A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 174

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

“T-The Duke Sorpel’s daughter!”
Light poured forth from her entire body. Even her hair color and eye color had transformed, dyed by the radiance.
Her locks shimmered with a mystical silver glow, while her irises deepened to a rich golden hue. From her form emanated an almost sacred reverence.
“Good heavens!”
The priests in the room immediately fell to their knees. Tears streamed ceaselessly from their eyes as they traced the sign of the cross.
Even Daniel stood frozen, his mouth agape, unable to tear his gaze from Camilla.
“Such divine power…”
Even witnessing it with his own eyes, he could scarcely believe it. The current Pope himself did not possess such divine power.
Whoooosh!
The next instant, as she extended both hands toward the two children, an overwhelming force swept through the room once more.
The torrent of divine power made it nearly impossible to maintain one’s composure.
Within the formidable pressure that seemed to crush one’s entire body lay a warmth so exquisite it bordered on ecstasy!
The contradictory sensations caused everyone’s hearts to swell with emotion.
After a long moment, when those present felt the light fade and slowly lifted their heads, they could only gape in astonishment.
“Ah, the children!”
The two children, who had been rigidly frozen in improper positions, now lay collapsed on the bed. Their bodies, which had been hard as stone, had returned to their natural state.
“Ah… blessed God!”
“Thank you!”
The priests who rushed to the children covered their mouths with both hands. Tears glistened in their eyes.
“Mm… mmm.”
The children were sleeping peacefully.
The two who had been unable to even close their eyes properly from pain were now breathing softly in slumber.
“Unbelievable…”
Even when the High Priests had used their divine power, there had been no response, and we had resigned ourselves to the children departing to God’s side.
We lacked even sufficient divine power to do anything but wring our hands helplessly.
Tears flowed from the priests’ eyes. This was truly a miracle.
“Hah.”
In that moment, a long breath escaped from Camilla’s lips as well.
‘Is it over?’
She too examined the children’s condition before releasing another long, relieved sigh.
Fortunately, even while possessed, the divine power had manifested properly.
[Hey, little one.]
Little one? Me? I’m quite grown, you know? You don’t seem that much older than I am.
The Priest Ghost, who had emerged from her body, regarded Camilla with an expression of great curiosity. A faint smile gradually bloomed at the corners of her lips.
[You’re quite pure.]
‘What is? My spirit?’
I hear that sort of thing fairly often, actually.
[My magnificent divine power manifested perfectly. How remarkable. This body’s divine power isn’t something anyone can wield. Your spirit must be cleaner than expected—that’s why it worked properly.]
Well, that’s certainly fortunate.
‘Though I must admit, that is quite fortunate…’
It was happening again.
I could immediately sense that something was wrong with my body. There was no way I couldn’t notice.
‘What is this heat?’
Normally, when a ghost entered and left my body, the strain would leave me bedridden and groaning for days.
But this time, the reaction felt different from the very beginning.
A wave of heat swept through my entire body—it was no trivial matter. My head spun worse than usual, and nausea crept in.
“Ugh…”
Eventually, my body tilted slowly to the side.
“Camilla!”
Swift hands caught me as I fell.
It was Arsian, who had not taken his eyes off me for a single moment from beginning to end.
As he caught my collapsing form, his face hardened instantly. He immediately sensed that my condition was grave.
Whoooosh—!
Arsian murmured something, and a brilliant light enveloped us before we vanished from that spot entirely.
Magic was absolutely forbidden within the Papal See, but there was no time to worry about such rules.
“Such divine power… I’ve never witnessed it before.”
“The holy power of a saint!”
“Truly, it is the blessing of God!”
Only after Camilla disappeared did those present come to their senses, each one scrambling to express their astonishment.
They could not hide their excitement at witnessing such formidable divine power for the first time.
“…Truly remarkable.”
Daniel too gazed upon the two children now peacefully asleep, uttering continuous exclamations of wonder. In that moment, his eyes gleamed with undisguised greed.
That body! He truly coveted it.
“How excessive.”
Meanwhile, one person thoroughly abandoned and forgotten by Arsian—Jainer shook his head slightly.
If he was going to teleport, he could have taken me along too.
‘But I must admit, this is entertaining.’
His gaze too remained fixed on the spot where Camilla had just been.
The more I learned about her, the more new facets she revealed—there was never a dull moment.
Recalling how she had collapsed at the end, he too swiftly departed from that place.
Chapter. The Saint
“These mad fools!”
I had lost consciousness for the first time in a while. Normally, even when ghosts entered and left my body, it was never this severe.
My condition seemed worse than when Zeno had inhabited my body before and crossed swords with Ludvil, straining every fiber of my being.
All strength had drained from me; I couldn’t even open my eyes properly. I was truly caught between sleep and wakefulness…
“Those wretches must be mad with a death wish!”
Through my hazy consciousness, familiar voices reached me. Duke Sorpel’s voice, filled with fury, pierced my ears first.
Why was he so angry? Could it be because I had collapsed?
But who was he angry at?
“The child has collapsed—what does any of that matter now?”
“S-so, the Saint must be seen right away, and there are so many Temple people outside….”
“These blasted fools!”
*Shing!*
“L-Lord! Why the sword!”
“Young Master! Please stop the Lord!”
“Father.”
*Ugh!*
Ludvil stepped forward quietly, and the Attendants relaxed.
But it was only temporary.
“I’ll handle it.”
*Shing—*
“Ack!”
“Y-Young Master!”
“I’ll join you. Let’s absolutely crush them.”
“Oh no! Why is the Second Young Master doing this too!”
The room erupted into chaos once more. In the midst of it all, a maddening heat surged through my entire body again.
Was this divine fever?
I’d read in books that priests who wielded extremely powerful sacred energy sometimes collapsed like this, suffering from high fevers. There was supposedly no medicine for such symptoms.
*Whoosh.*
In that moment, an ice-cold hand enveloped my forehead.
Not wanting to lose that coolness, I reached out without thinking. Someone gently grasped my hand in return.
“Sleep a bit more.”
It was Arsian’s voice. Like magic, wherever his touch reached, a refreshing chill embraced my entire body.
“Everyone, please be quiet. This one doesn’t seem to be sleeping properly.”
At those words, the noisy room instantly became as silent as if no one were there.
Camilla sank back into deep sleep.
* * *
“Haa.”
I exhaled a long breath and slowly opened my eyes. How many days had I been bedridden? I didn’t have the strength to move a single finger.
‘I’m hungry.’
Amusingly, hunger was the first thing I felt. That must mean my body had truly recovered, right?
As my blurred vision cleared, I could tell it was the middle of the night.
Perhaps to avoid disturbing my sleep, only a faint light illuminated the room dimly.
“Huh?”
Then I noticed one person immediately—a man sitting in a chair beside the bed, nodding off.
‘Arsian?’
Now that I think about it, I remember hearing his voice even through my hazy consciousness. I thought it was a dream, but it wasn’t.
‘Sleep a bit more.’
‘It’s medicine. You need to drink it.’
‘Eat, Camilla. Just one more bite. Please.’
Had he been staying by my side all this time?
What was strange was that the other family members simply allowed his behavior without protest.
What’s going on?
Before, after we woke up together in this room, the moment Arsian drew even slightly closer, he’d glare with obvious displeasure.
Hmm?
Then something caught Camilla’s attention. There was a fresh wound on Arsian’s hand.
What is that…?
Ah!
A memory suddenly surfaced. In the throes of divine agony, I must have unconsciously ground my teeth together.
Your hand!
It’s fine.
You’re bleeding—how is that fine!
It’s better than damaging this child’s teeth.
…I think I bit his hand. Really, quite hard.
Like some animal.
Did I actually bite a person? Really?
This isn’t a dream, right? No, looking at it, those are clearly bite marks!
What on earth did I do?
How am I supposed to live this down!
[You’re awake.]
Just as I was silently screaming and tearing at my hair, a familiar voice reached me.
I quickly turned my head to see the Priest Ghost walking slowly toward me.
What?
Why are you here? Did you follow me? Why?
[You were out longer than expected. Well, my divine power is so tremendous, after all. Ordinary people can hardly bear it.]
The Priest Ghost drew near and smirked.
[Those X bastards. You saw how shocked they were, right? Ha! Of course you did. They’ve never witnessed such divine power before.]
…What is this? Such insufferable smugness? She’s remarkably skilled at boasting.
What happened?
[What do you mean?]
Why are you here?
[Well, I just…]
She trailed off awkwardly. After that, the Priest Ghost’s eyes carefully examined Camilla again, as if verifying that my body had recovered properly.
What? Did she follow me because she was worried?
But the moment our eyes met, she averted her gaze with an uncomfortable expression. How strange—she boasts so much, yet she gets embarrassed in peculiar moments.
What about the children?
I’d been suffering for such a long time. The family’s concern must have been considerable.
Surely the outcome of such a choice should be favorable, shouldn’t it?
They’re safe, aren’t they?
Before losing consciousness, I’d confirmed that the children’s bodies had returned to normal, but I had no way of knowing what happened after that.
[Of course I’m fine. I used my power.]
“Your rigid body is truly healed now?”
[You keep asking me obvious things. Not a single scar remains on your body. I’d wager even the old illnesses and wounds you’ve carried all these years have been cured.]
A sigh of relief escaped me unbidden. I was truly grateful. Though of course, the wounds upon the heart would remain entirely unhealed.
Those would require far more time to mend. Perhaps they would never fade at all.
‘Yet they live.’
Wasn’t that better than dying while suffering and broken?
I couldn’t speak for the children’s perspective, but that was my conviction.

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