Chapter 26
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: No Place for the Fake
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Philomel returned to her lodging in Angelium from the Magic Tower and lay down on the rickety bed. It was well past lunchtime, but she had no appetite.
A jumble of thoughts swirled in her mind. Her birth father, the experiment, the failed creation, her brother, the wanted posters, escape...
Philomel closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep as if fleeing from reality.
Hunger finally woke her from her deep slumber.
She checked the clock—it was already dinnertime. She had slept straight through lunch.
"I'm hungry..."
Gurgle. Even in her sorrow, hunger arrived right on cue.
Philomel dragged her heavy body upright. If she wanted to keep going with this life, she needed to put something in her stomach.
She went down to the inn's dining hall and ate some warm bread and soup. A bit of energy returned. Her mind started turning again, too.
A child born from an experiment.
The story of her birth, heard for the first time, was shocking. Who would have thought that 'Philomel,' a mere villainous side character in the novel, had such a backstory?
Now that she knew the circumstances, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
A woman chased out of the imperial palace and sent back to her hometown. A promising male mage.
She hadn't understood how those two had gotten involved, but it turned out they were experimenter and subject.
Moreover, the novel's early descriptions of Ellensia's childhood showed no signs of struggling with poverty.
A few days ago, she'd seen their living conditions firsthand, and they were decent. Neither Katrin nor Ellensia had to work for a living.
Katrin's compensation from participating in the experiment explained all the mysteries.
Until now, Philomel had assumed Katrin's parents, who hadn't fully cut her off despite everything, were sending money out of pity for their daughter's situation.
"Haa..."
She didn't particularly wish her birth parents had been desperately in love or anything. Still, learning she was an existence born purely out of necessity left her feeling strange.
Neither Katrin nor Tower Master Rguin wanted her. Unlike Ellensia, who was loved by all, even her birth parents' affection had been denied to her.
She felt lost about what to do next.
Rationally, accepting Lexion's offer made the most sense. She was reluctant to live under the same roof as Rguin, but the Magic Tower as a home was tempting.
The tower was massive, so if she avoided Rguin, she might never run into him.
In truth, even if she stuck to her original plan and fled abroad, she had no clear path to survival.
She'd thought about using the knowledge she'd learned as heir to become a teacher. 'Being a tutor for a noble family wouldn't be bad.' She'd vaguely pictured her future like that.
But the search for Philomel was more thorough than expected.
'At this rate, getting a false identity or boarding a ship to another country won't be easy.'
Even if she made it abroad safely, she'd have to live in constant fear, hiding her true identity.
'When will Emperor Justis finally give up looking for me?'
She hoped he'd get so wrapped up in the joy of reuniting with his real daughter that he'd completely forget about Philomel.
Even as she wished for it, imagining the father and daughter in their warm reunion made her fingertips grow cold.
Philomel rubbed her hands together for warmth and suddenly glanced at the Ring of Crimson Flame.
"I need to return this soon, too..."
But she couldn't give up the ring until she was completely safe. Besides, the light inside the gem had clearly dimmed since the beginning.
It was only a matter of time before the divine power embedded in the ring ran out.
The ring was an item made across generations for the emperor and his heirs. Beyond the function Philomel had used, it also had defensive magic and detoxification abilities, or so she'd heard.
In the event of a great crisis threatening the wearer's life, it protected them.
The current emperor was so powerful himself that he didn't wear it, but Philomel had kept it on ever since receiving it.
Only the divine power of the sun god possessed by the Belleroph Empire's imperial family could fuel the ring. So unless she luckily ran into an imperial who wanted to help her, continuing to use it was impossible.
Philomel left most of her meal behind, stood up, and asked the innkeeper for directions.
"Excuse me. Is there a famous magic tool shop around here?"
She got a rough location, left the dining hall, and walked the darkening streets.
First, she'd look for something to replace the ring. She'd figure out the rest step by step.
'It's fine. I've always been alone from the start. Nothing's changed.'
She could handle things on her own, just like before. She had to.
Even amid the crowd of passersby, Philomel felt lonely as she consciously repeated it to herself.
Rozanne was the treasured daughter of Viscount Manon, known for her confident personality and pretty looks.
But she preferred introducing herself as the illegitimate daughter of Duchess Muriel rather than Lady Manon.
House Manon was a renowned family in Saint Jen, but it was still just provincial nobility. They had no mansion in the capital and couldn't even set foot in the central nobility's social circles.
In contrast, the prestigious name of Duke Muriel's house in the capital was more than enough to satisfy her vanity.
But her pathetic situation of not even being able to properly declare her status was over as of today.
Her father, Viscount Manon, had finally established a foothold in central politics after tremendous effort.
In a few days, they would move into the expensive house he'd bought in the capital.
Rozanne's glamorous life in the capital's social scene was about to begin.
She'd been busy lately with preparations. To avoid being looked down on by the haughty noble ladies of the capital, she needed meticulous planning.
That was why she'd personally come all the way to Angelium, the empire's frontier.
"I don't like any of these. Bring others."
At Rozanne's words, the shop assistant hurried to the back of the store.
"Miss, they all look beautiful to me. Oh! Look at that sparkle."
Rozanne's maids were engrossed in admiring the hairpins on display.
Rozanne snapped at them.
"What do you know without any taste? Shut up and hold my dress so it doesn't drag on the floor."
The two maids clamped their mouths shut and focused on the hem of her dress again.
A while ago, Rozanne had gotten word from her cousin, Lady Muriel of Duke Muriel's house, that decorating necklaces and bracelets with enchanted hairpins was the latest trend in central social circles.
It was only natural for Rozanne, who couldn't stand anything less than the best for herself, to come to Angelium.
Saint Jen had magic tool shops too, but they couldn't compare to Angelium's—the city of magic—in variety or reliability.
One thing she didn't like, though...
Rozanne glared at the woman across the shop.
A woman in commoner clothes was asking another assistant something.
The assistant explained apologetically.
"I'm sorry, but disguise magic tools or aura-concealing ones require national permission to sell. They could be abused for crimes."
The woman didn't seem to find what she wanted but lingered in the shop.
'Having to shop in the same place as a commoner!'
Rozanne's mood soured.
Angelium had been recognized as a city due to its proximity to the Magic Tower, but its size was somewhere between a large village and a full city.
As such, there were no high-end shops that served only nobles or separated commoner areas.
And judging by her looking for such suspicious magic tools, that woman was clearly no good.
Rozanne examined the woman's face closely. It was so plain she'd forget it the moment she turned away. Her interest vanished in an instant.
"Milady! I've brought other hairpins."
As the assistant returned, Rozanne was about to refocus when a brilliant red gleam caught her eye. It was the ring on the commoner woman's finger.
A gem collector herself, Rozanne could tell.
The gem's luster was different from ruby or garnet, but it didn't look like cheap imitation either. It was no item for a commoner to possess.
'She must have stolen it.'
Thieves targeting nobles' valuables were always a huge headache.
They were the type Rozanne despised most—lowly things who didn't know their place and coveted what was above them.
Ignoring whether her dress dragged or not, Rozanne strode over and grabbed the woman's hand.
"Ow! What... what is this?"
The woman winced at the rough grip but responded with refined poise, as if she were nobility herself.
She must think working as a maid in a noble house makes her noble too.
"Girls! Hold her!"
The maids quickly seized the woman's arms and body.
"Let go! At least tell me why..."
"Stay still!"
"No!"
As Rozanne grabbed the ring with her fingers, the woman struggled fiercely, but it wasn't enough to break free.
Soon, the ring slipped off her finger.
Rozanne tucked it safely into her handbag and turned to scold the woman.
"Hm?"
The woman's face, which had seemed vague moments ago, now looked entirely different.
A slender face with slightly upturned eyes and well-proportioned features—it was quite striking. But beyond her beauty, there was a sense of familiarity.
She'd seen it somewhere before. Recently, and frequently.
It made sense. This face was on the newspapers every day and plastered on every wall.
"Phi—Philomel the princess!"
At Rozanne's shout, every gaze in the shop focused on one spot.
"...You've got the wrong person."
The woman ducked her head as if to hide her face, but Rozanne was certain. It was the infamous fraud who'd impersonated the princess for over a decade—the fake princess.
"Hey! Report to the security force now!"
Rozanne berated the dazed assistant, who called the security force.
The woman desperately denied it, looking pitiful.
"Miss! Please let me go! I just look like her—I'm not that woman!"
But Rozanne wasn't one to soften.
"Not her? With that brazen face identical to hers."
"I really just resemble..."
Slap!
Rozanne struck the wicked woman's cheek hard.
"How dare you talk back. Do you still think you're a princess?"
The woman's head whipped to the side, one cheek red, and she fell silent.
"If I had my way, I'd kill you right here, but I'm holding back."
Rozanne's most hated type of person was someone who coveted what was beyond their station. This woman, who'd lived as a princess despite being fake, was the pinnacle of that breed.
She handed the woman over to the security force, who arrived in a flash after hearing she'd caught the fake princess.
She even followed them to the security office and earnestly implored the captain to report that Rozanne Manon had the greatest merit in capturing Philomel to His Majesty the Emperor and the real princess.
She'd wanted to wait until some high official came to escort Philomel so she could report it herself. But seeing the filthy interior of the security office killed that urge.
Rozanne boarded the carriage home in high spirits.
Thanks to that foolish woman, she now had a boast to flaunt in social circles. And this could even lead to building a friendship with the real princess.
Her father, Viscount Manon, had been nagging her to befriend the princess upon entering central society anyway.
"I'm really so lucky."
Rozanne hummed her old favorite refrain.