There Is No Place For Fakes

The servants were greeted by a carriage returning to the annex.

“Your Highness, Princess. Did you enjoy your outing?”

“Yes. Where is His Majesty now?”

Philomel nodded in greeting and asked.

“The political meeting has been prolonged, and he is still at the conference hall. But she is…?

The attendant asked after seeing a commoner girl descending after the princess.

“This is my guest. Ellencia, follow me.”

Philomel replied lightly and quickly walked to the conference hall in the palace. She did it quickly, and she just wanted to leave this place.

“Princess, wait a moment…!”

“This way.”

Ellencia’s slow steps were frustrating, so I held her hand and led her.

“Oh my goodness. Your Highness, are you back?”

“Let’s have a cup of tea together…”

I’ve been talking to everyone I’ve encountered. Normally, I would have answered one by one, but Philomel ignored everything and headed to the meeting hall.

Among them, some who looked closely, at Ellencia’s face hardened their expressions.

“Your Highness, the Princess! What are you doing?” 

A knight guarding the meeting hall blocked the way.

“I need to see His Majesty right now.”

“Oh, the meeting isn’t over yet.”

“It is urgent. Get out of the way.”

The knight hesitantly turned toward the inside at the princess’s sullen expression.

“… Your Majesty, Princess Philomel, asks to see you.”

The answer came right away.

“Come in.”

Inside were several ministers and the Emperor seated on the throne. Strange lines of sight followed the princess, who suddenly appeared.

“What’s the matter? You wouldn’t have come over for nothing…”

After staying with Philomel, the Emperor’s gaze naturally turned to the side and was nailed to the spot. So did the others.

“There is someone I would like to introduce to Your Majesty.”

Philomel pushed Ellencia forward, who was confused and did not know what to do.

“We met by chance while visiting a nearby village. This girl’s name is Ellencia.”

A murmur arose among the ministers.

“She looks a lot like my late mother, right? I invited you to the royal villa because I wanted to show it to His Majesty.”

No matter what Philomel kept talking about, Eustis’ gaze never turned to Philomel.

I understand, but I’m a little saddened.

* * *

“Phew.”

As soon as she returned to her room, Philomel sat down on the floor. Her palms were sweaty as she remembered what she had just done.

When Ellencia appeared, the meeting hall became quiet as if it had been hit by a bomb.

Philomel pretended that  Ellencia might be a relative of Isabella and brought her here, but it wasn’t very convincing.

The Emperor, who had to settle the situation, stared at Ellencia’s face for a long time, but Pollan, who was worse than that, stopped the meeting. The ministers left the conference room, whispering among themselves.

“I’ll arrange a seat elsewhere. Her Highness will go too.”

Count Pollan said that with a serious face.

Philomel came out under the pretext of changing her clothes. By now, the father and daughter should be having a touching reunion in Eustis’s room.

It bothered me that Ellencia was thrown into an embarrassing environment without saying anything.

But it won’t be a problem. In the novel, Eustis recognizes at a glance that Ellencia is his daughter.

A kind Eustis would be comforting for his daughter. I didn’t want to reveal ‘I’m a fake’ with my mouth.

Philomel squeezed her trembling hands.

There is no turning back now. I had to move forward.

She quickly got up and took out the bundle she had hidden under the bed.

Even the maids who packed Philomel’s luggage didn’t know what was in it.

Since the princess warned them not to touch it, they could only guess that there might be valuables there.

When I unpacked the bundle, I found casual clothes for commoners. It was a plain navy blue dress. Sometimes she mingled among the people and was the one who used to walk on the streets, so even when she bought these clothes, she didn’t raise any suspicion.

“May I help you change your clothes?”

Countess Deles asked from outside the room.

“… It’s okay. I’m thirstier than that. Could you bring me a glass of cold water with ice?”

Philomel tried to answer in a calm voice.

“All right, wait a minute, please.”

You have to go to the kitchen to get some ice. It is a long distance from Philomel’s residence to the kitchen, so it will take time for her to return.

‘Countess Deles. Thank you for taking good care of me during this time. I probably won’t forget it.’

Philomel ended her silent goodbye.

I took off the dress roughly and put on the clothes I had prepared. The hair was tied in a ponytail and wrapped in a kerchief. Now, all that was left in the bundle was a pocket containing several gold coins and a book.

<Princess Ellencia>.

‘I don’t want to be seen by others, so I have no choice but to bring it.’

Philomel took the letter out of the drawer and put it on the desk so that it could be seen. It was a letter I wrote last night.

She hesitated as she was about to leave the room after checking her outfit in the mirror. A shiny object on the dresser caught my eye. It was a golden ship model received as a birthday present from the Emperor yesterday.

Philomel raised her hand and brushed the surface of the smooth metal.

You can’t take it. The ring on your finger was a must-have item, but this is just a model.

If you take it, you will be accused of running away with something of value. It is fitting to leave it here like any other valuable.

‘Let’s not be greedy. Originally, it wasn’t even mine.’

Philomel put the model back in place and came out quietly.

There was no one nearby.

She passed the hallway carefully to avoid being noticed. With the appearance of Ellencia, a commotion arose, and they were busy talking about it.

“The girl the princess brought, doesn’t she look just like the empress?”

“Are they related?”

“Nonsense. Looking at what she was wearing, they looked like commoners, but the Empress’s relatives couldn’t be commoners.”

“Maybe a distant relative.”

“Do distant relatives look so alike? I heard she resembles the empress more than the princess. Rather, the princess and the empress… “

“Shh! Watch your language. A mouse can disappear without even realizing it.” 

 Everyone expected it.

Philomel slipped leisurely through them. Since they were out, nobles often went out to play, and the servants who served them were often dressed in street clothes.

In addition, many outsiders were coming in and out because of the preparations for the birthday banquet. She was dressed plainly, so Philomel could only be seen as a maid.

It was when I was half relieved that no one was paying close attention to the maid passing by.

“… Princess?”

Nassar’s voice from behind startled Philomel.

“Are you the princess?”

If you turn around, you’ll be seen.

But even so, a single maid could not ignore the little duke.

‘What do I do?’

My heart raced wildly.

“Nassar. What’s going on?”

“… father.”

Then, unexpectedly, the Duke of Avrydon reached out for a helping hand.

“What are you doing standing still? Do you have any business with that maid?”

I felt the gaze of the Duke behind my back.

“No. I think I was mistaken for a moment.”

“Okay, you too. We have something to discuss, so hurry up and follow us.”

“Yes, sir.”

When the sound of their footsteps receded, Philomel moved her legs again.

She came out of the building safely and arrived at the main gate of the palace. There were so many people coming in and going out that the gatekeepers seemed busy just checking who came in.

“I will control access when the banquet begins. Until then, come back!”

It was all about shouting at those who were going out.

Philomel got out of the villa safely without much difficulty.

She went in a crowded direction and fell into a side road in the middle. And walked for a long time along the bumpy road.

The figure of Utina’s villa disappeared beyond sight. At this distance, even if you use divine power, Eustis in the palace would not be able to detect it.

Philomel took the ring from her pocket and put it on her finger.

The ring of red flame was an item that allowed people without divine power to use divine magic.

On her birthday last year, Eustis imbued the ring with his divine power. So even Philomel, who had no divine power, could use the ring.

One of the many magics that could be cast with a ring was movement magic. She pictured in her mind the place she would like to go to.

‘Let’s focus. Concentration.’

If the concentration is blurred, the body may be separated and moved. Philomel carefully rubbed the red jewel with her index finger. Immediately, the bright light from the jewels enveloped her body.

It was a farewell.