There Is No Place For Fakes

But when Philomel reached the Emperor’s office, she heard loud voices from inside.

“…Then why are you leaving that woman alone!”

It was Ellencia’s voice.

“It’s because I don’t care about her.”

And, of course, the other party was Eustis.

“But you know how she ruined my first tea party!”

“I’ve heard. Since it’s just a tea party, let it be held again. Don’t worry. She’ll pay dearly for upsetting you.”

“I want you to get her out of my sight right now! And why did you ask her to dance?”

“Like I said several times; I didn’t.”

“I don’t know! I’m so sorry for my dad!”

Suddenly, the door opened. Philomel met Ellencia’s eyes as she left Eustis’ office.

“…Greetings Your Highness the Princess.”

Philomel was taken aback, but didn’t show it and greeted Ellencia. However, unlike usual, Ellencia glanced past Philomel without saying anything. Her face was full of anger as she passed by.

Philomel stepped into Eustis’ office. The Emperor, who was sitting at the desk, somehow looked a little tired.

“Welcome. Do you have something to do with me?”

“Yes, I… Unfortunately, I accidentally broke the national treasure-level pottery in the State Guest House.”

Philomel spoke her words cautiously.

“Which porcelain?”

“A gift from Elita, a porcelain with His Majesty’s face drawn on the surface.”

As expected, Eustis didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Ah, that’s okay. I didn’t want to see it, so I intentionally left it in the southern palace.”

“Is there any particular reason you don’t want to see it?”

“I hate my face.”

Why did he hate that handsome face? Well, in any case, it wasn’t a problem for Philomel to worry about.

“Thank you for your generosity.”

Philomel reported the matter she came for, so she was about to leave when Eustis called for her. 

“Wait a moment.”

Eustis called Philomel over and pulled a wad of paper from his desk drawer.

“Just in time, you have business. Come and see this.”

“…yes, yes.”

Philomel looked at him bewildered and took the papers from him. Looking closely, it was a property list. The capital’s mansion, villas located in each province, mines, gold bars, land, and art were listed.

“What is this?”

“It’s yours.”

“Is it mine?”

“Yes. You can leave the management to someone else, but it would be better for you to familiarize yourself roughly with what is there.”

philomel, who understood the meaning after a while, exclaimed in surprise.

“I can’t take it! How much is all this!”

“It is not given without reason. Aren’t you the benefactor who brought Ellencia back to me? What you did is of great importance, and shouldn’t be looked down upon.”

No matter how the Emperor’s daughter was found, this scale of rewards is still too much. Besides, Philomel was certain that everyone would point fingers at her when it became known that she was inheriting so much.

“Above all, isn’t this the property of the imperial family? Please give it to other people rather than me.”

“It’s my private property.”

Looking closely at the list, it seemed like that too. Philomel resolutely set the wad of paper down on the desk. Even if this was a worthy reward for a benefactor who found the Emperor’s daughter, she did not deserve it. Philomel did not bring Ellencia with good intentions. Anyway, she just thought that if Ellencia appeared earlier than in the book, it would create an environment where it was easy for Philomel to escape by controlling the timing and form.

‘If it was really with good intentions, I would have shown <Princess Ellencia> to this person at the age of nine and informed him of the existence of his biological daughter…’

Therefore, this was too much of an award. If she accepted it, it would be a burden on Philomel’s heart for the rest of her life. Maybe she couldn’t leave if Eustis told her not to leave. Philomel decided that she would not accept the Emperor’s gift. That she would not accept, she intended to declare it proudly. She was sure she was going to say…

Philomel’s hand held the pen on the desk against her will. After seriously thinking through the list, she scribbled out a few items with her pen. Then she showed the result to the Emperor.

“There are too many others… Shall I take only this?”

Yes. It was a gift too precious to just refuse. Eustis looked over the list and took the pen from Philomel’s hand. He marked beside several of the items that were hanging down.

“It’s too little, so take at least this much.”

“No, no, this is too much. Especially never these. Oh, this one too.”

Philomel again snatched the pen from Eustis and marked the middle item.

“No. I can never take this off.”

This time, Eustis took the pen again.

“You really can’t.”

The pen passed again into Philomel’s hand.

“What are you going to do with just that?”

Then it returned to Eustis.

For a long time, the two of them exchanged pens and finally found a compromise. Philomel read the list and couldn’t help the twitch as she tried to go up.

‘I’m already rich with this! From now on, even if I don’t work, I can play, eat, and live comfortably for the rest of my life!

Even if she did not work at all in the future, she had enough wealth to play, eat and live comfortably for the rest of her life. It was too much money for her to ignore.

The Emperor disapproved until the end, but when Philomel insisted, he gave way to her wishes.

‘With this amount, I can protect my conscience and gain wealth!’

Philomel sighed in delight. In this case, it was helpful that her conscience was not too firm. Didn’t she gain, after all, a great fortune thanks to a little compromise with her conscience? Philomel looked over the rest of the papers Eustis had given her with proud eyes. It was a document with detailed descriptions of each asset.

“Uh?”

However, the hand that was handing over the papers stopped. A piece of disparate paper was sandwiched between the documents. It was now that she started with the words ‘Dear Father’. It was the letter she had left to Eustis before running away.

“Why is this here?”

Judging by the remaining crumpled marks, it seemed that the letter was once crumpled and then straightened again by being pressed against something hard.

“Come here.”

At that moment, the Emperor reached out and took away the letter Philomel was holding. A look of bewilderment was evident on his face.

“Looks like it’s mixed in the stack of papers. Never mind.”

Philomel asked in a slightly hushed voice.

“Why do you still have it?? Just tear it up.”

Philomel was embarrassed by the very existence of the letter. There were also points where she wrote lies that she did not even have in her heart, such as saying that she would help the Empire and repay his favor. She wanted to erase it.

‘What am I saying?’

Hey, a person would live happily ever after with his real daughter. Isn’t that already a great help to the Empire?

Eustis paused for a moment before answering Philomel’s question.

“But isn’t this the first letter you wrote to me?

Philomel blinked her eyes.

“Huh? Is it?”

After all, until she ran away, they were seeing each other at least once or twice a week, and she didn’t have to send a letter. Awkwardness hung in the air. It’s the first letter she wrote, so he’s keeping it, it’s like…

Eustis fixed her gaze on Philomel. It looked like he had made a big decision.

“Philomel, I have a confession to make to you.” he spoke with difficulty. “I should have said it right away, but I was too scared to do it. Actually, I…”

Bang bang bang!

Words were cut off by a loud knock on the door.

“Daddy, daddy!”

It was Ellencia’s voice.

“Dad! I’m sorry I was rude earlier. I’m here to apologize!”

Eustis let out a weak sigh and looked at Philomel. And she nodded his head in agreement. She didn’t know what he was trying to say, but it didn’t seem like it would come out of this atmosphere.

“Come in.”

When permission was given, the door opened and Ellencia stuck her head out.

“I knocked as my father said. Did I do well?”

Seeing Philomel, Ellencia said “What?” and tilted her head.

“Philomel, you’re still here.”

“Yes. Our meeting has become longer than I thought. Since it has just ended, I will leave, Your Majesty…”

Philomel greeted Eustis.

“…okay. See you later.”

The Emperor accepted the greeting with a face that seemed to have a lot to say.