There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 46

* * *

Magician Jeremiah.

He was a sub male lead who harbored ardent feelings for Princess Elencia.

Her seat ultimately went to Nasar, but he is still described as a supremely devoted figure who secretly protected the woman he loved from the sidelines.

The problem is that he is a very dangerous person to the villain ‘Philomel.’

In the book, there were more than a few times when ‘Philomel’ harassed Elencia due to her inferiority complex about not being the real princess, and was almost judged by him.

‘To think I was siblings with such a person of interest…….’

I didn’t know because didn’t even mention Jeremiah’s family situation.

In the wake of the surprise, a sudden annoyance surged.

‘Why didn’t you write such important information in the book!’

A fierce animosity arose towards the author of , but now was the time to solve the immediate problem. The problem of Jeremiah.

‘It’s obvious that he won’t listen even if I try to stop him from leaving here now.’

Even in the book, Jeremiah pathologically disobeyed others. He felt like a natural rebel.

After much deliberation, Philomel approached Le Guin.

“Le Guin.”

“What.”

“You told me to live the way I want to, right?”

“I did.”

“There’s something I want right now. But I need your help to achieve it. Will you help me?”

“Finally, you recognize my true worth.”

Le Guin met Philomel’s gaze and gave a satisfied smile.

“Okay. Tell me anything.”

“Keep Jeremiah from going anywhere.”

“What? Are you crazy? Why me…….”

Jeremiah’s protest was cut short.

“Acknowledged.”

Whoosh!

Because Le Guin transformed him into the same state as his brother, whom he had ridiculed just a few tens of minutes ago.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh!”

Jeremiah, whose limbs were bound, burst into anger, but unfortunately, it was just a meaningless struggle.

‘I meant to ask him to persuade him, but I didn’t know he would just tie him up…….’

I was embarrassed, but it was already water under the bridge. It seems like persuasion would be impossible for someone like Le Guin, and this might be the best option.

Philomel gave Jeremiah an apologetic look and said.

“I’m sorry. Just bear with it a little bit. I’ll release you after I decide what to do with you.”

According to what was written in , the two met in the winter about three or four months before Elencia came to the Imperial Palace.

Since Philomel brought Elencia’s appearance forward by about a year, the two would meet this winter if things went as originally planned.

Of course, it may be premature to worry about the relationship between two people who haven’t even met yet.

If I just let Jeremiah leave as he is, the two may never meet.

‘Since Elencia will be staying at the Imperial Palace.’

Besides, now that Jeremiah has found out that she is his younger sister, there was a possibility that he would not hate ‘Philomel’ as he did in .

But…….

‘I shouldn’t let my guard down.’

As long as she decided to stay in the Imperial Palace for the time being, Philomel intended to be as cautious as possible.

But what if Jeremiah left and met Elencia in an unexpected place and fell in love? Even though Elencia seems to be subtly hostile to Philomel, I couldn’t add the burden of Jeremiah.

‘I have no choice but to keep the risk factors by my side and manage them.’

The best option is to win him over. But if that’s impossible…….

‘If that’s impossible…….’

“You’re thinking of getting rid of him.”

“Hey, that’s the face you make when you’re trying to confine someone.”

“…….”

I was trying to think, but Le Guin and Lexion were being a nuisance.

“Phil, I can’t grant you the request to get rid of him, no matter how much it’s you. But I’ll consider simple confinement positively.”

“Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh!”

“Ugh, ugh, ugh.”

The two brothers, tied together, rolled around on the floor in protest when the word confinement came out of Le Guin’s mouth.

Philomel sighed softly and opened her mouth.

“First of all, shouldn’t Lexion and Cardin go in? You’ve officially become court wizards, so you have to do your job. And Jeremiah…….”

Le Guin interrupted Philomel and interjected.

“Should I put him in the dark space?”

“……Is that dark space a very painful place to go into?”

“Not at all. It’s cozy and nice. There’s nothing there, so it’s perfect for lying down and reflecting on yourself.”

“Then do that.”

Philomel nodded in agreement. She decided to think about the policy when Jeremiah couldn’t be won over later.

Le Guin snapped his fingers, and Cardin was released from his restraints.

“Phew! I thought I was going to die of suffocation!”

Cardin jumped up and stretched. His slightly tanned skin made his healthy charm even more prominent.

“Phil, call me anytime you need me! If you call me, I’ll drop everything and run to you!”

Philomel nodded slightly to Cardin.

Cardin laughed heartily and disappeared beyond the maze with Lexion.

And under the canopy, only Le Guin, Philomel, and Jeremiah were left.

When Le Guin snapped his fingers, a magic circle was drawn on the floor, and soon a black hole appeared.

‘Is this the dark space Le Guin was talking about earlier?’

Philomel peeked into the hole out of curiosity. It was just dark without a single point of light, and there didn’t seem to be anything special about it.

“Heave-ho.”

Le Guin strode over and lifted Jeremiah up. Then, he pushed him into the dark space as if he were storing socks in a closet.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh!”

Jeremiah, with blood vessels bulging on his forehead, disappeared into the dark hole.

Philomel didn’t know Jeremiah very well yet, but she guessed that it probably meant something like, ‘Damn old man! I won’t let you get away with this!’

“What are you going to do next?”

Le Guin dusted off his palms and asked Philomel.

“Do you have to stay in the Imperial Palace? Wouldn’t a mansion near here be okay?”

“Do you have a mansion in the capital?”

“I can buy one.”

“Oh…….”

To buy a mansion in the capital, it would cost an enormous amount of money, to say the least.

Watching Le Guin talk about it so casually, Philomel realized once again that he was a master of the Magic Tower who had accumulated enormous wealth.

“You don’t have to go to such trouble. There’s something I can only do if I’m in the Imperial Palace.”

Philomel said, making an effort to turn her head.

Of course, the decision to stay in the Imperial Palace wasn’t entirely welcome, considering the crowd that would be gossiping about her.

But the person she was going to watch carefully in the future was the Princess.

‘And the Princess lives in the Imperial Palace.’

It was meaningless if I didn’t observe her up close.

“Tch, I understand.”

At Philomel’s firm words, Le Guin clicked his tongue as if he couldn’t help it.

“Do you not like the Imperial Palace?”

Philomel asked cautiously.

“The air is full of divine power, which makes me feel bad.”

Come to think of it, I heard that magic power and divine power conflict with each other.

Since it was a place where the descendants of God resided, the Imperial Palace was full of divine power. Philomel had never felt uncomfortable living there for over ten years, but it seemed different for wizards.

“I’m sorry. Because of me…….”

Philomel muttered with a gloomy expression. Somehow, it felt like it was all her fault.

Then Le Guin flinched and denied it.

“No, well. It’s not unbearable.”

“Still…….”

“It’s okay. It’s quite pleasant as long as I don’t approach that human.”

“That human?”

“Who else could it be? There’s a human who overflows with nasty divine power from his body even when he’s just standing still.”

“Ah.”

Philomel could easily recall who Le Guin was talking about.

“Then Le Guin, why don’t you transform into a cat and go back to my room first?”

“Why?”

“Because I’m planning to go meet that person from now on.”

She had one problem to solve with Eustis.

* * *

Shortly after, Philomel arrived at the office and requested an audience. She thought he might be reluctant to see her, but the Emperor readily granted her an audience.

“You came early. Without thinking about it any further.”

He had a dark look on his face, but he didn’t avoid her like last time.

“I’ve thought about it enough, and I’ve come to give you my answer.”

Philomel said cautiously as she sat on the sofa facing Eustis.

“No. Before that, I have something to say. Something I have to say first, no matter what answer you give.”

“Please speak.”

Eustis lowered his eyes and opened his heavy mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

His low voice echoed in the office.

“I… I did you a great wrong. I shouldn’t have said those words. I want to apologize now, even if it’s late.”
The self-deprecating apology continued.

“Not only that. I’ve been too indifferent to you all this time. I didn’t even think about looking at you properly, using my misfortune as an excuse.”

Eustis slowly got up from his seat and approached Philomel.

“It’s too late, but I want to ask for your forgiveness. No, you don’t have to forgive me, just don’t disappear without a word. You’re only sixteen years old now. You haven’t even had your coming-of-age ceremony yet.”

The age at which one is recognized as an adult in the Belleroph Empire was eighteen. And there were nearly two years left before Philomel came of age.

“Even if I’m not your biological father, I’m still your guardian. You still need to be protected by an adult.”

A hand wearing a black glove was gently placed on Philomel’s shoulder. It was a very cautious touch.

“If you don’t want to be by my side, I’ll find a comfortable place for you separately. But even if you don’t see me, I hope you’ll be within my reach. That way, I can protect you no matter what happens.”

“…….”

Philomel could only stare at him without saying a word.

“I’m really sorry. I have no way to express it other than with these few words.”

The unremoved pain could be felt in Eustis’s frowning brow.