There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 95

“What is it?”

In response to Philomel’s question, Eustis explained that it was an ancient book passed down through the imperial family since the time of the first emperor.

‘Ah. That’s…’

Philomel readily swore she would never touch it.

“By the way…”

At that moment, the Emperor’s gaze turned to Philomel’s hand.

“You’re wearing the Ring of Red Flame today.”

“Oh, yes. It’s too precious to just leave such a pretty ring in the jewelry box.”

In truth, she wore it to make a good impression on the Emperor and hopefully get permission to enter the private library. After all, it was a ring he had given her, and he was the one who found it and returned it when Rosanne took it.

Eustis gave a subtly pleased smile.

“Besides, you really do love learning. To want to enter my library out of curiosity about ancient languages.”

“Haha, I am quite interested in languages…”

She hadn’t even opened a book since she stopped taking heir lessons. She felt a little guilty hearing him say that.

As the conversation paused, the Emperor, who had been looking at Philomel, began to speak.

“Philomel, if you have time this afternoon…”

Knock, knock! However, Count Polan’s voice from outside the door, accompanied by a knock, interrupted the Emperor’s words.

“Your Majesty! I am very sorry to interrupt your conversation, but there is news from the western border…!”

Since Count Polan was interrupting the Emperor’s audience, it seemed like a very urgent and important matter.

Thinking she should leave, Philomel excused herself.

“I will take my leave now.”

“…Very well.”

After Philomel left the office.

“Your Majesty, something terrible has… D-Did I do something wrong…?”

Count Polan’s desperate voice, the reason for which she couldn’t understand, was heard, but it didn’t catch her attention.

‘I need to go find it quickly!’

Philomel headed to the Imperial Palace’s basement, where the Emperor’s private library was located, with hurried steps.

Even without a specific light source, the library was bright.

Philomel looked around the place filled with the smell of old books.

It wasn’t small, but it wasn’t as spacious as she had expected. Still, the bookshelves, which were long enough to reach the ceiling, were filled with materials: books, stacks of documents, scrolls, and even clay tablets. The formats were also diverse.

The manager standing outside the library politely spoke to Philomel as she stepped inside. Even the manager himself couldn’t enter the library carelessly.

“If you want to see a book placed high up, you can use the ladder over there. You don’t have to worry about organizing the books. All books are enchanted to return to their original place after a certain amount of time has passed.”

As the door closed and the manager’s figure disappeared, Philomel began to move in earnest.

As she searched for bookshelves containing language-related materials, a strange object caught her eye.

A book floating in the air, unlike the other books that were placed on the shelves. Shining chains connected to the wall were wrapped around the book.

‘Is that the book?’

The thing Eustis mentioned that she shouldn’t touch. One of the imperial family’s treasures, the ‘Book of God.’

According to legend, it was a book recording the words of the god Belleron.

“Even if I wanted to touch it, how could I when it’s up there?”

Moreover, it was sealed with chains made of divine power. Surely only the Emperor knew how to undo the seal.

Philomel took her eyes off the Book of God and continued to search for what she was looking for. Several hours later.

“Ugh, I can’t find it anymore!”

Philomel plopped down on the table in the center of the library. Several old books were piled up on the table like a mountain.

She brought as many records as she could find that seemed to be related to ancient languages, rare foreign languages, etc. But when she roughly skimmed through them, there were no characters that looked similar to the ones written in the diary.

So, she tried to look at it carefully this time, but progress was as slow as a turtle.

Looking at one word and looking up the dictionary, looking at one word and looking up the dictionary… There was no way it could be fast.

Philomel murmured in vain.

“What if I don’t find anything special here? Should I break into the high priest’s private secret library…?”

As Philomel recalled the face of the benevolent high priest, another book floating in the air caught her eye.

Perhaps there might be a clue written in the Book of God.

Philomel reached out her arm towards the book. It wasn’t that she seriously wanted to read the Book of God. It was just that she was grasping at straws.

However, there was a being that responded to her feelings.

Flash!

Light emanated from the Ring of Red Flame on her right hand. And in an instant, the chains of light shattered and scattered into dust.

“My lady, this is absurd!”

Philomel panicked, flustered. She had only reached out her hand. She hadn’t even rubbed the ring!

Regardless, the Book of God slowly descended and came to Philomel’s front.

At that moment, the fact that the Emperor’s private library was one of the most sacred places in the Imperial Palace came to mind.

Even she, who was insensitive to such things, could feel the sacred energy filling the library.

‘And the ring contains the Emperor’s divine power.’

It seemed that the key to unlocking the seal of that book was the Emperor’s divine power.

‘What should I do?’

But even if she worried, there was no definite answer.

“…And how am I supposed to put this back?”

Was this book also included in ‘all books’ that the servant said would return to their original place after a certain amount of time had passed?

It had to be.

The Book of God was a book only allowed to the Emperor. Even an heir could never see this book before ascending to the throne.

If she got caught touching this book, this time it would really be the execution ground….

Philomel gritted her teeth.

What was done was already done. If not now, there would never be another chance to check the contents of the Book of God.

Having made up her mind, she grabbed the book with trembling hands. And with a dictionary tucked under one arm, she slowly read through the book.

“…I can read it?”

The inside looked relatively ordinary. It was an old form of the Imperial language, but it wasn’t at a level she couldn’t read.

However, being able to read it and understanding what it meant were completely different realms.

‘It’s too philosophical….’

For example, it was a series of vague sentences similar to ‘The present is the present, and also the past and the future.’

“All things… are dreams, living dreams of the dreamer, but the dreamer… is also part of that dream… if they no longer dream… they become the dream itself?”

What is this supposed to mean?

Fortunately, it wasn’t just ambiguous words. There were also occasional prophecies that clearly warned of dangers in the distant future.

“Beware of invaders from another world. It uses all sorts of wicked tricks and steals the bodies of other beings, so only a true hero can defeat it.”

…Another world?

What Le Guin had said about Ellensia’s potion before flashed through her mind.

There is a high possibility that is made of materials not from this world.

He speculated that they were from another world.

Since then, the investigation has continued, but that view does not seem to have changed to this day.

Philomel took out the writing utensils she had brought and transcribed the passages that mentioned ‘another world.’ As a bonus, other impressive passages as well.

In the midst of doing so, the hand holding the pen stopped as her stomach growled. She had skipped lunch and continued to stay here. If she stayed too long, the manager would find it strange.

‘Let’s stop here for today.’

Eustis had given Philomel permission to come and go here for the next week.

Fortunately, the broken chains were slowly being restored from the walls. Then the Book of God would also find its place on its own.

Leaving the book on the table as it was, Philomel got up from her seat and headed for the door. And she was about to leave the library when she opened the door….

She heard footsteps, along with the voices of the Emperor and Count Polan.

They were discussing some topic with serious faces.

“…It may certainly be a sign of a monster wave.”

“However, hasn’t it only been five years since the last monster wave ended? At least 10 more years should pass…”

“That’s why we’re going to look up related records now. It was about two hundred years ago, but there was such a case in the past…”

Philomel quickly closed the door and then took a breath.

‘What to do, what to do, what to do?’

The sudden sign of a monster wave was also an unusual event, but there was a more important issue for her.

The Book of God was still on the table.

The moment the Emperor came into the library, she would be caught. As long as he had eyes, there was no way he wouldn’t know that the book that had been floating loudly in the air had disappeared.

Should she run away with teleportation magic? But even if she did, the fact that she had done it would not be covered up. Then the action to take is….

“Yes. Even if I run away, let’s face it first.”

Philomel went outside the door with a fabricated smile.

Soon, the Emperor found her.

“Philomel, have you been in the library all this time?”

“Yes. I was so engrossed in the book that I lost track of time.”

“I see. You haven’t had lunch yet, so go and have it quickly.”

“Y-Your Majesty, what about you?”

“……?”

“Have you had lunch?”

“No. The story with Polan was prolonged, and there was another meeting in the middle.”

Philomel blocked Eustis, who was approaching the library door.

“Is there something you want to say?”

“If it’s not an urgent matter, wouldn’t it be better to have a meal first? I’m worried about your health.”

“Skipping one meal won’t harm my health.”

As he grabbed the doorknob, Philomel hurriedly grabbed the Emperor’s wrist.

“Let’s have a meal together. Right now.”

Then, a strange light flashed in his black eyes.

“…It’s been a while. You’re the one inviting me first.”

Come to think of it, since returning to the Imperial Palace, she had never invited him to a meal or tea time first.

The meal gatherings with him were mostly initiated by the Emperor, and sometimes by Ellensia, who invited Philomel.

Would it seem too unnatural to do this now?

“…Perhaps you don’t feel like it?”

Philomel asked cautiously.

“No. Good. I will tell them to prepare the food now.”

In fact, the Emperor ordered the servants standing behind Count Polan to prepare a place as quickly as possible.

Philomel was about to feel relieved, thinking it was done.

“Go and have your meal first. I’ll just take care of my business and go.”

The Emperor said, looking at Philomel.