just denounce him again for acting like a delinquent Crown Prince.
So he had to content himself with warning the artist who had acted as her puppet.
For the first time in a long while, he picked up a pen and personally wrote out a letter.
That fellow was probably nothing more than a puppet following the Imperial Princess's orders anyway. A measured warning should be enough to make him understand.
"Deliver this to the second son of House Somerset."
"Yes, Your Highness."
After the attendant left with the letter, Alex's eyes drifted back to the manga.
It might have been satire, but it had still been entertaining. With that thought, the Crown Prince started again from the beginning.
***
"This crown and staff from Kingdom of Ice absolutely must be included."
"Of course. And there should definitely be demand for this dress too."
"That'd have to be sold as merchandise for nobles. It's far too expensive to produce for the general market."
Esteban and I enthusiastically went through the list of merchandise we wanted to produce.
Before <Kingdom of Ice> was published, I had actually felt a bit anxious.
When I first released the picture books, I had been certain children would love them, but I thought a manga would definitely be either a huge hit or a total flop.
The merchant company head's confidence after seeing the manuscript, and even the order to greatly increase the print run that came down after I presented the completed work to the Imperial Princess—none of it dispelled my anxiety.
But
'They locked up Ada... Ada is the ice princess who lost her memories.'
Seeing Ada completely immersed in the role of Elza, the heroine of Kingdom of Ice, gave me confidence.
Ada, standing on the balcony in the middle of winter wearing only a thin sky-blue dress.
The maids and Alain the butler had tried to put a coat on her, warning that she would catch a cold, but she stubbornly insisted that an ice princess did not get cold.
In the end, she caught a cold and ended up lying in bed coughing, but even there she was delighted, saying she had been confined like an ice princess.
And perhaps thanks to Ada's reaction, Kingdom of Ice was finally released and became explosively popular.
The number of copies distributed for public use alone was enormous, but the number of standalone volumes sold outright exceeded double that.
Even with the profit margin cut to the bone, sales were so overwhelming that the money coming in dwarfed my previous earnings—enough to make me doubt my own eyes.
"Ha ha ha. I never expected Master Rupert himself to buy wine from Charlean."
The merchant company head said, gazing at the wine glass placed before him.
Charlean wine, a specialty said to come from the Charlean territory in the southern region.
It was one of the wines nobles went crazy for, a luxury whose refined, elegant aroma was praised as heavenly.
A price like that would once have been unthinkable, but now I could comfortably afford wine this expensive.
'Now this is what a proper noble looks like.'
I drank wine with the merchant company head and continued reviewing the merchandise business.
The factory was already built, and all the workers, including the artisans, had been secured, so all that remained was to decide on the items and begin production—the review went smoothly.
"So then, this Olaf doll is definitely included?"
"Yes, that one will definitely be popular. Just a moment—probably something like this shape...."
Olaf was definitely a character that would be a huge hit, so I absolutely had to make him into a doll. Wait, I needed to draw this out to show him.
I looked around for scrap paper and spotted some stationery sitting on the desk.
'Ah, I can use this.'
I began sketching the design for the Olaf plush doll on the back of that stationery.
"Hmm, with a shape like that it certainly could be popular... W-wait, Master Rupert. That seal is—!!!"
The merchant company head, who had been watching, startled and stopped me.
"What's the matter?"
"Isn't that the imperial family's crest?! Surely it isn't another letter from Her Highness the Imperial Princess? No, that's not the important part—you're using a letter from the imperial family as scrap paper!!!"
Ah, I wondered what it was.
This was a letter from the Crown Prince.
"His Highness the Crown Prince sent me a letter."
"Whatever for?"
"Oh, it said something like—there were unpleasant parts in the work's content, exercise restraint from now on, reconsider before creating things. Anyway, it's just nonsense."
As I spoke, the company head's face visibly drained of color.
"Master Rupert, that's His Highness the Crown Prince! This isn't something we can simply ignore—it's a serious matter."
There he went, overreacting again. The merchant company head was a good man, but he occasionally made a fuss with this kind of exaggeration.
Come to think of it, the company head didn't know what would happen to the Crown Prince, did he?
Of course. I knew how the original web novel unfolded, so the Crown Prince himself didn't frighten me much.
That man would soon be deposed and left out in the cold.
Still, there was no harm in being careful.
"Don't worry, Esteban. We'll be fine for the time being."
Even at my words, the merchant company head fretted, worried that the Crown Prince had expressed displeasure.
But I also figured there was no need to antagonize a Crown Prince who hadn't been deposed yet, so I had sent a reply with a suitable excuse, and there shouldn't be any problem.
'I merely did as the Imperial Princess instructed. I apologize that a mere artist such as myself dared to offend His Highness the Crown Prince.'
I had recast that message in archaic, highly formal prose before sending it, so he would probably direct his resentment toward the Imperial Princess.