A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 84

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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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Chapter. Ghost Merchant Guild
“Lin, let me help you.”
“Oh my! Miss! You shouldn’t.”
“I want to help. I’m good at this sort of thing.”
“There’s really no need….”
Lania had woven herself into the Sorpel Household with remarkable ease.
The first to open their hearts to her were the household’s servants.
They all welcomed Lania, who called them by name and approached them warmly, readily helping with their tasks without hesitation.
Most of them watched Lania handle rough work with such skill that they pitied her, each wanting to provide her with something, anything.
‘Does everything look better simply because she’s the Duke’s legitimate daughter?’
If I had done the same, they would have mocked me, saying birth is beyond one’s control.
[I don’t like her.]
[Something does seem odd about her.]
The ghosts, by contrast, found Lania deeply unsettling.
Perol, whose opportunities to cook in the Kitchen had diminished because of her, made his displeasure openly apparent, and Derin, the butler ghost, wore an equally grim expression.
Derin sensed the same thing I did—that Lania was subtly maneuvering to put me in difficult positions.
[So that’s why you were asking about twins before. It was because of this child.]
Zeno also stroked his chin repeatedly, tilting his head in puzzlement.
His expression was rather serious as he watched Lania hanging laundry in cheerful conversation with the Maidservants.
[Even for twins, aren’t they too identical? My older brother and I were monozygotic twins, but not to this degree.]
The first reason I couldn’t tear my gaze away when I first saw Lania at the Orphanage was precisely this.
A ghost.
There was a ghost clinging directly beside Lania.
Of course, ghosts were a very familiar existence to me, but the ghost attached to Lania was somewhat peculiar.
And for good reason—the ghost looked so identical to Lania that one could insist it was her own reflection rather than a twin and be believed.
[She had no rationality.]
Zeno had already approached the ghost beside Lania and tried speaking to her. It was the best method to discern her identity.
But the female ghost gave no response whatsoever. She kept her gaze fixed on Lania without showing any reaction.
The other ghosts tried speaking to the female ghost as well, but it was futile. As Zeno said, she showed no trace of rationality.
Lania. A name I encountered for the first time. In all those countless repeated lives, I had never once met this person.
‘Did she appear after I died?’
If so, that made sense. After my death, I knew nothing of what transpired in this world.
If I considered this occurrence happening earlier this time, it provided an explanation.
“Oh! Camilla!”
Shortly after, Lania spotted me and came rushing over. I couldn’t understand why this child always wore such a delighted expression.
“Where are you going?”
“Out.”
“Where to? Could I come along? I was getting a bit bored anyway….”
“It’s personal business.”
“Ah….”
Lania’s expression quickly grew sullen.
“If you have nothing to do, go visit Father.”
“Pardon?”
“He often takes walks through the Mist Flower Garden around this time.”
“….”
“What?”
“Oh, no, nothing.”
Leaving Lania behind with her peculiar gaze, I rose from my seat.
* * *
“Welcome.”
“Sigh.”
I removed the heavy robe I’d been wearing pulled low over my head. A continuous stream of sighs escaped my lips.
The weather had grown completely warm now, making it rather impractical to wear such a robe.
‘Should I ask Ravi to cast a cooling spell on me?’
I’d heard there were spells that maintained cold temperatures.
Of course, there were already many magical products available on the market.
But when I looked into it before, the prices were astronomical. The moment “magical” was attached to something, several more zeros appeared on the price tag.
‘We have a mage idling around the household anyway, so there’s no need to buy one, is there?’
I had to save every coin I could.
“There were many customers again today.”
The reason I insisted on wearing the robe despite this heat was because it was an essential item when coming to this place.
“The products you designed last time have become quite popular, Miss.”
The place I’d come to was a trading company. The Magical Stone Merchant Guild, to be precise.
As the magical stone business expanded in scale, Duke Sefra made a proposal: why not establish a separate trading company selling only magical stones and have me operate it directly?
The business was quickly pushed forward, and now the Magical Stone Merchant Guild had been open for exactly two months.
“Here are this week’s sales figures.”
The man speaking to me in polite tones was a young man in his late twenties. His bespectacled face appeared particularly stern.
Chris Miller. He was the one currently known as the representative of the Magical Stone Merchant Guild in my stead.
True to his introduction by Duke Sefra, his abilities were certainly exceptional. He was more than adequately filling in the gaps in my knowledge, as I was nearly ignorant about business matters.
“You mentioned you’d show me new items and designs today….”
“Yes, here.”
I’d been developing new items using magical stones recently.
Following the brooches inscribed with defensive magic that I’d sold before, I reached into the area I knew best.
“The stock of the recently launched earrings with whitening effects is severely insufficient. As noted in these documents, it would be wise to increase the number of craftspeople.”
Regardless of era or generation, women showed keen interest in beauty-related products.
So I tailored my new magical items to match that demand.
The first product I conceived was one that provided a visual whitening effect.
I created an item that, simply by wearing earrings or necklaces, would completely conceal blemishes like age spots on the face.
Additionally, it provided an effect that brightened the skin tone considerably, and upon its release, it received enthusiastic attention from noblewomen and young ladies.
‘After all, I’m quite knowledgeable about jewelry.’
As an actress, I had received invitations to countless jewelry collections. I had walked runways wearing them so many times it was beyond counting, and the sponsorship jewelry alone was enough to open a jewelry store.
“Everyone was quite pleased with the previous design as well.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
I fully demonstrated the refined taste I had developed through such experiences.
Camilla had enlisted famous artisans throughout the Empire to craft magical stone items with a distinctly modern aesthetic.
“This design should work out well too.”
Chris finally examined the new item Camilla had handed him. His eyes widened slightly as he casually flipped through the papers.
“An item that changes eye and hair color, I see.”
“The hair dyeing business will fade into the distance now.”
The product Camilla had designed this time was a hair ornament. Wearing the accessory would allow one to change their hair color.
“Beyond the basic colors, it might be good to offer custom orders for any desired shades as well.”
“Good idea. Let’s push that forward too.”
As always, he added two more things whenever I mentioned one.
“However, we’ve been attracting quite a bit of attention lately.”
“Hmm.”
Many were showing interest in my Magical Stone Merchant Guild, which had separated from Duke Sefra’s business ventures.
Duke Sefra was still serving as a shield, but the mere fact of stepping away from his direct protection had drawn far more watchful eyes than before.
Everyone was curious about what kind of person owned this guild, given that Duke Sefra had so readily handed over such a lucrative enterprise.
“I’ll be more careful.”
This place was also underground. It was connected to the Underground Space of the Magical Stone Merchant Guild and linked to the basement of a small house situated some distance from the guild.
Through that house, I would always descend underground to work with Chris on various business ventures.
“Camilla.”
Chris’s voice grew noticeably lower as he adjusted his glasses.
“You won’t be able to keep hiding this forever.”
“I know.”
The business was growing far faster than expected.
Astronomical income was already pouring in from magical stone sales alone, and with the jewelry business added on top, public interest had only intensified.
There were limits to continuing to put Chris forward as the owner of this place.
Even now, I couldn’t immediately process important business proposals coming from outside.
After all, I had to personally review every situation and give my direct approval.
But visiting this place secretly every single day without fail was also impossible. Eventually, work would inevitably fall behind.
“And…”
“What else?”
“Are you really keeping the guild’s name as is?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
I had chosen it to silently infiltrate people’s consciousness and consume them all. It had its own meaning.
“Ghost. Isn’t it good?”
The Ghost Merchant Guild.
It was the name I had given to the Magical Stone Merchant Guild.
‘Still, everyone did look at me with those strange, eerie eyes.’
The moment I heard this name for the first time, not only Chris but Duke Sefra and Arsian as well cast peculiar glances my way.
“Forgive me, but I find it a rather untrustworthy name to consider. Many people jest and mock, saying the Trading Company will vanish like a ghost.”
“Oh, you’re quite perceptive, aren’t you?”
“Pardon?”
Watching Chris’s eyes widen slightly, I laughed as though I knew nothing at all.
After all, this venture was never meant to be anything more than a means to gather escape funds.
It had grown far beyond my expectations, which was somewhat disconcerting, but there would be nothing strange about suddenly closing the doors.
I had thought it might be wise to remain at the Sorpel Household a while longer, given that I had distanced myself somewhat from the death flag—but then again….
‘My biological daughter has appeared.’
I could not foresee how circumstances would unfold from this point forward.
‘The Ghost Merchant Guild.’
What of it? The spirits around me were quite fond of it. Even now, I think it was a rather fitting name.

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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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