There Is No Place For Fakes

“Because I’m not His Majesty’s daughter. His Majesty’s daughter is Ellencia.”

“You and Elencia are my daughters.”

“No. Only Ellencia is His Majesty’s daughter. Only Ellencia is the daughter of Her Majesty the Empress.”

“It has nothing to do with her except that she gave birth to her. I have always regarded you as a daughter, and I will continue to consider you a daughter.”

“She gave birth to her, so she’s her child, so why doesn’t that have anything to do with it?”

“Even if blood isn’t mixed…”

Only after repeating similar questions and answers several times with only the words changed, Philomel realized that he was serious. After all, Eustis had no reason to lie to Philomel. Because he has nothing to gain. Still, she couldn’t believe it, so she kept asking.

Now, even if her mouth hurted, she had to admit it. Nassar was right when he said that the emperor was looking for Philomel out of concern.

“So, I will enlist you. You are, and will always be, my daughter, the princess of the Belerov Empire.” the Emperor added.

“… I am grateful for considering me as a daughter, but I do not wish to be registered. Even if I am innocent, I am the daughter of a sinner. I don’t deserve to be a princess. It is a virtue that will charge me with guilt…”

“You deserve to be a princess.”

“The ministers will object.”

“I promise you. No one will object.”

Eustis glared at her as if he would not let him go if there was such a guy.

‘That’s because they will be scared and won’t be able to express it in front of your face!’

Philomel swallowed her words and turned her head away.

“What does other people’s opinions have to do with us building a family? The important thing is your opinion and mine.”

Eustis continued to fire at her.

“… What about Ellencia? Will she want to be my sister?”

Philomel asked quietly. Being his family means being a family with Ellencia too.

“… she said he wants to get along with you when you come back.”

Only then did Eustis calmly answer.

“Getting along and being a family are two different things.”

“I will not force you two to have friendship.”

To think he would treat Elencia and herself fairly. It was so absurd that she was about to laugh. Why was he trying to catch Philomel by saying such absurd things? Was it even worth it to her?

“You say that you will treat her the same as your fake daughter… Elencia will be sad if she hears it.”

“Philomel, why do you keep worrying about other people’s reactions? As I said before, you are overly conscious of others. Tell me your honest opinion.”

When Philomel didn’t say anything, his expression darkened.

“…Is there anything you don’t want to be enrolled in?

“Me?”

Did she hate it?

She was embarrassed because she had never assumed it before. The reason she tried to look good was to reassure everyone until she ran away, and to receive even the weakest punishment when caught. She didn’t expect that she would be able to become a daughter just because she worked hard. After all, his daughter was Ellencia, and she was a position that Philomel did not dare to step over.

She questioned herself. Did she want to be Eustis’ foster daughter? In fact, she was skeptical that the emperor considered her as his daughter. He might have mistaken the crush of ‘a person who listens well and likes you quite a bit’ as affection for your child. The previous emperor was a heartless father who competed with his children to preserve his power, and the imperial palace at the time was a silent battlefield.

In <Princess Elencia>, it was stated that Eustis never felt a deep affection for Isabella, his wife. He has just met Ellencia as well, so he may not be able to tell the difference between a family bond and a shallow crush. Still, she didn’t know if it would be good if she looked at the result alone, because her life was saved and she was not going to be imprisoned right away.

‘Yes. Let’s accept it.’

Once accepted, let’s leave this place again when the time comes when he becomes so infatuated with his own daughter that he loses interest in her foster daughter. That was a reasonable decision. Except for Philomel’s dislike, it didn’t matter. That’s when she opened her mouth to answer that she had come to that conclusion and accepted the registration.

“…I do not like it.”

Words that were different from what she thought came out of her mouth. Having said that, Philomel herself was the most surprised.

“I don’t want to be your daughter.”

‘Was she crazy? What if he changes his mind to kill her because she keeps getting on his nerves? Just say you’ll accept it!’

However, the things buried deep in her chest poured out when she opened the stopper. Philomel couldn’t stop this flow. She gave names to the remnants of emotions she had been piling up.

“I haven’t considered you as my father since I grew up, and I don’t even remember being treated like a daughter.”

As she spoke, she realized she could no longer live like she had for the past seven years.

“You alone may have considered me your daughter in your heart, but life here has been hell for me.”

From around the age of nine when she picked up the book, or even before that.

“You said you wanted me to live as if I were dead. So I just lived as if I were dead.”

She had to live as quietly as if she was dead. She killed her emotions, put on a mask, and left behind only an outer shell.

“Don’t hold me now, Your Majesty.”

Your Majesty, not father. The word “Your Majesty,” which Philomel deliberately pronounced with great force, resounded hollowly. Eustis’ interior shook like a bonfire in front of a strong wind.

The past 7 years of working hard to get his favor went back to nothing in an instant. However, the relief was greater than the worry or regret. She didn’t know what was so shocking, but the emperor’s face was contorted with shock. He must have never expected that he would be rejected because of his pride.

That was an awesome profit. There was the sound of a chair being pushed. Eustis jumped up, turned his back on Philomel, and stood facing the wall.

‘Was he saying he didn’t want to see her face now?’

“… At that time, that’s the story.”

He seemed to remember the time Philomel said. For Philomel, it was a turning point in her life, but for Eustis, it would have been just a passing word.

“You kept it in your heart.”

“Yes.”

“Sorry.”

For a moment, Philomel doubted whether it was because of her hearing ability. Was he sorry? That Eustis was apologizing?

“At that time… no. Anything I say will be an excuse.”

A strange conversation continued, with one person looking at the wall and the other looking at the other person’s back.

“I’ll formally apologize again later. And think about registering again.”

“I just said no…”

“One year.”

Suddenly, a specific time period was presented.

“Even if you leave, can’t you leave after staying here for just one year?”

sHE couldn’t understand what he was talking about, so when SHE fell silent, the other person seemed to understand in a different way.

“If you hate 1 year, how about 10 months?”

“…?”

“…8 months?”

“…”

“Okay. Six months.”

“…Yes?”

“No. I can’t give more than that.”

“It’s not that kind of problem…”

“Yes. Three months.”

It was a strange bargain indeed.

“Anyway, take a break and think about it slowly.”

“Your majesty. I am…”

“You need a break. I’ll get out of the way, so make yourself comfortable.”

“A little bit about me…”

“It’s long past time to eat. I’ll tell you to come see the table.”

Whether he wanted to hear Philomel’s answer or not, Eustis, who had kept him speechless, quickly walked away. More than that, Eustis’ absurd proposal caught her heart. To suddenly stay at the imperial palace after the story of her death.

‘Are you serious?’

No. It’s not a big deal to say that he is sorry. Philomel tried to get the emperor’s back figure out of her head.