There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 19

* * *

The servants greeted the carriage returning to the detached palace.

“Princess, did you enjoy your outing?”

“Yes. Where is His Majesty now?”

Philomel nodded in acknowledgment and asked.

“The political affairs meeting is prolonged, so he is still in the conference hall. But who is that…?”

The servant asked, looking at the commoner girl getting out of the carriage after the Princess.

“She is my guest. Elencia, come along.”

Philomel replied lightly and quickly walked to the conference hall in the detached palace. She just wanted to get it over with and leave this place.

“Princess, just a moment…!”

“This way.”

Frustrated by Elencia’s slow pace, she grabbed her hand and led her.

“Oh my, Your Highness, have you returned?”

“Would you like to have some tea together…?”

Everyone she encountered spoke to her. Normally, she would have responded to each one, but Philomel ignored them all and headed to the conference hall.

Some who looked closely at Elencia’s face hardened their expressions.

“Princess! What’s going on?”

The knight guarding the front of the conference hall blocked her way.

“I need to see His Majesty the Emperor right now.”

“Ah, but the meeting hasn’t ended yet.”

“It’s urgent. Move.”

At the Princess’s fierce demeanor, the knight hesitated and spoke towards the inside.

“…Your Majesty, Princess Philomel requests an audience.”

The answer came immediately.

“Let her in.”

Inside were several ministers and the Emperor sitting on the throne. Puzzled gazes followed the suddenly appearing Princess.

“What is it? You wouldn’t have come for nothing…”

The Emperor’s gaze, which had been on Philomel, naturally shifted to the side and froze. The others were the same.

“There is someone I would like to introduce to Your Majesty.”

Philomel pushed Elencia forward, who was flustered and didn’t know what to do.

“I happened to meet her in a nearby village. This girl’s name is Elencia.”

Murmurs arose among the ministers.

“She looks a lot like my late mother, doesn’t she? I wanted to show her to Your Majesty, so I invited her to the detached palace.”

No matter what Philomel continued to say, Eustis’s gaze never turned to Philomel.

She understood, but it made her slightly sad.

* * *

“Haa.”

As soon as she returned to her chambers, Philomel collapsed onto the floor. Recalling what she had just done made her palms sweat.

When she appeared with Elencia, the conference hall became as silent as if it had been bombed.

Philomel made excuses that she brought Elencia because she thought she might be a relative of Isabella, but it wasn’t very convincing.

The Emperor, who should have resolved the situation, stared at Elencia’s face for a long time, and Poland, unable to watch any longer, stopped the meeting. The ministers left the conference hall, whispering among themselves.

“I will prepare a place elsewhere. Your Highness, please come with me.”

Count Poland said with a serious face.

Philomel made an excuse that she would change out of her outing clothes and slipped away. By now, the father and daughter would be having a touching reunion in Eustis’s room.

She felt uneasy about throwing Elencia into a bewildering environment without saying anything.

But there shouldn’t be any problems. In the novel, Eustis recognizes Elencia as his daughter at first glance.

Eustis, who is kind to his daughter, will take care of her. She didn’t want to reveal ‘I’m a fake’ with her own mouth.

Philomel clenched her trembling hands.

Now there’s no turning back. She had to move forward.

She quickly got up and took out the bundle hidden under the bed.

Even the maids who packed Philomel’s luggage didn’t know what was inside.

The Princess firmly warned them not to touch it, so they only guessed that there might be valuables.

When she opened the bundle, commoner’s plain clothes appeared. It was a plain navy blue dress. She often mingled among the people and walked the streets, so she didn’t raise any suspicion when she bought this dress.

“Princess, shall I help you change?”

Countess Delles asked from outside the room.

“…It’s okay. Rather than that, I’m thirsty. Could you bring me a glass of cold water with ice?”

Philomel replied in a calm voice.

“I understand. Please wait a moment.”

To get ice, she had to go to the kitchen. The kitchen was far from Philomel’s chambers, so it would take time for her to return.

‘Countess Delles. Thank you for taking care of me so well. I will probably never forget you.’

Philomel finished her silent farewell.

She roughly took off her dress and put on the prepared clothes. She tied her hair back and wrapped it with a headscarf. Now, all that remained in the bundle were a pouch containing several gold coins and a book.

.

‘I don’t want to show it to others, so I have no choice but to take it.’

Philomel took out a letter from the drawer and placed it on the desk so that it could be easily seen. It was a letter she had written all night yesterday.

She checked her appearance in the mirror and hesitated as she was about to leave the room. A sparkling object on the display case caught her eye. It was a golden ship model that she had received from the Emperor as a birthday present yesterday.

Philomel raised her hand and stroked the smooth metal surface.

She couldn’t take it. The ring on her finger was a necessary item and there was a way to return it, but this was just a simple model.

If she took it, she would be suspected of running away with something valuable. Like other valuables, it was right to leave it here.

‘Don’t be greedy. It wasn’t originally mine anyway.’

Philomel put the model back in its place and quietly came out.

There was no one nearby.

She passed through the hallway, being careful not to be seen by others. The appearance of Elencia caused a commotion, and everyone was busy talking about it.

“The girl the Princess brought, doesn’t she look exactly like the Empress?”

“Is she really a relative?”

“That’s impossible. Judging by what she was wearing, she seemed like a commoner, but the Empress’s relative couldn’t be a commoner.”

“She might be a distant relative.”

“Would a distant relative look that much alike? She looked even more like the Empress than the Princess did. Rather, the Princess doesn’t look like the Empress at all…”

“Shh! Be careful what you say. You might disappear without a trace.”

It was all expected.

Philomel calmly slipped through them. Since it was an outing, nobles often went out to play, and the servants who served them were often dressed in outing clothes.

Also, there were many outsiders coming and going because of the birthday banquet preparations. Dressed in ordinary clothes, Philomel also looked like a maid.

Just when she was halfway relieved that no one was paying close attention to the passing maids.

“…Princess?”

Philomel was startled by Nasar’s voice from behind.

“Are you perhaps the Princess?”

If she turned around, she would be caught.

But she couldn’t ignore the Young Duke as a mere maid.

‘What should I do?’

Her heart was pounding.

“Nasar. What’s going on?”

“…Father.”

At that moment, Duke Averide unexpectedly extended a helping hand.

“What are you doing standing there? Do you have business with that maid?”

The Duke’s gaze was felt from behind.

“No, it’s nothing. I think I mistook her for someone else.”

“Oh, that guy. We have something to discuss among ourselves, so follow me quickly.”

“Yes, I understand.”

As the sound of the two people’s footsteps faded away, Philomel moved her legs again.

She safely exited the building and arrived at the main gate of the detached palace. There were so many people coming and going that the gatekeepers seemed busy just checking those who were entering.

“We will control access when the banquet starts. Return by then!”

That was all they shouted at the people leaving.

Philomel safely left the detached palace without much difficulty.

She went in the direction where many people were going, then took a side path in the middle. And she walked for a long time along the bumpy road.

The appearance of Utina’s detached palace disappeared into the distance. At this distance, even if she used divine power, Eustis in the detached palace wouldn’t be able to sense it.

Philomel took out the ring she had put in her pocket and put it on her finger.

The Ring of Red Flame was an item that allowed even those who did not possess divine power to cast divine magic.

Last year, on her birthday, Eustis had infused his divine power into the ring. So even Philomel, who did not have divine power, was able to use the ring.

One of the many spells that could be cast with the ring was teleportation magic. She pictured the place she wanted to teleport to in her mind.

‘Concentrate. Concentrate.’

If her concentration blurred, her body might be teleported while separated.

Philomel carefully rubbed the red gem with her index finger. Soon, a bright light flowing from the gem enveloped her body.

It was a farewell.