Chapter 39
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: No Place for the Fake
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Philomel retraced her steps back through the palace after the visit.
'Can I really trust what Katrin said?'
Even though she was her birth mother, Philomel couldn't fully bring herself to trust her. After all, this was the woman who had kidnapped her friend's child.
'What if it's some ploy to lighten her sentence, even just a little...?'
But she couldn't see what Katrin would gain from telling such a lie.
In the book, Katrin calmly accepted her death once Ellensia returned to her rightful place. There was even a description saying that Katrin wasn't inherently evil—she had simply been consumed by jealousy.
Perhaps Philomel's actions, which deviated from the original story, had caused some kind of change.
'Or maybe Katrin's words have some solid basis...'
Philomel soon realized she desperately wanted to believe Katrin, and the thought left her feeling hollow.
'Damn this blood tie nonsense.'
Philomel lightly patted her cheeks with both hands.
"Get a grip. Don't let some casual words drag you in too deep."
Setting the book's contents aside and looking at the situation objectively, the conclusion was obvious.
Katrin, who had kidnapped Ellensia at the moment her friend died, versus the kind Ellensia, who had grown up abused under her kidnapper.
It didn't make sense to trust Katrin in this scenario.
There was no need to feel pity for her. Even though Katrin was her birth mother, they hadn't spent much time face-to-face, and they were practically strangers to each other.
On the other hand, everyone knew Ellensia was kind...
'Huh?'
A sudden, intense sense of dissonance welled up inside her.
"...Why do I just assume Ellensia is kind?"
If Katrin was a stranger to her, then so was Ellensia.
She hadn't known either of them for long, and the number of times they'd even spoken could be counted on one hand. So why had she believed Ellensia was kind?
The answer was simple.
Because the book said so.
Because it was written that way in Princess Ellensia, the guiding light and compass of Philomel's life ever since she was nine!
With that realization, Philomel arrived at a fundamental question.
'Can I completely trust Princess Ellensia?'
It was a question she had consciously or unconsciously avoided asking.
In truth, there had been more than a few suspicious things about it all along.
Unlike the prophetic books rumored in society, it took the form of a novel.
It had been lying there in the garden like it was meant for someone to find.
When she first picked it up, she had been too overwhelmed by its contents to think deeply about it. But as she grew older, her suspicions about the book only deepened.
They were questions she had buried away because she had no way to resolve them at the time.
And from the start, it was a book that wouldn't burn even if she tried to set it ablaze. Nothing was as suspicious as that book.
Her breath caught in her throat. It felt like the solid ground beneath her feet had suddenly given way.
Philomel hurried back to her chambers as if being chased by something.
"Meow."
Lady Deless and the maids were nowhere to be seen, probably out on errands. Only the cat greeted her.
She wanted to reread the book to confirm, but she had left it at the inn when she departed Angelium.
She had read it countless times and knew its contents inside out, but the creeping anxiety wouldn't fade.
What if there were hints she had glossed over? What if there were subtexts she hadn't grasped?
Until now, that book had told her the future, allowing her to feel a sliver of ease amid a life with no one to rely on.
But without it, she felt like a flimsy single-masted boat tossed into a stormy sea.
It was like anxiety manifesting physically, regardless of whether she trusted the book or not.
Philomel chewed anxiously on her lower lip.
"I need to go get the book!"
The moment she made up her mind, she headed for the door. It had only been two days since she left the inn, so there was a high chance they still had her belongings.
She planned to ask Emperor Justis to send her to Angelium.
'He'll probably assign guards, but if I agree to stay here for the next three months, he'll let me go.'
Right now, the most important thing was whether the book she had believed to be truth for nearly half her life was real or not.
And if...
If Princess Ellensia truly wasn't a prophetic book...
'Then what the hell am I...'
A wave of dizziness hit her, making her stumble mid-step. She thought she was about to pitch forward when...
"Whoa there. You okay?"
Someone's arm caught her waist, steadying her. At the same time, an unusually brilliant golden light caught her eye.
Philomel voiced the man's name aloud.
"...R, Rguin?"
The man replied calmly.
"That's right. Rguin it is."
"H-how are you here?"
Philomel pulled away from Rguin's arm in shock and backed up quickly.
"The imperial palace blocks teleportation magic..."
Unauthorized magic use was impossible in the palace due to the magic suppression barrier.
It was a semi-permanent divine power granted by the sun god for the sake of the first emperor, his beloved child.
So how was Rguin, who should be at the Magic Tower, here inside it!
"Who do you think I am? There's no magic in this world I can't unravel."
Rguin replied with an arrogant smile.
"Besides, we've been together since last night."
He spoke to her familiarly.
"When were we together? Don't talk nonsense."
"That's harsh. You told me to wait quietly before you left, so I stayed put over there even though it was boring."
Rguin pointed to a purple cushion in the corner. It was the one he had given the cat that morning, thinking the floor might be too hard.
The silver-furred cat had claimed the cushion as if it understood her words.
'Wait, silver?'
The man in front of her also had silver hair.
Come to think of it, the cat's eyes were the exact same golden...
"...No way. You're that cat?"
Philomel stammered.
"Bingo."
Rguin nodded lightly.
"Liar!"
"Not lying. Want me to transform?"
When Philomel didn't buy it, Rguin snorted, and with a poof, the familiar cat appeared.
"Meooow."
The cat meowed proudly, as if to say it really was him, in the exact adorable pose that had stolen her heart just yesterday.
Poof!
The man reappeared.
"See? I was going to reveal myself when you were alone, but that countess lady or whatever kept hanging around, so I had to wait and it drove me nuts."
"..."
"And I didn't want to wake you when you were sleeping so soundly. Oh, and before that, I was eyeing a chance when you were in the central palace, but the divine power there was too strong—I didn't want to get close."
"...Out."
"What?"
"Get out right now!"
He deftly dodged the cushion she hurled at him.
Philomel trembled with rage.
She had been deceived. She had adored that cat so much.
'I was even thinking of adopting it if the owner never showed up!'
She had secretly pondered what name to give it.
After that, it took another thirty minutes or so for Philomel to calm her excitement enough.
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A moment later.
Philomel admitted to herself that she needed to talk with her visiting birth father and put off kicking him out for the time being.
"Why are you sitting so far away?"
But deciding something and feeling it were two different things.
Philomel turned her head coldly at Rguin's question and replied.
"Sorry, but stay over there."
"...What did I even do?"
"It's just how I feel."
The two sat at opposite ends of the long sofa, carrying on an awkward conversation.
"Don't you like cats? They're cute."
"I like cats fine. Real ones, that is."
"But cuteness is all about the exterior, right? As long as it looks cute, that's what matters. Your standards are tough."
By Philomel's common sense, his standards were the tough ones.
A full-grown adult man meowing like a cat and rubbing against her legs?
'What a shameless pervert!'
And not just any adult—the Tower Master, no less.
Philomel's firm belief was that leaders of great organizations should exude a heavy air of dignity.
Rguin grumbled, slouched back with his feet propped on the table.
"That Lexion kid said you'd like cats... I'll deal with him later."
She hadn't noticed it at first glance because she was distracted, but no matter how she looked at him, he didn't seem like an upstanding person.
On the other hand, she also felt a sense of relief. Thank goodness she hadn't rubbed up against the cat or kissed it yet.
'I was actually planning to do it after giving it a bath.'
If the truth had come out even a little later, Philomel might have lost the will to live.