There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 141

Philomel paused, considering her options, before finally removing the Veil of Ignorance.

“Jeremiah, what’s going on?”

“Let’s talk while we move.”

He grabbed Philomel’s arm and headed toward the floating stone platform. As they stepped onto it, the stone began to activate, humming with power.

‘At least we can use this for now.’

She thought, ‘I was originally planning to walk down the stairs.’

They couldn’t risk the guards seeing the floating stone moving on its own with no one visibly controlling it.

“Someone might see us,” Philomel said.

Jeremiah took the Veil of Ignorance and carefully wrapped it around Philomel.

“Is it even possible to talk while wearing that thing?”

“I haven’t tried it yet, so I don’t know.”

“Well, it seems possible since I can hear your voice just fine.”

She filed that bit of information away. You live and learn.

The description of the Veil of Ignorance stated that it erased footsteps, but apparently, speech was a separate matter.

“…….”

“…….”

Philomel glanced at Jeremiah beside her and then spoke, “Did you know that I was planning to escape today?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not a mind reader. I didn’t know the *exact* date.”

That meant he knew everything *except* the date.

“How did you know I was planning something?”

She couldn’t understand how he’d figured it out.

Jeremiah and Cardin were also restricted from leaving, and while they knew about the situation between Philomel and Le Guin, she hadn’t revealed any specific plans to them.

Jeremiah replied nonchalantly, “You had that look on your face – the one people get when they can’t stand being somewhere anymore.”

“I did?”

“Yes. Le Guin might have thought you’d given up, but I knew better.”

“……Jeremiah, have you disliked being in the Magic Tower for a long time?”

“Very much so.”

“May I ask why?”

“It’s much better now, but in the past, people here treated us like lab rats.”

His brow furrowed with the unpleasant memory.

“Lexion and Cardin didn’t seem to care much, but I hated it. I couldn’t stand it.”

Philomel suddenly recalled what was written about Jeremiah in Le Guin’s notes: that he had a delicate personality.

It was just a guess, but perhaps he saw echoes of his own mother in the way others treated him – the one who couldn’t accept her son and abandoned him.

“Le Guin seems to want to lock you up in the name of protecting you, but I don’t think that’s right.”

He spoke to his invisible sister.

“The will of a human being cannot be bound by anything.”

“……Thank you for helping me.”

“I’m not exactly *helping* you. I just don’t like what Le Guin and Lexion are doing.”

“You’re not being honest.”

“……Are you going back to your room?”

“I’m not scared at all. More than that, you were really amazing earlier – knocking out two people at once!”

“It was only possible because they were distracted by your room.”

As they talked, the floating stone arrived on the first floor.

Even though it was late at night, there were quite a few wizards going in and out of the building. They were nocturnal, after all.

Jeremiah whispered as he guided her toward a less crowded area, “The guards near the northeast 4th gate are the most lax.”

“Um, I’ve never used that gate before.”

“Just follow me closely. There’s no need to run. It’ll only make you look suspicious.”

“But if we delay, Le Guin might find the people who fainted…”

“Don’t worry. Le Guin won’t come out of the Dark Space until at least tomorrow.”

“Le Guin is in the Dark Space?”

“Yes. Because it’s ‘that time’.”

They entered a long, empty corridor. Bronze knight statues lined both walls, standing sentinel.

“What exactly *is* ‘that time’?”

“It’s the day when Le Guin’s magic disappears once a month.”

“Huh? There’s a day like that?”

“You should know, since you were in the Imperial Palace. That guy – there were days when he didn’t show up all day.”

“Come to think of it…”

I just assumed he was holed up somewhere sleeping. I wasn’t curious because he was naturally lazy.

“I don’t know why, but he’s had that strange phenomenon for a long time.”

“I see.”

“At that time, he becomes very sensitive and doesn’t move from the Dark Space. It’s the day he’s at his weakest.”

“He’s like an animal hibernating.”

“Well, he’s made enemies everywhere, so it’s understandable that he’s cautious…”

At that moment, another voice cut in, interrupting their conversation.

“Jeremiah, where are you going at this hour?”

Lexion was standing at the end of the corridor, blocking their path.

Jeremiah spoke quietly, just loud enough for Philomel to hear, “If you get past that guy and turn that corner, go straight and you’ll find the back door. The surveillance is the weakest there.”

“……Jeremiah?”

“Go quickly while I deal with him.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you pass,” Lexion said, his voice firm.

Lexion snapped his fingers.

*Kugugugugung.*

A wave of earth magic rose with a rumble that sounded like an earthquake. The bronze knights began to move, shifting from their static poses.

The bronze statues, now animated and holding weapons, lined up at both ends of the corridor, creating an impassable barrier.

‘I can’t get out like this…!’

Jeremiah growled lowly, glaring at Lexion.

“What are you plotting?”

“I can’t see you, Phil, but you’re there, right?”

“……What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Why, are you curious about how I knew?”

He shrugged, feigning nonchalance.

“It was strange. I never told her, but she knew the story that Le Guin and I shared.”

“She must have overheard it.”

“Have you already forgotten that the Magic Tower Lord’s office is soundproofed for security?”

“……Tch.”

“There are only a few remaining possibilities. That there was a listening device installed in that room…”

Lexion pushed up his glasses, his gaze sharp.

“Or Philomel, she was right there. It’s not impossible if you use an item that has the effect of concealing your appearance.”

“You’re writing a novel.”

“You, with your somewhat slow brain, may have been lingering around that area for days without noticing anything, but I’m different.”

“That bastard.”

“I asked the guards to contact me if there was anything even slightly unusual. In addition, I told them to send a signal periodically, even if there was nothing unusual.”

Lexion tapped a device that looked like a terminal.

“But the signal that should have come hasn’t been there for almost ten minutes.”

“So you hid here like a rat and waited?”

“It was worth making the security near the door closest to my room lax on purpose.”

“……You lured me to come here.”

“You *do* have that much brain, after all.”

“You sneaky bastard. I’ve hated that side of you for a long time.”

“Likewise. But in the past, you were cute, calling me ‘Hyung, Hyung’… [Hyung is a Korean term used by males to address older brothers or close older male friends.]”

“When did I ever!”

At that moment, Philomel took off the veil.

Her appearance was revealed before their eyes.

Philomel wanted to prevent the brothers’ discord from escalating.

“Lexion, please open the way.”

“……I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

“I’m begging you.”

“It’s better to follow Le Guin’s words. The outside is really dangerous.”

“You were the one who advised me to do what I wanted.”

When Philomel was 고민 [Gomin means ‘worry’ or ‘concern’ in Korean] whether to follow Le Guin to the Magic Tower from the Imperial Palace, he asked her: What is it that you truly want to do?

He also said this:

“Anyway, don’t worry about what we think and decide. No, not just what we think, but ignore anything that gets in the way and think about it. What do you want to do in the future?”

Thanks to that, Philomel was able to reaffirm her desire to uncover the identity of , and she was able to reach the truth.

“What I truly want to do now is to become a hero.”

And to lend a helping hand to Elencia. To not let her and the Emperor die.

“…….”

Lexion was silent, his expression unreadable.

“That guy didn’t say those words purely for your sake,” Jeremiah sneered, breaking the silence.

“To do what you want? He’s good at manipulating you to do what he thinks while pretending to be a nice person.”

“Manipulating…?”

It was something I saw in Le Guin’s notes about the ‘Children of the Dawn’.

Jeremiah drew his sword and aimed it at his brother, the steel glinting in the dim light.

“It was more beneficial for you if Philomel stayed in the Imperial Palace. To be exact, you were aiming for Le Guin to stay behind with Philomel.”

“Why would Lexion do that…?”

“Because his colleagues needed to research the Evil God while Le Guin was away from the Magic Tower.”

At that moment, something that happened a while ago came to mind.

The day Philomel saw Elencia in a dream. When Lexion brought Ieries’s seal stone, Le Guin was quite displeased.

Jeremiah continued, pressing his advantage.

“Not long before you appeared, there was a group in the Magic Tower that was caught doing forbidden research.”

His explanation was this:

Lexion researched the Evil God with some like-minded wizards. But that fact was revealed, causing friction with Le Guin, and in the end, it was concluded with them giving up their research. After that, Le Guin kept a close eye on them to prevent such an unfortunate event from happening again.

“That means…”

“It’s not advice, it’s sweet talk – designed to elicit the best results for *me* in the situation at the time.”

“……In that short amount of time?”

“Hmph, it’s something that guy has been doing since he was young.”

“Really, you’ve been saying whatever comes to mind since earlier,” a voice filled with anger flowed from Lexion. His expression also changed, becoming frighteningly cold. He was quite angry. It was the first time I had seen him truly angry.

Jeremiah still sneered, unfazed.

“Why, did I hit a nerve?”

“Shut up.”

“That’s not like you. You always glossed over things with a smile when your true feelings were revealed.”

Lexion wiggled his fingers, and except for the bronze statues blocking both ends of the corridor, all the others began to advance.

“I won’t touch a hair on Phil’s head, but there’s no need to extend that courtesy to *you*.”

“That’s so scary, so scary,” Jeremiah said, dripping with sarcasm. He then turned to Philomel and asked, “Can you sneak out if you wear that veil?”

“It’s possible if I climb over the bronze statues, but…”

The Veil of Ignorance doesn’t have the function of erasing the sense of touch when it comes into contact. If her body touched the bronze statues, they would recognize her presence and try to grab her, making escape difficult.

Jeremiah, who roughly grasped the situation, muttered lowly, “I can make those guys unable to move, albeit temporarily.”

“How…?”

“What are you whispering about?” Lexion asked, a sly smile playing on his lips.

“Jeremiah, you better concentrate. Unlike Cardin, I won’t go easy on you just because you’re my brother.”

Jeremiah’s face hardened in an instant. He bit his lip, his eyes blazing with anger.

“Why don’t you give it a try!”

“C-Calm down…!” Philomel whispered, but it seemed that Jeremiah, consumed by his anger, couldn’t hear her. His sword vibrated with a blue light, proof that magic was being imbued.

‘Why is this happening!’

The Evil God is in danger of being resurrected, Le Guin is going to kill the Emperor, and the brothers are fighting!

Before Philomel could stop him, Jeremiah dashed toward Lexion, his sword raised.

*Whooooosh.*

As he swung his sword, a wind containing a terrible chill cut through the air.

*Clang!*

The bronze knight statue that was directly hit by the wind *froze* solid. Not the knight statue next to Lexion, but the knight statue blocking the *other* side of the corridor.

Jeremiah rushed at Lexion, his movements a blur of speed and steel.

“Philomel! Run!”

Philomel ran in a daze, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She didn’t forget to put on the Veil of Ignorance again, disappearing from sight.

Jeremiah’s sword was blocked by the bronze statues, the clang of metal on metal echoing through the corridor.

“Tch!”

As Lexion gestured, another bronze statue next to him moved toward Philomel, attempting to intercept her.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

However, as Jeremiah stomped his feet, the ground around him froze, causing the bronze statue to stagger and lose its footing.

“You’re getting in the way until the end,” Lexion clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Due to the momentary dizziness caused by the mind magic, Jeremiah stepped back and reorganized his stance, his eyes narrowed.

‘……Damn it, I didn’t look him in the eye.’

I was deliberately careful, but it seems I was exposed to mind manipulation magic nonetheless.

Can you cast magic with just gestures, without making eye contact?

If so, Lexion’s magic has also advanced significantly in the meantime. It wasn’t just me who was honing my skills.

‘Philomel is gone.’

Her appearance was briefly revealed after breaking through the barrier, probably because she took off the veil.

‘Thank you. Don’t get hurt.’

The gaze she cast as she looked back at him at the end seemed to say that, a silent promise exchanged amidst the chaos.