chapter 55
“I thought maybe the other videos would be better, so I tried a different one, but this is even worse. The quality of each crystal recording is all over the place.”
“Ugh, the screen is shaking so much I feel seasick.”
There were several recording crystals, but people naturally started with the one they were most excited about: <The 13th Knight>.
“Wouldn’t it have been better if they just filmed the whole play straight through? Every time they zoom in on the actors, the picture gets so choppy…”
Complaints poured out from everyone. If all the feedback could be summarized in a single sentence:
“Wow, this is really tacky.”
Of course, filming wasn’t the only problem—overall directing was terrible.
“Urgh!”
There was a scene where the main character suffers a major injury—something intense and emotional. But because the directing was so awful, it looked like he was exaggerating in response to a child’s attack.
Even though the lead actor, Robio Tamdaze, gave a fantastic performance, the directing constantly made everything feel off.
The camera angles were bizarre: in scenes where he was supposed to look big and powerful, he instead looked small and weak.
Scenes that needed solemnity came across strangely light and cheerful, killing all tension.
“Unlike Lady Clotilde and the Tower Master’s subscription service, they claimed this was high-quality…”
But there was something even more serious than the terrible directing.
“Compared to Black Moon, the quality is way worse, isn’t it? I can’t even understand what they’re saying. It’s definitely Imperial language, but I can’t make out a word.”
People couldn’t hear the actors’ lines at all.
It was because, unlike Black Moon, they didn’t use transparent equipment to record from up close.
When sound was clear, the equipment visibly showed up in the frame instead.
The problem wasn’t just the crew’s skill—recording technology and equipment were leagues behind.
But when producing <The 13th Knight>, Polius and Josephine, who were once full of passion and attended the play many times, had completely lost objectivity.
Because they had already read the script and knew every detail, they failed to notice how unfriendly the recordings were for viewers.
“At this point, comparing this to Lady Clotilde is an insult—to her.”
The people most obsessed with crystal recordings—thanks to Melanie’s business—were the first to try them, and they compared everything brutally.
And then, the lawsuit hit.
[Half-brothers face an exposed gap in skill—public reaction?]
[Red Sun: from terrible quality to copyright violations… How far will the self-proclaimed rival of Black Moon fall?]
[<The 13th Knight>: glory that should have stayed in the past.]
Provocative headlines flooded the newspapers.
But unlike last time, these negative articles were exactly what Melanie intended.
She remembered how Red Sun’s PR blitz—full of sensational rumors—created massive buzz when they started their business.
Even though it damaged Melanie’s personal reputation, it still advertised crystal recordings themselves.
So this time, she used the newspapers intentionally, but in reverse.
“Make sure no one knows the information came from us. Distribute documents about the lawsuit to the press.”
Last time, Polius and Josephine mixed in words like “half-brother” and “ex-fiancée” to make things sensational.
“So they should get the same thing back. Don’t you agree?”
Instead of being quietly settled—just because a commoner filed it—the lawsuit became a massive story.
People were already in shock from the awful quality. Now they had a perfect excuse to openly insult them.
Even the lead actor, Robio Tamdaze, stepped in.
“I remember the director who gave me the lead role. I thought copyright issues were already settled… Even though I acted in it, I advise you not to watch it.”
Since the quality wasn’t what he was promised, even he was becoming a laughingstock.
So he drew a clean line.
If the crystal quality had been good, he could have tolerated it. But even he felt embarrassed watching himself.
So he emphasized how hard he worked while subtly blaming Red Sun’s production.
He said he had suggested improvements to Polius many times, but Polius never listened. Red Sun wasn’t fit to produce recordings.
“If I hadn’t been the lead, the recording would have been even worse. Right?”
“Exactly. Only Robio Tamdaze worked hard on this.”
With even the main actor turning on them, the public attacked without restraint.
Polius and Josephine had paid him a large fee—so this was a painful betrayal.
“Don’t trust the newspapers. Black Moon is clearly behind this.”
They tried to do damage control, but people only laughed harder.
“So… are you saying the lawsuit itself is fake?”
“N-no, the lawsuit is real but—”
“Then are you saying Black Moon forced you to violate copyright? Impressive.”
Polius and Josephine were overwhelmed by the sudden negative flood and flailed helplessly.
Their only decent attempt was trying to stop a formal trial by contacting Director Chillen and Scriptwriter Meiron.
Both informed Melanie and asked for advice.
“I think pushing forward with the lawsuit might help you…”
“Honestly, my reputation is already ruined… I’d rather just take the settlement money.”
Red Sun’s image had already collapsed.
Courts rarely favor commoners anyway.
So Melanie advised them to accept a large settlement and withdraw the lawsuit.
[Sudden lawsuit withdrawal… Red Sun reveals the filthy side of nobility.]
Polius and Josephine sent newspapers new articles claiming it was all a misunderstanding, but public opinion didn’t care.
Mocking them was far more entertaining.
“I tried it because it offered 1 week free… but it was terrible.”
“We complained because it wasn’t 2 weeks. Turns out 1 week was more than enough. My day was wasted.”
“They’re the latecomer brand—why are they acting so confident? Did they learn nothing?”
At first, people held back because of the Belderdt and Ingda families backing them.
But now, complaints were open and merciless.
The crystal quality wasn’t just visually bad.
Crash!
“Why does the recording crystal break this easily? I barely touched it!”
“Do they think I threw it at a wall? They’re treating me like a thug!”
People refused to pay damages, and then stopped returning the crystals entirely.
Josephine snapped at her staff.
“The other side never has this problem. Why only us? Did Clotilde send people to sabotage us?”
“T-the thing is… their crystals almost never break.”
Polius squeezed his eyes shut, holding his head.
“Their crystals are now being reevaluated. People say they’re incredible…”
“Shut up!”
He barked at the employee to silence him.
If Melanie and I had done business together, I’d be smiling right now.
The image of Damian holding Melanie’s hand replayed over and over in his mind.
He had believed without doubt that Melanie would marry him.
Damian, his half-brother, always lucky, always taking everything.
Of all people—those two, engaged?
At first he thought they were only pretending, to make him jealous.
But now this day had really come.
If only he had treated Melanie better instead of Josephine.
He kept regretting not getting caught in bed with Melanie that night…
Just endure it. Once this week passes, things will settle down!
Polius prayed to whatever gods existed for luck.
He forced down every churning emotion.
After the storm of an awful week, things finally grew quiet—
but not the way he hoped.
Once the week ended… most subscribers canceled.
“…That’s it? That’s all the people who signed up?”
