Indeed, there was a perceptive reader who mentioned the title of the massive masterpiece he wrote.
Hennessy, with a gleaming look, gazed at the lady wearing a bonnet and said, “Are you serious?”
The silver-haired woman with a familiar face smiled kindly and said, “The most important thing is to lend a hand to those who are beneath us. When people lower than us are in trouble, it’s about willingly extending a hand. That’s the ‘Noblesse Oblige’ of nobility. That line was truly beautiful, wasn’t it?”
Hennessy thought to himself, ‘She seems fine now. She looked a bit off earlier.’
In any case, he threw away such idle thoughts! The important thing was that the woman in front of him was his reader.
“By any chance… did you read the whole book?”
“Yes, the content was quite good.”
“Nice to meet you! Haha! What’s your name? Perhaps we could go to a coffee house for a simple cup of tea…”
Hennessy, deeply impressed by his first meeting with a reader, brightened his eyes at the thought of arranging a seat for them.
At that moment, the woman casually lowered her sunglasses, winked, and with a fresh smile, said, “I’m Giselle Florette. You may have already heard my name.”
His hand, which was about to shake hers in greeting, froze.
‘Giselle Florette, the Duke’s fiancée?’
Could she have investigated him along with Duke kalinos? Was that why she approached him, knowing the responsibility of the book he wrote, and scolding his staff from the beginning?
‘How dare she know the pseudonym I carefully kept hidden… This is cooling the sense of admiration.’
He glared at Giselle with a cold expression.
“I didn’t expect that Duke kalinos knew my pseudonym. I certainly didn’t expect him to inform the lady about it.”
“No, the Duke doesn’t know the pseudonym of the Senate Chairman. I’m the only one who knows it.”
“…Would you believe that?”
Despite the rude comment expressing distrust of her ability, Giselle smiled and smoothly responded, like someone who was prepared.
“Since the Senate’s consent is needed, I did some research. I also checked the book you published under your real name. It was a self-help book. The logic and tone you used were quite similar, so I found it interesting.”
“…That’s…”
“But then I heard that the book you invested in was placed on the best shelf at this bookstore, so I came to check it out. I happened to meet you while I was browsing the shelves.”
“Ha, I see. You’re quite capable.”
“I am somewhat competent, yes. And the timing was also good.”
With a somewhat sarcastic comment, she confidently responded.
‘She seems more composed than I expected, but that’s all.’
Hennessy chuckled lightly and said, “Anyway, it seems like there’s nothing more to discuss, so I’ll be going.”
“No. You’ll regret leaving.”
Just as Hennessy’s eyes filled with discomfort, she spoke again.
“I’ll help spread the word about this book so that all the citizens of the Empire can know about it.”
—
It goes without saying that Hennessy rejected Giselle’s offer of help.
‘I don’t need any promotion. Surely, someone will recognize the true value of my book.’
As soon as he returned to the Senate, he had to listen to stories about Giselle Florette for days.
Except for those in the Senate who had agreed with Duke kalinos’s marriage, the remaining five members were sitting in a secret room, heatedly debating.
“We haven’t received any contact suggesting that His Grace the Duke should meet his fiancée separately.”
A hot-headed elder, with a gruff voice, slammed his hands on the table and shouted like a gorilla.
“I’ve investigated thoroughly! I heard she’s weak-willed and fragile, such a woman would bring shame to our family as the lady of the house!”
“Felicé, Elder. Your voice is too loud. Please calm yourself.”
“…Ah, I apologize. But surely, there’s no mistake in what I’m saying, right? How could such a person become the mistress of our house?”
“Anyway, if everyone opposes it, the marriage will be difficult. The Senate Chairman looks upset too, so let’s end it here.”
As he said, Hennessy was uncomfortable.
But it wasn’t because of Giselle. In the past few days, the bird delivering royalties had never knocked on his window.
“Does this mean not a single copy of my book has sold?”
In fact, not long ago, he had intentionally given away a few copies for free as part of a marketing effort and listened to people’s feedback.
[It’s too long. Please summarize it in three lines.]
[Ugh, my head hurts. How can one sentence be ten lines long? Is this really written by a person?]
He felt miserable due to the constant harsh criticism.
“A terrible work? My great masterpiece, called a terrible work?”
At that moment, one of the elders who had been glancing at Hennessy carefully added,
“How about you, Hennessy, meet with that lady on behalf of us?”
Whether by coincidence or fate, an opportunity arose for him to meet Giselle again alone.
“I’ll meet her.”
The reason why Hennessy, known for being a notorious eccentric, became the head of the Senate was simple.
He had a keen eye for people.
But Giselle was tricky.
Her reputation was awful, but when talking to her, she was surprisingly sharp.
“Come to think of it, that woman touched on my sore spot. That’s why I couldn’t have a proper conversation with her.”
If she was talented, he needed to reassess her.
That was all.
—
“Are you wondering how to promote the book?”
“I’m just curious.”
“Does she not know what those dark circles under her eyes mean?”
In the original work If I Die, Will You Regret It?, Hennessy, the head of the Senate, despairs over the fact that not a single copy of his book has sold.
In despair, he drinks heavily one day and rushes into a strange party, delivering a long speech about his work.
When it is revealed that the elder, Kalinos, wrote under a pseudonym, his book eventually becomes a bestseller, but he isn’t particularly happy about it.
The eccentric elder’s secret desire was to become a self-help author praised for his great work while hiding his true identity.
“In short, he wants to be a writer who hides his identity and becomes successful.”
Around this time, he tries to sell his books.
However, due to the constant harsh reviews, his self-esteem is shattered, and his mental state deteriorates.
“Hennessy rose to his position by promoting talent and is quite an upright person. So, if I just show him my abilities, marriage will naturally follow.”
Even if he doesn’t approve of our marriage, I can secure his support in the long run.
I decided to think of it comfortably and only share a small part of my plan with him.
“These days, people don’t read long stuff. It has to be intuitive and grab attention to spark interest from the start.”
“…Are you trying to insult my book?”
“No. I just mean I want to summarize the important points of this book and try selling it as a handy guide first. We show a short version to spark interest, then guide them to the original.”
He frowned as soon as I spoke.
‘His ego is definitely strong. But I can’t push back any further.’
I stared at him silently.
Unable to stand the silence, Hennessy let out an uncomfortable sound.
“…Let’s hear what direction you want to take with the handy guide.”
“Well, first, I’ll make some simple cuts. For example, I’ll cut out very long sentences. Make it easier to read.”
“Easier to read, huh.”
After suggesting the revisions, I brought up the most important point.
“Now, here’s the crucial part. We’re going to change the title.”
“The title? Are you saying we’re changing this noble title?”
“Yes.”
“What’s wrong with this great title that you’re changing it?”
There’s a huge problem, but he will never know what it is.
“Isn’t it a win-win situation anyway?”
“…?”
“We’re not distorting the original content, just summarizing it into a handy guide. We’ll change the title, distribute it to all bookstores, and wait just three days.”
“…?”
“And if it really sells well…”
He looked at me with skepticism.
“Give me 10% of the royalties.”
I had already expected this, so I smiled, holding up the two contracts and the parts of the handy guide I had pre-prepared.
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