A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 256

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

Camilla cradled Luna’s face between her hands as the Divine Beast licked her fingers.
‘Arsian said that with Luna, there would be no more Divine Beasts in the Sefra Family… but could that really be possible?’
She trusted Arsian, yet on this matter alone, doubt gnawed at her.
Duke Escra, who had departed not long ago, had voiced similar concerns with palpable worry.
‘That man will inevitably make the same choice as the previous Sefra Dukes. It’s the obligation of those born into a family that commands Divine Beasts.’
‘But Arsian is….’
‘Ideals and reality diverge. Even if he clings to his convictions to the bitter end, others won’t simply stand by and watch.’
‘Others?’
‘How many vultures do you think circle for the position of family head?’
Ever since witnessing Arsian’s secret visit to her room, Duke Escra had seized every opportunity to lecture her about maintaining distance from him.
After learning the Sefra Family’s dark secrets through Jainer, his warnings had only intensified.
‘Even rotten fish can still be fish—some fool from a cadet branch might harbor delusions. If that happens, both the Duke and that wretch will be in danger. They’d spend their entire lives with a blade hanging over their necks.’
‘They’re both strong.’
‘Yet your expression suggests otherwise, my dear.’
Camilla’s lips pressed into a thin line, her silence speaking volumes.
Duke Escra regarded her with eyes clouded by an emotion he couldn’t quite name, then took a sip of tea before continuing.
‘Nothing in human affairs is absolute, and the Sefra Family as it stands is a powder keg waiting to detonate. So it would be wise to maintain proper distance from that man—’
‘Arsian says you’re a kind person who only worries about me, sir.’
‘What?’
‘All you do is criticize Arsian.’
‘…I don’t think I was criticizing him?’
“Is there any good way out of this, Luna?”
[…?]
“Though if there were, you’d have told me first, wouldn’t you?”
Watching Luna’s bewildered expression, Camilla let out a hollow laugh.
Was there truly no way to preserve the Divine Beast’s lineage without resorting to such inhumane measures?
“But I can’t keep the Duke alive forever either.”
The Divine Beasts of the three families share their lifespan with their family heads. If the Sefra Duke didn’t die, Luna wouldn’t disappear either.
“What am I supposed to do?”
Lost in thought, Camilla crouched blankly on the floor, and Luna drew closer, pressing her small, warm body against her.
As if offering what little warmth she could.
“Ah!”
In that instant, Camilla gasped softly and shot to her feet. Startled, Luna scrambled up as well.
“I have it! I have it!”
A smile bloomed across Camilla’s face as she recalled something she’d completely forgotten.
“Luna.”
[…?]
“You might… never have to disappear for all eternity.”
Luna tilted her head in confusion, and Camilla gently stroked her head, a soft laugh escaping her lips.
* * *
“Zetti, you brat!”
[Why did you come?]
“What, what is it?”
[I don’t want to see you for a while. Get lost.]
“You, you little—!”
[I told you to leave! Hmph!]
“Ugh….”
Duke Jebillen, who had come to the Sorpel Household, let out a quiet groan as he turned his head sharply, unable even to meet the eyes of Divine Beast Zetti, who refused to look at him.
‘Once that creature gets upset, it doesn’t calm down easily.’
I was frustrated trying to figure out how to coax him back home.
Surely he wouldn’t demand another apology like last time?
‘No, that can’t be!’
Given that beast’s filthy temperament, he was more than capable of doing exactly that again!
“Zetti.”
[Hmm?]
While Duke Jebillen was internally groaning, Camilla, who had been quietly brewing tea in the corner, finally spoke.
Whoosh!
Zetti, who had been circling around Duke Jebillen as if to provoke him, suddenly flew over and perched on Camilla’s shoulder.
She glanced at Duke Jebillen, whose face had reddened and who was breathing heavily, and gently scolded Zetti.
“It’s been a week already.”
[A week? Is that all it’s been?]
“Come on, go back now. The Duke even came looking for you himself.”
[I ran away from home, I’m not going back…!]
“….”
Zetti, who had been shaking his head vigorously as if teasing Duke Jebillen, suddenly flinched. The light in Camilla’s eyes, which had been speaking to him rather kindly until just a moment ago, had turned cold and sharp.
“Do you know what I hate the most?”
[W-what is it…?]
“A brainless creature that refuses to listen and causes nothing but trouble for others. I won’t associate with such a thing ever again.”
[….]
“My Zetti wouldn’t be that kind of creature, would he?”
[…I was actually planning to go back today anyway. Really! I’m not the kind of creature who causes trouble for just anyone!]
“Yes, I knew you wouldn’t be.”
Watching Camilla smile gently as if she hadn’t just been cold moments before, Zetti released a silent sigh of relief.
Whoosh!
Zetti took flight with a great sweep of his wings and instantly landed on Duke Jebillen’s shoulder.
[Let’s go home.]
“Ugh….”
I wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or aggrieved.
Duke Jebillen let out a groan, suddenly feeling a headache coming on.
It was good that Zetti’s sulk had been resolved, but the fact that it took nothing more than Camilla’s casual-sounding threat left me utterly flabbergasted.
“Camilla.”
“Yes.”
Duke Sorpel, who had been observing the scene with the calm indifference of one for whom nothing was surprising, called out to her.
“Why did this fellow ask to see me?”
His gaze was directed toward Duke Sefra, who sat quietly sipping tea. Luna lay curled at his feet, looking perfectly at ease.
“I have a proposal for you.”
“For me?”
Duke Sefra, who had been watching Duke Jebillen and Zetti bicker once more about who was superior, turned his attention to her words with interest.
Hadn’t he summoned her to take Luna away?
“This.”
Every eye in the room converged on a single point as Camilla withdrew something from her bosom and placed it on the table.
“What is this, Camilla?”
“It looks like an underdeveloped grape.”
“It resembles a seed.”
The shape suggested something botanical in origin, yet its coloration was decidedly unusual.
It gleamed with a soft golden radiance as if gilded—unmistakably no ordinary fruit to anyone’s eye.
“If one consumes this, they say they will never perish.”
“What?”
Bewilderment flooded the faces of all three Dukes. What on earth was she talking about?
“They won’t perish?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’ve heard that if a non-human being consumes this, they will never perish eternally.”
What Camilla had produced was a fruit from the Flower of Death.
When I received it from Reaper Habel, I thought he was mocking me, never imagining I would use it like this.
‘It only recently bore fruit.’
Truthfully, I had paid it no mind whatsoever.
Though it was said to be an exceedingly rare flower that grew only in God’s Garden, it was inedible to humans and served no particular purpose, so I had simply left it abandoned in one corner of my room.
‘Yet it grew remarkably well regardless.’
I had heard that even without special watering or nourishment, it thrived of its own accord.
The aura of rare beings circling my vicinity alone would be sufficient for its flourishing, or so it was said.
True to Habel’s word, the plant had soon bloomed magnificently and borne fruit—tiny golden berries like grapes.
“What exactly is this thing that prevents perishment?”
“Where did you obtain something like this?”
“Humans cannot consume it?”
All three Dukes showed immediate interest. Even Duke Sefra, typically indifferent to such matters, could not conceal the surprise in his eyes.
Camilla found their reactions rather surprising herself.
They all believed it? This absurd claim?
Had someone made such a statement before her, she would have politely recommended a psychiatrist.
‘They were the same before.’
Now that she thought about it, when the Emperor was revealed to be the Church Leader, these three had not doubted the claim in the slightest.
Camilla offered a faint smile and continued speaking. At her next words, the three Dukes found themselves utterly speechless.
“I wish Luna would eat this.”
The solution to untangle the complex web of circumstances surrounding House Sephira turned out to be far simpler than anyone had imagined.
“As long as Luna doesn’t disappear, that’s all that matters.”
If that were accomplished, there would be no need to extract the egg from the deceased patriarch’s corpse, nor would the successor have to endure the terrible agony and suffering required to awaken Shinsu.
‘Habel, I promise I’ll never scold you again.’
A fruit born from the Flower of Death.
I’d wondered if I’d ever find a use for it, but who could have predicted it would prove so invaluable?

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