The next day, Rexford fixed up the proposal he had written down and carried it to his fathers office.
Unlike what many would think, an emperor doesn't spend all day on his throne. In fact, he barely even sat on it in a year!
The number of times an emperor sat on his throne every year could be counted in one hand- unless the nation was at war which would force him to sit there for days as he met with delegates and other important people.
But, as the wars were currently put to a halt, the Emperor did not need to sit on his throne all day, now he was in his office. Not as luxurious as one would expect but one that would not really make one think twice that it belonged to an important individual.
"You Majesty"
"No need for worthless pleasantries Rexford"
"Thank you father"
"Good, now what do you want this time?"
"Hahaha…"
Although he was the third prince, Rexford was quite… spoiled- or maybe it was because he was the third prince that he was spoiled?
The mind of a parent was something Rexford could not really understand no matter how much experience he had in his past life-
'I never did become a parent after all…'
Despite never dreaming of becoming a father, the mere thought of "what could have been was enough to breed regret. A sense of loss that only came about due to the loss of choices.
"Well… I have a plan and…"
The personality he had in his past life and the one he currently had were not exactly similar but were close enough that Rexford was able to act normally without any sign of change.
Of course, it wasn't perfect but it was enough to avoid suspicion. Not that he did anything bad, after all, instead of taking over a dead body, what Rexford experienced was more akin to a "revelation". Like waking up from a dream, only that, in the dream of his, he had lived a previous life.
Questioning whether he was Rexford or not was also useless as he couldn't even recall his name from the life he had lived before!
In the end, he was Rexford and that very Rexford was explaining his plans to the emperor who was quickly going through the script that he had adjusted to have more "flare".
"You want to use our military communication system to broadcast a play?"
After going through the revised script that made Anne cry, the emperor only shook his head.
"If you want to make a play to show off how love can occur between people of different races, I wouldn't mind giving you money to open a theater and hire actors but to use our military resources…"
In this world of magic, despite having a society that was reminiscent of the medieval era, the technology was something close to what people on earth would call "steampunk".
A combination of rudimentary scientific knowledge coupled with magical technology gave way to wondrous tools and equipment that would make many Goth's from earth drool.
Not visigoths but the modern day, "I feel like a creature of the night" type dressed in all black and wearing heavy make-up.
Among the many technologies employed in the empire, one which Rexford took particular notice of was the communication tools used by the military.
It was basically a video camera but unlike the cameras on Earth, the ones used by the empire recorded a three dimensional space at full HD.
Rexford Diabolus had experimented on the tools, mostly to spy on women bathing but he gave up once he was discovered. Mostly because he ended up getting invited to those baths instead.
That said, the know-how that Rexford gained from such research allowed him to develop an idea after he awakened.
Moreover, Rexford's dreams had reached a huge wall. Before his awakening, Rexford was just an inch away from giving up and living the rest of his life as a hedonistic prince drowning in pleasure and lust.
He could not change a nation, even becoming emperor won't help him accomplish his dreams, so he was near the end of his journey when he awakened his past life's memories and a new idea came to mind.
On Earth, people may have been in constant conflict for the most stupid of things.
Hating your fellow man just because they had a different skin color or because they were born in a different land.
Rexford had grown numb to such issues in his past life, mostly because the conflict came with unity.
Where there are people who would despise another because of their skin, there were also people who would ignore that and just live life in peace and harmony.
Many factors needed to fit right into place in order to make the peace happen but Earth had proved that it was possible and the very same tools that people use to incite hate was also used to forge unity and bonds.
This time, in this world-
'I'll start it all, instead of hate, the first message sent to the world… will be of LOVE!'
"Urk-"
The thoughts that came up in his mind made him cringe a bit but he shook it away. He had to get his father on board with it and to do that-
"Father, plays only appeal to nobles, even then, few care about the meaning behind the acts!"
"It's fake after all, most of them just want to see those lower in status dance and make a fool of themselves for their entertainment. Most plays only get applause when an accident happens, perfect shows rarely get a single clap"
"EXACTLY!"
Rexford slammed his hands on his fathers desk, any other person would have been scolded or worse, carted away for treason but the third prince was exempted.
"Father, the plays, no matter how beautiful the story they tell are nothing but lies, fakes, even if we have the general populace watch them, all the performers would get are jeers and curses!"
Rexford spoke with passion and with a loud voice, a classic tactic he learned from protesters who could make even the most stupid arguments sound legitimate.
Unfortunately, Rexford was not trying to convince a crowd of mindless sheep chasing after headlines.
He was trying to convince a learned ruler, an emperor who had led a war to its conclusion with limited losses for his nation.
The emperor was not going to get swayed by fanciful words that came to him with a loud voice and his response reflected it.
"So you wish to use our communication technology to prevent the performers from seeing the audience and the audience from harming the performers? That doesn't change anything, it just wastes our resources."
The emperor's response was calm and collected, he did not try to dissuade Rexford, instead he calmly presented his opinions.
"That is where you're wrong father, I am not planning to record a play and broadcast it, I plan to create show"
Rexford calmed down, his voice containing a relaxed pride, a confidence which had the emperor curious. Not of the plan but from where his son had gotten his confidence from.
"What's the difference?"
*smirk*
Rexford then began to use his words to illustrate his ideal-
"A play takes place on a stage, we see the false props, the exaggerated make up everything is obviously made up- but! A show would take place in reality! A battle would be portrayed with scenes that are as close to the truth as possible! The stage of a show is the world!"
Others may have asked more questions but the emperor understood what his son was saying.
"You will use the recorders to document scenes in real places based on the story and present them to the people through a broadcast… I could see your vision-"
When Rexford heard the words of his father, he cut him off-
"Then!"
But the emperor quickly took back control-
"BUT! It is simply an idea is it not? How would you connect various records? How do you make people believe that what they are seeing is true and not a fake tale?"
The emperor retorted with the same question, yes, even with camera technology, it is hard to make scenes appear "real".
His memories from the modern era allowed him to understand that clearly.
Such problems are what led to the creation of "home videos" which, on Earth, brought the illusion of "real" as people were used to seeing fake or scripted shows.
But this world did not have such entertainment, any "home video" in this world would be treated as "fake" and low quality videography would lead to bad products.
On earth, everyone had a camera, even if the video was grainy and low quality, some were capable of creating "movie like scenes" while others could only record a humorous mess that would not even quality as a pleasant viewing experience.
Yet Rexford was already prepared for this-
"Father… take a look"
He took out a crystal, one that had recorded scenes on it. The crystal contained the hard work Rexford had done in the past.
Yes, he had no need to take secret videos of women bathing but!
Rexford… despite many of his actions being done for a certain level of "good", he was still in fact-
A pervert…
"Ahn~ your highness…"
"Didn't I tell you to call me Rex"
"Mhmm~ Rex-AHHH!!!!"
*slap* *plap* *plap*
What was displayed was what many on Earth would call- an AV- Adult Video. Moreover, unlike the recordings that only showed a static scene. The video that was playing, with Rexford as the male lead played out like a modern day high quality porno.
No, it was far from something that one could see on the hub. It was like a short movie, there were no explicit shows of privates but the focus that shifted from Rexford's expression and his partner's orgasm was perfect.
The timing made one feel as if they were in Rexford's shoes; moreover, the scenes did not rush the viewer.
It did not flood one's senses with overtly lewd imagery, it focused on a combination of sound, movement and timing.
Even the dialogue was picked out to focus on the parts that people would "want" to hear.
A depraved piece of media that Rexford had created to test the limits of his research. It was not done recently either.
The Rexford in the video was younger, which meant that the third prince had been making this type of recordings for quite some time already!
*BANG*
"YOU! WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING!"
Rexford ended the video as he returned his fathers rage with a smile.
"I showed you my ability"
"THAT IS NOT ABILITY! THAT IS DEPRAVITY!"
"Father, did you not notice how perfect it was?"
"PERFECT?! HOW COULD I SEE A RECORDING OF MY SON'S NIGHTLY ACTIVITIES AS PERFECT! THERE WERE EVEN CLOSE UPS OF YOUR Fa…"
The emperor's rage that was about to boil over suddenly cooled down, his blood pressure that had reached a boiling point cooled.
He took in a deep breath and went silent as he calmed his mind down.
"I see… so you already have the techniques and technology to create this show of yours"
"Yes"
"..."
The emperor remained silent, Rexford did not say a word, simply maintaining his smile.
"Haa… I'll give you access to the technology, funding and authority to recruit necessary personel"
Hearing the words of his father, Rexford froze, the smile on his face threatened to break but he held it in as he asked.
"Father… isn't that a bit much?"
In response to his question, the emperor let out a calm breath as he stared his son in the eye"
"Of course it, but I have a demand for such support"
*gulp*
Rexford felt troubled but he can't back out now so he answered.
"What is it?"
"No depravity"
"Huh?"
"The support I give would come with limits on the contents, you are not allowed to show any skin! Neither you nor your people! Moreover, two months, I'll give you two months! I need to see the product of your plan before I allow you to proceed with the broadcast!"
Hearing his fathers words, Rexford breathed out a sigh of relief.
'I wasn't planning on… well, I was kinda thinking of adding more explicit scenes for an "Uncensored, extended version" buuut, compromises have to be made~'
Rexford's smile returned as he answered his father-
"No problemo~"
"..."
And thus began the crazy story of the Third Prince, a man whose name would spread throughout the continent like a storm but not for the reasons he expected-