A fortune-telling princess

[The divine beast’s egg must not be left alone for too long.]

[Absolutely.]

When did Derin arrive?

[It’s a matter of utmost priority.]

[Indeed.]

[It holds the lifelong regrets of our family, so it must be resolved quickly….]

Enough, enough!

“I get it.”

Camilla hurriedly stopped Hershel and Derin, who were in the midst of delivering a lengthy speech.

“I’ll retrieve the divine beast’s egg. As soon as possible.”

[You mean it?]

“But I need to prepare first.”

[Prepare?]

Derin, who had just been brimming with hope, now looked deflated. It seemed he thought Camilla was stalling again.

‘Geez, can’t a person be trusted?’

She had already planned to act soon. No other approach seemed better.

“Ahem.”

Camilla cleared her throat, her voice still a little hoarse.

And then—

“KYAAAAAAAAAH!”

She screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing throughout the estate.

[……!]

[……!]

Startled, Hershel and Derin leapt aside.

Bang!

“Milady! What’s wrong?”

Moments later, the door burst open as Donna rushed in.

“What’s the matter?”

“Lady Camilla?”

“What happened? Why the scream?”

“What’s going on?”

More maids and attendants stationed on the same floor came running in, whispering nervously. Clearly, the Duke’s orders had made them far more vigilant than before.

“Are you all right, Milady?”

Donna approached a trembling Camilla with a pale face, handing her a glass of water.

Even the attendants looked genuinely worried, unsure if there had been an intruder.

Some even ran to summon the guards.

But Camilla could only shiver and remain silent, failing to grasp the water Donna offered.

“Camilla!”

The Duke of Sorpel himself entered the room after hearing the commotion.

Camilla’s trembling stopped the moment she locked eyes with him. Instead, her face turned blank. Tears began to well up, eventually streaming down her cheeks.

“Camilla!”

“Father….”

“What happened!”

“Are you all right?”

“What?”

Camilla clutched the Duke’s hand tightly, her voice choked with emotion.

“In my dream, you….”

“Dream?”

“A big fire… a huge fire… sniff. There was so much cloth stacked in your study, and….”

“Cloth?”

“And this enormous fire… sniff. I told you to come out, tried to pull you out, but you wouldn’t come, and then the flames… sniff….”

The expressions of everyone in the room grew strange. All this over a dream?

The most baffled was Ravi, who looked at her like she had gone completely mad. He seemed to silently ask, “What nonsense is this?”

‘What’s he doing here?’

He had been holed up in his lab earlier, claiming to be busy. And Ludville, standing quietly in a corner, was there too.

Was my scream that loud? I did intend to cause a commotion, but still….

“You came into the fire for me?”

The Duke’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

Camilla’s hands still trembled faintly as she held onto his.

Seeing her vulnerability, the Duke’s gaze softened. Though it was just a dream, the idea of Camilla risking herself to save him deeply moved him.

“I was so scared… sniff. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. You must have been very frightened.”

The Duke patted her head affectionately, visibly touched.

‘Yes.’

Let everyone else look bewildered — what did it matter? The Duke’s reaction was all that mattered.

‘Besides, this wasn’t the real purpose.’

Earlier that day, after meeting Lila, something had occurred to Camilla.

Around this time, a fire broke out at one of the textile mills owned by the Sorpel family. Although not their primary business, the incident kept the Duke extremely busy for a while.

She didn’t remember the exact date, but the fire happened shortly after Lila’s transfer, so it had to be within a week….

Bang!

“Your Grace!”

The door suddenly flew open, and the Duke’s aide, Jackter, hurried in.

“What is it?”

“There’s been an issue.”

“An issue?”

The Duke’s expression changed instantly. For Jackter to burst in this late at night, it had to be something serious.

“A major fire broke out at the textile mill in the Berke region.”

“A fire?”

Hearing Jackter’s words, Camilla was equally shocked on the inside. Wow, the timing is uncanny.

“Yes. Thankfully, since it was late at night, there were no casualties. But it seems the mill won’t be operational for a while.”

“Hm. I’ll head to the study.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The Duke stopped in his tracks before leaving the room. He glanced back at Camilla, who had now stopped crying.

He seemed to recall her earlier words about flames engulfing stacks of cloth in his study.

Others in the room also looked at her in surprise, remembering her oddly specific description of the fire.

Still, most dismissed it as coincidence or perhaps found it faintly eerie. But Camilla, sipping the water Donna handed her, merely smiled awkwardly.

[“Laying groundwork?”]

“Yes.”

[“What do you mean, groundwork?”]

[“We’re not fishing, so why suddenly talk about groundwork?”]

Hershel and Derin didn’t immediately grasp Camilla’s point.

Yes, laying groundwork. The scream I let out last night was groundwork for retrieving the divine beast’s egg. It’s not that hard to understand!

“If I suddenly come back with the divine beast’s egg, what do you think people will say?”

[“They’ll be delighted.”]

“….”

Do people become this simple-minded after death?

“They’ll be happy at first, but what happens next?”

[“Next?”]

“They’ll bombard me with questions. ‘How did you know where to find it? How did you retrieve it?’”

[“Hmm.”]

[“That… does seem likely.”]

“Then what should I say?”

[“Well….”]

“If I told them the truth, that the late Lord Hershel appeared to me and gave me the location, wouldn’t they assume I’ve completely lost my mind?”

[…….]

“That’s why groundwork is necessary.”

[“You’re planning to say you dreamt of its location?”]

“Exactly.”

[“Do you think anyone will believe that?”]

[“I have the same concern.”]

It seemed unlikely that people would believe her claim just because she had correctly dreamt of the fire.

“Which is why I need to lay more groundwork.”

[“More?”]

[“How?”]

Camilla’s lips curled into a faint smile. Before answering, the carriage she was riding came to a gentle stop.

“Milady, we’ve arrived.”

The coachman opened the door, and Camilla stepped down slowly. In front of her was a small shop.

Through its window, she could see baby items on display.

[“Why here?”]

“To gather supplies for my groundwork.”

[“Supplies?”]

Ignoring the puzzled spirits behind her, Camilla entered the shop.

Before stepping inside, Hershel called out to her one last time:

[“But yesterday, how did you know the fire would happen? Was it really a coincidence?”]

[“Yes, I’m curious too. How did you know?”]

[“It was just a coincidence, wasn’t it?”]

[“It seems too perfect to be random.”]

Camilla’s teary-eyed performance last night had been so convincing that even the spirits were taken aback. From the timing of her scream to the specifics of her story, her execution had been flawless.

Still, what puzzled them most was how she had known about the fire. Surely, she hadn’t just blurted out a random guess?

“Ah, I’m so busy, so busy.”