A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 198

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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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The astonished spirit continued to express her gratitude, then proceeded to explain who she was and why she had been following Jewela all this time.
‘To be honest, the moment I heard she was Jewela’s biological mother, I wanted to cut ties.’
I had already heard that Jewela had been abandoned on the street before being discovered and raised by Count Bakes and his wife.
She was someone who had abandoned her child. Regardless of the reason, I had no desire to engage with her.
[I didn’t abandon that child. Please, just listen to what I have to say.]
But faced with her desperate plea, I eventually decided to hear her out.
The story she told through tears was pitiful, but hardly extraordinary.
The woman, who had been in her early twenties, had lost her husband to an accident first, and then died herself while giving birth to the child.
Left with only the child, her mother—who had been living with her—immediately abandoned the baby.
[My mother must have resented the granddaughter who caused my death, and our circumstances were dire… At first, I resented her greatly, but now I understand.]
‘So you’ve been following Jewela ever since then?’
[Yes… I wanted to see my child living well.]
‘Then you’ve seen everything.’
[Yes…]
At first, she had been relieved watching her daughter being raised like a true child of the Noble House.
She had even thought it was fortunate—far better than being raised by impoverished biological parents.
After all, they gave her daughter things she could never have provided in a lifetime of labor.
[I wept with joy, thinking how wonderfully things had turned out.]
That was until a second daughter was born into the household.
[Everything changed in an instant.]
Perhaps Count Bakes and his wife feared Jewela might harm the newborn? They even prevented her from approaching her baby sister.
What started at that level gradually escalated, and over time, Jewela became increasingly isolated within the household.
But as someone already dead, all she could do was weep.
Every day, she watched her daughter with a tear-stained face, feeling sorry and guilty.
[That bastard… the son of that household began laying his hands on Jewela with increasing frequency.]
Simultaneously, her anger accumulated rapidly.
[Those who had wandered this world longer than me taught me that if a spirit harbors resentment and pursues someone for a long time, a chill settles in that person’s body and abnormalities occur.]
Continuing to follow him out of resentment, she naturally came to witness the atrocities he had committed.
[I want to repay him.]
“That’s enough.”
The kind of repayment spirits offer is predictable. Forget it, just forget it.
“Since I acted out of frustration myself, there’s no need to worry about—”
[What’s known as the Abandoned Mine actually contains vast quantities of undiscovered gold buried deep within it.]
“Still, I can’t ignore the sincerity of my friend’s mother.”
Camilla nodded readily with a radiant smile.
I could feel the spirits from our household and those from outside watching us with bewilderment, but I simply ignored them.
‘What? Why?’
She’s my friend’s mother, after all.
[Thank you, truly, thank you so much!]
Watching the delighted spirit, Camilla responded with an equally bright smile.
* * *
“What is this?”
“An Abandoned Mine purchase contract.”
“An abandoned mine?”
Jewela’s expression turned bewildered. A contract for an abandoned mine? She couldn’t fathom why someone would hand her such a thing.
She didn’t understand why Camilla was presenting her with a deed to a forsaken mine.
“It’s an abandoned mine, but there’s gold buried inside.”
“What?”
“Take it.”
“…What?”
Jewela realized she kept repeating the same word and furrowed her brow. What on earth was she talking about?
“You said it’s an abandoned mine? But what do you mean by gold?”
“Your biological mother gave it to me. Don’t ask me.”
“What?”
Watching Jewela cry out once more, Camilla finally let out a soft laugh.
After learning the location of the abandoned mine, I’d sent another spirit to investigate, and they’d confirmed there truly was gold buried within—a substantial amount at that.
Since it was an abandoned mine, the acquisition cost hadn’t been much.
“What does all this even mean?”
“It’s yours.”
“That’s what I’m asking—what does that mean….”
“A gift for someone without a home.”
A mother giving to her daughter.
“….”
Jewela stared back and forth between the gold mine documents and Camilla with an expression of utter disbelief before finally releasing a short sigh.
“I don’t need your pity.”
“Why would I pity you? You’re the most sought-after talented designer these days.”
“…You really think that?”
“Would I keep someone incompetent around?”
“Then why are you giving me this….”
Jewela’s gaze returned to the mine purchase contract.
“Do you know what’s the greatest truth about the world I’ve come to understand through living?”
“Anyone hearing that would think you’re an ancient being. And you’re only seventeen.”
I’m older than I appear. I don’t remember it, but if you count the repeated lives… well, what’s the point in explaining.
“No matter how filthy money is, the more you have, the better.”
“…Is that really the great truth you discovered?”
“Yes.”
“….”
“So gather what you can while you’re able. Work hard when you’re young so your later years are comfortable.”
“…You really do sound like an old woman.”
Jewela finally broke into a small laugh and took the contract in her hands.
“Thank you.”
“You didn’t have to give me anything.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Ugh, never mind. It’s just how things are.”
[Thank you so much! Truly, thank you so very much!]
Leaving behind Jewela’s Biological Mother, who had been expressing her gratitude profusely, and Jewela, who was grumbling about why she was even talking to her, Camilla slowly rose from her seat.
“Where are you going?”
“Yes, I have someone to meet.”
“Who?”
Jewela couldn’t hide the confusion in her eyes. It was an innocent question, but something about Camilla’s expression seemed off.
A long sigh escaped from Camilla’s lips as her brow furrowed.
‘Who on earth is she going to meet?’
The answer she gave next only deepened Jewela’s bewilderment.
“Dorman.”
The name of her attendant had been spoken.
* * *
“Mel! Be careful!”
“It’s fine. I’ve climbed to this height more than once before.”
Mel, who had climbed the ladder to pick apples hanging abundantly from the tree, waved her hand reassuringly at her colleague’s cry.
From next year onward, she would never see the apples that hung so abundantly at this time of year.
Following the orders of the Duke and the young master, the apple trees within the Duke’s Mansion were being removed. New fruit trees would be planted in their place.
‘Why all of a sudden?’
Everyone found it strange, but no one dared to question the Duke’s orders.
It was simply remarkable that these two, who normally paid no attention to such trivial matters, had issued such a sudden command.
Not long ago, the head chef had been told not to serve any dishes containing apples.
‘Did they suddenly tire of apples?’
Of course, thanks to that, all the apples harvested here this year had become theirs.
“Ah… ah, ah!”
“Kyaa! Mel!”
As Mel was absorbed in picking apples, she reached for a plump fruit hanging slightly higher, but in that moment, she lost her balance and stumbled.
“Ah? Ah? Kyaaaa!”
Thud!
“…Huh?”
Mel, who had squeezed her eyes shut, felt herself enveloped by something soft rather than hard ground, and slowly opened her eyes.
“Are you alright?”
“…Dorman.”
“That was truly dangerous.”
“Th-thank you!”
Dorman, who had gently set Mel down on the ground, smiled slightly and gazed at the apple tree from which she had just fallen.
“Miss Camilla doesn’t seem to care much for apples… Would it be alright to ask you to be careful when serving dessert?”
“Yes, yes! Don’t worry! This isn’t for the kitchen.”
“That’s a relief. Would you like help picking the fruit?”
“No, no! We can handle it! I’ll be really careful this time.”
“Understood. Please take care, sisters.”
“Dorman!”
“Stop by the kitchen later. I’ll prepare some snacks for you!”
Mel and the other maidservant’s eyes sparkled brighter than ever as they waved continuously at Dorman.
Unlike the other attendants, Dorman possessed impeccable manners and was always kind, making him far more popular among the household staff than anyone else.
“Oh? Miss?”
Someone entered Dorman’s field of vision just as he turned around with a radiant smile.
Upon spotting Camilla standing there and staring directly at him, he hurried toward her.
“When did you arrive?”
“Just a moment ago.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Watching you.”
“Me? Why?”
“Because I realized… you’re living this way because of me.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Camilla stared silently at Dorman for a moment as he tilted his head in confusion, then slowly turned away.
“Follow me. We need to talk.”
With those words, Dorman hastily followed her as she walked ahead.
A moment later.
“Um, Miss Camilla?”
“Sit.”
“Should I prepare some tea…?”
“Never mind. Just sit.”
“Yes.”
Sensing that Camilla’s demeanor was different from usual, Dorman carefully took his seat with a somewhat tense expression.
‘Have I made some grave mistake recently?’
Perhaps I should go hide those pointed shoes right now…
“You’re the Mirror of Truth, aren’t you?”
“…Pardon?”
“You are, aren’t you?”
Struck by the sudden, piercing question, Dorman found himself momentarily speechless, merely gaping at Camilla with wide eyes.
She did not shy away from his gaze.
“You’re the Mirror of Truth, aren’t you?”
She posed the same question again.
After all the thinking and deliberation, the conclusion remained singular.
“And…”
Upon recognizing this truth, another realization dawned.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you? It wasn’t a mistake.”
Dorman’s act of swapping the souls of Sia and Camilla.
The truth contained within it became crystal clear to me now.
‘Yes, no matter how I think about it, something was off.’
How could anyone swap souls without losing their mind?
“Someone who manages the Spirit Realm’s system couldn’t possibly be that foolish, could they?”
According to Reaper Habel, Dorman had been the highest administrator, so the fact that such a person made a mistake that even a novice wouldn’t commit was laughable.
But when I realized that the Mirror of Truth was myself, I became certain.
“He deliberately swapped the souls so the Mirror of Truth could be born safely.”
That was why he had intentionally switched their souls.

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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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