There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 75

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“What in the world is going on?”

Philomel muttered to herself as she spotted the throng of people.

She had set out to return a book she had borrowed from the Imperial Library.

But the entrance to the inner palace from the outer palace was bustling with noise.

Curiosity piqued, she went closer and saw many people who didn’t seem to be palace staff.

Philomel asked a nearby maid,

“What’s happening?”

“Lady Philomel, greetings. Lady Manon has entered the palace, and she is currently having an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.”

‘Both of them? Has Rosanne’s obsession finally come to fruition?’ Philomel wondered.

“Who are all these people?”

“They are followers of Lady Manon. They were appealing in front of the Imperial Palace, saying they had debts to collect from the Manon baronet family and the Lady. His Majesty heard the news and ordered them all to be brought here……”

The situation was immediately clear.

The creditors of the Manon baronet family had come to the Imperial Palace to get their money back.

Philomel had also heard rumors that the Manon family was on the verge of bankruptcy.

‘They must be desperate too. It was not unreasonable for them to flock to the Emperor, who they thought was the only source of money,’ she thought.

‘If the Emperor intended to make Rosanne his Empress, or at least his lover, he would save face by paying off her debts.’

Driven by curiosity, Philomel went inside the crowd.

The Emperor and Rosanne were in the center, and people surrounded them in a circle.

Rosanne, who was kneeling on the floor, pleaded with the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, please take care of me and my family.”

“……”

“Those rude people are tormenting me. I beg you to punish them and protect me.”

A man, unable to bear it any longer, bravely stepped forward before the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, the Emperor!”

The man briefly introduced himself and stated his business.

“I lent Baron Manon 100,000 bel [currency] and have not yet received it back! It has already been a long time since the due date written on the promissory note. Please do not believe that woman’s words. We are clearly the victims.”

Then the Emperor looked around the crowd.

“Is there anyone else? If you have anything to tell me about this woman and her family, do so here.”

They exchanged glances and then began to speak one by one as if they had made up their minds.

“I run a small boutique, and Lady Manon bought goods worth 30,000 bel yesterday and did not pay for them.”

Rosanne shouted.

“No, I just bought it on credit!”

“I didn’t want to sell it on credit, but the Lady threatened that she wouldn’t let me get away with it if I didn’t sell it……”

The accusations continued.

“It was the same at our store!”

“I still haven’t received about 140,000 bel in total!”

The maids next to Rosanne also knelt down and appealed.

“The wages of the servants working at the mansion have been delayed for a long time. Even so, the Manon family enjoyed luxury!”

“Not only that, but Lady Manon would severely insult and beat us if we made even a minor mistake!”

At first, the topic was clearly about the unpaid money, but gradually all the evil deeds committed by Rosanne and her family came out.

A man who appeared to be a coachman from the Manon baronet family also stepped forward.

“The Baron assaulted me, saying it was my negligence that the horse was sick and died! Even though he didn’t give me the medicine money. Because of that, I had to lie down for a week!”

It was revealed through the testimony of a West Palace maid that Rosanne had caused a ruckus at Ellensia’s tea party yesterday.

People couldn’t hide their surprise at Rosanne’s audacity in being rude even to the Princess. And coincidentally, Philomel was right next to the West Palace maid.

From some point on, the accusations continued to the side, so people’s attention naturally focused on Philomel.

Naturally, it seemed that Philomel also had something to reveal.

‘……I just came to watch.’

As she listened, more and more people gathered, and she couldn’t get out.

But it wasn’t an atmosphere where she could honestly say that.

‘Come to think of it, Rosanne had not yet returned the Ring of Flames.’

Justis gestured as if to say it was okay to speak.

In the end, Philomel raised her hand.

“Lady Manon stole the ring, a treasure of the Imperial Family, from me. And it’s not a big deal……”

She hesitated to talk about being hit once, as the evil deeds they accused her of were so enormous. Besides, she had hit her once too.

But Philomel spoke with the feeling of, ‘Oh, well.’

“Lady Manon slapped me on the cheek.”

At that moment, the atmosphere in the audience froze.

Everyone looked at the man exuding a chilling aura.

“So, this woman, slapped, your cheek?”

The Emperor’s voice was dozens of times colder than usual.

Rosanne, who was receiving the energy head-on, had a face as pale as a corpse.

The Emperor ordered his secretary, who was behind him.

“Imprison this woman and bring her family here. Count Polan, you will interrogate her yourself.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Count Polan, who answered, disappeared.

That the Emperor’s secretary would interrogate meant that the Emperor would personally decide the punishment.

And in Emperor Justis’ dictionary, there was no such thing as a light punishment.

Thus, the Manon baronet family fell splendidly.

In the process of investigating the crimes of the Manon baronet family, the Muriel ducal family’s suspicions of helping them were also discovered.

The Muriel ducal family managed to avoid losing their title by offering a significant portion of their territory to the Imperial Family.

However, it was inevitable that their power would decline rapidly. In fact, one of the five ducal families that dominated the Empire had collapsed.

The media, which had been talking about Rosanne as a prospective Empress, closed their mouths as if they had never done so, and the Emperor regained his reputation for only knowing his dead wife.

Several newspapers were shut down.

Compensation for the victims was made with the confiscated property of the Manon baronet family, and the Muriel ducal family paid for the insufficient part.

The members of the Manon baronet family were imprisoned, receiving hefty sentences according to the crimes they had committed.

And Rosanne Manon, who was at the very center of this situation…….

Philomel went to see the Emperor.

“No.”

That was the Emperor’s answer to Philomel’s request to release Rosanne.

“But hasn’t she been punished enough already? Even if it ends here, Lady Manon will live with the aftereffects for the rest of her life.”

“Still no. That woman deserves to die.”

“It is true that Lady Manon committed a great crime by pretending to be the Empress, but it is not a crime worthy of death.”

“Why are you so concerned about that woman? She is the one who hit you.”

“That’s……”

Philomel bit her lip for a moment and said in a small voice.

“……Somehow, she seems to resemble me.”

To be exact, ‘Philomel’ in the book.

A girl who likes luxury, is full of vanity, and inflicts harm on others. For some reason, Rosanne had aspects that overlapped with herself.

Besides, she felt uncomfortable because it seemed like she was going to die because she hit her.

Justis raised his voice.

“That’s not true. How are you like that woman?”

“Not now, but wasn’t I a bit similar when I was younger?”

“Not at all.”

“Your Majesty……”

When Philomel sent a persistent look of appeal, the Emperor eventually raised a white flag.

“Okay. I will spare her life.”

“Thank you.”

When Philomel smiled faintly, Justis’ lips also loosened.

“Oh, by the way, what happened to the Ring of Flames?”

“I found it in her belongings.”

“That’s a relief.”

“It’s tainted, so I decided to discard it.”

Philomel was surprised and widened her eyes.

“Why are you discarding it! What a waste!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make you a new one.”

‘Could it be that the words he said at the ballroom about making a new one were sincere?’

“No, isn’t the Ring of Flames something given only to the Emperor and his successor? Princess Ellensia should receive it.”

“Ellensia’s is being made. And I want to give it to you, so don’t refuse.”

“That’s not it……”

‘I’m tired of arguing now.’

Philomel just decided to accept it. She could compromise with her conscience again.

“Okay. Give me the original ring instead of discarding it.”

Thus, the Ring of Flames returned to Philomel’s hands. Filled with Justis’ divine power.

Philomel was secretly pleased as it was something she had grown attached to. It was also quite useful.

In any case, it is said that Rosanne was seen leaving the palace limping that day.

It was heard that the Muriel ducal family had decided to take care of her.

In a way, she was the enemy who had ruined their family, but they seemed to feel sorry for her situation, as she was not in good health and had nowhere to go.

The new Empress commotion seemed to be coming to an end.

But the next day, Jeremiah, with a serious face, said to Philomel.

“That woman died.”

“……Who?” Philomel didn’t understand right away and asked back with a puzzled expression.

“The woman named Rosanne.”

“Yes? How?”

Philomel’s eyes widened.

“Stabbed by a stranger. Lexion said she was already dead when he arrived.”

“That can’t be……”

She listened to Jeremiah’s story with her mouth wide open.

“It seems she went to the old Manon mansion to find her belongings, but there were no witnesses, so the culprit is unknown.”

“……”

Philomel held the warm teacup tightly without saying a word.

‘Who killed her?’

The debts of the Manon baronet family had all been paid off, but there could be anyone with personal grudges left, so it might have been them.

Moreover, Rosanne and her family were said to be harsh to the weak.

Anyway, she felt a little sympathy.

‘It feels strange to hear that someone I know has died.’

But a suspicious point came to mind, and Philomel opened her mouth.

“But why did Lexion go to find Rosanne?”

“……There’s something like that.”

Jeremiah hesitated for a moment and answered.

“What is it? Can’t you just tell me a little bit?”

Philomel, who hated being left out, asked back in a desperate voice.

“Our values are quite different from yours.”

But Jeremiah just closed his mouth, leaving behind an incomprehensible answer.