There Is No Place For Fakes

“It’s exquisite that there are two vacant court mage positions just in time.”

“Everyone packed their bags happily when they said that the Mage Tower would provide the best research environment.”

“The job of a court mage is great for honor and salary, but there are quite a few people who want to quit because of the limitations in research.”

It seems that there was even an underhand operation that Philomel did not know about. Le Guin asked Lexion.

“You were the one who packed Phil’s luggage, right? You found it.”

“I’ll give it to you now.”

Lexion pulled out a familiar cloth bag from a backpack that had fallen to the floor. It was a bag that Philomel herself bought at the market. In Angelium, he inquired about Philomel’s whereabouts, and he found her at an inn, and he said that he kept it.

As she opened the bag he was handed to her, Philomel hesitated.

“Have you checked inside?”

“Please. I’m not a ruthless person who rummages through other people’s luggage.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to doubt it.”

“I understand.”

Seeing that <Princess Elencia> was in this, she became sensitive. The book was like a shame she didn’t want anyone to see. She opened the bag slightly and looked inside, and a familiar brown cover caught her eye. Fortunately, she didn’t lose it.

“Is anything missing?”

“No. Thanks for bringing it to me, Lexion.”

Philomel closed the bag again and answered quietly.

“You’re welcome.”

“The person who brought it seems to want to say it’s him.”

“Cardin, thank you too.”

“Yay!”

It was kind of funny to see him actively expressing his opinion even though he was tied up tightly.

“It’s noisy. It talks a lot on a tied topic.”

Puck!

“Eup-up!”

Jeremiah kicked him in the ass, causing Cardin to jump.

“Pooh.”

Even knowing that it would be rude to laugh at the sight of him being beaten, Philomel burst out laughing at them. The book was also in her hands again, and there was also a part of her heart that was relieved. As Philomel burst out laughing at them, the four rich men stopped all their movements and looked at her.

“It’s nice to see you smiling like that.”

“That’s right.”

Le Guin agreed with Lexion’s words.

“Me? You must be looking at it wrong.”

A little embarrassed, Philomel erased her expression and let go of her pretense. Without taking her eyes off Le Guin, she put the question she had asked before into her mouth again.

“Come to think of it, what are you going to do now? Now that you’ve found your belongings, are you going to the Magic Tower?”

“…I have to leave the imperial palace for now.”

She didn’t want to go to the Mage’s Tower, but Philomel had to leave. A new life must be waiting for Philomel somewhere other than here where Elencia, Nanny, Catherine, and Eustis were. Because that place was not a place for her.

At that time, Lexion gave a rather serious voice.

“Phil, what do you really want to do?”

“Yes?”

“Your face doesn’t look very happy right now. Like a child with homework he doesn’t want to do.”

“…It can’t be. I want to leave.”

“Really?”

Philomel had no answer.

“We don’t want to take you against your will. If you don’t want to, tell me honestly.”

“I want to take you.”

“…Le Guin, are you not going to respect Phil’s will again? Have you already forgotten your work at the Mage Tower?”

“Ugh, why are you bringing that up?”

Le Guin glanced at Philomel, and he ruffled her hair.

“Yes! People have to live doing what they want to do. I lived that way and I taught them to do that too.”

“It was a problem because you did everything you wanted to do.”

“Ha!”

Jeremiah and Cardin, who had returned to their seats, added one word at a time.

“Anyway, don’t look at us and decide. No, not only our notices, but if there’s anything that gets in your way, ignore everything and think about what you want to do in the future.”

‘…What do I want to do?’

Philomel blinked her eyes. She was confused. She’s stuck here with an immediate reply, ‘I want to leave this place.’ She did, but she’s strangely speechless, ‘What do I want? Not what I have to do, but what I want to do.’

It was a very quick question to ask.

Her own pure hope always took a backseat. Over the years, Philomel made big and small decisions. Most of what Philomel did was not what she wanted to do. Because she didn’t want to die, she was recognized by the Emperor, and because she didn’t want to die, she fled.

‘And that’s how I ended up living like that. Ugh.’ 

Philomel ran her fingers across the outside of the bag in her bosom. The outline of the leather cover was touched under the thin cloth. ‘It was all because of this book.’

For the past 7 years, her most desired wish was to sleep peacefully in a place without worrying about her life. But today, Philomel saw some potential. That this book, which had influenced her life so far, might, really, possibly be wrong. It was a cruel possibility that she kept burying even though she felt it implicitly.

Philomel impulsively opened her mouth without even being able to organize what he was about to say.

“I don’t know if I’ve been running away from some huge facts all this time.”

Because if she acknowledged that possibility, all her efforts for the past seven years would be in vain. She wondered if all the fear, resignation, worry, etc. were for nothing. She guessed it was a wrong choice not to open her heart to the people who approached her from the bottom of her heart.

‘But now I don’t want to run away. I want to know.’

What was the identity of this book that has wielded her for a long time, and why did it come into her hands? What truth was hidden. She wanted to face it without avoiding it anymore.

“…”

The guys didn’t say anything. Ever since Philomel grew up, she had developed the habit of always chewing her tongue several times before speaking. Being the emperor’s heir was such a position, and as the fake princess, she had to be even more careful.

Suddenly, the words that had just come out of her mouth were ashamed. Moreover, it would have been a sound to catch a cloud if she said anything about the contents of the book.

“My, if I said something that you didn’t understand…what does this mean?”

“It’s okay. If it’s nonsense, Le Guin always does it.”

“Thank you for being honest. To tell you the truth, I don’t fully understand, but I get a sense of how you feel.”

“Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Philomel examined the faces of the three brothers in turn. No one looked puzzled or embarrassed. They just took her word for what she said. It was the same with Le Guin.

“Okay. I don’t know the details, but you mean you have to be here to achieve what you want anyway?”

“…I think so.”

All keys must belong to Ellencia. At least Philomel thought so.

The main character of <Princess Ellencia> and the real princess was Ellencia. However, a girl who shows a different side than the one mentioned in the book appeared as Ellencia and Philomele’s intuition whispered that something was different from the book.

“Then, the future policy has been decided. I want to act with Phil. Let the rest take care of themselves.”

Philomel asked in surprise.

“Are you staying here?”

“I told you so.”

His grinning face was believable. It would be a great help if he, the owner of the Mage Tower, stayed with her. Even if the Emperor says he has no intention of killing her right now, she didn’t know the future. If Le Guin could ignore the barrier, he could be able to take Philomel out with his movement magic in case of emergency.

“If you stay with me for a while, you will want to go to the Mage Tower very much.”

However, he was so confident that she became anxious.

‘…Will we be able to get along?’

Next to Le Guin were Lexion and Cardin.

“I must adapt to life in the imperial palace as soon as possible.”

“Eup!”

“The two of you too? Is it really okay not to go back to the Mage Tower?”

“I just got a job, but I can’t quit. We will actively cooperate with what Phil is doing.”

“Oooh!”

A little lump of Cardin’s feeling welled up in her chest. But Jeremiah’s attitude was callous.

“Take me out. I want to go back.”

“He was always doused with cold water.”

“

You must have seen the face of the newly-made man. You have seen it all.”

After hearing her father’s words, he turned towards the exit of the garden.

“Wait!”

When Philomel called him, he turned his head away.

“I have no personal feelings for you, but I’m not into group action.”

“It’s not like that… I want to ask you something.”

Jeremiah nodded his chin as if to say something. Philomel hesitated but at the end she asked what she had been wondering since the beginning of the episode. She had cared about Jeremiah ever since he revealed his name.

“Jeremiah, is your nickname the Freezing Scion?”

‘The glacier of ice.’

It was a nickname for a certain magician. In fact, ever since she heard his name Philomel had been questioning whether he was a Freezing Scion or not.

“…”

However, Jeremiah’s white face instantly warmed up. As if he was covering it up, he pressed down and hit the outside.

“Don’t call me by that name!”

“…Did I excuse myself?”

Lexion, who was giggling, stepped out.

“He hates that nickname. He doesn’t like it because Cardin teased him a lot with it.”

“What are you laughing at!”

Cardin smirked and kicked and ran away in her dreams to avoid her brother approaching.

‘It was wrong to call him that.’

“Sorry. I didn’t even know that…”

“It’s okay!”

She asked just in case, but Jeremiah was really the scion of freezing.

‘It’s difficult.’

That situation was very embarrassing. Because Jeremiah was a mystery when he was the other male protagonist in <The Princess Ellencia>.