A Fortune-telling Princess

"Hee-hee-hee."

"Please stop laughing like that."

"How can I not laugh, looking at this? Ahahaha!"

The Duke of Sephra had sent over the first month’s proceeds from selling mana stones.

An astronomical sum was written on the bank slip. For just a single month of sales to amount to this...!

‘We haven’t even properly sold the magic items yet!’

I’d heard that inquiries about the mana-stone brooches showcased at the Duke of Jevillan’s birthday party were pouring in.

And that was despite the fact we hadn’t even begun sales.

I couldn’t begin to guess how much money would flow in once we started selling mana-stone items as well.

Arsian, who had been quietly watching the delighted Camilla for a while, tossed out a question.

"You like it that much?"

"Of course I do. Should I hate it instead?"

"What’s money worth, anyway."

"That’s the kind of thing you say right before getting blindsided somewhere. Then again, you’ve never been without money, so you can say nonsense like that."

At the look she gave him—as if she were observing a sheltered young master who knew nothing of the world—Arsian’s eyebrow lifted a fraction.

Grumbling with a baffled face, he said,

"If anyone heard you, they’d think you grew up poor."

He had no idea what answer might come back.

"Me? I was really poor when I was little."

"What?"

"Did you forget?"

Camilla gave a faint smile.

"I entered the Ducal House of Sorpel at seven. Before that, I was very poor."

It wasn’t a lie. The only reason the siblings could live as they did now was because the Duke of Sorpel, who had collapsed on a roadside, crossed paths with their mother.

‘Strictly speaking, even in hardship, it was thanks to Mother’s kind heart that reached out—and her beautiful face that Father fell head over heels for—that they ended up marrying.’

Until then, they’d been so poor they had to worry about what to eat the very next day.

‘From what I saw, he probably helped because he thought Father looked like he might have some money.’

In a situation where there wasn’t even money to buy food to feed the family, she’d even procured expensive medicine to treat him. Was it really pure goodwill, and only that? Hard to say.

Would she have helped like that if he’d been lying in the street in shabby clothes?

Either way, Mother’s choice had been right. They escaped poverty.

"I once got by four days drinking only water."

That wasn’t Camilla—it was from when she lived as Sia.

There was a time that bastard of a father ran away and didn’t come home for nearly two months.

Then Mother got laid off from the factory she had worked at, and there wasn’t a scrap of food in the house.

Back then, she literally filled her hunger with water and endured.

"That..."

Arsian seemed flustered, unable to string words together.

He knew she was the Duke of Sorpel’s stepdaughter, but he had never thought about it deeply, so he had no idea she had a past like this.

"Why are you flustered? I’m rich now."

Camilla looked at the bank slip and smirked again. Then—

"Here."

"Huh?"

She handed the slip back to Arsian.

"Give it to the Duke."

"Why? That man sent it to you."

"Tell him to hold onto it for now. I’ll come call on him later."

Lately, Camilla had made a new plan.

Public interest in mana stones was far greater than she’d expected, and continuing to leave sales entirely to the House of Sephra posed a problem.

For now, mana stones were being supplied through a trading house run by the House of Sephra, but if buyers multiplied further, management issues were highly likely.

Seeing her nursing a headache, the Duke of Sephra offered a suggestion.

Why not establish a trading house that sold only mana stones and run it directly?

When Camilla hesitated to step forward, he even said he’d introduce someone suitable to front as the nominal owner of the trading house.

‘Not bad.’

After mulling it over for a while, Camilla decided to take the Duke of Sephra’s advice.

Derrin, the butler-ghost, had been a big help in reaching that decision.

Because even with all the information he had, he thought that choice seemed the best and advised her so.

‘This is seed money.’

The funds she handed to Arsian would become the foundation for creating the trading house.

The Duke of Sephra, getting the money back, would surely grasp Camilla’s intent at once.

"That aside..."

Arsian’s gaze shifted to Camilla’s side.

"You seem to have things like that hovering around you more often than I do."

His displeased eyes were aimed at the ghost Zeno, who was loitering beside Camilla.

He couldn’t tell what the thing was, but he was certain some strange existence clung to her side.

[What is this? That guy can see me too?]

"Didn’t I tell you not to follow me?"

Clicking her tongue, Camilla scolded Zeno. Ever since the bout with Ludville, he’d been circling her rather than the practice yard.

He kept watching her, as if waiting for another chance to use a sword.

‘Are you insane?’

Like I’d do that again! Even now my muscles haven’t fully loosened; the moment I put a little strength in, they twinge.

She shot Zeno a slightly irritated glare—only for a reaction to pop out from a place she hadn’t expected at all.

"What, he’s tailing you even though you don’t want him to?"

"Huh?"

Depending on Camilla’s answer, Arsian looked like he might eliminate Zeno on the spot as a subdued killing intent leaked out.

"No, no. He’s a ghost I know well."

She shook her head quickly.

"Doesn’t it bother you to see things like that?"

But Arsian didn’t withdraw his killing intent so easily. The look he gave Zeno wasn’t kind.

"Not particularly."

Camilla subtly pointed toward where Zeno was. As annoying as Zeno was, annihilation felt a bit much.

"These ones are fine."

She’d seen ghosts since childhood; she had never really found them frightening or uncomfortable. They’d often been a hassle or an irritation, though. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Has it ever been hard?"

"Of course it has."

There had been exactly one time when having the ability to see ghosts had been excruciating.

"There was a major accident."

"An accident?"

"Yeah. An explosion. A lot of people died."

It was a day like any other, driving to a shoot.

An explosion occurred not far away. A gas truck going down the road exploded.

‘Of all times, there happened to be buses lined up around the blast site.’

She herself, fortunately, suffered no harm, but there were many casualties. Ghosts who didn’t properly recognize their own deaths filled the streets.

Pandemonium.

People being dragged underground by black hands screamed horrific screams.

Countless people who hadn’t realized they were dead howled.

A child, with hands and feet blown off, sobbed as he searched for his mother; a mother, with half her head gone, wandered the streets searching for that child.

Seeing that many ghosts, Camilla—for the first time—cursed the ability she had.

"It was a sight I never want to see again."

"..."

[...]

Both Arsian and Zeno pressed their lips shut.

She spoke lightly, but her eyes had sunk very deep. It wasn’t a mood they could easily intrude upon.

"Camilla!"

Just then, a familiar voice came.

Laila. As always, she ran over with a beaming smile.

"There you—ah..."

Happily greeting Camilla, she paused when she spotted Arsian.

"Hello."

Even at Laila’s greeting, Arsian said nothing in reply. He didn’t even spare her a glance.

‘What a temper.’

Watching Arsian still radiate that rude, spiky aura in front of others, Camilla gave a small shake of her head.

He and Laila had already crossed paths a few times, yet he acted like he was seeing a stranger, ignoring her completely.

‘He used to act like he couldn’t live without her.’

Arsian had been ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) one of those men who hung on Laila every time.

After the Duke of Sephra died and Arsian rampaged like a madman, the only sedative who could restrain him had been Laila.

‘So it really was this punk who killed the Duke of Sephra, right?’

In the previous life, this would already have been a time long after the Duke of Sephra’s death.

But as of now, the Duke of Sephra was alive and well, and Arsian’s relationship with him was, in its way, being maintained.

‘I really did well to make them play chess.’

At least their relationship didn’t seem to have gotten worse.

Frankly, whether the Duke of Sephra and Arsian got along had nothing to do with her. It would just make business miserable.

If Arsian killed the Duke of Sephra like before? Then my business would grind to a halt!

‘That can’t happen.’

So she recommended chess. Hoping things wouldn’t worsen between them.

And perhaps thanks to that hope, the Duke of Sephra was still alive and well. That was enough.

‘Is that the reason?’

Camilla kept tilting her head as she looked at Arsian showing absolutely no interest in Laila.

If he wasn’t rampaging, maybe he didn’t need the sedative called Laila.

"Ta-da."

Whether Arsian cared or not, Laila didn’t spare him any special attention.

As if already used to his coldness, she smiled only at Camilla and spread out what she’d brought.

"These are desserts you like, Camilla!"

Today again, tempting cakes, pies, and cookies covered the table. Strangely, among all those desserts, not a single one was made with apples.

As if she somehow knew that the original owner of this body, Camilla, disliked apples.

"Eat lots."

"You’re going to make me gain weight."

"You could stand to put on a little, Camilla."

Manager Hyunseok would faint if he heard that.

‘Then again, I’m not an entertainer anymore; what does it matter if I gain a bit?’

And the Camilla she’d seen so far had the blessed genes of someone who didn’t put on weight easily.

"Want some?"

Popping a pie into her own mouth, Camilla picked up another dessert and held it out to Arsian.

"I don’t like sweets."

What is he talking about?

"You ate everything I packed last time."

"That was because you—"

"Huh?"

"...Forget it."

"What do you mean, forget it."

He’d eaten just fine back then; what was with the out-of-character pride now? You’re the one who needs to put on some weight.

"Here! Say ah."

"What? No—mmph!"

Camilla popped a cookie right into his mouth.

‘Huh?’

Does he really hate them?

Watching Arsian scowl and crease his face all over as he chewed the cookie, Camilla blinked and blinked.