A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 261

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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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Leukemia?
So that child has fallen ill and can no longer act?
I wanted to grab someone—anyone—and demand answers, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t pretend to be hearing this for the first time when others already knew, not when I’d considered myself close to her.
‘Teacher!’
‘Do I really look that old to you? Call me sister.’
‘Hehe, yes! Sister, could you take a look at this line for me?’
‘Can’t you just eat when you’re eating?’
‘Come on, if I only play when others play, when will I ever become like you?’
‘…Do you think becoming like me is that easy?’
‘I’ll work hard!’
The image of young Yeeun clenching both fists remained vivid in my memory.
I could still clearly see the brightness in that child’s eyes as she spoke of earning lots of money to buy Grandmother ten gold rings.
‘Why gold rings? And ten of them?’
‘Because Grandmother sold the only gold ring she had because of me.’
‘….’
‘She used it to buy me meat, meat! Hehe, I kept throwing a tantrum wanting meat. That meat was so delicious!’
‘Ten rings won’t be enough. I’ll buy her twenty.’
‘Yes!’
“….”
Childhood cancer….
A long sigh escaped from Camilla’s lips.
* * *
Footsteps echoed.
In the sparse foot traffic of late evening.
Someone entered the Columbarium.
Despite her modest attire, the woman who stood out distinctly was none other than Sia… or rather, Camilla.
“….”
She moved through the Columbarium with ease, as though intimately familiar with it, heading toward a specific location.
When she arrived, a photograph of a woman who appeared to be in her early thirties was displayed there.
‘…Mother.’
My mother, who had passed away long ago in this place.
December 9th. The day she left this world.
‘Dorman.’
‘Yes?’
‘What’s the current date in that world?’
‘The world where Sia is? Um… November 29th.’
‘…Not much time left.’
‘What? What do you mean?’
‘….’
‘No one will remember to care.’
When I visited Tia Sorpel’s tomb with my family, a thought suddenly filled my mind.
‘Does Sia know?’
The anniversary of Mother’s death? She wouldn’t know such details, would she?
Then who will remember the day Mother passed away from now on?
Just as I didn’t know Tia Sorpel’s death anniversary precisely, Sia surely wouldn’t either.
That thought wouldn’t leave my mind. I suspect it was the greatest reason that drove me to come here.
‘At least she has another family.’
Here, there is no one. If Sia doesn’t take care of this place, no one will ever visit.
Of course, I understand. A death anniversary isn’t particularly special in itself.
I visited the Columbarium every year, but Mother never appeared once.
‘Only those who failed to ascend properly and wander the earthly realm come during memorial rites.’
Spirits that ascended to heaven properly don’t suddenly manifest just because it’s the day they died.
Though I understood these facts better than anyone, I had never once let Mother’s death anniversary pass unobserved.
“….”
Seeing Mother wearing a smile that seemed somehow awkward, my feelings grew complicated.
Gazing at the photograph placed before the urn, I offered a faint smile.
“It’s been a while.”
Beside Mother, who was forcing herself to smile, stood a young child beaming with unbridled excitement. It was me.
‘It was the first and last photograph I took with Mother.’
The day I visited an amusement park with Mother for the first time in my life.
I was so excited the night before that I couldn’t sleep, and that single day was happier than any other day in the world.
I didn’t know then. That it was the last maternal affection Mother would ever give me.
In case anything went wrong, it was the final memory she left for her daughter, who would be left alone after her death.
Though she must have sensed that disaster would strike in some form soon, it was her best effort despite lacking the strength to resist.
“You must have suffered greatly.”
A rejection that pressed down on my entire body. Despite being her own child, I strangely felt no affection….
But I understood well. That despite everything, Mother had tried her best to treat me as her child.
‘Yes, that’s normal.’
No matter how much the soul changed, the one who committed violence against a child and even attempted to kill them was in the wrong.
Sia’s biological father was probably never a good person to begin with. My existence simply became the catalyst.
Whoosh.
I placed the bouquet I had brought before the urn.
“….”
I held no particular emotion toward Mother. I neither hated nor felt tenderness for her.
Yet if there was one emotion I maintained….
‘Pity.’
A sorrow for how she struggled to live with her child despite everything.
“I won’t come here anymore.”
I can no longer visit this place. From now on, it will be someone who was truly meant to be born as your daughter who comes here.
I wrote Mother’s death anniversary on the memo I would give to Sia.
After lingering for a moment on the image of her mother and her younger self, Camilla slowly turned to leave.
* * *
“S-Sia.”
“What? Don’t you like it?”
“No! I love it! But…”
“I’m glad you do.”
Manager Hyunseok couldn’t hide the bewilderment in his eyes. Sia had suddenly thrust a luxury suit and a watch into his hands, calling them gifts.
“It’s not even my birthday.”
Besides, even if it were, could he really accept something this expensive?
“I just wanted to give it to you.”
Camilla let out a light laugh as she watched Hyunseok, whose eyes kept wavering with anxiety. She couldn’t fathom what was making him so uneasy.
“You deserve it.”
“Huh?”
“You’ve earned it, hyung.”
No matter what anyone said, he was someone who had taken care of me diligently for a long time.
Whether my swapped soul had felt any resistance toward him or not, he was someone who had worked sincerely for my sake.
Whether it was professional dedication or simply his good nature, he deserved gratitude.
“Sia…”
Watching Hyunseok grow emotional, Camilla silently clicked her tongue. Getting this moved over a gift—he really couldn’t help being timid.
She had given gifts not only to Hyunseok but also to Jihyun and the other staff members she’d worked with for so long.
They’d shown similar reactions, though none of them had gotten as teary-eyed as Hyunseok.
‘Because it’s the last time.’
I would never work alongside them again. From now on, it would be Sia who would laugh and cry with them for years to come.
‘Surely she won’t complain, right?’
It’s not my money anymore, but it was money I earned through hard work, wasn’t it? I lived so frugally and didn’t spend a penny all this time.
‘Sia will understand this much.’
And if she doesn’t? By the time she comes back, I’ll already be gone from here anyway. What does it matter?
“Are the filming preparations ready yet?”
“Oh! J-just wait a moment! I’ll go check and be right back!”
“Okay.”
A problem had arisen with today’s filming preparations, causing all the actors to remain on standby for an extended period.
To make matters worse, the heating in the Waiting Room that had been prepared broke down, so everyone was either at a nearby Cafe or attending to other schedules.
Camilla too was waiting in the Parking Lot after finishing a brief interview. She’d taken the opportunity to give the manager his gift as well.
Tap.
Camilla let out a quiet laugh as she watched Manager Hyunseok hurriedly wipe his eyes and dash out of the car with vigor.
“Please take good care of Sia from now on.”
She brought the coffee she was holding slowly to her lips.
The taste of this world’s coffee, which she was tasting after so long, was just as satisfying as ever. It was similar to the coffee from that other world, yet somehow different.
“This is the end too.”
With a sense of regret, her pace of drinking the coffee gradually slowed. Each sip felt precious, as if it might be her last.
“Hm?”
A moment later, Camilla’s eyes widened slightly.
Two figures entered her gaze as she stared blankly out the window.
A young woman who appeared to have just reached adulthood and a man in his mid-twenties.
As the woman with her head bowed hurried her steps, the man swiftly pursued and clung to her side.
‘Those two…’
They were familiar faces. After all, they were her co-stars in this drama.
The man was Lee Dou, an actor who had debuted quite some time ago but had only recently gained popularity, while the woman was a complete newcomer whose first work was this very drama.
‘Was her name Seo Yumi?’
The image of her bowing at a ninety-degree angle and greeting with a bright smile whenever she saw me was quite memorable.
‘What are they doing?’
Camilla observed the two of them for a moment, watching carefully.
“Hey, do you really not know who you have to thank for getting into this drama?”
“…My senior.”
“I told you to just call me oppa.”
“Yes…”
Seo Yumi subtly bit her lip without letting it show.
Lee Dou’s persistent advances from their shared Agency had been going on for quite some time.
Ever since she joined the Agency, he had been making various physical contact under the guise of teaching her acting.

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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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