Chapter 797: Chapter 565: Meeting_2 Chapter 797: Chapter 565: Meeting_2 However…it seems quite lively here today?
Looking around the corridor, though as quiet as ever, it seemed there was a commotion coming from the amusement room not too far away, which piqued Mary’s curiosity. As a result, she found herself drawn to the amusement room. She reached out and knocked on the door. Immediately, Lorena’s voice responded.
“Ah, please come in.”
“Sorry to disturb you.”
She spoke as she pushed the door open and entered the room.
Then, she saw Lorena and…several unfamiliar girls.
At this moment, they were sitting on the couch, holding teacups, seemingly engaged in conversation. Lorena was there too. Beside her was Ogis, dressed in a black gothic dress, with long silver hair. Duanmu Huai had introduced her to Mary before, describing her as a very important companion.
Across from Lorena and Ogis, there was a brown-haired girl brimming with vitality. Beside this girl was a short-haired girl. They were both wearing the same uniform, seeming to be students from a school. What was peculiar was the red-haired girl, with strange wings sprouting from her back – closer observation revealed horns on her head and a thick, long tail under her skirt?
On another side, a girl with light blue hair, also with horns and a tail, was sprawled on a blanket, staring boredly at a computer screen, doing something.
Luckily, having spent a lot of time with Duanmu Huai, Mary had encountered a lot of peculiar people, and thus, she didn’t find it too surprising.
Seeing Mary walk in, Lorena happily waved at her, beckoning Mary to her side, after which she looked at the others and began to speak.
“This is Miss Mary Clarissa Christie.”
“Ah, she’s a local of that world, right?”
After introducing Mary to everyone, Lorena turned to Mary and started to introduce the others.
“Miss Mary, this is Princess Ann of Manaria and beside her is Princess Greiya of Regnes, she’s a hybrid of dragon and human, from the Dragonkin Race. Oh, and Miss Felin over there is also a Dragonkin.”
Upon hearing Lorena’s introduction, Mary was taken aback. But this wasn’t due to the Dragonkins, instead, it was…
This truly startled Mary, as a middle-class young lady, she wasn’t usually in a position to meet princesses. And yet, both of these ladies were princesses?
“Hello, Miss Mary, I’m Ann.”
Seeing Mary’s surprise, Ann greeted her cheerfully by waving her hand. Greiya also nodded gently in her direction.
“My name is Greiya. Nice to meet you.”
The slouching Felin at the other end, engrossed in her computer, raised a hand to wave lazily in acknowledgment.
“Ah, yes, it’s an honor to meet all of you…”
Mary’s body tensed, and her mind went blank. It felt like visiting a friend’s house only to run into someone like the president of a country by accident. She was completely at a loss as to how to react.
“There’s no need to be so cautious. Lorena told us you joined the tribunal, right? So we are comrades. You don’t have to be so formal. It actually makes us a bit uncomfortable.”
As she acknowledged and carefully took a seat, a maid brought a cup of tea for her. In an attempt to ease Mary’s anxiety, Lorena took the initiative to start a conversation with her.
“Speaking of which, it’s quite rare for Miss Mary to come over here, is there something you need?”
At Lorena’s inquiry, Mary regained her composure and picked up the paper bag next to her.
“Actually, my first novel has just been published…”
“Oh? That was quick!”
Yes, this was why Mary came here. Her first novel was about the old man who turned into a zombie by the lake that they encountered earlier. Although she pitched the manuscript to several publishers, only one was willing to publish it. Because it was a short story, the first edition included illustrations and a thousand copies were printed… Well, that was not a large number, but for Mary, it was a small step forward.
“Miss Lorena, would you like to read it?”
“Yes, I want to read!”
Lorena excitedly took the book from Mary and began to look through it carefully.
“Wow, there are even illustrations inside?”
“Yes, because there aren’t many words, the publisher thought it would sell better with some pictures…Honestly, it’s because of this that the price is not very cheap. I initially wanted to make the price as affordable as possible so that most people could read it. But the publisher said…the reason for setting this price was to attract people’s curiosity as to why this kind of book would be priced , which would then spark their interest in reading it. As long as there is interest, they will purchase… Although I don’t really understand.”
Hearing this, Ann nodded thoughtfully.
“Indeed, the publisher’s strategy is correct. Blindly lowering the price only devalues one’s worth. If others sell something that they don’t mind paying a higher price for, it indeed can be sold. But the other party might not necessarily read it. On the other hand, at least this price can ensure those who buy it will read it seriously… ”
“Probably. So, what’s written inside? Is it the adventure story in that world that Lorena mentioned before?”
“Ah, yes… But some parts might be a bit exaggerated, I’m worried that Mr. Duanmu might get angry… ”
Even if the publisher wanted to publish it, the manuscript couldn’t go untouched. From the publisher’s perspective, while Mary’s novel captures the atmosphere and pacing very well, the characterisation needed some modification.
Right, the only character who needed to be modified was Duanmu Huai.
In this story, Mary herself appeared as the second assistant, while Lorena was the first assistant, and Duanmu Huai was the boss. However, the original ending of the story, Mary wanted to align Duanmu Huai with Sherlock Holmes, in a nutshell, she wanted readers to see Duanmu Huai as both brave and shrewd.
But the editor thought that this position was a bit indecisive. Since the story had already depicted him as a fearsome and horrifying figure, why not make his actions even more fearsome and horrifying in the end – after all, readers would have guessed that he was fearsome from the description of his appearance at the beginning of the story. So how fearsome could he be? The editor thought that the story could take a bolder turn towards the end…Let the readers feel unexpectedly scared…
So, Mary had to grit her teeth and make the changes.
But she wasn’t sure if Duanmu Huai would kind of ending, so after it was published, she brought it to him to read.
Although Mary was quite nervous, however…….
“There’s no problem at all.”
After reading the ending, Lorena gave her own critique.
“Eh? There’s no problem?”
“Yes, I feel like Sir Knight is even more restrained in this than usual.”
That’s called restraint? Mary felt she had almost turned Duanmu Huai into some kind of wild beast.
“Eh? I want to see it too, I want to see it!”
At this time, Ann also couldn’t wait to come over, took the book, and then leaned shoulder to shoulder with Greiya, and flipped through it with her.
After reading, their impressions were…….
“Eh? Mr. Duanmu is not this gentle.”
“No problem, after all, Mr. Duanmu… is even more fierce when he fights than this…”
Hearing this, Mary was completely baffled.