A Fortune-telling Princess

“Welcome.”

As Camilla approached the counter, the man sitting there rose and bowed politely.

Having recognized the Duke of Escra and Count Alton, he showed a brief flicker of tension—then quickly put a smile back on his lips.

“How may I help you?”

“I want to open a safe deposit box and change the name on it.”

“May I see the safe deposit box key?”

Camilla handed him the gold key she had brought in advance.

The first step to verifying a personal safe deposit box was this key. The Duke of Escra had been holding onto it properly.

“You have companions with you. Will they be going with you?”

In an instant, the presence of the employees standing nearby strengthened all at once.

Even knowing their counterparts were the Duke of Escra, a master, and Count Alton, a high-ranking mage, they didn’t hide their wariness.

“Yes.”

But at Camilla’s short answer, that presence vanished in an instant.

As if it was something they were already used to, the Duke of Escra and Count Alton showed no particular reaction.

“Then please stand on that magic circle over there. Three people will be transported.”

When Camilla and the other two stood in the designated space, the employee inserted the key into a hole drilled into the wall.

WHOOOOSH!

The magic circle activated. In an instant, they were swallowed by light and transported somewhere.

Camilla had closed her eyes for a moment against the bright light, and soon she could tell the air around her had changed.

“This is....”

When she opened her eyes, an unfamiliar space spread out before her. It was a small room that didn’t even seem five pyeong, and there wasn’t any door in sight.

There was only one thing she could see. A pure-white panel attached to one side of the wall.

The strange part was that inside the panel, ripples shimmered—calm like the surface of a lake.

“This is....”

“Yes. You can write the number there.”

At Count Alton’s words, Camilla stepped closer to the wall.

“If an alarm goes off, you’re detained immediately, and you’re just going to watch? Are you planning to deal with it after Lady Camilla gets arrested?”

“No. I can’t watch that child get dragged away.”

“Then we’ll have to subdue the staff first and handle it.”

“I’ll obtain permission from His Majesty.”

These people.

At the utterly absurd conversation, Camilla turned back and glared at them. Count Alton smiled brightly and struck a fighting pose.

Letting out a short sigh, Camilla faced the wall again.

WUUUUNG—

When she reached her hand toward the rippling white panel, light gathered, and a pure-white feather pen formed.

“You can write with that pen.”

After staring for a moment at the pen floating in the air in fascination, Camilla slowly took it.

Then she began writing numbers onto the white panel.

325 12 04 19 50

What Sharua had told her was the safe deposit box password.

[It’s the day I first saw him.]

The day she first saw the Duke of Escra.

She said she hadn’t spoken to him, and hadn’t even exchanged a greeting. Literally the day Sharua first saw him.

Imperial Year 325, December 4, 7:50 p.m.

[Kyah! I fell for him at first sight!]

“...Yes. Sure.”

FWOOOOSH!

The moment she finished engraving the number, the ripples inside the pure-white panel surged violently. Then, in an instant, a blazing light poured out from within it.

Again, she reflexively closed her eyes—then opened them to find the wall in front of her had disappeared.

Instead, a magic circle had formed on the floor, faint light flowing from it.

Camilla stared blankly for a moment at the magic circle filled with unknown shapes. The light spilling out of it was so strange—and pretty.

“Wow... you really opened Lady Sharua’s safe deposit box.”

At Count Alton’s exclamation, Camilla finally snapped back to her senses and turned around.

“Only those who have proven their qualification may stand on that magic circle.”

Nodding at the Duke of Escra’s words, Camilla slowly stepped into the circle.

The moment she was fully on it, the faint light brightened quickly and swallowed her in an instant.

A moment later, another space unfolded before her eyes.

“Oh my....”

Without meaning to, Camilla’s mouth fell open. Don’t tell me that’s all money?

Across all times and places—and even across dimensions—there’s a job countless people want.

A rich unemployed person.

“Am I going to be a rich unemployed person now?”

In a space that looked easily over a hundred pyeong, countless mountains had been piled up.

Mountains made of gold and jewels.

She hadn’t expected there to be this much.

Sure, Sharua had been a noblewoman, so Camilla figured there’d be some assets stacked up, but how much is all that?

For a long while, Camilla admired the golden mountains with dazzled eyes.

*****

“What is this, Sis?”

“A safe deposit box key.”

“A safe deposit box?”

Camilla placed the gold key into Dive’s hand as his eyes went round.

So she was a wealthy family on par with House Escra.

After checking Sharua’s safe deposit box and coming out, Camilla finally learned one fact from Count Alton.

That Sharua—her family—had possessed an enormous fortune.

“And you just let me open it?”

“If we didn’t?”

“You could’ve demanded the password... no, that’s not it—how can you give up that much wealth so easily!”

“...You seem to see our house as very poor sometimes. We’ve lived just fine until now without that money.”

“No, but still....”

“It was a safe deposit box I wasn’t interested in to begin with. Until you mentioned it, I’d completely forgotten. If the one who figured out how to open it says they’ll be the owner, why should I stop them?”

Am I the only materialistic one? Am I the only one who likes money?!

The Duke of Escra and Count Alton both didn’t look particularly regretful or reluctant about her opening it.

...It’s not like I planned to take it, either.

She’d been briefly tempted by the amount, but she’d opened it with the plan of giving it to Dive from the start.

“Your mother left it to you.”

“My mother?”

Camilla lightly patted the child’s head as his eyes grew even larger.

“I’ll tell you the password for now, so later you go yourself and reset it.”

Dive just kept blinking, like he didn’t understand the situation at all.

[Camilla.......]

On the other hand, Sharua, who had watched everything, looked at Camilla with eyes mixed with emotion and regret.

[That was a present I was giving you, Camilla.]

At those words, Camilla lightly shook her head. No matter how she thought about it, it wasn’t something she should have.

[Thank you. Truly.......]

Looking at Sharua smiling brightly, Camilla also gave a faint smile.

“That’s truly astonishing. I didn’t think you’d really open the safe deposit box.”

Count Alton kept marveling.

In front of Camilla herself, he had tried to act calm in his own way, but in truth, when he saw her actually open Sharua’s safe deposit box, he’d barely managed to suppress the gasp that wanted to burst out.

“Did you really see it in a dream?”

“That’s what she said.”

“Do you call something like that a prophetic dream? Or is it not? A revelation from a god?”

“What god.”

“Why not? I heard the temple over there is making a fuss because they want to take Lady Camilla.”

“Anyway. I’ve disliked temple types since long ago.”

“They probably don’t like you much either, Duke.”

“Shut up.”

Letting out a small chuckle, Count Alton continued.

“I could tell from when you divined Lord Ersh’s embezzlement, but... our young lady really is amazing.”

“She is amazing.”

Seeing the Duke of Escra’s lip curl slightly upward, a smile spread across Count Alton’s face too.

A man who didn’t react at all to praise directed at himself—but a tiny compliment about his daughter put him in a good mood.

“Ah! The third order form has been completed.”

“...Already?”

“What do you mean, already? You emphasized over and over that it had to be written meticulously, so it ended up later than expected.”

“Write it again.”

“...What?”

“Check it carefully, letter by letter. It’s fine if it takes a long time, so write it more thoroughly.”

“I’ve checked it dozens of times already.”

“Only dozens of times? Review it more.”

“No, why?!”

What kind of new harassment is this?

Count Alton looked dumbfounded, but the Duke of Escra didn’t look like he had any intention of backing down.

“...She said she’s going back.”

“What... ah!”

Only then did Count Alton understand what he meant.

“You’re not going back right away, are you?”

“I’m going back after I check the third order form.”

“That’s a relief. If my new little sister said she was leaving right away, I think I would’ve been really sad.”

He remembered the conversation Camilla and Jainer had had before.

Her words—saying she’d go back when the third order form was complete.

Don’t tell me that’s why?

Count Alton looked at the Duke of Escra with eyes like he couldn’t believe it.

“As late as possible—no, meticulously.”

“Understood.”

But then Count Alton clenched his fist—and tore the third order form apart, riiip.

“Just trust me.”

*****

TAP TAP.

“Mm.”

TAP TAP TAP.

“Mmm.”

TAP TAP TAP TAP.

“Mm... mmm....”

“Why don’t you just contact them first?”

“What?”

“Instead of just staring at the communication orb, contact them first.”

Dorman finally said something after watching Camilla tap-tap at the table where the communication orb sat with her finger.

“I told you, I don’t want to interfere for no reason.”

Only then did Camilla turn her gaze ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) away from the communication orb.

It seemed she’d been unconsciously boring holes into it, still with no contact from home.

[Sometimes, when I look at you, you get timid about the most pointless things.]

Zeno, beside her, added a word too.

A kid who, to the point it was impressive, never hesitated in action and solved problems quickly—sometimes stalled out in strange places.

“What do you mean, me? I just don’t want to cause trouble for other people.”

[.......]

Is family “other people”?

Zeno lightly shook his head. Did she really not know? That she applied the word “trouble” far more strictly to family?

She fundamentally wasn’t the type to ask others for help, but with family, she did it even less.

No—she seemed unable to.