Greycastle, the old royal capital, the inner city Grand Theatre.

Outside the door came enthusiastic applause, signaling the end of another outstanding performance.

And Karkin. Fiss's reading was also coming to an end.

He took off his glasses, rubbed his tired eyes, and then closed the script and put it back in the cabinet next to the desk.

The title on the spine was 《The Wolfheart Fate》.

Not only that, but the scripts placed in the most accessible position in the cabinet also included 《Witch Story》, 《New City》, 《Dawn》, etc. These were all farewell gifts that Meiyi had given him before leaving Neverwinter. Although many people in the troupe thought this was naked ridicule, he accepted them all and read them over and over again in the theater.

It wasn't because the scripts themselves were so wonderful – the creator was undoubtedly a novice, and the arrangement of the scenes was very straightforward, basically at the entry level of explaining the story clearly – but because if he didn't do this, there was nothing else he could do.

Karkin found that he had lost the desire for creation.

As soon as he picked up a pen, images of Shadow Play would float into his mind.

And in the past, this should have belonged to the stage of the Grand Theatre.

He couldn't imagine the actors' positions and the placement of the set pieces, like after tasting honey, it was difficult to be satisfied with the sweetness of dew. In the Shadow Play, the entire world became a stage for performance, and there was no longer a separation between the audience and the actors. This shocking scene opened a brand new door for him, but then it shut him out.

Even if he only glanced inside, Karkin could no longer turn back.

To be precise, it wasn't that he didn't want to create anymore, but any idea that came up would unconsciously be considered for the Shadow Play. For example, a close-up of the prince's smile when he first met the princess, the desolate background gradually receding when the two parted... Such thoughts surged out, almost non-stop.

Shadow Play gave him countless things he wanted to try, but none of them were related to theater stories.

It was this contradiction that made Karkin. Fiss feel extremely uncomfortable.

Only when reading scripts could he temporarily forget these troubles.

But he also knew that this could only be used for temporary relief.

Meiyi was unwilling to disclose, and the Administrative Hall had no response... which meant that Neverwinter had completely closed its doors to him. Before finding new channels to understand, he knew he would continue to suffer.

At this moment, a maid knocked on the door outside, "Master, there are a few letters for you."

Karkin closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, "Put them outside, I'll look at them later."

After the play, Röntgen, Aigbo, and others would usually come to his room to discuss their experiences and questions about the performance. He planned to regain some energy before that.

"But... one of the letters is marked with the Greycastle royal family. You ordered that if it is a letter from Neverwinter, it must be delivered to you immediately—"

Before the maid could finish speaking, Karkin had already opened the door.

"Where's the letter?"

Startled, the latter hurriedly handed over a stack of letters, and then watched the drama master pick out the royal letter, and stuffed the other letters back in one go.

Then the door was closed.

Karkin returned to the desk and impatiently broke the seal.

This was a letter from King Wimbledon!

Could it be that the other party finally knew that the Karkin Troupe had been to Neverwinter and wanted to dedicate a drama to the coronation ceremony?

If he could contact the King of Greycastle, wouldn't Shadow Play also have a chance?

He suppressed his excitement, unfolded the letter and looked down.

...

"Did you receive a few more roses today?" Aigbo joked on the way to the room.

"About a dozen, I didn't count them," Röntgen shrugged. "Anyway, it's less than before. Although I don't care much anymore."

"If those admirers heard that, their hearts would probably be broken in two." Aigbo laughed, "The decrease in quantity is inevitable. His Majesty sent half of the nobles to the mines, and this has also become the old royal capital. Naturally, there are fewer people who have time to appreciate the drama than before. But as long as the city is still there, everything will slowly return to normal."

"My opinion is that it's good that there are still people sending flowers," Bernice pouted, "Of the six troupes that used to be, now there are only three left. I hope we don't become the next one."

Röntgen's expression also became quite emotional, "Yeah, that war really changed too much..."

"Ahem, ladies, we must also see the good in it." Aigbo coughed twice, "Isn't the rapid expansion of the Karkin Troupe precisely because it has absorbed the personnel of those three companies? We can't control the change of royal power, but history has changed so many times, and everyone is still alive? In short, cheer up, the teacher is still waiting for us—don't let him see us looking discouraged."

Mentioning Karkin. Fiss, everyone couldn't help but nod. That's right, since returning from Neverwinter, the teacher seemed to have suddenly aged several years. It's all Meiyi's fault for not revealing the origin of Shadow Play, and using the possibility of secrecy as a banner. Now that things have come to this, they naturally have to work harder.

"Teacher, excuse me—"

Walking to the door of the room, Aigbo pushed it open, then paused slightly.

The atmosphere in the room seemed a little wrong.

Karkin was not sitting on the soft couch waiting for their arrival as usual, but stood blankly in front of the desk, looking lost. After a long while, he looked at them, "...Come in."

"Teacher, did something happen?" Bernice also noticed the other party's strangeness.

"A letter came from Neverwinter, written by His Majesty the King." Karkin picked up the letter from the desk and handed it to everyone, "You can take a look too."

"Is this... okay?"

"It doesn't matter."

After receiving the signal, Aigbo took the letter.

The others immediately gathered around.

Looking at everyone's expectant expressions, Karkin sighed inwardly. Obviously, they thought the same as he did when they saw the letter—someone was secretly blocking the transmission of information, which caused the troupe to return to the old royal capital without doing anything. Now that His Majesty knows about it, the person who made the trouble should be out of luck.

But he guessed the beginning, but failed to guess the ending.

His Majesty did fulfill his curiosity, and the letter concisely explained the principle of Shadow Play—an "instrument" made and activated by witches that can record the scenes of events is the key to Shadow Play. However, just having witches is not enough. It uses some ancient relics. These things are extremely rare, basically only found by chance, which leads to the "instrument" being extremely rare, belonging to things that are both priceless and without a market.

The other party wrote bluntly, "Currently, it is the eve of a crisis-ridden war. All resources in each territory must be prioritized to serve the survival of Greycastle, and Shadow Play is no exception. I believe you have already witnessed the shock it brings. In terms of spreading ideas and promoting awareness, it has an extremely important role, so unfortunately, it cannot be temporarily provided for drama that is unrelated to national policy."

"However, this situation will not last forever. After the kingdom ushers in true peace, Shadow Play will eventually become a new form of drama that everyone can shoot. At that time, I believe you and your troupe will be able to leave behind excellent works."

If it were just like this, it could only be considered helplessness at most.

Unfortunately, His Majesty didn't really think so.

He received the notice from the Administrative Hall from the beginning, and the person who rejected the new script was Roland Wimbledon himself.

This was the most devastating thing for Karkin.

Presenting a congratulatory gift for the king's ascension to the throne turned out to be just his wishful thinking.

In fact, the other party did not take the Karkin Troupe's preparations seriously at all. If even the carefully crafted new drama could not catch the king's eye, then the saying of "leaving behind excellent works" in the letter was just a set of polite words.

He was not only presumptuous, but also indirectly hurt Meiyi.