There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 67

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Confused, Philomell excused herself to the lounge to sort out her thoughts.

The ball had just started, so no one was using the lounge to rest yet.

‘They wouldn’t be able to even if they wanted to.’

Elensia would be dancing her first dance right now, and everyone would be eager to impress the new princess.

Philomell wandered around the empty lounge without a care.

‘Why did her middle name change? Is this also because I moved up the timeline by a year?’

For the sake of argument, let’s say Nasar isn’t in love with Elensia, and Justus maintains a subtle distance from his daughter. Even Elensia’s changed personality, like everyone else.

‘People’s hearts can go anywhere, after all.’

But does God work the same way as people? Can a name change so easily just because it’s a year earlier?

The temple explains that a royal’s middle name is a mirror reflecting their soul. That’s why they lose their divine power, the power of the soul, if they commit impure acts in the name.

If the name is different, that means the soul is too…….

Philomell shuddered at the thought that came to her at that moment.

‘Is that even possible?’

Wouldn’t it be more plausible to assume that isn’t a complete prophecy?

But once a question is ignited, it doesn’t go out easily.

‘If, and this is a big if…….’

Maybe the Elensia over there right now has a different soul than the Elensia in the book.

If so, it would match what Katrin said about Elensia changing as if she were a different person.

‘Could she be possessed by an evil spirit?’

She recalled cases of people who suddenly became violent because an evil spirit had taken over their bodies.

Although Elensia hadn’t become violent, her personality had definitely changed for the worse.

Creak. The lounge door opened.

Philomell tensed up but relaxed when she saw who it was. It was Nasar.

“You were here. I was surprised when you suddenly disappeared.”

Nasar, impeccably dressed as always, approached her.

“Aren’t you going to dance?”

“No. I don’t want to today.”

“……That’s a shame.”

A thought flashed through her mind faster than the question of ‘Why is Nasar disappointed?’

“But why is Nasar here? Aren’t you dancing?”

“I don’t feel like it today either.”

“Shouldn’t you be having the first dance with Princess Elensia?”

“Me with the Princess? Her Highness did ask me, but I declined.”

‘Is this person out of his mind? Isn’t he afraid of the Emperor’s wrath?’

When Philomell asked why he had refused the first dance with Elensia, Nasar replied:

“……Because my fiancée is Philomell, not Princess Elensia.”

Only then did Philomell realize that their engagement was still ongoing.

‘Why? Since it was a marriage arrangement between the Imperial Family and the Duke’s family, shouldn’t it be automatically annulled when it’s revealed that I’m not the princess?’

In the book, things proceeded that way, and Nasar and Elensia danced without any problems.

In reality, although Nasar hadn’t fallen in love with Elensia, he was the only one suitable to dance with her. Nasar was the only peer who knew Elensia so far.

‘Wait, then who is Elensia dancing the first dance with right now?’

Curious, Philomell opened the lounge door and stepped into the hallway.

In the hall, the princess was performing her first dance to the music. The person who lifted Elensia’s body in the air to the melody was…….

‘The warrior Killian!’

A tall man with navy blue hair was holding Elensia’s hand.

Killian. The victorious warrior who defeated the top-tier monster Cerberus.

He was the heir of the Escal family, a reasonably prestigious noble family, but he was usually referred to as a warrior.

The first person that comes to mind when you hear the title ‘warrior’ in this era. And Elensia’s third man.

In , there were a total of three men romantically involved with Elensia.

Young Duke Nasar, the magician Jeremiah, and the warrior Killian.

According to the book, Killian wasn’t supposed to be interested in Elensia until later, so what’s going on?

Originally, he didn’t attend debutante balls like this. He said he was fed up with the superficial noble world.

This is…… everything is deviating from more and more.

Nasar, who had followed Philomell into the hall, stared at Elensia and Killian.

“They make a good couple.”

He seemed perfectly calm, as if he were talking about someone else’s business.

Nasar really didn’t seem to have any feelings for Elensia.

Finally, the princess’s first dance ended and the music stopped. Next was the stage for the young nobles debuting this year.

The young ladies and gentlemen danced their first dance with their assigned partners, then switched partners and danced again.

Philomell desperately searched for someone in the returning line. But Rozanne’s red hair was nowhere to be seen.

‘Where is she? Did she get scared and not come?’

“Philomell…….”

Looking to her side, Nasar couldn’t take his eyes off Philomell’s face.

“What’s wrong?”

“At first, I thought it was just my imagination…….”

Nasar even stuttered.

“This might be rude to say, but you look, ah, beautiful today.”

“Pardon?”

“The moment I entered this place, I could only see you.”

‘What’s wrong with him? Did he eat something wrong?’

But he wasn’t the only one staring at Philomell in a daze.

Even the noble young men and women around her stared at her for a long time, and then quickly averted their gaze when their eyes met.

She had never received such an enthusiastic reaction even when she was a princess.

“Nasar, is there something on my face?”

“Rather than something being on it, it’s like there’s a light…… a light shining from your face.”

A light?

“Nasar, here you are!”

Philomell pulled Nasar away and returned to the lounge to grab a hand mirror. Then, she went out into the hallway and headed to a secluded place.

She reached a place where the lights were dim and realized something important.

……It wasn’t just that her face looked like it was glowing, it was actually glowing.

“What’s wrong with this!”

Philomell shouted, holding the hand mirror.

Not only Philomell’s face, but her whole body was emitting a subtle light. She didn’t notice it when she was under the bright lights, but she could clearly see it in the dark.

That wasn’t the only strange thing. As she passed a hallway with a window open, birds flew in through the window. The small birds chirped and circled around Philomell.

Thinking she should get the birds out, she went out to the garden through the terrace, and an even stranger thing happened.

Flowers bloomed instantly wherever Philomell’s feet touched. Even on land where there weren’t even buds or sprouts!

“I’m going crazy…….”

Someone called out to Philomell, who was standing still, holding her head.

“Phil!”

“You were here.”

It was Cardin and Lexion, dressed in their court mage uniforms.

Lexion, who closely observed Philomell’s condition, concluded:

“It’s Regin’s doing. It’s a multiple complex magic.”

“Why would he do this…….”

Come to think of it, she remembered Regin looking at her outfit and saying it was too plain.

“Perhaps he did it for Phil’s sake.”

“Can Lexion undo it?”

“It’s impossible. If that were possible, I would have kicked Regin out a long time ago and become the Magic Tower Master.”

Lexion waved his hand and chased away the noisy birds.

“Right now, I can only cast a spell to chase away the birds. The only other option is for Phil to quickly finish her business and go back and ask him to undo it.”

“I guess so. I’ll have to give him a piece of my mind.”

Lexion shook his head at Philomell, who was grinding her teeth.

“……Really, what are you doing, causing accidents when you should be doing well?”

“What did you say?”

“I was just talking to myself.”

Only then did Philomell notice the two men’s stylish outfits.

The three brothers all had different vibes, but they looked even more radiant when they were dressed up. Well, she was the one who was literally glowing…….

“You two came to attend the ball, right? But why are you outside?”

“We just arrived. It took some time to get rid of some annoying flies that were sticking to us.”

“Why is there dirt on your clothes?”

“I saw it on the way, and some guy dared to insult you, eugh!”

Lexion gagged Cardin, who was about to answer.

“Haha. We were just doing some late-night exercise.”

Something was bothering her a lot, but it felt like she shouldn’t ask.

“Anyway, I have to go back inside. The birds are gone, the light isn’t visible in bright places, and the flowers only bloom on dirt.”

“Go ahead. We’ll finish what’s left to do and then go.”

“Eubeubeubeube.”

Philomell waved goodbye to the two and returned to the banquet hall.

There were many things to worry about, but the goal in front of her had to be clear.

The goal was, of course, Rozanne.

Fortunately, Philomell soon found Rozanne, who hadn’t shown her face until now.

Whether it was God’s help or not, Rozanne happened to be at the end of an empty hallway.