There Is No Place For Fakes

Roseanne could not comprehend the situation unfolding right in front of her. She was watching the light of the mysterious ring from behind the pillar, but at some point, a commotion broke out in the venue. What the hell was going on? She looked behind her and…

Roseanne faced a man with jet-black hair and gasped, taking in her breath. It wasn’t just because she saw the Emperor. Seeing the Emperor up close, he was more beautiful than any man Roseanne had ever met. His black hair and contrasting white face, his well-trained body, deep blue eyes, and even the gloomy dark aura under his eyes made the man’s charm stand out.

Roseanne could make a statement. There would be no way to express the Emperor’s beauty in any portrait. Then, seeing the man’s outstretched hand, she pondered over the implied intention. It probably meant to ask for something, but what was it?

Soon, along with the answer, the entire process leading up to this situation was easily pictured in her head. There was only one thing the Emperor could want from her. Roseanne raised her hand, wearing the red ring. Her body shuddered with the flood of her explosive emotions. Suddenly, Roseanne’s hand was gently placed on the black gloved hand.

The man’s jewel-like blue eyes opened slightly wide. Most of the people present were holding their breath, so she could clearly hear someone whispering.

“Look, what the hell is going on?”

“I don’t know. Suddenly, His Majesty the Emperor appeared and asked the young lady over there to dance.”

Roseanne displayed a smile on her face that beamed with confidence.

* * *

Philomel looked at the scene in horror. When Eustis held out his hand, Roseanne not only refused to give him the ring, but also gave him her hand. For a moment Philomel wondered if she slapped her so hard that Roseanne’s brain was damaged along her cheek. 

“Suddenly, His Majesty the Emperor appeared and asked the young lady over there to dance.”

Hearing the whispers of those around him, Philomel ealized their delusion. Yes. Dance music was in full swing in the hall, and men and women were dancing in pairs. In the middle of it, reaching out your hand to the opposite sex was considered as an application to dance.

The tumult gradually grew as the unprecedented incident unfolded in front of them.

“His Majesty the Emperor? No way.”

“No. He definitely applied. I saw it with my own two eyes.”

“But His Majesty doesn’t dance.”

“I haven’t seen him dancing since Her Majesty passed away.”

“Does he like that young lady?”

“Then, for His Majesty, the spring day is finally coming…”

“Is the seat next to the sun finally filled?

Misunderstandings gave birth to new misunderstandings. Before anyone knew it, Roseanne was being talked about as the next Empress. In a normal case, even if the Emperor really asked an unmarried woman to dance, there would not have been such an uproar. But he was Eustis. He was a pathetic man who only danced with his wife.

When his wife died, he was the one who hadn’t danced at all, so it wasn’t unreasonable that the request was given great significance. And of course, Roseanne was the most excited about the growing misunderstanding.

Roseanne, clutching the Emperor’s hand, tried to lead him into the center of her hall.

“My dance skills are no match for Your Majesty’s, but I’ll do my best to not disappoint you!”

It wasn’t just Roseanne. A middle-aged man with red hair jumped out. Judging from his resemblance to Roseanne, the man was Viscount Marnon.

“Your Majesty! I am Viscount Marnon. I just moved to the capital. My daughter is a woman with many shortcomings, but please take good care of her.”

Viscount Manon pushed the Emperor to go dancing. The thought of becoming the father-in-law of the Emperor seemed to have made him lose his cowardice.

‘It’s a mess.’

Philomel slipped behind him. Considering the Emperor’s disposition, bloody winds could have blown.

“We should stay and not get into trouble in vain together.”

Philomel headed towards the entrance they used to stealthily enter. At that time, Eustis, who had been hardened like a stone statue, moved. After removing Roseanne’s hand, he strode towards Philomel.

“Your Majesty, where are you going?”

“Your Majesty the Emperor!”

Roseanne and Viscount Manon called anxiously, but he did not look back.

“Philomel, I ask you one thing. Is she your friend?” he said before the entrance.

That friend meant Roseanne, Philomel rebutted, realizing what he meant.

“I swear not!”

Rather than having a friend like that, she would choose to live without friends for the rest of her life.

“Okay. Forget about that Crimson Flame Ring.”

As Philomel looked on incredulously, Eustis took off his glove and threw it away.

“It’s dirty. I’ll make you a new one. And Pollan.”

“Yes.”

Count Pollan, who had been there for some time, answered from behind.

“Did he say Manon? Dig up and bring all that comes out, regardless of family or relatives.”

“I take your order.”

“It’s interesting.”

A dark smile on his face was far from funny. Philomel expressed her condolences in advance to Viscount Manon and his relatives.

* * *

Several days have passed since then. Philomel opened the newspaper as she started her morning routine. Even today, the topic that was intensively covered in the newspaper had not changed.

[Who is His Majesty’s wife, Lady Roseanne Manon?]

[Scoop! A conversation with an insider of the Viscount Manon’s family]

[From the return of Her Highness the princess to the good news, the royal family’s double congratulations]

[Viscount Manon, it’s too early to discuss national marriage…]

Various newspapers in the empire were pouring out articles about the Emperor’s new love story every day. On the day after the banquet, only a few newspapers carried eyewitness accounts of requesting a dance for the newly debuted young lady. However, as there were no gestures in the imperial palace, the number of articles gradually began to increase, and now they poured in indiscriminately. But, since there was too little related information, most of the articles were just fiction.

[An attractive young lady who caught the eyes of His Majesty the Emperor, who lived in disappointment.]

[His Majesty, who had been watching throughout the Debutante Ball, summoned his courage and applied for a dance on the last day.]

This and that was said in the articles. Philomel read the articles with piercing eyes. Jeremiah, who was seated across from her, cleared his throat.

“Don’t worry too much. He can’t live his whole life honoring his dead wife. You must have a complicated feeling, but that’s how people live.”

“Jeremiah, I don’t know what you’re mistaken about, but I’m not a girl who gets depressed about her dad’s remarriage.”

Le Guin agreed.

“Yes. Besides, that unscrupulous fellow still considers himself to be Phil’s father, so how can he see a girl of his daughter’s age as a woman?”

“Not even that.”

Philomel walked to the window and looked out at the scenery outside. She never imagined that just a single ring of hers that had been forcefully taken from her, would make such a mess.

‘Ah, I don’t know. Let it be.’

But now at least Roseanne had nothing to do with Philomel.

‘Even the Emperor said to forget about the ring, so I can forget about it…’

One good thing about this whole mess was that the news of her Emperor’s new lover kept everyone busy, so the gossip about Philomel died down.