Chapter 47
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: No Place for the Fake
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“...Philomel?”
With no response from Philomel, Emperor Justis called her name in an anxious voice.
“...”
Philomel bit her lip, unable to reply.
Thump, thump. Her heart pounded fiercely.
Something was off. She had received his apology, but it didn't feel all that good. And yet, it wasn't bad either.
'What does it matter if he apologizes.'
Nothing would change anyway.
It wasn't entirely Justis's fault. She wasn't his real daughter, after all. He was a victim in this too.
“Don't blame yourself too much, Your Majesty. It doesn't sit well with me if you do.”
Philomel continued in a light, nonchalant tone.
“Sure, back then... I did resent you a little. It's hard to say I don't even now... But looking back, it all seems like a natural course of events.”
“A natural course?”
“Since I'm not your real daughter, it couldn't be helped that you didn't love me.”
“...”
“...”
Silence settled between them.
“...Even knowing you as my own daughter, I left you alone.”
It was a long while before Justis spoke again.
“You must have sensed it instinctively. I don't resemble the late Empress at all.”
“That has nothing to do with it.”
“It does. It's only natural that Your Majesty never grew fond of me.”
“No! It was like that when you were young, but... now I see you as my daughter. You are my daughter.”
'There it is again.'
Philomel sneered inwardly.
Maybe it was time to clear up this misunderstanding once and for all.
“That's just a misconception.”
Her words came out far more resolute than she expected.
“What?”
“It's just affection born from the time we've spent together. But it's not the love a father has for his daughter.”
Philomel was certain of it.
It wasn't love. He had simply been conditioned by her efforts to win his favor.
'He's mistaking it for love.'
Because she had read how this man treated “Philomel” in Princess Ellensia.
Though she was starting to doubt the book's authenticity a bit now.
“My feelings are a misconception...?”
Justis muttered, looking shocked.
Seeing how confused he seemed, Philomel softened her tone to reassure him.
“Now that Ellensia is by your side, you'll gradually come to understand what a real daughter is like—what family truly means.”
Of course, not all blood families lived harmoniously.
She herself had no confidence in getting along with her birth parents. But Justis and Ellensia were likely different. Their family had been built on love from the start.
The Emperor and Empress had married for love and borne a child out of that love. Whatever else in the book might be false, this was solid truth.
“And I don't think our relationship is something that can be fixed with forgiveness or not.”
Meaning, forgiveness wouldn't change a thing.
Forgive him? Would they go back to pretending to be close on the surface?
Refuse? Would he seek revenge on her for being separated from his real daughter by her birth mother?
Either way, this matter ended here. And so did her relationship with him.
“Forget the good times and the resentful ones alike.”
“Philomel...”
“It's best if we forget it all and go our separate ways. Mm, someone like Lady Deless can take over as my guardian, so there's no need to trouble Your Majesty.”
“...”
“...”
A silence like a boundary line flowed between them—an uncrossable distance.
'I was planning to part cleanly like this...'
Philomel hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“That said... if you feel even a little sorry for me or have any lingering fondness, could you grant me a request?”
Justis snapped his head up to look at her.
“What is it? Anything—name it.”
“I'm trying to make it on my own now. But I don't know where to start, and I don't even have a place to stay right away.”
On her way to the office, she had racked her brain for a plausible excuse to stay in the palace, but this was the best she could come up with.
“Lady Deless said I could stay with the Deless family, but... I feel too guilty about that. She still treats me like a princess, after all.”
Philomel glanced cautiously at the Emperor as she continued.
“If it's all right with you, could I stay a bit longer in the palace? Even the attendants' quarters would do—I promise to keep them spotless.”
To avoid seeming like she was seriously considering his adoption proposal, she added,
“Just until I find a way to survive on my own. I won't impose for long.”
Once her doubts about Ellensia and the book were resolved, she'd leave without delay.
“Stay as long as you like. But I can't allow the attendants' quarters.”
Justis spoke with a firm expression.
“Then where...?”
The western palace she currently occupied was for the heir. Now that she wasn't the real princess, it had to go to Ellensia.
“I'll prepare the southern palace for you—stay there.”
'The southern palace?'
Philomel tilted her head.
The southern palace was for visiting foreign dignitaries.
“But it wouldn't be proper for someone like me, who's not a state guest, to stay in the southern palace.”
The state guest quarters there were opened only for foreign royalty or high nobility.
They even used regular rooms instead if they deemed a visiting nation's power weak—such were their lofty standards.
“Why wouldn't you be a state guest?”
“Well, I'm not a princess anymore...”
“Even if you refuse to be my daughter, I won't abandon the debt I owe you.”
“...Debt?”
“You're the one who brought me Ellensia. She nearly lived her life hidden away in the countryside. Without you, I never would have known she existed.”
Words flowed effortlessly from the Emperor's mouth, like a prepared speech.
“Moreover, since you're not my daughter, she's the Emperor's sole heir. You've done me—and the Empire—a favor we can't easily repay.”
Was that how it was?
A benefactor.
She had never thought of it that way, so it left her stunned. Even without anyone blaming her, she had lived her whole life as a sinner.
The Emperor pressed on relentlessly.
“To let it pass without recompense would shame the Belleroph imperial house. Everyone would curse me as worse than a beast. Are you going to make me out to be worse than a beast?”
“No, that's not... I mean...”
Listening to Justis, she found it harder and harder to refuse.
At some point, she was getting drawn in.
In truth, a spacious room would benefit her too. A garret would do if she were alone, but with her birth father disguised as a cat in tow, she needed separate space.
After enduring his lengthy persuasion, Philomel finally accepted.
“...Then, could I trouble you for the southern palace?”
And so, Philomel decided to stay in the southern palace state guest quarters for as long as she wanted.
It would surely draw attention, but she had steeled herself for that the moment she chose to remain in the palace.
Afterward, she requested the release of the detained palace attendants.
The Emperor was reluctant but promised to do so.
They then discussed other details about her stay in the southern palace. Their views differed on several points, but most were settled in Philomel's favor.
“Philomel.”
As she turned to leave the office, a solemn call stopped her in her tracks.
“I'll take this as a kind of opportunity.”
“Pardon?”
“I'll prove that my words weren't lies.”
So, think it over again then.
She could only guess, but that's what he seemed to mean.
“...I take my leave.”
Philomel said nothing more and left the room.
'I've done what I could.'
It wasn't her fault if the Emperor held onto false hope.
He'd give up soon enough.
“Oh, Philomel. Coming from seeing Father?”
No sooner had she stepped out than she ran into Ellensia, who appeared to be heading in to meet Justis.
“Yes. We finished discussing the adoption you suggested last time.”
Philomel bowed her head in greeting as she spoke.
“How did it go? Are you getting adopted?”
Ellensia asked, eyes sparkling. She seemed quite interested in Philomel's adoption.
“No. I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but I refused.”
“Oh no... Why? I wanted to be with you more...”
Her lovely golden eyebrows drooped. Seeing the disappointment on her face, Philomel wondered if it was genuine.
She wanted to know what kind of person Ellensia really was.
“It's not a place that suits me. But don't be too saddened.”
Ellensia's blue eyes filled with puzzlement.
“Though I declined the adoption, I've decided to stay in the palace for a while. His Majesty graciously offered me the southern palace state guest quarters.”
For a moment, her expression crumbled, leaving only a blank, pallid face like untouched canvas.
“I'm thrilled to keep seeing the princess who thinks so highly of me. You're happy too, right, Your Highness?”
Philomel still wasn't sure exactly what kind of person Ellensia was.
But seeing that face, she was certain of one thing.
She didn't welcome Philomel staying here.