The Romance Fantasy Novel MC is Only Into Me

"Usually, what should one do in this situation?"
Ransell, who was unfamiliar with the management of a troupe that couldn't get onto the Central Theater stage, didn’t know much about that.
The oldest actor raised her hand to answer his question. She usually played the role of a cantankerous noblewoman.
"The usual method is to perform at noble social parties and collect recommendation letters."
"Recommendation letters…?"
"Yes. When we first tried to enter the Central Theater, we went around collecting those. If you gather over three hundred recommendation letters, you can request a re-examination."
"What a ripoff, what a ripoff."
Ransell clicked his tongue and loudly chewed the candy in his mouth.
'Not even clowns.'
A troupe performing passionately at a party where nobles mingle.
That was no longer a performance but a clown’s coquettish act, more a form of hospitality than art.
Ransell had no intention whatsoever of reducing the troupe Marigold belonged to such a pitiful state.
Once decided, he would definitely make Marigold the greatest actress of this era.
Yes.
Absolutely.
"We will go to the street theater."
"Huh?"
Ransell recalled memories from the wartime era.
During the empire's chaotic war period, to boost soldiers’ morale, troupes visited the border territories a few times to perform.
Though the stages were temporary and the shows modest.
He remembered that the soldiers definitely enjoyed them.
"We will rent a corner of a plaza in the Western District and set up a stage. No need to bother putting on airs in the places those noble bastards fawn over. Let them come to us."
"Well said! Lord Ransell!"
"Mary, are you confident?"
"I'll become famous and spit in the faces of those arrogant nobles!"
"…Good."
It was a relief that she seemed motivated.
"Street stage... a stage outside..."
"Will people come to watch...?"
Half worried, half hopeful, but the decision was final.
Ransell added money he secured from selling stolen goods to the money extorted from Baron Evil Shen and rented an entire plaza.
A huge stage was set up there, equipped with unfamiliar devices.
"What is this, Lord Ransell?"
"A revolving device."
Ransell smiled at Marygold’s question. This was an idea brought from the 21st century stage.
Normally, theaters used large wooden panels as backgrounds, and changing them was very laborious.
He replaced that with a large cylinder. It was common on 21st-century stages but unheard of here.
Thanks to it, pulling a pulley switched eight different backgrounds with a single click.
Most importantly.
"Change the background to the palace."
"Yes!"
Kugugugung-!
As soon as the cylinder turned, the troupe actors covered their [N O V E L I G H T] mouths and gasped.
"Wow…!"
"That’s so grand…!"
It wasn’t just a painted backdrop.
The three-dimensional rotating stage featured chandeliers and staircases, brilliantly ornate and sturdy enough for a person to stand on.
"Change to the sea!"
"Yes!"
This time the large stern of a ship appeared.
"Hoo!"
"Unbelievable…!"
"Change to the Capital streets!"
Now tall buildings appeared.
On both sides stood real wooden constructions big enough for people to enter.
"It was worth spending the money."
Ransell smiled.
Of course, the master’s secret didn’t end here.
"Is it you who called me, Lord Ransell?"
Just then, the person Ransell had been waiting for arrived.
"Jean Sirre, I heard you are the best writer on this continent. Would you work with me on something?"
"Thanks for the offer, but I must decline. I’m just a wanderer. Settling in one place to write goes against my creed…"
"Five gold coins up front."
"…"
"Two gold coins a month."
"…"
The writer 'Jean Sirre.'
In a previous loop, Ransell had kept him close to write a seafood travelogue.
The purpose, naturally, was to have someone improve this cheap, third-rate romance story.
No matter how good the stage was, the story was so bad it could never become popular.

Unfortunately, Ransell had no talent for writing and had to rely on someone else here.
Jean Sirre was a future literary master, capable of deeply touching the sensibilities of the Capital’s citizens.
"…Travel costs a lot."
"Good thinking."
And so.
The third-rate romance script of unknown origin, Lisenne’s Tragedy, was reborn under the master’s hand as The Empire of Flowers.
...
"Street theater is truly a vulgar place."
"Think of it as a stepping stone to get back to the Central Theater, Mrs. Ox."
"Hmph."
On the day of the first performance,
Mrs. Ox looked unhappy from the start.
There were hardly any nobles at the street theater with the huge stage.
Since entry was free, even beggars sneaked in to watch from the corners.
Mrs. Ox frowned and covered her mouth with a fan.
"The smell… It’s surprisingly well-made, but I really don’t understand why it’s street theater. I’m starting to think trusting Lord Ransell was a mistake."
The only reason she didn’t leave immediately was because of the surprisingly magnificent stage.
"Lord Ransell worked hard on it, so just watch it once. It’s my first proper viewing too, but the stage is really outstanding."
Baron Evil Shen was also fawning exaggeratedly.
"If it looks bad to me, we’ll dismantle the stage immediately and pretend this never happened. Consider yourself warned."
"Will that be necessary?"
Ransell joked.
"It’s about to start. See it with your own eyes."
"Hoo, it’s hard to breathe with those lowlifes around… Oh my!"
Kwaang-!
A loud explosion from the stage made Mrs. Ox flinch.
"Eek!"
"That scared me!"
Even Baron Evil Shen screamed like a little girl.
Kwaang-! Bang! Bang!
From the stage, where the sound of thunder echoed repeatedly, suddenly a woman appeared.
Marigold.
"I killed him!"
The main villain of the story, Marigold.
Her acting was still awkward but acceptable. Acting improves with practice.
"Speak clearly, Noi! Who did you kill? Just who are you saying you killed?"
Marigold tore at her hair and screamed at an unseen voice.
"Gyaaah!"
'What a passionate performance, Marygold.'
Ransell barely held back laughter.
Everyone except him was focused on the play.
"She was noble and commoner, princess and slave, dawn and futile early morning… The erased flower’s name…! The name of my ancient original sin that seduced me from the empire’s darkness!"
"Are you rambling, Noi? Speak clearly! Who is the woman you say you killed?"
"Devil! No… God’s messenger… Devil?"
"Will you snap out of it!"
"She is…"
"Say it clearly!"
"She is…!"
Boom boom boom.
Bang bang bang.
The loud noises from the stage suddenly stopped.
In the silence, Marygold opened her mouth with a trance-like look.
"Lisenne."
Kugugugugung-!
The stage spun and instantly the background changed.
From the gloomy, bleak prison of a criminal to the magnificent royal ballroom.
On the stairs to both sides, numerous actors waited dressed in party attire.
"Hoo!"
"Oh my…!"
Mrs. Ox and Baron Evil Shen burst into astonishment.
Ransell smiled inwardly.
He had already expected how the people of this era would react to the 21st-century stage ideas.
Everyone in the street theater was dumbfounded, mouths agape, drawn into the stage.
"Lisenne!"
"Lisenne!"
With the appearance of the protagonist Lisenne, the story officially began.
It was the birth of Classic, destined to overturn the performing culture of the Capital from its roots.
 
At first, reactions were somewhat uncertain.
Because those who witnessed the premiere spread word that it seemed too extravagant.
"Lightning crashed from the sky and suddenly the world was transformed!"
"I’ve never seen anything like that in my life!"
"Are you saying that something greater than that happens every day at the Capital Theater?! Damn it! I want to be a tycoon! I want to be a noble!"
To an outsider, it might sound like excessive hype, ripe for cynicism.
But every Saturday when the show was performed in the Western District, people's perceptions gradually changed.
As if infected, everyone began shouting Lisenne’s name everywhere.
"Lisenne! Kraaah!"
"My original sin, Lisenne!!!"
"Kraaaaaa!"
From that moment, the performances began charging admission fees, yet commoners kept coming.
The rumor spread across the entire Capital in less than a month.
"Street theater?"
Of course, the nobles’ reactions remained cold.
"Is a theater where commoners can enter even a theater?"
"Mrs. Ox is up to some strange business again."
"Dante troupe… Dante marquis family?"
"The Ox family and the Dante family. Those two families who only know how to swing swords couldn’t possibly understand such refined art and culture."
Mockery.
Ignoring.
Sneers.
"…What on earth is it…?"
But among the nobles, there were many obsessed with performances and theater.
Those people could not suppress their curiosity about the rumored performance, The Empire of Flowers.
"Maybe I should see it once. Just once. It’s obviously a pathetic and sloppy show but just once…"
It took exactly two months before artistic curiosity overcame noble pride.
Disguising their identity thoroughly to avoid being recognized, they came.
"Lisenne!"
"Lisenne, the flower that bloomed from death!"
Something that would change the era.
"Ah… ahhhh…!"
An overwhelming stage.
All the theater-obsessed nobles knelt down. Their legs and backs trembled, refusing to obey.
Awe.
An emotion beyond tears captivated those sensitive performance-loving nobles instantly.
================
—Upon opening my eyes, I realized my heart was already in their hands. In this tightening and releasing cycle, I dare admit I am but a mere creature before this great art…!
※Review by the Capital’s art enthusiast, Marquis Selberton, spreads throughout noble society! Score 10/10! High praise! Grace, charm, and allure UP!!
It was the moment art transcended social class.
"Those nobles who go to the Central Theater are third-rate, and watching party plays rots your eyes. Real art exists somewhere in the Western District!"
Every Saturday.
On the day The Empire of Flowers was performed.
Noble carriages hustled through the Capital streets.
Their destination was one and the same.
"Hurry! If we're late, the butler's to blame!"
"At top speed, miss!"
"Outrun Lady Dax ahead!"
"Yes!"
The area in front of the stage was a human sea from early morning.
Servants of Baron Evil Shen, who held exclusive rights, busily sold souvenirs and food around.
In the best seats.
The seat Ransell named VIP.
There sat Mrs. Ox with a broad smile, having discarded all doubts.
And rightly so.
"You will have no regrets, Your Majesty."
"I’m looking forward to it. Hehehe…"
===============
—Encounter event: Third Princess 'Claria Arild Freesia' has arrived at the Dante troupe’s performance.
The western district of the empire even attracted royalty.
...
"Ah, so many people recognize me these days it’s exhausting."
That was exactly when Marigold’s arrogance began to soar.
"Being popular is such a pain. Yesterday, the princess left a letter. Ah, so tiring, so tiring. Being famous is tough, Lord Ransell."
"…"
Ransell wanted to ask her:
‘Marigold…’
Her role, ‘Noi,’ was an incredibly popular character within The Empire of Flowers.
As the narrative’s main driver and practically the protagonist, she was the main villain yet a seductive man.
She was popular with women regardless of social class.
It was not an exaggeration to say she was the most popular role, as performing arts tend to excite women far more.
As a result, gifts and letters piled up at the mansion every day.
Noble ladies who wanted even one glance at Noi (Marigold) lingered outside the front gate even now.
But.
Why.
‘Why hasn’t the stealing stopped yet?’
Marigold.
Her recent behavior was strange.