There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 131

Emily rolled her eyes.

“Um… if you leave like this, what will become of me?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know. The big mistake I made against Philomel before.”

She was referring to the act of stealing Philomel’s jewelry.

“Well, you’ve worked hard for me, so I’ll turn a blind eye.”

“Really? Thank you!”

“Just try to live honestly from now on.”

“Of course! If I ever lay my hands on someone else’s things again, I’m not human.”

Considering the gifts she had brought, it didn’t seem likely.

‘Well, that’s Emily’s problem.’

Philomel looked at Le Guin, signaling that it was over.

“It’s really over, right? We’re moving, so both of you hold onto me…”

It was the moment Philomel tried to grab his arm.

Whoosh!

In a burst of bright light, the Emperor appeared without warning.

“Philomel.”

Justis, standing a short distance away from them, called out to Philomel.

The courtiers present were all surprised and thrown into an uproar.

“Goodness! His Majesty the Emperor!”

“His Majesty is getting rained on!”

“Someone get a towel!”

“Your Majesty, at least take my umbrella…”

The Emperor silenced them with a single gesture.

“Philomel.”

He approached.

“…”

Philomel hesitated for a moment, then spoke when the Emperor got within a certain distance.

“Your Majesty, please stay there.”

He stopped. Just outside the boundary of the umbrella.

Philomel chose her words carefully.

“I was also emotionally charged at the time, so I spoke excessively.”

After the last meeting with the Emperor, as time passed, she began to regret it. She wondered if she had been too harsh on someone whose daughter was missing.

“I hope you are doing well, Your Majesty.”

It was unfeigned sincerity.

The words she had heard seven years ago were still unforgiven, but apart from that, she wouldn’t feel comfortable if the Emperor was unhappy. For Philomel, Justis was someone she couldn’t simply hate.

“You must be heartbroken right now, but I hope you’ll be alright soon.”

When his real daughter returns, joy will come to him too.

There was no guarantee that Elencia would find her body, but Philomel wanted to believe it. Perhaps it was a struggle to alleviate some guilt.

“And I almost forgot, but I’ll return this too.”

Philomel raised her hand. The ring of red flame sparkled on her ring finger.

She focused her mind on the ring and declared.

“I, Philomel Meitias Belleropf, relinquish ownership of this ring.”

Light emanated from the red gem. And soon, the ring disappeared from her finger.

The Emperor opened his hand. The missing ring was there.

The ring, having lost its owner, automatically returned to the owner of the divine power contained within.

A kind of loophole that works because the owner of the ring and the one who infused the divine power are different.

‘I originally learned this method to use when I escaped from the Imperial Palace.’

In the end, she was caught before reaching a safe place, so she never had the chance to use it.

Philomel said defensively.

“I gratefully acknowledge the sentiment, but I’m sorry. I don’t think I can start a new life with reminders of the past.”

After a long time of deliberation, this was the best option. If she kept things that reminded her of him, she wouldn’t be able to completely shake off her lingering feelings.

‘It’s better not to leave him with futile lingering feelings either.’

The Emperor murmured, sounding defeated.

“…Is it really not possible?”

“Your Majesty.”

The raindrops flowing down his face seemed like more than just raindrops.

“No matter what I say, no matter what I do, are you truly going to leave this place?”

Philomel’s throat tightened.

“I’m sorry. Goodbye.”

She turned around.

She never looked back, afraid that her resolve would waver if she did.

“Let’s go.”

When Philomel grabbed Le Guin’s arm, he wore a satisfied smile.

After glancing back, the Master of the Magic Tower leisurely headed out the main gate.

Watching the raindrops falling away from them, Philomel suddenly recalled a scene from the past.

The Founding Day when she was nine years old.

‘It rained a lot back then too.’

Philomel begged them not to postpone the event and caught a cold from being rained on.

Ironically, the current situation was very similar to that time.

However, now she was neither the one getting rained on nor the one watching the other’s back as they left.

It was the second farewell.

* * *

The Emperor’s office.

The Emperor was sprawled on the settee for guests. The moisture soaked into his clothes, but he didn’t care.

The temporary secretary and attendants pleaded with him to change, but he didn’t even have the will to do so.

At that moment, the temporary secretary carefully knocked on the door.

“Your Majesty, we have received a message from Mole.”

“Come in.”

Justis simply lay down and listened to his report.

“What did he say?”

“That is, he only left the message ‘blocked tunnel’.”

“…I see. Tell him to dig again.”

“…Understood.”

The temporary secretary answered hesitantly. He probably knew too, that this was a useless order.

He had already given the same order several times, but the answer was always the same.

There was no way.

‘Mole’ referred to the spy that the Emperor had planted in the Great Temple.

His identity was a high-ranking priest who was close to the High Priest.

‘Find out how to expel the foreign being dwelling in another’s body.’

That was the task the Emperor had entrusted to Mole.

The Book of God only stated that the Hero could defeat the intruder, but it didn’t even mention what would happen to the owner of the body.

However, the Book of God was not the only place where the words of God were written.

The temple had also been recording oracles since ancient times. Confidential data that only some priests could access.

‘I placed a sliver of hope there, but…’

There was no way anywhere.

Justis rubbed his face.

“Your Majesty…”

The secretary, who still hadn’t left, called out to him.

“What is it?”

“Count Polan has requested an extension of his vacation. After resting and receiving a medical examination, a lump was found in his abdomen, and he will need to focus on treatment for the time being.”

“I see.”

The man, whose complexion had been strangely poor recently, came to mind.

“Tell him to rest as much as he wants and spend time with his family.”

That guy had suffered a lot too, for choosing the wrong master more than a decade ago.

After the temporary secretary left, the Emperor slowly got up from his seat.

“Now I’m really alone.”

The loneliness was evident in the mutter he uttered without thinking.

He walked to the desk and opened a drawer.

A small frame containing a portrait came out from the drawer. In the frame, a woman with golden hair was smiling.

“Isabella, I couldn’t protect the child you gave birth to in the end, just like the child I held in my arms.”

He placed the frame back in its place and put the ring of red flame on top of it. And he picked up an object next to it. It was a revolver.

Justis opened the cylinder of the revolver and loaded the bullets. The muzzle was pointed at his temple.

Surprisingly, there was no fear, only a little regret.

“I won’t be able to meet you even if I go like this, because you’ll be in heaven.”

He closed his eyes.

He gradually put strength into the finger on the trigger.

* * *

Elencia struggled.

“Let me go! Who are you!”

However, the hands that tightly bound her were not released.

“Let go!”

The ones wearing strange robes and masks were dragging her to an unknown place.

She didn’t even know how many days had passed since she came to this place, because she had been locked in a solitary room without windows.

She had no strength left in her body. The three meals a day provided were extremely poor.

‘Why did things turn out like this!’

That day when she argued with Philomel, the magic scroll transported Elencia to a completely unknown place.

Clearly, someone had intervened.

The place she had imagined was not this dark underground cave.

The strange group here had imprisoned Elencia without saying a word as soon as they saw her. Except for meal times, she was gagged and her arms and legs were tied.

“Can’t you release me right now? Do you know who I am! I’m the Empire’s princess!”

It was useless to shout at the human who came in to monitor her while she ate.

If Elencia showed any abnormal behavior, he would immediately restrain her again and take away the food.

Elencia had no choice but to spend her time helplessly, trembling with fear. Even if she tried to escape to the store [presumably a magical inventory or pocket dimension] or open the inventory, strangely, everything was impossible here.

“Ouch!”

When a wide space appeared, the people threw Elencia to the floor.

“That hurts!”

“Welcome, stranger from another world.”

At that time, a figure walked over. Among the unidentified group, he was the first to speak to Elencia.

“Wh, who are you?”

When he removed the hood of the robe, his face was revealed. It was a middle-aged woman whose exact age was difficult to guess.

The woman introduced herself.

“My name is Marica. I am a person who serves God.”

“…What is your purpose? Why did you lock me up?”

“Lock you up? We just kept you separated for a while. We were waiting for the power of the God Belleron that remained within you to completely subside. It was quite unpleasant.”

She seemed to be talking about divine power.

“A person who serves God hates divine power? Does that make sense?”

At those words, she smiled.

“Because the God I serve is not Belleron.”

It was a somewhat chilling smile.

“If, if not the God Belleron then?”

Marica turned her gaze to the surrounding walls.

The walls on all sides were densely covered with paintings. She stared at one part of the painting with ecstatic eyes. It was a dark shadow-like being painted with dark paint.

“The one who will bring the end and rest to this world, the God of Destruction, Ieris.”

“I’ve never heard of that name.”

When Elencia was educated as a princess, she also took theology classes. If she had learned about a God with such a grand title, she couldn’t have forgotten.

“Because the humans outside have erased his very existence!”

The woman suddenly burst into anger. Her eyes were wide with rage.

When Elencia showed a frightened expression, Marica quickly changed her expression and smiled.

“Were you surprised? I’m sorry.”

Elencia realized.

‘She’s not right in the head! She’s crazy!’

She had been captured by a group of fanatics.

Marica approached the trembling Elencia and patted her on the shoulder.

“Don’t be afraid. From now on, I will lend you my body to hear the voice of Ieris.”

Marica closed her eyes and then suddenly opened them wide.

“It’s the first time we’re talking directly, stranger.”

A completely different, murky voice flowed from the woman’s mouth than before. It was as if another being had entered her body.

“I am Ieris, the one who invited you to this world.”