There Is No Place For Fakes

The mage Jeremiah.

In the novel <Princess Ellencia> he was the second male lead, who loved Princess Ellencia passionately. 

At the end the one who took the seat next to Ellencia was Nassar, but Jeremiah was described as a noble and innocent person who secretly protected the woman he loved.

The only problem is that he was a great threat to the ‘Villainess’ Philomel. 

There was more than once in the book that ‘Philomel’ almost got convicted by Ellensia for harassing her with the qualification that she was not a real princess.

‘To think that the love interest was the villainess’ brother …?’

Jeremiah’s family circumstances were not stated in <Princess Ellencia>, so Philomel didn’t know it until now.

Once the initial surprise at the realization wore off, annoyance took its place.

‘Why didn’t you mention such important information in the book!’

Fierce hostility toward the author of <Princess Ellencia> arose, but first Philomel had to take care of the problem at hand; second male lead Jeremiah. 

‘I’m sure he won’t listen to me if I tell him to stay here.’

Even in the book, Jeremiah was morbidly disobedient. And a rebel by nature.

After considering for a while, Philomel approached Le Guin.

“Le Guin.”

“Yes.?”

“You told me to do what I want to do from now on, right?”

“I did.”

“There is something I want right now, but I need your help with it. Will you help me?”

“Finally, you see my true worth.”

Le Guin looked at Philomel and smiled confidently, holding her gaze.

“All right. Tell me what you want me to do.”

“Please don’t let Jeremiah go anywhere.”

“What? Are you crazy? Who do you are-”

Jeremiah didn’t even get the chance to protest.

“Got it.”

Whoaaaaa!

In the blink of an eye Le Guin used the same spell as before and Jeremiah shared the same fate with the brother he’d ridiculed a mere moments ago.

“Eup-up-up-up!”

Jeremiah, whose limbs were suddenly bound, burst into anger, but fortunately, it was nothing more than a meaningless struggle against Le Guin’s powerful spell.

‘I meant, you should persuade him, not tie him up like that… ‘

It was embarrassing, but the water had already spilled. Apparently, persuasion is not in Le Guin’s vocabulary, and this might be for the best.

With an apologetic look, Philomel turned toward Jeremiah.

“I’m sorry, but I need you to be patient, and I’ll let you go when I decide what to do with you.”

According to <Princess Ellencia>, Jeremiah and Ellencia would meet in winter, three or four months before Ellencia came to the imperial palace.

It may be stupid for Philomel to worry about the appearance of Ellencia and the relationship between the two, who have yet to meet.

And if Jeremiah was left as he’s right now, the two might never cross paths with each other.

‘ And Ellencia is living in the palace right now, anyway.’

Besides, since Jeremiah has found out that she’s his younger sister, there’s the possibility that he won’t come to hate Philomel, like in <Princess Ellencia>.

However…

‘I can’t let my guards down so easily’

Philomel, who decided to remain in the Imperial Palace for the time being, was determined to be cautious.

Because there was no guarantee that Jeremiah wouldn’t cross paths with Ellencia in an unexpected place and fall in love.

Now that Ellensia seemed strangely hostile towards Philomel, she couldn’t give her a powerful pawn, called Jeremiah.

‘I have no choice but to keep an eye on risk factors and manage them.’

The best way is to appease Jeremiah. But if that’s not possible… 

‘If it’s impossible…?’

“I’m going to take care of it.”

“Ah, that’s the face you’re trying to confine.”

“…”

Philomel was trying to think of a way to persuade Jeremiah when Le Guin and Lexion chipped in with a stupid interpretation of Philomel’s silence.

“Phil, no matter how much you want me to get rid of him, I can’t do that. Instead, if it’s simple confinement, I can arrange it.. 

“Eup-up-up-up!”

“Eup-up-up”

When the word confinement left Le Guin’s mouth, the two brothers who were tied up side by side protested by rolling on the floor.

Philomel sighed softly and opened her mouth.

“Why don’t Lexion and Cardin go out first? Now that you’ve officially become a court mage, you should take care of your duties. And Jeremiah…”

Le Guin interrupted Philomel.

“Would you like me to put him into the dark space?”

“… A place called dark space. Is it very painful to enter?”

“Not at all. It’s cozy and nice. There’s nothing, so it’s suitable to sit still and reflect on yourself.”

“Then, please do so.”

Philomel nodded in agreement, and decided to think about a way to deal with Jeremiah later.

Le Guin snapped his fingers and Cardin was freed from his restraints.

“Whoa! I thought I was going to die from frustration!”

Cardin jumped up and stretched all the way. His somewhat tanned skin further highlighted its healthy charm.

“Phil, call me whenever you need me! I’ll drop everything and run to you at your call!”

Philomel gave a slight nod to acknowledge Cardin’s offer.

Cardin laughed cheerfully and disappeared over the maze with Lexion.

And under the canopy, only Le Guin, Philomel and Jeremiah remained.

When Le Guin snapped his fingers, a magic circle appeared on the floor, and soon a black hole opened.

“Is this the dark space Le Guin was talking about?”

Philomel peeked through the hole curiously. It was just as its name implied, a dark space without any kind of light source. Nothing more, nothing less.

“It’s funny.”

Le Guin strode up and lifted Jeremiah. Then, as if storing socks in a closet, he threw him into that dark space.

“Eup-up-up-up-up!”

Jeremiah, whose veins pulsated on his forehead from anger, disappeared into the hole of darkness.

Philomel didn’t know much about Jeremiah yet, but she guessed he probably thought; ‘Damn you old man! I won’t forget this!’ she guessed that meant something.

“What are you going to do next?”

Le Guin clapped his palms, closing the portal to the dark space and asked Philomel.

“Do you have to stay at the Imperial Palace? Can’t it be a mansion close to the Palace?”

“Do you have a mansion in the capital?”

“I can buy it.”

“Uh…”

‘Buying a mansion in the capital requires a huge amount of money, you know.’

Watching Le Guin say it so nonchalantly, Philomel realized that he was the owner of the Mage Tower who had amassed tremendous wealth.

“You don’t have to go through that kind of trouble. Besides It’s something I can only do if I’m in the palace.”

Philomel turned her head and tried to say something.

Of course, considering the crowd who would gossip about her, the decision to stay in the imperial palace wasn’t too pleasant.

However, the subject she wanted to carefully observe in the future was a princess.

‘And the princess lives in the imperial palace.’

Philomel could only Observe Ellencia closely when they shared the same roof. Otherwise her effort would go down the drain.

“Sheesh, okay.”

At Philomel’s determined answer, Le Guin clicked his tongue, as if he couldn’t help it.

“You don’t like the Imperial Palace, do you?

Philomel asked cautiously.

“It’s unpleasant because there’s so much divine power in the air.”

Come to think of it, Philomel had heard that magical power and divine power conflicted each other.

Since they are in a place where all of the descendants of the sun god resided, the Imperial Place was brimming with divine power. Philomel has never felt uncomfortable in her ten years of living in the Palace, but she guessed it’s different for Mages.

“Sorry. You’re going to such lengths because of me…”

Philomel muttered with a sullen expression. Somehow, it seemed that everything was her fault. 

Le Guin was stunned and denied it.

“No, what? It’s not unbearable.”

“Still…”

“It’s okay. As long as you don’t approach that human, it’s quite comfortable.”

“That human?”

“Who is it? The person whose body overflows with nasty divine power even when they’re standing still.”

“Ah.”

Philomel could easily tell who Le Guin was talking about.

“Then Le Guin should turn into a cat and go back to my room first.”

“Why?”

“Because I plan to visit ‘that human’ right now.”

She still had to talk to Eustis.

* * *

After a while, Philomel arrived at the Emperor’s office and asked for an audience. She thought that he might be reluctant to meet her, but the Emperor obediently allowed her to meet him.

“I didn’t expect to see you so soon. Did you consider my offer?”

He had a dark face, but he didn’t avoid her gaze like last time.

“Yes, I’ve thought about it, and I’m here to give you my answer.”

Philomel spoke cautiously, sitting on the sofa facing Eustis.

“No. Before that, I have something to say. No matter what your answer is, I have to say it first.”

“Go ahead.”

Eustis lowered his eyes and opened his heavy mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

His low voice echoed in the office.

“I, to you… have made a big mistake. I shouldn’t have said something like that so carelessly. And I sincerely apologize.”

His self-deprecating apologies continued.

“That’s not all. I’ve been so indifferent to you. I didn’t even think about seeing you properly under the pretext of my misfortune.”

Eustis slowly rose from his seat and approached Philomel.

“It’s too late now, but I want to ask you for forgiveness. No, you don’t have to forgive me, just please don’t disappear without a word. You are only sixteen. You haven’t even come of age yet or had your debutante ball.”

Eighteen was considered an adult in the Belerov Empire. And there were nearly two years left before Philomel would come of age.

“Even if I am not your biological father, I am still your guardian. You still need to be protected by an adult.”

A black gloved hand gently rested on Philomel’s shoulder. It was a very careful touch.

“If you don’t want to be with me, I will find a place that is convenient for you. So even if you don’t want to see me, I want you to be within my reach. That way, I can protect you no matter what happens.”

“…”

Philomel looked at him without saying anything.

“I’m so sorry. There’s no other suitable word other than sorry.

Philomel felt a bitterness that she could not erase, seeing Eustis’ frown.