There Is No Place For Fakes - Chapter 9.1

« It was a good idea to come here! »

Philomel smiles with satisfaction as she looks at the garden in full bloom. She was looking around, she was in the backyard garden of the imperial palace. The flowers planted by the skilled gardeners were in full bloom.

‘Such a beautiful scene always brings a smile’.

It was no exaggeration to say that even the worst enemies are stunned when walking in the garden, so beautiful was it.

« Can you come for a walk with me? »

That was Philomel’s wish. She had never walked with Eustis before.

‘Yes, come for a walk with me and I’ll tell you how I’ll be an excellent successor,’ the little girl thought determinedly. However, the person who appeared before her was completely different from the emperor. The little boy who appeared before Philomel seemed to be two or three years younger than her. He looked at her with a grumpy look on his face.

« Hey, » he shouted.

« Only the imperial family can enter this place! »

« ……..? »

Philomel calmly guessed the identity of the little boy. It was a garden accessible only to members of the imperial family.  If he was in this garden, it meant only one thing, that he had imperial blood. And by the sight of his dull blond hair….

« How dare you ignore me? Which family do you come from? Don’t you know it’s an act of treason to sneak into this garden?! »

However, the person who appeared before her was completely different from the emperor. The little boy who appeared before Philomel seemed to be two or three years younger than her. He looked at her with a grumpy look on his face.

« Hey, » he shouted.

« Only the imperial family can enter this place! »

« ……..? »

Philomel calmly guessed the identity of the little boy. It was a garden accessible only to members of the imperial family.  If he was in this garden, it meant only one thing, that he had imperial blood. And by the sight of his dull blond hair….

« How dare you ignore me? Which family do you come from?Don’t you know it’s an act of treason to enter this garden?! »

The boy shouted these words believing Philomel was ignoring him.

‘Oh, so loud. I can’t think because of the noise. Is he an idiot? Why does he think that I am not part of the imperial family?’

Philomel opened her mouth and said in a soft voice trying to be patient.

« Hey, keep your voice down.  And it’ll be nice to have an example… »

« Shut up! »

Crack. The young princess’ thread of patience had just broken in her mind.

There had been many people who had ignored Philomel during her short life, but this was the first time she had been treated so openly insultingly. It was only natural that her voice became cold and dry when she opened her mouth.

« Hey, shut up. »

« What, what?! What did you just say….? »

« Are your ears plugged? Shut up Liam Elos. »

» Liam! What’s wrong? Are you hurt? »

« It’s loud. What the hell’s going on? »

The first person who appeared in front of the little girl was a woman holding a white umbrella. She had shiny blond hair and mud-colored eyes. The person next to the woman was a young boy who appeared to be three to four years older than Philomel. The boy’s blond hair was as dark as Liam Elos’. The two people were Marquise Elos and her eldest son Logan Elos. The former name of Marquise Sylvia Elos, was Belov.

In other words, she was the daughter of the previous emperor and half-sister of the current emperor, the former Princess Sylvia. They were the only ones who could be described as blood related because all the other children of the sun had died or had left the country. Only Eustis and Marquise Elos remained, who had quickly sided with the new emperor.

‘I heard that the Marquise Elos had two sons, but…’.

The eldest son had already met him so he knew her face, which was not the case for the second son, whom Philomel was meeting for the first time today.  As the Belov house was not very friendly, it was rare that there were meetings except in case of official events. However, the second son of the family, Liam Elos was still young and had not yet made an official appearance.

Marquise Elos was surprised when she saw Philomel and greeted her.

« Oh my, Philomel. It’s been a while. How have you been? »

Regardless of their family relationship, whether she was her aunt or not, it was extremely rude to talk to a princess in such a rude manner. Even within the same imperial family, there were rules of courtesy for addressing each other. Sometimes it could happen that they spoke more casually but only if they were close and had given each other the permission to address each other in this way. Liam looked at his mother with surprise before asking aloud.

« What? Is she Philomel the princess? But mother, you said the princess was very ugly! »

The Marquise hastened to close her son’s mouth.

« Ahah, you must be mistaken! »

‘…. So that’s what you think of me, huh?’

Philomel’s eyes hardened and turned cold. Logan Elos took a step forward to distract Philomel.

« I greet your highness the Princess. I beg you to forgive my younger brother with a broad heart. »

Logan had been more polite than his mother and the second son. However, he had barely bowed his head and upper body. This was not how one greeted a princess. Logan Elos. This was the boy who was supposed to be the next emperor. Indeed, since Philomel did not have a Divine Spirit and she lacked qualifications. The ministers said among themselves that very soon the emperor would introduce his nephew, who had the reputation of being excellent, as the next heir to the throne.

‘I’m sure when Ellencia comes back, it would be like a dog chasing a chicken in any case.’ (note : the real expression is « the dog who was chasing the chicken who was watching him from the roof ». Basically, the dog chasing the hen has no influence since the hen is on the rooftop. All its efforts will be for nothing.)

Philomel snorted unconsciously before bowing her head to accept the greeting.

« We’ll be on our way, if you allow it. I came to take a walk with my mother and brother today. »

But at that moment, Liam, who took his mother’s hand, said to his brother, sticking to him.

« Hey, hey! When you become the emperor, please take away the garden and build a playground! I want to make a war game with my friends! »