Dang Dang!

The bells of the temple that signaled the evening time rang out.

There is no time. You must move as quickly as possible. She did not know when a search order would fall on her, and the divine power contained in the ring was limited.

It would be nice if the Emperor would turn a blind eye to Philomel running away with the affection he had accumulated over the years.

“…isn’t that impossible?”

“There’s no limit to what we can do!”

I was surprised when I heard the answer to my small voice.

“Come in and have a look. If you have a hat that suits you, I’ll give you a lot of discounts! “

The clerk at the hat store was in the middle of soliciting customers.

‘Pretty? Did you recognize my face?’

Unknowingly, my hand went to the ring.

Philomel was currently using one of the magics of the ring, the magic of erasing the presence.

It left a vague impression on others, so even if they tried to remember Philomel later, it was difficult to remember clearly.

“Look at the pretty sister over there!”

A middle-aged woman who passed by at the clerk’s cheeky smile entered the store.

It was a word to all the women nearby. Thank God there’s no magic problem.

“… It’s a hat shop.”

Inside the show window, I could see hats decorated with colorful feathers and artificial flowers.

I couldn’t afford to shop. I had to find out the transportation to Angelium and the accommodation to stay today. But…

“I do need a hat to cover my face. The headscarf is a bit tacky. “

Philomel excused herself and entered the store.

The expression of excitement was not hidden. For the first time in her life, she was experiencing a great sense of release.

* * *

“Count Pollan.”

“The Duke of the Avrydon.”

Pollan, who was walking fast, was called by Nassar to stop him.

“Have you received any new information?”

Nassar’s expression darkened as Pollan shook his head.

It’s already been a week since Princess Philomel disappeared. The fate of the princess was still unknown.

The Emperor, who had no wish to leave Utina, came back to the capital, but there was no such gain in the capital.

Three days ago, he gave up the secret search and announced the news of the princess’s disappearance across the country.

The whole country was shocked to hear that the only princess had gone missing.

Even though the princess’s description was spread all over the country and a huge reward was offered, not a single hair came out.

Even after hearing the report that they had seen the princess, it was just a resemblance, or it was the informant’s misunderstanding.

“Where the hell is she? I need to find her as soon as possible.”

Nassar said with a worried expression. Since he was the princess’ fiancé, he wouldn’t be lying, either.

Nassar’s eyes when he came to Pollan and asked him to share the information were not forgotten.

There was so much desperation that I couldn’t even think of a little duke who was always upright in everything.

These days, he was living a life where he frequently went back and forth between the place where the princess was seen and the capital. Even leading the Duke’s knights.

“I know how you feel, but take care of your body. What if you fell…

“Has anyone fallen?”

I said things I shouldn’t have said.

Nassar’s expression darkened as Pollan shook his head.

“I-I think I’m about to collapse, because I have a lot of work.”

“Ah, that’s right. The Count must be having a hard time too.”

Fortunately, Nassar didn’t seem to mind Pollan’s excuses.

“I’m going to leave. Any information is fine, so please let me know when the information comes in.”

“Are you going somewhere new again?”

“Yes, I’m going to Saint-Gen.”

“Why Saint-Gen?”

“They said that the ring of red flame only transports you to places you’ve been to before. The other day, I visited with the princess before. It’s just a guess, but… She may have been there.”

Nassar quickly moved away.

“I must be tired too, after making all these mistakes…”

Pollan sighed as he walked down the road to the Emperor’s office.

A search is a search, but other things have also been a headache.

Rumors quickly spread that the girl who appeared in the villa and resembled the empress was the real princess and that Princess Philomel was a fake.

Every person I met secretly talked about rumors. Even if he dismissed it as a groundless rumor, everyone seemed convinced.

Something was strange.

Rumors spread too fast. Now, even ordinary people complained that the princess was ruined when they found out that she was a fake.

I tried to calm the rumors as much as possible, but the portrait of Philomel on the street was regarded as a wanted letter.

To be honest, even Pollan had no idea if all the rumors were true. However, he was certain that the Emperor had not ordered the princess to seek her out to punish her.

What monarch in the world would go so far as to faint to find a criminal to punish?

Even now, when I think about it, my heart skips a beat. When Eustis was lying on the floor of his office.

“Your Majesty! Are you all right? 

“…noisy.”

He soon came to my senses with Pollan’s shouts, but it was a dizzying moment.

The cause of his collapse was the excessive use of divine power.

It is said that to detect the divine power emitted by the ring of red flame, the sacred power was stretched thinly and spread like a spider’s web.

I don’t know how far you think the princess is willing to go and use such an ignorant method.

It was the first time I had seen Eustis pushed to such a limit after his wife’s death. It was only natural that his daughter had disappeared before the shock of encountering a girl who looked just like his wife had gone.

Moreover, Princess Philomel, whom he had only thought of as his real daughter, was a fake.

After thinking about this and that, I arrived in front of the office.

I heard conversations inside. A cute voice that speaks loudly. Ellencia?

Returning from Utina to the capital, they couldn’t leave a girl who might be the princess behind, so they brought Ellencia.

The Emperor had several meetings to confirm the girl’s authenticity, but he was not convinced.

“Your Majesty, this is Pollan. Can I come in?”

“… come in.”

In the office were Eustis, Ellencia, and an elderly lady. She was the one who was kicked out after being the princess’s nanny a long time ago.

“Oh! Your Majesty, this is Isabella’s daughter, for sure! She looks just like the little girl.”

The nanny, with tears in her eyes, hugged Ellencia tightly.

Ellencia was summoned here to see if she is the daughter of Empress Isabella.

The empress’s parents had passed away a long time ago, and the fate of one sister was unknown. So the nanny was the only one who remembered the empress’ childhood.

Ellencia blinked and asked.

“Am I the daughter of His Majesty, the Emperor, and the Empress?”

“Of course! Who else is their daughter?”

“I’m so happy! I can’t believe I found my dad!”

Ellencia and Nanny hugged each other and smiled brightly.

In contrast, Eustis, who was sitting a little further away, opened his mouth with a complicated expression.

“The year you quit your job was the year Philomel turned nine.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Are you uncomfortable with the topic of Philomel?

The nanny answered shyly. 

“You’ve taken care of Philomel since she was a baby. A total of nine years. You took care of her.”

“It is.”

Eustis smiled. With a face that doesn’t look happy at all.

“But you accept it very quickly. I still… I can’t believe my daughter isn’t my daughter.”

The atmosphere grew quiet.

When everyone was only looking at the Emperor, the knights came in.

“Your Majesty. I caught the woman, you said. She was spotted by an inspector trying to cross the adjacent border gate in Utina.”

A brown-haired woman with her arms tied with ropes was thrown to the floor.

“Mom!”

Ellencia rushed after confirming the woman’s face.

“Mom, are you okay?”

Pollan soon remembered who the woman was.

“Catherine Hounds.”

Eustis rose from his seat and approached the woman.

“It was you”

The flowing life strained the people who were there.

“Ugh…”

The face of the woman who saw the Emperor was stained with fear.

“Dad! Calm down. Mom”

Eustis immediately drew the sword of the knight next to him and pointed it at the woman’s throat.

“Dad!”

“Now, tell me. Did you change my daughter with yours?”

Catherine, who was trembling at the vicious force, opened her mouth after a while.

“Ye… yes. Ellencia is His Majesty’s daughter. Princess Philomel… She is my daughter.”

Pusuk. The sound of flesh being torn and terrifying screams echoed.

“Aaaagh!”

The tip of the knife was embedded in Catherine’s hand, which was on the floor.

“Kyaaaagh! Uh, Mom!”

Pollan grabbed the screaming Ellencia by the arm and pulled her away.

Considering Eustis’ temper, Catherine dies on the spot. But even though she was just a kidnapper, she was an adoptive mother who raised Ellencia. It was cruel to see her die right in front of her eyes.

“Answer me. Why did you do that?”

“Ahhh.”

There was no time to answer to someone struggling in pain.

“How did you repay Isabella’s kindness? Have you forgotten how nice Isabella was to you?”

“Shank. Da, you… “

The face distorted by pain barely puckered.

“…you! If you hadn’t… ignored me! If Isabella… hadn’t come down to her hometown! This never happened!”

As if the pain in her body had made her forget her fear, the woman cursed. It was hard to find the witty young lady of the past in her demon-like appearance.

The Emperor silently pointed the blade at Catherine’s throat.

“Dad! Please! Please don’t kill my mother!”

Even the daughter’s teary appeal could not stop the raised blade.

Pollan covered the eyes of the struggling girl to keep Ellencia from seeing the horrible scene.

However.

Cheng Kang!

Instead of the expected agony, there was the sound of metal hitting the floor.

Eustis let go of the sword.

“…similar.”

Looking down at Catherine, who was trembling in fear, he murmured dejectedly.

“Why didn’t I know? That she looks like you.”

Then he turned and walked towards the door.

“Put her in jail.”

It was about Catherine.

“I will take your order.”

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