A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 67

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

“Do I need to feed you by hand?”
“This is ridiculous!”
Ravi’s frustration finally erupted.
“Am I a joke to you? Because I can’t use magic like that bastard and I’m useless, now I’m a joke? Now you don’t even see me as your Older Brother, damn it!”
His own words seemed to overwhelm him with despair, and he muttered a quiet curse.
Watching Ravi like this, Camilla shook her head inwardly.
‘He knows he’s talented, yet every time he sees someone even slightly better, he digs himself into a hole like this.’
Despite being surrounded by people far less capable than himself, the moment he catches sight of someone even marginally superior, he loses all his confidence.
‘First Ludvil, and now Arsian?’
I’d suspected he was drowning in self-doubt over what happened at the Hunting Competition, but seeing it firsthand was… well.
Camilla clicked her tongue repeatedly in her mind.
“Older Brother.”
Ravi turned his head away sulkily and didn’t respond.
But that didn’t last long.
“I almost died last time.”
“…What are you talking about?”
His eyes snapped toward me instantly.
“Professor JB. I almost died at his hands.”
“Hey! You didn’t say anything like that back then!”
Ravi shot up from his seat.
“You said it wasn’t dangerous at all!”
“Right, it wasn’t dangerous at all.”
“This is ridiculous! Are you messing with me right now—”
“Thanks to this.”
I showed him the bracelet on my wrist—the magical bracelet Ravi had made for me before.
“That guy was way stronger than I expected. When he grabbed my throat, I couldn’t respond properly.”
“You…!”
“But in front of this, even he couldn’t do anything.”
Ravi, who had been pursing his lips, suddenly slumped back into his seat.
“I probably wouldn’t have even attempted something like that without it. I trusted the bracelet you made for me, Older Brother.”
It wasn’t a lie.
I trusted Rube, the leader of Black Shadow, more than the bracelet, but it was true that the bracelet had been invaluable.
“I told you before. Without you, I’d be an orphan.”
“…”
“In other words, because you exist, I can trust one thing and act recklessly.”
Ravi remained silent for a while. But I could tell his mood had improved considerably.
He tried to hide it and maintain a heavy atmosphere, but to Camilla’s trained eye, everything was visible.
The corners of his mouth twitched ever so slightly. His face had even flushed a little.
“Are you going to eat, or not? Should I really feed you by hand?”
“…How come you’re getting more and more aggressive as time goes on?”
“You’re just like your Older Brother.”
“If only you wouldn’t talk.”
“What, you’d prefer a sibling who can’t speak? Should I just keep my mouth shut for the rest of my life?”
“…You’d eat if you actually tried, wouldn’t you?”
Ravi picked up his spoon and nibbled at the food as if he were eating only because of me.
Yet moments later, every last morsel on his plate had vanished without a trace.
After a week of barely consuming anything, he must have been ravenous.
Still, the way he pretended not to be hungry was so characteristically Ravi.
‘Sigh.’
I exhaled a quiet sigh to myself.
‘Even coddling him is exhausting.’
But what else could I do? I needed to manage his mental state carefully if I wanted any peace in my future.
If I let him roam free, there’s no telling what foolish thing he’d get himself into next.
‘Such is my fate.’
Chapter. Student Council President
“What on earth is all this?”
Returning to the Academy after so long, I tilted my head in confusion at the mountain of gift boxes stacked across my desk.
“Is it my birthday today?”
No, that couldn’t be right. Even if it were, I’d never receive gifts like this at the Academy.
‘What kind of prank is this?’
I furrowed my brow slightly. Could there be garbage inside these boxes?
“Um, excuse me, Camilla!”
At the sound of a young, timid voice, I looked up. An unfamiliar female student stood before me.
“This is for you!”
Her face slightly flushed, the girl hastily thrust something forward—a small gift box.
‘What is this?’
When I didn’t immediately accept it, her face grew even redder.
“Thank you so much for saving my Older Brother.”
“What?”
What did I do? Confusion deepened across my face.
“I heard my Older Brother received tremendous help from you at the Hunting Competition. He said he would have surely died if it weren’t for you…”
“Ah.”
Understanding the situation, I nodded, and the girl extended her gift toward me once more.
With a peculiar expression, I accepted it, and after thanking me again, the girl hurried out of the Classroom.
‘This must be something that happened when Zeno was possessing my body.’
Since I had no memory of it, that had to be it. It seemed Zeno’s accomplishments were more impressive than I’d realized.
“Hmm, so all of these are…”
My eyes turned toward the desk buried under gift boxes.
[That’s right, that’s right. Those are gifts from the people who participated in that competition and their families.]
Zeno, who had already wandered through the Academy and gathered information, eagerly chattered directly into my ear.
‘This is rather disconcerting.’
The temperature of the atmosphere around me had shifted dramatically.
While not quite hostile, the eyes that had been brimming with disdain and contempt now gleamed with considerable favor.
Admittedly, some gazes still held resentment, but their proportion had undeniably diminished.
Caught off guard by this sudden shift in atmosphere, I felt genuinely flustered.
[You know this is all thanks to me, right?]
Zeno beamed with triumphant delight, his smile radiant.
[Make sure you rely on me plenty from now on.]
What was he saying?
Watching Zeno appeal to me with sparkling eyes like some shopping host, I shook my head gently.
* * *
[You’re really going to quit?]
“Yes.”
The events at the Hunting Competition hadn’t affected only the students.
As I left the meeting with the Swordsmanship Instructor, my expression noticeably lighter, Zeno continued to voice his complaints beside me.
[No, why! Why! Why!]
“Ugh, you’re so loud.”
The Swordsmanship Instructor, who had maintained meticulous indifference until now, had suddenly asked to see me briefly—I’d already guessed what this was about.
As expected, he’d proposed that I receive systematic swordsmanship instruction from him going forward.
While he hadn’t been overtly sarcastic, maintaining a thread of courtesy, I’d internally scoffed.
‘Now he wants to play mentor?’
It was laughable.
As my swordsmanship skills became the subject of discussion, it was painfully obvious he wanted to add his own spoon to the pot and gain fame from it.
After listening patiently to the Swordsmanship Instructor’s hollow ambitions for a while, I announced my withdrawal from the Fencing Club the moment he took a sip of tea to quench his thirst.
The Swordsmanship Instructor’s mouth fell open in shock, but I paid him no mind.
[You have talent, I’m telling you! Your physical condition is exceptional!]
“Yes, yes.”
[But why are you quitting the Fencing Club? Isn’t it a waste of the talent you possess?]
If I said it wasn’t a waste at all, he’d continue pestering me endlessly—
After a moment’s consideration, I decided to take the approach of gilding his ego.
“Because I have Zeno.”
[Huh?]
“With Zeno, why would I need another swordsmanship instructor? Don’t you think?”
At those words, he fell silent at once. A smile quickly bloomed across his face as though he’d never been upset.
[That’s right! I’m here!]
Yes, yes.
‘So which club should I join now?’
Since I’d left the Fencing Club, I needed to find a new one. There certainly wouldn’t be anything related to acting… I should think about this a bit more—
Thud.
“I-I’m so sorry!”
Lost in thought, Camilla walked forward when someone suddenly collided with her.
The items in the person’s hands scattered across the floor with a cascade of thuds.
Seeing what had fallen, Camilla understood perfectly why he hadn’t noticed her before the collision.
From thick books to countless snacks, it was clearly far too much for one person to carry alone.
“I’m so— oh!”
As Camilla bent down to help gather the scattered items, the male student flinched, his eyes widening in surprise.
“Th-thank you.”
“Would you like me to carry some?”
“No!”
He shook his head urgently, as if terrified. Then he carefully restacked the fallen items and hurried away.
The way he moved with items stacked so high he could barely see over them looked perilously unstable.
Yet Camilla couldn’t extend her hand to help him further.
There was a reason he’d recoiled so sharply when she’d offered assistance moments before.
[Who is that guy? Why’s he carrying all that by himself?]
“Because no one will help him.”
[Why?]
“Everyone openly bullies and torments him.”
[What?]
Kevin Brian.
Camilla knew him well—though not because of his family’s standing or his appearance, but for the opposite reason.
The Brian Barony was a house in name only. With no wealth and no power, they were nobles who possessed nothing more than commoners.
‘An outcast, but for different reasons than me.’
At least no one openly tormented her, after all.
The worst she endured was whispers behind her back and being ignored, but Kevin Brian’s situation was far worse.
Physical assault was routine for him, and since entering the Academy, he’d been forced to run endless errands without respite.
‘Of course, there’s a ringleader.’
I knew exactly who it was.
Thump.
“Oh? Miss Camilla, it’s been so long.”
At that moment, a female student her age appeared and greeted Camilla with a refined smile.
“I heard your recent accomplishments were quite remarkable?”
Meriz Gabel, daughter of Marquis Gabriel.
A young lady blessed with wealth, beauty, and excellent grades—and the Academy’s student council president.
Beloved by the headmaster and all the professors alike, and simultaneously….
‘The ringleader of the bullying.’
Watching her smile warmly at me, Camilla returned the gesture with a smile of her own.
* * *
[So the entire student body bands together to torment one student? Are they insane?]
“Strictly speaking, not every student participates. There are those who don’t join in.”
Someone like Petro would never participate in such things. He doesn’t even know this is happening at the Academy.
‘Arsian is the same way.’
He’s never cared about whether others are being tormented or not.
“Those who might interfere with their activities are simply never invited to participate in the first place.”
[How can the Student Council President allow this?]
“Don’t you think it’s possible precisely because I’m the Student Council President?”
It’s an excellent position for keeping the professors’ eyes averted.
[And everyone just watches and does nothing!]
“Because it’s not happening to me.”
[What?]
“Because I’m not the target.”
That’s why I simply observe. Like a light amusement enjoyed in youth. Everyone tacitly condones it and turns a blind eye to the situation.
[How can no one help?]
Of course, there are those who find such conduct distasteful. Yet the reason they simply watch and do nothing is singular.
“If they’re not careful, they could become the next target. Who would dare to intervene?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————