Philomel the Fake
Chapter 10

“Don’t cry, now.” Suddenly, Eustis knelt so he was at eye level with Philomel, wiping the tears from her tiny cheeks. “You’re no liar.”

She stared at him in shock.

“If you’re a liar, then so am I. I heard it, too.”

“Y-Your Majesty!” The blood drained from the marchioness’s pretty face.

Logan, realizing the gravity of the situation, dropped to his knees and fell flat on his face. “Forgive me, Your Majesty! I made a mistake, I was worried for my immature brother!”

“L-Logan?” Liam stuttered, backing away.

“What’s the matter? We were all talking about it, weren’t we? That His Majesty plans to make you his heir—”

“Shut your mouth!” Logan said, slapping his brother over the back of the head.

“Hey! Don’t hit me like that!” Liam began to sob. It was pure pandemonium.

“Your Majesty, my brother is lying. My parents and I have never said anything like that to him.”

“Th-that’s right!” the marchioness chimed in. “My son can be a little too imaginative at times, and sometimes thinks his fantasies are real.”

The two, having already accused Philomel of being a liar, were now directing the same accusations at Liam. The little boy looked utterly aghast at being betrayed by his family like this.

“Enough,” Eustis’ icy voice cut through the noise. “It seems I should have paid more attention. How was I to know you were plotting against me on my own doorstep like this?”

Despite the warm breeze, the air suddenly felt cold. Philomel had no doubt they were terrified. Even she was scared, after all.

“W-well, you see...” Marchioness Elos said, stammering as she struggled to find words. Logan, his know-it-all demeanor suddenly nowhere to be seen, had gone pale and was now completely silent.

“Sylvia, I left you because I had no reason to dirty my hands with your blood.”

“Eustis...” the marchioness sank to the floor. The former imperial princess sounded pitiful as she stammered her half-brother’s name.

“If you don’t want to die where you stand, take your children and get out of my sight. I’m not in the mood to kill anyone today.”

Marchioness Elos and her sons vanished. Later, Marquess Elos was stripped of his title and property, and the names of Sylvia, Logan, and Liam were erased from the imperial family records. Anyone who suffered this punishment had their divine power sealed and were forced to live as commoners, watched closely for the rest of their lives.

The punishment was light considering they’d been accused of treason, but everyone knew that the Elos family hadn’t really tried to rebel against the king—it was clear to everyone that one of their sons had run his mouth.

Philomel found out later that they had continued to demand they be respected as nobles even after their exile, causing their neighbors to turn against them—nobody would offer them even a single bowl of soup. But this would come later. To the Philomel in the present, the man who was walking away from her mattered more.

He’s so frightening. If he was this cold to his actual family, it was obvious to her how he would treat her once he found out the truth. The emperor turned to her as if he’d read her mind.

“How about that walk?”

“I-I’m sorry?” she stammered.

“You wanted to go for a walk?”

Right! I was the one who asked him to come! She’d very nearly forgotten in all the Elos family drama. Philomel trailed behind her father as she spoke about what a good student she was, and how much all her teachers were praising her. Eustis’ answers were brief, along the lines of “I see,” “Yes,” “Not bad,” and so on. But Philomel decided to take this as a good sign.

At least he wasn’t ignoring her.

She peered up at him cautiously as their walk drew to a close. “Your Majesty, do you not enjoy taking walks?”

“Not really. But taking one every now and then might be necessary since I was able to rid myself of some impudent parasites just now.”

He must be referring to the marchioness and her sons. She continued gingerly, “Then why don’t we come out here occasionally?”

“You want to walk with me?”

“Yes!”

“It won’t be fun,” he said.

“I don’t mind.”

He didn’t mean that as a threat, did he? she wondered. Her concern notwithstanding, the emperor quietly responded,

“All right.”

“Wow!”

Wait, that’s not how I should respond. Straightening up, she bowed politely. “Thank you for accepting my request.”

“You don’t have to be so formal.”

“I’m sorry? I think I misheard. Could you repeat that—”

“Never mind. Do as you like.” Eustis spoke no more and continued walking. She followed him quietly, taking in the garden’s beautiful scenery.

* * *

After that day, it became Philomel’s little ritual to take her special herbal tea to the emperor’s bedroom every morning if he’d had too much to drink the previous night. Count Polan, who wanted the emperor to change his drinking habits, cooperated willingly and gave her all the information she needed to do so.

Eustis would glare at the count, but he always finished his tea. Then father and daughter would go for a short stroll in the garden together.

“My writing teacher tells me I’m the smartest student he’s ever had!”

“That’s good.”

“Do you think he only said that because I’m the princess?” she asked.

“He was also my teacher. He wasn’t very prone to flattery.”

“But I’m really not that amazing— Oof!” Philomel, who’d been skipping along, tripped over her own feet.

“Oh...”

She had scraped her knees; the sharp sting brought tears to her eyes. I can’t just sit on the ground like this. I need to get back up... If she didn’t, the emperor would just leave her behind. Or he might give her a scathing look for being such a crybaby.

“Are you all right?” Eustis had turned back and even asked her if she was okay.

“I’m fine!” she said, hurrying to her feet and limping onwards.

He stared at her, then approached. Suddenly, Philomel’s feet were no longer touching the ground. Eustis had picked her up, arms around her waist!

“Y-Your Majesty!” Philomel said, struggling a little, confused.

“Stay still.”

“B-but...”

“There’s nobody else here to carry you since only members of the family are allowed inside the garden.”

“But... I must be heavy.”

“You, heavy? You must think me a withered old man.” He adjusted his grip on her a few times until he found the most comfortable position. Then he continued their walk. “Bear with it, even if it’s a little uncomfortable.”

How am I supposed to bear this? His arms were too muscular to be comfortable, and the whole experience was rather unsettling.

“If you find it that strange, just go to sleep.”

She didn’t think she’d be able to sleep in his arms. But she closed her eyes anyway, and to her great surprise, found herself slipping into dreams.

When Countess Dellese came upon the emperor carrying the sleeping princess, she rushed over, utterly astonished. “Dear me. She must have been tired. She does get up earlier than usual when she comes to see you in the morning.”

Eustis gave a low hum in response.

“She wants to be there with your tea as soon as you wake up, Your Majesty.”

“I see...”

The countess swallowed. She knew how busy Philomel kept herself most of the time. It was no surprise the girl’s father wanted to do something to help her, given how hard she was trying. And based on the emperor’s expression as he held his daughter in his arms, she had a feeling things would turn out all right for them.

She gathered her courage and said, “I heard that Empress Isabella also enjoyed taking walks in the garden.”

“She loved looking at the flowers,” he replied, much to the countess’s satisfaction.

“Princess Philomel must take after her since she gets up early each morning to walk with you.”

Eustis’ blue eyes grew distant as he reminisced. “Isabella usually looked at our surroundings when we walked. I, on the other hand, couldn’t take my eyes off her face.” He stared down at his daughter. “Perhaps she takes after me more than Isabella.”

As he spoke, a nightingale sitting in a nearby tree sang loudly, meaning the countess missed what the emperor said regarding his deceased wife. But she did hear him say Philomel took after him. If she was being entirely honest, she couldn’t see any resemblance between the princess and her father, even after months of serving the child.

Nevertheless, this was beyond a doubt a good sign for the relationship between father and daughter.