Chapter 29

Episode 29

Satire Play

Grinning, I answered, pinching the sides of Anakin, who was trying to refute it.

“Yes, actually, it’s our honeymoon. He is not that awkward, but I guess he is a little shy in front of people he doesn’t know.”

“Ah hah! A groom! I’ve met a lot of couples who travel here, but I’ve never seen a wife as pretty as this lady! You must have saved a country in your past life! Since I feel like it! If you buy two, I’ll give you a discount of 5 echromes!”

“Then I’d like ones with meat and spices, please.”

As the owner quickly picked out the best cooked sausages to jab skewers into, he checked to see if they were hot and ready. When I tried to pay, the owner shook his head and winked.

“A beautiful lady is the best. I also see that you are kind.”

Unable to say anything, I scrunch my nose. Walking along the streets that followed, I took a bite of the meat flavor with excitement. Wow, it’s delicious, it’s good! It was such a wonderful taste that my body trembled automatically.

The taste of handmade sausages is different from the cheap frank sausages we used to eat in Korea….! It was the best because you could smell the spices. It would have been even more perfect with mustard sauce.

At first, I was curious about the taste of the spices so I quickly put the meat stick in Anakin’s mouth. Spices… It tasted like a variety of them but what was the flavor?

Actually, I liked Indian curry spices as well as coriander, which most Koreans’ dislike. Yet as soon as I took a bite of the meat in anticipation, I immediately noticed that my eyes were glistening.

This is… chili pepper! I almost cried at the taste of ddangcho I hadn’t tasted for such a long time. I couldn’t believe that I could smell my hometown in unexpected places.

Suddenly while eating, I began to crave beer. While looking around, I saw there was a place that sold something that looked similar to alcohol and rushed over there.

“Is that alcohol?”

“It’s a grain wine made from local grains! It’s savory and delicious. Would you like one?”

“Two, please.”

The owner filled the rough wooden mugs with alcohol. I turned around and winked at Anakin. He came, slightly running, held the sausage in his hand in his mouth, and held a wooden mug in both hands.

There was a loud noise coming from far away. They must be performing a play. I’ve only heard of this

outdoor play, so I really wanted to see it. Leading an awkward Anakin, I found a space to sit halfway through.

Soon a clown came out and introduced a rough plot in an exaggerated voice about the play. A clown entered the stage and introduced, in an exaggerated voice, the rough plot of the play.

“Today our story is about a family tragedy. It’s a silly story where a father falls for evil tricks which makes him doubt his son, doubt his wife, and ends up killing his son with his own hands. A wicked witch who could turn back time, who will be decapitated for treason…..”

I understood the gist of it. It’s a satire on the imperial family. Originally, satirical dramas contain more facts. With anticipation, I ate the sausage and drank heavily

Looking at his sword in the middle of the temple, the young man has a sad expression on his face. He grazes the sword’s handle with his fingertips, as the prince cannot easily pull out the sword. He circled his hand around the sword and time seemed to slow down just a little.

“I am indifferent. Although I have been faithfully living as a servant of God and of the nation, they easily forsake me. Even though the body is tainted with shame by the slanders on earth, God knows the truth. He knows my soul is noble. I know this better than anyone, so I am not afraid of death, except that I am afraid that the wicked will flood this land. My mother was crying. Don’t shed any tears! Ah, my unnamed brother in the womb, now you must defend this country.”

After the long monologue, the prince pulled out his sword with a determined expression.

“One day, the truth will be revealed that I never coveted your throne. No matter how reckless I shout, a unique crowd will cover their eyes and ears, and they cannot hear the truth! But I am not going to be amicable. Father if you want me to kill myself…”

At this time, you can hear the queen crying behind the curtain.

“My dear child, this mother knows better than anyone that you are innocent. Run away. Put down that sword and run away! Though we may never meet in this life again, we will be closer than the crossing of the river in the underworld. We will be under the same moon no matter where you are. Don’t you want to be with your mother? Stop! Are you going to hurt your mother too!”

But the prince had already stabbed the sword into his heart and collapsed. The queen, who came in late, hugged the prince, shedding tears as she screamed at him. Then she shouted.

“Revenge!”

As if time went back after the first act, the prince is somehow alive and appears again. He is kneeling on his knees at the foot of the king. The king gives a scolding.

“I have raised and cherished you more than anything in the world and yet you strike cruelly at the hand that feeds you. I thought you were a precious child but in fact, you are a snake playing along. Looking for the chance to cut my throat. God is heartless!”

The prince, kneeling down, appealed pitifully

“Merciful, wise and righteous king of this land. As my father, king, and judge who has breathed life to me on this earth, I have never had such a mind. Who dares say such venomous words in father’s ear?”

Then the prince suddenly raises his head and stares at the count standing next to the king. Outraged, he charged at him.

“It’s you, you murderer, you villain, you filthy little pig thief!”

“Oof”

“Villain! Have you lost your mind! How dare a sinner try to harm my servant? Are you not the one who wears my son’s robe? The sins of betrayal cannot be washed away by the fires of hell.”

While the prince was held by knights, the count took a package out of his arms and offered it to the king.

“This is proof that the Queen and the Prince were in communication and conspired against you.”

There are documents with the names of the prince and queen written on them, contracts to purchase soldiers, and so on. The prince widens his eyes and looks at them. Suddenly, his neck was strained as he struggled and shouted.

“You fiend! That is all lies. All are I blatant lies! Let go! He is the one who dares insult me and my mother! He must be decapitated and there will be no shame in front of God. Can’t you let go!”

“Go and bring her!”

At the command of the count, a knight brings a person dressed in shabby clothes. The person looks around frantically as he is dragged cowering in front of the king.

“Ohhh! The humble dare to see the most honorable king on earth.”

“If you don’t tell the truth, your peculiar tongue will be cut off.”

“Oh King, the benevolent father of this land! It is a waste of my life to die, though it has been said since ancient times, more cruel than death is the pestilence of poverty. I will not make any excuses because I have entered the path of sin on my own two feet. Please behead me.”

The prince raises his voice even more at the man’s testimony.

“Tell me the truth! Aren’t you afraid of God for perjury!”

“Evidence and witnesses of conspiring treason have come out! If you are so innocent, what kind of testimony do you have!”

“I have absolutely no intention of betraying my father! Don’t fall for the trick! If these words are false, then God will strike a thunderbolt over my head immediately.”

At this time, ‘Flash!’ Along with the lights that rumble, the sound of thunder echoing the earth is heard. The prince’s face turns pale. The king’s face hardened. The knights take the prince away.

“Keep the prince in the spire and do not give him even a sip of water.”

“Father, father!”

“The queen… she still has a royal descendant in her belly. I recommend you hold your judgement for a while.”

The heartless king leaves and soon the third act begins.

The queen and prince are distributing food to beggars. When both leave, she looks at the dreary surroundings and says with a lamentable face,

“How horrible! So many people are suffering from cold and hunger…… They may hold out for some time with the food we have now given away, but this will not last long. Heaven is indifferent too. What the hell should I do?”

“Mother, isn’t it the duty of a royal to rescue those who have been abandoned by heaven? Adults can earn a living right now, but I’m more worried about the children. If they learn, they will be able to escape from the same poverty of their parents, but their parents only make them beg.”

The queen and the prince sigh, and from far away, a, reversed count walks. He greets the queen and the prince, looks around, and whispers.

“I was going to build an orphanage and a school around here as part of a guest project, but it didn’t happen because I didn’t have enough donations. Why don’t you pay me a little bit of your royal money? We’re almost ready to start construction, so we can build it as soon as we buy the workers with that money.”

Both the queen and the prince clapped their hands in joy at the count’s suggestion.

“Good idea! Come to my palace and I’ll give you a draft immediately, we will be generous. What’s the use of taking it from the people and giving it back to the people? The Count seems to be more knowledgeable about the country than we are, so please take care of it. Tell us whatever you need.”

“Is there any doubt.”

“It is heartbreaking that the illiteracy rate of the general public was so high. A man who can read will have a lot of resentment from being blackmailed. How long does it take to teach children so that they can grow up and teach others!”

The prince, who spoke vigorously, supports the queen, who stumbles a little. The queen smiles and reassures the prince.

“I was feeling saddened because I’ve given out a little food. Now that we’ve solved our worries, let’s go back.”

“Yes, mother.”

The queen and the prince disappear and a masked man appears in the back alley. The count instructs the man with an insidious face.

“You will need to lie. Even though you will die, I will protect your family.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And… let me buy a poor mage engineer. It might be necessary.”

The masked man nods his head and disappears into the darkness again. Act 3 ends with the count walking away with a cunning smile.