Surviving as a Plagiarist in Another World

< Chapter 10: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (5) >

People say that one can faint from overwhelming joy.

“Ah, I was deeply impressed by the piece you submitted. The mythological interpretation where an ‘angel’ appears directly… it didn’t quite fit the atmosphere of the original work, but it seemed like it could seed a very unique creation.”

“Heh, h-heh… To have my work praised by Author Homer himself, such an honor—”

“Ah?”

But I never expected to witness such a scene in reality.

And it wasn’t just once.

* * *

There was a minor incident where a winner fainted, but fortunately, the ceremony proceeded without major issues.

The winner quickly recovered after receiving treatment from a priest who rushed over.

“Now, moving on to the next award, the winner of the Best Award— ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde’ written by Maiden! Congratulations! Please come up to the stage.”

“Yes~.”

Even without seeing her face, I knew who it was.

In fact, I knew the moment I read her work.

A radical piece about Dr. Jekyll awakening his ‘femininity,’ Hyde, after consuming a potion.

“It was a very unique and interesting novel. Especially the inner depiction of ‘Mrs. Hyde,’ who has Jekyll’s memories but can only see herself as a woman, was exquisite.”

“Oh my, to receive such praise from Author Homer himself, what an honor.”

The Empire’s third prince.

He was the author of ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde,’ disguised in the familiar form of a maid.

The prince, covering his mouth with his fingertips, chuckled.

“Just thinking about meeting Author Homer at the ceremony made me so excited.”

“Ha ha… Thank you.”

Every time I face this gentleman, my mouth dries up. It feels as though an invisible force is pressing down on me.

Is this the power of authority?

Terrifying, authority!

I must hand over the award quickly and finish this.

“Then, I will present the award. The Best Award…”

After presenting the prince with his award.

And after the award for the grand prize went to a participant who adapted the original work into a play titled ‘Jekyll and Hyde.’

I recited the prepared lines, readying the final event.

“Once again, I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone who participated in the contest. To show our appreciation, we have prepared a little surprise. Miss Dorling?”

“Yes!”

“Please bring the potion.”

Miss Dorling, the president, wheeled out a desk hidden behind the stage.

On the desk lay a concoction created by an alchemist.

“This is the potion from my novel, ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,’ that awakens Hyde.”

My sudden announcement caused a buzz among the people in the auditorium.

I tapped the magic amplifier to calm everyone down and continued speaking.

“Although I said that, it’s actually a bit different. If the potion in the novel separates and manifests only the ‘evil side’ of the soul, this potion allows the true form of the soul to manifest in the body without the fear of losing control like in the novel. Feel free to use it.”

“Are you saying it’s okay to use—”

“Yes. I intend to give one to each of the awardees today, but only to those who wish to receive it.”

My statement heated up the auditorium even more.

Some looked eager, while others paled at the thought of the ‘Hyde’ from the novel.

And then,

Among them, one person looked particularly stern as they gazed at the ‘potion.’

“If any of the awardees wish to receive the potion, please come forward.”

Amidst the hesitance, a man—appearing as a woman—was the first to dash forward.

It was the Empire’s third prince.

* * *

The Empire’s third prince.

Idris’s existence was an affront to the imperial dignity itself. Born a prince with every right to grasp all that the Empire could offer, yet he perceived himself as a ‘woman.’

He had visited exorcists, thinking a demon possessed him, and met with mental magicians at the magical tower for his supposed madness.

But the diagnosis was always the same: normal, normal, normal. There was nothing wrong with the prince; he simply defined himself as a woman despite being born in a man’s body.

Eventually, the Emperor buried the existence of the third prince in the shadows.

“Your Highness. Are you truly intending to take this dubious potion?”

“Enoch.”

“Taking an unknown potion recklessly is—”

“Think about it, we have known each other for a long time, haven’t we?”

“Yes.”

The shadow of the third prince.

Enoch was a royal bastard. He was of royal blood but couldn’t claim this truth.

That’s why he could be a shadow.

Should the third prince suddenly perish before the Emperor, then Enoch would ‘truly’ step into the role of the third prince.

Both Enoch and the prince were aware of this fact.

“Enoch. Don’t you find it incredibly tiresome to live as someone’s shadow all your life?”

“I only think of it as an honor to be able to stand in for Your Highness.”

“I find it extremely tedious. Hiding behind a shadow like this… contemplating.”

If Enoch had shown even a slight lack of loyalty to the prince, the person now addressed as ‘Your Highness’ would not have been Idris, but Enoch himself.

The prince, suddenly realizing this truth, murmured with a trembling voice.

“In fact, even if drinking this can indeed prove the ‘true form’ of my soul… nothing might change. It might be more comfortable for His Majesty if the shadow continues to be the prince, rather than correcting the fact that the prince was actually a princess.”

“Your Highness.”

“Enoch. So, um, I just want to confirm. That I… wasn’t wrong.”

With a wistful smile, the prince opened the bottle of the potion and, without hesitation, drank it all at once.

“Ah… It’s not as painful as I thought… Have I changed much?”

At first glance, the prince seemed unchanged.

Still beautiful, his deep eyes could make any man shrink like a frog in front of a snake, and his languid smile made the hearts of unsuspecting men flutter.

However, having watched over the prince for a lifetime, Enoch could see the changes.

“You’ve changed a lot.”

“I should have drunk the potion in front of a mirror. I made the same mistake as Dr. Jekyll. Haha.”

His chest, hidden beneath lace decorations to disguise a plain physique, now swelled prominently, and he seemed shorter, his overall appearance more feminine.

Although his features had barely changed—

Even Enoch, who had always been the prince’s shadow, momentarily felt his heart race with the femininity that now graced her.

Looking down at her own body for a moment, the prince suddenly gave an awkward laugh and covered her mouth as if embarrassed.

“It feels a bit… empty below. I must really have become a woman.” “Your Highness.”

“I need to ask where to get this potion from Mr. Homer. Enoch, we need to schedule—”

“…”

“Enoch?”

Enoch turned his head away from the prince’s gaze.

Only then did the prince, blinking in a daze, feel the warm liquid flowing down her cheeks.

It was improper for a servant to witness their master’s tears, which is why Enoch had turned away.

Realizing the truth, the prince wiped his tears with the back of his hand and said playfully,

“Haah… I look pretty ridiculous right now, don’t I?”

“Not at all. Your Highness is always beautiful.”

“Hehe, how can you tell when you’re looking away? Just a moment. The tears will stop soon…”

“…”

“Haha… Why won’t the tears stop? Uh, just a moment, sniff, sob…”

That day.

On the carriage ride back to the imperial palace.

Enoch had no choice but to keep turning his head away until the carriage stopped.

* * *

After the award ceremony.

I briefly explained my future plans to Miss Dorling.

“I’m thinking of creating an academy to nurture literary talents.”

“An academy…?”

“Yes. I’m thinking of starting it as a pilot project centered around a few of the award winners from this competition.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The most important purpose of holding the ‘Second Creation Competition’ was to secure promising writers. Ultimately, the goal was to teach these aspiring writers knowledge and techniques from my past life to produce more works.

Especially for genres like ‘detective novels’ or ‘historical novels’, which cannot simply be plagiarized with knowledge from a past life, I needed collaborators to complete such works.

It was a kind of discipleship.

“Miss, do you think it’s possible?”

“If it’s just a pilot run, it won’t be difficult. But to formally establish an academy, we need the empire’s permission… Ah! Since the Third Prince is sponsoring you, maybe it will be easier than expected!”

“A pilot with just a few people should be sufficient for now, so we can take our time thinking about formally establishing the academy.”

“Understood!”

Good.

I can leave it to Miss Dorling to prepare well. She might be a bit overly dramatic, but her capabilities are trustworthy.

In the meantime, I can continue to advance literature in my own way.

“Miss.”

“Yes!”

“Could you introduce me to a magazine?”

“A magazine?”

“Ah, a cheap one would be better. Something you can read once and throw away.”

“What?”