A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 211

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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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“This is infuriating!”
I desperately needed Arena’s power, but this liquid kept getting in the way.
‘Liquid?’
I immediately touched my neck. My fingers found the necklace hanging there, and I gripped it tightly.
“Aislah.”
A piercing howl tore through the air!
The temperature plummeted so suddenly that it couldn’t possibly be my imagination.
[…What? What is this situation?]
Then came a voice as cold as ice itself.
Snow-white hair streaming behind her, the figure that materialized before us was none other than Aislah, the Winter Spirit King.
A sharp cracking sound echoed!
Assessing the situation in an instant, Aislah froze and shattered the black liquid binding me before I could even call for help.
Bell, who had been locked in combat with me, found his body encased in her freezing aura.
“Arena!”
Freed from the black liquid, I rushed toward Arsian.
Understanding my intent, Arena flowed directly into my body.
A brilliant flash erupted!
Immense holy power enveloped Arsian in an instant.
His wounds, which had been torn open like gaping holes, sealed shut rapidly—as if they had never existed at all.
After healing his wounds, Arena withdrew from my body. The longer she remained, the greater the aftereffects I would suffer.
“Arsian!”
At my call, Arsian struggled to open his eyes.
Though the holy power had perfectly sealed his wounds, he had lost far too much blood in the process.
“Are… you… alright?”
Hearing Arsian ask about my wellbeing first, I barely managed to suppress the sobs threatening to break free.
A shattering crunch resounded!
I turned my head and saw Bell forcibly moving his frozen body. Pieces of ice crumbled away with his movements, but he paid them no mind. The black liquid swiftly reconstituted his form.
His body reformed instantly from the darkness.
“What is this now?”
Bell’s gaze toward Aislah turned glacial.
Because Aislah had summoned him using the ice crystals she’d created, everyone could now see him clearly.
[That’s what I’d like to know. What is this? That black liquid… the Eba Cult?]
I recognized the nature of Bell’s power instantly.
[The Eba Cult still exists? Mars was supposed to have eliminated them entirely.]
“…Mars?”
At the mention of Mars, Bell flinched, and his expression hardened rapidly. The casual familiarity with which she spoke the name—what did it mean?
“Aislah!”
A realization struck me, and I called out urgently. The Winter Spirit King appeared at my side in an instant.
“Do you happen to know something?”
[Know what?]
“The name of the Church Leader that Mars killed!”
How could I have overlooked it? The existence of Aislah!
She was the one who witnessed everything up close during the collision between Mars and the Eba Cult!
Dorman’s sister, the Mirror of Truth who could read true names, was said to be one of Mars’s companions.
Which means perhaps…!
[I know.]
“…!”
Camilla’s mouth fell open in shock, and Bell flinched, glaring at them.
He rapidly unleashed his power again. Black liquid engulfed Camilla and Aislah in an instant.
[John Carter.]
“Pardon?”
[That Church Leader bastard’s name is John Carter.]
…What? Such a mundane, utterly ordinary name?
“Silence!”
For the first time in centuries, as his true name was spoken aloud, distress flickered across Bell’s face.
He drew upon his power with even greater force.
“John Carter.”
“…! D-Don’t!”
His bewilderment was palpable. Camilla rose from her seat and stepped closer to him, shouting louder.
“John, Carter!”
“Ugh…!”
[Aaaaaaahhhhh!]
Against the power of his true name, his spirit tore free from the body. A man who appeared utterly ordinary, in his mid-forties.
He screamed in indignation for a moment before attempting to flee from that very spot.
It had been the same before. He had destroyed the Mirror of Truth first at all costs, then abandoned his original body—the one in which he had reigned as Church Leader—without hesitation.
Instead, he had forced another soul into that body and hidden his own away.
And he had simply watched as Mars killed the Church Leader and dealt with the remnants of the Eba Cult.
When the world grew quiet and people’s memories of the Eba Cult began to fade, he had secretly infiltrated the Imperial Palace.
And gradually, he had stolen the bodies of others, until at last he had seized the Emperor’s body.
After all that effort…!
[How dare you, how dare you, a wretch like you!]
To reduce all my suffering to nothing!
[Damn it!]
He tried to flee without looking back, intending to seize another body and hide once more as before.
“John Carter.”
[…!]
But in that moment, countless figures materialized around him. They were Reapers.
Habel was among them.
[W-What is this!]
Bewilderment was written plainly across John Carter’s face, as if he had never anticipated such a situation.
“You cannot even go directly to hell.”
[W-what…!]
“It means hell itself is too good for you.”
How much suffering had I endured because of the chaos that wretch caused in the Registry of Fates!
My superior’s abuse, endless overtime, colleagues deserting due to health reasons…!
All the Reapers, recalling the humiliation up to this point, pressed him with murderous gazes.
“Well…”
“We have quite a lot to say, don’t we?”
“Damn it! When I think about getting chewed out by my boss because of this bastard!”
“Hey, you punk, why do I have to work overtime! Why do I have to hear that I’m incompetent and can’t finish my work on time! I’m going to kill you!”
Before dragging him away, they all ground their teeth menacingly, each with their own grievances to settle.
“Shoe heels are rather painful, I must say.”
At Reaper Habel’s suggestion, they all scanned the surroundings menacingly for any discarded shoes.
[I, I…!]
Only then did Emperor Faybler—no, John Carter—realize the situation and tremble violently.
Surrounded by the Reapers, he vanished from that place in an instant.
“…”
Habel too, after glancing briefly at Dorman and me, disappeared in a flash.
‘Reality reflecting itself? They show up only after everything’s done.’
The Reapers who suddenly appeared and vanished were ridiculous. Where were they all this time!
“Ha…”
The surroundings fell silent in an instant. For some reason, a hollow laugh escaped me.
The man who had toyed with the world for so long disappeared trembling, surrounded by Reapers.
Realizing he was merely human after all left me feeling both satisfied and strangely empty.
So many people sacrificed themselves for this? I suffered all that because of this wretch?
‘I’m exhausted.’
Suddenly, all my energy drained away.
Was it the aftereffect of using holy power? I could only sigh repeatedly and had no desire to lift even a finger.
“Miss.”
Then Dorman slowly approached me.
“How did you come to be here?”
I had told you to stay home.
Still, I was grateful he helped at such a crucial moment.
Without him, I wouldn’t have been able to summon Aislah, nor would I have found the opportunity to treat Arsian.
“I ask once more.”
“Hmm?”
Sitting on the ground, I looked at Dorman with confusion as he knelt on one knee to meet my gaze.
Why is this guy setting such a serious mood again?
‘You’re making me anxious!’
At my gaze, Dorman offered a faint smile.
“Would you accept the opportunity to live your life anew?”
“…What?”
What was he saying right now?
“I will erase all your memories thus far and allow you to live a new life.”
“A new life?”
“Yes. A good environment, a new family… all the painful memories from before will be erased.”
“….”
Camilla’s eyes grew wider and wider.
That question he’d thrown out so casually earlier—it wasn’t just something he said in passing, was it? When he’d asked if life was still difficult for me, was it because of this?
Soon her gaze began to tremble ceaselessly.
A new life, a new family.
‘All my memories would be erased?’
‘This damned bastard!’
‘Die! Just die!’
‘You should never have been born into this world!’
Could she forget all of that?
“Camilla!”
“Hey! Are you alright?”
“What in the world is happening!”
Then Duke Sorpel and the others appeared where she stood.
Seeing the buildings shattered in places, Arsian lying helplessly on the ground, and the Attendant dead, they were bewildered, unable to comprehend the situation.
“Are you hurt!”
“Why are you sitting there! Are you really injured?”
Regardless of what had happened, Camilla stared blankly at them as they rushed to check on their own safety first.
Snap!
“Huh?”
But in that instant, Dorman flicked his finger lightly, and everything around them froze.
“It seemed unwise to let others hear this.”
“Ah….”
Camilla’s gaze turned back to those standing beside her.
‘Family….’
Forget them? Forget all of them?
“Camilla.”
Camilla’s head slowly turned.
“…Wait, why is he unaffected?”
“…I’m not sure. It seems he resisted with magic.”
There stood Arsian, gazing at her with difficulty.
Having heard the entire exchange between her and Dorman, his eyes were desperate—the face of someone terrified she might leave at any moment.
Camilla’s heart ached as she looked at him.
‘Arsian too….’
He’ll forget too, then?
I swept my gaze across the surroundings once more, my eyes finally settling on Dorman.
A faint smile gradually curved across my lips.
The answer already seems decided, doesn’t it?
“I refuse.”
“…Are you certain?”
Dorman studied me intently as he asked.
“Let me ask once more. Don’t you desire a new life? Don’t you wish for a new family?”
“No, I refuse.”
My gaze turned back to those around me.
“I already have a family.”
And…
…
I looked at Arsian one last time.
“I don’t want to leave.”
I don’t want to part from them, from my family.
“Won’t you regret this?”
Dorman asked one final time. I let out a small laugh.
“I will regret it. But—”
That’s how it’s always been.
Sometimes I’m content, then I regret; sometimes I regret, then…
“I’ll start again.”
That’s how I’ve lived until now, and it will continue to be so.
“So my answer is no.”
At my resolute reply, a smile bloomed across Dorman’s face as well.
“I understand.”
Snap!
As he snapped his fingers and nodded, my vision grew increasingly blurred.
“Camilla!”
“Hey!”
My family embracing me as consciousness slipped away. Arsian desperately trying to reach me.
And…
[Camilla, are you okay?]
[Stay with us!]
[Kyuu!]
My other family, watching over me with concern no less than my blood relatives—
‘My other family.’
Gazing upon them, a radiant smile bloomed across my lips once more.
Simply having them by my side filled me with a strange sense of peace.
『The Fortune-Telling Duke’s Daughter』 End

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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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