There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 86

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The news of Philomel and Nassar’s engagement cancellation spread.

In fact, it didn’t become a big topic, perhaps because many people had expected that ending. The Emperor and the Duke also tried to keep things as quiet as possible.

Philomel, who had been sprawled on the bed in her state room, suddenly jumped up.

“I can’t keep doing this!”

She lightly slapped her cheeks. Nassar was Nassar, and she had her own work to do.

That was to uncover the truth of the book.

And this seemed to be deeply related to finding out Elencia’s secret.

“Hmm, how on earth did Elencia get that potion?”

According to Cardin, it was an intelligence-boosting potion that tasted like lemonade.

Unlike Le Guin’s guess that it was a product for sale, they hadn’t found a place that handled such potions yet.

Even after searching every nook and cranny of the black market.

So, was it a potion personally made by a wizard?

But that also seemed far from the answer. The only wizards Elencia, who had been in the Imperial Palace all along, could have access to were the court wizards.

‘But Lexion secretly searched the laboratories of other court wizards, and there was no trace of them making such a potion….’

The information from Emily was also insignificant.

Recently, Elencia has been focusing on her studies to accumulate knowledge she hasn’t learned before.

The results of her studies are inconsistent. Sometimes she’s as brilliant as a genius, and other times she’s just average.

“Well, the reason must be the duration of the potion.”

Even though her first potion was stolen, Elencia continued to drink other potions. It seemed like she had several potions from the beginning or was constantly receiving them.

But strangely enough, according to Emily, who was always by Elencia’s side, both seemed difficult.

There was no place to secretly store a large amount of potion, and there was no room to receive it regularly from other people.

Philomel, her head complicated, murmured in vain.

“…No, did the potion just appear out of thin air?”

There were really only questions left about that potion.

“Don’t worry. I will definitely steal it one more time!”

Emily declared so, but after being stolen from once, Elencia’s vigilance had increased, and it seemed like there was no opportunity.

Right now, she wanted to get Le Guin’s help to install surveillance or eavesdropping magic tools in Elencia’s room, but if caught, it would be a national problem.

Philomel, who ruffled her hair, shouted.

“Ah! Let’s put the potion aside for now!”

For now, she had no choice but to dig into other avenues.

If there was no information coming from Elencia herself, she could ask someone who knew Elencia well.

Of course, the person who knew Elencia best was Katrin. She had raised the princess for over a decade.

“Ellen has changed.”

And Katrin was the one who instilled suspicion about Elencia in Philomel.

Katrin, who had been in the Imperial Palace prison, seemed to have been transferred to another location. Count Polan said that formal visits would soon be possible.

Philomel was going to meet Katrin and ask her specifically how, when, and why Elencia had changed.

But Katrin’s name came from a completely unexpected place.

When Philomel was about to visit the Count to ask when Katrin’s visit would be possible, the maid Nancy announced a guest’s visit.

“A person named William Hounds says he wants to see Philomel.”

William Hounds?

Hounds was Katrin’s last name.

Was he Katrin’s family?

“Shall I let him in?”

Philomel thought for a moment and nodded. She was curious as to why Katrin’s family had come to visit.

Although Katrin had been released from prison and moved to a better environment, she was a criminal who had committed a serious crime.

She would never gain freedom alive.

‘If they came to find Katrin’s whereabouts, what should I say….’

Katrin had been missing since she left her hometown with Elencia. If they were family, they must be curious about her whereabouts and came to find Philomel.

If she kept pretending that she was still missing, they might never give up hope that Katrin would return someday.

‘…I don’t want to, but it would be better to lie that she’s dead.’

However, the reason why a man named William Hounds came was completely different from Philomel’s guess.

State Guest House reception room.

The man sitting across from Philomel with his legs crossed said.

“Oh, so you’re Katrin’s daughter. I’m Katrin’s older brother, William. I run a trading company.”

Speaking informally right off the bat?

Philomel was momentarily taken aback, but she thought it wasn’t something she couldn’t understand.

If he was Katrin’s older brother, he was her uncle. An uncle could treat his niece comfortably, but….

‘He’s too rude!’

William blatantly looked around the reception room and whistled.

“Wow, Philomel. You’re living a life of luxury.”

“……”

Without answering, Philomel brought the teacup to her lips.

William continued to say what he wanted, regardless of her reaction.

“An honored guest of the Imperial Family. Haha, I never thought someone so successful would come out of our family! When that Katrin girl kicked the Empress’s maid position, I thought the relationship with the Imperial Family was over.”

Philomel felt a slight disappointment as she looked at the man who was her uncle.

‘This person… doesn’t have even a sliver of concern for his younger sister.’

Anyway, the Hounds Trading Company that the man mentioned was currently based in the capital.

‘In other words, if he wanted to meet me, he could have come sooner.’

The fact that Philomel was Katrin’s daughter and that she was staying here had been known to the world for several days already.

But the reason why William specifically visited the Imperial Palace at this point was obvious.

He was gauging whether his niece was a rope he could grab onto.

As expected, William rattled on with a lot of nonsense and then brought up the main point.

“…So, this uncle wants to ask his niece for a favor.”

“What is it?”

“First, take a look at this.”

William took something out of the high-end leather bag he had brought and handed it to Philomel. The soft texture of the cotton fabric tickled her hand.

It was a translucent material that sparkled beautifully in the sunlight.

“…Fairy Wing Cloth?”

William snapped his fingers and made a ‘click!’ sound.

“As expected! Since you live in a place like this, you recognize it at a glance! That’s right. This is the famous Fairy Wing Cloth. It’s a cloth woven by mixing the wings of the fairy race into the fabric.”

Then, he spoke like a salesperson.

“If you make a dress with this, it’ll be amazing. Just put it on the market. Noble ladies won’t be able to buy it and will be in an uproar.”

Then what’s the point? It’s illegal.

Philomel’s cold eyes turned to William.

“As far as I know, the production and import of Fairy Wing Cloth are prohibited by imperial law.”

William visibly flinched.

“Th, that’s! That law was created because of the guys who forcibly take wings from fairies! Our trading company properly obtains the voluntary cooperation of the fairies!”

Was that really the case?

Instead of questioning him right away, Philomel decided to ask the reason.

“Well, let’s put that aside. Is this the reason you came to see me?”

“No, the request is secondary, and I came to see you because you’re my niece….”

“You don’t even ask about your sister. Just tell me what you want.”

He twitched his mouth as if he was upset.

“I like that you’re quick to the point. I’ll be direct. You have to help legalize the production and distribution of Fairy Wing Cloth.”

As expected. I knew it.

“What power do I have to change the law?”

“Aren’t you receiving the Emperor’s favor? Talk to His Majesty well. That law was proposed directly by His Majesty, so you have to change his mind.”

Philomel also knew it well. The person who suggested that law to the Emperor was herself.

She had known about that cloth early on through .

In the book, dresses made of that cloth are very popular. But at the same time, it also causes conflict with the fairy race. This is because those who are blinded by money indiscriminately hunt fairies.

‘I could let Elencia solve it in the future, but by then, countless fairies will have already been sacrificed.’

Philomel simply created a related law in advance to prevent the tragedy from happening. William seemed to be burning inside because of that law.

Philomel put the Fairy Wing Cloth she was holding on the table.

“If that’s the case, I can’t help you. Please go back.”

“Wh, what? Why!”

“Why should I?”

“Aren’t you a member of our family! If the Hounds Trading Company does well, you’ll do well too!”

“Nancy, the guest is leaving.”

William pointed his hand at the room and shouted.

“How long do you think you’ll enjoy this luxury! Right now, His Majesty has affection for you because of the time you’ve spent together!”

“……”

“But a real daughter has appeared, so how long will that last? Soon, he’ll forget about you, who has no blood relation!”

“……”

“So, help our family while you’re still receiving favor! If this goes well, I won’t pretend not to know you in the future!”

William, misunderstanding Philomel’s silence, spoke as if he was coaxing her.

“This is all for your own good and my own good. You’re still young, so you don’t know much, but there are tips for living in the world.”

Philomel finally opened her mouth.

“Jeremiah.”

Jeremiah, who had been waiting in the back, stepped forward.

“Heeik…!”

Seeing his sword, William grabbed the cloth on the table and ran to the door.

Leaving his last words.

“I’ll give you time to think it over! I’ll come again later!”