A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 15

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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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I’m going to lose my mind.
How am I supposed to endure this suffocating atmosphere?
This was the first meal we had all shared together since I awakened in this place, yet not a single soul dared to speak.
It was almost remarkable how these brief moments waiting for the food could feel so utterly stifling.
A heavy sigh escaped me.
Now I had to read Ludvil’s mood as well?
I glanced sideways at Ludvil.
He wouldn’t kill me without Duke Sorpel’s command, but I couldn’t simply ignore him either—that was the nature of Ludvil.
No matter what anyone said, he wielded the greatest influence within the Sorpel Family after the Duke himself.
This is suffocating.
Ludvil was naturally taciturn, but today even Ravi had been unusually quiet.
What was wrong with that cunning fox? Had something happened between them?
Ravi seemed genuinely displeased that Ludvil had returned to the Sorpel Household.
Uncharacteristically, he subtly displayed his displeasure, refusing not only to converse but even to glance in Ludvil’s direction.
With the atmosphere like this, truly….
I don’t even want to eat.
If I get indigestion, it’s all your fault!
Then, one by one, dishes began to appear on the table. A plate with a perfectly cooked steak was placed before me.
A swift motion.
“…?”
But just as the plate was about to be set down, a hand suddenly snatched it away.
I lifted my head quickly and saw Ludvil taking my plate and placing it at his own seat.
What on earth are you doing?
Did you just steal my meal?
For all my years of living, I had never had my plate taken from me, and I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.
Even during my difficult childhood, filled with mistreatment, no one had ever taken my food!
A dull thud.
As I stood there with my mouth agape in disbelief, another plate was placed before me. It was the one that had been meant for Ludvil.
Was my steak simply larger than his?
After swapping the plates, Ludvil sat down and began eating as if nothing had happened, leaving my mind in complete turmoil.
Duke Sorpel and Ravi showed no particular reaction to Ludvil’s behavior.
I briefly wondered if this was some new form of harassment.
“Did your presentation go well yesterday?”
A voice broke the silence at the table.
“I apologize. I should have paid more attention.”
Duke Sorpel seemed genuinely sorry for having forgotten Ravi’s presentation.
His sincerity seemed to reach Ravi, whose sharp expression softened slightly.
“No, it’s fine. The presentation ended well thanks to you.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
As I watched the exchange between Duke Sorpel and Ravi, I tilted my head slightly, careful not to show my confusion.
What’s gotten into him?
I had witnessed countless breakfast scenes in this very hall on the morning after presentations and parties, yet never had I seen anything like this.
Had Duke Sorpel ever apologized to Ravi about a past presentation in such a deliberate manner?
He always let such matters pass in silence, as though nothing had happened at all, as though he had never given a moment’s thought to or remembered Ravi’s presentation.
What is this?
Why has something changed?
“Camilla.”
“Yes, Father.”
Duke Sorpel turned his gaze toward me as well after Ravi.
“School will be starting again soon.”
“Ah.”
That’s right—this one was still a student.
It was spring break season, so she was taking a temporary respite.
“You truly have no intention of changing your field of study?”
Yes, the field of study.
‘Goodness, truly….’
I had completely forgotten about it. Of all the choices available, she had selected that particular one!
‘With barely a shred of aptitude for it!’
Yet because I could roughly surmise why the original Camilla had chosen that field, I could not bring myself to suggest changing it.
“I’ll do my best for as long as I’m able.”
“Are you truly certain?”
“Yes.”
“Very well.”
Duke Sorpel did not press further or ask anything more. He simply gave a light nod in response to my answer.
“But then again.”
Instead, he regarded me with what appeared to be a rather serious expression, as though he had something else to say.
“You received chocolate as a gift.”
“Pardon?”
Chocolate, all of a sudden? I gave him a puzzled look.
Duke Sorpel let out a brief cough at my expression before continuing.
“The flowers also seem to be wilting somewhat….”
Ah, that’s right. I had intended to change the flowers in the Study and Bedroom today….
At first, I had replaced them daily, but finding it wasteful to discard flowers that were still fresh each time, I had begun changing them once every two or three days.
Today was supposed to be the day I changed them, but an unexpected encounter in the garden had resulted in the flowers’ owner being changed instead.
I glanced briefly at Ludvil, who sat across from me, and let out a small sigh.
After that, my mind had been so scattered that I had forgotten to go retrieve the flowers again.
“My apologies. I was planning to change the flowers tomorrow anyway.”
“Yes, yes. The chocolate pairs quite nicely with tea, I must say.”
“Ah, yes.”
Why does he keep bringing up the chocolate when I’m offering to change the flowers? I had always arranged the flowers and taken tea with him….
‘Hmm?’
Tea?
My gaze shifted back toward Duke Sorpel.
‘What is it?’
I felt as though I had missed something crucial.
Yet Duke Sorpel simply continued his meal as though nothing had transpired, prompting me to tilt my head in bewilderment.
“….”
Ravi, who had been quietly observing the two of us, wore an expression of utter exasperation.
* * *
The moment the meal concluded, Ludvil made his way directly to Duke Sorpel’s study. He had much to report.
His gaze naturally fell upon a single document resting upon the Duke’s desk.

Shadow’s Chocolate: Black
Silvery Moon Desserts
Twin Cake & Moon Tart
Second Moonlight Macaron
⁝
Among the roughly thirty shop names inscribed upon the list, the topmost chocolate establishment bore a line through it—apparently a mark indicating a completed purchase.
Swiftly.
Ludvil picked up a pen and drew lines through several other establishments on the list.
“What are you doing?”
“That girl dislikes apples, sir.”
The shops he had excluded specialized in desserts with apples as their primary ingredient.
“How would you know such a thing?”
“….”
At Duke Sorpel’s question, which carried a note of surprise, Ludvil sealed his lips firmly. He promptly changed the subject.
“I have heard that certain individuals tampered with Camilla’s food, sir.”
“From whom did you hear this?”
“I merely heard it, sir.”
Duke Sorpel exhaled softly.
The food she had consumed that day, and even the ring that had been stolen from her….
The tribulations Camilla had endured since arriving here weighed heavily upon his mind.
“How have you dealt with those responsible?”
“They will find it difficult to secure employment not only within our territory but elsewhere as well.”
He had ensured they would never work in a noble household again.
“….”
Ludvil’s brow furrowed slightly, as though he found merely expelling them from the territory insufficient punishment.
Yet he understood that this was the most prudent course available.
They were not just anyone—they were employees of the Sorpel Household.
If it became known that servants had stolen from their master and tampered with his food to harm a superior, it would bring disgrace upon the Sorpel Family’s reputation.
“So this attempt also failed.”
“Yes.”
Ludvil gave a brief reply and withdrew something from his garments, placing it upon the table.
It was a pendant—one adorned with a white gemstone at its center.
“Sigh.”
A long breath escaped from Duke Sorpel’s lips as he gazed upon the pendant.
“Another failure, then.”
“My apologies.”
“It is not your fault, is it?”
Duke Sorpel picked up the pendant with extraordinarily careful hands.
“We have failed to find the divine beast once more….”
The Faebler Empire was home to three ducal houses.
Yet the people more frequently employed the title of the Empire’s Three Guardian Deities rather than the term Three Great Ducal Houses.
Three Guardian Deities.
Each ducal house was a family blessed with the protection of a divine beast. The Sorpel Duchy was no exception.
Or rather, it had been.
Even several generations past, the Sorpel Duchy had remained under the protection of a divine beast. The family head was always accompanied by one.
‘But….’
It was an event from the distant past. The head of the Sorpel Family who had attended a banquet at the Imperial Palace was poisoned.
There was no time to act. The moment he took a single sip of wine, he collapsed dead upon the spot.
The problem lay in the nature of divine beasts themselves—they shared their lives with the family head. When the head perished, the divine beast vanished as well.
Yet before death claimed the family head, he was meant to learn directly from the divine beast the place where a new one would be born.
Only the family head could hear the voice of a divine beast.
The successive Dukes of Sorpel had regarded passing this knowledge to their descendants as their final duty.
But the poisoned Duke of that era could not convey to his heirs the location where the new divine beast would be born. His death had been far too sudden.
Thus, the Sorpel Duchy—once one of the Three Guardian Houses—had continued under family heads who could not command a divine beast.
The current Duke Sorpel faced the same circumstance. So too had his father.
Fortunately, the Sorpel Duchy possessed immense wealth and had long been called a family that protected the Empire, so their renown and martial prowess remained formidable.
Because of this, none dared to disrespect the Sorpel Duchy merely for lacking a divine beast.
Yet whether they could continue to stand as equals with the other two families who still possessed divine beasts remained uncertain.
The Sorpel Family had not simply abandoned their efforts. They had devoted countless years and immense labor to finding a divine beast.
A pendant adorned with a white gemstone.
This jewel was the key to awakening a divine beast. When a divine beast drew near, the pendant and beast would resonate, drawn toward one another.
Thus, they had long traveled with this pendant in search of a divine beast, journeying across the Empire and waiting for the pendant to respond.
The current Duke Sorpel had done so, as had his father before him. And Ludvil, too, carried the pendant whenever he traveled to a new place.
Yet despite all that time invested, the pendant had never once shown a response.
“Sigh.”
A short breath escaped from Duke Sorpel’s lips.
Should I give up now? I’ve spent decades searching for needles in a desert of sand—I’ve found dozens of them.
‘Damn it all!’
But when I thought of the other two dukedoms, especially that one bastard, I could never bring myself to surrender.
He never said it outright, but the way he would summon Ravi right in front of me with that smug expression on his face was absolutely infuriating.

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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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