There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 154

* * *

Time passed.

Philomell spent her days as happily as she always had.

A kind and gentle mother, a taciturn but wonderful father, and a fiancé who made her heart flutter. Besides them, there were many others who unconditionally loved her.

Laughter never ceased around Philomell.

One day, an unexpected visitor arrived in the Empress’s chambers. Philomell was chatting with her mother at the time.

“Philomell, Isabella! I’m here!”

Katrin greeted them cheerfully. Philomell ran to her.

“Mom!”

“It’s been so long!”

The two shared a warm hug.

“Was it two months?”

Isabella counted on her fingers, and Katrin shuddered.

“Oh, don’t even mention it! It’s been three months, not two.”

Katrin shook her head, touching her cheek.

“I missed Philomell too, but those men back home were a mess.”

Philomell bounced over to Katrin and asked.

“Are Dad and my brothers doing well?”

“Hehe, you contact them through the communication stone [a magical device for long-distance communication] every day, yet you’re still curious?”

“Yes! I’m curious!”

“Your dad is ready to storm in here. Your brothers ask me when you’re coming back every chance they get.”

The Empress’s expression darkened as she watched the affectionate scene between the two.

“Now that I think about it, the time has already come for you to return. It makes me sad to think I won’t see Philomell for a while.”

Katrin comforted her friend.

“I’ll be back in a few months, don’t worry. More importantly, let’s catch up on everything we’ve missed.”

Soon, a tea table was prepared.

Isabella and Katrin chatted happily over tea.

“Come to think of it, this tea is a gift from my nanny.”

At Isabella’s words, Katrin made a face of disgust.

“Don’t even mention your nanny. She used to scold me so much when I played with you as a child.”

“Her personality is a bit like that. But she’s good to children who listen well.”

“Are you saying I was a child who didn’t listen well?”

“Hey, why do you jump to that conclusion?”

Philomell picked up a cookie and listened to their conversation.

‘Huh?’

A strong floral scent filled her mouth. It was the same scent she had smelled in the Emperor’s office before.

The child carefully examined the cookie, but it was just an ordinary cookie.

Isabella asked Philomell, who was tilting her head.

“What’s wrong?”

“I feel like there’s something in my mouth.”

“Say ‘ah’ so I can see.”

Isabella looked into Philomell’s mouth.

“There’s nothing there? Maybe you’re mistaken?”

Philomell continued to smell the floral scent but conceded to the Empress. Her mother would never be wrong.

Isabella and Katrin returned to their previous topic: the nanny.

Philomell suddenly spoke her mind.

“Didn’t the nanny die?”

Katrin and Isabella’s gazes simultaneously turned to Philomell.

Katrin burst into laughter.

“What are you talking about? The nanny is healthy as can be, except for some minor things.”

Unlike her friend, Isabella wore a rather serious expression.

“Philomell, have you ever met the nanny before?”

Thinking about it, she hadn’t.

‘Then why did I suddenly think she was dead?’

Isabella asked.

“Did you have a dream or something?”

“Well, maybe it was something like that…….”

Just as Philomell was about to agree with her.

“His Majesty the Emperor has arrived.”

The Emperor appeared.

“Katrin, it’s been a while.”

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor exchanged formal greetings with Katrin and picked up Philomell. This time, Philomell didn’t resist and snuggled into his arms.

His scent, reminiscent of wood, always gave Philomell a sense of security.

‘Ah, the scent of wood…….’

No, it was the floral scent.

Once she recognized the floral scent, the unease that had faded resurfaced.

Justis, who was talking to Katrin, looked down at his daughter.

“Do you really want to go to that Mage Tower Lord, that fellow?”

The Empress looked embarrassed.

“Fellow? He’s Philomell’s father.”

“I am enough as Philomell’s father. There’s no need for two.”

A story she always heard. But today, it felt strangely awkward.

So Philomell asked.

“Why do I have two fathers and two dads?”

What’s strange isn’t just that.

“Why do I have two mothers and two moms? And why do I live going back and forth between the Imperial Palace and the Mage Tower?”

Silence fell. The first to speak was Katrin.

“Why? There’s no reason.”

Justis followed.

“It’s always been like that.”

Always? Always been like that?

Philomell was flustered, but she lost her words at their expressions. They looked like they didn’t understand why she was asking such an obvious thing.

Isabella stroked Philomell’s cheek with a worried look.

“Are you sick? You’ve been saying strange things since earlier.”

The moment she faced the Empress, Philomell lowered her head.

For some reason, her will was weakening. She had made her mother worry over something trivial.

“I’m okay. I must have been mistaken!”

Philomell smiled brightly, and they resumed their conversation.

‘It’s strange…….’

However, the unease that had taken root did not disappear easily. Rather, it only grew larger due to the occasional floral scent.

* * *

It had already been a week since Katrin came to the Imperial Palace.

“Shall we head to the Mage Tower soon?”

After spending plenty of time with her friend, she told Philomell to prepare to leave. Tomorrow, the Mage Tower Lord would come to pick up his daughter in person.

After lunch, Philomell had a snack time alone with the Empress.

Today’s snack was cream puffs.

“I want to be with you a little longer since I won’t see you for a while.”

Isabella said, giving her share of cream puffs to her daughter.

Philomell was happily eating with her fork when she stopped.

‘Again.’

A richer floral scent than the taste of the cream puff filled her mouth. And suddenly, unfamiliar memories began to surface.

“……Do you know what?”

“What?”

“Ellensia has never eaten a cream puff before.”

That’s what was written in that child’s diary.

“So I thought that when Ellensia comes back, I want to let her taste a cream puff first.”

Philomell stared directly at the Empress. A face that looked exactly like Ellensia, only the color of her eyes was different.

The Empress asked with a puzzled look.

“Who is Ellensia? A new friend?”

Philomell gripped her fork tightly.

“I don’t know exactly, but if Ellensia wants to eat cream puffs that much, please bring her some. I’ll tell the chef.”

“That’s wrong. Ellensia is the real daughter of Empress Isabella. The daughter of the real Empress, not you.”

“What is…….”

Philomell faced Isabella directly and asked.

“Who are you?”

At that moment, the Empress’s face changed completely.

A complete blank expression.

“Who am I? I’m your mother.”

“Stop with the pathetic act. It’s unpleasant.”

“…….”

Seeing her speechless, Philomell became certain.

“Somehow, this world, for a hallucination, is too realistic.”

Extremely elaborate.

According to what she had read in books, the venom of a Spotted Wyvern’s fang didn’t have this kind of effect.

‘It was as if they were having an endless nightmare, and past memories were repeating.’

That was the review of someone who had been poisoned by the Spotted Wyvern’s fang.

But the world Philomell was experiencing was clearly different.

‘Even if we ignore the fact that it’s not a painful memory…….’

It wasn’t vague like a dream and was surprisingly realistic.

There were no sudden strange developments, and most things had clear causes and effects.

The very absurd situation of having two parents each was glossed over with ‘it’s always been like that,’ but otherwise, there were plausible reasons.

“Philomell, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Empress Isabella put on an innocent face. There was no way to deal with her if she acted like that.

Philomell reluctantly decided to play along with this conversation for a while.

“I’ve been observing, and you’re just a little different from the others.”

“Different?”

“This world seems fixed, but it’s being reconstructed according to my perception.”

Once Philomell clearly recognized the nanny’s death, the nanny was treated as dead here as well.

“I suddenly have a memory of going to the nanny’s funeral with you.”

Conversely, the conversation that Isabella and Katrin had about the nanny became faint. As if such a thing had never happened.

‘If I hadn’t been conscious and kept dwelling on it, I would have completely forgotten it.’

Isabella smiled faintly. It was a completely different smile from the previous one, which had been as warm as sunlight.

“Hmm, you’re saying quite difficult things. Keep talking.”

“But you were different. Even though I clearly remember your death, you’re still alive?”

“How about thinking about it this way?”

She slowly took a bite of the cream puff.

“Unlike the nanny, you wanted me to be alive.”

“…….”

“This place is the hallucination you wanted. A world you dream of, thinking how happy you would be if things were like this.”

“Thank you for letting me know. I was wondering, but my guess was right.”

“Hehe, don’t bother pretending to be strong. You’re trembling.”

That was the truth.

Philomell tightly clenched her hands, which were wet with cold sweat.

“In this place, your desires are valued more than your memories. Do you think the Emperor is actually a good father, so such a hallucination was created?”

“So that’s how it was structured.”

“Anyway, tell me. Among the many characters that appeared in your dream, how did you pinpoint me so accurately?”

Philomell paused for a moment before opening her mouth.

“Every time I felt a sense of unease in this world, you stepped in.”

When she first woke up in the Emperor’s office, when she recognized the nanny’s death, when she questioned the situation of having two parents each.

“Strangely, when I talked to you or made eye contact, the unease soon disappeared.”

Isabella rested her chin on her hand.

“You have quite a good sense. But is that all?”

Instead of answering her question, Philomell asked another question.

“Why doesn’t Ellensia exist in this place?”

“I don’t know. I’ve only concretized your wishes. I only intervened a little.”

A sly smile appeared around the Empress’s eyes.

“Well, it seems you’re happier without the princess, right?”

“…….”

“You pretend to be a hero and act kind, but this is your true nature.”

“True nature?”

“Yes! Coming here, I unintentionally glimpsed your childhood.”

Not a fake, but the real past.

The being with the Empress’s appearance said, sneering.

“You’ve been struggling to look good in the eyes of others since you were young, right?”

In order not to become a villain like ‘Philomell’ in .

“I’ll give you credit. How much did you cling to it that the kindness wasn’t just a ‘pretend’ [sarcastic air quotes] ?”

Isabella whispered softly.

“But now you don’t need to deceive yourself. Be honest.”

Her voice sounded like a snake crying.

“If you stay here, you can live happily ever after.”

Clap!

The Empress snapped her fingers, and the objects in the room floated into the air.

“There’s no one to hurt you, no shackles to bind you.”

Philomell’s body also floated up.

The Empress reached out her arms towards her.

“Philomell, a child with a fleeting name.”

A holy-looking halo shone behind Isabella.

“Let’s dream an eternal dream together.”