"This is a way that we can talk about it and that we can help our audience see it," you carry on. "Yes, we're talking about someone else who died two hundred years ago, but we're really addressing current events. And that's important. Art is important because it lets us inspire real change in the real world." You run down to a halt. Nichol looks at you with steely skepticism.
"Have you considered writing a play in which the King of Icemere is dead to begin with?" Nichol mutters.
"This can work," you say.
Nichol takes a deep breath. "You know the risk, don't you?" he asks. "I was a student revolutionary once. We protested Cenone's policies, and people died. People disappeared and were never heard from again. Cenone will do anything to stay on the throne. But now he's an aging ruler with heirs who will be better rulers. Is it worth it to fight a battle that's going to cost a lot of lives rather than just wait him out a few years?"
Just saying "I know what I'm doing" probably isn't going to do the trick. You consider your next move.