There Is No Place For Fakes

Emilie, who received instructions from Philomel, stepped back and the cat-like Le Guin turned back into a human.

“Can we trust this human? Even if he obeys now, she could betray us at any moment.”

“It won’t be easy to betray us when she thinks of the nanny. Lexion said he’s taken measures to prevent any contingencies. I’m not sure what that means, though…”

In response to Philomel’s answer, Lexion approached with a smile.

“Come to think of it, Phil still doesn’t know my area of expertise.”

“Area of expertise…?”

“Each magician has their own specialized field. Guess what mine is? Try to guess once.”

“Hmm…”

Philomel pondered seriously.

Jeremiah, who had gained the nickname Frozen Earldom, specialized in ice magic. If that’s the case, then what about Lexion…

“Fire magic? 

“…Don’t judge by hair color.”

“Haha, I’m caught.”

As Jeremiah smirked, Lexion lightly glanced in his direction and opened his mouth.

“I can only use fireball that I learned at the age of ten if we go by the fire magic. My area of expertise is this.”

He tapped his temple with his finger.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I can cast quite a few useful spells.”

Lexion stuck out his red tongue.

“For example, if you try to talk about a forbidden subject, your tongue will dry up.”

“… Does that mean you won’t be able to use your tongue for the rest of your life?”

Philomel shuddered.

“You have good comprehension.”

Jeremiah snorted.

“Just kill her. She’s just making a fuss.”

“You don’t understand. If a dubious death occurs in the royal palace, the magicians will be the first to be investigated. Do you want to be charged with murder?”

“Isn’t it just because your skills are lacking?”

“Can’t have a conversation with an idiot.”

“What? You little…”

“…”

Philomel simply stopped talking.

***

Two days had passed since then, but there were no rumors that any of Ellensia’s maids had suddenly dried up their tongues.

Emilie seemed to be following Philomel’s orders immediately.

Philomel’s orders were simple.

She was to ask for information about Ellensia, becoming Philomel’s eyes and ears. In other words, she was just being a spy.

Her conscience pricked at her a little, but she had resigned herself to leaving it at the palace. She had an instinctual feeling that walking only the straight path would not lead her to the truth of the book.

It was on the way back to her room after her usual walk.

In front of the State Guest House, Philomel met a familiar face.

A scruffy-looking man approached Philomel with joy.

“Your Highness!”

“…Martin.”

It was Philomel’s former escort knight, Martin. “Oh, long time no see, Your Highness. Oh! So you’re not a princess anymore.”

“So, what brings you here?”

“Why else would a guard come? Of course, I came to guard you.”

“… Me?”

Philomel asked with one eyebrow furrowed, unable to understand what he was saying.

“Of course. Even if the real princess appears, you’re the only person in this land.” 

But Martin just laughed naturally and thumped his chest.

Philomel was taken aback.

‘He’s just sitting here and it’s ridiculous. If he comes here because he has nowhere else to go, there’s nothing I can do.’

Martin Siance.

He was the younger brother of Viscount Siance and was once a promising knight, but due to his lazy personality, he was now just a mediocre knight.

She had forgotten about his existence for a while, but now she saw that he had been kept with other courtiers who had accompanied Philomel.

‘While it’s good news that other courtiers have been released… this guy should have stayed locked up.’

She hated Martin very much, even though she brought him along for various reasons.

She didn’t like the way he pestered her from the first time they met…

‘He’s just a noble with no substance.’

‘He stood in front of many nobles, saying he wanted to see the festival.’

At the age of nine, Martang witnessed the servants threatening themselves and became even more disgusted.

“It still makes me angry when I think about it.”

Philomel declared coldly.

“You can stop being my escort now.”

“What?”

“I’m firing you from your position as my knight. Find another job.”

“Why?”

“Lack of diligence.”

“When did I…?”

“You spent your working hours chatting and playing with other palace members, were late due to hangovers, didn’t participate in regular duels with young knights, and most importantly, you didn’t even know when I disappeared.”

As Philomel listed his laziness one by one with her hands, Martang was at a loss for words.

Without hesitating, Philomel summed it up briskly.

“If you want witnesses, there’s plenty. Shall I call them?”

“This is an unfair accusation!”

“What is?”

“You turned a blind eye even though you knew everything, Philomel!”

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

Philomel had ignored his faults so far, and sometimes even protected him.

Martin cried out, feeling unjust, as he wrapped his head in his hands.

“Why are you blaming me now?”

Why? Well…

“Because you’re the easiest palace knight to handle!”

When Philomel had dismissed all the maids and servants at the age of nine, everyone present stayed put for the sake of fleeing.

From a logical standpoint, Philomel was close to catching a star in the sky by kicking out a fully trained knight and running away.

Because the opponent was Martin, she had the opportunity to escape while he was slacking off.

“You didn’t do this before! You trusted and followed me!”

Not understanding the circumstances, Martin mistakenly believed that the princess liked him enough to cover up his mistakes.

“You even said that you regard me as your uncle!”

Because people around her, even the Emperor, kept suggesting changing the escort, she told many lies.

But she should have avoided saying things like, “more than anyone, I rely on you.”

Philomel bit her tongue inwardly.

“Why did you change?”

At the moment when Martin was approaching her with his hand to touch her body, the sound of a sword being unsheathed was heard.

“Want to die?”

A sword blocked Martin’s path.

“Jeremiah!”

Philomel looked at the person who had suddenly appeared, hiding the scar on his neck with his necklace. Although he had hidden his true intentions, it was clearly Jeremiah.

“I told you not to come out of the room!”

Martin reflexively stepped back.

“What, who are you? A knight? You’re not a member of the knights’ association. How did you get into the palace?”

“You can do whatever you want.”

“What, what? Philomel! Who is this young man dressed in blue?”

“That…”

Is he a relative? A guest? How should I explain?

“Were you looking for a new guard? Have you found a new guard?”

Before Philomel could deny it, Jeremiah answered.

“Yes. A new guard.”

Why was he suddenly like that?

“From now on, I’ll be in charge of guarding her, so you can leave,”

Jeremiah answered in a cold voice.

A little later,

Philomel sighed as she looked up at Jeremiah.

“Jeremiah…why did you lie?”

“I wasn’t lying because I’ll really become your guard.”

Jeremiah answered indifferently.

Martin, who was excited by the mention of a new guard, suggested a challenge instead of a proposal.

“Let’s determine who is fit to guard Philomel in a duel!”

If he set his mind to it, he could easily dominate someone like Jeremiah, who likes a child. Since Jeremiah accepted the proposal, the two were on their way to the training area.

“Do you really want to be my guard?”

“You have to pay for my meals. You also needed a guard, right?”

That’s true. Eustis had been sending knight lists daily, putting pressure. She had promised the Emperor to keep her guard close, even if she had to give up other palace privileges. She had no choice but to accept him as her guard.

So it was better for Philomel in many ways for Jeremiah to become her guard…

But there was a problem.

“Jeremiah, have you been knighted?”

Then, Jeremiah pulled out his knight’s badge from his pocket silently.

“I’ve been knighted as a magic knight.”

Unlike knights who had to go through training for up to ten years, magic knights who applied as mages only needed to demonstrate their abilities and identity to be recognized as knights, even for a short period.

This was because there was an absolute shortage of talented people who were proficient in both magic and swordsmanship.

She knew he was a mage, but she didn’t know he had knight qualifications. It wasn’t even written in ‘Princess Ellensia.’ As they arrived at the training area, Martin, who was warming up, caught Philomel’s eye.

“Philomel! I’ll show you the fact that there is no one like me. Let’s fight fairly with real swords, not practice ones, you coward who steals others’ positions!”

Not a practice sword, but a real one?

Philomel wanted to stop, but Jeremiah drew his sword first.

“Be careful. He used to be a pretty skilled knight,” 

Philomel whispered.

Ignoring her concerns, the match overwhelmingly headed in Jeremiah’s favor.

“Ugh!”

“Ack!”

“Ughh, cough cough!”

Martin barely escaped with his blunt movements – a result of years of laziness and overindulgence. In the end, he dropped his sword and fell to his knees, shouting “I surrender! I surrender!” But the sword continued to rush towards Marthein’s neck.

Dangerous! Without realizing it, Philomel yelled out.

“Jeremiah!”

He stopped.

As Philomel yelled out, Jeremiah quickly picked up his sword as if nothing had happened.

‘Jeremiah… if I hadn’t stopped him, he would have killed him’

There weren’t many spectators around the training grounds, but Jeremiah couldn’t be turned into a murderer in front of them.

Regardless, this was how Philomel’s position as a princess and high-ranking guest’s escort knight was given to a stranger, a young mage knight.

Jeremiah showed off his skills by playing with the princess’ former escort in front of others as if he were a child.

Afterward, Jeremiah was called in for an investigation by the palace guards about his unauthorized weaponry.

However, with the help of count Polan, who had been asked by Philomel, he was able to pass through without any problems. Unlike the inner palace guards, the outer palace guards had more flexible standards for entry. But it was mostly thanks to Count Polan’s efforts.

At first, even Count Polan expressed concerns that Jeremiah might not be a good knight. But…

“In fact, he’s a dear friend I met when I went missing. He’s a noble person who willingly offered his help when I had nothing to offer and fought off the villains with no hesitation. And I wish to continue our relationship… Is it too greedy if I want that?”

Philomel recounted the incident where Jeremiah had helped her when she was almost tricked by a con artist, further persuading Count Polan to cooperate with her request for Jeremiah to become her escort.

Furthermore, even the Emperor promised to help persuade him.

Indeed, connections were everything.