There Is No Place For Fakes - Chapter 7.1

After the meal, Philomel returned to her room.

« Princess! You have come back! So what did His Majesty tell you? …. »

As soon as she saw Philomel, the nanny tried to find out the content of her conversation with the emperor. Then she saw that the princess was not alone, there was someone following her.

« No, there wasn’t. What brings you here, Count? »

The person was Count Pollan.

« His Majesty has ordered that you retire. Until now, you have worked hard for Her Highness the Princess and his Majesty. »

« What? What do you mean by that? …. »

The nanny didn’t understand Pollan’s words, so she blinked.

« I’ll give you a generous compensation, so you won’t be disappointed. If you want, we can arrange a house for you in the capital. »

Philomel looked up at the nanny and smiled.

« Nanny, thank you for everything. Now don’t overdo it and get some rest. »

« Retirement?! What’s that? I have no desire to retire. I’ve made up my mind to stay with you, until the end. »

The nanny was afraid of the word retirement. She pretended that being a nanny was nothing, but she loved the power she had as the princess’ guardian.

« I respect your loyalty, but the princess has personally informed me that you have been suffering from back pain for some time. She’s worried that you might fall one day. »

Philomel hid behind the Count and smiled eerily.

The prickly nanny made excuses.

« Well, it’s not that serious. The princess certainly took it too seriously due to her young mind. »

« I’ve already checked with the other servants. You don’t need to hide it. »

The nanny had boasted to the court servants that she ‘is loyal to the imperial family by dedicating my whole body to that point,’ but the message was clear.

When Philomel had shown her genuine concern for the nanny and begged the emperor, Eustis ordered the nanny to retire without a word. From his point of view, if the nanny, whom the late empress followed as her mother fell apart, it would be difficult for him to see.

« So, from today on, stop working, and take care of your body. I plan to select and attach a competent maid to take care of Her Highness. »

« I’m really fine! Please reconsider …… »

Philomel passed the nanny who was clinging to Pollan to enter her room. It would be quicker to die and be reborn than to hope that Eustis would take back a fate he had already given once.  The maids who stood at the end of the room silently glanced at each other worriedly.

« …… What are we going to do if the nanny resigns? »

« I have to do well with the new maid. »

« How much was we spent on the nanny? It’s a loss now. »

The maids had been able to work under more than favorable conditions due to the fact that as long as they paid the nanny, she didn’t care what they did.  Philomel’s plan was to throw them all out. If they remained in the palace and at her service, they would interfere with her preparations for escape…. It was a good start she had just made. Philomel went to the bathroom to wash herself with a light step.

~ O*O*O*O*O*O ~

Few days later, at Philomel’s place.

Today was the first day of the meeting between Philomel and Countess Délesse. She was going to replace the nanny who had retired and would be in charge of the servants. When Philomel saw this gray-haired person, she thought :

‘Count Pollan has hired someone rather competent despite the lack of time.’

The Countess Delesse had no guts but she was perfect to be a concise and secret servant. How Philomel knew all this when it was the first time she saw her was….. Because the Countess Delesse was Ellencia’s maid of honor. In the book the countess was a stubborn but dignified and honest person on whom Ellencia relied heavily. The countess with the soft round face bowed her head politely.

« It is a great pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to let me know. »

Countess Delesse was nervous to be reprimanded by the princess because of her stubborn appearance. As the princess was still young, she had only made a few appearances at public events, but the nasty nature of the princess was very well known in high society.

« Nice to meet you. I look forward to your cooperation. »

However, contrary to rumors of arrogance, the Princess greeted the Countess with a polite smile. There were no gestures or harsh remarks during the conversation that followed.  On the contrary, the little girl was more mature than other average noble children. After spending half a day after her meeting with the princess, the Countess was relieved.  According to the investigations into the Princess’s routine, she was doing her best in everything she did, and she did not treat her subordinates carelessly.  At her age, there were still parts of her that were still immature, but if she received a good education she could grow up to become a remarkable model for the imperial family. The bad temperament of the princess was one of the many rumors circulating in society.

‘They have guts to talk about the Princess like that,’ thought Countess Delesse to herself.

At that moment, the Princess wrapped her reddened cheeks with her little hands and said.

« Would you like to see my closet? I have a lot of pretty clothes. »

Both of them were having a good time refreshing themselves using their spare time.The countess was trying to find a topic of conversation that would appeal to a little girl and she ended up mentioning a trendy new dress, and the princess grabbed her hand to guide her to her dressing room.   The Countess, who thought she was far too mature for her age, was happy to see her act like a child and smiled happily.  However, when she checked the little girl’s closet, her expression darkened. Philomel babbled, pointing at her dresses one after the other:

« This is my favorite dress, I bought it last spring. »

« ……. I see. They’re all pretty. »

There wasn’t really a problem with the dresses, but rather with the cleanliness of the closet.  At first glance, the clothes seemed to hang well, but if you look closer, they are randomly mixed without being organized by season or purpose. In addition, some dresses were crumpled and left in a corner. By doing this, the clothes would be ruined more quickly and could not be worn for long.  Until now the princess had a new dress every day, which gave her the impression that she was conceited.

‘I can’t believe the servants made a mistake that even an aristocrat wouldn’t make!’

Countess Delesse cast a cold glance at the servants of Philomel. Not only that, she had felt that they were careless in the way they served the refreshments.

‘Is that all you’re worth?’

Usually, a single revealed mistake hid a dozen others, she had to observe carefully and find out what they were doing so far.

She would need new servants for the Princess.