A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 320

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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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…Rather, it ached. The ordeals I had endured suddenly felt painfully vivid once more.
Because my life is warm now… because I am happy…. And so, only now do I truly comprehend how agonizing those days had been.
“What do you mean by betraying the Eba Cult?”
Sena drew a long breath to compose herself, then posed her question anew.
“Do you mean he left the Church?”
If so, he freed himself from the grasp of evil—does that make him a good person?
[He stole a sacred relic and fled.]
“A sacred relic?”
[To be precise, it is not a sacred relic that grants access to my power. However, it became a formidable asset to the Church Leader and the Church itself, so it earned the name of a sacred relic.]
“What sort of sacred relic was it?”
[A black ring.]
“Hmm… Why would he steal that?”
What would he use it for? It is not a sacred relic that grants access to Rube’s power, so what strength does it possess?
[He needs that ring to wield his power. By now, he is likely slaughtering countless children.]
“What?!”
Killing children? Sena’s eyes widened at Rube’s matter-of-fact continuation, delivered without the slightest hesitation.
Click.
At that moment, the Study door opened and Duke Sefra stepped inside.
Sena, who had been startled by Rube’s words, hastily composed her expression and bowed respectfully toward him.
“Welcome back.”
“Yes. It seems you were cleaning.”
“Yes.”
“….”
Duke Sefra’s gaze shifted toward the photograph Sena held in her hands.
“Oh! I apologize. I found it while cleaning….”
“It is fine.”
Duke Sefra gave a gentle nod to reassure Sena as she hastily placed the photograph back on the desk.
After observing him for a moment, Sena ventured to speak carefully.
“May I ask… who is the person in that photograph?”
Why would the Duke possess a portrait photograph of someone who had been a member of the Eba Cult?
“It is someone Camilla is searching for.”
“Camilla?”
“She said she must learn about this person at all costs.”
“….”
Sena’s gaze returned once more to the photograph resting on the desk.
Could it be that Camilla knows what this person is doing right now and is searching for them because of it?
“May I step out for a moment?”
“…? Very well.”
Duke Sefra wore a momentary expression of puzzlement at the girl’s apparent urgency, then nodded in assent.
He then quietly summoned the butler outside and ordered him to assign an escort to Sena.
* * *
“Sena.”
She bolted upright.
The moment I stepped into the Reception Room, Sena, who had been sitting quietly, sprang to her feet with surprising speed.
“Sit, sit.”
I gently guided the girl back to her seat and surveyed the situation. Refreshments were already laid out on the table, but she hadn’t touched anything.
“What’s wrong?”
Sena’s expression suggested she had much to say, and I couldn’t hide my puzzlement.
What could it be? Did something happen to Rio?
“Well… I heard it from Duke Sefra.”
“The Duke?”
“He mentioned that you were searching for someone… I saw the photograph.”
“Ah….”
I understood what Sena was referring to.
When Duke Sefra and Duke Jebillen visited last time, I had given them both a photograph of the man I was searching for.
They had each offered to help through their respective information networks. She must have seen the photograph then.
“That’s right. I needed to find him as quickly as possible, so I’ve been asking for help from various quarters. But why are you interested in that photograph?”
I couldn’t fathom why Sena would take an interest in it. Surely she didn’t know him. How would she possibly know a murderer?
“That person is a member of the Eba Cult.”
“…What?”
My expectations shattered at Sena’s next words. The Eba Cult? Why would that name surface here?
“Who told you that?”
“Rube… Rube knows of him.”
“….”
Rube? My eyes grew heavier, darker with the weight of realization.
The entity dwelling within Sena’s body—the one who had inhabited the former Church Leader of the Eba Cult—would certainly recognize at least the important figures among the cult members, if not all of them.
‘I suspected he wasn’t merely a kidnapper.’
But an Eba Cult member? Truly?
A long sigh escaped my lips unbidden.
‘These creatures aren’t even cockroaches.’
Why are they so impossible to exterminate? No matter how many times I kill them, more keep appearing. How can they be so persistent? Weren’t they supposed to be completely destroyed?
‘No, actually, him being an Eba Cult member is good.’
But why is he acting out now? This isn’t the time to be causing trouble.
Everyone is desperate to root out the Eba Cult members, so why would he expose himself? He should be lying low, yet here he is.
‘Even insects know to burrow deeper when pest control begins.’
What is he doing acting so brazenly?
Of course, he wouldn’t have known I can see ghosts. That’s why he sent the curse. He had no idea.
He never anticipated that his actions would provide me with a trail to follow.
‘Still, I don’t understand.’
Why would he curse me? Why now, of all times? Is he seeking revenge for the destruction of the Eba Cult?
“He fled from the Evah Cult.”
“Fled?”
…This is getting more ridiculous. Why would someone who escaped the Church be causing such a stir?
“Apparently, he stole a sacred relic and left.”
“A sacred relic?”
“Yes.”
Sena relayed everything she had heard from Rube without omitting a single detail.
The man’s name was Aaron.
He had joined the Evah Cult ten years ago. Despite being relatively new compared to the others, Rube remembered him because of his extraordinary loyalty.
[He was the sort who wouldn’t merely pretend to die if ordered—he would actually do it.]
He never questioned any task assigned to him. Aaron was a man who devoted himself entirely to serving the Church, pouring all his strength into his duties.
“But he betrayed the Church?”
“Yes. As soon as the Evah Cult’s headquarters began to be exposed, he was the first to abandon the Church and flee.”
“Hmm.”
I suspect he fled around the time when the cardinal affiliated with the Evah Cult died and key figures began to be discovered one by one.
“That man doesn’t appear to be someone who switched bodies, does he?”
Given that he’s still alive. By now, his body would have long since decayed if he couldn’t use the sacred relic that allows one to change bodies.
“He didn’t switch. However….”
“However?”
“His wife apparently switched bodies once.”
“His wife?”
Camilla’s brow furrowed slightly. That wife of his must certainly be dead. She wouldn’t have been able to switch to a new body.
“What sacred relic did the man take?”
“A black ring.”
“A black ring? Ah…!”
Camilla immediately recognized what sacred relic Sena was referring to.
Through the child’s memories, hadn’t I clearly seen it? The black ring worn on the man’s right hand.
‘So that was a sacred relic.’
I had thought it kept lingering in my memory for a reason—it was certainly no ordinary object.
“What is that ring used for?”
“That is….”
Sena fell silent for a moment, apparently not having heard that much from Rube yet.
[That ring is a ring that commands souls.]
“Souls?”
The black ring Aaron had stolen possessed the power to command souls according to the wielder’s will.
[The deeper one’s longing or resentment, the more easily the soul becomes bound to the ring.]
A soul bound to the ring not only obeys the commands of its holder but also gains certain abilities.
It can read a person’s past or future, or even curse others….
“Ha.”
After hearing the entire story, Camilla let out a hollow laugh. Now I finally understood why the man had deliberately starved the child to death.
The desperate hunger for food, that earnest longing to survive… and in the end, a child who died carrying deep resentment.
‘It would have been the perfect condition to bind them to the ring.’
…This guy is completely insane.
He killed the child in such a painful way just to use the power for himself?
“So, do you happen to know where that bastard is now?”
“No.”
Sena shook her head gently.
[How would I know where someone who betrayed the Church and fled is hiding?]
Rube didn’t know either.
“Tsk.”
Camilla clicked her tongue lightly and furrowed her brow. How was she supposed to find this monster? Learning the details only made her more anxious.
An ominous premonition kept gnawing at her—that children were dying even now—making it feel like she had to catch him as soon as possible, even if it meant losing a single day.
[Camilla!]
“…?”
At that moment, someone suddenly appeared where she was. It was Amy.
[I found him!]
“…!”
At Amy’s words, Camilla instinctively shot to her feet. She immediately understood what Amy had found!
[I found that bastard!]

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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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