There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 8

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With the nuisances gone, Philomell’s daily life proceeded more smoothly.

The tight schedule, the constant attention, and the lingering fear of death sometimes left her breathless, but she managed to endure it.

Fortunately, with the nanny and her crew gone, she felt much more at ease, and Countess Delles and the new maids performed their duties admirably.

However…….

“This alone is not enough.”

Philomell muttered, flipping through a book in her room before breakfast.

It was good that the nanny and her gang were gone, and she was gradually gaining recognition from others. But it was still too early to rest easy.

At least until she was old enough to run away on her own, she had to do everything she could to survive.

She was only nine years old now, and there wasn’t much she could do with a child’s body for the next few years, but she needed to be able to make a living when she left the Imperial Palace later.

‘I’m saving up an escape fund by cutting back on my allowance… What else can I do?’

Escape method?

She had some ideas about this, but there was a major obstacle to making this plan work.

That was to score points with the Emperor.

There was an item perfect for escaping, but the problem was that it was an imperial treasure. A treasure that only the Emperor or an heir recognized by the Emperor could use.

“But how do I score points……”

The Emperor had recently taken another look at Philomell, but their relationship hadn’t dramatically improved just from that.

She was occasionally invited to meals, but there was no further progress in their relationship.

‘Hmm… What should I do?’

But she couldn’t give up on the imperial treasure; there was no other item like it.

Philomell, who was habitually rereading ,’s eyes lit up.

“Yes, this is it!”

Philomell immediately pulled the bell cord to call Countess Delles and asked her to bring something.

Soon after, the Countess brought a vial of green powder.

“This is Sansalcho powder, as you requested.”

“Thank you!”

“You’re welcome. But may I ask why you need Sansalcho powder? It’s usually used as a medicinal ingredient.”

“I’m going to use it to make tea for His Majesty.”

“……For His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Yes! His Majesty often enjoys alcohol. I read in a book that water boiled with Sansalcho is good for relieving hangovers!”

Philomell deliberately spoke innocently, like a naive child.

From experience, the Countess was a good adult who wanted to protect a child’s innocence.

“Hmm… I see. His Majesty will surely be pleased with the Princess’s filial piety [devotion to one’s parents].”

As expected, the Countess’s expression flickered for a moment, but she soon smiled and encouraged Philomell.

“Shall I prepare the teapot and teacup as well?”

“Please bring a filter paper too!”

“Hehe, I’ll bring it right away.”

As soon as Countess Delles left the room, Philomell opened the vial and put it close to her nose.

“Ugh, the smell!”

A pungent, sour smell filled the air.

This was the reason why the Countess had shown a vague reaction to Philomell’s saying she would give Sansalcho tea to the Emperor.

It was widely known that Sansalcho was good for hangovers, but few people enjoyed drinking Sansalcho tea the day after drinking too much.

That was because of the terrible smell and the taste, which was twice as bad as the smell.

‘But it’s okay because I have this.’

Philomell went to the safe deep in the room, opened it, and took out a glass bottle as big as her forearm.

The light golden liquid filling the bottle swayed. It was the sap of the World Tree fruit.

It was said that adding World Tree fruit sap to the bitter Sansalcho tea surprisingly neutralized the bitterness and made it palatable.

In the book, Elencia accidentally discovered this after putting the World Tree fruit sap she received from her father into Sansalcho tea.

Such a miraculous coincidence came from the simple idea that ‘mixing good things with good things will make it even healthier.’

‘As expected, the real princess is different.’

Philomell smiled bitterly.

Anyway, that’s how Elencia created the so-called ‘special Sansalcho tea,’ which was more effective in relieving hangovers and also helped with recovery.

Until then, no one had even thought of putting precious World Tree fruit sap into such a terrible tea. Elencia was the first inventor of ‘special Sansalcho tea.’ Of course, Philomell would steal it.

‘Sorry! Elencia. You’ll be fine even without this, so please give it to me.’

After roughly asking for her understanding in her mind, the Countess returned.

Philomell filtered the Sansalcho tea with the filter paper she brought, then scooped the golden liquid with a teaspoon.

The ratio was important to get the best taste.

Philomell put in two spoonfuls as written in the book. Sweat formed on her brow as she carefully stirred the tea.

“Done!”

She tasted it and it had a subtly sweet taste, which was just right.

‘Elencia, you’re kind-hearted, so you might have given this precious tea to a knight suffering from a hangover, but I’m different.’

Good things should be given to the powerful.

Following the wisdom of the world she had learned early on, Philomell headed straight to the Emperor’s bedroom.

Countess Delles carried the tea tray instead, saying it was too hot and dangerous for her to carry.

She heard that the Emperor had a formal dinner with high-ranking nobles yesterday.

Since the meal lasted until late at night, it was highly likely that he would be suffering from a hangover this morning.

But on the way to the bedroom, Philomell ran into Count Polan.

Count Polan’s eyes welled up after hearing Philomell’s explanation.

“Finally, a spring breeze between the two of you……! His Majesty will be waking up soon. Let’s go.”

‘So he hasn’t woken up yet because of the hangover.’

Philomell was secretly pleased and moved towards the Emperor’s bedroom.

The Count opened the door to the bedroom and entered first.

“Your Majesty, see who has come to visit!”

A voice filled with suffering came from the bed.

“……Don’t shout, it’s noisy.”

Justis, who was lying down, woke up groggily.

‘This is my chance!’

Philomell took the tea tray from the Countess and approached the bed.

“Your Majesty, how are you?”

Philomell greeted him with the polite attitude she had been practicing diligently.

Justis was surprised by the unexpected voice and jumped up.

“Philomell? Why are you here?”

“I brought Sansalcho tea in the hope that it would help Your Majesty’s health. Would you like a cup?”

Count Polan chimed in from behind.

“Her Highness the Princess brewed it herself. Isn’t her Highness’s filial piety admirable?”

Justis stared down at the steaming tea with a haggard face.

His pale complexion looked even worse because of the musty smell. World Tree fruit sap could mask the taste of Sansalcho, but not the smell.

‘Surely he’s not going to refuse to drink it, is he?’

Worried, Philomell took another step closer.

“Although it smells like this, the taste is……”

Ugh, Philomell’s expression momentarily contorted.

‘The smell of alcohol!’

The smell of alcohol, which could not be hidden by the Sansalcho scent, wafted from the Emperor.

Philomell’s eyes caught sight of the empty bottles filling the table. There was no way the servants wouldn’t have cleaned up what he had drunk before, so those must be the bottles he drank last night.

‘He drank that much more even after the formal dinner?’

Her eyes widened involuntarily.

“Stay away from me.”

Justis recoiled, as if he had read Philomell’s thoughts.

“But……”

Philomell’s hand holding the tray trembled.

‘It’s too heavy, I can’t hold it any longer!’

It was too much for a child to hold a tray with a teapot and teacups for long.

“……Give it here.”

Justis sighed and took the tray, placing it on the bed. He stared at the tea as if he were having a staring contest with it, then emptied the teacup in one gulp.

“……?”

The creases on his forehead, which had been deeply furrowed, soon smoothed out.

“The taste…… isn’t bad.”

Philomell smiled at the expected result.

“Right? The bitterness disappeared when I added World Tree fruit sap.”

“World Tree fruit sap?”

“Yes! The one Your Majesty gave me.”

“……I gave it to you to eat.”

“I don’t have any pain anymore. But Your Majesty often suffers from hangovers……”

Count Polan seconded.

“Now, please reduce your drinking even for the sake of Her Highness the Princess. No matter how strong Your Majesty is, if you drink like that for ten years, there’s bound to be something wrong with your health.”

“Shut up.”

“Her Highness the Princess is still young……”

“I said shut up.”

Listening to their conversation, Philomell learned a new fact.

‘He’s been drinking a lot all this time.’

She didn’t know because she usually didn’t have a chance to meet him.

‘Besides, ten years ago was……’

Around the time Philomell was born. It was also the year Empress Isabella died.

Perhaps he had been living in despair and drinking excessively after the Empress’s death. He looked fine on the outside, but he was a wreck on the inside.

She felt strangely strange.

‘His wife is dead, and it turns out his daughter is a fake.’

But Philomell shook her head violently.

‘No, who am I sympathizing with?’

He’s the one who will kill her someday. So she mustn’t weaken her heart until she escapes.

“Philomell.”

Then Justis, who had put the cup down on the tray, said in a low voice.

“Thanks to you, my head is a little clearer. If there’s anything you want, tell me.”

Yes!

It was as Philomell had expected.

The Emperor was a man of clear rewards and punishments. She thought that he would ask for her wish as a reward for doing something commendable this time as well.

What should she ask for?

‘It’s too early to ask for that item with just this……’

Then.

After a moment of contemplation, Philomell said what she wanted.