There Is No Place For Fakes

“… Philomel?”

When there was no word from Philomel, Eustis called her name impatiently.

“…”

Philomel bit her lip, unable to respond.

Thump thump. Her heart pounded hard.

It was strange. She got an apology, but it didn’t feel good. But it wasn’t that bad, either.

‘I got an apology.’

But that changes nothing, either way. 

It wasn’t even Eustis’ fault. Isn’t it true that she is not his biological daughter? Eustis was also a victim.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Even His Majesty’s words can’t ease my heart.”

Philomel continued speaking in a light tone as if nothing was wrong.

“Of course, well… I was a little resentful of His Majesty at the time… but I still can’t say yes to His Majesty’s offer, so I think it was a natural flow after all.”

“A natural flow?”

“Since I’m not Your Majesty’s real daughter, it’s inevitable that I can not help it.”

“…”

“…”

Silence fell between them.

“… I left you alone even though I thought you were my own daughter.”

After a while, Eustis spoke again.

“You must have intuitively felt that I wasn’t. In the first place, I don’t resemble Her Majesty the late Empress at all.”

“It has nothing to do with that.”

“It’s related. In a way, it’s natural that His Majesty didn’t show affection to me.”

“No! Even though it may be true when you were a child…  Now I consider you my daughter. You are my daughter.”

‘Again with this, what are you saying?’

Philomel sneered.

‘I think it’s time to clear up the misunderstanding.’

“It must be an illusion.”

Philomel said, surprising herself with her determined tone. 

“What?”

“Since we’ve been together for so long, it must be that Your Majesty has become rather attached to me. And that attachment is not affecting for your daughter” 

Philomel was sure.

It wasn’t affection. It was just that he has got used to having Philomel next to himself and all the duties she did as the heir. 

‘You’re mistaking it for affection’

Because she knew how that man treated ‘Philomel’ in <Princess Ellencia>. 

Of course, Philomel has her doubts about the veracity of the book now. 

“My feelings are an illusion… ?”

Eustis muttered with a shocked face.

He seemed very confused, so Philomel spoke soothingly.

“Now that Ellencia is by Your Majesty’s side, you will gradually learn what it is like to have a real daughter and what a family is like.”

Of course, not all blood related families got along harmoniously.

For example, Philomel herself couldn’t confidently say that she gets along well with her biological family. However, there is a high possibility that Eustis and Ellensa are different. Their family is originally a relationship made of love.

The Emperor and the Empress fell in love with, married, and gave birth to a child out of love. The rest of the book may be false, but this was the undeniable truth.

“And I don’t think my relationship with His Majesty is a matter of forgiveness.”

It meant that there would be no use in forgiving.

‘If I forgave you. Are we going to go back to the old days when we were friendly only on the outside?

‘What if I don’t forgive you? Are you going to get revenge on me for impersonating the imperial Princess and punish me along with my mother?’

So, this problem is over. And this is the end of Philomel’s relationship with him.

“Please forget about all my right and wrong doings and please let go of any resentments.”

“Philomel…”

“It’s alright to forget everything and go our separate ways. Besides, the role of my guardian can be taken by someone else like Countess Deles, so that Your Majesty doesn’t have to trouble himself. 

“…”

“…”

A vast silence overcame the room. It was a distance that could never be narrowed.

‘Originally, I wanted to cleanly cut our relationship off like this, but…’

Philomel hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.

“But… If Your Majesty feels sorry for me even a little or has good feelings left, would you please allow me a request?”

Eustis raised his head and looked at Philomel.

“What is it? Whatever you like, tell me.”

“I am trying to live on my own from now on. But I’m a bit at a loss as to where to begin and I have no place to stay right now.”

On the way to the office, she continued to think about suitable excuses to stay in the imperial palace, but she could only come up with this.

“Countess Deles said it would be okay to live with her in the county Deles… But I declined. Since the countess was my lady in waiting, she’ll continue to treat me like a princess, so…”

Philomel looked at the Emperor carefully and continued talking.

“If Your Majesty doesn’t mind, could I stay at the imperial palace for a while longer? If Your Majesty could provide me with the accommodation for maids, I’ll use it responsibly.”

Philomel added one last part as to not appear to be seriously considering to continue living in the palace, as suggested by the Emperor. 

“Of course, until I establish my footing outside of the palace. I won’t bother Your Majesty for long!” 

Once the doubts about Ellencia and the book are resolved, Philomel’s going to leave without delay.

“You can stay as long as you want. However, I can’t allow accommodation for maids.”

Eustis replied with a firm expression on his face. 

“Then where…?”

The Western palace, currently used by Philomel, was a residence for the successor. However, since it was revealed that she was not the real Princess, she had to give the place to Ellencia.

“I’m going to prepare the southern palace, so stay there.”

‘Southern palace?’

Philomel tilted her head.

If it was the southern palace, it was the accommodation provided to state guests visiting the Empire.

“But it doesn’t make sense for me to stay at the southern palace, since I am not a state guest.”

The Southern Palace is a state guesthouse that only members of the royal family or high nobility from other countries can use during their stay here. 

The southern Palace boasted with such high standards that, if the visiting country didn’t possess enough power, they would reside in a general guest room and not in the state guest house, the southern Palace. 

“Why do you think you’re not a state guest?”

“That’s because I’m no longer a Princess…”

“Even if you don’t want to be my daughter, I don’t intend to betray the grace I owe you.”

“… Grace?”

“Aren’t you the benefactor who found Ellencia and reunited her with me? You found out that she was buried in the wilderness, possibly for the rest of her life, so if it weren’t for you, I would have lived my whole life without knowing the existence of her.”

Words flowed out of the Emperor’s mouth uninterrupted. It was an eloquent speech that seemed to have been prepared in advance.

“Besides, unless you let yourself be registered as a royal descendant, she is the Emperor’s only child and heir. Not only me, but the whole Empire has received a favor that cannot be easily repaid.”

Is that how it works?

‘Benefactor’

Philomel was bewildered because she had never thought of it that way before. Even if no one is to blame, she has lived as the child of a sinner all her life.

The Emperor continued without hesitation.

“If I don’t treat the benefactor of the Empire accordingly, everyone will curse me out for years to come, for being less than a beast. Are you going to paint me as a beast in future history books?” 

“No, that’s not…”

It’s true that philomel was involved to a degree. And listening to Eustis’ words made it somehow difficult to refuse.

In fact, it was more beneficial for Philomel to use a large room. It doesn’t matter if she’s alone in the attic, but She needs a separate space for her father who’s wearing a cat’s mask.

After much contemplation, Philomel eventually accepted his offer.

“… Then I’ll go to Southern Palace.”

Thus, Philomel decided to stay at the southern palace however long she wanted to.

The decision to draw attention was obvious, but… It was something she had been determined to do from the moment she decided to stay in the imperial palace.

Afterward, Philomel requested that her captive maids be freed. 

The Emperor was reluctant, but he promised to release them. 

Their conversation eventually came back to the matters related to Philomel’s stay in the southern Palace. Although the Emperor and Philomel had different opinions about the accommodation provided in the southern Palace, most of them were decided in Philomel’s favor. 

“Philomel.”

Just as Philomel was leaving the office, a serious call stopped her at the door. 

“I’ll take this as an opportunity.”

“Yes?”

“I will definitely prove to you that what I said is not a lie.”

‘So I want you to think about it again during your stay here.’

He didn’t say the second part out loud but Philomel clearly heard it. 

“… I’ll take my leave now. Have a nice afternoon, Your Majesty.”

Philomel left the room without taking another glance back.

‘I’ve done enough.’

It was not her fault that the Emperor had false expectations.

‘He’ll give up sooner or later.’

“Hey, Philomel. Are you coming to see father?”

As soon as she left the office, Philomel ran into Ellencia. She seemed to be on her way to see Eustis.

“Yes, actually we just finished discussing the registration that you suggested the other day.”

Philomel bowed to Ellencia as a greeting and replied.

“Really? Have you decided to be registered?”

Ellencia with sparkles in her eyes asked. She seemed to be very interested in Philomel’s registration. 

“I’m sorry, your Highness, but I declined.”

“That… Why? I wanted to spend more time with Philomel…”

The well-shaped golden eyebrows drooped. Seeing the disappointment on her face, Philomel wondered if that was really true.

‘I want to know what Ellencia is like.’

“It’s not a suitable seat for me, but don’t be too sad, your highness.”

Ellencia’s blue eyes were stained with wonder.

“Although I declined to register, I’ve decided to stay in the imperial palace for the time being. Thankfully, His Majesty the Emperor has decided to provide me with the state guesthouse at the southern palace.”

In an instant, Philomel’s expression softened. What was left was a bare face, resembling an empty drawing paper. 

“I’m really happy that I can continue to see the Princess who thinks so highly of me. Isn’t the Princess happy too?”

She wasn’t sure exactly what kind of person Ellencia was, but looking at her face, Philomel was certain.

She doesn’t want Philomel to stay in the Palace.