A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 66

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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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When the enemies first appeared before my eyes, their clothes were already drenched crimson with blood.
Surely not….
“Arsian, that….”
I barely managed to open my mouth, but my voice trembled with each word.
Camilla felt the arms holding me tighten their grip and clenched her teeth.
‘What in the world is happening?’
Those who had rushed down alone when combat seemed imminent, those who had fled claiming they would fetch help, were all lying dead in one place.
But what horrified us even more was the state of the corpses. There wasn’t a single intact part among them.
“Ugh!”
Everyone who witnessed that gruesome sight either turned their heads away or covered their mouths. Nausea rose within them.
Camilla’s face had also frozen rigid, but for a different reason than the others.
What her eyes perceived was an even more unsettling scene.
[Aaaahhh! It hurts! It hurts!]
[Sob… sob….]
[Stop… please, stop!]
[Save me. Please, save….]
People still crying out in agony, unaware they were dead… no, spirits.
It was harrowing. Those preserved in their final moments, writhing and wailing in the throes of death, made my mind go blank white.
“Don’t look.”
In that moment, Arsian’s quiet voice pierced my ears.
“Close your eyes.”
I didn’t resist his words. I simply felt the strength of Arsian’s embrace tighten around me and gently shut my eyes.
[Aaaahhh!]
I wanted to escape this place as quickly as possible.
* * *
“Laila.”
“Sob, yes….”
“I’m not dead.”
“Waaahhh!”
I’m not dead, she said.
I let out a small sigh.
The day after the Hunting Competition, the Empire was naturally thrown into chaos.
News spread rapidly that mysterious assailants had infiltrated the Hunting Competition hosted by Crown Prince Edsen, leaving many injured and dead.
The upheaval was even greater because there were casualties among the distinguished guests from various nations.
The planned party that was to follow was naturally cancelled, so ultimately Crown Prince Edsen’s birthday celebration could only end bearing the ignominious title of the worst party in history.
“Sob, I’m so… sob, so relieved you weren’t seriously hurt….”
Upon hearing the news, Laila came to the Sorpel Household the very next day. Her eyes were swollen and puffy.
“When I heard that you were at that place, I was so, so… sob.”
Watching Laila’s tears fall, I sighed once more.
‘Anyone seeing this would think someone had died.’
As Arsian had said, my condition wasn’t something that could be resolved with healing magic.
Since the problem lay not in a specific injury but in my muscles and stamina, I would be confined to bed the moment the pain-relieving magic wore off.
After Laila had been sniffling for quite some time, she gradually calmed down and carefully voiced her thoughts.
“It’s really strange. How could no one hear the explosion?”
“There was magical interference.”
There was a reason the soldiers hadn’t appeared to help despite such a tremendous commotion.
Those waiting outside the Hunting Grounds reportedly heard no explosion whatsoever.
It seemed that a barrier spell had been cast around the Hunting Grounds to isolate what was inside from what was outside.
‘How could the mages not notice that?’
There was such a thing as magical wavelengths. When powerful magic was cast, mages could naturally sense those wavelengths.
Yet not a single mage stationed around the Hunting Grounds had detected any suspicious magical aura.
‘And all the bodies disappeared too.’
That strange group that had attacked the Hunting Competition participants.
All traces of those zombie-like creatures that couldn’t even feel pain had vanished.
When soldiers went to investigate the site of the attack, they found not a single corpse, not even a drop of blood remaining.
‘What on earth was that?’
No matter how much I thought about it, something felt off. There wasn’t a single aspect that made sense from beginning to end.
The sudden appearance of so many people, the disappearance of all the bodies—
There was nothing that could be properly explained.
One thing alone was clear to everyone present: their objective.
From the moment they first appeared, their target had been fixed on a single person.
Edsen de Faybler.
The attackers had all focused intently on taking the life of Crown Prince Edsen.
‘Was that it?’
Whether because of my intervention or not, Crown Prince Edsen hadn’t been caught in the explosion or sustained any injuries in this competition, though in the past he had always been badly wounded.
“No, if the Crown Prince was the target, they would’ve attacked the Imperial Palace! Camilla nearly died!”
“….”
She really does speak her mind sometimes.
Watching Laila express her genuine anger toward the enemies with such spirit, Camilla let out a soft chuckle.
Not long after I had soothed the indignant Laila and sent her away.
Knock, knock.
The door opened and Dorman quickly entered the room.
“Ah, Miss.”
“What is it?”
“Someone has come from the Imperial Court.”
“What?”
Before I could fully process the situation, things began pouring endlessly into the room. Gift boxes.
“What is all this?”
Moments later, staring at the gift boxes piled high in one corner of the room, I asked Dorman with an expression of utter bewilderment.
But the answer came from somewhere else.
“These are gifts sent by Crown Prince Edsen.”
An attendant from the Imperial Palace bowed respectfully as he handed over a letter sealed with Crown Prince Edsen’s official seal.
“I wish you a swift recovery.”
The attendant bowed once more with the air of someone who had completed his duty, then swiftly departed.
Camilla stared intently at the letter in her hand.
For some reason, it seemed to emanate a dark aura… but that was surely my imagination, right?
Rip.
She tore open the letter immediately.
You wield a sword quite well.
The sight of you drenched in your enemies’ blood was the most beautiful version of you I have ever witnessed.
– Edsen de Faybler
“….”
Rip, rip!
“Gasp!”
Dorman’s eyes darted toward the door as Camilla tore Edsen’s letter to shreds.
Only after confirming that no one from the Imperial Palace was visible did a sigh of relief escape his lips.
Tearing apart a letter from the Crown Prince so carelessly could itself be construed as an offense against the Imperial Court.
“S-shall we open the gifts?”
Dorman turned toward the presents as if to change the mood.
“Don’t open them. Don’t open them.”
“Pardon?”
“Open them when you’re alone.”
“Alone, my lady?”
“Who knows if there are explosives or poisons inside.”
And coming from that man, no less!
As she grumbled with a displeased expression, Dorman, who had been quietly listening to her complaints, raised one hand and asked.
“B-but why alone…?”
“Hmm?”
When she stared at him blankly as if to say “isn’t that obvious?”, Dorman’s face grew even darker than before.
“It’s simple arithmetic.”
“Arithmetic, my lady?”
“It’s better to die alone than for both of us to die.”
“….”
What? What? Do you have something to say?
Camilla brazenly ignored Dorman’s gaze as he trembled with concern for her.
* * *
“Has Father gone out again?”
“Yes.”
After a few days had passed, I found myself moving about without much difficulty. My recovery was faster than before, as if my body had adapted to the injury.
“And Ludvil too?”
“They went out together.”
Duke Sorpel and Ludvil had scarcely spent any time at home recently. The Hunting Competition incident had sparked daily meetings.
Yet they still hadn’t uncovered a single clue about the perpetrator.
‘There are suspects, certainly.’
It was undeniable that enemies had targeted Crown Prince Edsen. The Second Prince’s faction was the first to be implicated as the mastermind behind this affair.
However, without physical evidence despite circumstantial suspicion, they couldn’t press the Second Prince’s side based on conjecture alone, so the investigation was hitting obstacles, or so I’d heard.
“What about Ravi?”
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t seen that man’s face in ages.
Father and Ludvil made it a point to visit at least once a day despite their hectic schedules, yet my own older brother hadn’t bothered to call even once.
“Well….”
At my question, the butler Rube trailed off.
“Is something wrong with Ravi?”
“Young Master Ravi hasn’t left the Research Laboratory for over a week now.”
“A week?”
“Yes, he’s been like that ever since returning from the Hunting Competition.”
“Sigh….”
Here we go again.
I exhaled softly, having a fairly good idea of what was happening.
I stopped by the Kitchen to gather a few things, then made my way unhesitatingly toward Ravi’s room.
Knock, knock.
No response. So—
Click!
I pushed the door open without hesitation.
“What?”
A sharp voice came flying at me immediately.
“Don’t disturb me…!”
Ravi, who had shouted without thinking, froze upon seeing me standing in the doorway.
“Why are you here?”
“Why do you think?”
I regarded him with an exasperated look.
‘What am I going to do about that matted hair….’
So he hadn’t even properly washed himself during all this time holed up in the Research Laboratory since returning from the Hunting Competition.
“Eat.”
I set the food I’d brought directly onto the table with a soft thud.
A creamy soup, fresh fruit, and bread fresh from the oven were arranged on the plate.
“I’m not eating. Take it with you.”
But Ravi didn’t even glance at the food and immediately turned away. Numerous magical tomes were scattered across his desk and floor.
Realizing most of those books were related to healing magic, I let out another short sigh.
“Eat something.”
“I said I’m not eating.”
“You’re really not going to eat?”
“I’m not eating.”
“Last time I’m asking. You’re really not going to eat?”
“Stop pestering me and just—”
Smack!
“Ugh!”
Ravi’s head snapped forward from the blow.
“Hey!”
“What!”
Caught off guard by Camilla’s fierce retaliation—her voice even louder than his own—Ravi froze instinctively.
But Camilla didn’t stop there; she pressed her advantage relentlessly.
“Go wash up right now! Before I hit you again!”
“….”
“You’re not going?”
“…Damn it!”
Ravi finally rose and left the Research Laboratory.
In his absence, Camilla summoned the household staff to restore order to the filthy space. Apparently no one had been permitted entry for some time—the room was in complete disarray.
She then contacted the Kitchen to have fresh food brought over.
“Eat.”
Ravi returned, now cleaned up, but remained unresponsive—clearly still unwilling to touch the food.
Watching his sullen expression for a moment, the corners of Camilla’s mouth curved upward in a slant smile.

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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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