A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 212

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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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Side story. A Choice Without Regret
“Sia, are you alright?”
Manager Hyunseok kept glancing at my complexion even as he drove.
My face had gone pale, and my physical condition clearly looked far from ideal.
“I’m fine. Just a bit nervous, that’s all.”
At those words, Hyunseok blinked rapidly.
‘That’s even stranger!’
You nervous? You, of all people?
Today was the Awards Ceremony for the year-end entertainment awards, but he never imagined it would be the cause of tension for the legendary Sia.
‘She’s not the type to be like this.’
Even when she’d been nominated for Best Actress before, she’d carried herself with such composure that people around her would marvel at her nerve.
‘Isn’t it natural that I win? Who else would take it besides me?’
That overconfident, almost infuriating attitude—he couldn’t understand why she was acting this way today.
“Sister, would you like some calming medicine?”
“Yes.”
“Really? Oh, oppa! Stop! There’s a pharmacy!”
“Huh? Oh! Got it.”
Screech!
Jihyun, who had been checking my outfit, quickly pulled the car over when my unexpected agreement came back—she’d only asked in passing.
“Sister, here!”
“Thanks.”
Watching me drink the calming medicine immediately, Jihyun tilted her head in confusion. That wasn’t like her at all… Why was she so nervous today?
“Sigh.”
Regardless, I exhaled a long breath repeatedly.
‘It’s my first time.’
My first acting performance without using the System.
I opened the System window right away.
System
Name
: Sia (Camilla)
Agility
: B
Stamina
: B+
Appearance
: S+
Acting
: S (EX)
Singing
: B (A)
Ding.
: A (A+)
Remaining Points
: 1
My acting ability had improved significantly.
This time, I filmed the drama purely with my own skills without replicating the acting prowess that Camilla possessed.
‘No wonder I’m nervous.’
The viewership ratings came out quite well, but I couldn’t tell if it was thanks to my acting ability or simply because of the name Sia that I carried.
Thinking of the Awards Ceremony where I would receive that evaluation, I kept swallowing dry saliva.
Suddenly, memories from last year surfaced.
The day I was hospitalized because of that man called Father.
The choice that was given to me then.
* * *
System
(ง˙∇˙)ว
!
Life Reset
Erase your current life entirely and gain a new one.
A good family, a good household. A life filled with fortune awaits you.
However, all your memories up until now will be erased. You will be reborn as an innocent soul who knows nothing.
Life Reset.
I didn’t know who Dorman was, but honestly, it was far too tempting an offer.
System
(ง˙∇˙)ว
!
Time to Choose
You stand at a crossroads given only once in a lifetime!
You have been given exactly 168 hours.
167 : 59 : 58
I thought a week wasn’t even necessary.
There was no reason to hesitate. A new family, all painful memories erased.
System
(ง˙∇˙)ว
!
Yes
or
No
My hand naturally moved toward YES.
“….”
Yet strangely, my fingers would not move any further.
Was this really the right choice?
Could I truly abandon this life like this?
*Crash!*
“Sia!”
Just then, Hyunseok, my manager who had supposedly gone to meet with my physician, rushed through the door.
“Look at this.”
Hyunseok handed me the smartphone he’d been holding.
As I checked the screen, my eyes grew wider and wider.
– Sister! Get well soon!
– Sia, don’t be sick. I’ll cheer you on….
“…What is this?”
Strangers I’d never seen before were sending me messages of support.
“A challenge has started where people are sending you encouragement messages.”
“What?”
“Your story… well, anyway, it seems everyone wants to support you.”
My dazed eyes returned to the phone screen.
“…Pity?”
Are they pitying me?
I know their intentions aren’t malicious—in fact, I should be grateful. Yet a sharp ache pierced my chest regardless.
Is my life still so full of misery? Does it appear that way?
Seeing my bitter expression, Hyunseok led me to the window.
“Look over there.”
“….”
My gaze turned outward. Soon, my eyes widened as I discovered something.
A massive Downtown High-Rise Building visible even from the hospital. My face was displayed on its enormous digital billboard.
And beneath it, a message was written—words wishing for my swift recovery.
“Do you know how much it costs to secure that building’s billboard? Could mere pity accomplish something like that?”
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the radiant photograph of myself smiling.
We await the day you smile again.
Reading the message displayed on the billboard, my eyes began to redden.
“Everyone cares about you. They love you.”
At those words, the tears I’d been holding back finally spilled over.
Hyunseok gently patted my shoulder, marveling at how emotional his actress had become lately.
“….”
After Hyunseok left, I opened the system window again.
System
(ง˙∇˙)ว
!
Yes
or
No
I glanced back and forth between the glittering system window and the electronic billboard outside for a moment.
Then her hand moved.
Toward NO, not YES.
* * *
“The honored recipient of the 20xx JNC Awards Ceremony is….”
The eyes of the actors attending the ceremony turned toward the veteran actor standing at the podium.
He, who had won the Grand Prize last year for a historical drama, unfolded the paper bearing this year’s winner’s name and offered a faint smile.
“Sia from ‘Labyrinth Street’.”
As my name was called, my mouth fell open in shock. Did I really win the Grand Prize?
Receiving congratulations from the other actors and cheers from the audience, Sia slowly made her way to the podium.
This was an achievement I had accomplished with my own strength alone, without relying on the system’s replication ability—Camilla’s acting prowess.
Standing before the microphone, her eyes were already reddened. Seeing her like this, everyone couldn’t hide their bewilderment.
Sia, who was always so confident. She was famous for never showing tears in anything other than acting.
“Well….”
“It must have been difficult.”
Then, recalling her accident from last year, everyone nodded in understanding.
An award received after hardship surely held special meaning.
“Thank you.”
Feeling her voice tremble slightly, everyone offered encouraging smiles.
“There has been so much.”
Truly, so very much had happened.
“But standing here now, I feel my choice was not wrong.”
A smile gradually spread across Sia’s lips.
“I want to give this award to no one but myself.”
At her confident words, everyone let out short laughs. Yes, that’s the real Sia.
“And….”
She paused for a moment, then released a long breath.
“I want to share this joy with the dear friend who brought me to this place.”
Another version of me who laid the foundation for all of this.
“I hope that both she and I can be happy now.”
Camilla, I hope you find happiness more than anyone else.
‘Because I….’
I’m so happy right now.
Sia’s face bloomed with a genuine, radiant smile.
Side story. The Price
“Louis!”
“…Meriz?”
Louis, who was heading toward the National Business Support Department, stopped at the sound of his name being called.
His face twisted instantly. It was a face he truly did not wish to see.
“Meriz.”
“What are you doing here?”
“As you can see.”
Louis waved the documents he held in his hand. A long sigh escaped his lips.
‘Where did everything go wrong?’
After Meriz, the former Student Council president, left the Academy—partly by choice, partly by circumstance—I and the other Student Council executives had no choice but to suspend our studies as well.
The students who had suffered at our hands retaliated against the Student Council executives in exactly the same manner they had against Meriz.
Of course, we didn’t simply endure it passively. We used our family’s influence to coax the students, and we even tried intimidation.
But it proved futile. Their anger was far more fierce than we anticipated, and ultimately we had to seek legal counsel to restrain their actions.
There was talk that money could solve anything, and questions about which law firm we’d hired, but I didn’t pay much attention to it.
‘If only you’d been born into a better family.’
‘My thoughts exactly.’
I even found myself chuckling at the sight of it.
I thought it would end there, but then problems began arising in each of our families.
Issues sprouted up here and there, and now we’ve reached a stage where nothing can be done about it.
We couldn’t even afford the donation required for the Academy, so we had to suspend our studies.
‘And now….’
I’m on my way to apply for business support funds from the National Business Support Department. My father is also currently borrowing money from various places.
But it wasn’t easy. If these documents don’t get approved, all that’s left is despair. Every business venture would fall into debt.
“What brings you here?”
“I….”
Meriz’s situation was even worse.
The businesses that had been faltering since before her father, Marquis Gabriel, died were now teetering on the brink. Her mother was bedridden, and all her relatives had turned their backs on her.
Rather, they were eyeing her with bloodshot eyes, wondering if there was anything else they could snatch away.
She too had come to this place with a new business plan, seeking to borrow money.
“….”
“….”
The two of them faced each other in silence for a while. Then, simultaneously, they let out short sighs and gazed at the firmly closed door.
【National Business Support Department】
The two of them knocked lightly, then opened the door and stepped inside.
“What brings you here?”
A male employee who appeared to be in his late twenties spoke in a somewhat stiff tone.
Most people who visited this place came to borrow money, so kindness only invited exhaustion. They would try to cling to you no matter what.
“We’ve come to submit a business plan.”
“The final decision will be made by the Minister of Finance, and you’ll need to undergo an initial review with another person first. There’s a person in charge inside—why don’t you go see them?”
As the man recited his scripted lines, the two of them knocked on the office door inside.
“Come in.”
A young man’s voice came from within.
Click.
“Excuse me…!”
Louis and Meriz froze the moment they stepped inside the room.
A familiar figure was seated within—someone they knew all too well.
“You…!”
“What brings you two here?”
The man regarded them with an icy gaze.
“K-Kevin?”
Kevin Brian.
The very person who had ultimately abandoned the Academy because of their relentless torment.

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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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