There Is No Place For Fakes

“Aaah!”

“What’s going on!”

Passengers screamed as they held onto the facilities on the ship.

Splash!

However, the boat completely tilted, and everyone on board fell into the water.

People nearby went wild.

“Your Highness!”

“Are you okay?”

Ellencia floundered in the water.

“Help me! Save me!”

But her rescue request stopped abruptly when she realized that the depth of the water only reached her up to her waist.

The other attendants who fell together managed to walk to the shore on their own.

The Palace lake was designed to deepen from the edges to the center to prevent accidents. It was natural that the location of the pier was shallow.

However, since it was the Princess who fell into the water, people were in a state of confusion. Taking advantage of the commotion, Lexion approached Philomel.

Without even turning around, Philomel asked him, “What happened?”

“It’s a safety feature. If someone tries to ride the boat without being its designated owner, the boat is designed to tip over,” Lexion explained.

The pleasure boat that had plunged Ellencia and her party into the water returned to its original state, with no passengers in sight.

“…So you knew this would happen?” She asked.

“I didn’t think Phil would like to ride with the Princess, and the Princess seemed determined to ride with her own companions, so I only anticipated this might happen,” Lexion replied nonchalantly.

“Why didn’t you warn us beforehand?”

“The instructions were surely included with the boat. Only those who didn’t read them would end up in that situation. Besides…it’s fun,” he said, flashing a foxy smile.

Ellencia ended up being carried away to her own palace, looking like a wet rat. Later it was heard that she was moaning in pain before being exposed as a fraud by the court physician who was brought by the emperor. When Philomel asked Lexion if she could change the ownership of the boat to someone else, she received the answer that it was impossible. Frustrated, she decided to just keep the ship for herself, thinking that she would buy a house by the lake later on.

For now, she had no choice but to keep it in the palace lake. One person however, felt a deep sense of crisis after hearing about the gift that the Emperor gave to Philomel, it was Le Guin. Moreover, he also recently found out about the properties that the Emperor had given to Philomel.

If it was money, he had plenty of it. But he didn’t think that giving money would make him any different from the Emperor. After thinking for a while, Le Guin rummaged through his pockets.

A little later, he approached Philomel, who was sitting at her desk reading the newspaper.

“Phil, look at this.”

He handed her a book that looked old and had a black cover.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a magic book designated as a Golden Book. Wasn’t it your birthday a while ago? It’s my gift to you.”

Philomel waved her hand.

“It’s okay. I’m not a wizard, so what’s the use of me having it? And being designated as a Golden Book, doesn’t that mean not to look at it carelessly?”

Le Guin held the book close to Philomel.

“No, it’s very useful. Even if you’re not a wizard, with just this book, you can easily cast cursed magic.”

“I don’t really want to curse anyone.”

But it did sound intriguing, at least until she heard the next part.

“However, the person who cast the curse also pays a price for it.”

“Then what’s the point?”

“Usually, curses are something that requires a certain ritual. Even if it harms me, I wouldn’t try to harm others.”

“Okay then.”

Jeremiah, who had been watching them, intervened.

“When I asked to borrow that book for my research, you said you had lost it.”

Le Guin responded casually.

“Did I say that? I guess I was too lazy to get it for you.”

Jeremiah frowned, but Le Guin ignored him and put the book back in his pocket.

“How did it fit in there? Did you cast some magic array on your pocket?”

As Philomel looked curiously at his pocket, Le Guin pulled out another item.

“Ta-da! How about this? It’s called Ginseng. You can eat it.”

Even Philomel knew what Ginseng was. The stem and leaves were relatively ordinary, but the roots were shaped like small human figures.

“What do you think… Ugh, it’s kind of creepy.”

Although it was a precious plant with various effects, it didn’t look inviting or delicious.

Le Guin proudly explained.

“This isn’t just any Ginseng. It’s the Ginseng that didn’t scream when the roots were pulled out. That’s why it’s called the silent Ginseng.”

Come to think of it, it was said that a Ginseng screamed terribly while the roots were being pulled out. Some people even lost their lives from it… Ugh.

“It’s better if it doesn’t scream, right?”

“Of course. It’s not well known, but the silent Ginseng is a great ingredient for a panacea that can cure any disease. When Ginseng root screams, many good ingredients are lost.”

“……Uh, I see.

“Is this also not good enough?”

“It’s amazing, but it’s just that…something feels off about all the gifts you’re trying to give me.”

After that, Le Guin presented several more items as gifts. But for someone like Philomel who couldn’t feel happy receiving gifts like that, they were just strange items.

Le Guin scratched his head and said he would find something else before disappearing to look for more things.

Philomel said to Jeremiah, who was sharpening his sword, “It seems that Le Guin has a lot of rare things.”

“If you consider their value, they’re tremendous. There are also many things that you can’t even buy with money.”

‘Wouldn’t it be better to receive them first and then sell them?’

Still, if they were such valuable things, it seemed better to go to someone who could use them more than Philomel.

Jeremiah said indifferently, “If it’s good for me, I think it’s good for others too.”

“I see.”

‘He thought of me in his own way.’

A warm breeze blew in Philomel’s heart.

When she first met Le Guin, she only thought of him as the worst, but as she got to know him, she found that he had good sides as well.

He wasn’t regarded as much like a father, but she felt a little bit of familiarity with him.

Until recently, she thought she had to get closer to him because he had helped her before, but now she doesn’t pay as much attention to him as she used to.

Maybe it’s because Le Guin has been in the form of a cat for a long time. It also seemed to be because of his childish personality.

Sometimes, Philomel herself wondered, ‘Am I not paying enough attention?’

She decided to treat Le Guin better.

‘Even if I don’t like the next gift, I’ll pretend to be happy!’

But Philomel’s resolution didn’t last long. That’s because Le Guin returned with a giant egg and presented it to her as a gift.

“It’s a dragon egg. I got one from a Dragon’s lair.”

“Really? Did you get permission?”

Le Guin answered nonchalantly in front of Philomel, who was surprised with her mouth agape.

“No. Did I need permission?”

“You’re bringing a dragon’s eggs without its permission? Return it right away!”

“Don’t you want to raise a dragon?”

“I don’t! Besides, how can a human raise a dragon?”

(Aoko: I would love to raise a dragon, you’re so lucky Phil T-T) 

“You like cats.”

Jeremiah shouted, poking his forehead from the side.

“Are cats and dragons the same? Go return the egg!” 

Le Guin went to return the dragon egg, and the Empire avoided the Wrath of a powerful dragon by a hair.

Philomel clarified that getting closer to Le Guin was something she needed to think about. However, other people soon appeared who also wanted to give Philomel a gift.

One day, Lady Melinda and her friends visited the Southern Palace to enjoy a cup of tea with Philomel. All three of them were people who had shown an interest in Philomel since she was a Princess.

While drinking tea at Southern Palace, Melinda brought up the gift she wanted to give Philomel. Lady Etwal and Lady Gordreap also expressed the same wish. The reason why these young ladies were so cautious to bring their gifts right away, was that Philomel had run away on her birthday when they originally planned to give her the gifts.

“I was worried that giving Miss Philomel the gift will remind her of that time,” they thought, considerate of Philomel’s feelings.

The conversation was filled with ordinary topics, and Philomel’s heart felt warm.

‘I thought all the human relationships I made while living as a Princess were just mere illusions…but they and Countess Delles, and even the Emperor… were all genuinely thinking of me.’

‘If I hadn’t returned to the palace, I would never have known the story until the end. Until the moment of leaving here, I wanted to continue a good relationship with them.’

 Philomel smiled brightly and replied to the young noble ladies, 

“Thank you, I appreciate your concerns for me.. But if those things were prepared as gifts for the Imperial Princess, they must be very expensive, is it okay to give them to me?” 

Melinda shouted, “Of course! I’ll bring them next time I visit.” 

Other people added a word each, “Me too! May I tell the other noble Ladies too, who wish to give you their gifts?”

“If more people come, it will turn into a birthday party.” 

“A birthday party.” Philomel had a good idea from those words. It would be actually the first birthday of Philomel as just Philomel, not as the Imperial Princess Philomel. 

Although the real birthday had passed a long time ago, it didn’t matter. The day she chooses is her birthday. Philomel said spontaneously, 

“Then I will officially invite you and the other noble ladies to my birthday party. Of course, I have to treat them since they’re giving me gifts. If anyone else wants to attend, please let me know by a letter.” 

And so, Philomel’s belated birthday party was held.