There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 120

Was it okay to fall this deeply so quickly? It felt somewhat frightening.

Philomel removed her hand from his soft skin. A short sigh escaped his lips, “Ah.”

She made an effort to avert her gaze and changed the subject.

“Wouldn’t my association with you be opposed by your father?”

The Duke of Averdeen, of all people, couldn’t possibly be satisfied with Philomel.

“He wasn’t exactly welcoming… but that doesn’t matter to me.”

“Really? What if he says he won’t pass down the dukedom to you?”

“I’d just throw away something like the dukedom.”

“Why throw it away? It’s such a waste.”

At Philomel’s reaction, he quickly corrected himself.

“Then I won’t throw it away and will definitely take it with me.”

“To where?”

“Why, the Magic Tower, of course.”

“Why the Magic Tower?”

“If you go to the Magic Tower, then naturally, I have to go too.”

She thought it was a joke, but what he said last time was serious.

Nasar said gloomily.

“Sadly, it seems I have to give up on being a magic swordsman. I asked all the magicians affiliated with the family… and they said I don’t have even a speck of magical talent.”

Everything was genuine. His words about not caring about his father’s wishes, about throwing away the dukedom.

She knew well, having watched from the side, how much effort he had put in since he was young to become a son recognized by his parents.

Her nose tingled.

“Nasar, you don’t have to go that far for me. A long-distance relationship isn’t so bad….”

“Absolutely not.”

Nasar unusually opposed Philomel’s opinion firmly.

After the two talked for a long time, they entered the building when Philomel started to sneeze.

Nasar, looking around the hall, said.

“There doesn’t seem to be any unusual activity yet.”

“So it seems.”

“Should we wait a bit longer?”

“I wonder. By now, they should be starting to….”

Philomel was currently waiting for two people.

One was a certain magician who had her attend this banquet and then went off to the Magic Tower himself, and the other was….

At that moment, a young lady with a pale complexion appeared before them.

“L-Lady Philomel, h-hello.”

“It’s been a while, Duchess Muriel.”

“Today, there’s someone I definitely wanted you to meet, so I’m taking the liberty of….”

“Good heavens!”

Suddenly, a man popped out from behind Sasha Muriel.

He looked unwell, and his hands were trembling.

The man, dressed in the attire worn by servants, spoke in a very loud voice.

“Aha! So you’re Philomel!”

As a gentle melody was playing in the hall, people’s attention focused on them. The Emperor also gazed in their direction.

The man shouted with a tone full of emotion.

“I’m seeing you for the first time today! I am your father!”

* * *

Tears streamed from his hollow eyes.

“Your mother and I used to be lovers. Catherine was a maid of Her Majesty the Empress, and I was a low-ranking official. Then, Catherine suddenly disappeared, and I was at a loss….

To think she was pregnant with my child! Let me take a closer look at your face!”

Nasar blocked the man who was trying to approach Philomel.

The man, though blocked, pleaded while looking at Philomel.

“Judging by the timing, you must be my daughter! Catherine was a virtuous woman, and there was no man but me.”

Philomel, who had been staring blankly at the man, soon burst out laughing. As if it were absurd.

“Is this all you were secretly up to?”

The man hesitated for a moment but continued to assert his claim.

“Yes. I’m sure you resent me for appearing only now. But I couldn’t help it. Look at my state. I couldn’t confidently reveal myself as your father.”

At first glance, the man did not seem to be in good health or sound mind. Typical symptoms of alcohol addiction.

A deep sense of disgust could be felt in the gazes of the nobles watching him.

“After Catherine left, I spent my days drinking… But I met a kind person who introduced me to you, and I changed my mind. From now on, I’ll really be diligent….”

“That’s enough about him. Young Lady Muriel.”

Philomel, cutting off the man’s words, turned to look at Sasha Muriel.

“What is your intention in bringing this person before me?”

Sasha swallowed hard and opened her mouth with difficulty.

“…An employee of my family happened to see this man lamenting in a bar. I heard the story and….”

“You wanted to reunite a father and daughter who had never met?”

“That is correct.”

“That’s quite a remarkable coincidence.”

Philomel smiled faintly.

“The truth is, I have another person claiming to be my real father.”

Confusion simultaneously clouded Sasha’s and the man’s faces.

Kweeeeeeeek!

At that moment, an eerie screech echoed from somewhere. And someone who looked out the window shouted.

“It’s a monster!”

* * *

Ellensia dashed down the path leading to the Imperial Palace ballroom.

“Haa, haa.”

She had just escaped from the West Palace. No one had imagined that the princess would jump from this floor and climb over the wall with her bare hands.

At times like this, having excellent physical abilities was very convenient.

‘Is it because I carried water from the spring every day and climbed the hill?’

In any case, it was thanks to being underestimated due to the preconceived notion of being a precious princess.

Even if she were caught later, she could just say that she wanted to watch her father’s birthday banquet from afar.

Who would dare blame such a thoughtful daughter?

Ellensia roughly covered her face with the blanket she had brought.

The thought of the scene she would witness as soon as she arrived at the Imperial Palace ballroom made her feel like she was flying.

‘Philomel, how do you like the fake father I prepared for you?’

He was a pawn she had been preparing since she bought a large quantity of mountain arnica [a medicinal plant]. The plan was to detonate it in sync with the distribution of the cure.

What was the point of raising her own reputation alone? She had to bring down the other person’s reputation as well.

However, no matter how hard she looked, there was no flaw to find in Philomel herself. So she created one.

A father with many problems.

People often say that it’s the parents who are the problem, not the child. But few truly separate parents and children.

That was the case even where she used to live, so how would it be in this place where one inherits their parents’ status?

Ellensia found a suitable person among those who frequented the Imperial Palace around the same time as Catherine.

A human wreck with alcohol addiction, frequenting gambling dens, and a history of petty crimes.

The Emperor would soon realize it.

That he had been deceived by the whispers of the daughter of such a man and was suspecting his innocent own daughter.

‘Philomel, it’s okay to deny it. And say it. My father is not this man, but the Master of the Magic Tower!’

People who heard that absurd truth would be even less likely to believe Philomel’s words.

Master of the Magic Tower. Ellensia recalled the character she had seen in the game.

A figure who appeared in the mid-to-late part of Jeremiah’s route and gave many players nightmares.

“Try to prove your so-called love.”

The Master of the Magic Tower would say lines like that and try to separate Ellensia and his son.

‘The culprit who made Jeremiah’s route even more hellish!’

Jeremiah was already a character who sometimes needed to be approached aggressively, but other times needed to be kept at a distance, and whose past wounds needed to be embraced without directly mentioning them….

In short, he was a terribly difficult character to攻略 [kōryaku – a Japanese term often used in gaming contexts, meaning to ‘capture’ or ‘conquer’ a game or character].

But his father took it a step further, even having a *chuunibyou*-esque [a Japanese term referring to someone, usually young, who exhibits delusional or grandiose behavior, often believing they possess special powers or knowledge] setting of not understanding emotions well.

If one didn’t receive his approval, they couldn’t see the true ending of Jeremiah’s route, so many users challenged themselves to win the Master of the Magic Tower’s heart and were miserably defeated.

Until one user discovered a 攻略法 [kōryaku-hō – a Japanese term meaning ‘strategy’ or ‘method of capture’], the Q&A board was plastered with curses about the difficulty.

The 攻略 [kōryaku] was quite simple. It was difficult to execute, though.

It was to avoid the first meeting with the Master of the Magic Tower as much as possible and raise Jeremiah’s favorability to 100%.

Only after seeing his son shed tears in the face of love would he obediently step aside.

Anyway, there was no way that such a heartless man would step up for his failed daughter.

When Philomel ran away, she went to Anghelium, where the Magic Tower was located. She must have gone to meet her real father.

‘But sadly, she was rejected.’

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been caught by the security forces, and she wouldn’t have been clinging to the Imperial Palace until now.

She probably believed the contents of , which said that the Master of the Magic Tower had accepted her….

Ellensia couldn’t help but shout into the air, unable to contain her pleasant mood.

“Sorry to break it to you! That’s actually an original setting only in the novel!”

In fact, Philomel doesn’t even meet her real father in the game. To be exact, it was originally planned to meet, but it was canceled.

“We’re almost there.”

Looking at the approaching Imperial Palace ballroom, Ellensia slowed down.

“Please show your invitation to enter!”

In front of the gatekeeper who blocked her path, she took off her blanket.

“It’s me.”

“Y-Your Highness!”

“Shh. Can I go in quietly? I want to surprise my dad.”

“Understood!”

The fact that the princess was confined was only known to a small number of palace staff, so the gatekeeper didn’t harbor any particular suspicions. Also, it wasn’t the first time the princess had acted strangely.

Ellensia chuckled, imagining what kind of expression Philomel would be making right now.

It was then.

Kweeeeeeeek!

A screech that seemed to tear the sky struck her eardrums. A giant dragon revealed itself in the sky.

“Eek! W-What is that! A monster?”

But if they had discovered an approaching monster, the Imperial Palace defense forces would have intercepted it long ago.

The gatekeeper calmed the panicked Ellensia.

“I heard it’s a tamed wyvern, so you don’t have to worry.”

“…A wyvern?”

“Yes. I was told in advance, but it’s amazing to see it in person.”

The wyvern descended towards the area where the carriages were parked. Then, it laid its huge body in an empty space and folded its wings. It acted as if it were a carriage itself.

A figure descended from the wyvern’s back.

Black and gray fabric embroidered with glittering gold thread. It was the most splendid wizard robe Ellensia had ever seen.

A golem made of dirt followed the wizard and got off the wyvern. The golem was carrying a bundle larger than its own body.

The gatekeeper muttered.

“Hoo, that’s a golem. Wait, was I told that even a golem would come…?”

The wizard, who confidently walked up to the entrance of the ballroom, handed an invitation to the gatekeeper.

It was when he was about to pass by Ellensia, who was standing there dumbfounded.

“If you’re not going in, don’t block the way and move aside.”

A tone as if he had seen a piece of trash rolling around. Golden eyes gleamed from under the robe.

It was definitely a face she remembered seeing. Moreover, it was the face she had been thinking about until just now.

The gatekeeper, having finished checking the invitation, opened the door, and a servant shouted.

“The master of the Northern Tower, the home of wizards, has arrived!”

Ellensia blankly followed the man’s back with her eyes as he leisurely entered the hall.

“What on earth is going on….”

The situation was unfolding differently from her imagination. Very differently.