A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 61

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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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“Hehehehe.”
“Please, stop laughing like that.”
“How can I not laugh seeing this? Ahahaha!”
Duke Sefra had sent the first month’s revenue from selling mana stones.
The receipt bore an astronomical sum. Just one month of sales amounted to this much…!
‘And I haven’t even properly sold the magical items yet!’
I’d heard that inquiries about the mana stone brooch showcased at Duke Jebillen’s birthday party last time were pouring in.
Despite not having even begun sales yet.
I couldn’t begin to imagine how much money would flow in once I started selling mana stone items.
Arsian, who had been quietly observing the delighted Camilla for some time, suddenly asked.
“You’re that happy?”
“Of course I’m happy. You’re not?”
“What’s a little money?”
“Listen to you—you’d get smacked upside the head saying that in public. Though I suppose when you’ve never known poverty, you’d say such things.”
At her gaze, as if watching a sheltered young master, Arsian’s eyebrows rose slightly.
He clicked his tongue with an exasperated expression.
“Anyone hearing you would think you’d lived in poverty.”
Not knowing what answer would come back.
“Me? I was incredibly poor as a child.”
“What?”
“Did you forget?”
Camilla laughed softly.
“I came to the Sorpel Household when I was seven. Before that, I was dirt poor.”
It wasn’t a lie. The reason my siblings and I could live like this now was because of the connection between Duke Sorpel—who had collapsed on the street—and my mother.
‘To be precise, it was thanks to my mother’s kind heart and beautiful appearance, which moved my father so deeply that he married her despite our difficult circumstances.’
Until then, I had lived in such poverty that I had to worry about what to eat the next day.
‘From my perspective, Father seemed to have some money, so he helped us.’
Could I really call it pure goodwill when, in a situation where we didn’t even have money to feed the family, he somehow procured expensive medicine and treated him? It seemed a bit of a stretch.
Would he have helped us the same way if he’d been lying on the street in tattered clothes?
In any case, my mother’s choice was right. We escaped poverty.
“There was a time I survived for four days drinking only water.”
This wasn’t from my time as Camilla, but from when I was Sia.
That damned man called Father had run away and didn’t come home for nearly two months.
My mother lost her job at the factory, leaving us with nothing to eat at home.
During those days, I truly filled my hunger with water and endured.
“That…”
Arsian seemed flustered and couldn’t find his words properly.
He knew she was Duke Sorpel’s stepdaughter, but he’d never thought deeply about it and had no idea such a past existed.
“Why are you so shocked? I’m a wealthy woman now.”
Camilla looked at the receipt and smiled again. Then—
“Here.”
“What?”
I handed the voucher back to Arsian.
“Give it to the Duke.”
“Why? He told me to give it to you.”
“Just have him hold onto it for now. I’ll come collect it later.”
Recently, I had devised a new plan.
People’s interest in mana stones was far greater than I’d anticipated, and continuing to entrust their sale to the Sefra Family posed problems.
For now, I was supplying mana stones through the Trading Company operated by the Sefra Family, but if demand grew further, management issues would become inevitable.
Seeing me troubled by this, Duke Sefra offered an opinion.
He suggested creating a Trading Company that sold only mana stones and operating it directly.
When I hesitated to step forward myself, he even offered to introduce someone suitable to serve as the nominal owner of the Trading Company.
‘Not a bad idea.’
After deliberating for some time, I decided to follow Duke Sefra’s advice.
The butler ghost Derin’s assistance had been instrumental in reaching that decision.
Given his wealth of information, I’d heeded his counsel that this seemed like the best choice.
‘This is the seed capital.’
The funds I’d handed to Arsian would become the foundation for establishing the Trading Company.
Duke Sefra would surely understand my intentions the moment he received the money back.
“By the way…”
Arsian’s gaze shifted toward my side.
“You seem to carry around such things far more often than I do.”
His displeased look fixed on the ghost Zeno hovering beside me.
Though the ghost’s true identity remained unknown, one thing was certain—some bizarre entity had attached itself to my side.
[What? Can he see me too?]
“I told you not to follow me in the first place.”
I clicked my tongue and reproached Zeno. Ever since my sparring match with Ludvil, he’d abandoned the Training Grounds to hover constantly at my side.
He kept watching me intently, hoping another opportunity to wield his sword would arise.
‘Is he insane?’
As if I’d do that again! My muscles still haven’t fully recovered—even the slightest exertion sends tingling pain through them.
I shot Zeno an irritated glare, but his response came from a completely unexpected quarter.
“What, you’re following her around even though she dislikes you?”
“Huh?”
At my response, Arsian emanated a subtle killing intent as though he might eliminate Zeno on the spot.
“No, no. He’s a ghost I know well.”
I hastily shook my head.
“You’re unfazed by seeing such things?”
Yet Arsian didn’t readily withdraw his killing intent. His gaze toward Zeno remained unkind.
“Not particularly.”
I casually gestured toward where Zeno stood and continued. Annoying as Zeno might be, I couldn’t exactly let him be annihilated.
“These kinds of spirits are fine.”
I’d been seeing ghosts since childhood, so I’d never found them particularly frightening or inconvenient. Though they’d certainly been annoying and irritating plenty of times.
“There were never times it was difficult?”
“Of course there were.”
There was exactly one time when possessing the ability to see spirits had been tremendously difficult.
“There was a major accident.”
“An accident?”
“Yes, an explosion. Many people died.”
It was a day when I was traveling by car for a shoot, as usual.
An explosion occurred not far from where I was. A gas truck running on the road had exploded.
‘Buses happened to be lined up all around where the explosion occurred.’
Fortunately, I suffered no damage, but countless casualties resulted. Ghosts who hadn’t fully comprehended their deaths filled the streets.
Pandemonium.
The agonized screams of people being dragged underground by black hands.
Countless people wailing without comprehending their own deaths.
A child with severed limbs weeping pitifully as they searched for their mother, and a mother wandering the streets searching for such a child with half their head missing.
Witnessing so many ghosts, I cursed my own ability for the first time.
“It was truly a scene I never wanted to see again.”
“….”
[….]
Both Arsian and Zeno clamped their mouths shut.
Though she spoke lightly, her eyes had grown profoundly distant. This was not an atmosphere into which they could easily interject.
“Miss Camilla!”
At that moment, a familiar voice called out.
It was Laila. She came running over with her characteristic beaming smile.
“You were here, oh….”
As she greeted Camilla warmly, she noticed Arsian and hesitated.
“Hello.”
Despite Laila’s greeting, Arsian offered no response. Rather, he didn’t even direct his gaze toward her.
‘What a temperamental man.’
Watching Arsian exude his usual arrogant demeanor in front of others, I shook my head slightly.
Though Laila and he had crossed paths several times already, he treated her as though seeing her for the first time, consistently ignoring her.
‘Yet before, he was so obsessed with her.’
Arsian had been one of those men who hung on Laila’s every word.
After Duke Sefra’s death, Laila had been the only sedative capable of controlling him as he spiraled wildly out of control.
‘So it really was that man who killed Duke Sefra, wasn’t it?’
In my previous life, it was already long past the time when Duke Sefra had died.
But even now, Duke Sefra remained alive and well, and his relationship with Arsian was being maintained reasonably smoothly.
‘It seems I made the right choice having them play chess.’
Their relationship doesn’t appear to be deteriorating further, after all.
Honestly, whether Duke Sefra and Arsian got along or not wasn’t my concern. It would only complicate my business dealings.
If Arsian killed Duke Sefra like he had before? Then my entire operation would grind to a halt!
‘That absolutely cannot happen.’
So I suggested chess. Hoping their relationship wouldn’t deteriorate further.
And thanks to that wish, Duke Sefra was still alive and well. Mission accomplished, I suppose.
‘Could that be the reason?’
Watching Arsian show absolutely no interest in Laila, I found myself tilting my head in confusion.
Since he wasn’t going berserk, did he even need Laila as a sedative anymore?
“Tada!”
Whether Arsian cared or not, Laila paid him no particular attention either.
Already accustomed to his coldness, she beamed only at me as she spread out what she’d brought.
“These are all the desserts you love!”
Today’s display was filled with appetizing cakes, pies, and cookies. Curiously, not a single apple-based dessert among them.
As if she somehow knew that Camilla—the original owner of this body—disliked apples.
“Please, help yourself.”
“You’re going to make me fat.”
“A little weight suits you just fine.”
If my former manager, Hyunseok, heard that, he’d faint.
‘Besides, I’m not an entertainer anymore. What does a little weight matter?’
And from what I’d observed, Camilla possessed blessed genetics that made weight gain difficult.
“Want some?”
With a pie in my mouth, I picked up another dessert and offered it to Arsian.
“I don’t like sweets.”
What?
“You ate everything I brought last time all by yourself.”
“That was because you—!”
“Huh?”
“…Never mind.”
“Never mind, nothing.”
He ate them just fine back then. Why the sudden pretense? He’s the one who needs to gain some weight.
“Come on, ah, here.”
“What? I said no—mmph!”
I popped a cookie straight into his mouth.
‘Huh?’
Does he really hate it that much?
Watching Arsian scrunch his face in displeasure while chewing the cookie, I blinked repeatedly.

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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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