Time quickly passed and today, Rexford found himself standing in front of four stone statues. Two of them were human men wearing armor reminiscent of the popular image crusaders had on Earth while the other two were Lamia women.
"I don't think the statue looks like me-"
"Nothing we can do about it Master, the story was made to feel real we can't have four stone statues remain unblemished after a long time has passed"
Rexford stood before four Stone Statues, they depicted a tale of love and tribulation. It was a classic in his previous world, one that he loved despite its origins.
While some people bullied him for liking such a movie, he loved it nonetheless, after all, true entertainment knows no boundaries.
"Still, I never thought that I'd be dragged into this stupid affair"
A large man dressed in a crimson military uniform sighed as he appeared behind Rexford causing the third prince to yelp in shock.
"Brother! Well, it's not like I was planning to make such a huge act, it was just an experiment"
"So, when will this "Movie" be completed?"
"Hm?"
Regulus Diabolus is the second prince who was famous for his grand military exploits.
Even if their eldest brother was renowned for his ability to strike a peace deal, Regulus was more famous for defending his injured men after an ambush.
Alone, Regulus fought off a horde of elven warriors while his men retreated back to their fort.
But at the end of the battle, Regulus was covered in wounds, some even say that arrows and LANCES were still stuck on his body as he entered the gates of the fort.
None of his men had perished and Regulus was said to have slain a couple hundred elven warriors during his defense.
His image to Rexford had been one of strength and power, he gave off a strong dominating aura yet the man before him was…
"Are you excited to see yourself in the movie?"
"Impossible! I simply wish to see what that stupid week of fake fights and stupid love talks would create!"
"Ah… yeah, making you say those cringey lines was quite hard…"
"..."
While the two exchanged such words, another person jumped in the middle.
"I for one, love how innocent the Bloody Berserker truly was"
A succubus jumped in and clung to Regulus' arm but the second prince ignored her no, he didn't simply ignore her, he threw her towards Rexford.
"Control your woman", he spat yet the his words did nothing but excite the succubus more-
"Did you hear that! Your brother called me your woman! Are we official? Does that mean I could claim you as my fiance now?", she spoke with an excited tone of voice yet the one to respond was neither Regulus nor Rexford.
"Unfortunately, if you truly want to get that place then you need to get in line"
Ortrun appeared and swiftly picked up the excited succubus and gently put her feet on the ground, away from Rexford before grabbing onto the Third Prince herself.
"Moreover, it's not like you were the one playing the White Snake, I was the one who my dear Rex died for right?"
She said while hugging the Third Prince's arm close to her body.
"Sorry but I think the one who protected you is called Ferrand and he had long since passed, all that remains of him and you are the stone statues"
"..."
Delilah also came out so suddenly, declaring herself with a mocking remark directed at Ortrun.
Rexford watched this scene but it didn't end there as another person joined with a smile, his expression showed how much he enjoyed watching the scene before him.
"I love tragedy but I believe a comedy is easier to film, don't you agree, Ferrand?"
The man who appeared had a pleasant appearance, not as great as Rexford's but one that had some vague similarity to his.
"Sorry Commander Leon, but I don't talk to murderer's"
"Now, now, you could have chopped my head off but stopped right? My righteous brother~"
"Former, don't forget the "FORMER", you rat piece of-"
Rexford stopped, he let out a sigh as he raised his head up to look at the sky.
'How the hell did it get to this?'
He asked himself as he recalled the events that occurred in the past two weeks.
…
It all started right after his talk with Ortrun, as if possessed, Ortrun suddenly started to visit him in his palace. She was practically living there at some point all because of the rush she was at setting up the studio-
That's where it started, from Ortrun's rush, she demanded to change the script entirely!
The story was set up for a TV show, an episodic story that gave the viewers suspense.
Unlike the modern age where people had little time and every free time spent doing nothing or playing was another dollar lost.
In this world, people actually had time to waste.
Well, mostly because most of the men and women were basically spending their days working in agriculture and other small jobs.
In other words, when evening came or when they had breaks, all the people could do was stare at the sky or sleep.
Some modern people would see it as a great life but for the people who were not burnt out by repetitive stories? It was absolutely boring!
Rexford had to make people want to rush for excitement, he wanted people to try and use their time for something other than just comfort.
Entertainment is his method and he wanted people to feel the rush of "deadlines" and "waiting".
The movie was a good piece of media but it ended too quickly.
Even if the movie was made to be two or even three hours long, a story that ends in one sitting was something that people of this world would quickly get tired off and forget.
Timeless classics are one thing but it NEEDS to really hit home.
The complex Cinderella story he made was focused not on simply creating a fairy tale but also subtly tackling the many societal problems that the Empire was facing.
He wrote the story to show off that "even nobles have their struggles" seen in how Cinderella was nothing more than a tool, how she was mistreated by even her own family BECAUSE of her low position.
Then the prince, a handsome demon named Aeric, a prince who was obsessed with beauty and had one of the most "handsome" forms in all the land.
Unwilling to even look at the lovestruck succubus because she was "imperfect" the succubus revealed herself to be a powerful witch who cursed the prince to take on a form more hideous than any beast on the land.
The story was supposed to attack the fragile conception of "Noble Image", the belief many Empire nobles had that a "human form" was a sign of power.
More topics were tackled, slavery, loyalty over love, the price of making a choice, the cost of taking it back…
It was a multiple episode long love story between a couple who was never supposed to be together but whose fate together is the only way to break their curse.
Unfortunately for Ortrun, the story was not to her liking, mostly because she was not the main character.
Ever since she saw the casting, she wanted to take over Bedelia's place as Cinderella, not out of desire to act out the character but simply to partner herself with Rexford who cast himself as Prince Aeric.
It was not out of ego, Rexford was worried about the reception of the show and he didn't want people complaining about "the handsome prince is not handsome".
Cinderella was not the most beautiful woman, she was simply "the woman who saw the prince for who he truly was" as such, none would care much about who the character was- probably.
But the prince absolutely had to be Rexford, at least, if anyone did complain, Rexford could easily use his imperial authority to stamp it down.
Not only that, even if people claimed he was not the "most handsome" man in the empire, he could just ignore that as he saw no value in such a title.
Compared to some random commoner being attacked, Rexford was unlikely to get harassed and people would instead send their hate towards the witch…
Either way, Rexford had to satisfy Ortrun but he didn't want to change the casting of Cinderella, especially since he was unaware of Ortrun's acting ability but he was confident in Bedelia.
In the end, he decided to use one of his favorite stories, adapt it to this world's culture and create a quick test run on filming.
The Martel family merchants had long secured all necessary lands for filming, even the subsequent revenue sources were already being planned out.
Rexford selected a hidden area and immediately started to rework the place.
But as he did, two people came knocking on his door.
"Brothers?"
Regulus and Rutherford had arrived and were brought to Rexford's palace by Delilah.
After the war, Regulus had gone silent, he spent his days training with the knights and just spending time doing the things he likes-
Sparring and hunting.
The man was a legit musclehead and Rexford didn't see any potential in him as the emperor. Whether that was a cleverly thought out disguise or not, only Regulus knew but that was not something he worried about since his prime focus was Rutherford.
After Delilah revealed the truth and depth of Rutherford's plan to Rexford, the Third Prince did not hesitate to ask for her help and after that- things somehow ended up well.
The planned rebellion was found out, the rebellious nobles lost their titles, handed over to more- tame successors.
The matriarchs who supported the rebellion were somehow spared, apparently, it was these matriarch's that passed on the information to the Emperor who swiftly dealt with the situation.
Everything was done silently, no one knew about the involvement of the crown prince but Rutherford was sent into house arrest.
Yet, even after meeting Rexford, all Rutherford did was smile…
With all the top powers together, Rexford was immediately pressured into making a movie.
One way or the other, Rexford ended up being forced to make a quick movie where most of the characters were his own family and the people who supported them. As such, the first movie was made faster than anyone would have expected.