Chapter 76
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: There Is No Place for the Fake
Same day, in the princess's quarters in the Western Palace.
Maid Emily glanced sideways at Princess Ellensia, who was humming a tune. The princess seemed especially cheerful today.
The nanny, lying on the bed, spoke irritably.
"Your Highness, that melody is far too frivolous! It's a song I've never heard before—one that only circulates among commoners. Even your humming must befit a princess."
"Yeah. Got it!"
Ellensia even brushed off the nanny's unreasonable scolding with ease. Normally, she couldn't hide her stress even behind a smile.
Emily bit her nails.
'I should have been here yesterday!'
The day before, the princess had seemed to whisper something confidential to another maid.
But because the nanny had sent her on an errand, Emily had no choice but to leave.
This wouldn't do.
'I need to bring Lady Philomel some useful information, and fast!'
If she couldn't prove her worth, she didn't know when she'd be discarded.
At first, Emily had agonized over whether to side with Ellensia. She had even considered confessing everything to the princess—about how Philomel had threatened her.
However, doubts began to creep in as she observed Ellensia up close.
The princess, whom she had thought was simply kind and naive, had peculiar traits.
Like the cold expressions she occasionally revealed, or the actions that didn't match her gentle words.
It had happened when the princess rolled up her sleeves to give the nanny a waist massage.
"Aaack! Your Highness, it hurts too much!"
"What to do. Just bear with it a little. They say you have to press harder if it hurts. That's how it gets better—someone told me."
Ellensia's voice brimmed with concern, but Emily, standing right beside her, had seen it clearly. Ellensia smiling as she heard the nanny's pained scream.
A chill ran down her spine in that moment.
The princess was someone whose exterior didn't match her interior.
To Emily, both Philomel and the princess were frightening figures.
In that case, it was more advantageous to stick with Philomel, who already held her weakness.
Spilling every little detail to Ellensia would only increase the number of people who knew her secrets. Besides, for some reason, she felt she could trust the former princess Philomel more.
Emily was watching Ellensia's every move with eyes ablaze.
"Your Highness."
The princess's tutors arrived.
The history teacher placed a stack of textbooks on the desk.
"As I mentioned, we'll begin full-fledged lessons starting today."
The grace period given for the princess to adapt to life in the imperial palace had ended. From today onward, Ellensia would receive proper education as the successor.
The history teacher glanced at the textbooks with concern.
"But... can Your Highness truly start with the advanced curriculum?"
The princess replied confidently.
"Of course! I have to catch up to Philomel quickly. If she could do it, then so can I!"
"Ahem. Let's begin."
But the princess's bold momentum didn't last long.
Ellensia irritably rubbed her forehead.
"......Is this really the kind of studying Philomel did?"
"Yes. It is."
"......I don't understand this part."
"This... well. Didn't I briefly cover it in the previous lesson?"
"How am I supposed to remember all that?"
"Didn't you review it afterward?"
The princess fell silent.
The history teacher let out a small sigh and muttered to himself.
"Lady Philomel was always thorough with her previews and reviews, though."
Ellensia shot to her feet and stormed out of the study room. She seemed quite upset.
Because of that, she nearly collided with Emily, who was entering under the pretense of preparing refreshments.
Seeing her chance, Emily set the tray down haphazardly and hurried after the princess.
"Your Highness! Where are you going?"
"To the bathroom! Don't follow!"
Bang! The bathroom door slammed shut.
A moment later, the door opened, and the princess emerged with her usual smile restored.
And then something astonishing happened.
The teacher's eyes widened like saucers as he cried out in shock.
"My goodness! Your Highness must be a genius! You memorized it all so quickly?"
"If I say I can do it, I can."
Unlike her stammering in the previous lesson, Ellensia answered every question perfectly.
The greatly satisfied teacher departed, saying he would report this to His Majesty the Emperor, and the princess followed after him.
Emily was the only one left in the room.
As she tidied up the scattered textbooks, something caught her eye. An object had fallen beneath the chair where Ellensia had been sitting.
"And this is the object Emily found."
Philomel set a small bottle down on the table with a clack.
About half of the yellow liquid inside sloshed around.
In her room, all four family members had gathered after a long time, standing around the table.
Lexion, who had picked up the bottle and examined it closely, remarked.
"She turned out to be a more useful maid than expected."
Philomel agreed.
To boldly steal something from the princess—Emily was proving more capable than anticipated.
She had stolen Philomel's jewels before, so she clearly had a talent for it.
Jeremiah tapped the table.
"Putting together what we heard, this seems like a potion that boosts intelligence. Or perhaps memory?"
Lexion offered his thoughts.
"That's likely, but it's too soon to conclude. More importantly, I'm familiar with intelligence-enhancing potions, but this color is completely new to me."
Philomel said.
"I smelled it earlier, and it had a scent similar to lemon."
Cardin gasped in shock at her words.
"Why on earth did you smell it? All magic potions require caution!"
"Is that so? I only smelled it..."
"When I was little, I sneaked into Rguin's lab and drank a magic potion that looked tasty. My body turned into a frog. You need to be careful too, Phil."
Lexion fell into reminiscence as well.
"That did happen. Jeremiah definitely almost stepped on Cardin seventeen times back then."
Cardin slung his arm around Jeremiah's shoulder in a friendly manner.
"Haha! This guy's got a surprisingly scatterbrained side to him."
"Get off. I'll kill you."
Watching Jeremiah coldly swat Cardin's arm away, Philomel felt certain.
'That was definitely no accident.'
Then Rguin, who had remained silent until now, drew her attention.
"Rguin, what's wrong? Is something bothering you?"
After glaring at the glass bottle for a long while, he finally spoke.
"I sense Estellion from it."
Estellion—Rguin's unique magic power.
At his words, the three brothers' expressions sharpened.
Lexion pressed his father.
"Are you certain?"
"Uh... certain? It's similar, but definitely? Hmm..."
"Could it be a potion you made long ago? Creations by mages often carry traces of the creator's magic power."
"I've never made anything like that."
"Maybe you made it and forgot? Think back carefully."
"Do I have dementia?"
Jeremiah narrowed his eyes.
"We should handle it with even greater care, then."
Philomel raised her hand and asked.
"Um, is there no way to figure out what effect this potion has?"
Lexion, stroking his chin, replied.
"If it's meant to aid intelligence, animal testing would have its limits... The best method is for a person to drink it and describe the effects."
Rguin made a chilling suggestion.
"Just grab some passerby and make them drink it."
"No, that won't do. If it's dangerous by any chance, what did that person ever do to deserve it?"
Everyone looked slightly disappointed at Philomel's words.
Suddenly, Rguin pointed at Cardin.
"Hey, you drink it. You like eating stuff anyway."
"I don't want anything that might've been made by Rguin!"
The other two nodded in agreement.
In the end, Philomel retrieved the bottle.
"I'll just drink it, then."
"What? No!"
They all protested in unison.
"You're the one who said it could be dangerous, Phil."
"What if it turns you into something worse than a frog?!"
"Philomel, just make Cardin drink it."
Philomel calmed the three brothers who were trying to stop her.
"It's okay. There's no way Ellensia would take a problematic potion herself. Besides, this is something I started. You're all just helping me out. It's my responsibility."
Pop.
And the moment she uncorked the bottle to drink.
"Hand it over."
Rguin snatched the potion bottle from Philomel's hand.
'Is he going to drink it in my place?'
But the budding sense of being moved vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Instead of drinking it himself, Rguin shoved the bottle into Cardin's mouth.
"Ughhh!"
Cardin struggled, but the contents poured swiftly into his mouth.
The ruthless father gripped the back of his son's head, ensuring not a single drop remained before releasing him.
"How unfortunate."
Lexion said as much, but he didn't even pretend to intervene.
"You should've drunk it when you were told."
Jeremiah smirked openly.
'......These are scary people.'
Philomel resolved to never get too close to them beyond a certain point.