A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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With that, Zail broke into another grin, his gums fully exposed in what appeared to be genuine delight.
Whoosh!
“…!”
But that smile didn’t last long.
“You… what are you doing right now?”
Ravi had pulled him into an embrace while they were linked arm-in-arm.
Startled by the sudden hug, Zail found himself held even tighter as Ravi whispered into his ear.
“Is that all?”
“What?”
“Just bragging about your family?”
“Let go of me, now!”
“Well… with a family like that, wouldn’t anyone brag? Just look at what happened this time. It seems to have helped you quite a bit.”
“What are you talking ab—”
“I heard you made quite the spectacle.”
“What?”
“A money spectacle.”
“…!”
“Word is, several of the Masters were very actively helping with your thesis this time.”
Feeling Zail flinch, Ravi squeezed him even tighter.
“Take good care of your family from now on.”
“….”
“Because you’re a worthless fool with nothing else to brag about.”
Pat, pat.
With that, Ravi released Zail and gave his shoulders a light tap before turning to leave. His face had flushed crimson with rage.
Or rather, he tried to leave.
He paused.
“…?”
If not for the strange atmosphere that suddenly descended.
The Presentation Hall, which had been bustling with greetings and chatter just moments before, fell into an eerie silence.
When Ravi turned his head, he found everyone staring at one point. His gaze followed theirs.
His eyes widened as he looked toward where all attention was focused.
Someone was entering the Presentation Hall with a radiant smile.
A woman in a crimson dress that evoked the image of a fully bloomed rose.
‘…Why are you coming from there?’
It was Camilla.
* * *
“Your Grace, Ludvil has just arrived at the entrance of the Territory.”
“Is that so?”
Duke Sorpel, who had been pacing inside his Study, gave a firm nod at his aide Jacter’s words. At last, his eldest son had returned.
“Shall I go to greet him, Your Grace?”
“That’s the way.”
Duke Sorpel was prepared to go out and welcome his son, who had led them to victory in this battle.
“There shouldn’t be any problems with the festival and party preparations?”
“Of course not. All the people of the Territory are currently out in the streets, waiting with bated breath for Young Master Ludvil and the other soldiers.”
“I’ll go take a look.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Oh, that’s right.”
Duke Sorpel’s steps toward the door came to a brief halt.
“What about Camilla? It might be nice for her to come along.”
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t seen Camilla all day.
Was she busy preparing for the party? Today, she hadn’t even brought baby’s breath to my Study.
“That is….”
“What? Has something happened to Camilla?”
“Miss Camilla is not here at the moment.”
“She’s not here?”
“She left in a hurry just a moment ago.”
“Where to?”
“To the Magic Tower, she said….”
“The Magic Tower? Why there all of a sudden?”
“It seems she went to see Lord Ravi.”
“Ravi? Ah…!”
Duke Sorpel finally realized his own oversight.
He had completely forgotten in the excitement over Ludvil’s victory. He had heard there was some major event happening at the Magic Tower where Ravi belonged.
“Tsk.”
I should have paid more attention. Duke Sorpel clicked his tongue repeatedly.
‘But Camilla went there?’
This was unexpected news. Was Camilla the sort of child to look after such things?
Duke Sorpel wore a newly surprised expression.
* * *
“Our next presenter is Ravi Sorpel.”
After the moderator’s introduction, Ravi stepped onto the platform and quickly swallowed the laughter that was about to burst forth as he swept his gaze across the audience.
Everyone’s attention was still fixed on one person.
‘Of course.’
Camilla waved her hand lightly toward Ravi, who gazed at her and the crowd in bewilderment.
‘That’s why I warned you beforehand.’
That you might be compared. So get yourself some new clothes.
When she offered a gentle smile for the sake of image management, exclamations erupted from all around.
‘So she really does have quite the face.’
It was simply that she hadn’t showcased her beauty at all until now.
‘What good is flashy clothing?’
Something that didn’t suit me at all.
I always purchased the most expensive and extravagant clothing, yet I could never find anything that truly suited me.
‘I know exactly why, too.’
There was only one reason I adorned myself in such costly garments and jewels. I wanted to protect myself with them.
‘From the subtle contempt and ridicule I felt from those around me.’
The Duke Sorpel’s fake daughter.
No one was more acutely aware of this truth than I was, and no one faced others with this knowledge more deeply embedded in their heart.
I desperately tried to avoid those cold gazes by selecting only the most expensive and dazzling pieces to wear.
‘But what good does it do?’
The truth was, I had no confidence in myself.
Whenever I stood before others, I instinctively shrank back, and to hide that weakness, I filled my eyes with venom.
It was inevitable that no one would willingly approach me, radiating such an unbalanced and unsettling aura.
‘Fashion sense doesn’t just appear out of nowhere.’
Separate from calling a designer from the Dressing Room at the Sorpel Household, I had spent over a week searching for this outfit.
I visited every clothing shop in the Shopping District.
I didn’t even look at prices. Whether it was cheap or an expensive luxury brand didn’t matter—what mattered was finding something that suited me!
‘Once I wear it, it becomes a luxury item.’
It was the same when I lived as Sia. Whatever I wore became a trend and sold out instantly.
Even now, the gazes of the noble ladies entering the Presentation Hall were intensely hot.
I could see they wanted to approach me immediately and ask where I’d gotten that dress and those jewels.
‘But realistically, none of them will actually come over.’
Considering what they’d done to me all this time, they’d be too embarrassed to approach me and pretend to be friendly.
Meanwhile, Ravi’s presentation proceeded smoothly. The way he methodically explained the new formula he’d discovered was quite impressive.
“You’re doing well, brother.”
A faint smile played at the corners of my lips.
“Why are you even here?”
After the presentation ended, Ravi approached me and asked the first thing on his mind.
No matter how I thought about it, this was an incredibly sudden appearance.
Throughout the presentation, I’d wondered why I came, but I couldn’t even guess at my own intentions.
‘And what’s with this appearance?’
Honestly, I was a bit surprised. Was he always like this?
Anyway, watching Zail making an aggrieved and wronged expression after my entrance was rather satisfying.
He must have been in high spirits, receiving attention himself thanks to his pretty younger sister, but my appearance had completely flipped the tables. How frustrated he must be.
As proof, Zail was still glaring at both Ravi and me with a sneer.
“I don’t know either.”
“What?”
Ravi gave me a look of disbelief. I came here but don’t know why? Was he joking?
“I really don’t know.”
…
“I just… I just wanted to come.”
It’s true. I don’t know why, but I just… I really just wanted to come.
‘How strange.’
These siblings—they kept stirring up memories of my past in the oddest way.
‘That child’s parents didn’t come?’
‘They’re an orphan.’
‘An orphan?’
Whispers that drifted from behind whenever there were school festivals or important events where parents were expected to attend.
‘That child’s father was the person from that news story.’
‘Ah! The one who was so pessimistic about life that he tried to take everyone with him….’
‘Yes, in the end only the woman died.’
And the words that inevitably followed.
‘What’s even funnier is that bastard of a father called 119 himself, saying he wanted to live alone.’
There was no such thing as family affection.
My mother didn’t care much for her daughter. Despite having given birth to me herself, she seemed uncomfortable with me for some reason.
I often saw her unable to understand why she couldn’t give affection to her own child.
‘As for that man calling himself a father, there’s nothing more to say.’
He treated me like someone else’s child entirely. As if bewildered by how he could have a daughter he felt no affection for, he beat my mother and me without reason.
One day, stumbling home thoroughly drunk, he made an extreme choice.
My mother, worn down by it all, followed his lead. I, not understanding what was happening, did as they told me.
‘P-please save me! I beg you…! It hurts so much!’
I heard it clearly. Even as my consciousness grew hazy.
While my mother and I were dying, hearing him desperately calling for an ambulance, insisting he wanted to live alone—it was absurd, even to my young mind.
That day, my mother died in the end. Fortunately, I survived.
My dead mother looked down at me with sorrowful eyes for a long while before she vanished.
Yet the mother I saw before she left was clearly wearing a relieved expression.
She must have been so tired of it all. A daughter she’d given birth to but couldn’t love, and a husband who wielded violence at every turn.
After that, I drifted through orphanages until I happened upon a film audition and landed a role. Though it was only a supporting part.
Whether fortune favored me or not, that film drew ten million viewers and I was able to join a major entertainment company under favorable terms.
Every drama and film I chose became a hit, and I established myself faster than any other actor.
Just as I was walking down this smooth path, that man appeared.
A murderer.
The one who killed my mother and tried to kill me—he showed up brazenly and demanded money.
Hearing that he’d served only a short sentence due to diminished mental capacity made my teeth grit involuntarily.
He even had the audacity to threaten me, saying he’d sell my past to reporters if I didn’t comply with his demands.
‘It’s your fault! Your mother died because of you!’
Spewing such insane nonsense, I immediately called a journalist I knew right there.
‘Did I commit a crime?’
He was the one who did wrong—why should I be the one subjected to blackmail?
I had no intention of hiding it. I didn’t want to deliberately expose it either, but I certainly wasn’t going to hand money over to this trash and keep quiet about it.
Ignoring that man calling himself my father as he panicked and shouted what I was doing, I made an appointment with the journalist, and the next day, I revealed everything to the world.
Everything—the incident from the past and the man who had sought her out demanding money.
For nearly two weeks, the story had climbed and fallen through the rankings of trending searches.
Public sympathy had surged, and angry comments directed at the man who had attempted extortion poured in endlessly.
Frightened by the weight of public scrutiny, the man never sought her out again after that.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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