Chapter 38
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Secret Visit to the Dungeon
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"Normally, this is something that's absolutely not allowed... Please keep this a secret from His Majesty."
Count Polan repeatedly implored her.
"Of course."
Philomel nodded along as she followed Count Polan toward the imperial palace prison. Even so, he still seemed uneasy and let out a heavy sigh.
She had finally coaxed him into leading the way after he threw a fit, insisting that Katrin was a grave criminal and couldn't be visited without the Emperor's permission.
In the process, she had lied out of kindness, saying that after meeting her birth mother and sorting out her feelings, she would positively consider being entered into the family register...
"It's fine. Just make sure you keep everyone's mouths shut."
Philomel gave the Count a somewhat half-hearted reply, but her mind was filled with a single question.
'How is Katrin still alive?'
Her prediction that Katrin would eventually be caught if she ran had come true.
Even Philomel herself, who had the Ring of Crimson Flame and had prepared for escape in advance, had been captured.
The empire's pursuit was that relentless. Still, telling her to flee had been Philomel's final consideration for the mother who had brought her into the world.
There had been a faint hope that Katrin might luckily succeed in escaping, but this outcome was something Philomel had never anticipated.
'She's been caught... and yet she's still alive.'
In the book, Katrin was captured but didn't escape execution.
'Did some variable arise, and Ellensia's pleas sway the Emperor's heart?'
Perhaps Philomel's actions had accelerated everything by a year, creating some unforeseen change.
At that moment, Count Polan pointed ahead.
"There's the imperial palace prison."
A crudely built stone structure came into view, starkly different from the other elegant buildings in the palace. Even the bright spring sunlight wasn't enough to dispel the ominous aura emanating from it.
The gatekeeper standing in front recognized them and bowed.
"Count Polan... and Her Highness the Princess."
Philomel was no longer a princess, but the people here hesitated only briefly before treating her as before.
'Why are they acting so awkwardly?'
Philomel stood awkwardly behind Count Polan with an embarrassed expression.
"We've come to see 'that woman.'"
Count Polan spoke in a low voice.
"You may enter. The guards will guide you."
The gatekeeper opened the door without suspicion. With the Emperor's secretary present, they passed through the strict surveillance unhindered.
Count Polan accompanied her only to the entrance, leaving Philomel to meet Katrin alone.
Not only was he swamped with duties, but Philomel had specifically asked for it that way.
Before he left, Philomel expressed her gratitude.
"It must have been difficult, but thank you for granting my request."
"...Your Highness."
Count Polan gazed at Philomel with serious eyes.
"No matter what anyone says, Your Highness is His Majesty's child and the one I serve. In truth, regardless of His Majesty's will, I wish to continue serving you."
"......"
Philomel stood silently, unable to respond.
Count Polan had been attentive to his lord's daughter even before Emperor Justis took an interest in her.
He might be the adult who had watched over her growth longer than anyone.
"I just wanted to say that much."
With an awkward smile, the Count departed the prison.
"...No, Count. I'm not that man's daughter."
Philomel murmured her belated reply.
"This is the place, Your Highness."
The prison guard led her to Katrin's cell. At Philomel's glance, he quickly retreated the way they came. Now she could speak with Katrin privately for a while.
"Ellensia? Is that you, Ellensia?"
At the sound of footsteps, the woman inside pressed her face to the bars. A clatter echoed through the cell.
"I'm sorry. I'm not the Ellensia you were hoping for."
Philomel stepped closer and replied quietly.
"Phi, Philomel...!"
The woman's face filled with shock, just like the first time she'd seen her.
Philomel sneered coldly.
'To the end, I'm not your daughter.'
Then Katrin, hesitating briefly, reached through the bars. Her fingertips trembled faintly.
"Have you been caught too? But you're safe, right? Thank goodness. Really, thank goodness. Come closer, let me see your face..."
Slap!
Philomel swatted the hand away.
"Don't pretend to care now."
Was it because she'd been caught searching for Ellensia? Katrin cried out in a desperate voice.
"No, don't misunderstand! I didn't expect you to be here. I thought no one but Ellensia would come to see me..."
"Oh, really? Then I'll pretend I believe you."
Philomel shot back sarcastically, then steadied her breathing. She'd reacted too emotionally, which wasn't like her. She already knew what kind of person Katrin was.
The woman, who looked much gaunter than before, couldn't meet Philomel's eyes and stared only at the floor.
"All I feel toward you is regret. I know it's a sin that can never be washed away, no matter how much I atone in this lifetime..."
Katrin murmured in a voice so soft it was barely audible. Philomel watched her quietly.
A wretched appearance.
Hands wrapped in bandages, perhaps from injuries.
Iron shackles on her ankles.
No pity stirred in her.
Kidnapping a princess was a crime deserving death. Ellensia's pleas might have spared her for now, but soon Katrin would face execution as in the book. Philomel had no need to invest her emotions.
"It's fortunate you bought some final time in this life. Since it's time given by your daughter, make the most of it."
"Philomel..."
"I'm leaving this place. I'm going somewhere no one knows me, to live quietly."
Whether such a place existed now that her face was known across the continent was another matter.
"So farewell. I hope you find peace until your very last moment."
Philomel continued calmly.
No matter what emotions she felt now, she sincerely hoped Katrin could feel some solace before her brutal death.
'The woman who gave birth to me but could never be my mother.'
Farewell. Farewell forever.
Katrin's eyes welled with tears as she pleaded.
"Wait! Can't you stay just a little longer? Please? I beg you..."
Perhaps overcome with emotion at the farewell, Philomel found Katrin's suddenly affectionate reach unbearable, revolting even.
"Why? Oh, shall I tell you about the Ellensia you're so curious about?"
A dark flame surged in Philomel's chest.
"Ellensia is doing well. She's playing dice with her real father, cared for by her real mother's nanny. She's living in a grand, luxurious room beyond compare to that shack, enjoying everything she deserves. And she will continue to do so."
As she poured out her words, one question arose.
Why hadn't Ellensia come here yet? Wasn't she worried about her mother?
'Simply because Emperor Justis didn't allow it?'
Katrin replied weakly.
"That's not what I'm curious about with Ellensia."
"Then what is it?"
"...Is Ellensia the same as usual?"
What was that supposed to mean? It was still about Ellensia in the end.
Philomel snorted.
"How would I know how she usually was?"
"Then is Ellensia normal?"
"...Pardon?"
It was an odd question. 'Normal'?
At that moment, an unnatural light flickered in Katrin's eyes. Distrust and anxiety darkened her gaze.
"...Ellensia has changed."
She bit her lip and wailed like a lament.
"She's been strange for the past few months. She's not the Ellensia I knew."
"...Strange how?"
It didn't seem like a lie to deflect the situation. Philomel frowned and asked.
"Everything."
"Specifically?"
Katrin pondered deeply.
"Hmm. Her speech is a bit different, her gait has changed, her appetite is like someone else entirely..."
Then, as if shocked by her own words, she waved her hands frantically.
"No! I misspoke. Ellensia being someone else? Being stuck in a place like this must have messed with my head."
Katrin forced a smile, but to Philomel, she looked like someone terrified of something.
"......"
"......"
For a while, neither spoke. The woman, rubbing her hands together, left her final words.
"Go now. If you're caught lingering here, they might think we're plotting something. And thank you for coming to see me one last time."