There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 183

* * *

“Your Imperial Majesty?”

Eustis, lost in deep reminiscence, was jolted back to reality by a voice as sweet as a nightingale.

“Your Majesty, are you unwell?”

Ellensia, sitting beside Eustis in his office, asked with a worried expression.

“Shall I summon the court physician immediately?”

“No, there’s no need.”

Eustis reassured his daughter and took a sip of the now-cold tea.

“I was just recalling some old memories.”

He had intended to delve into old memories while Ellensia was talking with Polan, but it seemed he had become too engrossed.

“But Your Majesty’s countenance did not look well.”

“I’m fine. It’s just… it seems my expression hardened because it was not a pleasant memory.”

“Ah, I see.”

Ellensia seemed relieved, but after a moment, she asked,

“If it’s not too much to ask, may I inquire what kind of memory it was?”

She seemed curious about her father, of whom she still knew little.

Eustis gazed at his daughter with a profound look and opened his mouth.

“When I was young, I hated studying so much that I skipped class and went out to play.”

Ellensia’s face was filled with surprise.

“Your Majesty had times like that too?”

“I was just an ordinary kid.”

Eustis nonchalantly told a lie and relaxed his lips.

There was no need to reveal a heavy truth and cloud this child’s expression.

After Dale’s betrayal, Eustis’s life was marked by the flames of anger.

All he could rely on was the vast divine power within him, his fairly sturdy body, and the precarious luck that repeatedly allowed him to narrowly escape death.

The weak Seventh Prince scraped together those few things and managed to eliminate all the beings that threatened him, desperately surviving.

However, Ellensia’s life ahead would be filled with emotions other than anger.

As the beloved person he could no longer see had wished….

Looking at her face, which resembled Isabella so closely, brought her to mind.

The person who ended his relentless race, even after he had seized the throne.

“Even when you’re angry, Your Majesty, you somehow look sad. What makes you so sad?”

At that moment when she had asked that question, Eustis finally realized that he had been using anger as an escape.

Long ago, the boy had not fully endured the betrayal and death of his trusted servant.

So, he simply dyed other emotions such as sadness or emptiness crimson with one emotion.

If he entrusted himself to anger, he could at least aim the arrow only at others.

Isabella, who had seen through such inner thoughts, led Eustis to properly confront the various things he had buried until then.

At first, he was displeased, but he slowly became colored by Isabella’s hues, like being soaked in a drizzle.

It was a happy time. But when that happiness ended without warning, the frail man chose to run away again rather than follow the teachings his wife had left behind.

Because of that, he committed a mistake to a child that he would regret for the rest of his life. Philomell, a child who would forever remain in Eustis’s heart with repentance and affection.

As fate would have it, Philomell’s biological father was the man who had awakened anger in him long ago.

When Eustis first learned of this fact, he judged that the man was not suitable to be a father to a child, either on par with himself or even more so.

However, after experiencing various events, he had no choice but to admit that the man was indeed fit to be Philomell’s father.

His actions of rushing into the den of an evil god to protect his daughter were the 모습 [Korean: mosup – appearance/figure] of a respectable father.

Just as Eustis had changed little by little over more than twenty years, he too had changed.

To be honest, he still disliked the man so much that he still wondered how Philomell had come from such a fellow….

“There are many things in life that you want to turn a blind eye to. But you can’t move forward if you only turn away. Come, let’s face them together. Eustis.”

As Isabella had said during her lifetime, he decided to honestly admit it. The father who would make Philomell happier was not himself.

Is that so? Is it time to face things head-on without looking away even now?

Eustis, who had gained enlightenment after staring at the empty teacup, opened his mouth.

“Ellensia.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I would like you to call me Dad or Father instead of Your Majesty.”

Ellensia’s eyes widened.

“But, as a princess, I must maintain decorum….”

“I won’t say more if that’s what you truly want. But perhaps you should ask yourself what you truly desire.”

He carefully chose his words as he continued, as it was a type of conversation he was not very familiar with.

“I have regrets because I have not been honest with my emotions since long ago. Your mother, Isabella, also always told me that I could be honest. I hope you don’t follow the same path as me-“

“Dad.”

As their eyes met, Ellensia smiled brightly.

“I understand what you’re saying. Thank you for your concern, Dad.”

Eustis was pleased with his admirable daughter’s response, but on the other hand, he felt a sense of sorrow.

He should have done this back then. Back when Philomell changed her title from Dad to Your Majesty.

However, he tried to look at the present rather than be buried in the regretful past.

“I was actually a bit surprised.”

Ellensia adjusted her attire as if she were embarrassed.

“I didn’t expect you to say this. Ah, but I’ll still call you that in front of people as before. I still want to be seen as a dignified princess.”

“Do as you please.”

“Um, and… the Empress, I mean, could you tell me about the mother who gave birth to me?”

“Isabella’s story?”

“Yes, I want to hear more. I’ve always been curious about what kind of person she was. Would that be alright?”

Eustis lowered his eyes for a moment and replied in a somewhat subdued voice.

“Of course, it’s alright.”

That was what he wanted too. He had been cautious because it seemed that Ellensia only accepted Katrin as her mother, but in fact, he had always wanted to share the time he had spent with Isabella. With this precious child that she had created at the risk of her life.

“Where should I start?”

But suddenly, he was at a loss for words. That was how much the memories with Isabella held too great a meaning for him to easily unravel.

“Then it’s okay if you tell me later.”

“Alright. I’ll have to organize my memories until then.”

It was when the two were promising the next time.

“Your Majesty! It’s a disaster!”

Count Polan, who had left his seat while Eustis was immersed in reminiscence, returned in a flurry, as if he had urgent business to attend to.

The Emperor stared at his loyal confidant, who had been with him for even longer than the servant who had betrayed him in the past, with a reproaching gaze.

“You’re being frivolous, Polan.”

Nevertheless, the man who had disturbed his precious time with his daughter shouted without restraint.

“It really is a disaster! Do you know who’s outside right now!”

“Who is it?”

Eustis asked indifferently, confident that he wouldn’t be surprised no matter who it was.

He had even contained the Sun God within him, so how could he be surprised by the visit of an ordinary person?

However, the name of the person that came out of Polan’s mouth was completely unexpected.

“Lady Philomell has arrived! Along with Duke Averide!”

Eustis stood up without realizing it.

“What? Why is Philomell here without any notice!”

“I ran over as soon as I saw her, so I haven’t heard the details, but she said she has something to apologize to Your Majesty for?”

“Apologize to me?”

“Yes.”

Eustis would apologize, but what could Philomell possibly have to apologize to him for?

Suddenly, a possibility arose in his mind.

“…Ellensia.”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps, just perhaps….”

He barely managed to open his lips, which wouldn’t fall.

“You didn’t tell Philomell about what happened back then, did you?”

“Back then?”

“You know, when I was wearing that bizarre outfit.”

“Ah, that shower gown-“

“Stop, only up to there.”

Eustis stopped her from speaking as he didn’t want to recall that day’s memory even a little, and Ellensia tilted her head and carefully asked.

“Was it a story that shouldn’t be told even to Philomell?”

“…….”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t know that.”

“No. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Eustis quickly shook his head when he saw his daughter’s expression clouding over.

“It’s not a story that shouldn’t be told.”

It’s just that he was quite embarrassed. Moreover, he didn’t want to burden Philomell with unnecessary guilt.

In fact, Eustis had vaguely suspected since then that the outrageous anomaly had originated from Philomell. That child could wield a strange power called a system, like the intruder who had taken over Ellensia’s body.

Knowing Philomell’s personality, she would surely feel sorry if she knew the situation Eustis had experienced, so he had intended not to tell her. But he never imagined that the truth would leak out through Ellensia.

“…….”

Well, whatever. Eustis relaxed his expression and reached out his hand to his daughter, who was still intimidated. The deed had already been done, so what could he do now?

“Shall we go greet Philomell together?”

Seeing a guest he had been longing for was always enjoyable. Especially with family.

* * *

Meanwhile, at that time, in the Magic Tower Master’s office located in the Magic Tower, documents were piled up like mountains.

Lexion, who came in with another armful of documents, sighed and nagged.

“Lord Le Guin, when are you going to work?”

“When I feel like it.”

He muttered in dismay at the listless answer of the person lying on the desk.

“Anyway, it’s always like this when Phil is not around.”

“Shut up. I don’t feel like working, so what do you want me to do?”

“Oh, what’s this again? Doodles?”

On the paper found on the desk, there was a drawing of a person wearing glasses.

Devil horns sprouted from the person’s head, and on top of them were written insults such as idiot, nag, and black-hearted bastard.

Lexion tore up the paper without hesitation.

“This brat…….”

“If you have time to doodle, why don’t you do some work.”

However, the person who would have immediately retorted as usual was silent today.

“Lord Le Guin?”

The Magic Tower Master tilted his head with a puzzled face.

“What should I say? It’s like I met an impudent guy like you a long time ago…….”

However, the 고민 [Korean: gomin – worry/trouble] didn’t last long, and a clear conclusion was soon drawn.

“Well, it’s probably nothing!”

He was originally a person who quickly forgot things that were not very important.

-Side Story End-