A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 74

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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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‘It was all because my soul had changed.’
Back then, not knowing this truth, I simply believed I was an unlucky child.
It was what Father always said to me.
‘Whenever I see you, my luck runs out! Ptui!’
So I assumed others felt the same way and never held any expectations about adoption.
In any case, because of that, I spent my time at the Orphanage until I debuted as an actress at fourteen, caring for my younger siblings.
“Here or there…”
Children are all the same.
The very young ones who know nothing display their hunger for affection openly and welcome those who come to find them.
Meanwhile, the older children didn’t readily approach those who came for volunteer work.
‘They knew all too well that getting closer would only bring them pain.’
As I observed such children, I suddenly paused.
A girl who appeared to be around six years old was walking while clutching a teddy bear as large as her own body.
I couldn’t easily tear my gaze away from the child and the bear.
“Ah!”
The child who had been walking quickly suddenly lost her balance and nearly fell forward.
Remarkably, the child regained her balance and stood up straight.
“Hehe.”
The child hugged the bear even tighter, her face beaming with a bright smile.
‘Wow.’
Watching this, I slowly shook my head.
“Why are you doing that?”
“…It’s nothing.”
When Petro’s puzzled gaze turned toward me, I tore my eyes away from the child, exhaling short sighs inwardly.
‘Ghosts everywhere, no matter where you go.’
* * *
After filling their bellies with snacks, the children scattered with the club members to play as they wished.
Laila taught songs to several children, while Petro faced off against children wielding wooden swords.
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
“Hm?”
Then one child came running toward me.
It was Rio, the child who had received only five candies from Petro earlier and burst into tears.
“Book!”
“…You want me to read it?”
“Yes!”
Rio held a fairy tale book in his hand.
‘Princess Lulu’. Taking the book from Rio and skimming through it, I let out a soft laugh.
Aside from the princess’s name, it was no different from the fairy tale ‘Snow White’ that had been so famous in that other world. The settings were identical, remarkably so.
A moment later…
“Mirror, mirror. Who is the most beautiful person in this world?”
I performed every character in the book as I read through the story.
“That is Princess Lulu, who possesses all the beauty in the world from head to toe.”
By the midpoint of the fairy tale, not only Rio but all the children had gathered closely around me.
Even those who had been playing with the children turned their attention to the story.
‘How strange.’
Though it was such a famous fairy tale that everyone knew its contents, they couldn’t tear their eyes and ears away from me.
Was this fairy tale originally so thrilling?
Even though they already knew the story, even though they could predict what the next line would be, they all swallowed hard.
The children were no different. Everyone stared at me with their mouths hanging open.
“How dare you!”
“…!”
A bloodthirsty voice filled the room.
“Bring me the heart of Princess Lulu at once!”
I delivered the line in one breath using the vocal technique I had learned on stage. My expression was that of a cruel queen herself.
“Ugh….”
“Ugh… ugh….”
“Waaaaaah!”
Wait? As I was about to turn the page to read the next one, I froze at the sound of crying coming from all around.
“I’m scared!”
“Waaaah!”
“The queen is so scary.”
“The queen is mean!”
“The queen! She’s a witch!”
…Did I overdo it after such a long time of acting?
I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
“Wow….”
Laila, who had been watching from the side, let out continuous exclamations of admiration.
Throughout my performance, she hadn’t even dared to breathe loudly.
“Camilla is truly amazing. How can you act so well?”
She too had read books to the children many times. Others had done the same.
But the fairy tales I read were on a completely different level from their clumsy performances. It felt less like listening to a story and more like watching a play.
“Indeed.”
Petro also gazed at me with admiring eyes, unable to look away.
She really has been showing unexpected sides of herself lately.
She was so different from the Camilla he had known before. It would be believable to say she was a different person entirely.
“That’s too cruel! Waaaah!”
“Fairy tales are always cruel.”
Watching me flustered by the children’s tears, Laila and Petro burst into laughter at the same time.
Chapter. The Grim Reaper Habel
Late at night. The time when everyone is asleep.
Camilla, too, seemed exhausted by the unexpected visit to the Orphanage, which hadn’t been on today’s schedule, and had retired to bed earlier than usual.
Whoosh.
A figure materialized silently in Camilla’s Room, now wrapped in silence and darkness. He was a man in his early twenties.
Dark gray hair and blue eyes that seemed to herald the dawn. Most striking of all were the accessories adorning his entire body.
Black rings encircled each finger, and his ears were so densely studded with black jewels that finding an empty space was nearly impossible.
He gazed intently at the sleeping Camilla before taking a step toward her.
Whoosh!
In that instant, someone swiftly ensnared him and dragged him to the side.
Only after being pulled as far away from Camilla as possible could the man hear his assailant’s voice.
Shh!
Dorman, Camilla’s Attendant, grinned widely as he clamped a hand over the man’s mouth and tightened his grip.
Be quiet.
Without hesitation, he leaped out the window while still gripping the man by the collar. It was an action devoid of any doubt.
What the—?
Having jumped lightly from the second floor, Dorman still hadn’t released his grip on the man’s neck.
What’s going on here?
It’s been a long time, senior.
The man showed no signs of alarm at Dorman’s actions. Instead, he offered a respectful greeting.
Why would I be your senior?
Dorman clicked his tongue briefly and corrected him.
I was a high-ranking manager, and you were nothing but a lowly grunt. I’m not your senior.
For the first time, emotion flickered across the man’s impassive face. It was disappointment.
What brings you here? You even manifested physically.
It’s the only way you could see me, Dorman.
You came to see me? Then why were you lurking around Miss Camilla?
I have a request for her.
A request?
Yes.
What is it?
I’d prefer to tell her directly.
You want to meet her?
Yes.
Miss Camilla?
Yes.
Really?
…? Yes.
The man tilted his head in confusion at Dorman’s repeated questioning.
Pop.
Only then did Dorman release his grip on the man’s neck. He then gently patted his shoulder with affection.
Right, yes, of course, Habel.
“…?”
Habel couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable unease at Dorman’s sudden shift—his expression now warm and familiar, his tone suddenly formal and respectful.
* * *
“Who exactly?”
“One of my fellow Soul Manager Organization members.”
“No, I can hardly be called a manager—”
“A very capable one, I might add.”
Dorman interjected again, cutting off Habel’s flustered protest.
“So you’re saying they outrank me?”
“Out, outrank you! I—”
“That is currently the case.”
“What? No, I—!”
Habel hastily waved his hand, then suddenly froze.
“…Why are you suddenly taking off your shoes?”
Camilla, who had been sitting across from him, slowly rose to her feet and removed her shoes, holding one in her hand.
“I have quite a lot to discuss with you.”
“No, but why are you suddenly taking off your—”
“You haven’t suddenly changed genders or anything, have you? Become a woman out of nowhere?”
“Huh?”
“Let’s start with a little beating, shall we?”
“Huh, huh?”
Habel looked toward Dorman pleading for an explanation, but Dorman merely smiled contentedly, delighting in the birth of this new shield.
Joy should be hoarded for oneself, and suffering should be shared—isn’t that what makes one truly happy?
A moment later.
“So what is it? You came to ask for my help?”
“Yes.”
“You want me to persuade a soul?”
“That’s right. And now, if you could just—”
“Tsk, lower your hands.”
Habel was utterly bewildered. He couldn’t understand why he had to remain on his knees with his hands raised.
Yet he couldn’t bring himself to resist.
Now I understood. Shoes could be a weapon too.
“This is absurd.”
Camilla clicked her tongue repeatedly.
“Did you really think I’d grant your request?”
I’d been seething about this every single day. Each time I faced my tangled circumstances, I ground my teeth in fury.
And I had sworn to myself:
“When that bastard’s superior shows up, I’ll rip out every last hair on their head.”
And now?
“A request?”
What kind of request is this, spouted out like that?
“No, I think you’re misunderstanding something. I’m not this person’s superior—”
“My superior tends to lack a bit of awareness. I humbly ask that you understand with a generous heart, Miss.”
As I listened to Dorman’s words, I clicked my tongue repeatedly. Whether superior or subordinate, they shared the same shameless audacity.
His subordinate commits such a grave mistake, and instead of apologizing, what? He asks for help?
“Anyone listening would think you two were the victims.”
How could they have the nerve to come asking for assistance? Shameless. Absolutely shameless.
“Still, wouldn’t it be worth hearing what the request is?”
“Why should I?”
“Because it’s never a disadvantage to build connections with the Soul Manager Organization.”
“And what would be the benefit?”
“We won’t carelessly take away the deceased lingering around you, Miss Camilla.”
Now that I thought about it, Zeno had been absent since earlier, and both Derin and Perol were nowhere to be seen. It seemed they were all hiding because of this Habel, the Soul Manager.

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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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