There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 90

Same day, afternoon.

For some reason, Lawyer White, his face bruised, appeared in front of City Hall.

“Ten years ago, blinded by money, I committed an unforgivable sin!”

His subsequent confession was quite shocking.

The lawyer revealed a new detail about the Hounds Merchant Guild, which had become a hot topic.

Moreover, he announced that he would represent Katrin Hounds and fight in court to reclaim her stolen property, of course, without pay.

The lawsuit hadn’t even started, but the outcome seemed inevitable.

White’s client was, in fact, Lady Philomell, a VIP of the Imperial Family.

Her share amounted to half of the Hounds family’s assets, calculated based on their value at the time of the previous guild leader’s death.

Considering how drastically reduced Hounds’ assets were now compared to then, William and his family wouldn’t have enough even if they gave up everything.

The Hounds Merchant Guild was now as good as Philomell’s.

* * *

Philomell frowned, looking at the documents in the South Palace garden.

“Ugh.”

Several days had passed since William’s visit. She had been reviewing documents related to the Hounds Merchant Guild for days.

The day after White’s appearance, a person claiming to be the interim guild leader of Hounds came to see Philomell.

He was younger than expected. Apparently, most of the high-ranking employees had been arrested for being involved in William’s illegal activities.

He bowed deeply to Philomell and pleaded.

“Please, Lady Philomell, look at these documents!”

When Philomell showed reluctance, he almost begged.

“You are the only one who can save our guild from this crisis!”

The lawsuit was still in progress, but they already treated Philomell as the new guild leader.

‘It’s no wonder. If I become the guild leader, the risk of the guild collapsing will decrease somewhat.’

The Hounds Merchant Guild’s reputation was at rock bottom due to all sorts of illegal activities.

It was said that the security forces were meticulously investigating whether there were any remaining crimes, and business partners were cutting ties one by one.

The interim guild leader explained that the guild had only survived this far because of the expectation that Philomell would become the new owner. After all, it was a guild about to be owned by a VIP of the Imperial Family.

“The situation will improve further when you are confirmed as the guild leader! Please become the owner of Hounds!”

His eyes looked so earnest that she couldn’t help but accept the documents…

Philomell groaned.

“I have no interest in a guild!”

Le Guin, who was sitting across from her, propping up her chin, asked.

“Then why did you sue? You could have just ignored it, even though you don’t like that lawyer.”

“Um… I was actually thinking of giving William’s assets to the fairies. As a way to compensate for the damage they suffered, even a little bit…”

“Ah, so that’s why you asked me to connect you to the Fairy Queen the other day.”

“That’s right. But Serphiane refused.”

She said in a clear voice.

“I’ll only accept your heart. Human money is of no use to us. Just keep it, cute Philomell.”

Le Guin grumbled.

“Well, at least they have some conscience. Phil, take her words to heart. It might be nice to take over the guild this time.”

“Am I capable of doing that?”

“Why not? You can do it. I’ll give you a big push.”

“Haha…”

With the support of the Magic Tower Master, even becoming the best guild on the continent wouldn’t be a pipe dream.

The problem is that Philomell herself isn’t drawn to it at all.

Her main goal was to find the truth of the book, and she already had enough assets.

And above all… it was a hassle!

Recently, Philomell’s life had been overflowing with leisure for the first time in a while.

Just one season ago, she lived a relentlessly busy life as the Emperor’s successor.

At first, this leisure felt awkward, but now she was used to it.

No, she was more than used to it; she was delighted.

‘Ah, should I just withdraw the lawsuit and let William’s family have it?’

But she didn’t really want to do that either. The guild was clearly property that should have gone to Katrin.

“Meow.”

While Philomell was lost in thought, Le Guin turned into a cat. He usually did this when someone else came to visit.

Nancy, who had already entered the garden, announced.

“Philomell, Count Polan has arrived.”

Philomell and Count Polan met in the garden. The Count glanced at the documents spread out on the table and said cheerfully.

“Congratulations.”

‘What are you congratulating me on…?’

“And don’t worry. I’ll put in a good word here and there, saying it’s all for the best.”

He also seemed to assume that Philomell would naturally become the new owner of the Hounds Merchant Guild.

“Ah, yes. Thank you…”

Philomell felt burdened but neatly organized the documents.

After exchanging some small talk with Philomell, he brought up the real reason for his visit.

“Visits with Katrin are now possible. She is currently in the East Tower. Would you like to see her now?”

‘Finally,’ Philomell thought and nodded. It was time to see her again.

* * *

East Tower.

It was a straightforward name given to a tall tower located in the east of the Imperial Palace grounds.

Since ancient times, it was a place where emperors had imprisoned those they didn’t want to show to the world for various reasons.

There was an emperor who imprisoned his insane mistress, and an emperor who imprisoned his son who plotted treason.

And the current Emperor Eustis imprisoned Katrin here, who was his wife’s friend and the foster mother who raised his daughter… anyway, a complicated relationship.

Philomell panted as she climbed the long stairs of the tower.

“…Damn, this is high.”

Then she was surprised by what she had said.

‘Damn? I must have picked up that way of speaking from being with Le Guin and Jeremiah.’

Frankly, even she thought her choice of words, such as ‘screwed’ or ‘damn,’ had become a bit unrefined.

‘I have to be careful.’

She couldn’t become like those two.

But at some point, Philomell’s breathing became easier. Her body was full of energy.

“Meooow.”

Le Guin, who was following behind in cat form, seemed to have cast a body-strengthening spell like last time.

Philomell thought as she watched his plump rear pass by.

‘He’s a very convenient magic bag [a reference to Doraemon’s magical pocket] in times like these.’

Before long, they reached the top floor of the tower.

The guard standing in front of the door gave a sharp salute.

“Lady Philomell, greetings!”

“I’ve come to see Katrin.”

“I heard from Count Polan. Was it difficult to come all the way here?”

“Yes. It was a bit tiring.”

The guard hurriedly apologized, even though it wasn’t his fault.

“I’m sorry! I will submit a request to install floating stones [magical stones that allow for easier ascent]!”

“There’s no need to go that far.”

“No! But… is the cat coming in with you?”

“Is that not allowed?”

“According to the regulations, that’s a bit difficult…”

The guard changed his words when he saw Philomell’s drooping eyebrows.

“…It seems okay since the cat doesn’t understand human language.”

“Thank you. Good work.”

The door creaked open, and Philomell entered the room.

The furniture in the room was simple. A bed and a simple desk were all.

Other than that, there was a luxurious chair near the door. It was a chair for visitors.

As Philomell sat in the chair, the woman who had just gotten out of bed widened her eyes in shock.

“…Phi, Philomell.”

Philomell greeted her biological mother, whom she hadn’t seen in two or three months.

“It’s been a while, Katrin.”

It was a very dry reunion between the two mothers and daughters.

Katrin tried to get closer to her daughter.

“How did you get here? Are you still staying at the Imperial Palace? Are you doing well?”

However, with a clatter, the chain attached to her shackles tightened.

The chain was adjusted to a length that prevented Katrin from reaching the person sitting in the chair. It was a device to protect visitors from her possible attacks.

Katrin was still a prisoner. Even though she was provided with a cleaner and more spacious environment than the Imperial Palace prison, that was an unchanging truth.

‘Still, being here is better than being in prison.’

According to what she heard from Count Polan, the guards released her shackles on days when there were no visitors.

Judging from the few books on the desk, she seemed to be given some entertainment.

In addition, she was said to be allowed to take a walk in the front yard of the East Tower once a week. In short, she was doing very well for a traitor who had swapped a princess for her own daughter.

Philomell leaned back against the soft back of the chair.

“To answer your question, I’m doing well. I’m staying at the Imperial Palace, and the reason I came here is to ask you something.”

“Really? I’m glad you’re doing well! But how are you at the Imperial Palace…”

After that, she roughly explained her situation to Katrin.

Katrin nodded at the mention that Philomell was a VIP of the Imperial Family.

“Okay. Only I need to be punished. You’ve only done good things.”

Philomell had always felt awkward about her biological mother’s attitude. It was as if she was sincerely sorry to Philomell.

‘If you were sorry, you shouldn’t have done that.’

But there was no need to pour negative emotions on Katrin anymore.

What was important now was not that. Also, unlike Katrin, who was stuck here, Philomell had to move forward.

It didn’t mean she forgave her. She just decided not to waste her energy on unnecessary things.

First, she was about to ask Katrin a question.

“So, the reason I wanted to ask you something is…”

But at that moment, Katrin cut her off.

“I know what it is. It’s what you’re most curious about, right? I should have told you sooner.”

…She didn’t even say anything, but she knows I’m going to ask about Elencia?