Fantasy Writers 1860

"Editor-in-chief, here's a strange reader's letter." Saul, who was lying on the table, looked up and pulled one out from a pile of envelopes tied with hemp rope.

One of Saul's important daily tasks is replying to letters from readers.

Of course, it's impossible to reply to every single letter. Instead, we select some representative replies from all the letters we receive and publish them along with the original text in the next issue's Letters to the Public section.

After the massive blockade, we received significantly more letters than before. Some praised the jokes in the joke section and hoped for more in the future. Others loved "The Million Pound Note" and wished the newspaper continued success.

Of course, there were also angry outbursts and even razor blades placed in envelopes.

Thor was already used to this.

However, this envelope is truly unlike anything I've ever seen before:

Among this pile of simple and rough envelopes, this one stood out as the only one that was pure white, with faint gold foil embroidery along the edges. Even though only a corner of it was visible, it caught Saul's attention immediately.

This doesn't seem like something someone who reads their own newspaper could afford.

Clancy, sitting at a table away, was too lazy to get up, so he beckoned to a young editor sitting in the middle to bring it to him.

"Sent from the Loia district? Does our newspaper still have such high-end readers?" Clancy chuckled, casually pulled a letter opener from the drawer, cut open the envelope, and took out the letter inside.

The letter paper also felt very nice to the touch, with a gold-patterned border and even a faint fragrance.

However, the content above is not so pleasant.

"What is it?" Thor asked quietly, seeing that Clancy had been staring at the letter without saying a word for a long time.

"Snap—"

Clancy slammed the letter onto the table.

"A councilor claiming to be from the Lentini East district demanded that we take down those jokes."

Thor was momentarily stunned.

Withdraw?

How is that possible!

Since those jokes were published, the newspaper's sales have increased by several percentage points. If we withdraw them, what will happen to the sales?

Only then did he notice the matter of the councilor.

Well, it doesn't seem like a bad idea. Anyway, "The Million Pound Note" is currently being serialized, and it's boosted sales quite a bit.

"A congressman? Why would a congressman read our newspaper? And he's asking us to retract a joke? What does that even mean?" Saul asked.

"He said our jokes were inappropriate, that we were spreading rumors and slanders against the Imperial government, and that we were disrupting the cultural order of Lentinion..." Clancy said indignantly. "What rumors or slanders did we spread? Does simply stating what they did constitute slander?"

"Pfft—" Thor couldn't hold back for a moment. "You're right. Let me sort this out... Hmm, they said I spread rumors and slandered the government! How did you spread rumors and slander? I told you everything they did... It's on par with all the jokes from Dorian."

"You're right, quickly write it down so we can upload it next time." Clancy, who was about to explode in anger, was suddenly interrupted and forgot what he was going to say.

After a brief pause, he continued:

"He also sternly questioned us about our purpose in publishing these articles and who instructed us to do so. He was practically pointing his finger at us and calling us spies of the Iris Republic... In the end, he righteously ordered us to retract the articles immediately, or we would suffer the consequences in the future."

Clancy slammed his fist on the table. "What a joke! A mere councilor, trying to boss us around? Who does he think he is? Trying to take on a small newspaper like us, does he think he's so capable?"

"How many years has the well on Covent Street been dry? St. Martin's Lane doesn't even have a dirt road, and how many people have died from drinking the sewage discharged from so many factories over the years? How long has the cholera outbreak on Chelsea Street lasted? The corpses are infested with maggots and nobody cares..."

"So many things have happened, and we haven't seen this councilor anywhere. Now we've only published a few jokes, and he feels mocked, like he's lost face, and suddenly he remembers he's the East District councilor and wants to punish us?" Clancy became more and more agitated, pointing at the letter on Zhuo's desk and scolding:

"Our purpose in posting this is to mock you! God, in His mercy, instructed us to do it! It's a satire of you!"

Clancy took a deep breath to calm herself down, and then said to Saul, "I will write this reply myself."

"Oh, do we really need to publish this in the reader's letter section?"

"Publish it, of course we'll publish it! Not only will we publish it, but we'll also give it a thorough critique," Clancy said resolutely. "What, are you scared? Afraid he'll really come and shut down our newspaper?"

"Of course not." Thor also became solemn and dignified for a moment.

……

Meanwhile, at Evergarden Castle outside Lentenion, another person was reading a letter from Councilor Lenster.

"Father, try the cookies I just learned to make!" A girl with long blonde hair, wearing a cook's apron, walked into the study carrying a plate of pretty cookies.

A huge floor-to-ceiling window faces the door, and warm sunlight streams in from outside, falling on the large globe in the center of the room, illuminating half of Britannia.

"Aliya, my darling." On the sofa in the corner of the study, a middle-aged man with a full beard put down the letter in his hand, stood up with a smile, and greeted his daughter.

Just as the girl named Alya was walking towards her father with a smile on her face, the butler outside the door suddenly spoke up: "Your Excellency, the Minister of Colonial Affairs requests an audience."

"Let him wait!" the man snapped. "Why did he have to come at this time? I was just about to enjoy the cookies my daughter made."

"Work is more important, Father." Aliya understandingly placed the plate she was carrying on the small table next to the sofa, noticing a newspaper she had never seen before on it.

"A minister without a department means he has to manage everything!" the man complained slightly. "Let him in. Hopefully, he's not here because your brother got into trouble..." He lowered his head and whispered to Aliya.

"Father, what is this?" Alya pointed to the "Lentinion Weekly" on the table.

"A friend sent it to me, saying it seems to promote reactionary rhetoric harmful to the empire, and hopes I can speak to Her Majesty the Queen to properly regulate the publishing industry..."

"If you ask me, it's making a mountain out of a molehill. Do you think the Empire can be overthrown by these intellectuals who can't even lift a gun and only know how to dabble in literature? Lenster must have a lot of free time to be arguing with a small newspaper. Doesn't he care about lowering himself?" The middle-aged man waved his hand.

"Our country has always been known for its cultural freedom; there is no punishment for speech. If we really launch a 'Clean Media' campaign, what will outsiders, especially Russia, which we have always looked down upon, think?"

Alia's mind seemed completely elsewhere, not on these political and diplomatic matters; she appeared to be simply interested in the Lentinion Weekly.

"Then, Father, may I take a look at it?"

"No problem, take it."

Aliya grabbed the newspaper and ran out with a grin, returning to her room and closing the door.

She jogged past the dressing mirror, where she still wore the same smiling face. However, unlike the sweet and innocent smile that suited a girl her age, her face now held a hint of mockery and ridicule.

She lay on the bed, humming an unknown tune, and with a nimble kick of her two little feet, she threw her slippers to the ground, her fair legs swaying gently back and forth like straw in a breeze.

"I want to see just how harmful these harmful remarks to the Empire really are..." Alya muttered to herself.

"...If it's not harmful, I won't watch it."