There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 138

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First, I need information.

Since that day, Le Guin hadn’t given Philomell any information related to Ellensia.

Even when Philomell subtly brought up the topic, he skillfully evaded it.

‘Judging by how busy he is, there’s definitely something going on.’

Philomell stroked her chin.

“It’ll be impossible to get information from Le Guin, so the next target is…….”

The next day, Philomell stopped Lexion on the street.

“I just made these, please try them.”

Lexion opened the paper package Philomell handed him and said,

“Cookies.”

“Yes, I made them the way Harrison taught me when I was in the Imperial Palace.”

“Harrison, as in the owner of ?”

was where Philomell had taken Jeremiah to eat apple pie. Later, Harrison was specially recruited into the Imperial Palace and became the head pastry chef.

“That’s right. I also learned how to make apple pie, but I tried making cookies first.”

“I see. They smell delicious and look tasty.”

“Eat them quickly.”

“If you insist.”

Lexion picked up a heart-shaped cookie and put it in his mouth.

Philomell watched with a pleased expression. She hoped it was worth the effort she put into making cookies since yesterday.

‘Besides Le Guin, Lexion is the only one who might know something.’

Jeremiah was off on his own, and Cardin didn’t seem to know anything.

“Hmm, sweet and delicious.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’ll enjoy them.”

“I’ll make more for you.”

“I look forward to it.”

“By the way, you’re the first person I’m giving these to, Lexion.”

“…….”

At those words, Lexion paused. He tapped his temple with his index finger.

“Let’s think logically. I’m the first person to receive them? Not Le Guin, not the Young Duke, not the gluttonous Cardin, or Jeremiah who loves sweets. That means…….”

He looked at his youngest sibling with a troubled face.

“You want something.”

“Correct!”

“Let’s hear what it is first.”

“Tell me how the intruder situation is progressing.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

The answer was excessively firm.

“You ate the cookies and you’re being stingy!”

“What can’t be done, can’t be done.”

“Come on, just tell me a little bit!”

“I won’t tell anyone that you told me.”

“Ask Le Guin.”

When the bribe didn’t work, she resorted to relentless nagging, but Lexion didn’t budge. He was a formidable opponent.

“Tch…….”

As Philomell lowered her eyes, he spoke to her soothingly.

“Le Guin will tell you first when the time comes. Just be patient until then.”

“…….”

It was a refusal born out of concern for her, so she couldn’t blame him any further.

‘Even so, is there a need to hide it this much?’

A small doubt arose, but Philomell nodded.

“Okay. I guess I have no choice.”

“I’m glad you understand.”

Dark circles under his eyes. A pale complexion. His profile, smiling, looked particularly tired.

‘Well, Lexion must have a lot of work too.’

He had to deal with the work that had piled up in the Imperial Palace and the new tasks that were constantly coming in. Plus, there was the matter of the intruder.

“Lexion, you don’t have to force yourself to smile if you’re having a hard time.”

“……Excuse me?”

Instantly, the smile disappeared.

“No, I mean……. Sometimes it seems like you’re forcing yourself to smile.”

She wondered if it was unnecessary meddling and felt a little regret.

“I’m sorry if I presumed too much. It was just my thought.”

Lexion slowly shook his head.

“No. I was just a little surprised because it’s the first time I’ve heard that.”

He ate the cookie silently for a moment before opening his mouth.

“But can I ask why you thought that?”

“Hmm, even if you ask me why…….”

She couldn’t exactly explain it either.

“To be honest, it’s just a feeling. I’ve also smiled when I didn’t want to smile many times.”

She always smiled elegantly, hiding her true self behind a mask.

All nobles were like that, but even she thought Philomell was a bit extreme.

“It felt like you and I were similar at that time, so I wondered.”

She felt it from seeing him often. There was an inexplicable emptiness hidden in his smile.

Philomell had been aware of this fact, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask. It was too personal.

“…….”

Lexion didn’t respond to Philomell’s words, just dangling the bag of cookies.

“Anyway, thanks for the cookies.”

Watching his receding figure, Philomell was lost in thought.

‘Lexion is a no-go after all.’

She pretended to give up in front of Lexion, but she had no intention of backing down.

Philomell returned to her room and took out a veil from her closet. It was a translucent veil with a subtle blue light.

“I didn’t want to go this far, but…….”

Wearing the veil, she slipped out of the room.

Just then, someone was passing by.

Philomell entered the field of vision of the magician heading to Le Guin’s office.

“…….”

However, his gaze immediately passed over Philomell and went elsewhere. Then he walked past her. Without even the usual greeting.

‘It’s working!’

Of course, it wasn’t that he ignored Philomell. This was the effect of the veil.

An item newly unlocked as Jeremiah’s favorability increased.

Known as the Veil of Ignorance. It had the great effect of not only making the wearer invisible but also erasing their presence.

‘I don’t know why the name is Ignorance instead of Transparency, but oh well.’

What did it matter?

Philomell quietly followed behind and slipped into the office when he opened the door.

She was nervous when she stood in front of Le Guin, but fortunately, even he didn’t seem to notice anything strange.

As expected, the products sold at the Starlight Shop were amazing.

“These are the documents that need to be processed by today. The Monster Observatory reports that…….”

“Annoying. Tell them to handle it themselves.”

“The Tower Master needs to see them!”

Routine conversations came and went.

When he finished his business, the magician left, leaving only Le Guin.

“Ah, annoying. So annoying.”

He grumbled constantly as he worked. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be about the intruder.

Philomell sat in a corner and spent her time. When she was bored, she looked at the knick-knacks nearby.

‘What is this? A time travel device?’

That’s when she was reading the tag attached to an object that looked like a giant clock.

“We have received a report from those sent to the Phylan Gorge.”

Lexion came in.

“What did they say?”

“They searched every nook and cranny, but there were no suspicious signs of Ieris’s followers.”

The Tower Master cursed.

“Damn it, where are they hiding so well?”

“They’ve been hiding for over a thousand years to escape the persecution of the Temple.”

“What’s the Temple’s situation?”

“They seem to have noticed something unusual, and the situation is not good. The internal atmosphere is also uneasy.”

“They weren’t complete idiots.”

“What about the Emperor?”

“He’s traveling around the country looking for his missing daughter, but he hasn’t found any clues.”

“We need to take care of him before he notices anything about Ieris. You know?”

Philomell, who had been listening to their conversation, tilted her head.

‘Take care of him? What?’

Besides, the atmosphere of their conversation had been strange since earlier…….

Lexion said hesitantly.

“But is that really okay?”

“What?”

“The Princess. It would be better to capture her alive, as Philomell suggested…….”

Le Guin scoffed.

“Why are you being like that too? Have you not experienced my methods before?”

He lightly slammed the desk.

“Of course, we have to kill her.”

Philomell gasped for a moment.

“But according to Philomell, the real princess’s consciousness still seems to be alive inside her…….”

“Who cares? I’m too busy protecting my own daughter to care about someone else’s.”

“Philomell might be very upset if she finds out.”

Le Guin’s attitude softened somewhat when Lexion mentioned Philomell.

“Instead, we’ll make her very happy. And that princess must be killed.”

The Tower Master explained the reason step by step.

“Think about it. There’s no guarantee that we can only drive out the intruder’s soul by capturing her.”

“That’s true.”

“Moreover, an evil god is involved. If we look out for their situation, we might be in trouble.”

“That’s a reasonable judgment.”

“Then why are you objecting? It can’t be that you feel sympathy.”

“Of course not. I’m just worried about future risks. If the daughter dies, the Emperor will never stand still. Even if we do it secretly, there’s a possibility of being discovered later…….”

“That can be easily solved.”

“How?”

“Kill the Emperor first.”

Lexion retorted irritably.

“Are we back to that story again? As I said before, the Emperor of the Empire can use the power of the Sun God.”

“Who said we’re going to confront him head-on? We can assassinate him, assassinate him.”

“The Emperor isn’t just some dog’s name, is assassination easy?”

“Normally, no. But it’s different now.”

A smile crept into the Tower Master’s voice.

“If the Emperor is wandering around, the security will inevitably be lax. And these days, that human isn’t in his right mind, right?”

“……Well, the spies we’ve planted there say that he sometimes shows signs of losing his reason.”

“It’s a golden opportunity.”

“But if both the Princess and the Emperor die, Philomell will…….”

“Geez, troublesome! This is also for Phil.”

“How so?”

“She pretended not to be, but she was very depressed when she left the Imperial Palace. What do you think the reason is?”

“……Most likely, something happened between her and the Emperor.”

“Right. So, Phil might be upset right now, but in the end, it’s a good thing.”

After that, there were several arguments between the two. Eventually, Lexion relented.

“Sigh, I don’t know. You take responsibility alone, Le Guin.”

“Okay. Find out a suitable assassination method. Come to think of it, that would be helpful.”

“What?”

“The cufflinks I gave the Emperor as a birthday present.”

The identity of the small box he gave the Emperor at the anniversary banquet was cufflinks.

“Ah, that?”

“I put a lot of effort into casting a tracking spell that even the court wizards wouldn’t notice.”

“Unfortunately, it was destroyed.”

“What? When!”

“As soon as the Emperor received it, he broke it on the spot. Oh, you probably didn’t see it because you went straight to Philomell.”

“……That bastard, I still don’t like him. I’ll kill him.”

Soon, Lexion left the office. Le Guin seemed to sit at his desk for a while, but soon left his seat.

Philomell blankly came out of the Tower Master’s office.

‘Kill both of them?’

She couldn’t believe it, even though she had heard it clearly with her own ears.

“……I have to, I have to talk to him.”

Philomell worried about how to stop Le Guin’s plan, and in the end, she couldn’t sleep properly that night.