A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 48

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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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Rube’s face turned cold, unlike his usual demeanor. But soon, as if nothing had happened, a faint smile played at the corners of his mouth.
“I’m afraid I don’t quite understand what you mean. I think I may have misheard something—”
“I know Rube is the head of that organization.”
Black Shadow. An organization that had existed alongside the Sorpel Family since its inception.
It was an organization comprised of those who conducted all manner of work in the shadows.
Their primary function was gathering intelligence.
Scattered across the continent, they sent all sorts of information to Duke Sorpel’s residence, and at times, they carried out covert operations at the command of the family head.
I was intensely curious about what these covert operations entailed, but I didn’t delve deeper.
“Miss.”
Rube’s expression became exceedingly complex. He had much to say, but seemed uncertain about what to address first.
“Come see me later.”
With that, I dragged my exhausted body toward my room with great effort.
I felt Rube’s persistent gaze from behind, but I simply ignored it.
‘I’m so tired, so very tired.’
* * *
“Why did you call me?”
“Let’s have some tea together.”
“What?”
“I said I called you to have tea together.”
“…What did you eat for lunch today?”
This man must have eaten something that disagreed with him.
Duke Jebillen clicked his tongue repeatedly.
“Have you already lost your mind?”
When the urgent summons arrived, I thought something important had come up for discussion, so I hurried over. But what’s this?
“Tea?”
You called a busy person here just to have tea?
“I received a message from the Academy today.”
“From the Academy?”
Duke Jebillen immediately clicked his tongue.
‘She seemed to be behaving herself lately.’
That girl Camilla must have caused some trouble again.
“What is it this time?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did she grab another young lady’s hair again?”
“You think our daughter only causes trouble!”
“Then what?”
Duke Sorpel, who had been ranting, composed himself.
“Well, you see, our daughter…”
“What.”
“Our daughter came in first place.”
“What?”
“He placed first on the midterm exam.”
“….”
Duke Jebillen fell silent for a long moment. Had I heard that correctly?
“First?”
“Yes, first!”
“I’m asking just to be sure.”
Unless he’d lost his mind, there was no way that could be true.
He asked hesitantly.
“You didn’t call me here just to brag about that, did you?”
“He placed first.”
“So?”
“First place.”
…He really has lost it.
Duke Jebillen was left speechless once more.
You summoned me in such a frenzy just to boast about this? Seriously?
You made such a commotion demanding I come at once, and now this?
“You absolute madman!”
“Why am I mad-”
“I’m asking one last time. Was the only reason you called me here to brag about this?”
“He placed first.”
“My son places first every time! Don’t summon me for such trivial matters! What’s so extraordinary about a child earning good grades?”
Duke Jebillen rose from his seat and bellowed. The absurdity of it all made my head throb.
“Is it wrong to be proud?”
At the sound of that quiet voice, Duke Jebillen turned his head, his face filling with confusion.
Duke Sefra, who had been quietly sipping tea with his lips sealed, was now muttering to himself in a deeply dejected tone.
“Fifth place would be top-tier….”
“What?”
What was he going on about?
Dismissing him, Duke Jebillen pointed accusingly at Duke Sorpel and shouted again.
“Don’t be so childish about such things! How old are we?”
I’d never seen such a pathetic fool. The same man who remained unmoved when Ludvil became a Sword Master!
‘Has he truly lost his mind?’
Duke Jebillen clicked his tongue repeatedly.
“Is it wrong to be happy?”
Then a small voice came from beside him.
Duke Sefra, his mood even more downcast than before, continued muttering to himself.
“Fifth place… fifth place is actually quite good….”
Why is everyone acting this way today? What’s with this obsession over fifth place?
Duke Jebillen pressed his fingers against his brow, as if his head were aching. He couldn’t fathom why all his acquaintances were behaving so strangely.
* * *
Knock, knock.
“Miss Camilla.”
“Come in.”
With permission granted, a figure stepped inside—a butler… or rather, Rube, the leader of Black Shadow.
He offered no formal greeting as he might have, proving he was not here in his capacity as a butler.
Black Shadow answered to only one person: the head of the Sorpel Family. There was no reason to bow before anyone else.
“What did you need from me?”
He got straight to business.
Camilla, equally uninterested in prolonging the conversation, handed him the documents she’d prepared beforehand.
“I need you to investigate these people.”
Rube took the documents and quickly scanned their contents.
“Who are they?”
“The dead.”
“Pardon?”
“Find out how they died and what the circumstances were like after their deaths. I need details.”
What Camilla had handed over was a roster of deceased women who had fallen into Professor JB’s hands.
Recalling my conversation with the female student ghost Amy, sighs escaped my lips in succession.
‘Her older brother?’
[Yes.]
‘Your brother killed all these women?’
[…Yes.]
What followed from Amy was even more astounding. Professor JB’s motive for murder was absurdly ridiculous.
[We both grew up in the Orphanage. Then I was adopted before my brother was.]
The place I was adopted into was far from kind. I was always hungry and always working. I entered that household not as family, but as a laborer.
[My brother, once he’d established himself, came looking for me eight years later, but….]
Amy’s adoptive parents refused to release her. They demanded payment for all the years they’d spent raising her if he wanted to take her away.
Professor JB tried everything to take Amy with him, but….
[I ended up dying.]
Amy’s adoptive parents claimed it was an unfortunate accident, but it was anything but. They were the very ones who drove Amy to her death.
[My brother’s crimes began from that point.]
Professor JB acted as though a switch had been flipped, moving without hesitation. It was almost like a rampage.
‘Madman.’
Had he taken revenge on those who killed Amy, I might not have applauded, but I would have clapped inwardly.
But that wasn’t the case.
‘Why did he target innocent women instead?’
Amy seemed to know something more, but she revealed nothing beyond the roster of the deceased women.
“There’s one thing I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
Rube’s voice reached my ears as I emerged from my brief contemplation.
“How did you find out?”
Rube met Camilla’s gaze directly, his eyes sharp and piercing—as if he wouldn’t tolerate even the slightest deception.
“How do you know that I’m the leader of Black Shadow? Or rather, how do you know about our organization at all?”
Black Shadow was exactly what its name suggested—those who dwelled in the shadows of the world. They were not beings easily known to others.
Within the Sorpel Family, only one person truly understood their existence: Duke Sorpel himself.
Even Ludvil, who would become the next head of the household, knew nothing of Black Shadow.
Yet Camilla—of all people—had spoken the organization’s name with perfect accuracy.
Moreover, she knew that he was its leader.
‘How is this possible?’
Before entering this room, I’d considered every conceivable scenario, yet I couldn’t find an answer.
“Rube.”
“Yes?”
Camilla lowered her voice slightly.
It was a question I’d already anticipated. Since I’d prepared my answer, I spoke immediately.
“I just saw it.”
“You saw it?”
“Yes, when I look at you, I keep seeing things.”
“….”
“I saw mysterious people calling you ‘leader.’ And I could see that Father holds you in very high regard.”
She used the same excuse as always. What could he do when she claimed to have seen it?
“Is that your answer?”
“Yes.”
“You learned the name Black Shadow the same way?”
“That’s right.”
“Miss, you expect me to bel-”
“Rube, did you forget?”
Camilla drove her point home to his skeptical gaze, her expression growing even more shameless and haughty.
“I’m the woman who found Shinsu’s egg.”
“…That’s true.”
Upon hearing those words, Rube found himself somewhat convinced. The abilities she’d demonstrated thus far were certainly extraordinary.
There was no other way to explain how she’d found Shinsu’s egg except through some special ability she possessed.
As Rube gave a slight nod, Camilla clenched her fist inwardly and celebrated her victory.
‘Of course, it’s all a lie.’
No matter how many times I’d experienced this world, I didn’t know everything.
The information about Rube’s identity and Black Shadow came from the butler ghost Derin.
‘It was strange, though.’
When I’d fought that bastard Juide at Spirit Lake before, Derin had rattled off information about him.
He’d told me in great detail about what that creature had done to the young ladies of weakened households.
‘Even Juide must have been shocked then, but I was shocked too.’
I’d found it quite curious how Derin knew such detailed information.
But then….
‘So Derin had been the former leader of Black Shadow.’
It turned out that those serving as butlers in the Sorpel Family had another identity—that was it.
When Derin was the leader, Rube was the one he’d groomed as his successor.
‘I always sensed he wasn’t an ordinary person.’
When I first saw Derin, I’d thought his physique seemed too impressive for an ordinary elderly man.
He was remarkably agile, and every movement was executed with perfect efficiency.
And the same held true for Rube.
‘So that’s why all the butlers here are like that.’
I’d assumed one needed to be in excellent physical condition to serve as a butler.

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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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