City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 493: Company

Rosen

"Take a break. We will start again in ten," said Loughty as the scene ended.

The actors moved to rest and read their lines, while the stage mages cleared their spells.

"How was it?" asked Loughty, as he stopped beside me. "Good, they are nearly ready," I replied to the middle-aged man.

"The performance would have been even better. If we didn't abruptly stop last night," he said softly and shook visibly.

The incident last night was shocking and terrifying.

The rage that I had felt had nearly brought me to my knees, but also reminded me of the worst time in my life, when I had felt such rage.

"Don't worry, we have enough time," I replied to him, and he nodded.

I have distributed some of my duties. Like directing to others. Focusing on managing the theater and refining my plays.

Like every part of the tower, the theater had also been expanded.

It became bigger with its capacity reaching three thousand seats. The stage is also bigger now, which will help us create complex sets.

The changes to the tower hadn't been finished. Only the stage is finished.

There is work happening everywhere, but it will be done before the tower opens.

I hope it does. A lot is riding on it.

Soon, ten minutes passed, and practice began again. They have time till twelve before actors for another play will come for their practice.

There will be three plays playing in the legacy. Two of them are mine, while one is from the playwright of the merchant state.

Usually, only two plays are performed in the theater in a single day, but the response for plays has been great, with long waiting lists that go over a year.

The three plays are going to make a logistics hell. I wish I had a few weeks with a complete theater to train the staff, but I don't have a single day.

So, I am making my people work, while the work is being done in the theater. The good thing is that we have experienced staff; the new people we hire are at a good level.

I am still amazed at how easy it is for the legacy to attract great talent.

Even at my peak, it was hard for me to recruit the best stage mages or directors, but here, we only needed to post a single recruitment letter, and hundreds would apply.

Soon ten minutes passed, and the practice started again.

I watched for a while before walking away. Crossing the mist curtain, that is near the stage.

As I did, I entered a completely different world.

I saw people everywhere, doing jobs. Some are working on the seating, some working on the balconies, and some on the lights.

As I had said, the work was yet to be finished.

Soon, I walked out of the theater and entered the lobby, which had now become bigger, with a different waiting area for the commons and the VIPs.

There was a separate area for the VIPs before, but the new common waiting area had expanded and swallowed it.

So, they made it new, and it is bigger and much fancier than before.

It now even has a bar.

Most people in there are going to be snobbish bastards, but these people also have huge money and have the greatest influence in society.

They also patronize the arts, which helps us artists a lot.

It is not just the stage, lounge, and seating that got bigger, but also the backstage, the green rooms, concessions, dressing room, bathrooms, and many other things.

A few new things were also added. Like the souvenir stand.

I have seen what they are planning to sell. Those things are beautiful, based on the plays, and also expensive.

Velvet Garden doesn't need money, but they are planning to earn a lot.

An hour passed, and I took the elevator. I have a meeting with Madam Caena.

Ting!

The elevator stopped at the top floor, and I got out.

"Mr. Rosen," greeted a middle-aged guard waiting by the elevator and led me toward the Madam's office.

Click!

Soon, we reached it, and he opened the door. I nodded my thanks and entered the room.

"Madam Caena," I greeted the woman.

I feel scared of this woman, as I have never been scared of any warrior or noble.

Even the prince wasn't as scary as this woman. I feel from my soul, that I should never wrong this woman, or I will pay dearly.

The woman nodded and motioned me to sit down.

"These are the showbill copies that came from the Owlspring," she said and waved her palm a little, and immediately, three beautiful booklets appeared in front of me.

Hun!

Seeing them, as a surprise, couldn't help, but appear in my heart.

All three of them had a beautiful painting drawn on them, along with the title and name of the playwright.

"What are these?" I asked, confused. "Playbills," she replied.

'This is not a playbill,' I thought and wanted to say it, but controlled myself.

Playbill isn't common in most theaters and those who provide it. Didn't do it in this form or this beautiful. It is just a strip of paper, with short information about the play.

These booklets have at least twenty to thirty pages.

All three of the booklets are the most beautiful I have ever seen. It's clear, they have been crafted with care by experienced hands.

They are works of art, and without a doubt cost a lot.

I picked up the left booklet of "The Wayfarer." It had a beautiful drawing of a woman's silhouette walking through the verdant forest.

On the top, is the name of the play, and below it is the name of the writer, mine.

Seeing that, a smile couldn't help, but appear on my face.

I turned the page and saw the introduction of the play. I read it and turned the page. On it, I saw the names of the writer, director, and cast, along with their pictures.

'So, this is why they had sent the mage,' I thought.

Two weeks ago, the order came from the tower. We have to pose for pictures. They didn't tell the reason, but now the reason is clear.

It is for this booklet.

After that, is the information about the plays. From musical numbers to scenes and breakdowns. This is written by me. Once again, it was ordered.

Then it was the cast names and their biographies. That includes the names of their previous work. After that, it was writers and directors' notes.

Hun!

I flipped to another page, and a surprise appeared on my face. When I saw the long list of names, as I read it, I realized these are the names of people working on the play.

From stage mages to make-up artists to backstage crew to stage cleaners.

Everyone working in the play has their name written on it.

This is shocking.

Nobody does that, but here every name is present. I read it twice before turning the page, which had an acknowledgement and special thanks.

There are five names. Including Uncle Vanis's.

After it, what seemed like an advertisement. I looked at it, before turning the page.

Which has the information about the other two shows and one show that will start in two months.

The booklet ended, and I saw its back. Which has a beautiful drawing of the velvet garden.

"Will this be given at every show?" I asked. "Yes, to every person," she replied, and it couldn't help but surprise me.

The booklet isn't cheap, but that's not a problem. The ticket is expensive enough that they could bear it easily.

Most importantly, it will help a lot.

Not only to the audience coming to watch but also to the people making the play. Especially those working in the background.

Having a name listed will help with their careers.

"It will be loved by all," I said, and she smiled, but a moment later, her expression became serious.

"It will, but it is not for this that I called you," she said, and I waited.

"Master Silver wants to form a theater company," she stated, and surprise couldn't help, but appear on my face.

We already have a theater company in a semi-official capacity, but forming an official one will require a lot of funding and other things.

Currently, half of our members are freelancers, while the other half borrowed from other companies.

"It will make the present things complicated," I said after a moment. "It won't have to be. We will continue with the present system while forming our own company."

"It will be focused on recruiting and nurturing the best talent. With 50% recruitment from Greltheaven and Panar," she replied.

Sliding the file toward me.

I opened the file and began to read the terms and conditions. Some conditions surprised me.

Like no restrictions on the races. I have been given the freedom to recruit the best talent without thinking about the race they belong to.

'Wow!' I said when I looked at the budget for the company. It is huge, much bigger than I had thought.

They are also giving us the building. It will be bigger and more official than the one we occupy now.

Currently, it is being constructed but will be ready in a little over a month.

"It seems like Lord Silver's plans don't just involve velvet theater?" I asked, and she smiled.

Our present system works just fine, but it's clear the man had ambitions greater than this and is willing to spend huge money on it.

It has also made me excited. It is something I had wanted to do, but bad things happened before I could.

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