There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 27

***

Philomell shivered, the cold rising from the stone floor chilling her to the bone. The moment she arrived at the Public Security Bureau, she’d been handcuffed and thrown into a detention cell.

Her wrists throbbed from the tight metal, and her cheek burned where she’d been struck.

Rozanne Manon? Was that her name? The Chief Constable had referred to her as Lady Manon of the Manon Viscounty.

At first, the name hadn’t registered, but then she remembered the Manon Viscounty.

As someone trained to be a successor, she possessed information about most noble families.

‘The Manon Viscounty…’ she thought.

It was an unremarkable family, except for the fact that the Viscountess was a close sister of the Muriel Duchess. However, their only daughter’s personality was far from ordinary.

She was still reeling from the shock of being slapped. It was the first time it had ever happened.

‘Even my nanny never slapped me.’

And considering the stinging pain, it felt like she’d been scratched by something.

‘Rozanne was wearing several rings.’

If it was a scratch from a ring, there was a good chance it would leave a scar.

However, this wasn’t the time to worry about scars or pain. The Public Security officers, along with the other prisoners, were staring at Philomell as if she were an animal in a zoo.

“Is that woman the famous fake princess?”

“She’s the spitting image of the wanted posters.”

“Why would she do something like that when she looks perfectly normal?”

“Who knows? Bad blood will always show, I guess.”

“Just thinking about how we had to patrol twelve times a day because of her makes my blood boil.”

The Public Security officers were the *better* ones.

“Hey! You’re going to die anyway, so why not have some fun with us!”

“What’s wrong? Does someone who pretended to be a princess look down on us like we’re bugs?”

“You cursed thing! You’re worse than us!”

The prisoners openly leered at Philomell, hurling insults.

Since the officers weren’t actively stopping them, the abuse only escalated.

Being exposed to them through the bars was chipping away at Philomell’s sanity. But when she imagined what was to come, even this felt insignificant.

‘I was foolish.’

She had shown off the Ring of Red Flames too much. She couldn’t remove the ring because the magic only worked when she wore it.

‘I should have kept my hands in my pockets.’

If she had at least rubbed the ring to activate a defensive spell before they grabbed her arms, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.

If she was dragged before Eustis like this, she would die sooner or later.

Resentment flared before fear, the thought that her escape, which she had dreamed of for years, was ending so futilely.

Can a villain not escape their fate, no matter how hard they try?

She had to do something. She refused to wait for a predetermined ending without a fight.

Philomell glared at the people beyond the bars.

“Excuse me.”

“What, what is it?”

The Public Security officers flinched as the fake princess, who had been silent until then, finally spoke.

“I repeat, I am not the fake princess. My name is Charlotte Tate. I am simply a traveler who came here to visit my family.”

Philomell made up a false name and excuse on the spot.

One of the officers, who seemed to be the most senior, stepped forward.

“Come on, that’s ridiculous. Listen, don’t bother trying. No one here will believe such lies.”

He didn’t seem easily swayed, but Philomell didn’t give up.

“Isn’t it possible that there might be more than one person in the world who looks alike?”

“So you’re saying you just happen to look like her?”

“According to the news, all the reports received so far have been misidentifications. You can’t say I’m not one of them.”

“Shut up! We know you’re trying to get out of this!”

Philomell played the last card she had, aiming it at the man who was scoffing at her.

“Above all, I have a witness who can verify my identity.”

“Who is it?”

“Contact the Magic Tower [a powerful organization of mages] right now and call the magician Lexion. I am his younger sister.”

The atmosphere among the officers shifted when the Magic Tower was mentioned.

The economy of Anghelium was so dependent on the Magic Tower that it was no exaggeration to say that it revolved around it.

The people who visited the Magic Tower stayed in the city and spent money, and the magical tools that came from there were major specialties.

Historically, when friction arose between the Magic Tower and the Empire and the Magic Tower closed its doors, it was the citizens of Anghelium who suffered the most.

For them, there was nothing good about being disliked by the magicians of the Magic Tower.

“Lexion? Did that woman just say Lexion?”

“Lexion, as in the Chief Magician of the Magical Tool Management Department?”

“The Magic Tower Master’s top disciple?”

Moreover, Philomell’s brother, whom she had met for the first time today, was quite a famous person.

If managing magical tools was his job, the Public Security Bureau naturally had to be careful.

If something went wrong, the supply of specialties could be disrupted, and cooperation from the Magic Tower was essential to investigate magical tool-related crimes.

Philomell breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. She was going to mention Le Guin if Lexion’s name didn’t work, but it seemed she wouldn’t have to.

The title of the Magic Tower Master’s daughter was too grand and would only sound like a bluff.

“…How can we believe you?”

The Public Security officer, whose spirit had clearly been broken, asked.

“If you don’t believe me, contact my brother and tell him to come here.”

“But at this late hour…”

“Is it not okay to wake him up in the middle of the night, but it’s okay to leave his sister in a place like this?”

They looked taken aback at Philomell’s point. They were on the verge of giving in.

Philomell decided to sell Lexion’s name for all it was worth.

“My brother cherishes his only sister very much. If he knew that such a sister had been beaten by a simple mistake and imprisoned in such a place, how heartbroken would he be?”

Rozanne was the one who hit her, but she subtly shifted the responsibility to the Public Security Bureau.

“…Well. Shouldn’t we at least ask if his sister has visited Anghelium or not?”

“That’s right. If what she said was true, it could mean that we made a high-ranking official take a useless trip.”

As the opinions of the other officers swayed, the man had no other choice.

“Ugh. I don’t believe it, but I’ll contact him for now. But be prepared, I won’t let you off if it turns out to be a lie. No one cares if a prisoner is missing an arm or a leg.”

Even the brutal threat did not frighten Philomell.

A sense of relief washed over her, feeling that she had somehow overcome the crisis.

She had heard that he only had brothers, so if they asked about his sister, Lexion would naturally think of her.

All that remained was to hope that he would corroborate her story with minimal improvisation.

“Hey, you there. Go to the Magic Tower and see if what that woman said is true…”

“There’s no need for that.”

“Chief!”

Someone who had just entered stopped the man from giving instructions. If they called him Chief, he seemed to be the Chief Constable.

“Someone who knows the fake princess has arrived. We can ask him and find out right away.”

Her head went blank.

“He’s already here?”

The Chief Constable answered one of the officers’ questions.

“Yes. He was heading this way, so he was able to arrive early.”

*Who* on earth is it? No, whoever it was, if they knew her, it was over.

‘If I had a little more time, I could have escaped…’

God was not on her side after all.

Several footsteps and voices echoed down the narrow hallway.

“Come this way. We received a report a few hours ago and have her locked up. The reporter is a young lady named Rozanne Manon, who asked us to tell you all about her.”

“Wait a minute. Locked up? What do you mean…”

Soon, Nassar Averdeen appeared. He was one of the people Philomell least wanted to see in this state.

Nassar’s eyes were immediately fixed on Philomell in the detention cell.

The honey-colored platinum blonde hair shone subtly in the Public Security Bureau’s lighting. The small duke [a noble title] looked radiant even in a cramped and noisy environment.

She turned her head, wanting to disappear into a rat hole.

“Your Highness!”

That didn’t cause the miracle of Nassar not recognizing his fiancée.

“You’re safe! I was really, really… worried. But why are you in a place like this…? Please wait a moment.”

He drew his sword from his waist.

He could have just borrowed the keys, but the innocent bars were sliced through by the aura-clad sword.

Nassar’s eyes fell on Philomell’s handcuffed wrists as he entered the detention cell.

“Would you like to hold out your arm?”

The handcuffs were also torn apart like paper.

“Your Highness. Let’s return to the Imperial Palace together.”

He took Philomell’s cold hand as if sharing warmth. His watery eyes were unfamiliar.

‘Why is he making that face?’

As if he was genuinely worried about Philomell.

“Um, Duke. What’s going on here…”

The Chief Constable was flustered by the strange situation.

“Are you cold? Please wear mine.”

Whether the Chief Constable said anything or not, the small duke kindly took off his coat and placed it around Philomell.

Not only the Chief Constable but also everyone there had a look of bewilderment on their faces.

This was because Duke Averdeen, who was supposed to take over the fake princess and escort her, was acting unexpectedly.

In the circumstances, it seemed that the woman they had captured was indeed Princess Philomell, but it was not convincing that the small duke was treating her with respect.

Princess Philomell was a fake, so wasn’t she a criminal? Everyone on the street was talking about it, and the newspapers were also in that tone…

At that moment, something flashed through the Chief Constable’s mind.

There had never been a single official order to ‘capture the criminal Princess Philomell.’

There was only the content to find the missing princess by any means.

That order combined with the rumor that the real princess had appeared, and it was naturally accepted as a search for a criminal.

Looking back, he had not questioned the strangely wrong interpretation.

‘Wait, if the princess is not a criminal, what have we done?’

The Chief Constable’s neck was covered in cold sweat.

He couldn’t serve the innocent imperial family, but he dragged her in and locked her in a detention cell…

He didn’t even want to think about anything more than that!

It was a serious crime that was merciful to kill her gently.