There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 89

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* * *

Tears streamed down Serphiane’s face as she examined the fairy wing cloths Lexion had handed over.

“Ah… This is indeed cloth made from the bodies of my children.”

The little fairies beside her also wept sorrowfully.

At the Queen’s gesture, the boxes containing the cloths floated into the air.

“We will take these with us. We plan to bury them next to the graves of the dead.”

Eyes resembling a starry night sky turned towards William. The air vibrated with her anger.

“Ugh… No! Let me go!”

William struggled with all his might, but it was not enough to break free from the ropes that bound him.

Serphiane flew towards him as smoothly as flowing water.

A beautiful, cold hand touched the man’s face.

The Queen spoke in a voice colder than her hand.

“You must come with us as well.”

He screamed, sensing the future that would unfold if he went with them.

“No! I am a citizen of the Great Veleroph Empire! If I am to be punished, I will be punished in my homeland!”

Serphiane gave a smile so beautiful it was chilling.

“Why shouldn’t you be punished in our land, for committing crimes against our kin in our territory?”

She patted the man’s face.

“Don’t worry. I don’t intend to kill you right away. You need to directly experience the pain of our kin who had their wings torn off while still alive and died in agony.”

“It wasn’t me! It was the hunters! You know that too!”

“What a foolish excuse. You were the one who instigated those hunters.”

“Th, that’s…!”

“The process of paying for your sins won’t be lonely. The hunters are also waiting for you in our land.”

“No! I won’t go!”

He pleaded, looking at Philomell.

“Philomell, please help me!”

However, there was nothing she could do for her uncle, nor did she want to.

Angry little fairies clung to William one by one.

The man, surrounded by fairies and screaming, soon fell silent.

That was a fitting end for William Hounds.

* * *

Before leaving, Serphiane expressed her gratitude to Philomell.

“Thank you. Now I have the face to see my comrades sleeping in our homeland.”

Philomell replied, embarrassed.

“No. I didn’t do anything.”

“Not at all. If it weren’t for you, would the Master of the Magic Tower have informed us of this man’s existence?”

She glared at William, who was lying at her feet.

He was not dead. He was merely unconscious from the fairy dust. Considering the future that awaited him, it would have been better to die.

Serphiane soon turned her head to look at Le Guin.

“I didn’t know you had such a cute daughter.”

Philomell, feeling overwhelmed, waved her hands.

“Cute, you say.”

To receive such a compliment from the Fairy Queen, who possessed beauty that could captivate even women, was embarrassing.

Serphiane smiled and clasped Philomell’s hands.

“Not only are you cute, but you are also kind and benevolent.”

“Your praise is too much.”

“Not at all. You were the first to come up with the fairy wing cloth prohibition law for our sake, weren’t you?”

“…How did you know that?”

“I heard it from your other father.”

The Emperor?

“I met him at the race conference held at the World Tree every three years. He’s usually a man of few words, but back then, he was unusually…”

Serphiane’s story could not continue. Le Guin interrupted.

“Who’s whose father? You, go back! If you’re going to say useless things to someone else’s daughter, leave quickly!”

The Queen stuck out her tongue cutely.

“A man’s jealousy is unsightly.”

“What? I shouldn’t have called her.”

“Hehe, anyway, cute Philomell!”

She floated up slightly and brought her face close to Philomell.

And… Chu!

She kissed Philomell on the forehead. Warmth arose where her soft lips touched.

Serphiane exclaimed.

“You who have saved countless of our kin from danger, and you who have given rest to the children who died in agony without closing their eyes!”

A small warmth seemed to spread throughout Philomell’s body.

“I bestow upon you the blessing of the fairies! May a bright future unfold before you. And I also bestow upon you a title.”

Following the Queen, who had risen high into the sky, the little fairies also took flight. The unconscious William was the same.

A long journey back to their homeland.

Even though they could return instantly with Le Guin’s power, they chose a long flight. It would be a journey to commemorate the rest of the dead.

Thus, Serphiane and the little fairies departed.

Le Guin looked back at his sons and daughter and said.

“Let’s go back too.”

Philomell had one question.

“But. Why did you contact Queen Serphiane? From what I heard, the two of you don’t seem very close.”

“You said it.”

“…?”

“That you shouldn’t kill people for just being a little unpleasant.”

“I did say that.”

“Then I should inform those who hate him enough to want to kill him.”

“So, to the fairies…?”

“Yes. You didn’t stop them from doing what they did, either.”

How could she stop their deep-seated resentment? She didn’t want to.

Rather, when Serphiane, who had restrained her sadness and anger, asked her for help, she only wanted to help.

That was because she thought it was the least she could do as a relative of William, who had committed an unforgivable sin against them, or rather, as a member of the same race.

Le Guin said with a smile.

“The wind is cold. Let’s go back now.”

Philomell stared at his back.

‘Honestly, I still don’t really know what kind of person he is…’

For some reason, what he just said sounded like he had only called the fairies because he wanted to kill William.

However, Philomell shook her head, recalling his appearance so far.

‘No way, surely there was more to it than that? He must have had some sense of justice.’

In conclusion, he seemed like a better person than she thought, considering he had helped the fairies take revenge.

“Let’s go together!”

Philomell walked towards where her two brothers were, following Le Guin.

The next day, the state guest house reception room. Philomell was meeting a new guest, just like yesterday when William had visited.

She opened her mouth.

“So, you’re the lawyer, Mr. Waite?”

A middle-aged man with neatly combed, oiled hair replied.

“Yes, yes. That’s right. It is an honor to meet Lady Philomell.”

His attitude was polite to the point of being somewhat servile.

“What brings Mr. Waite, the legal advisor of the Hounds Merchant Guild, to me?”

Hiding her startled feelings, Philomell asked casually.

‘Could it be that he knows I contributed to the downfall of the guild and has come to claim damages…?’

[Hounds Merchant Guild, Collapses Overnight! Guild Leader, William Hounds Flees in the Night?] was the headline of the morning newspaper.

Most of the fairy wing cloths were taken by the fairies, but some that the guild had secretly tried to sell elsewhere were caught by the security forces.

Evidence of past transactions was also discovered. Furthermore, the Hounds Merchant Guild had been committing various illegal activities, both large and small.

Tax evasion, collusion, bribery, etc.

Of course, it was also revealed that William had been manipulating the books to hide the difficult circumstances of the guild.

It was only a matter of time before the Hounds Merchant Guild went bankrupt. In this situation, this lawyer named Waite had come to find Philomell.

Waite rubbed his hands together and said.

“It’s not that, I’ve come to offer Lady Philomell a good proposal.”

“Speak.”

“Actually, this is a secret that only William and I know.”

The lawyer’s voice suddenly became smaller.

“Lady Philomell also has the right to inherit the Hounds’ assets.”

“…Pardon?”

“I am the guild’s legal advisor, but I also handled the Hounds family’s private affairs.”

“So?”

“When William’s father, Lady Philomell’s maternal grandfather, passed away, he left a will. He left half of his assets to his missing daughter, Katrin!”

“…I don’t think any inheritance came to my birth mother.”

“Of course not. William, that wicked man, hid the predecessor’s will and stole all the assets!”

“…Ah.”

Waite’s complexion hardened, and he pretended to stomp his feet.

“He said things I can’t even bring myself to say, like the old man was talking nonsense because he was dying!”

“….”

“That wicked man seduced me, who was in charge of the will, and made it seem like the will never existed. Then, naturally, all the assets would go to him, the only remaining child.”

“So you cooperated with your uncle William?”

He took out a handkerchief and pretended to wipe away tears.

“Sob… I didn’t want to, but… I needed medicine money for my sick mother at the time, so I…”

In conclusion, he participated in the fraud and is now acting like a victim.

After taking a sip of tea, Philomell asked matter-of-factly.

“I’ve learned something I didn’t know. But why did you come to me?”

The lawyer’s eyes changed. It seemed this was the main point.

“I can’t ignore my conscience any longer! Since there’s no way to find Katrin, it’s possible for the Lady to exercise her mother’s rights on her behalf.”

He continued enthusiastically.

“I still have that will. If I submit this as evidence in a lawsuit, it will be of considerable help in recovering the Lady’s share.”

“You’re going to help me without any compensation?”

“Yes? Well, if you could show some appreciation for my efforts, I wouldn’t ask for anything else…”

In other words, he was saying to pay up if she wanted the will.

Philomell chuckled in vain.

‘Is it trendy these days to come to me and make strange demands?’

Surely this lawyer had been extorting money from William all along, threatening to reveal the will to the world if he didn’t pay.

Now that William had fallen, he had come to her instead. William’s family was about to become penniless.

Waite wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief.

“Lady, you must hurry and make a decision. If things continue like this, William’s family might embezzle all the assets.”

This guy must have been weighing William’s family and Philomell’s adoption. Wondering which one could give him more money.

Since there was no hope for the guild to recover, he had attached himself to Philomell. William’s family was about to become destitute.

“Mr. Waite, are you not willing to follow your ‘real’ conscience now, without receiving a single penny?”

“Well, that’s a bit… I have to make a living too, haha… Lady, I didn’t think you were so stingy…”

Then Jeremiah, who was behind her, asked.

“What are you going to do? Are you going to follow some procedure again?”

Philomell pondered quietly.

“Procedure…”

What happened yesterday came to mind.

‘I went to the Central Security Forces and argued with a bribed investigator. If I want to follow the procedure this time, I have to go to the Central Security Forces again…’

A sigh flowed out on its own.

“I’m tired. I’ll leave it to you, Jeremiah.”

As soon as those words were spoken, Jeremiah, holding his sword, took a step, two steps towards the lawyer.

Waite stuck to the back of the chair.

“Why, why are you doing this! If you inflict any harm on my body, I will demand a very generous compensation later… Ugh!”

The lawyer’s scream echoed, but there was no one to run to his aid.

The palace servants of the Namgung did not visit Philomell outside of the designated times unless there were special circumstances.