assistirfilmes Chapter 147
Chapter 147
Edric, who was currently studying at the Academy, was required to return to the Imperial Palace on weekends unless he had a special engagement.
This mandate stemmed from the Emperor's principle that family meals must be shared together.
Though Edric, busy with his manga club activities, would have preferred to skip these meals, such an excuse was not accepted.
“Iolin, aren’t you being a bit hasty?”
“No, Father. If anything, it may already be too late.”
Edric shivered involuntarily at his sister Iolin’s resolute response to their father, the Emperor. It reminded him of their childhood.
“She’s completely fixated on Master Rupert.”
At this moment, Iolin was petitioning the Emperor to hasten her marriage to Rupert.
The Emperor, however, tried to placate her, explaining that the Second Prince William’s engagement was still underway and that nothing could proceed until it was resolved.
But Iolin instinctively sensed something else.
She knew that Amelia and Zinnia—the women she had encountered before—would not remain idle.
While she felt a bit guilty about using her father, the Emperor, to secure her marriage, she also recognized a painful truth.
“Rupert will never take the initiative unless forced.”
Having observed Rupert closely, Iolin was convinced that he was oblivious to anything outside of his manga.
Despite his substantial wealth, he showed no interest in luxury or flaunting power, unlike most people in his position.
“This is something I’ve prepared especially for you, Princess,” Rupert had once said to her in a low, secretive tone during one of their rare private meetings.
“It’s a cleaner!”
What he handed her wasn’t a gift of sentiment but a magical tool for erasing mistakes while drawing manga. Rupert had noted how tedious it must have been to use white paint to correct errors manually.
While the tool did make her work significantly easier, it wasn’t what she had hoped for.
At that moment, Iolin realized something important: Rupert would never approach her on his own initiative.
If she wanted to secure his hand, she would need to act before someone else took the lead.
“I’ve already spoken with Marquess Somerset, but his reaction was lukewarm,” she thought.
The Emperor was making genuine efforts to fulfill his only daughter’s request.
To ensure the Somerset family was of appropriate standing, he had elevated them to a marquessate.
He had even subtly broached the subject of marriage with Rupert’s father, Marquess Bradley.
“The marquess must find it difficult to choose between aligning with the Imperial Family or the nobility,” Iolin mused.
If Rupert married Iolin, the Somerset family would undoubtedly be absorbed into the Imperial faction, subjecting them to heavy scrutiny and opposition from the nobility. The Emperor understood Bradley’s cautious stance in this matter.
“For now, it’s proper to wait until William’s engagement is finalized,” the Emperor concluded.
Since the Second Prince’s engagement was still in progress, the Emperor had no choice but to reject Iolin’s request for the time being.
Recently, he’d even used his spare time to assist with upcoming animation projects such as Cinderella, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid.
This newfound efficiency gave him plenty of room to plan for a new series after finishing Van Helsing.
"Until Manafia becomes the uncontested leader, I can’t afford to slow down."
Although Manafia already boasted a quality unmatched by rival publishers, Rupert couldn’t let his guard down.
He vividly remembered the rise and fall of manga magazines in Japan, the home of comics, from his previous world.
Even Shonen Jumping, regarded as the greatest manga magazine of all time, had started as a minor publication.
It had climbed to prominence when masterpieces began to emerge one after another, culminating in legendary titles like Dragon’s Orb and The Seven-Star Fist, which secured its throne.
After its golden age, however, it had suddenly plunged into a dark period.
"Detective Kim Joong-il really was incredible."
Rupert recalled how Shonen Magazine, once overshadowed by Jumping, had surged ahead during the mystery manga boom sparked by Detective Kim Joong-il.
Readers of comics were ruthlessly discerning.
They judged solely on entertainment value, and no amount of past glory could sustain a publication’s dominance.
All it took was a single masterpiece.
One timeless work could dictate the rise or fall of a magazine.
Rupert understood this clearly. To ensure Manafia’s continued reign, it needed a groundbreaking series that would define an era.
However, creating such a work for this otherworldly audience posed unique challenges. While history offered many iconic works to draw inspiration from, adapting them to this world wasn’t easy.
"Could the people of this world even grasp concepts like aliens and space as seen in Dragon’s Orb?"
Sports masterpieces like Power Dunk faced similar issues.
This world lacked sports like soccer or basketball, so using them as a basis for a manga was impossible. To create a sports manga, Rupert would first need to popularize the sport itself, which was entirely backward.
Thus, Rupert wrestled with the challenge of crafting a story that felt natural to this world’s audience while guaranteeing success.
"Honestly, this one idea is perfectly adaptable and would undoubtedly be a hit."
Rupert had narrowed down his options to a few candidates. Among them was a work that had ended Shonen Jumping’s dark age and served as a beacon for countless shonen manga in the 2000s.
"The only problem is that this story can’t be rushed, no matter how I adapt it."
Having finished the Van Helsing storyboard, Rupert reached for a blank sheet of paper and began sketching feverishly, trying to bring the imagery in his mind to life.
Waves crashed across a vast blue ocean.
A massive sea monster, as large as a moving mountain, loomed ominously.
Atop the sea monster’s head, a ship adorned with a ram’s head at its prow was perched, defying logic and gravity.
"Maybe it’s time to bring about an Age of Exploration."
At that moment, Rupert’s next work was decided.