There Is No Place For Fakes

After leaving the magic tower and returning to Angelium’s quarters, Philomel lay down on an old bed. It was well past lunchtime, but she had no appetite.

Several thoughts ran through my head. Real father, experiment, failed work, older brother, wanted flyer, escape…

Philomel closed her eyes as if running away from reality and tried to fall asleep.

Hunger woke me from a dark sleep.

I checked the clock and it was already dinner time. I skipped lunch and went to bed.

“Hungry… ”

Growl

Even in sadness, hunger always came.

Philomel barely lifted her heavy body. I have to put something in my stomach to continue this life.

When I went down to the inn’s restaurant and ate some hot bread and soup, I felt a little cheered up. Her head also started spinning a bit.

A child born as an experiment.

Hearing her birth story for the first time was shocking. I never thought there would be a backstory like this for ‘Philomel’, who is only a supporting character in the novel.

When I learned the situation, there was a puzzle that was matched.

A woman who was kicked out of the imperial palace returned to her hometown, and a man who is a promising magician.

I don’t understand how these two people got involved, but it was the relationship between the experimenter and the subject.

Also, looking at Ellencia’s childhood described at the beginning of the novel, it did not feel like she was suffering from the hardships of life.

Their standard of living, which I saw a few days ago, also complied. Even though there was no scene of either Catherine or Ellencia going to work for a living.

The reward that Catherine would have received for participating in the experiment cleared all doubts.

Up until now, she had declined, but she thought Catherine’s parents, who took pity on their daughter’s circumstances, were sending money.

“Ha…”

I didn’t want my biological parents to be dead and living lovers. Still, it felt strange to know that she was born out of necessity.

Both Catherine and Le Guin do not wish for themselves. Unlike Ellencia, who was loved by everyone, she was not even allowed to love her biological parents.

I was at a loss as to what to do next.

Reasonably, it was better to accept Lexion’s proposal. She was reluctant to live under the same roof as Le Guin, but the magic tower was attractive.

The tower was huge, so I thought I might not run into it if I avoided Le Guin.

Even if I left for a foreign country as originally planned, there was no clear way to live.

I thought about what it would be like to become a teacher by using the various knowledge I learned as a successor. ‘A tutor for a noble family wouldn’t be bad either.’ and vaguely drew the future.

However, the search operation to find Philomel was more thorough than expected.

‘At this rate, it wouldn’t be easy to obtain a disguised identity or to board a ship going abroad.’

Even if she went abroad safely, it was only natural that she would have to continue to hide her identity with anxiety.

‘When will Eustis stop looking for me?’

It would be nice if he could get so drenched in the happiness of meeting his real daughter that he would soon forget about Philomel.

Even though I hoped so, my fingertips got cold as I imagined the two father and daughter being close.

Philomel rubbed her fingertips to get warm and suddenly looked at the red ring.

The light inside the jewel has faded more clearly than at first.

It was only a matter of time before the divine power contained in the ring ran out.

The ring is an object made for generations of emperors and their successors, and in addition to the functions Philomel used, it is said to have the ability to use defensive magic or detoxification.

I heard that it plays a role in protecting the wearer’s life in the event of a major change.

The current Emperor himself is so strong that he does not wear a ring, but Philomel has been wearing it ever since she received it.

Only the divine power of the sun god possessed by the royal family of Belerov is the power of the ring. Therefore, it was impossible to keep using the ring unless you met the royal family who was lucky to help Philomel.

Philomel left much of her meal, got up, and asked the owner for directions.

“Excuse me. Where is the famous magic tool store around here?”

After hearing the approximate location, I left the restaurant and walked down the dark street.

The first thing to do was to prepare a replacement for the ring. Let’s think about the rest later.

‘It’s okay. After all, I was alone from the beginning. Nothing changes.’

As before, I can do well on my own in the future. I had to do well.

Philomel consciously repeated, feeling lonely even among the crowd passing by.

* * *

Roseanne was the famous daughter of Viscount Manon, with a confident temper and a pretty appearance.

However, she preferred to introduce herself as the niece of Duchess Muriel rather than Lady Manon.

Viscount Manon was a prestigious family known in Saint-Gen, but they were local nobles anyway. There was no mansion in the capital, and I couldn’t even set foot in the social world of the central aristocrats.

On the other hand, the name of Duke Muriel, a famous family in the capital, was enough to satisfy her vanity.

However, the sad situation of not being able to properly reveal one’s last name ends today.

Her father, Viscount Manon, has finally formed a position in the central political world after all his hard work.

A few days later, he moves into a house that he bought in the capital by spending a lot of money.

Roseanne’s central social life was about to put on a grand opening.

Roseanne has been having a hectic day because of that recently. Careful preparation was necessary to avoid being ignored by the aristocratic young men of the high capital. 

That was the reason why she moved to Angelium, the outskirts of the empire, today.

“I don’t like anything. Bring me another one.”

At Roseanne’s words, the clerk headed into the restaurant.

“Lady, everything looks pretty to me. Oh, my! Look at the bright things.”

Roseanne’s maids were busy looking at the charms on display.

Roseanne shot.

“What do those who have no discernment know? Don’t talk, hold my dress tight, so it doesn’t drag on the floor.”

The two maids kept their mouths shut and focused their attention on the hem of her dress again.

Not long ago, Roseanne received information from her cousin, Princess Muriel, that decorating a necklace and bracelet with magic is the latest trend in central society.

It was only natural that Roseanne, who couldn’t stand anything less than the best if it was hers, came to Anghelium.

Even though there were many magic tool stores, it was incomparable to the shops in the magical city of Angelium in terms of product variety and reliability.

If there’s one thing I don’t like…

Roseanne glared at the woman on the other side of the store.

A woman dressed as a commoner was asking another clerk something.

The clerk gave an embarrassing guide.

“I’m sorry, but magic tools that erase disguises or signs can only be sold with the permission of the state. There is a lot of potential for it to be abused for crimes.”

There didn’t seem to be anything she was looking for, but the woman stayed longer in the store.

‘I have to shop in the same place as a commoner!’

Roseanne’s judgment was twisted.

Angelium has been recognized as a city thanks to its geographical importance adjacent to the Mage Tower, but its size was somewhere between a large town and a city.

Because of this, there were no high-end stores that only received nobles as customers or were separated from commoner areas.

Besides, seeing that she was looking for such a suspicious magic tool, it was clear that she was a person with bad intentions.

Roseanne took a closer look at the woman’s face. She was so uncharacteristic that she would forget it when she turned around. For some reason, I lost interest in an instant.

“Young lady! I brought other charms.”

The clerk will be back too. A brilliant red light was captured in Roseanne’s eyes as she tried to return to her original purpose. It was the ring worn by a commoner woman. Roseanne, whose hobby is her jewelry collection, could tell.

The jewel in the ring differed in luster from rubies and garnets, but it did not appear to be a poor imitation. It was not something a commoner could possess.

‘It must have been stolen.’

For nobles, stealing valuables has always been one of the biggest headaches.

Roseanne was the most unforgivable kind. People who don’t even know the subject and covet more than a fraction.

Whether or not the dress was dragging, Roseanne strode forward and snatched the woman’s hand.

“Ouch! This… What are you doing?”

While frowning at the violent touch, the woman answered with dignity. She’s like a noble.

Working as a maid for an aristocratic family, they seem to think that they are noble as well.

“Guys! Hold on to this!”

The maids quickly grabbed hold of the woman’s arms and body.

“Let go of me! I don’t know why you’re doing this… “

“Stay still!”

“No!”

As Roseanne grabbed the ring with her finger, the woman struggled violently, but it was not enough to break the restraint.

Roseanne put the ring in her purse and looked at the woman to scold her.

“Yes?”

The woman’s face, which had been blurry until recently, looked different.

The slim face line, slightly raised eyes, and harmonious features were good. Aside from being quite beautiful, it was a face that gave me a sense of déjà vu.

I’ve seen it somewhere too recently, quite frequently.

She would have been in the newspapers every day, and her face was attached to every wall.

“Princess Philomel!”

At Roseanne’s cry, all eyes in the store were focused on one place.

“… You misunderstood the person.”

The woman lowered her head as if trying to cover her face, but Roseanne was convinced. For decades, she was a fake princess, a fake princess who pretended to be a princess.

“Hey! Report to the police immediately!”

Roseanne urged the clerk, who was distracted, to call the police.

The woman denied it was pathetically hard.

“Lady! Feel free to set me up! I look just like her, but I’m not her!”

It wasn’t Roseanne who would be weakened by that.

“No, what is it? You have the same shameless face.”

“It must have been similar…”

Slap!

Roseanne slapped the wicked woman on the cheek as hard as she could.

“How dare you. Do you still think you’re a princess?”

The woman turned her head away with one cheek flushed and was speechless.

“I feel like I want to get rid of it right now, but I’m patient.”

The type of human that Roseanne hates the most is someone greedy for something beyond their means. This woman who lived as a princess on a fake subject was the pinnacle of that kind.

When they said they had caught the fake princess, Roseanne handed the woman over to the police who arrived quickly.

Then, she followed them to the police station and requested the security chief to receive a promise. Tell His Majesty the Emperor and the real Princess that Roseanne Manon’s contribution was the greatest in capturing Philomel.

In my mind, I wanted to wait until the high-ranking person came to send Philomel away, and then tell him in person. However, when I came into contact with the inside of the messy police station, I completely lost my mind.

Roseanne excitedly got into the carriage heading home.

The stupid woman has given social figures something to show off. Furthermore, it seemed that I could build a close relationship with a real princess with this opportunity.

Viscount Manon was the torch to build a friendship with the princess once he entered the central social circle.

“I’m really lucky.”

Roseanne said, something she used to say often.