Surviving as a Plagiarist in Another World

< Chapter 7: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2) >

Mystery novels that rely on a structure of foreshadowing and twists are vulnerable to spoilers.

This is especially true for famous works. It’s human nature to blabber carelessly about influential subjects.

In this regard, ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ met both criteria.

“Hey, I haven’t read it yet, so why spill the ending?! Are you even human?”

“Ha! It’s your fault for not reading! You should have lined up at the bookstore from dawn like me!”

“You bastard?! It’s a duel!”

“Just like that! Dying in a duel without having read ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’, you won’t rest easy even in heaven!”

“Let’s see who dies!”

Although an extreme example, similar incidents were clearly happening throughout the empire.

There was even this case. A bookstore created a flyer to promote the arrival of ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’.

[What is the story of Dr. Jekyll becoming the terrifying criminal Hyde? Find out now at Hans’ Bookstore!]

─a truly terrifying spoiler was launched.

It was a disaster caused by a lack of understanding of the genre of mystery novels.

And, watching all this unfold through the window, I thought.

“Boss.”

“Yes!”

“Now that it’s come to this, why not hold a fan fiction contest?”

“……What?”

Deciding to ride the wave of spoilers.

* * *

‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ is particularly vulnerable to spoilers.

Even recalling memories from a past life, it was obvious. The fact that ‘Jekyll’ and ‘Hyde’ are the same person is so well-known that many are unaware that it’s the twist of the mystery novel.

“Isn’t the capital in a frenzy over spoilers?”

“Yes….”

Yet, ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ remains a classic.

The reason is simple.

“Now that it has come to this, let’s see who can spoil it most spectacularly.”

“What?”

‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ is a masterpiece that rightly belongs in the pantheon of classics, even just for its ‘answer part’.

‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ is a pioneering novel of dual personalities. The opposition between the ‘good personality’ represented by Jekyll and the ‘evil personality’ represented by Hyde has inspired countless writers and remains an immortal classic.

In South Korea in a past life, the musical ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ was popular, famously for the song ‘This Is The Moment’.

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is an interesting work, but it leaves much to be desired in terms of volume, doesn’t it? Especially the parts like ‘Lanyon’s Narrative’ and ‘Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement’.”

“It’s such a magnificent piece that it’s a bit disappointing how quickly it can be read.”

“Right? So, let’s give our readers a chance to quench their thirst.”

The hallmark of fan works inspired by ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ focuses on the inner struggles and human aspects of Jekyll.

In that case, it becomes a Gothic novel rather than a mystery.

Such elements of Gothic novels—religious ethics, romance, mysticism—are easily understood and accepted by people in this world. The seeds for Gothic novels had already been sufficiently sown.

So, what I planned to do was simple.

“I will open a fan fiction contest based on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It will be a competition where anyone can freely express their interpretation of the character of Jekyll.”

Through the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde fan fiction contest, we will nurture ‘Gothic novel’ authors!

“If we find a good writer, can’t we offer them a publishing contract?”

“Author…! Thank you for thinking so highly of our publishing house!”

“Just don’t betray and run away like last time.”

“Ha ha… Sorry….”

Moreover, the secondary function of the fan fiction contest was not just that.

Copyright law had only recently passed through the legislature. If the law is not enforced properly during such a transitional period, it could become dead letter.

But it’s not possible to just imprison all the plagiarist authors, is it?

So, it’s about giving existing authors a chance. A chance to freely use the original work to create something new. If there are still those who would break the law even with such an opportunity, then they can be dealt with accordingly.

“Then, boss.”

“Yes!”

“Please prepare well for the fan fiction contest. It’s a new kind of competition, so there seems to be a lot to consider… I trust you can handle it?”

“Yes! I will prepare as if my bones turn to dust and my body breaks apart!”

“There’s no need to work that hard….”

* * *

[The pleasures I sought so eagerly in my altered form were, as mentioned, of a most unbecoming kind.]

[But those pleasures went disastrously awry when they fell into the hands of Edward Hyde.]

In ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’, the amount of information available to the reader is not very extensive. Hyde’s incidents are depicted fragmentarily, with reactions, testimonies, statements, and confessions forming the crux.

The veiled parts must be filled in by imagination.

“Did Jekyll not have a lover? People say Jekyll turned Hyde into a stone, but to a woman’s eye, isn’t the boring Jekyll much more like a wooden statue? Although, I do have a bit of a taste for those who seem susceptible to temptation.”

“I’ll leave it to the Prince’s interpretation.”

“Boring, indeed.”

It was as if a prince from the empire had suddenly visited the publishing house.

Dressed as a maid, the prince sat on the sofa, bouncing his legs like a mischievous child, and reading a book, occasionally sharing his thoughts about it.

“Is this character Hyde, by any chance, modeled after me?”

“That is not the case.”

“Really? I thought there was a resemblance.”

To think that Hyde, with his grotesque and detestable appearance, and the beautiful face of the prince dressed as a maid were similar was a notion that would make anyone shake their head. Yet, for some reason, I found myself agreeing a little.

Hyde represented the ‘pure soul’ of Dr. Jekyll.

He was the embodiment of pure, unadulterated evil, having shed the cumbersome and dualistic shell. The ‘Hyde’ that Henry Jekyll saw was such an entity.

And Prince Idris seemed to overlay the image of his own soul onto his face like an illusion.

“I have never seen your true face, Your Highness, so it is difficult to comment.”

“It’s not much different from now. It’s that kind of magic.”

“Is that so?”

“For instance, this hair. I’ve taken great care in growing it. Would you like to touch it?”

“How could I dare touch the hair of such a noble person?”

“The maids touch it every day. Well, if you don’t want to, that’s fine.”

The reason for his visit was unclear.

It wasn’t just to read a novel and share his thoughts.

My mouth felt dry.

“Your Highness?”

“Yes?”

“May I ask if there is a specific reason you came all the way here?”

“I’m thinking of participating in a contest.”

“Excuse me?”

“There’s a secondary creation contest, isn’t there?”

How did he know about it when it hadn’t even been officially announced yet?

Was this the information-gathering capability of the imperial family? It was somewhat frightening.

“Ah! I’m not saying you should award my work first place or anything like that. I thought I might get some clues by talking directly with the author. Well, it wasn’t very interesting.”

“Ha ha….”

“So, why are you holding this contest? It doesn’t seem like you stand to gain much… Just a hobby?”

“I hope to see more good writers emerge.”

“Hmm?”

The prince narrowed his eyes at me, supporting his chin with one hand and lazily moving his fingers up and down.

His eyelashes were long. The gaze that seemed to peer into the other person made one shrink back like a frog before a snake.

Really, how could that be a man?

“Wouldn’t it be quicker for you, the author, to write several good works than to wait for good writers to emerge? Somehow, I get that feeling….”

“Ha ha….”

Was he seeing right through something?

In a world where magic and mysteries existed, it wouldn’t be strange for the royal family to use some kind of insight magic.

I would have to be very careful.

“You’re not denying it?”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“Ha ha ha….”

* * *

The second creation contest for “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” had begun, and every day, dozens of works were poured into the publishing house.

It was a task to evaluate all of them.

I enjoyed reading, so it wasn’t much of a problem. In fact, it was rather pleasant.

“There are more plays than I expected.”

The format of the competition was open-ended. Novels, epics, plays, and even drawings were allowed. In the case of drawings, they would be separately evaluated and, if chosen, included as illustrations in the next printed edition.

However, among these, there was one odd entry.

“Mr. President.”

“Yes, writer!”

“It seems like this fan letter was misclassified. It looks like there’s a gift enclosed.”

“What? That shouldn’t be. Let me see.”

Inside the envelope was a small glass bottle.

After checking the envelope, the president handed it back to me.

“This is indeed a submission for the contest. Perhaps it’s a gift meant to be sent separately to you, given that these people are also your fans.”

“Hmm, that might be.”

Inside the glass bottle was a shimmering grey liquid that looked metallic. It couldn’t be mercury, could it?

Apprehensive about opening it carelessly, I first examined the work inside the envelope.

The piece within was a confessional written in imitation of Henry Jekyll’s own in the novel.

[I have realized that our flesh is merely a shell expressing some force and light that constitutes our soul.]

[Furthermore, I succeeded in creating a chemical that pulls down that noble force from its exalted place and instead forms a completely different body and appearance.]

Up to this point, it was no different from Jekyll’s confession in the novel.

The difference came afterward.

[In case of any contingency, I will record the method of this chemical here. A chemical that reveals the most fatal aspects of a person without omission…]

What was written in the letter was a recipe for some chemical.

The recipe, densely packed with ingredients, methods, and necessary tools and equipment, was somewhat unsettling due to its unexpected nature.

With a mix of absurdity and anticipation, I turned to the next page of the letter. The final page was not part of Jekyll’s confessional but a letter written by the contestant in their own name.

[After much pondering and deliberation on the chemical from ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,’ I have realized that creating this mysterious and sacrilegious chemical is not theoretically impossible.]

[Embracing the ominous inspiration contained within this fantastical novel, I submit the results of my inquiry to the creator of the story.]

[May our arts shine under God’s blessing.]

[-The Alchemist, Gellan Lanyon-]

“…What.”