There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 124

* * *

In front of the Starlight Shop.

The light emitted from the Eyes of Truth gradually faded.

The cracks in the bead, caused by the earlier impact, deepened, eventually splitting the bead completely apart.

Fragments of the shattered relic fell to the ground.

“……”

Philomell blankly recalled the memories the relic had shown her.

Even so, she didn’t loosen her grip on Elencia’s wrists. Rather, she tightened it even more.

Elencia whined.

“It hurts! Let go of my hands!”

From her hands to her body, Philomell trembled.

“How much I’ve suffered because of the novels you wrote……!”

was a lie.

Not every part of it was false, but the parts that had the greatest impact on Philomell’s life were mostly distorted.

The mental anguish she had endured because of that book flashed through her mind.

She constantly pushed herself, fearing that she might become an irredeemable villain like the ‘Philomell’ in the book. Every night, she sobbed, imagining her execution.

‘And it was all a lie? My original fate was different?’

If so, what had she been suffering for all this time?

Philomell glared down at the woman beneath her, gritting her teeth.

“Did you hate me that much? Enough to write such a novel?”

Overwhelmed by her intensity, Elencia stammered.

“I, I……”

“Answer me! What did I ever do to you?”

“Stop it! What’s so wrong with writing a little fanfic [fan fiction]!”

Elencia pleaded as if she were the most wronged person in the world.

“It’s not like I showed you the novel, and I didn’t know things would turn out like this…… What did I do to deserve this!”

It was a seemingly reasonable argument.

She had simply written a fictional story because she didn’t like the ending of the game.

She couldn’t have known, of course, that it would have such a profound impact on the life of the real Philomell.

But.

“Then why did you do it after coming to this world?”

“What!”

“You tried to make the contents of a reality. Even after this world became more than just a game to you.”

“That’s……”

“You would have executed me according to your novel if you could, wouldn’t you?”

“That’s just speculation!”

“Liar. That’s why you spread those nasty rumors about me through the megaphone.”

A dark and musty malice.

Philomell finally uncovered the true nature of the malice she had felt from her all along.

‘You resented me because I was fake? Far from it.’

This person simply hated Philomell because she was Philomell.

Because she was created to be hated. And because she wasn’t miserable enough to satisfy her.

“What? You’re jealous because people seem to like me more?”

Philomell sneered, looking down at her coldly.

Of course, she must have been jealous. But that wasn’t the main reason.

“How ridiculous. You would have executed me according to the book even if everyone hated me.”

She imagined what would have happened if she hadn’t picked up when she was young. Most likely, it would have gone exactly as she had planned.

If she, who had entered the body of the princess, had plotted an elaborate scheme, Philomell would have had no chance of winning.

‘I would have lived and died without knowing anything.’

The Philomell who hadn’t read would have been nothing more than a fake princess with a bad personality, unaware of who her real father was.

It was truly ironic. The book that someone had written because they hated Philomell so much had saved her.

Elencia struggled.

“Okay! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! You’re still alive and well, anyway! It hurts, let go of my hand!”

Philomell released her restraints as she wished. Instead—*smack!*

With the sound of flesh hitting flesh, Elencia’s face turned.

The woman, with one cheek reddened, stared at Philomell with a blank expression. She seemed unable to believe that she had been hit.

“Does it hurt?”

Philomell said calmly.

“It hurt when Rozanne hit me because of the rumors you spread.”

The reason Rozanne was able to slap the former princess was because everyone treated Philomell like a criminal.

Elencia, now understanding the situation, trembled.

“H-How dare you hit me? You piece of data, ugh!”

But she couldn’t finish her sentence and groaned.

Philomell, whose hands were now free after releasing Elencia’s restraints, slapped her other cheek.

She tilted her head.

“That’s strange. Why does it hurt?”

“……You b*tch! It hurts because you hit me!”

“If we’re just pieces of data, then your body is also a piece of data, so it shouldn’t hurt to be hit.”

Elencia opened her mouth, then blurted out something completely different.

“T-This is assault. I’ll get you later……”

*Smack!*

“It hurts! You crazy b*tch! What did I do so wrong……”

*Smack!*

“Fox! Why are you just watching? Someone’s getting hit by a piece of data……”

*Smack!*

Elencia finally raised her arms to defend her face, but she was restrained again and hit once more.

“Haa.”

Philomell calmed her somewhat rough breathing. She wanted to keep hitting her until her cheeks burst, but she barely managed to restrain herself.

‘It’s the real Elencia’s body. Let’s be satisfied with six hits.’

Looking at Elencia, who had quieted down for a moment due to the shock, Philomell fell into thought. If she tried to take her outside, she would obviously resist.

Even though she had taken the power-enhancing potion, it was difficult to carry someone who was resisting.

‘Maybe it would be better to lightly hit her on the head to knock her unconscious……’

Elencia suddenly screamed.

“Aaaah! Let go! I’ll bite my tongue and die if you don’t let go!”

And she stuck out her tongue.

Surprised by the unexpected reaction, Philomell’s grip on Elencia’s arm loosened slightly.

In that gap, Elencia tried to grab the scroll that had fallen to the floor.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

“Ack!”

But the arm she reached out was futilely grabbed by Philomell again.

Only the tips of her fingers touched the scroll. It wasn’t enough to tear the scroll.

‘Damn it! Damn it!’

Elencia prayed desperately. She sought out a god she had never looked for in her life.

‘Why did you send me to this world if you were going to do this!’

She resented the god who was neglecting her. Who did she think she was suffering for?

‘Take responsibility! Take responsibility for me!’

And her prayer was answered.

The scroll tore itself with a ‘rip’ sound.

Starting from the fingertips that were touching the scroll, Elencia’s body was enveloped in a dark darkness.

“No!”

Philomell held onto Elencia’s body tightly, but there was nothing she could do.

Elencia disappeared in an instant.

* * *

Philomell trudged out of the boundary separating the shop and the real world.

The place where she had been before entering the shop.

“Philomell! You’re back.”

Nasar, who had remained in that spot, was the first to spot Philomell.

“Phil, are you hurt anywhere?”

“She looks fine!”

“What happened to that person?”

“Okay, everyone, one at a time.”

The Regin and the three brothers also ran up to greet her.

“……Philomell.”

And the Emperor was there too, having arrived at some point. He stared at Philomell, who had suddenly appeared, with a hint of surprise on his face.

Philomell lowered her head to avoid his gaze.

“I’m sorry. Elencia disappeared using a magic scroll.”

Elencia was nowhere to be found in the shop. Philomell had searched every corner of the Starlight Shop, just in case, but it was all in vain.

“I couldn’t bring her back after all.”

Regret reared its head.

If she had postponed using the Eyes of Truth and knocked Elencia unconscious from the start, this might not have happened.

But Philomell had prioritized confirming the truth over securing Elencia.

The moment she felt she had cornered her, she wanted to get her hands on the complete truth as soon as possible.

That was why Philomell had remained in the Imperial Palace until now. It was the most important goal.

The Emperor approached and patted Philomell on the shoulder.

“It’s alright.”

He said calmly.

“It’s not your fault.”

The person who would have been most disappointed by Elencia’s disappearance said that.

“We can find her if we send people out. We’ll find her soon.”

It was a statement without any particular basis. But Philomell leaned on his consideration and quietly closed her eyes.

The truth she had learned a little while ago weighed heavily on her.

She was tired. She wanted to rest now. The Emperor’s birthday banquet came to an unsatisfactory end.

The Emperor, the main character, disappeared during the banquet, and the Archmage, who had made an impressive appearance, also suddenly left, following his daughter.

Fortunately, Count Polan, who remained in the ballroom, did his best to clean up the mess, so there was no particular commotion.

A considerable number of people questioned the strange ending of the banquet, but there was another topic that attracted their attention even more.

The sudden appearance of the Archmage. And the identity of his daughter.

‘Philomell, who was a fake princess, turned out to be the daughter of the Archmage.’

This shocking truth spread with tremendous repercussions.