There Is No Place For Fakes

After Cardin was released from the clutches of his evil father, Lexion asked him.

“So, how do you feel?”

“Uh, yeah. It was pretty good. It tasted like lemonade.”

Cardin spoke, regaining his appetite.

“Not just the taste, but the effect.”

“Well… it feels like my head is clearing up…”

“37 times 9?”

“333?”

“Definitely got smarter. Looks like our hypothesis was correct.”

Lexion replied firmly, but even after confirming the hypothesis, the problem remained. How did Ellencia get this medicine? Why does Estilleon feel present in this medicine?

But at this point, no one could answer those questions.

‘It’s frustrating.’

In fact, Philomel had not been idle during this time either. On the day of her debutante ball, she formulated a hypothesis while watching Ellencia, who’s middle name suddenly was different from the book.

‘The current Ellencia’s soul may be different from the Ellencia in the book.’

The first thing that came to mind was possession by a demon.

Philomel obtained holy water used by the actual priests who used it to exorcize demons. And when Philomel was invited to a dinner with the Emperor and Ellensia, like last time…

“Ooh, it’s cold!”

She lightly sprinkled the distilled holy water she had poured into a glass on the back of Ellencia’s head.

It was a predetermined ritual.

In Philomel ‘s heart, she wanted to ask Emily to do it, but she abandoned the idea, thinking that if a maid did it, it would cause a big fuss.

It was a small amount, but Ellencia naturally noticed it.

That was when Elenicia turned to Philomel, who had been talking to the Emperor all this time.

Philomel made a preemptive strike before Elenicia could criticize her.

“Oh my! Your Highness, I’m sorry! My hand slipped and water sprinkled out.”

“… How do you slip and end up sprinkling it on my head?”

Ellenicia asked with a frown.

“I’m really sorry.”

Philomel shamelessly left the room.

Philomel’s fear of Ellencia was greatly diluted after Le Guin cast an automatic defense spell on her.

“Philomel, you…”

At that moment, Eustis opened his mouth and opposed Ellencia.

“Ellencia. Didn’t Philomel apologize for her mistake?”

“Dad!”

“That’s enough now.”

Although Ellencia felt unjust, she remained silent.

In conclusion, Philomel’s assumption that Ellencia was possessed by a demon was unfounded. It was actually an unreasonable assumption to begin with. 

Ellencia was capable of handling Divine Power. She had even demonstrated it in front of people on her debut day. How could she handle sacred power if she was possessed by a demon?

However, the fact that Philomel was even trying to explore the possibility of the book’s authenticity, to the point of trying a faint possibility, was evidence that they had hit a dead end.

While everyone was deep in thought, Le Guin picked up the empty bottle.

“I’ll take this to the Magician’s Tower and investigate it.”

“But the potion is gone, is there anything to investigate?”

Philemon asked, and Le Guin pointed to the bottle.

“For an ordinary magic potion container, it’s remarkably well-made, don’t you think?”

The glass bottle was shaped like a pretty star.

“Judging from the attention to detail on the exterior, it’s most likely be a high-end product. If we investigate, we might find out where it’s sold.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Or maybe we need to investigate the composition of the glass bottle itself, like in that book.”

“With book do you mean the one I gave you?”

“Yeah. I wasn’t sure yet, so I hadn’t said anything but… there’s a good chance that the book is composed of a substance that doesn’t exist in this world.”

Lexion expressed his doubts.

“A substance composed of something that doesn’t exist in this world…is that even possible?”

Golden eyes sparkled.

“If it’s from another world, then it’s possible.”

From another world…does such a thing really exist?

Philomel was doubtful, but her three brothers surprisingly didn’t oppose the possibility any further.

They seemed lost in their own thoughts.

“It’s just a hypothesis, but even so, it’s become quite interesting to me. I might discover the power of Estellion in a place like this.”

Le Guin left with that sentence and teleported with a flash of light.

The events of that day became an opportunity for Philomel to think about the possibility of another world.

In addition to uncovering the truth about the book, Philomel’s daily life was filled with various incidents.

And one day, as the season gradually turned to early summer, the imperial court messenger came to Philemon’s residence.

“The gift that His Majesty the Emperor has prepared, is finally completed and has arrived at the Palace. Please come to the lake when you have time.”

“Gift?”

“It’s the gift that the Emperor had promised for your last birthday, Miss Philomel.”

‘Ah, I had completely forgotten.’

Philomel looked at the golden ship minimature decorating a corner of her shelf in the receiving room. Eustis had said he would give her a real ship of the same shape.

“It was still being made, but now it’s complete.”

Honestly, she didn’t need a ship. Philomel didn’t particularly enjoy sailing either. Moreover, if she thought about it, it was a gift she had received when she was an Imperial Princess, so she didn’t feel that great about receiving it now.

Still, since it was a gift, it seemed impolite to refuse without even seeing it once, so Philomel set off on the road.

When she reached the huge lake located inside the palace, the first thing that caught her eye was the magnificent ship.

Indeed, it was an elegant and delicate ship.

Even Philomel, who already knew the shape of the ship as she had a golden minimature of it, couldn’t help but exclaim when she saw it for the first time.

As she shifted her gaze slightly from the ship, she noticed a group of girls.

Young ladies in their outing attire had gathered in front of the pier.

Ellencia, who was at the forefront, was talking to someone.

“Why can’t I ride it?”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. This ship is a gift from His Majesty to Miss Philomel.”

“Why is it? I have the right to ride it too!”

Just hearing Ellencia’s voice gave Philomel a headache.

Lexion appeared next to Philomel, who was pretending not to notice Philomel and turning his feet slightly. The two moved to a less inconspicuous place not too far away from the lake.

“Lexion, what brings you here?”

“I came to see the completed ship that arrived.”

“Do you have an interest in the ship too?”

“Of course, I participated in the construction as well.”

“You also build ships?”

“To be precise, I designed the magic spells that are attached to the ship. This ship is also a kind of magical tool.”

“I see.”

Philomel nodded her head and looked up at Lexion.

“But I thought managing magical tools was your job. I didn’t know you were involved in construction.”

“It was a commission that involved a large amount of money, so I agreed.”

Looks like Eustis spent some money.

But when Philomel lowered her eyes, Lexion said quietly,

“It wasn’t made hastily, but if I had known you were the owner, I would have put in more effort.”

“It’s okay. I appreciate your intentions.”

“Are you really not going to ride it?”

“I’m thinking of returning it.”

“The boat I made? You’ve never even ridden it? I would love for you to try it at least once, Phil.”

She felt bad saying no when he was asking so earnestly.

“Okay, I’ll try it out for now.”

Eventually, Philomel moved towards the dock under Lexion’s gaze.

Seeing Philomel who couldn’t even face Princess Ellencia, the latter had second thoughts.

“So, Your Highness, this boat belongs to Philomel. I can’t just let you ride on it without her permission.”

Ellencia retorted, “But this boat was a gift from my father to Philomel when she was still a Princess. So, it was a gift to his daughter, not just to Philomel. Now that I am the Princess, it’s no different than being mine.”

She had her own logic, which in some ways was correct.

The three attendants behind Ellencia also gave Philomel unfriendly looks.

It seemed like she had invited all three high-ranking nobles, but for various reasons, Philomel had never been close to them.

Ellencia looked at Philomel confidently. “What do you think? Am I wrong? If I am wrong, tell me. I’ll listen.”

Philomel felt a strong annoyance rising.

IShe didn’t want to start a fight with Ellencia at the door of the ship over the truth of an open book. 

But, Lexion had expressed his wish for Philomel to ride on the ship at least once, and besides he didn’t say she had to own it too. So Philomel spoke up. “I’m fine with it, so Princess Ellencia can have this ship.” 

Ellencia looked stunned. “Really?” 

“Yes.” 

“I can have it?” 

“Sure.” 

Even though Ellencia received the ship that she wanted, she didn’t seem happy about it. Instead, her hand holding the handle shook as if she was angry. 

‘She’s really weird.’ 

One thing for sure is that Elensia, who only smiled mysteriously when they first met, is now capable of showing negative emotions. 

Ellencia changed her attitude to that of the bright and loveable Princess and said enthusiastically, “Great! Since Philomel is okay with it, I’ll be the first one to board this ship. Is that okay?” 

“As you wish your Highness.” 

Huffing, Ellencia passed by Philomel and was the first to board the ship, followed by the girls.

As the boat moved with the help of magic, there was no need for people to row.

The person, who was next to Philomel, kept muttering, “It’s not working, why is it not working…?” 

But he couldn’t actively dissuade the princess’s entourage.

Philomel just watched the scene absentmindedly.

“I’ll ask to ride later. Well, if they say no, I’ll sneak in.”

But the moment the last noble Lady boarded the boat…

Wheeeeng, wheeeeng!

Suddenly, an ear screeching warning sound was heard and the boat started to jolt and shake.