Chapter 73
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: The Emperor's Gift
But when they arrived in front of the emperor's office, a loud voice echoed from inside.
"……Then why are you leaving that woman be!"
It was Ellensia's voice.
"It's none of your concern."
And the other party was, naturally, Emperor Justis.
"But you know how she ruined my first tea party!"
"I heard about it. Hold another tea party. Don't worry. That woman will pay dearly for angering you—to the fullest extent."
"I want you to remove her from my sight right now! And why on earth did you ask her to dance?"
"I've told you a dozen times, I didn't."
"I don't care! I'm really disappointed in you, Dad!"
Bang. The door flew open. Philomel locked eyes with Ellensia, who was stepping out of the room.
"……Greetings, Your Highness."
Though startled, Philomel kept her composure and offered Ellensia a greeting.
But unlike her usual self, Ellensia said nothing as she brushed right past Philomel. Her face was flushed with anger.
Philomel stepped into the office.
The emperor, seated at his desk, somehow looked a bit weary.
"Come in. Do you have business with me?"
"I... I'm afraid I accidentally broke a national treasure-grade porcelain piece from the state guesthouse."
Philomel spoke in careful tones.
"Which one?"
"The one gifted from Elita, with Your Majesty's portrait painted on the surface."
As expected, Justis didn't seem to care in the slightest.
"Ah, no matter. I deliberately stashed it in the southern annex because I didn't want to look at it."
"Is there a special reason you dislike seeing it?"
"I hate my own face."
Why would he hate that handsome face?
Well, whatever—it wasn't Philomel's problem anyway.
"Thank you for your leniency. Then I'll be on my way..."
Just as Philomel turned to leave, having finished her business...
"Wait."
Justis called her back and pulled a bundle of papers from his desk drawer.
"As it happens, I had some business with you too. Come here and take a look at this."
"......Pardon? Yes."
Philomel accepted the papers from him, her expression utterly baffled.
Upon closer inspection, it was a list of assets: grand mansions in the capital, villas scattered across the provinces, mines, gold bullion, land, artworks, and more.
"What is this?"
"It's yours."
"Mine?"
"That's right. You can leave the management to someone else, but it's best if you at least familiarize yourself with what you've got."
It took Philomel quite some time to process his words. When she finally did, she cried out in shock.
"I can't accept this! Do you have any idea how much this all is?"
"It's not a gift without cause. Aren't you the one who brought Ellensia back to me? This is the least I can do."
Even as a reward for finding the emperor's daughter, this was far from modest. And if word got out that she had inherited all this, everyone would be pointing fingers.
"More than that, isn't this imperial property? Please use it for the good of the people instead."
"It's my private fortune."
......A closer look at the list seemed to confirm as much.
Philomel resolutely set the papers down on the desk.
Even if this was deemed fitting recompense for the benefactor who'd returned his daughter, she had no right to accept it.
Philomel hadn't brought Ellensia here out of pure goodwill.
She'd only figured that since Ellensia was bound to show up eventually anyway, it was better to control the timing and circumstances—making it easier for her to slip away.
'If it'd been true benevolence, I would've shown him [Princess Ellensia] when I was nine and revealed his real daughter's existence right then.'
Thus, this reward was far too generous.
Accepting it would weigh on Philomel's conscience for the rest of her life. She might even find herself unable to leave if Justis ever told her not to.
Philomel resolved not to take the emperor's gift. She intended to declare it boldly and firmly.
That had been the plan, at least...
But against her own will, Philomel's hand reached for the pen on the desk.
She pondered the list seriously for a moment, then slashed thick lines through several items. She held the result up for the emperor to see.
"That's way too much...... How about just this much?"
Yes. It was far too precious a gift to reject outright.
Justis peered at the list, then plucked the pen from Philomel's hand. He marked a few of the crossed-out items.
"Too little. Take at least this much."
"No, no. That's still excessive. Especially these—I absolutely can't accept them. Oh, and this one too."
Philomel snatched the pen back from Justis and marked the paper again.
"No can do. These stay."
This time, Justis wrested the pen away.
"I say no."
The pen returned to Philomel's grasp.
"What are you going to do with scraps like that?"
Then it went back to Justis.
And so the two went back and forth with the pen for quite some time before finally reaching a compromise.
Philomel read over the final list, unable to suppress the grin tugging at her lips.
'With this alone, I'm set for life! I can quit working forever and live in leisure!'
It was more than enough to let her fritter away her days in comfort without ever lifting a finger again.
It was too vast a fortune to ignore.
The emperor looked dissatisfied right up to the end, but he yielded to her wishes when she held firm.
'This amount lets me salve my conscience and get rich!'
Philomel cheered inwardly. Moments like this, her somewhat flexible morals proved useful.
In any case, a slight compromise with her conscience had netted her immense wealth.
Philomel proudly scanned the remaining papers Justis had given her. They were detailed breakdowns of each asset.
"Huh?"
But her hand paused as she flipped through them. A single odd sheet was tucked among the documents.
It was a letter beginning with "To my dearest Father."
The very letter she'd left for Justis right before fleeing.
'Why is this here?'
From the crumpled creases, it looked like it'd been wadded up once, then smoothed out under something heavy.
"Hand it over."
At that instant, the emperor reached out and snatched the letter from Philomel's hands.
Panic was plain on his face.
"Must've gotten mixed in by mistake. Pay it no mind."
Philomel asked in a voice grown slightly hoarse.
"Why...... do you still have that?"
Just rip it up already.
Philomel found the letter's very existence mortifying.
Partly because she'd filled it with insincere drivel about repaying his grace by aiding the empire...
But more than that, she wanted to erase the maudlin "To Father" from existence forever.
'Who was I to write that?'
This man would live blissfully ever after with his real daughter, after all.
Justis hesitated a moment before answering her question.
"But it was the first letter you ever wrote to me."
Philomel blinked.
'Huh? Was it?'
Come to think of it, up until she'd run away, they saw each other at least once or twice a week—no need for letters.
Awkwardness hung thick in the air.
To keep holding onto it just because it was her first letter to him... it almost sounded like...
Justis met Philomel's gaze. His eyes held the weight of some profound resolve.
"Philomel. There's something I need to confess to you."
He pressed on with visible effort.
"I should've said it long ago, but I was too afraid. The truth is..."
Bang bang bang!
His words cut off at the furious pounding on the door.
"Dad! Dad!"
It was Ellensia's voice.
"Dad! I'm sorry for acting out earlier. I came to apologize!"
Justis let out a faint sigh and glanced at Philomel.
Philomel nodded in assent. Whatever he'd been about to say, this wasn't the atmosphere for it.
"Come in."
With permission granted, the door opened, and Ellensia peeked inside.
"I knocked, just like you said, Dad. Good job, right?"
Spotting Philomel, she tilted her head. "Oh?"
"Philomel, you're still here."
"Yes. The discussion ran longer than expected. It's wrapping up now, so I'll take my leave, Your Majesty."
Philomel bowed toward Justis.
"......All right. See you later."
The emperor returned her farewell, his face full of unspoken words.