Chapter 15
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 15: Awakening of Canning?
The Ashley Troupe.
The troupe that stepped forward for the theatrical adaptation of 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」 is that very place?
Considering what the family name of the Imperial Family, the owners of the Empire, was, it was obvious who the ringleader of this matter was.
In fact, it is true that Princess Lydia ‘Ashley’ Aurelion spearheaded this matter.
However, although it is true she spearheaded it, she didn't forcibly concoct something that didn't exist.
It is all true that there were loud voices among upper-class young ladies wishing for the theatrical adaptation of 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」, and that troupes were gauging the situation at those voices. Princess Lydia simply pushed it forward in reality, receiving supporting fire from 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」 fans.
It meant she didn't forcibly plot things saying she would never let her author be discouraged.
Of course, it is true that Princess Lydia, who wanted to resolve the debt in her heart with this opportunity, actively led the work, but it means she only slightly accelerated what would have happened anyway.
There is no merchant in the world who would miss an issue that smells of money this much.
Among merchants too, there were those who fell head over heels for 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」, and there were those plotting to align their virtue with their job, intending to do business combined with fan spirit.
So this didn't mean the Princess employed a scheme to gradually lock Noel up in a can or anything like that──.
“Pardon? The playwright resigned, you say?”
Result-wise, the flow is becoming like that.
To explain what happened, it was like this.
“Y-Yes…. Well, that… saying their pride was hurt and they were mindful of the literary circles, they said they absolutely couldn't do the adaptation….”
“What such….”
What Noel worried about—‘Would a playwright try to adapt it when their pride is hurt?’—actually happened.
If it were adapting a classic masterpiece everyone acknowledged, she wouldn't know, but 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」 wasn't that. This was an issue enough to turn even the public opinion that viewed 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」 favorably.
From the perspective of Princess Lydia, who wasn't an industry insider, she might wonder what the problem was with adapting that, but originally, things like this aren't a matter of rationality but an emotional realm, so it can't be helped.
Such emotions are a problem transcending time and worlds.
When filming a drama or movie based on an original web novel, aren't there cases where drama and broadcast writers ruin it while asserting their own pride?
A sufficiently good work would come out just by reproducing the original as is, but there are cases where they absolutely do nonsense and wreck the work like hitting it with a truck.
Thinking about that, throwing a resignation letter neatly and leaving without sprinkling shit on the original work might rather be gentlemanly behavior.
‘Truly, the pride of people called writers is….’
It can’t be helped.
“Let’s find another playwright and entrust the adaptation.”
At these words of Princess Lydia, the Troupe Leader expressed reluctance for two reasons.
“It won’t be easy to find a writer to adapt it.”
Why it’s hard to find has been explained repeatedly, so skipping that.
“Even if we find one and entrust it, whether a script of good quality will come out is also a problem.”
Just hiring anyone and entrusting the work would cause problems in its own way.
Considering the expectation and interest focused on the play of 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」, they have to do well, but finding a playwright with the ability to overcome those various burdens and pull it off is distant.
“Haa, truly….”
Princess Lydia, who never thought they would come out like this, swallowed a sigh.
She wondered if 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」 succeeding scratched the literary circles’ pride that much.
Then they should just write a better work and win; to engage in a battle of nerves like this.
The Princess fell into thought.
The Troupe Leader at a loss in front of such a Princess.
Time passed with heavy silence, and,
“It can’t be helped.”
Lydia concluded.
Giving up like this felt like losing somehow, so she hated it.
Since the opponent acted childishly, childish feelings fitting her age seemed to well up in Princess Lydia too.
So the solution Princess Lydia came up with was this.
If they can’t find an S-class playwright and entrust the work because they refuse due to hurt pride?
They just need to find several obedient A-class playwrights and entrust the work.
She meant to form a team mainly with writers whom the influence of the literary circles didn't reach or who were in urgent circumstances enough not to care about the literary circles, make them collaborate, and produce a good quality adaptation.
“Pardon?!”
At such an idea of Princess Lydia, the Troupe Leader was horrified.
“No, Princess…? Writing isn't like carving a large statue or anything….”
In this era, writing meant the work of expressing one’s own mental imagery in sentences.
It is a work done solely alone; doing it together makes no sense.
Yet not just interacting and sharing literary communion, but writing a single text together with several people?
It was heresy.
An idea possible because she wasn't an author.
Writing authors working together as a team was too bizarre an idea in this era.
“Is there any reason it won’t work?”
However, in front of the Troupe Leader turning pale with shock, Princess Lydia spoke nonchalantly.
“Authors are people with strong egos. Even if they are rookies── no, precisely because they are rookies, their own colors will be even stronger. Whether such people can truly unite and adapt properly….”
“Wouldn't it be fine if there is someone to hold the center and supervise? Like disciples becoming the hands and feet of a master and making a statue together.”
“Mmm….”
“And we just need to use those who cannot refuse due to livelihood or various reasons.”
Listening to it, the Troupe Leader thought it might make sense, but he was still skeptical due to one fact.
“They might fight over who will be that supervisor. Unless it is someone everyone acknowledges, even if that supervisor borrows the Princess’s authority, other authors won’t cooperate sincerely.”
“Phew, how can literary people be such difficult beings…. Fortunately, there is a good way for that problem too.”
Princess Lydia smiled brightly as if telling him to relax.
“We just need to entrust the supervision to someone everyone has no choice but to acknowledge.”
This was exactly the story of how Noel ended up becoming a ‘Group Project Leader’ while writing a new work.
She didn't intend to do so from the start… but due to these reasons, it became a situation where Princess Lydia was Canning Noel.
‘Huh? This….’
A chilly feeling, familiar yet unwelcome.
The moment she recognized it, Noel’s mouth opened unknowingly.
“Canned?”
Noel muttered as if possessed with a blank expression.
“Pardon? Canned food?”
Hearing that sound, Princess Lydia tilted her head saying she didn't know why she was suddenly looking for preserved food.
“Do you perhaps like canned food? Actually, Rosalyn once introduced it to me saying it’s good to eat simply during training, so I was interested in canned fo──.”
“No no, I hate it. I don’t know about other preserved foods, but I really, really hate ‘Canned Food’.”
Noel denied it, cutting off even the Princess’s words as if saying that’s not it, absolutely not.
It was a reaction that would make anyone wonder if she had a grudge against canned food, and Princess Lydia also just blinked, not knowing the reason.
To such a Princess, Noel appealed desperately that supervising the adaptation was difficult, as if that wasn't important right now.
“Well, it is also a time to focus on the new work….”
Now is the time when selection and concentration are needed.
Writing a new work and adapting?
She could do it if she wanted to, but she didn't want to go through such hardship.
Having already had a similar experience in her past life, she couldn't help but shudder.
She didn't know exactly what problem occurred during the webtoon adaptation process, but the adapting writer fled, and suddenly Kim Doha ended up doing the adaptation as well.
If she said thanks to that, she learned about webtoon adaptation work and could cultivate her ability as an adapter, she would be speaking too positively.
Doing serialization of a new work while also doing adaptation, a task she had never done before, felt like dying.
She didn't want to do something that reminded her of the pain of that time again.
Noel refused causing a fit, but Lydia couldn't understand the reason and tilted her head.
Of course, it is true that the workload increases, but she is only supervising.
Since the adapters below will do the practical work, she just needs to sit in the supervisor’s seat, watch it, and present the direction, right?
‘Am I thinking too simply?’
Princess Lydia wondered if there was some hardship difficult to explain because she didn't know well.
She understood well that she wanted to focus on the new work, but she felt greed wanting Noel to touch the work of making 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」 into a play as well. Herself as a fan cheering for the new work, and herself as a fan wishing for the theatrical adaptation of 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」 to be a huge success, were fighting. Eventually, what won in Princess Lydia’s inner battle was the heart wishing for 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」 to succeed as a play too.
“Lady Noel, I don’t want to burden you either, but….”
Princess Lydia explained the ‘reason’ she avoided explaining properly, worrying in advance if she might get hurt again.
Would she, of all people, try to entrust such work to someone writing a new work because she liked it?
Because circumstances didn't allow it.
She was doing this out of impatience because it seemed the play of 「The Bridges of Imperium Town」 would head in a bad direction if left as is.
“──So the literary circles are setting up an angle of confrontation. I know it can be a burden, but I wanted to ask Lady Noel for the adaptation.”
Because the original author must step up to avoid the play ending as a poor piece of work.
It was a situation where if left like this, the adaptation might turn out bad, bringing disappointment to those who expected it and ridicule from those praying for it to fail.
“Ah, but I have no intention of forcing you. If it is really too hard and you cannot do it, there is also the method of just postponing the adaptation until after the new work is published.”
It wasn't intentional.
It wasn't intentional, but at Princess Lydia’s words, Noel flinched.
『You can’t do it because you lack ability? Right, that can happen. There’s no choice but to just entrust it to someone else and ruin it or postpone it to later.』
Because it sounded like provoking her in this way.
Thinking about it, the start of all this was because she wrote a text scratched by her young sister’s unintentional words.
Noel had surprisingly low resistance to provocation.
Especially toward matters related to competence as an author, she had such a tendency.
Because she had pride in being a successful web novel author.
Because she had the self-esteem that she had a wide spectrum and achieved satisfactory results even in minor genres everyone said would fail.
So she had a tendency to be easily scratched by such not-quite-provocations.
Rather, she could giggle and say “Uh, admitted!” to provocations like “Your writing is trash!” as the critics were doing now….
Moreover, her sense of responsibility for her own work was also large, which was why she stepped up for the webtoon adaptation instead of the writer who ran away.
Hearing that adaptation would be hard without her, she couldn't help but care as much as her affection for the work.
“I never said I couldn't do it.”
Noel asserted as if there were no such weak words in the dictionary of the proud eldest daughter of the Grace Viscountcy.
At such a reaction from Noel──.
‘Aha…? Perhaps Lady Noel is…?’
It was Princess Lydia starting to instinctively master ‘How to Handle’ Noel.