A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 319

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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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I already knew well that Camilla sometimes got caught up in incidents unexpectedly because she could see the dead.
I wondered if that might be the case this time as well.
At least this time, I was grateful she wasn’t trying to handle it alone.
“Help me with this.”
“Of course.”
“Just give me some information.”
At Duke Sorpel’s words, the two other dukes nodded immediately. As if they’d been waiting for this, Camilla pulled out a photograph from her pocket and showed it.
‘I’d be grateful if you could do that.’
The two ducal houses had considerable intelligence capabilities as well—enough that they maintained separate information organizations.
“This is the person.”
“Hmm, quite ordinary-looking.”
“That’s why it might be difficult to find them.”
If there were anything distinctive about their appearance, it would actually be easier to locate them. Not a single mole on their face? They must have grown up very cleanly in childhood. Not a scar to be found.
“Oh! They were wearing a black gemstone ring on their right hand.”
“A ring?”
When I first brought the child along and held their hand affectionately, when I fed them through the box they were trapped in… every time, the man’s hand wore that black ring.
‘Well, a ring can just be removed.’
It wouldn’t be particularly helpful, but still, having one more piece of information was better than nothing, wasn’t it?
‘What if there’s more to it?’
Perhaps there was a reason the man couldn’t remove the ring from his hand. In the child’s memories, the ring was always there on his hand.
“Let’s start searching for them.”
All three dukes stared intently at the photograph Camilla had handed over, as if committing the face to memory.
* * *
Tap, tap-tap, tap-tap-tap.
Swish.
Ravi, who had been busily tapping away at the tablet Camilla gave him while writing down various magical research notes, absentmindedly reached to the side. He was reaching for the cup sitting there.
Whack!
“Ow!”
But instead of the cup, Ravi’s hand met a sharp blow striking the back of his hand.
“No.”
It was Camilla. Appearing from nowhere, she stood there holding the cup that had been sitting there, looking at Ravi with reproach.
“What do you mean no? Give it back.”
“If you drink any more here, you’ll die.”
“I won’t die from drinking a little coffee.”
“You will if you drink like your brother does.”
“People don’t die from just some beverage.”
“You will.”
“No, what are you talking about? I won’t die from coffee.”
“You will.”
“…”
“You’re going to die. Die. Die.”
“…Fine. Stop saying it.”
Faced with Camilla’s murderous gaze—as if she were casting a curse—Ravi found himself unable to utter another word.
The way you’re saying it makes me feel like I really will die!
“How many cups of coffee are you drinking?!”
Just today, Camilla had witnessed Ravi drinking coffee more than seven times.
“Is coffee poison? Drinking a lot of it won’t cause any problems.”
“It will if you drink like you do.”
If this were the coffee she had discovered in the Gracia Empire and started selling at the cafe, she wouldn’t have bothered to stop him.
Whether he drank ten cups or a hundred, she would have simply left him alone, assuming he’d eventually get tired of it once he’d had his fill.
‘That was a food with no particular side effects, after all.’
But this coffee was different.
The problem was that what Ravi had recently developed a taste for was coffee that Camilla had procured from the Other World—from the modern era.
Camilla, who had brought along plenty of beans infused with various flavors for use at the cafe, had given some of them to Ravi as a gift.
As thanks for creating the subspace storage room. She thought the caffeine would be quite helpful for someone who stayed up all night as casually as eating meals.
‘What? Coffee? That’s the thanks?’
‘Just try it.’
Ravi, who had been anticipating something more, couldn’t help but frown when Camilla handed him the coffee as a gift.
The aroma was a bit unusual, but ultimately it was no different from the beverage sold at her shop, was it?
But then…
‘…What is this?’
‘Coffee.’
‘Liar! The taste is completely different!’
‘What do you mean completely different? The flavor is just a bit different.’
But when Camilla ground the beans herself and brewed him a cup, his reaction changed dramatically. He was utterly captivated by it.
‘The problem is that he likes it far too much.’
Once she’d provided him with the complete set—from the grinder to the filter paper—he refused to leave his room and did nothing but guzzle coffee instead of eating.
“If you’re tired, sleep. Don’t drink coffee.”
“I haven’t drunk that much.”
“You’ll get a hole in your stomach!”
This is complete caffeine addiction! At this rate, something really will happen.
“From now on, exactly two cups a day. If you drink more than that, I’m confiscating it and cutting off your bean supply permanently.”
“Hey! Where does that happen?! If you gave it as a gift, that’s the end of it. You can’t just take it back!”
“Oh, but I can. Right here.”
Camilla let Ravi’s protest go in one ear and out the other as she gazed at the tablet he was using. It was covered with equations and diagrams she couldn’t begin to comprehend.
‘At this rate, he’ll run out of storage space soon.’
She’d expected as much, but why was he conducting so much research? She’d have to get him an external hard drive next time.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Click.
A moment later, a knock sounded at the door, and an Attendant stepped into the room.
“Miss.”
“Me? Why?”
It wasn’t Ravi who needed something—they had come looking for me instead?
“Miss Sena from House Sephira wishes to see you.”
“Sena?”
Camilla’s eyes widened slightly at the unexpected visitor.
“Did she come alone?”
“Yes.”
“…?”
Learning that she had come seeking me out alone, not even with Rio, Camilla sensed something had happened and hurried toward where the child was.
* * *
[Do you actually enjoy this?]
“Yes.”
[What’s fun about cleaning!]
Today too, Rube’s nagging filled my mind.
A silent sigh escaped Sena’s lips as she tidied Duke Sefra’s Office.
I had no idea how many times we had this conversation. It seemed like Rube asked every time I cleaned.
“I just want to do something like this.”
Of course, the Duke, Arsian, and everyone else in this house never made me work. They were kind people like Rio, treating me the same way.
[Everyone tells you to just relax and enjoy yourself! What could be easier than that!]
“I don’t find relaxing enjoyable.”
[Why isn’t relaxing fun! Don’t talk like you’re full! Go out and ask anyone! If someone would let them spend money and relax, they’d sell their souls.]
“I’m not like that.”
I believe everyone should earn their own keep. Besides, the Duke gave me such a large room and such an enormous allowance each month.
“So I should at least clean diligently.”
A person has their pride.
As if understanding Sena’s heart, which found it too burdensome to simply receive, Duke Sefra did not stop the child from organizing his office.
He didn’t assign work specifically, but he didn’t prevent her from doing it of her own accord.
[…Strange fellow.]
In the end, today too, only Rube’s sighs grew deeper. How had such a creature become my master?
“Hm?”
As Sena cleaned Duke Sefra’s Office, her gaze caught on a photograph placed on the desk.
“What picture is this?”
Duke Sefra had apparently been looking at this photograph just moments before leaving, as it sat directly on the desk—impossible to miss.
“A portrait?”
It was a photograph of a portrait of someone. A man with a gentle, warm smile, his eyes crinkled at the corners in a kindly expression.
[What? Why is that bastard’s photo here?]
In that instant, a voice struck Sena’s mind—Rube. Beneath the slightly irritated tone lay a subtle anger.
“Do you know this person?”
[I know.]
“…?”
[A traitor.]
“A traitor?”
At Rube’s terse response, Sena tilted her head in confusion.
[That bastard was from the Eba Cult.]
“…The Eba Cult?”
As Rube’s words continued, Sena’s expression gradually hardened.
The memory of being dragged by Father’s hand and sold as a sacrifice to the Eba Cult remained vivid even now—the place she had been hauled to after hours of beating.
‘Back then, I was just numb to it all…’
Whether it was suffering Father’s violence or being sold for money, becoming a vessel to receive someone else’s soul—I had simply accepted it all as inevitable.
This was my life, all of it my burden to bear… my portion of pain. I had simply taken it for granted.
‘But now…’

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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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