The Heroines Are After My Fortune

17 – The Star-Making Project

“Alright, you said you’d tell me once we got here, so tell me straight. Just what were you thinking, launching this whole thing with just that harebrained plan?”

Rene had finally calmed down, and the two of us were sitting side-by-side in a movie theater screening room that I’d rented out entirely. Bringing her here was intended to make my plan easier to grasp.

Of course, there were many aspects I couldn’t explain right now, like Caesar, who would appear at the plan’s climax, or the Marquis’s devastating weakness. But if I kept talking vaguely, she would probably give me a real beatdown, so I decided to give her an explanation she could reasonably accept.

What was the core of it all anyway?

It was about making her the Empire’s biggest celebrity.

And the means I chose for that was ‘film.’

It was the field where my overflowing wealth and modern knowledge could create the greatest synergy.

‘I had thoughts of getting into the movie business, but not so damn soon…’

Being a specialist, of course, makes it what I can do best, but to not suck the honey out of this new media, born of a writer’s cheap tricks like magi-engineering, would be just my loss.

The raw power that only moving pictures can give is irreplaceable. Especially now, when the culture of watching movies isn’t even properly rooted, it’s clear I can pack an even bigger punch.

“Within this short 100 days we have, Lady, you must become a being like a star.”

“…A star?”

“Yes, when you raise your head to the sky, you can always look up to it, but it’s a distant thing, hard to approach.”

Renee tilts her head.

If she becomes a literal ‘star’, and her status grows to a colossal size within the Empire, the public opinion would turn so sour on the Marquis that sending her to some ‘nouveau riche Baron’ like me for a political marriage would be impossible. From there, I’ll start anew, knitting a net to ensnare the Marquis.

“Ah, it looks like it’s starting.”

The movie had begun, and both of us fell silent, starting to watch.

What we’re seeing now is a movie called ‘Knight Valiant’.

[You scum, Osman! I shall punish your wickedness with my sword!]

[Ugh, Valiant you…! When did you become so strong…!?]

To give a rough summary, it’s about a wandering knight named Valiant, full of knightly virtue, traveling across the Empire and saving those in peril.

The predictable development, that old hat plot, coupled with the characters’ clunky action sequences, made me yawn, but surprisingly, in this world, it’s a masterpiece. Just look at Renee, completely engrossed in the screen, watching the knight’s epic story. I added a little explanation for her.

“It’s not a well-known fact, but apparently after this movie was released, the character Valiant became a sort of standard among the real knights. They often imitate Valiant’s clothing, his gait, even the way he draws his sword.”

That’s what Casano, the knight of our house, told me.

He was the one who recommended it to me, saying he was a huge fan.

“Huh? But, that’s not a real knight, is it?”

“Isn’t it fascinating? The character Valiant is just a fake, an actor playing a knight, yet the real knights are raving about him.”

It’s a known thing, you know, how when the old movie ‘The Godfather’ came out, Italian mafiosos, seeing those slick mobsters on screen, were moved to tears, and copied their look. It’s a common thing, really, for a fake to become the ideal of the real.

“…Fake and real.”

Renee is looking at the screen with a serious face at my words. I added another comment to her, as if she were deep in thought.

“Film holds endless possibilities. If we can create the conditions where enough people can see it, then the beautiful looks of ‘Renee Este’, her voice like jade beads rolling, each elegant movement of her, it can all be etched into the minds of countless people in this Empire.”

“R, really…?”

“Yes. If my plan works out, Young Lady, you will become an object of desire for the women of the Empire, someone they want to emulate. And for the men, just thinking of you will make their hearts flutter.”

Renee is embarrassed by the sudden, direct praise. But soon, her expression darkens, as if something is bothering her.

“But, is it really okay?”

“Is there something you’re worried about?”

“I’ve never acted before. It will be difficult for me to do well.”

“…………….”

Now that she says it, I too had questions.

From when did I believe without a sliver of doubt that she would show outstanding talent when it comes to acting, when I laid out this plan? The reason lay within a conversation from a day before the possession.

###

Back in my freshman year, during a class in the Theater and Film Department, a question arose, and I once tossed it to an older classmate I was close to.

“Hey, sis, can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, what is it?”

This older sister, who had entered the university late after working in theatre in Daehak-ro, was the most skilled out of all of us. Rumors about her monstrous acting ability ran wild through the department. After I was drafted, she had caught the eye of a famous director and even went to Cannes, so there was no need to mention her abilities.

At the time, I thought this sister, the only one I truly respected, was the only one who could solve my question.

“Looking at what our classmates do, it seems the girls are a bit better. Do you think so too?”

“Yeah, I see it too.”

Though some of the naturally talented male classmates were like awls poking out from a pocket, the average acting skills of the female classmates were a bit better. It was the same conclusion, no matter which section I looked at.

“Just a coincidence, or what do you think?”

“Um, what I’m about to say is just my personal opinion, okay?”

I nodded my head emphatically. Then, with a soft smile, she spoke.

“After all, while talent is a pretty important factor in how fast one develops in acting, I don’t think we can ignore the environment they’ve lived in and the experiences they’ve gained, you know? But, do you know how girls spend their school years?”

“Not really…?”

“It’s a daily political battlefield. Small groups of three or four girls are like that, and it’s the same if you expand the group to the whole class. If you make even a minor mistake, rumors spread across the whole school the next day, and you get treated like an invisible person. So, there are many girls who live with a mask on, unable to show their true selves. You never know when you’ll be the next target, right? It’s better to just hold back what you want to say, rather than get ostracized.”

“Wow, girls are savage.”

“Anyway, maybe those experiences are the reason? Acting, in a way, is also about putting on the mask of a character in the script.”

“Hmm…”

“Ah, right. But there is a moment when the male actors definitely take off and reverse things. Do you know when that is?”

“When?”

“When they come back from the military.”

“-Pfft, that’s funny.”

As someone who hadn’t served, I just laughed.

After experiencing those two years of shitty time, I realized that it was absolutely nothing to laugh about, but at that time, I laughed.

“Isn’t this villainess character in the script hard? She gets angry, cries, yells, and her emotions are all over the place.”

The play script we were working with at the time was a typical classical romance. The question came up because she, the most talented in acting, was playing the villainess.

“It’s hard, sickeningly hard. I’m just at the level of imitating her.”

“You’re this good, and it’s just… mimicking?”

I was kind of shocked, because with her, I just figured she’d say it was a piece of cake.

“Put simply, it’s hard because you have to act like ‘someone who’s good at acting.’”

“What the heck does that mean? Isn’t she just a woman with a terrible personality?”

The villainess’s character was basically summed up as “a socialite wrecking ball with a rotten disposition,” so her interpretation of “someone good at acting” didn’t make sense. I asked again and she gave a little snort.

“You don’t know how scary the social circles of nobles are, do you? We act for a living so there’s no real danger, but those people, one big mistake and their heads roll.

Their everyday, breathing, living is all just a stage play. Do you think someone who can dominate a place like that is ordinary? If the social scene is like hydrochloric acid, what those girls went through in school is nothing more than a salt solution, at best.”

“Oh, I see…”

It was just a fleeting conversation, but what my sister said that day left a pretty big impression on me.

######

It was the original Rene who, in the chaotic mess of high society, used her godly manipulation and deflections to make other young ladies dare not even look at her.

Acting nice, acting innocent, acting sick, acting sad, acting like she knows, acting like she’s not mad…

There’s a reason they say she had nine tails. She was capable of perfectly pulling out the emotional lines that would benefit her in any situation, and acting them out flawlessly. Of course, reading it on the page is different than seeing it in reality, but the shapeshifting performances she showed in the original shouldn’t be taken lightly.

“I have a discerning eye, you know. Milady will do well. Absolutely.”

“But, even if you say so…”

I couldn’t exactly base my judgment on events from the original story that hadn’t happened yet, so instead of being honest I decided to pump her up with some nice-sounding fluff.

“Miss Rene, in all your life, have you ever truly revealed your true self to anyone?”

“Why do you ask that?”

“I’d imagine, you likely haven’t.”

After hesitating for a moment, Rene looked into my eyes and nodded.

“……Right. Not nearly, but completely gone. Until just a while ago, that is.”

Was what she showed me that day meant to be the ‘real René Este’?

“On stage, the ‘masking’ that you, young lady, have done so well up until now is the greatest virtue. Those who do it well are given the title of master actor.”

“…………”

Her expression turned quite serious at my words. She seemed caught in a web of complicated thoughts. Perhaps a sense of doubt, wondering if she had to hide and embellish herself even here.

“But it’s alright to reveal your true self. The audience isn’t stupid. What ultimately moves them, what gives them that ‘resonance,’ comes from the sincerity deep within an actor’s heart.”

“………!”

No sooner had I finished speaking, a spark returned to René’s eyes.

She no longer hesitated.

“I’ll do it, the acting.”

It seems she had always yearned for it.

To reveal her ‘true self’ before everyone.

I smiled broadly at her, now determined.

“Good. I believe you’ll work hard, but there’s no need to feel burdened. Even if we fail, just consider it a fond memory, and it’ll all end when the two of us get married, won’t it?”

“…Hmmm, not wrong, but that’s kind of infuriating.”

“Haha, just relax. No one’s dying, are they?”

*Yeah, someone is dying~*

*If this fails, the Marquis will come for my head right away~*

*Shit, we absolutely cannot fail.*

Now that I’ve begun this project to make René famous, she and I are a team bound by fate. I, with the devil’s contract, a target for murder to eliminate the evidence. And she, the sacrifice for the devil’s contract. To survive, we both must succeed.

“Lord Aiden, there is one more thing that worries me.”

“Ask away, anything.”

*Inwardly, I thought, is she always this worried?* But I responded as if it were nothing.

“I can believe in the potential of film now. But what you mentioned earlier, ‘circumstances for a sufficient number of people to see it,’ isn’t that the biggest problem? The cost of a movie ticket must be a burden for the vast majority of commoners in the Empire…”

Hearing that, it was a perfectly valid point to raise.

Indeed, the reason only nobles enjoyed movies had no other explanation. It was simply that they were ‘too expensive’ for the others. But who am I? Isn’t my only redeeming quality my overflowing money?

“Ah, Miss. You didn’t know yet?”

“………?”

“This cinema we’re sitting in now, it’s mine.”

“Wha…!”

Renee was shocked; acquiring a business of this scale in the capital must have cost a considerable amount. She hadn’t expected I would go this far for my plan.

“You must have spent a lot of money. Still, with a theater this size, if you can promote it well with exclusive screenings–”

“What are you saying? How can I make you known throughout the entire Empire with just one theater?”

“Huh? Then you didn’t just buy this building?”

“I’ve bought at least one in every city in the Empire. Probably around ten. I’m also planning to build more themed cinemas.”

“Ten, ten places…!? Why on earth would you go that far…”

Renee’s jaw dropped at my exorbitant spending. *Actually, I tried to buy around thirty, but they weren’t for sale*. I’d probably have bought quite a few more in a month or two. I needed to struggle this hard if I was going to survive.

“Watch. You will soon witness a new culture blooming within the Empire.”

*I’ll show you now, properly*.

Just how you throw money around.

###

“Newspapers, get your papers!”

The weekend was serene, the delivery boy passed by, and the morning papers thumped down in front of doors. Thompson, a common folk, picked up the paper and began to read the headline aloud.

“The boss has gone mad, Loewen Theaters nationwide reopening, classic movies playing again for a mere 40 coppers during the event period…!?”

His mustache began to twitch furiously. 40 coppers was less than half, less than half of the average movie price of 2 silvers. A golden chance to experience the highbrow culture usually reserved for noble sirs, with the pocket change it’d take to watch a play at the local theater troupe. He shoved on his shoes and dashed out towards the address on the paper.

“Honey, where are you going—!”

“The movie theater!”

“Has the man lost his mind…! How are we to afford such a place!”

“It’s 40 coppers, they say! You follow quick too…!”

“…Oh my!”

At the insane discount, the tightly closed wallets of the common people began to crack open ever so slightly. And with that, a new wind began to blow through the empire. A gale big enough to cause a massive shift in the existing culture.