There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 51

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“There’s no time for this! If you want to enjoy the sights outside, we need to hurry.”

Philomel patted her cheeks and headed out the window.

“Le Guin! Jeremiah! Can you hear me? Are you still asleep?”

Not knowing where they had stayed the night, she shouted loudly.

The answer came almost immediately.

“I’m awake.”

Jeremiah, with messy hair and a cat on his head, climbed down from a nearby tree.

“You two seem to get along better than I thought.”

Philomel chuckled at the unexpectedly cute sight, and Jeremiah waved his hand dismissively.

“Don’t even joke about that. It climbed up there on its own because it didn’t want me looking down at it.”

“Did you sleep in the tree?”

“I didn’t feel like wandering around, and I couldn’t find a decent room. It’s fine. Both of us are used to sleeping outdoors.”

“Meow.”

The cat meowed as if in agreement.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about? I’d like to get this over with quickly.”

Jeremiah approached Philomel. He was slightly less prickly than when they first met, but still a bit rough.

‘Hmm. The cookie I gave him yesterday wasn’t enough, huh?’

It seemed she needed to fill his mouth with sweets to win him over.

“Alright. I’ll tell you. But!”

“But?”

“Would you like to go out with me?”

It was time to put the plan she had thought up yesterday into action.

“Where to?”

“How about Central Square? It’s the busiest street in the Empire. You’ve never been there, have you?”

Central Square was a place Jeremiah, who hated being around people, would never have visited. And probably never would, if he had his way.

“No.”

As expected, he immediately refused.

But Philomel had a reason why she needed to take him there.

“Come on. There are lots of things to see, so it’ll be fun. It’s a famous tourist spot for a reason.”

“No. We can talk here just as easily.”

“If we go to the square, I’ll buy you something sweet and delicious.”

“……Ugh, I don’t like sweets! I was just hungry yesterday.”

Such an obvious lie.

“Is there really…… no way? Actually, seeing the square has always been my dream. I’ve never been able to go around freely while living as a princess…….”

Philomel put on her most pitiful expression, and Jeremiah’s lips twitched.

“Let’s just go with me and leave him out.”

Le Guin, who had returned to human form, said that, but Philomel ignored him, pretending not to hear.

“I’d be so happy if Jeremiah came with me…….”

“Fine! I’ll go! I’ll go!”

In the end, Jeremiah surrendered.

“You were going to go anyway, why did you resist? Phil, take my hand. I’ll use magic to teleport us to the square in an instant.”

Philomel looked at Le Guin, who was holding out his hand, with a questioning expression.

“What are you talking about? You need to stay here, Le Guin.”

“Huh?”

“We can’t let anyone find out that I’ve disappeared.”

If they found out, there would be a huge commotion.

But going through the official procedures to go out was too much of a hassle.

“Please. Keep an eye on things here. And if necessary, do some trickery. You can do that with magic, right?”

Philomel asked with a bright smile.

* * *

Le Guin, unable to refuse Philomel’s request, used teleportation magic to take Philomel and Jeremiah to a back alley near the square.

He crossed the magic suppression barrier of the Imperial Palace without any difficulty. Judging by the fact that no alarms went off, he wasn’t caught by any detection magic either.

‘The Imperial Palace security is so easily breached, I should call the person in charge and order them to improve it…….’

Philomel, habitually thinking like she was still a princess, shook her head.

What was the point of improving security? It would only make it harder for her to sneak in and out of the Imperial Palace.

“I know how to see the square too. I’m more confident than Jeremiah.”

Le Guin grumbled loudly, as if wanting to be heard, leaning against a street lamp.

“But what can I do? Phil told me to go back. I have to go watch the house. How boring.”

‘How childish!’

Philomel clicked her tongue at her father’s childishness.

Only magical skill must be important to become a Master of Magic Tower [a powerful mage]. It’s clear that they don’t consider sincerity or maturity.

‘……Hmm. Still, was it too much to tell the Master of Magic Tower to watch the house?’

Belated worry came over Philomel.

But Le Guin’s presence would be a hindrance to the sincere time she was about to spend with Jeremiah. They would only argue and waste time.

But if Le Guin abandoned her, daughter or not, and returned to the Magic Tower, it would be difficult for Philomel to stay in the Imperial Palace.

The Emperor had said he would treat Philomel as a state guest, but it was uncertain whether others would see it that way.

If things suddenly went like the development of [the novel Philomel is in], Le Guin’s existence to help her was essential.

Although he gave up in the end, Le Guin was the only one who protected ‘Philomel’ in .

And…….

‘Elencia is scary.’

Elencia’s words and actions in front of Eustis to save Katrin were suspicious.

“I love Mom! I know Dad hates Mom, but she’s more like a mom to me than my own birth mother.”

Did Elencia really try to save Katrin? Or did she want to kill her?

Immediately before, in the conversation she had with Philomel, Elencia had been noticeably embarrassed after hearing Katrin’s words.

‘Katrin felt that Elencia had changed into a different person. If Elencia deliberately induced the Emperor’s actions to eliminate Katrin because of those words…….’

Philomel’s shoulders trembled slightly at the heavy and gloomy malice.

It might be an oversensitive thought, but that suspicion could not be erased. If Elencia’s malice was directed at Philomel, there was no proper solution.

She was a princess who would one day inherit the throne. Even to prepare for the time when such Elencia turned into an enemy…….

‘I need to improve Le Guin’s mood for now.’

In an emergency, he was the most reliable shield.

Philomel put on a sociable smile and spoke to Le Guin.

“Come on, don’t be like that. You can come out with me later, Le Guin.”

“……When?”

“Um, whenever we both have time? I’ll give you a special tour of the capital then.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

He seemed a little interested, should I add some lies?

Philomel lowered her voice so that Jeremiah couldn’t hear.

“Actually, the reason I came out with Jeremiah first was to use it as a rehearsal before going sightseeing with you.”

“Rehearsal?”

“I need to know roughly where everything is so that I can pick out the best places to see later.”

“……Is that so?”

He seemed to be lost in thought, as if he had understood.

‘Was it a ridiculous excuse after all……?’

But soon a clear conclusion popped out.

“Then…… that means I’m more important than Jeremiah!”

His attitude was as clear as a clear sky, without a trace of doubt.

Philomel realized at that moment.

‘This person is simpler than I thought.’

She rattled off flattering words to lift his spirits even more.

“Of course you’re more important, Le Guin. You’re the Master of Magic Tower, you’re good at magic, you can just pass through the Imperial Palace barrier, uh, um…… magic is very…….”

Gradually, the reasons why Le Guin was better than Jeremiah were running out. No, if you listened carefully, it was all the same. In the end, it was just that he was good at magic.

‘What else is there? Maybe his appearance? But he looks exactly like Jeremiah.’

But he didn’t seem to care that much, and Le Guin’s expression brightened.

“I see. That’s how it was. I knew it.”

“That’s right. That’s how it is.”

Philomel vaguely agreed, not knowing what that was.

After that, Le Guin kindly told her to call him with the communication stone if she wanted to return to the Imperial Palace and left.

Philomel breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness. As childish as he is, he’s simple and easy to handle.

Relieved, she approached Jeremiah, who was standing far away.

Jeremiah didn’t even want to be in the same place as his father, so as soon as he arrived here, he went off on his own a block away.

“Not being able to use magic means the Imperial Palace isn’t a place to stay for long.”

Jeremiah muttered, looking at the magic circle forming on his fingertips.

Unlike his brothers, who became exceptions to the magic suppression barrier by becoming court wizards, he could not exert his power in the Imperial Palace.

In , he becomes a court wizard. To protect Elencia at all times.

To think that he would kill his personality that pursues isolation and join an organization for a woman who just thinks of him as a friend, it was a tearful pure love.

Perhaps because she sympathized with his unrequited love, Philomel felt a strange affection for the character of Jeremiah while reading the book.

Although he was a character who regarded ‘Philomel’ as an eyesore, well, it was understandable because ‘Philomel’ had committed such evil deeds.

‘Philomel’, who was a maid of the princess, also picked fights with him over everything.

The relationship between ‘Philomel’ and Jeremiah was truly that of enemies.

‘Would anything have changed if they had known that they were blood-related siblings?’

Jeremiah leaves far away due to the pain of unrequited love before ‘Philomel’ entrusts herself to the Magic Tower.

If it was ‘Philomel’, she might have learned that Jeremiah was her older brother while living in the Magic Tower, but…….

The moment she leaves Elencia’s side, ‘Philomel’s’ importance also evaporates, so there is no way to know the details.

All she knows about ‘Philomel’s’ next actions is that she was caught trying to alienate the Magic Tower and the Empire and was put on the execution stand.

Anyway, to avoid the worst ending and reach the truth of the book, what she has to do now is decided.

Philomel looked at Jeremiah’s back and braced herself.

‘I must make him my ally!’