LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 168
“During summer, I hoped for winter, but this, I’d rather have summer instead.”
One of the people standing in the queue complained while blowing on his cold hands due to the chilly weather.
Others in line agreed with his grumbling.
The reason they stood out in the cold on this chilly winter day was none other than Rupert’s New Work.
“It’s been a while since a fairy tale book came out after Hansel and Gretel, so the line seems longer than usual.”
“New fairy tale <The Little Match Girl> Release! This work is the first one featuring new technology from the Somerset Workshop, promising readers a new experience!”
Just the fact that it was Rupert’s new fairy tale book brought crowds, but the rumor that it’s a book incorporating new technology had even more people eager to buy.
“Truly, Somerset makes the best books out there.”
“Books from other places wear out quickly if children read them often, but Somerset’s books still feel brand new.”
“Isn’t that so? They’re even cheaper than others!”
The name Somerset had indeed become a symbol of trust among the people of the Empire.
Books were originally considered fragile and expensive items, but the books sold at Yuren Merchant Association’s Somerset Workshop were famous for their durability.
Especially for fairy tale books children love, not only were they robustly made, but if they happened to get damaged, they could be repaired, so once you buy one, there’s no need to repurchase.
And with prices similar or even cheaper than other books, people reached the point of buying Rupert’s books without asking a single question.
“Is that child the protagonist of the new fairy tale book?”
Since there was still time before sales began, people started chatting about the new release while looking at the sign placed in front of the merchant association.
On the sign was a picture of a little girl wearing a red hood, holding a basket filled with matches.
“Hmm… But doesn’t that child’s expression look a bit sad?”
As someone mentioned how the girl’s expression seemed sad upon seeing the drawing, others felt exactly the same.
“Please, not again?”
“Ah, no way!”
Rupert’s fairy tale books had garnered such interest that there were already scholars dedicated to studying and classifying them.
Among them, <Cinderella>, <Snow White>, and <The Little Mermaid> were referred to as Rupert’s three major romances.
And among these, there was a uniquely classified fairy tale—<A Dog of Flanders>.
<A Dog of Flanders> was classified as Rupert’s tragedy and dubbed a piece of social commentary.
“Since then, there haven’t been any sad works coming out…”
“Now that I think about it, wasn’t <A Dog of Flanders> released last winter?”
The more they talked, the more uneasy they felt, but everyone forced those feelings away, assuming it would just be a normal fairy tale book.
“We will now begin sales!”
Finally, the voice of a merchant association staff member announcing the start of sales rang out, and those in line sequentially bought the new fairy tale book <The Little Match Girl>.
“Kids will surely love this!”
One father, who had been waiting for days in the street to buy the <The Little Match Girl> as a gift, returned with a light step, excited about how happy his children would be with the book.
***
“Buy matches!”
A little girl with blonde hair wearing a red hood.
The basket she was holding was filled with matches.
“Ugh… How much is it, little lady?”
“I’m not a little lady! I’m Matchgirl Aida!”
Oun, familiar with the routine, picked up a matchstick and began rummaging through his pockets.
“Yes, Matchgirl Aida, is it 1 copper?”
“No way! Then Aida will freeze to death!”
“Then, 5 coppers?”
He tried raising the price slightly, but Aida firmly pressed her lips together and shook her head.
“Alright! Then how about 10 coppers!”
“Okay!”
Only after charging ten times the initial price, did Aida seem satisfied, turning to head elsewhere.
Oun couldn’t help but chuckle at Aida’s back as he watched her go.
“Why is the young lady so diligently selling matches these days?”
“Did you just buy some?”
“With her dressed like that, who wouldn’t buy?”
Oun’s words made Alain nod in agreement.
Right now, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the Empire was in the era of the Matchgirl.
“Rupert’s fairy tales aren’t just simple children’s storybooks.”
The impact was immense, so much so that prominent scholars in the Empire began competing to write analyses of this new release, <The Little Match Girl>.
“It was so sad! A story about a girl quietly dying on a snowy winter night.”
As Oun recalled the first time he read <The Little Match Girl>, his heart still felt heavy.
The magical experiences he had while reading the book intensified those feelings.
“Why is it that the paper in this part feels particularly cold?”
When touching the paper depicting the scene where the Matchgirl sells matches on a snowy street, it felt so cold it could make one’s hands numb.
“In a deserted alley, the girl sat down.
‘I want to see grandma.’
Having sold matches for a long time in the street, her hands were as cold as ice.
Trying to warm her numbed hands even a little, she held up a match to light it.
“Ah, there’s a house with a warm stove…”
Then, magically, the scene of a house with a stove she always longed for unfolded.
And on the lavishly set table in the warm room were sumptuous dishes.
“Hey, hurry and come eat, the food will get cold.”
“Mom?”
“Our princess’s father brought gifts, won’t you open them?”
“Dad!”
It was her beloved deceased parents, sitting at that table, calling her over.
Unable to believe the scene unfolding before her eyes, tears streamed down her face.
But,
Fizz!
As the match went out, everything vanished once more.”
“Ugh… The paper showing the girl’s hope feels warm.”
The paper of the crucial scene where the girl strikes matches to see her visions had a warm texture.
Those who experienced this new paper called ‘Temperature Paper,’ which conveyed tactile sensations that couldn’t be felt while reading, were in for a shock.
“Just by letting you feel temperature, the immersion changes this much?”
Given the inherently tragic nature of <The Little Match Girl>, the tactile changes using temperature paper drove people deeper into the story.
Not only that,
“Showing the last scene where the girl follows her grandmother to heaven through fantasy magic was really cowardly.”
“Could it be cowardly?”
“How could you not cry after seeing that?”
Oun had felt sad when reading other sorrowful fairy tales like <The Little Mermaid> or <A Dog of Flanders>, but he hadn’t cried.
However, reading the last part of <The Little Match Girl>, even he couldn’t help but tear up.
The scene of the girl, with all her matches burned out, seeing the apparition of her beloved grandmother and crying, was animated through fantasy magic.
“Is this author a demon? How could they come up with such an ending!”
The response to <The Little Match Girl>, which concentrated all these new technologies, was bound to be enthusiastic.
With winter already here, coinciding with the backdrop of the story, more readers found themselves tearing up frequently when seeing young girls for a while.
“I shall call this the Matchgirl Syndrome.”
Scholars from the Empire even emerged to study the phenomenon of crying upon seeing poor girls.
“Thanks to this, there’s been an overwhelming amount of donations coming into the Somerset Welfare Foundation established by the young master.”
Alain recalled Rupert, who was busy organizing the sudden influx of donations to the Somerset Welfare Foundation.
Since the amount was gathered from all over the Empire, Rupert couldn’t handle it all and decided to donate part to the cult while discussing with Esteban about building educational and housing facilities for the poor.
Thus, <The Little Match Girl>, which had a significant impact on the Empire, was also affecting Somerset Mansion.
“Just by being dressed like that, one can’t help but buy the matches that the young lady is forcefully selling.”
“Isn’t that the thing the young lady enjoys doing the most?”
Alain replied with a laugh to Oun’s words.
Having read the finished <The Little Match Girl> first, Aida chased after Rupert for a while, whining for him to save the girl, and then began to dress just like the protagonist of the fairy tale.
“Buy matches!”
From the maids of the Somerset Mansion to the workers of the workshop, no one could escape Aida, who was forcefully selling matches.
“But why is the young lady so forcefully selling matches?”
“Well… it doesn’t seem like she has a particular greed for money…”
Selling matches, which cost less than 1 copper for a whole pack at the village store, for 10 coppers to everyone.
Oun found himself considering intervening, but whenever Aida looked up at him with her sad eyes, he inadvertently ended up buying matches.
Of course, it wasn’t a huge amount, so he could let it slide, but it was rather suspicious behavior for Aida, who had never shown any desire for material goods other than when it came to her food…
“Rach! You need to wear this!”
“Woof!”
And that Aida was now tying a small ball made of red yarn to Rach’s nose.
“If Kroon made that, then you have to pull it along!”
“Woof!”
Watching Aida, who started to excitedly adorn herself with this and that, Rach could only let out a bark in understanding.
No one could hinder the spirited Aida.