the forced immortality aspect of the king and the manager’s relationship is so interesting, because yeah the manager made the deal that turned the king into what he is, but you can’t put all of the blame on him. the fact that the manager himself was also not informed of what would happen to the king adds another layer to what I see as a story about what happens when someone, believing that they know best, makes a life altering choice on behalf of someone else.
and the fact that he too was deceived by the masters makes me inclined to be more sympathetic to the manager, more so than the fact that the manager was motivated by love. because a lot of the time, people who think they know better are acting out of love. that’s not a revelation to me. but the multiple layers of perceived betrayals happening here is something I don’t see much of in fiction, and I throughly enjoy it.
