There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 9

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“I really made the right choice coming here!”

Philomel smiled contentedly, gazing at the garden in full bloom. She was strolling through the garden located in the backyard of the Imperial Palace.

The flowers, cultivated by renowned gardeners, were in full bloom.

‘And the beautiful scenery enhances the mood.’

To exaggerate a bit, even people who were sworn enemies might lose themselves in a stroll through such a beautiful garden.

“Would you accompany me on a walk?”

Philomel’s wish to Eustis was for a walk. She had never taken a walk with him before.

‘I’ll show him what a great candidate I am to be his successor while we walk.’

However, the person who appeared before Philomel was not Eustis, but someone else entirely. A boy who looked two or three years younger than Philomel was looking at her with a sulky face.

“Hey!”

The boy snapped.

“This is a place only for royals!”

“……?”

Philomel calmly tried to guess the boy’s identity.

This was a garden only accessible to royals. So, being in the garden meant he was from a collateral branch of the Imperial Family. And judging by his dull blonde hair and similarly colored eyes…

“Are you ignoring me? Which family are you from? Don’t you know it’s a serious crime just to sneak in here?”

The boy, thinking Philomel was ignoring him, became agitated and shouted.

‘Ugh, so noisy. I can’t think. More importantly, is he stupid? Why doesn’t he consider that I might be a royal too?’

Philomel tried to be patient and said,

“Um, please lower your voice. And it would be good to show some manners……”

“Shut up!”

*Snap*, the string of patience broke in her mind.

There had been many who had subtly ignored Philomel, but this was the first time she had been treated so openly disrespectfully.

Naturally, a cold and dry voice came out of her mouth.

“Hey, *you* shut up.”

“Wh-what? What did you just say…….”

“Are your ears blocked? I said you shut up, Liam Elrose.”

“You, do you even know who I am, daring to say such things…….”

“Then what about you? Do you know who I am?”

“Why would I know someone like you?”

From behind Liam, who was yelling, two figures appeared.

“Liam! What’s wrong? Did you get hurt?”

“How noisy. What’s going on?”

The first person to catch the eye was a woman holding a parasol. She was characterized by her bright blonde hair and gray eyes.

Next to her was a boy who looked three or four years older than Philomel. The boy’s hair color was a dull gold, like Liam Elrose’s.

The two were Marchioness Elrose and her eldest son, Logan Elrose.

Marchioness Elrose, Sylvia Elrose’s former surname was Bellerof.

In other words, she was the daughter of the late Emperor and the half-sister of the current Emperor, former Princess Sylvia.

Since all of the late Emperor’s children, except for Marchioness Elrose, who had quickly sided with the current Emperor and Eustis, had either died or gone into exile, they were the only ones who could be considered collateral relatives.

‘I heard that Marchioness Elrose had two sons……’

She knew the face of the eldest son, but today was her first meeting with the younger son.

Since the Bellerof Imperial Family was not a harmonious family, there were few opportunities to meet each other except at official events. Moreover, the second son, Liam Elrose, was still young and had no reason to appear at official events.

Marchioness Elrose, who discovered Philomel, greeted her.

“Oh my, Philomel. It’s been a while. How have you been?”

Even if she was an aunt, it was impolite to speak informally to a princess.

Usually, even among royals, they would show some respect to direct royals. There were times when they would speak informally, but that was only in close relationships or when there were no prying eyes with permission.

Liam, startled, asked his mother.

“Huh? Philomel, as in *the* Princess? But Mother said the Princess was plain-looking… Ugh!”

The Marchioness quickly covered her son’s mouth.

“What is he saying? He must be mistaken.”

‘……So that’s how she’s been talking about me.’

Philomel’s gaze naturally turned cold.

To divert Philomel’s attention, Logan Elrose stepped forward.

“Greetings to Her Highness the Princess. Please forgive my brother’s rudeness.”

Logan was more polite than his mother or younger brother. However, he only tilted his head slightly, as if he was about to bow but didn’t.

Logan Elrose.

He was the boy many predicted would be the next Emperor. This was because Philomel lacked divine power and other qualities.

Rumor had it that the Emperor would soon adopt his clever nephew and make him his successor.

‘Either way, I’ll be in the same boat as a dog chasing a chicken when Ellensia comes [meaning, I’ll be in a hopeless situation].’

Philomel snorted inwardly and casually accepted the greeting.

“If Her Highness the Princess permits, we will be on our way. We came for a walk as a family today.”

But at that moment, Liam, who had pulled away from his mother’s hand, clung to his brother and said.

“Brother! Brother! When you become Emperor, tear down this garden and make it a playground! I want to play war games with my friends.”

“……Shh! You shouldn’t say things like that carelessly.”

She heard everything. He was already acting like the Emperor.

Philomel looked at the three arrogant people and fell into thought.

Antagonizing these three would be dangerous in the future. Even if she could suppress them with the authority of the Princess right now, they were the ones who would bare their fangs when Philomel’s identity was revealed later.

Perhaps it would be wise to just laugh it off now.

‘But……’

What successor to the throne would be unable to do anything after hearing such insults from a collateral relative?

It seemed necessary to give some kind of warning.

‘If it gets to the Emperor’s ears, he might be disappointed in me again.’

And more than anything, she didn’t want to live like that. Until she stepped down, she was a Princess.

Philomel, having made up her mind, opened her mouth.

“Wait. All three of you, give a proper greeting before you leave.”

The three puzzled family members looked at Philomel.

“We already greeted you earlier.”

“Marchioness Elrose, is that how you received greetings from collateral royals when you were a Princess?”

“Th-that’s…….”

“And why have you been speaking informally since earlier? Speak properly and respectfully.”

Exclamations such as, “Oh, come on,” came from the Marchioness’s mouth. But she would have nothing to say. Because it was the right thing to say.

“Yes, we’ll do as you wish. Sylvia Elrose greets Her Highness Philomel. Is that enough?”

Philomel put strength into each word as she glared sharply at Sylvia, who roughly bowed her head.

“Kneel.”

“Wh-what did you say!”

“I said kneel. Isn’t that the formal greeting to the successor to the throne?”

In fact, there were not many cases where such courtesy was given in private, unless it was a commoner or a lower-ranking noble.

Sylvia’s face flushed red with shame.

She would be upset. After marriage, her status became Marchioness, but as a Princess, she would have been treated as the highest-ranking person among the noble ladies. With the Empress’s seat vacant, she heard that the social world was the Marchioness’s world.

But the anger erupted elsewhere.

“My brother will be the Emperor, so what successor are you!”

Liam shouted back, as if replacing his mother.

And at that moment.

“What’s all the commotion?”

The Emperor appeared.

The faces of Marchioness Elrose and Logan turned pale.

Liam, who was still young, didn’t seem to know how dangerous the words he had just uttered were.

For a collateral royal, not the Emperor’s child, to become the next Emperor. It was an utterance full of potential treason.

‘He might have heard Liam’s words!’

Philomel quickly approached the Emperor and opened her mouth.

“Your Majesty! Liam Elrose says his brother will be the next Emperor. Is that true? Can Logan Elrose become Emperor, surpassing me, the First Princess?”

The flustered Marchioness Elrose pleaded with a tearful face.

“Your Majesty, no! My son never said such a thing!”

“…….”

The Emperor said nothing.

Logan also joined in, as if he thought the Emperor would not abandon them.

“That’s right. Her Highness the Princess must have misheard.”

The Emperor said.

“……So you’re saying the Princess is lying?”

The Marchioness stiffened for a moment, then gave a subtle smile.

“I’m sorry, but that’s right. Don’t children often lie to get attention? But don’t scold Her Highness the Princess too much. Children are usually like that.”

“My mother is right. It was just a minor lie.”

The Marchioness and Logan worked together to frame Philomel as a liar.

A trustworthy successor would have to refute logically, but in this unexpected situation, she couldn’t think of anything to say.

At times like this, she felt endlessly sad that she was a weak child.

“No, that’s not it……. I really heard it, Your Majesty.”

Finally, tears welled up in Philomel’s eyes.