Joshua took the originium crystal marked with "1" and infused it with mana. The images stored in the crystal were then projected into the air, and Joshua shifted the projection onto a smooth castle wall.
The cinema-quality movie that one could only enjoy on Earth had finally materialized in the ancient castle.
The lights went out at that moment with only the projection from the originium crystal illuminating the area. Joshua placed the crystal on the table before he returned to the "audience seats" that had been temporarily set up.
The filming progress of "Beauty and the Demon" was almost seventy percent done, and the remaining part of the story was where Gaston led the townsfolk to attack the castle.
This part of the plotline required Joshua to inform the duke in advance even though they had made a covenant.
After all, it was still courtesy to inform the owner when you were bringing a mob to trash her house, even if it was just for a performance.
So, Joshua used a special method to inform the Duke of Bones of his intentions.
As a result, the Duke of Bones gloriously became the world's first preview audience member for the world's first movie. It was not the Duke of Bones alone, but his ghostly servants were also there.
The movie was played just as Joshua had planned. Whether it was the angles, the description of the scenes, and even the lighting, it was all very satisfactory to him. The Duke of Bones herself played the movie soundtrack.
The entire castle was silent, and only the character's dialogues in the film could be heard.
Many of the scenes in the movie included the castle, which the duke was familiar with, while Ciri watched the entire process of filming in the village from the sidelines.
However, both the Duke of Bones and Ciri were still fully focused on the film, and Joshua even heard the sound of bated breath during the critical part of the plot.
The same scene could have been shot from different angles to elicit different feelings, but the pace of the story and its dialogue were not present in real life.
Joshua believed that the biggest charm of movies was their ability to tell the audience that "there is such a beautiful thing in this world". Of course, he could replace beautiful with other words as well.
The essence of a movie was to allow the audience to experience a different life, and any intelligent being would always find interest in a life they never had.
Since the movie had not been completed yet, the projection suddenly disappeared when the story was still halfway through.
"What happened? Where are the other scenes?"
Before Joshua could even speak, the Duke of Bones' voice echoed across the dark hall, and the blazing soulfire in her eyes once again turned to Joshua.
"Your Grace, this movie is not yet completed."
Joshua only had plans to introduce the Duke of Bones to the concept of a movie. That was the reason why he played the incomplete "Beauty and the Demon" before the duke.
"When will the filming be completed?"
The Duke of Bones admitted that she had begun to look forward to the coming plotline. The moment the movie reached its climax, the screen blacked out, and the duke actually thought something was wrong with Joshua's originium crystal. Instead, he told her that it was not complete.
This was the second time Joshua had managed to trigger the Duke of Bones' urge to roll her sleeves up and deck him.
"If Your Grace would agree to allow the humans to enter your castle and have a little trip around it... I can finish this movie in two days."
The Duke of Bones pondered for a moment as she tapped her fingers on the handle of the chair, as though she was hesitating because of it.
"Your Highness, are you serious about wanting me to perform in the human world?"
The soulfire that was leaping within the duke's eyes had calmed down. Her covenant with Joshua was for her to obtain Joshua's scores, while Joshua's hope for her to perform in the human world was taken as a joke.
For a living disaster like her to go into human cities? The Duke of Bones had never heard a more terrible joke.
However, the "Beauty and the Demon" movie had touched the duke and given her a little faith that Joshua could really change how humans think about them.
"I am serious, and I will write your name at the end of the movie. Everyone who watches it will then know that all of the wonderful soundtracks in the movie were created by your hands."
"In that case, please proceed, Your Highness. I shall await the movie's ending."
Joshua's answer convinced the Duke of Bones to make her decision.
After getting the duke's permission, Joshua prepared to shoot the final part of the movie. However, the Duke of Bones once again pulled Joshua's hand.
"Your Highness, can you tell me the ending of this movie in advance? Does... Does Belle and the prince finally come together in the end?"
The Duke of Bones' curiosity, which had been dormant for centuries was totally roused by Joshua. He had planned to leave the ending until the completion of the movie before he shared it, but the Duke of Bones found herself unable to wait until then.
When the Duke of Bones asked that question, every single one of the audience members, be it Ciri or the ghosts, all turned to Joshua as if they were very eager to learn the movie's ending.
"Uh…"
Joshua felt a great pressure piling upon him with so many eyes staring at him, but finally, Joshua revealed the ending as it was.
"No..."
"What?!"
"It ends with the demon prince sacrificing himself to protect Belle... Yeah... dying in Belle's arms."
Joshua suddenly felt chills all over his body, especially when the Duke of Bones' soulfire danced as she stared at him. The impression that he may lose his life at any moment suddenly appeared.
"Are you serious?!"
Joshua heard the scariest question the Duke of Bones had to ask. While the Duke of Bones did not have a favorable impression of Joshua, she still maintained basic etiquette.
Now, the Duke of Bones was in an "If you dare write the ending to be tragic, believe me when I will blow you to smithereens instantly with a Death Coil!" mode.
Joshua then remembered some of the writers back on Earth who had written tragedies so brilliant that the audiences were moved to tears. The latter would then send the writer over a dozen razor blades as a display of friendship.
"Your Grace, this is just a fictional story, and it... is also for effect."
"Beauty and the Beast" had received numerous adaptations back on Earth. The most famous one was, of course, the Disney version, but aside from that, there was one filmed in French as well.
Besides, Joshua made this movie just to change how humans viewed demons.
Hence, Joshua had written the prince as a half-human half-demon character who was cursed to forever be in his demonic form, only to return to his human form if he found true love.
Joshua elected to change the ending where the demon would die in Belle's arms after he protected her.
Tragedies were at times more profound than comedies, were they not?
However, seeing the Duke of Bones' reaction, Joshua thought that it was necessary to change the story a little. The lifting of the curse would fail, but the demon prince would still live a happy, carefree life with Belle in the castle.
Joshua did not expect the Lady of Liches to have such a fragile, young girl's heart.
