The Monk and his companion gracefully and appropriately thanked everyone, then they also withdrew from the stage.
And then, just like after the previous stage play, the members of the troupe went on stage to collect the bounties.
At this time, the people below dispersed, it seemed there were no more performances.
The Prince, on the other hand, developed a strong interest in Nestor, he had not expected that his Record Keeper would actually work as a puppeteer in his daily life.
Curiosity prompted the Prince to walk to the back of the high platform, he pushed open the door that only troupe members were supposed to open, and the guard did not have time to stop the Prince, because the Prince's accompanying guards had already pulled him away.
The Prince's sudden entry naturally attracted the attention of the actors and staff who were moving props and resting, they were bewildered by such a person suddenly intruding.
The troupe leader immediately walked over, he was a short, fat, middle-aged Greek man who had once resided in Novgorod, and because he had previously performed miracle plays in the Imperial Capital, the Prince had made him the troupe leader.
The troupe leader came over intending to drive them away, but as he clearly saw the face under the cloak, he couldn't help but tremble, how could he not recognize the face of the big boss.
"Prince, why have you come here without even notifying us first?"
The troupe leader respectfully saluted the Prince, and the others also reacted, immediately saluting the Prince.
And it could be said that everyone here had been trained by Rostislav, so the leader's words naturally made them recognize the Prince.
"May I ask why you have come here?"
The leader said cautiously, his attitude towards Rostislav was even more respectful than when they rehearsed plays back then.
After all, Rostislav's achievements and accomplishments were incomparable to that time, his current power was like the red sun shining on Northeast Rus', and if nothing unexpected happened, his descendants would continue to rule this land.
"Don't be nervous, my friend, I am not here to investigate, and don't announce my arrival. I just want to see my Record Keeper, Nestor, and your companion, come and talk to me. Leader, is there a place for us to talk?"
"Of course, of course, you can use my office as you please."
The leader quickly pointed to his office, which was an independent wooden house, and the Prince and his attendants walked directly over.
Nestor, whose face had been somewhat bitter since the Prince's appearance, hesitated for a moment, but still followed with his companion.
"Prince, I, I, I can accept my actions."
As soon as the door closed, Nestor immediately and hastily explained, he was very afraid that the Prince would punish him for affecting the glory of the court, because the status of performers was not high, and they were often equated with figures like sorcerers.
The Record Keeper was very annoyed now, he had taken so many precautions, and only lifted his mask for a short while when thanking the audience, but he was still discovered.
"My Lord, this was all my idea, if you want to blame someone, blame me, I am willing to bear all punishment."
The moment Nestor's voice fell, another voice immediately sounded, it was a handsome, blond young man, before, the Prince's attention had been entirely on Nestor, and he hadn't noticed this young man at all.
"Did I say this was a crime? I am merely curious."
The Prince sat on the wolf-skin-covered chair, his eyes scanning the two, and answered casually, and his answer made the two of them pause directly.
"This is the Lord's troupe, as long as they don't perform anything blasphemous or obscene, it naturally does not harm the glory of the court."
Rostislav, of course, knew what his Record Keeper was thinking, and answered casually, and what he said next was what he cared about.
"I am only here out of curiosity, tell me, what is going on? How did you become a puppeteer? I remember you are not someone who likes to appear in public like this."
"This is because of me, My Lord."
However, to Rostislav's surprise, it was not Nestor who spoke first, but the handsome young man.
The Prince did not speak, only gestured with his eyes for him to continue.
"My name is Alexei, Prince, I am a puppeteer, but I am also an actor, and I also write some scripts. Nestor and I are good friends, we once studied together in the Monastery, but I did not choose to embark on the path of serving the Lord… Later I joined the troupe, the leader didn't like my scripts very much, and it wasn't my turn to perform on stage, I could only perform puppet shows. Sometimes, for the sake of entertainment, I would ask Nestor to come and help me, and we would perform puppet duets, so…"
"I see, young man, comparatively, I would rather see your scripts."
Alexei's logical flow of language was very clear, and having understood the cause and effect, the Prince's interest in the scripts grew, it was the first time he had heard of someone writing scripts.
The young man was clearly very excited, he immediately ran out of the room, and soon after brought back a stack of thin birch bark sheets strung together with iron rings, forming a booklet.
This was a low-cost booklet, many ordinary citizens used such things to write, even filling them with text as literacy textbooks.
Alexei respectfully handed over his scripts, and Rostislav began to flip through them, at first the Prince was quite casual, but then he became more and more serious.
In his hand was a story about betrayal, a meritorious warrior, seduced by a witch, killed the monarch and usurped the throne, but taking the throne did not bring him happiness, instead, this brave warrior was constantly afraid of potential traitors, his body grew thinner day by day, and soon after, another warrior, seduced by a witch, killed him and took the throne, thus beginning another cycle.
There were many didactic elements from God's perspective, and the author cleverly dispersed the didacticism throughout the play, often just one or two sentences, to avoid excessive audience aversion.
From Rostislav's perspective, this script was very immature, the story was cliché, and there were many bloody and erotic scenes, the poems in it were clearly imitating heroic ballads, and the writing style obviously imitated Homer.
The Prince also understood why the leader didn't like his scripts, how could a miracle troupe perform such things.
However, it could not be performed by the miracle troupe, but it could be performed elsewhere, the Prince had already realized what a treasure he had before him, being able to write such things already showed his ability.
"Prince, Alexei's work is somewhat… somewhat…"
Nestor cautiously observed the Prince's expression, and seeing the Prince frown, he immediately spoke, wanting to explain a thing or two for his friend.
But he had also read those scripts, how to describe such a thing…
"I think it's very good, very well written."
Just as the script's author began to feel disheartened and prepared for a scolding, he heard the Prince say this, which made both of them doubt whether they had misheard.
"Ah?"