There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 77

After emptying the bottle, Lexion asked Cardin, who was finally freed.

“So, how was it?”

“Oh, um. It was pretty good? It tasted like lemonade.”

Cardin smacked his lips and said.

“Not the taste, the effect.”

“Hmm… It feels like my head is spinning…”

“What’s 37 times 9?”

“333.”

“He’s definitely gotten smarter. It seems our hypothesis is correct,” Lexion concluded firmly.

However, even after confirming the hypothesis, the problem still remained.

How did Elencia obtain this drug? Why does Estellion [likely referring to a magical energy or essence] feel like it’s in this drug?

But at this point, there was no one who could answer that question.

‘It’s frustrating.’

In fact, Philomel hadn’t just been sitting idly by.

On the day of the debutante ball, seeing Elencia’s middle name different from the book, she formed a hypothesis.

‘The soul of the current Elencia might be different from the Elencia in the book.’

The first thing that came to mind was the phenomenon of demonic possession.

Philomel obtained holy water that the actual priests used for exorcisms.

And when she was invited to the Emperor and Elencia’s dinner, just like last time….

“Ah, it’s cold!”

She slyly sprinkled the holy water poured into the glass on the back of Elencia’s head.

That was the prescribed exorcism.

She wanted to have Emily do it, but she thought a maid doing that would cause a big fuss, so she stopped.

Although it was a small amount, Elencia naturally noticed.

Until then, Elencia, who had only been talking to the Emperor, turned to Philomel.

Philomel took the initiative before Elencia could argue.

“Oh my! Your Highness, I’m so sorry! My hand just slipped.”

“…How does one slip and pour it on my head?” Elencia frowned and asked sharply.

“I’m really sorry,” Philomel said shamelessly.

Her fear of Elencia had been greatly diluted since Le Guin cast an automatic defense magic.

“Philomel, you….”

At that time, Justis opened his mouth and stopped Elencia.

“Elencia. Philomel admitted her mistake and even apologized, didn’t she?”

“Dad!”

“Stop it now.”

Elencia looked wronged but closed her mouth.

In conclusion, the assumption that Elencia was possessed by an evil spirit was Philomel’s false assumption.

In fact, it was a bit of a nonsensical assumption. Elencia knew how to handle divine power. She even demonstrated it in front of people on the day of the debutante ball.

How could she handle holy power if she was possessed by an evil spirit?

However, it was evidence that finding the truth of the book was at a dead end to the point where Philomel was betting on a faint possibility.

Everyone was lost in thought when Le Guin picked up the empty bottle.

“I’ll take this to the Magic Tower and investigate it.”

“But you drank all the potion, so is there anything to investigate?”

At Philomel’s question, Le Guin pointed to the bottle.

“Isn’t it quite elaborate for an ordinary magic potion container?”

The glass bottle was shaped like a pretty star.

“Looking at how much attention was paid to the appearance, it’s highly likely to be a high-end product. If you search, you can find out where it was sold.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Or it may be necessary to investigate the constituent materials of the bottle itself, like that book.”

“Are you talking about the book I gave you?”

“Yes. I didn’t say it because I’m not at the stage of being sure yet… There’s a high possibility that the book is made of a substance that doesn’t exist in the world.”

Lexion expressed a reasonable question.

“An object made of a substance that doesn’t exist in the world, is that possible?”

“I’ll only know the details after comparing it with other rare materials….”

The golden eyes shone.

“It’s possible if it came from another world, not this one.”

Another world, not this one.

Does such a thing really exist?

Philomel was doubtful, but the three brothers surprisingly didn’t say anything.

They seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.

“It’s just a hypothesis. Still, I’m quite intrigued. To discover a power that might be Estellion in a place like this.”

Le Guin disappeared with teleportation magic, leaving those last words.

That day’s incident became an opportunity for Philomel to think about the possibility of another world.

* * *

In addition to unraveling the truth of the book, Philomel’s daily life was full of various events.

One day, as the season gradually entered early summer, a servant of the Imperial Palace came to Philomel’s residence.

“The gift prepared by His Majesty the Emperor has finally been completed and arrived at the Imperial Palace. Please come to the lake when you have time.”

“A gift?”

“I’m talking about the gift for Philomel’s last birthday.”

Ah, she had completely forgotten. Philomel stared at the golden boat decorating a corner of the shelf. Come to think of it, Justis said he would give her a real boat in the same shape as that.

‘He said it was being made, but it’s finally finished.’

Honestly, she didn’t need a boat.

Philomel didn’t really like boating.

Besides, if you think about it, it was a gift she received when she was a princess, so it felt a bit much for her to have it now.

Still, since it was a gift she received, it didn’t seem polite to refuse it without even seeing it once, so Philomel set out.

When she arrived at the huge lake located in the Imperial Palace, the first thing that caught her eye was the pleasure boat.

Indeed, it was a very beautiful boat with a delicate appearance.

Even Philomel, who already knew the shape from the golden model, couldn’t help but exclaim as soon as she saw it.

When she shifted her gaze slightly to the side of the boat, she saw a group of girls.

Young ladies in outing attire were gathered in front of the lake pier.

Elencia, who was at the head, was talking to a servant.

“Why can’t I ride it?”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. This boat is a gift from His Majesty the Emperor to Philomel.”

“What kind of rule is that? I have the right to ride it too!”

It seemed like an incident that would already give her a headache just listening to it.

As Philomel was contemplating whether to turn around without being noticed, Lexion appeared next to her.

The two moved to a location where they wouldn’t be noticed by others.

“Lexion, what brings you here?”

“I came to see the completed boat.”

“Are you interested in that boat too, Lexion?”

“Of course. I also participated in the production.”

“You also make boats?”

“To be exact, I didn’t make the boat itself, but I designed the magic formula on the boat. That boat is also a kind of magic tool.”

“I see.”

Philomel nodded and looked up at Lexion.

“But wasn’t magic tool management your job, Lexion? I didn’t know you were involved in production too.”

“I was also mobilized because it was a very expensive request.”

Justis must have spent some money.

But Lexion, who lowered his eyes, said quietly.

“It wasn’t made carelessly, but if I had known the owner was you, I would have put more effort into it.”

“It’s okay. I’ll just take the thought.”

“You’re not thinking of returning it, are you?”

“I am thinking of returning it.”

“The boat I made? Without even riding it once? I really want Phil to ride it.”

“…….”

It’s too bad to keep saying no when he says this much.

“Okay. I’ll try riding it for now.”

In the end, Philomel, who lost to Lexion’s earnest gaze, went to the pier.

Then, the servant who couldn’t do anything to Princess Elencia was delighted to see Philomel.

“So, Your Highness, this boat is Philomel’s property. I can’t let you ride it without permission.”

Elencia retorted.

“But this boat was a gift from Dad when Philomel was a princess. If so, it’s not a gift to Philomel, but a gift to his daughter, the princess. Now that I’m the princess, it’s practically mine.”

She had her own logic. In a way, it was true.

The three young ladies behind Elencia also gave Philomel unkind looks.

All three were children of high-ranking noble families, but they were people Philomel hadn’t kept close for various reasons.

Elencia looked at Philomel triumphantly.

“How is it? Am I wrong? Tell me if I’m wrong. I’ll listen.”

Philomel felt a terrible annoyance.

She didn’t want to argue with Elencia about the boat here, not the truth of the book.

Anyway, Lexion said he wanted her to ride the boat, not that he wanted her to have the boat.

So Philomel readily said.

“I’m okay with it, so Elencia, you can have this boat.”

Elencia had a blank expression.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“I can have it?”

“Yes.”

Even though she said she would give up the boat she wanted so much, Elencia didn’t seem happy. Rather, the hand holding the parasol trembled as if she was resentful.

‘She’s really a strange kid.’

One thing that is certain is that Elencia, who only smiled inscrutably when she first saw her, now reveals her negative emotions well.

Elencia changed her attitude and said triumphantly again.

“Okay! Philomel said it’s okay too, so I’ll be the first to board this boat. Is that okay?”

“As you wish.”

Elencia, who passed Philomel with a snort, boarded the boat first, and the young ladies followed.

Since it was a boat that moved on its own with magic power, there was no need for someone to row.

The servant next to Philomel kept saying, “It can’t be, it can’t be…,” but he couldn’t actively stop the princess and her party.

Philomel watched the scene without much thought.

‘I’ll ask them to take me later. If they say no, I’ll ride it secretly.’

But the moment the last young lady boarded the boat.

Weeing, weeing!

Suddenly, a deafening alarm sounded, and the boat tilted.