in the name of the queen

Chapter 42 Completely inconsistent

"Genius, what a genius idea!"

Mr. Duke, the editor-in-chief of the Sun Society, who was tall and thin, slammed the table vigorously and gave Roland's first draft a very high evaluation.

He pushed up his glasses, and his expression that was as cold as ice just now was like spring.

"Oh, Mr. Roland, Miss Sif, it is our honor for you two to come and contribute to our publication!"

He rang the bell vigorously, scolded the servant who came quickly, and asked the servant to quickly pour tea for the distinguished guest.

Then he complimented Roland in a particularly disgusting tone.

"Mr. Roland, your article is in a style I have rarely seen."

"With all due respect, the current Sussex literary world has gone astray. Many so-called literary figures write nothing but nonsense."

Even though Roland was very thick-skinned, he was still a little embarrassed to praise him so directly.

In line with the principle of mutual promotion in business, Roland said with a smile: "You can't say that. What the big guys in the literary world write is tragedy, and what I write is comedy, with different styles."

"There are many forms of artistic expression, and they cannot be generalized."

Duke snorted disdainfully and sneered:
  "I'm not targeting anyone, I just think that many people have a distorted understanding of tragedy. The so-called tragedy is to tear beautiful things into pieces for readers to see. It is definitely not to throw smelly things in readers' faces and then feel complacent. They say this is art."

"Only readers have the right to evaluate whether it is art or not."

Duke pounded the table emotionally and complained loudly:

"I have paid a lot of money to invite several literary giants to write columns for our newspaper. However, these guys completely disrespected my requests and even mocked me for not knowing art."

"Bah, you took the money from the newspaper but refused to do what was asked of you. You have no professional ethics!"

Roland suddenly realized that it was no wonder that the Duke editor was so resentful towards the old guys in the Sussex literary world. It turned out to be a personal grudge.

Suddenly realizing that he had slipped up, Duke quickly stopped complaining and changed the subject, "Mr. Roland, do you only plan to submit one manuscript or do you want to cooperate for a long time?"

“What are the conditions for single submission and long-term cooperation?”

"A single contribution is just like other authors. You get paid for your contribution, and the income distribution can be a fixed buyout or a proportional share. Long-term cooperation means signing a contract to become our contributor author, and we will cooperate frequently. The specific price is determined based on the sales volume of newspapers and special issues, and the remuneration is higher."

Duke introduced it eloquently.

Roland understood his condition as soon as he heard it and was in awe.

This distribution method is quite close to the income distribution model of the modern literary world, and even has some shadows of Internet literature.

Unexpectedly, The Sun's business philosophy is so advanced. No wonder it can become bigger and stronger in the field of toilet newspapers.

There is something.

Although he was not in a hurry to express his position, Roland already recognized Duke and the Sun. He accepted the two versions of the contract handed over by Duke and silently thought about how to maximize the benefits.

Sif also understood Duke's words immediately, with eyes filled with contempt.

Is this still called literature?

It's just business.

Can this kind of copper-smelling thing really be called a literary work?
  She was very sure that Roland would not accept long-term cooperation.

She knew Roland.

Roland is not a shameless person who sells everything for money and has no bottom line.

She had read several of Roland's novels, but she never saw Roland asking for a penny from her.

Obviously, Roland did not write to make money, but to pursue a pure literary dream.

She knew that Roland would only accept the single-time cooperation model because he had to submit the manuscript for publication, otherwise he would not even accept it.

After carefully reading the contract, Roland handed it to Sif in a gentlemanly manner and asked her to take a look at it too.

Sif flipped through the pages and rated Duke and the Sun even less favorably.

According to the contract provided by Duke, the author is the Sun's cash cow. He must think hard about how to please readers and create gimmicks to attract attention in order to obtain more profits.

This is completely different from the traditional realization model of literary works.

In the past, writers worked for the royal family and aristocrats. It was very common for them to stop writing for a few years and then take a few years to write.

They have absolute creative freedom. Because revenue is not tied to sales, they don’t have to consider what readers think and are free to create shocking works.

Under this kind of creative freedom, very few fine tragedies and countless dungeons in the guise of tragedy were created.

But no one ever questioned it.

Because this pattern has lasted for thousands of years.

This has been the case since time immemorial.

What The Sun did was deviant and violated the laws of our ancestors. No wonder it was boycotted by other newspapers and publishing houses, and was called a toilet newspaper.

Putting down the contract, Roland and Sif looked at each other and nodded at the same time.

Under Mr. Duke's expectant gaze, the two spoke at the same time.

“We choose long-term cooperation!” “We choose single-time cooperation!”

Duke: "."

Can you two unify your thoughts before speaking? It cannot be said that your answers are completely different, at least they are completely opposite.

Roland: "."

Sif: "."

The air in the living room was almost solid. Just when the situation became extremely awkward, Sif's soft voice broke the silence.

"Roland, this is your work, you decide." Sif bit her lip and whispered.

"No, this work also has your hard work, you decide." Roland made an impassioned speech.

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Duke quickly came out to smooth things over.

"Mr. Roland, Miss Sif, I don't think there is any need to be so entangled. Since you submitted the manuscript, it at least means that you want to publish it in this publication, right?"

"Ah."

"Humph."

Speaking at the same time, they are all simple modal particles, but they have completely different meanings.

Duke smiled and suggested, "Let's do this. We can sign a semi-long-term contract. This submission will enjoy the benefits of long-term cooperation. It is up to you to decide whether to continue to submit in the future."

"If you don't want to continue to cooperate, the contract will be frozen naturally. If you two still have the intention to cooperate, the contract can be activated at any time, how about?"

Duke's suggestion was sincere and he gave Roland and Sif the most favorable treatment.

If you want to cooperate, you can get a higher long-term cooperation treatment. If you don’t want to cooperate, you can stop it at any time, and there is no penalty for breach of contract.

But this condition was a bit too generous, which made Sif suddenly alert.

She lowered her voice and asked: "Mr. Duke, my mother said, don't believe that pie will fall from the sky, even if it is more likely, it will be poisonous. I want to know the real reason."

"The real reason?"

Duke paused for a moment and asked in a low voice: "Mr. Roland, if I read correctly, you are the champion of the Royal Essay Contest, right?"

"it's me."

Roland was not surprised to think that the Sun reported the news of the emperor's murder earlier than the Military Intelligence Agency.

Although the Military Intelligence Bureau is jokingly called a loser, it is a serious intelligence agency after all.

The Sun's intelligence channels are wider than those of the Military Intelligence Agency, which shows their strength.

It's strange that they didn't recognize him.

"That's right. Our boss appreciates your talent very much and asked me to cooperate when you entered the newspaper office. This is the real reason."

Is that so?
  Roland and Sif looked at each other and accepted Duke's explanation.

Rupert, the owner of The Sun, is a core member of the Plantagenet family. Since he can recognize Roland, he must also be able to recognize Sif.

It makes sense for Imperial loyalists to take the initiative to show their kindness to Sif.

Sif stood up in a hurry and said softly: "Thank you Mr. Rupert for your kindness. We accept the cooperation agreement."

The signing ends quickly.

The contract was made in triplicate, with Roland, Sif and Duke each keeping one copy.

After signing the contract, the two quickly said goodbye.

Holding the contract, Duke went upstairs and stood in the president's office. Before he could knock on the door, the thick door slowly opened.

A handsome and almost enchanting young man sat in the middle of the sofa, with a smile on his lips and he raised his right hand casually.

The contracts in Duke's hands are flying straight to young men.

The door closed slowly.

Duke left quickly.

The boss doesn't like his employees to talk too much, he knows the rules.

The handsome man came to the window, flipped through the contract casually, cast his eyes on Sif's carriage, and murmured:

"Sylph, is your bloodline finally awakening?"

He then shook his head mockingly.

Judging from Sylph's current performance, there shouldn't be.

Since there is no such thing, the Plantagenet family's secrets must remain frozen for the time being.

He will not tell anyone that the ancestors of the family recognized the blood of the elf royal family flowing in the Sussex royal family on the battlefield, and they surrendered voluntarily.

How could the descendants of the elf generals swing their swords against the royal bloodline?
  Even the unawakened royal family.

(End of this chapter)