The original speech calling for struggle and liberation was changed to one advocating reconciliation, love, and forgiveness.
“Senior Rosalyn? Are you alright?”
“Oh? Ah, I’m sorry. I was lost in thought.”
Rosalyn Wenford, strolling through the academy grounds with Balthazar, suddenly snapped back to reality at her junior’s call.
“What were you so deep in thought about? Is sothing troubling you again?”
“No, not at all. Just sothing on my mind.”
Rosalyn replied with a bright, cheerful smile and clasped her hands behind her back.
Balthazar, who was always by her side, protecting her from scheming n, was a kind and thoughtful junior. Yet, even to him, there were worries she couldn’t share.
‘Could Diana be right?’
Was it possible that the playwright Phantom was a fellow Bronde student?
The speculation her best friend shared at Blanc Les Joies was stuck in her head.
The Crown Princess had presented two pieces of evidence.
Firstly, the unique vocabulary evident in Phantom’s scripts.
According to Diana’s observations, there was a distinct pattern in the words Phantom used.
They were advanced vocabulary words that Bronde Academy students learned to cultivate their refinent as gentlen and ladies of high society; expressions that were rarely used in everyday life or social settings, but mandatory within the walls of Bronde, appeared in fragnted forms throughout his work.
And secondly, the fact that Phantom deliberately concealed their identity.
If Phantom wasn’t from the upper class, there would be no reason to hide their identity.
If wealth and fa were their sole objectives as an artist, it would be more advantageous to reveal themselves and bask in the spotlight.
The fact that they were so adamant about remaining anonymous suggested they were likely concerned about being seen associating with actors, who were considered to be of a lower social standing.
Combining these reasons, there was only one conclusion to draw.
‘She must be right. Diana’s always been sharp.’
But if that’s the case, who exactly could it be?
She had spent the past few days observing students with artistic talent, suspicion swirling in her mind.
However, not a single individual convinced her to be the one.
And as she struggled to reach a clear conclusion—
“Balthazar?”
“Yes, Senior?”
“Perhaps… Phantom has lost soone dear to them.”
“…What makes you say that?”
Rosalyn, unable to contain her thoughts, finally voiced her speculation.
“I just have a feeling. The sorrow of Admiral Lee, who lost his mother during the war, and the grief of Caesar, who lost his daughter during the Gallic Wars… there’s a depth of emotion in their writing that could only co from experiencing loss firsthand.”
Admiral Lee’s sorrow for his mother, who died of illness while coming to visit him while he was forced to serve as a common soldier, stripped of his rank.
Julius Caesar’s grief for his daughter, Julia Caesaris, who died in childbirth.
Both roles showcased an emotional depth that seed impossible to create from nothing.
Rosalyn could empathize well with that sadness. After all, she was a daughter who had almost tragically lost her father, Sir William Wenford.
And so, Rosalyn arrived at a conclusion.
“Perhaps… Phantom has already lost their mother. That’s why they were able to capture the grief of losing a mother or a daughter so vividly. What do you think, Balthazar?”
“…..…”
“Balthazar? What’s wrong? You look pale.”
“No, it’s just… Saying soone’s mother has passed away… it feels a bit…”
“Hmm? Why?”
Without realizing it, Rosalyn had inadvertently pronounced the death of Balthazar’s very much alive mother. And not understanding the origin of his troubled expression, she looked at him with an innocent face.
At that mont,
“Urgent news! Urgent news!”
An academy student ca running from the other side, out of breath.
He shouted loudly, his voice reaching every student nearby—
“News about Phantom’s new play! Premiering this coming Monday! Not at the Killgrewber Theater Company, but at the Geloroushina Public Theater!”
✧❅✦❅✧
, the localized version of Charlie Chaplin, had an explosive impact on society.
However, this impact was neither grand nor revolutionary.
It didn’t inspire the courage of soldiers like .
Nor did it reform the mindsets of politicians like .
Instead, Charlie Chaplin’s brand of cody brought a far more fundantal and concrete change—
It brought laughter.
“Pfft, hehe…!”
“Snort, heh!”
“We are in the middle of a lecture. Please be quiet.”
The professor, who was drawing elental magic formulas on the blackboard, reprimanded the students.
The students imdiately clamped their mouths shut, trying to contain their laughter.
Yet their efforts were in vain.
“Pfft!”
“Heh! Hehehe…!”
This ti, it was a different part of the lecture hall that erupted in giggles.
And when everyone in the classroom instinctively realized what had caused the laughter—
“Bwahahaha!”
“Ahahahaha! Hahaha!”
“Heehee, huh, hah…”
The sacred hall of learning was instantly transford into an arena of infectious mirth.
Seniors and juniors, male and female students, all joined in.
Even the professor, who was initially annoyed, found himself succumbing to the infectious laughter, recalling Chaplin’s antics.
This change was not limited to the academy.
People all across the empire were bursting into laughter.
Even sworn enemies who had been at each other’s throats until recently were now bursting into laughter at the sight of one another.
“Ha ha ha, I apologize for back then. I was too narrow-minded, wasn’t I?”
“Heh heh, no, I’m the one who behaved selfishly. I’m sorry too.”
“Mrs. Marx, please take so of these potatoes. It’s a token of my apology for what I said before.”
“Thank you. Mrs. Hans, please accept these turnips. I’m sorry for giving you the cold shoulder.”
Laughter transcended borders.
It had a power that went beyond age, gender, personality, and social status.
And at the heart of this laughter stood a mustachioed gentleman in a black bowler hat, cane in hand.
[Cheer up! Don’t talk about dying! We’ll get through this!]
‘Chaplin,’ the protagonist who appeared in all the series, offered more than just cheap laughs.
He offered much more than cheap laughs.
His delicate and warm depictions soothed the hard lives of the common people.
As a result, after a challenging day, people naturally began to find solace in bringing their ticket money to Geloroushina Theatre.
Watching , they cheered for the daring story of an ordinary man.
Watching , they reveled in the protagonist’s hilarious success.
Watching , they collectively imagined an uncertain but hopeful future.
But the work that exploded in popularity among people of all ages and social statuses was .
[Those who spread hate enslave us while liberating themselves! Let us co together and fulfill the promises they made! Let us sing together to eradicate greed, hatred, and exclusion! Let us march forward together to create a world governed by common sense, a world where the advancents in magic and technology bring happiness to all!]
“Hahaha, well said!”
“Hey, young man! Don’t choke on your words like last ti, hahaha!”
, a reimagining of Charlie Chaplin’s tiless masterpiece, , beca a phenonal success despite its liberal origins, thanks to Phantom’s clever adaptations.
[So, in the na of our benevolent Emperor, let us use that power! Let us achieve harmony!]
‘Hynkel’, the dictator, was now the Mayor Hynkel, governing the fictional city of ‘Tomania’.
The oppressed masses were now the citizens, suffering under the incompetent mayor.
The original speech calling for struggle and liberation was changed to one advocating reconciliation, love, and forgiveness.
And instead of advocating for democracy like the original, the play was tweaked to suggest that the citizens were suffering because they had elected a foolish, boastful leader through the democratic process of voting.
Hynkel’s real-life counterpart was Adolf Hitler, the dictator who had been elected by the democratic vote of the German people.
Phantom, knowing this, had cleverly reflected history and twisted the the slightly.
This resulted in a sophisticated satire that maintained an acceptable level of propriety even by imperial standards. It was a performance that could be enjoyed without making anyone, commoners or nobles, excessively uncomfortable.
“Ha ha, that was fun today. See you tomorrow, my friend.”
“Indeed. You treated today, so drinks are on tomorrow.”
“Hey, how about we all go on a family picnic next ti? It would be nice for the kids to have so fun.”
After watching a cody, people surprisingly forgot all the day’s fatigue.
All those grudges and resentnts, that pent-up frustration in their hearts, lted away.
The power to achieve unity, championed by the barber Chaplin, the protagonist of .
That was the gift Phantom had bestowed upon the people of the Empire.
…Of course, this power also ca with its fair share of side effects.
“S-So, pfft! The defense budget set by the Parliant for this year… snort!”
“The movents of barbarian tribes appearing at the border… ! gasp And the weapon systems of the Imperial Army … hahaha!”
“Hey! Get a hold of yourself! Do you think this council eting is a joke?”
“I-I apologize, Your Excellency! I’m trying my best, but it’s Phantom’s new play— snort! That scene where the starving Big Jim mistakes Chaplin for a chicken and chases after him! Bwahahaha—!!”
“D-damn it! I was barely holding it in but now that you ntioned it ha-ha-snort!”
Laughter was breaking out not only in public administrative offices…,
…but even in council etings discussing matters of state.
It was so severe that there were days when these etings would adjourn with nothing but laughter achieved.
As the old saying goes, ‘Laughter is contagious.’
Phantom had unwittingly unleashed a laughter epidemic upon the empire.
And regrettably, there was no redy to be found.
— End of Chapter —
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