There Is No Place For Fakes

Catherine gave her daughter a serious look.

“Listen, Philodel, it’s about your biological father.”

At those words, she leaked. Come to think of it, she still didn’t know that Philomel knew the identity of her biological father.

“Your biological father is a person more amazing than you could ever imagine. If you have nowhere else to turn, go find him. He will not ignore you. He is…”

Philomel interrupted her mother before she could speak any longer.

“It’s okay. I also know that my real father is the Lord of the Magic Tower.”

“How do you know that!”

Catherine opened her mouth in surprise. Philomel talked to the cat that was by the leg of her chair.

“You can return to your original form now. Looking at the thickness of the door, I don’t think they can hear our voices from the outside.”

Then, with a popping sound, the cat disappeared and a person appeared in its place.

“Hi, did you say Catherine? Long time no see.”

Catherine was startled.

“Le Guin!”

Philomel told Catherine a brief summary of how she came to be with Le Guin.

“I don’t know, but… You’re investigating Ellen because she looks suspicious, right? Le Guin is helping you.”

Le Guin snapped his fingers.

“Yeah, that’s it.”

Catherine smiled warmly.

“By the way, Le Guin, it’s been a while. You haven’t aged at all.”

“It’s the same with you. Your face is the same as before.”

“You don’t really remember me, do you?”

“Yeah. That’s right, I just pretended to know.”

“Your personality hasn’t changed either.”

Philomel watched them wordlessly. It was a conversation that seemed like it would be shared by neighbors in a neighborhood she hadn’t seen in a long time, rather than a single parent.

‘Well, I didn’t want something dramatic hidden between the two of them, but somehow I’m feeling down…’

The two continued to reminisce for a while. 

“Le Guin saved me from being chased by a group of monsters near Mount Palos.”

“Mount Palos…? Ah! You’re the woman who didn’t know how precious her life was.”

“Across the river from there is my hometown.”

Philomel interrupted the new information.

“Hey, did Le Guin save Catherine?”

Catherine replied.

“That’s right. You were really great back then. You killed so many monsters at once…”

If so, wasn’t it a rather romantic first meeting? In the romance novels Philomel read often, the two main characters often met in that way. She looked at her biological mother.

‘Could it be that Catherine had at least some of her feelings for Le Guin? Even Le Guin left her, so she might be even more obsessed with her old love…’

Noticing Philomel’s meaningful gaze, Catherine waved her hand.

“No! I only respected Le Guin, but the truth was nothing like this!”

“…is it so?”

“It’s real! You don’t have to look at me with such pitiful eyes! In the first place, I’m not interested in men unless they have dark hair…”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Oh no, that’s…”

Philodel was dumbfounded and fired back.

“This is all because of your terrifying obsession with that black hair.”

“Oh must! I’ve forgotten him now! It’s just that dark hair is my preference.”

A sigh escaped Philomel’s mouth.

“In the first place, liking people just for their hair color…”

“Ah, Philomel, you probably have at least one hair color that you like.”

“No.”

“Don’t do that, just pick one. The guy you’re going to date later on wants his hair to be this color.”

“Because there isn’t.”

“Then, whatever color you like.”

“Om… then gold?”

“What, he’s blonde!”

“What’s with that kid! There’s no kid like that!”

“You don’t have to hide it, you’re at an age where I’m sure there’s at least one boy you like.”

Catherine said she was a mother who listened to her daughter’s relationship counseling.

“What are you doing right now? Blonde hair? If you’re going to do it, talk about silver hair.”

Le Guin looked back and forth between the two with her pouty eyes.

‘Oops, I got caught up in Catherine’s pace.’ She seemed to be a much nicer person than expected.

In the meantime, she was always in a serious mood with Katrin, so she didn’t know it, but this seems to be her original personality. She had a strange feeling that such a person had committed such a great sin.

‘No, now is not the time to be sentimental.’

She would have to listen to something about Ellencia soon so she didn’t say anything else.

“What I want to ask is about Ellencia, not my real father.”

“Ah, Ellen…”

Catherine’s face blurred in an instant.

“She must be resentful of me, right? She won’t come here for the rest of her life…”

Philodel noticed from Catherine’s words that Ellencia hadn’t visited the mobile tower yet. Hadn’t much time passed yet? Or maybe not… Philomel, who was silent for a moment, looked at Catherine and opened her mouth.

“You said Ellensia changed and was like a different person before?”

Catherine’s body trembled.

“My, I could be mistaken. It’s nonsense.”

“It could be. Please tell me though. Exactly how Elencia has changed.”

Philomel, of course, never said a word about books to Catherine. Even so, she was well aware of the fact that something unusual was happening to Catherine’s adopted daughter.

“Okay. I’ll tell you anything I know.”

Catherine gave her a big nod, as if she had made up her mind.

“The first time I felt that Ellen had changed was about three months before you showed up. It was winter.”

Sitting on her stool, she searched for her memory.

“I’m not sure exactly what day it was, but she went out one day and came back and felt a little strange. She came home late in the evening, and she asked me as if she couldn’t even remember my name.”

She didn’t remember Catherine’s name? Could it be? She’s her mother.

“I thought Ellen, who had been outside for a long time in the cold weather, was talking nonsense because she had a cold, so I gave her medicine and put her to sleep. The next day, the child was in a daze, and the day after that, and the day after the day after that…”

She continued her speech by touching her own cheek.

“Then, one day after a few days, her condition changed a little.”

A voice suddenly rose.

“Should I say that she suddenly became lively? At first glance, it seemed that she had returned to her former self… But, subtly, something was different. Her emotional expression had changed dramatically. I was frank with her, but it didn’t change her mood very quickly.”

Philomel recalled what she had heard from her before in the prison cell.

“Didn’t you say things like her diet and words also changed?”

Catherine clapped her hands.

“That’s right! That’s why it was strange. It’s hard to change that kind of thing in an instant, even if it’s a human mind. But Ellen had changed.”

She pointed her fingers and listed the changes in her Ellencia.

“Originally, she walked slowly, but she got really fast, and she ate very quickly.”

Because of her empathy, Philomel involuntarily nodded her head. Ctherine’s words were not over.

“Besides that, minor habits change, she obviously didn’t remember what I told her before, and she asked for money saying she’s going to the capital…”

Philomel opened her mouth.

“Even before, did Elencia like spicy food? Did you like it?”

“Ah! I remember hearing that. She once asked if I could make the food spicy, she hadn’t even found it spicy before. But she liked it.” she furrowed her brow. “And she said something else. That my cooking is too greasy?”

Le Guin, who had been listening while leaning against the wall, shrugged his shoulders.

After that, Philomel asked Catherine a few more questions about Ellencia. Catherine answered honestly, but nothing new was discovered. Ellencia suddenly changed one day. As of now, like everyone else, this was all Philodel could know.

‘No progress has been made since then…’

Catherine, who saw her face darkening, took out a book and offered it to Philomel.

“Would you like to read Ellen’s diary?”

“Do you have a diary?”

“Huh. It was the day she bought a diary for her old birthday. She used it occasionally. It seemed like she wrote it even after changing. Come to think of it… She actually sat in front of her desk more often than before. She looked very bored.”

She did not know that the diary would be a clue to unlocking Ellencia’s secret. At least she could get a glimpse of her inner thoughts.

“Where is the diary now?”

“If nothing else, it should be at the house, right? You took Ellen out of the blue, and she ran away with only her belongings. Could it be that Ellen brought her belongings here after that?

“I don’t think so.”

According to the report, there was no such thing. Millie said that Ellencia came to the imperial palace and got her everything new.

‘I’m going to go to Ellensia’s hometown right now and find her diary.’

As Philomel got up, she asked Catherine one last time.

“Do you know exactly where the diary is in the house?”

“I don’t know because Ellen hid it. I couldn’t find it at home because I was worried after she changed suddenly.”

If that’s the case, she would have to go and find it herself.

“Philomel…”

Philodel’s steps towards the door were stopped by Catherine’s plaintive voice.

“I’ve said it before, but I’m really sorry. I’ve committed a sin I can’t repay even if I prayed for you all my life. I won’t dare to ask for forgiveness.”

Philomel answered without looking back.

“That’s okay. Now, what are you doing talking about that? Think about how you will throw it away from here in the future.”

This was a prison. A prison where she had to be alone for the rest of her life. Anyone trapped in this room with a maddening sense of loneliness was bound to lose their mind someday. Despite that, the person currently locked in this room spoke calmly.

“I’m fine. Compared to the sins I’ve committed, I’m a light star. And it’s okay that you came to visit me like this.”

Happy. She thought she would never see her face again. In response to those words, Philomel uttered a different sound.

“Even if Ellencia comes to visit, what happened today is a secret. Can you do that much for the daughter you abandoned?”

“Of course! Besides, that child now is not the Ellen I knew.”

“I’ll believe you. Then goodbye.”

Philomel opened the door and went outside.