A fortune-telling princess

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just went for a swim.”

“A swim?”

“Yeah.”

“In this weather?”

“I tend to run hot.”

“I’ll have the heating in your room turned off starting tonight.”

“It gets cold at night.”

“…”

Luve clicked his tongue softly.

Camilla had always been sensitive to the cold, even as a child. Until summer fully arrived, she wouldn’t let the fireplaces be turned off, day or night. And now she’s claiming she went for a swim in this season?

“I was looking for something,” she explained.

Luve’s skeptical gaze made Camilla sigh quietly. There wasn’t much point in hiding it anyway.

“What were you looking for?”

“…!”

A calm yet weighty voice interrupted their conversation. Ludville.

When had he arrived? He was now staring at Camilla intently.

“Well…”

Camilla hesitated.

Ludville was a Sorpel, but this was the egg of a divine beast. Surely, the first person who should know about it was Duke Sorpel himself.

Seeing her hesitation, Ludville shook his head slightly.

“Go in.”

“Pardon?”

He motioned toward the study.

“You’re here to see Father, aren’t you?”

“Well, yes, but…”

Camilla glanced at the study door.

Wouldn’t it be better to come back another time? Handing over the divine beast’s egg in the presence of an outsider, the Duke of Jabilon, didn’t seem appropriate.

“I’ll come back later—”

“It’s fine. Go in. Besides, Duke Jabilon wanted to see you.”

“Me?”

Camilla, who had been about to leave, stopped and tilted her head. Why would someone who usually ignored her suddenly want to see her?

Knock, knock.

Luve knocked lightly and entered the study first. Camilla and Ludville followed silently.

[Finally, you’re here!]

“…”

The first to greet Camilla upon entering wasn’t Duke Sorpel or Duke Jabilon but the red divine eagle, Jetty.

Since it hadn’t been summoned, Jetty flew around unnoticed by the others in the room.

[Hm?]

Jetty paused mid-flight, its crimson eyes fixed on Camilla’s waist. It had immediately sensed the presence of the egg inside her small pouch.

“Come in.”

“Yes, Father.”

“We meet again.”

“Hello.”

Camilla was baffled by Duke Jabilon’s sudden friendliness. Why was he acting like this?

Whooong—

“Hmm?”

A strange sound began to echo. The vibration of tearing air made everyone’s expressions stiffen.

“…!”

No one reacted more strongly than Duke Sorpel. The source of the noise was the pendant hanging around his neck.

The pendant, embedded with a white jewel, had never reacted before despite his desperate hopes. Now, it was glowing and vibrating intensely.

Whooong—

The jewel began to shine brightly, as though signaling that it had found its match, and pointed in a specific direction.

“Why is it doing this…?”

Following the light, everyone turned their eyes toward where Camilla was standing. Their faces were filled with shock.

“…”

Camilla, too, was slightly startled. She had heard that the pendant reacted to the proximity of the divine beast’s egg, but she hadn’t expected it to point her out so clearly.

As everyone stared at her in astonishment, Camilla reached into her pouch and retrieved the egg, placing it on the table.

Whooong—whooong—

The egg began to emit a faint vibration and a low hum that resonated in sync with the pendant.

[Finally…!]

At some point, Hershel had appeared, gazing at the glowing egg with a deeply emotional expression.

“Camilla, is this…?”

Even the mighty Duke Sorpel couldn’t hide his trembling voice.

“Yes, it’s the egg of a divine beast.”

Her answer drew gasps from all around. They had speculated, but to hear it confirmed!

With a shaky hand, Duke Sorpel brought the pendant closer to the egg. Everyone held their breath, watching with bated anticipation.

Whoooooong!

As the pendant neared, the vibrations from the egg intensified. Then,

Flaaash!

A bright light filled the room, blinding them all.

How much time passed?

When the light subsided, people slowly opened their eyes to see.

Before them was a white tiger—the emblem of the Sorpel family.

“The roar of the White Tiger deafens its enemies, and with one step, the ground turns red with blood.”

[king, king.]

“…With one step, the ground turns red with blood…”

“…”

“…”

A tiny creature, smaller than an adult’s palm, toddled forward on wobbly legs and sat down, licking its front paw.

“…A kitten?”

In the spot where the divine beast’s egg had been, a tiny white tiger cub now sat.

“You said it was a White Tiger…”

Duke Jabilon murmured in disbelief. Everyone else in the room was similarly speechless, staring at the new arrival in a daze.

The first to break the silence—living or dead—was Hershel.

[You’ve finally awakened!]

His eyes shone with emotion as he gazed at the tiny white tiger.

‘This is the divine beast?’

Camilla shot a dubious glance at Hershel. After all her struggles, she had retrieved… this tiny kitten?

[It’s because it’s been dormant for so long. Though it’s small now, it will gradually reveal its powers. Don’t worry.]

Hershel, reading her expression, gave her a brief explanation.

‘Good to know.’

Camilla turned her gaze back to the white tiger—or rather, the divine beast.

At that moment, the tiny creature, still wobbling around, raised its head. It alternated its gaze between Duke Sorpel, holding the pendant, and Camilla. Then, it began toddling toward her.

“Hmm?”

Lick.

“Ah…!”

The little creature stretched its small body and began licking Camilla’s hand, which rested near the table. She froze.

‘Go away.’

Unable to bring Herself to push the small creature away, Camilla awkwardly pulled her hand back. But the divine beast continued to chase her hand, moving persistently.

“Uh… uh!”

When it nearly fell off the table, Camilla quickly scooped it up and hastily placed it back in front of Duke Sorpel.

[king?]

The divine beast glanced around at Duke Sorpel and the others briefly before toddling back toward Camilla, chirping softly.

“…”

Watching the tiny creature crawl back toward her, Camilla grimaced.

[It seems to like you.]

Jetty, the red divine eagle, observed the scene with amusement.

‘This isn’t a simple problem!’

A divine beast represented the head of the household. It wasn’t something anyone else could possess.

Camilla turned to Duke Sorpel, her face stiff with unease.

‘Huh?’

To her surprise, Duke Sorpel was smiling.

He watched the divine beast circling Camilla with a look of overwhelming joy.

[Of course, why wouldn’t he? This is wonderful.]

Unlike the confused Camilla, Hershel nodded repeatedly as if he fully understood Duke Sorpel’s feelings.

It had been over a century. The family had endured endless ridicule for lacking a divine beast. But now, finally, the Sorpel family’s divine beast had returned!

[How could he not be delighted?]

‘Is that it?’

Maybe finding the divine beast alone was enough to make them happy.

‘Sigh.’

Camilla let out a deep sigh as she took in Hershel’s words and Duke Sorpel’s expression.

Was it because the tension had lifted? Her legs suddenly felt weak.

“Camilla!”

It wasn’t just a feeling—her legs gave out for real.

As Ludville rushed to support her and Duke Sorpel looked on in concern, Camilla fainted for the second time that day.