There Is No Place For Fakes

After that day, Philomel rested for three days and it was already the fifth day of the Debutante Ball which lasted for five days. Since there was no reason for Philomel to attend, she enjoyed her leisurely reading, and Le Guin wandered by her side.

“Phil?”

“What?”

“Are you still mad?”

“Yes.”

“Calm down.”

“No, I do not want to.”

“Is it because the other day I arbitrarily cast a spell on you?”

“Yes.”

“It’s all because I think of you. I want you to shine.”

“If you really thought of me, you should have followed me.”

“…Sorry. I’ll apologize, so relieve your anger.”

Philomel closed the book with a bang. In her view, Le Guin was more apologetic than sincerely feeling sorry for her. But even though he said that, it was a bit odd to keep listening to it. In fact, Philomel wasn’t really mad at him either, she was just pretending to be angry so that it wouldn’t happen again. She actually was a little happy to see him paying attention to her reaction so closely. 

“You’re not going to do this again, are you?”

Philomel asked in her temper, and he answered quickly.

“No, I promise!”

Anyway, because he spoke well, Philomel smiled involuntarily. And it was the last day of the banquet, the last day of the deadline set by Philomel for Roseanne. In the late afternoon, a tip came in from Nancy. She said she had selected a dress for the banquet this time, so Philomel asked for Roseanne. She told her to let her know when Roseanne was coming. She hasn’t been seen for the past three days, and today she finally came to the banquet .

Philomel wondered what Roseanne was up to, and whether or not she would bring the ring. Philomel said that she was not going to attend the banquet formally, but  she planned to watch it secretly from afar, so she headed to the banquet hall. If Roseanne gave her the ring, she would just leave, otherwise she would expose her as a thief in front of everyone. To be honest, Philomel didn’t want to accuse Roseanne too much. She wanted to wrap up this quickly, not for Roseanne’s sake but for her own. 

When the ring case was revealed, attention would be focused not only on Roseanne but also on Philomel. She decided that now she would not cower from attention, but a nuisance is still a nuisance. Philomel deep down hoped that Roseanne would live a righteous life.

She arrived at the ballroom late and entered the building through the back door. Naturally, there were no guards standing in her way as she was the former princess and now a prominent guest.

Philomel stood in front of one of the less traveled doors, from many, leading to the hall and peered inside. It seemed that the hall was still peaceful without much fuss. Philodel looked for Ellencia with her eyes. Ellencia was the most likely person to whom Roseanne would hand over the ring. If it’s Roseanne, there’s a good chance she’ll try to win Ellencia’s favor and attack Philomel.

‘ can’t allow that…’

If she ever tried to contact Elencia, Philomel planned to expose her first. But among the people gathered around Ellencia, Roseanne was nowhere to be seen. Philomel narrowed her eyes for a while and looked around her. Instead of Roseanne, familiar faces stood out.

Lexion was talking with some nobles. Being relatively close to Philomel, she could hear their conversation sparsely.

“The friend I talked about is this friend. She’s very smart, and I want to hire her unless she belongs to the imperial palace.”

“It is overrated. It’s a lack of talent.”

“Humility! Let’s talk slowly over a drink later!”

“It’s always an honor for me.”

No, when did they become close like that? It’s been a few days since he came here. Lexion, who had been smiling for business, spotted Philomel and gave a slight glance. Philomel also responded with an eye salutation.

This time Cardin was in her eyes. Holding a plate piled with food like a mountain, he exclaimed excitedly.

“This is heaven, to give all this delicious food for free!”

It was the first time she had ever seen someone who ate snacks prepared for a light meal like that. It was embarrassing so she pretended not to know him. The nobleman next to Lexion also frowned.

“They’re a low-level young man. He seems also to be a court Mage, do you know each other?”

“No, I don’t know anyone.” 

Lexion, too, turned away from his brother. After that, Philomel, who kept looking inside the hall, finally found Roseanne. She was walking through the hall with her hat slanted over her left cheek as far as possible. At first glance, her left cheek, exposed from under her hat, seemed slightly swollen. Roseanne, who had been looking around her, hid behind the pillar.

‘What? Did you do anything bad?’

Suddenly, Philomel felt Someone hand on her shoulder as she wanted to enter the banquet hall. A voice resonated above her head. 

“Philomel.”

Eustis talked.

“I didn’t know you were attending today. But you’re not going in. What are you doing in a place like this?”

A startled Philomel took a few steps back and greeted him with perfect courtesy.

“Greeting Your Majesty, the sun of the Empire. Have you been well?”

“…fine.”

The Emperor’s hand on her shoulder was withdrawn in vain. Philomel was embarrassed.

‘I didn’t hear that you’d attend today.’

As she explained why she had come here, she aroused the Emperor’s suspicion.

“I had no intention of attending, but I heard that there was someone here that I wanted to meet, so I stopped by for a while. And your Majesty…?”

“I am in a similar situation. I was passing by this area and followed the person I wanted to see as they entered the ballroom.”

“Okay. I can continue to wait here, so see Your Majesty around.”

The Emperor continued to be beside Philomel without moving.

“…Your Majesty?”

“I’ll be here for a while too.”

Philomel barely swallowed her words. Didn’t he say there was someone he wanted to see? Go away!

* * *

Roseanne tried to touch her left cheek, but consciously lowered her arm.

“Chi… it still hurts.”

She was hit so hard that the area hit was still sore. The red marks on her cheek were covered with makeup, but the swelling did not completely go away.

As soon as his daughter appeared with a messed up face at the long-awaited Debutante Ball, the viscount was furious. He pressed Roseanne, asking who the hell did it, but Roseanne couldn’t bear to tell the truth.

‘Father, wait a moment. I will give the ring to Her Highness the Princess and wash away this humiliation!’

As Princess Ellencia, she would naturally hate Philomel, who had taken her place. All she had to do was ignite the anger of the princess inside her. While making such an insidious plan, Roseanne took a close look at the red ring on her palm.

Roseanne hid herself behind a pillar, thinking that she should wear the ring one last time. She put on her ring and fiddled with her jewels with her fingertips, tinged with her wistfulness. But, suddenly, the jewel started to glow.

* * *

Eustis stood side by side with Philomel for a while and talked.

“How are you today?”

“I am doing well thanks to Your Majesty’s kindness.”

“Is the Southern Palace to your liking?”

“It is very pleasant. All of these are blessings bestowed by His Majesty.”

“Are you sick anywhere?”

“I’m not.”

Philomel licked her lips as she remembered what had happened last time. He heard Count Pollan’s strange advice about his relationship with his children, much to Philomel’s dismay. She didn’t know the details, but who was the child that Eustis cares about so much? Ellencia.

‘If you want to do it, you only do it to Ellencia, why are you doing it to me…?’

Because of the Emperor’s presence, it was difficult to see what Roseanne was doing. Did she bring the ring of crimson flames?

“But lately, you haven’t been wearing a ring of red flames.”

“Yes? The ring?”

Philomel’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of what she was thinking. Perhaps because of her mood, Eustis’ gaze seemed to be directed towards the pillar where Roseanne was hiding.

“Did you lose the ring?”

“No. That’s not it…”

It was more like robbery than loss. Apparently, Eustis wanted the treasure of the Imperial Family to be returned.

Philomel bowed her head.

“Sorry. It’s in someone else’s hands. I’ll return it as soon as I can, so please give me some time.”

“I didn’t mean to scold you, I just…”  continued Eustis, who nervously brushed his bangs. “Anyway, doesn’t that mean that the ring of red flame is not in your hand right now?”

“It is.”

“That’s not your will.”

“There were unavoidable circumstances…”

“All right. Don’t worry, I’ll bring you the ring myself.”

“Yes, yes?”

Eustis walked into the venue without hesitation. People who danced in pairs in the hall hurriedly lowered their heads at the sudden appearance of the Emperor. For some reason, feeling like she had to follow him, Philomel headed inside. The place where Eustis stopped walking was the pillar where Roseanne was hiding. In an anxious premonition, Philomel measured her feet.

Roseanne, who was behind the pillar, looked behind her in bewilderment. Eustis held out his hand to her without saying a word.