A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 193

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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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Camilla shook her head lightly and decided to quickly handle whatever business he’d called her for.
“There’s a spirit occupying Empress Javela’s body in the Imperial Palace.”
“Empress Javela?”
“I want to know the true name of whoever is occupying that body.”
Camilla explained the situation she’d witnessed in greater detail.
This was precisely why she’d called him today. She needed to discover the true name of the spirit occupying Empress Javela’s body, and Habel could do it, couldn’t he?
“I’ll look into it and let you know.”
Even if they found a spirit that had been fleeing from the Reapers, notifying the administrator and going through the procedures again would be quite tedious.
“As quickly as possible, please.”
Still, since she’d given him the exact location of the escaped spirit, he said it could be faster than expected—though who knew when that would actually be.
‘If I learn the true name….’
Should I shout it out in front of everyone? Would Empress Javela then rot away and disappear like Lania did?
‘Or maybe not?’
What if it doesn’t work that way? That would be troublesome.
People might even misunderstand that I used some bizarre method to kill the Empress!
“Sigh.”
Perhaps the Mirror of Truth was the only answer after all.
“By the way.”
Since she had Habel here, Camilla decided to ask him about something that had been weighing on her mind lately.
As a Reaper who’d wandered this world for quite some time, he might know something.
“Do you know anything about the Mirror of Truth?”
Clink.
“Hm?”
But at that moment, she heard the sound of something breaking.
“What was that?”
Turning her head, she saw broken cup fragments scattered across the floor. Standing at the center of it all was Dorman.
Whoosh!
Habel rushed over in an instant and began cleaning up the broken pieces.
Anyway, whenever Dorman was involved, his reflexes were certainly quick.
“My apologies. Is anyone hurt?”
“No, we’re fine.”
Dorman bowed respectfully to the customers sitting near the broken cup.
“I’ll bring you some macarons as compensation.”
“Oh! Thank you so much.”
Look at him—he can’t even get angry, just flashing smiles everywhere.
And who said you could give out free service? That’s coming out of your wages.
‘But something feels off.’
This wasn’t the kind of mistake he’d normally make.
Unlike his usual clumsy appearance, his physical reflexes were quite excellent.
He’d even caught a fork she’d once nearly dropped in an instant.
I’d often seen him effortlessly carrying dozens of cups at once when guests visited home. Seeing that, I thought he’d be perfect for the Cafe, so I brought him here.
‘And yet this guy broke just two cups while moving them?’
Our eyes met for a moment.
‘What’s this?’
But he quickly turned his head away, naturally avoiding my gaze.
‘What was that?’
His expression just now was oddly strange. Did I misread it?
“The Mirror of Truth, was it?”
A moment later, Habel returned to his spot.
“Yeah, do you happen to know about it?”
“Never heard of it.”
“Really?”
He was the one person I could trust, yet it seemed he knew nothing either. I should ask Dorman about it later.
“So what exactly are you trying to find?”
“I saw it in a book. The Mirror of Truth is supposed to—”
Crash!
He jumped up!
“The Mirror of Truth is—”
Crash!
He jumped up again!
“Truth… if you break one more dish, you won’t see a single coin of your salary this month!”
Habel, you need to stop running back and forth too.
“Just leave it! Let whoever broke it clean it up.”
Otherwise, he might as well apply to work as a janitor at our shop…
“I’ll take care of it, Dorman!”
Before I could even finish speaking, Habel grabbed a broom and rushed off frantically.
As I stared at him with bewilderment, Habel widened his eyes as if asking what the problem was, and Camilla quietly shook her head.
Fine, do as you please.
‘Anyway…’
Why is he really acting like this?
Camilla stared intently at Dorman, who kept making mistakes.
* * *
“Here’s your tea.”
“Thanks.”
“You worked hard today as well.”
“Yeah. You had a rough time breaking dishes, and I had a rough time cleaning them up.”
“…But Habel cleaned up all the dishes I broke.”
“I’m cutting your salary in half this month.”
“H-half is too much, sir.”
Camilla silently observed Dorman’s pitiful expression. That look on your face won’t make this go away so easily.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“You know something about the Mirror of Truth.”
“…Me?”
“Don’t even think about denying it. Do you take me for a fool? You were acting incredibly strange earlier. You did that on purpose so I’d notice, didn’t you?”
“….”
“What is it? Why do you keep flinching like that?”
The moment I brought up the Mirror of Truth, Dorman’s atmosphere became oddly tense.
I wasn’t dull enough to miss it, but given the circumstances, I’d simply let it slide for now.
“The Mirror of Truth—you know something about it.”
At my confident question, Dorman finally let out a short sigh.
“Why are you suddenly looking for that, sir?”
“You know as well as I do what’s been happening around me lately. It really does seem like the Eba Cult is behind it all.”
“But why the Mirror of Truth?”
“Because I think people will believe me if I have it. I read in a book that they used it to identify all the Eba Cult members….”
Wait a moment.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
Yes? Yes?
Even if you were once a Soul Manager, what’s with this calm response? It’s as if you already knew everything….
“Did you already know all of this?”
“….”
Don’t avoid my gaze, don’t you dare! You bastard!
“Tell me straight!”
Another long sigh escaped from Dorman’s lips. He stared at me intently for a moment without speaking.
“What now?”
Why are you setting the mood like this, so unlike yourself?
“What else are you hiding from me?”
Why won’t you just tell me everything at once?!
It’s the same with my biological father, and it’s the same with Jainer! Why won’t you tell me first, why?!
“Do you enjoy watching people lose their patience? Huh?”
Before that happens, I’m going to kill you first! You bastard!
Don’t you know Jainer is already sharpening his blade for you?
“What exactly is the Mirror of Truth?”
“The Mirror of Truth is….”
His lips closed again as he began to speak. I didn’t press him any further.
Sensing that his atmosphere had definitely shifted into something different.
Was it just my imagination? For a moment, his eyes seemed to grow distant.
“It’s not actually a mirror.”
“What?”
“People simply used it as a metaphor.”
“Then?”
“…It’s a person.”
After a long pause, Dorman’s words made my eyes widen more than ever before. The Mirror of Truth wasn’t an object—it was a person?
“And….”
Just as I was about to ask another question, a bitter smile crossed his lips.
“My younger sibling was the Mirror of Truth.”
Chapter. A Family of One’s Own
“Camilla must be really tired.”
“I suppose so.”
Laila and Elisha smiled faintly as they watched me sleeping beneath the shade of a tree.
“Did she not sleep properly at night?”
Even as they worried, both of them held the same object in their hands—an image crystal.
Their hands moved with dazzling dexterity, as if unwilling to miss a single moment.
“Laila, I told you to speak casually when it’s just us.”
“But how could I possibly….”
“You speak casually with Camilla all the time.”
“That’s because she’s my friend.”
“Wow, that hurts.”
Elisha’s expression immediately turned tearful.
“You don’t want to be friends with me?”
“Oh, no! That’s not it….”
“Then speak casually with me.”
“But….”
Laila offered an awkward smile, clearly uncomfortable.
I could speak casually with Camilla because we’d known each other since childhood, but Elisha was still a bit different.
‘She’s quite endearing, though.’
At first, I thought she had a rather reserved personality, but perhaps because we shared similar interests? We became close very quickly after meeting at the Image Crystal Print Shop.
She calls both Camilla and me “sister” in such a friendly way—it feels like I’ve gained a cute younger sibling.
But her status as a noble lady still made things a bit awkward.
“Just speak casually like I do.”
A somewhat sharp voice interjected into their conversation. It was Jewela.
“Why are you making it so difficult? Just relax like I do.”
Because I’d been meeting with Jewela frequently for various reasons, she’d also been spending more time with Laila and Elisha.
Before long, gathering here at Spirit Lake after school had become our daily routine.
“You never gave me permission to speak casually.”
“That’s discrimination?”
“Of course it is!”
Elisha placed her hands on her hips and widened her eyes.
“You tormented our sister terribly! I still remember it! How you grabbed Camilla’s hair at the Party Venue!”
“Are you talking about me?”
You don’t remember being there too? You were the one laughing the loudest, saying you were dying of amusement.
“That is…”
Elisha, suddenly at a loss for words, pouted her lips repeatedly.
‘Ugh! So annoying!’
I really can’t stand that woman! It’s even more infuriating because she’s always right.
‘And that cold expression of hers!’
The way she wouldn’t react no matter how much I tried to embarrass her was truly galling.
‘Look, just look.’
She just scoffs with that expression saying it’s none of her concern whether I glare or not!
She doesn’t even bother hiding that thought—go ahead and talk all you want, I’ll just listen and let it pass right through.
“Why did Camilla suddenly get close to that woman?”
“I’m asking again—are you talking about yourself?”
“Seriously!”
“Keep it down, will you? She’s sleeping.”
“Ugh!”
Elisha puffed out her cheeks. She wanted to shout at the top of her lungs, but seeing Camilla asleep, her anger deflated.
“I’m only holding back because of Camilla!”
With a sulky expression, Elisha turned toward Laila, who had been watching their quarrel with vacant eyes.
“Laila, did you bring it?”
“Yes, you brought yours too, didn’t you?”
“Of course!”
The two of them immediately spread out something they’d brought onto the floor. They were Image Crystal prints.
Of course, the subject was naturally Camilla.
The two of them glanced once more to confirm Camilla was asleep before beginning to seriously evaluate the prints.
They’d been severely scolded once before when Camilla caught them with Image Crystal prints. Even though they’d taken them with permission as usual, she suddenly frowned and they were genuinely shocked.
‘What? What are all these?!’
‘C-Camilla? That is…’
‘Sister, did we make some kind of mistake—’
‘You should only pick the good ones! The composition is off on this one! And this one too! Is this supposed to be me? Me looking like this? You two don’t even have the basics of fandom down!’
Fandom? What was that supposed to mean?
Her anger seemed to have strange priorities, but in any case, they decided to refrain from making prints until their skills improved.
And this was the extent of that restraint.
“This one turned out really well, didn’t it?”
“Yes, yes! Could you print that one for me too?”
“Oh! Where was this taken?”
“When she came to our house last time. We were having tea together.”
“Really? That must have been wonderful.”
“Sister, did you take this one at the Cafe?”
“Yes, Camilla baked cookies herself and they were absolutely delicious!”
“Ah! I wanted to eat the cookies Camilla made too! I heard she’s an amazing cook? Is there anything she can’t do!”
“Next time Camilla makes some, I’ll set aside a portion for you.”

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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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