A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 5

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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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A day had passed.
Two days, then four, and before I knew it, an entire week had slipped away. With each passing day, Camilla’s complexion deteriorated at an alarming rate.
“Why, why…!”
Why wouldn’t I wake up?
Frustrated beyond measure, Camilla repeatedly splashed her face with water.
This had never happened before. Had I ever remained in this world for such an extended period? Anxiety began to creep in with each passing moment.
‘Could it be…?’
No, it couldn’t be.
‘What if I’m stuck here forever…?’
Camilla shook her head vigorously. The mere thought was terrifying.
I knew all too well how my life ended in this world.
Camilla’s fingers traced her neck repeatedly, grateful it remained intact.
Knock, knock.
Moments later, the door opened and a figure stepped inside—Dona, my personal maidservant.
“Miss?”
Dona flinched upon seeing Camilla sprawled across the bed with her arms and head drooping limply.
“What is it?”
But as Camilla lifted her head slowly, Dona released a quiet, relieved sigh without letting it show.
“The head chef has personally prepared a snack for you.”
“A snack?”
“You haven’t been eating properly lately.”
Following the incident in the Dining Hall, the kitchen staff had been replaced en masse. The maidservants who had caused trouble were dismissed without a single coin in severance.
Moreover, the Duke had issued an order to pay special attention to Camilla’s meals.
“I’m not interested.”
Yet with no sign of returning to my true self, Sia, I had completely lost my appetite and scarcely touched food in recent days.
Even the finest delicacies would grow tiresome after a single bite. Eventually, the head chef himself had come bearing this snack.
“Please, just have a bite in consideration of Chef Jelard’s thoughtfulness.”
“…”
Worry saturated Dona’s voice. Camilla’s gaze shifted toward her maidservant just as I was about to bury my head back into the bed.
If I had to name the one person in this place who genuinely cared for me, it would be her.
She had stood by my side even when I was arrested as an attempted murderer.
She was the only one who shed tears for my death.
‘She was always indignant about the other maidservants’ misconduct.’
Whenever similar incidents occurred, Dona would insist on reporting them to the Duke immediately, bouncing about in agitation.
Though she ultimately held her tongue at my command, she was beside herself with anguish. She even fought with the other maidservants, pulling hair and throwing punches, determined to vindicate my suffering.
She had returned with bruises darkening her eyes, yet still laughed wickedly, claiming she’d landed one more blow than they had.
Knowing her as I did, it was difficult to simply ignore her.
“Fine.”
Unable to refuse her plea, Camilla pushed herself upright and straightened her posture.
Dona’s expression brightened at the sight.
Dona hurried outside and returned with someone who had been waiting, stepping back in together.
“Pardon the intrusion.”
He was a man in his mid-forties with a lean frame.
He bowed lightly toward Camilla before promptly setting down the food he had brought onto the table.
“Apple pie.”
It was a pie laden with thinly sliced apples, caramelized to perfection in sugar.
“Please, do try it.”
The chef’s tone as he offered the pie was brimming with pride—or rather, arrogance would be more accurate.
Though he refrained from saying it outright, the chef’s gaze toward Camilla was far from kind; it was downright hostile.
His reluctance to attend to her by the Duke’s command was written plainly across his face.
Camilla’s eyebrows rose slightly.
‘What is this?’
Unlike Dona, who fidgeted nervously upon sensing Camilla’s displeasure, the chef Jelard remained unmoved. He even let a sneer play at the corners of his mouth.
He truly despised this. The thought of his beautiful creation entering the mouth of such a young girl twisted his insides.
It pained him to see his food go to someone who couldn’t properly appreciate its taste.
‘She’ll just eat whatever is put before her anyway.’
Jelard’s blood boiled when he saw the meals he had sent to Camilla these past days returned to the kitchen untouched.
How dare she leave his food uneaten!
‘Those maids are infuriating too, but….’
The maidservants who had been caught tampering with Camilla Sorpel’s food and cast out from the mansion not long ago.
While he was furious at them for playing tricks with his creations, he couldn’t entirely dismiss their perspective either.
She wasn’t even a true noblewoman, after all.
The fact that she came from some remote backwater region he’d never heard of, yet had the audacity to be picky about food, was utterly unbearable.
If not for the Duke’s orders, he wouldn’t care whether she starved or not.
“I crafted this with utmost care.”
“….”
Camilla’s gaze shifted back to the chef.
‘Sigh.’
Meeting the disgruntled chef Jelard’s eyes, I exhaled softly.
His expression, which made no attempt to conceal his displeasure, wasn’t the real problem.
‘I’m used to it.’
Whether as a child or during my long career in entertainment, I had mastered the art of ignoring those who despised me.
The real issue now was something else entirely….
‘It’s so noisy.’
My head was already pounding from the current situation….
[You fool! How many times must I tell you! Food only reveals its true brilliance when others eat it!]
What was with this loud old geezer anyway?
[No matter how exquisite the food, if no one eats it, it’s nothing but garbage!]
Standing beside Jelard, I sighed quietly again as I watched an elderly man who had been loudly prattling on since earlier.
‘This isn’t even my problem.’
These aren’t even my eyes from the real world—so why can I see them?
Entities that remained invisible when I entered this world as a mere observer suddenly became visible to me.
This realization plunged Camilla into despair once more.
It seems I’ve truly become fully immersed in this place….
‘Ah, seriously…!’
I wanted to curse.
I wanted to hurl every profanity I knew at whoever this woman was—at the entity that had thrust itself into her body.
‘What am I supposed to do now?’
[And this pie! You used a whole gram less cinnamon! Just one gram, but do you have any idea how much that tiny difference affects the flavor? And Camilla—this girl doesn’t even like apples. I’ve told you repeatedly to consider the preferences of the person eating it!]
Ugh, this is maddening.
Camilla furrowed her brow slightly and took a bite of the pie, eager to send these voices away.
Then she set down her fork as though discarding it.
“What’s wrong, Miss?”
“Take it away.”
“What don’t you like about it?”
Jelard, who had been anticipating Camilla’s admiration for the pie he’d made, furrowed his brow at this unexpected response.
“It tastes terrible.”
“Pardon?”
“It tastes terrible, I said.”
“Wh-what…!”
Jelard’s face contorted.
How dare someone who knows nothing about flavor judge my work? My food tastes terrible? Impossible!
“That’s absurd! This pie—”
“You didn’t put enough cinnamon in it. A whole gram short. You’re serving food that doesn’t even meet the basics of baking. Take it out immediately.”
“Eh?”
Cinnamon?
“And I don’t like apples.”
“That is….”
“Shouldn’t you first understand the preferences of the person eating it? What good does it do if only you’re satisfied? If no one will eat it, then it’s nothing but garbage.”
“…!”
Those words… weren’t they something my late master used to say often…?
Camilla opened her eyes wide at the bewildered Jelard.
“Are you leaving or not?”
Only then did Jelard snap to attention, his face flushed as he hastily gathered the food he’d set down and rushed out.
‘You should leave too.’
She waved her hand dismissively at the elderly man, who was watching her with a somewhat startled expression—the man who had just heard her voice all the words he’d wanted to say.
In that instant, their eyes met directly. The old man’s eyes widened further.
‘What? Why? Is this the first time you’ve seen a human who can see ghosts?’
Apparently it is.
‘Ah, whatever.’
Camilla simply collapsed back onto the bed.
* * *
[Why the long face, Perol?]
Another specter approached the elderly man as he left Camilla’s room. It was an old man of similar age, dressed in neat formal attire.
[Our eyes met.]
[Our eyes met?]
[They really did!]
[Calm yourself and explain this properly. What on earth are you talking about?]
[I made eye contact with the child in that room.]
[Who? Miss Camilla?]
[Miss? Have you forgotten you were the butler of this household?]
[Just because you’re dead doesn’t mean you abandon your duties.]
The butler specter Derin chuckled softly.
[Since the Duke has accepted her as his daughter, we too must show her proper respect. But truly, you made eye contact with her?]
[I’m telling you, I did.]
[Hmm.]
Both old men’s gazes turned simultaneously toward the door of the room where Camilla lay.
Despite watching over her for so long, they had never detected any such sign until now.
[Are you certain you weren’t mistaken?]
[I’m certain. She even waved her hand at me.]
[Her hand?]
The butler specter Derin stroked his chin with interest.
[We’ll understand if we observe carefully. Time is the one thing we have in abundance, after all.]
The elderly specter Perol, dressed in a chef’s uniform, nodded in agreement.
Soon after, the two specters quietly vanished from sight.
* * *
‘I must survive.’
I had to live.
Three more days passed after that.
And finally, Camilla could reach only one conclusion.
‘It’s hopeless.’
Returning to my original world seemed utterly impossible.
I didn’t know what might happen later, but for now, there appeared to be no way forward.
I realized I could no longer afford to waste time like this.
‘First, I’ll survive.’
Camilla, who had been lying motionless like a corpse, suddenly sat up. If I remained this way, I would truly die a dog’s death.
“I need to change my reputation first.”
Among the countless lives I had lived, there were times when Camilla did not participate in Ravi’s plans to assassinate Ludvil, the eldest son.
‘But…’
The results in those instances were scarcely different. There were simply too many who viewed her with disdain and contempt.
The moment Ravi’s wrongdoing came to light, people seized upon Camilla as well, branding her a criminal alongside him.
Through false testimony, they had made her complicit in his crimes.
No matter how she cried out her innocence, insisting she had done nothing, no one would listen to her words.
Everyone lent a far more attentive ear to those spinning their false testimonies than to anything Camilla herself could say.

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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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