A fortune-telling princess

[king…]

No matter how she looked at it, it was just a cat.

When she shifted slightly in her sleep, the small creature curled up tighter and let out a faint whimper, looking adorably helpless. While Camilla watched it quietly, the divine beast sensed her gaze and opened its eyes slightly.

[king!]

Seemingly delighted that Camilla had woken up, the divine beast let out a louder cry and immediately stood to lick her face repeatedly.

Click!

“My lady!”

At that moment, the door opened, and Dormann entered with a basin and a wet towel in hand, likely intending to help her clean up.

“You’re awake! One moment, please!”

Without waiting for her to respond, he dashed out of the room again.

A moment later—

“Camilla!”

The first to arrive was Duke Sorpel. He must have instructed the servants to notify him immediately when she woke up.

Striding quickly to her bedside, he placed his hand on her forehead.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips.

“Your fever has gone down, thankfully.”

Tucking Camilla’s exposed hand back under the blanket, Duke Sorpel gazed at her in silence for a moment.

He had so many questions. There were so many things he wanted to tell her.

But seeing Camilla lying there, her face looking noticeably gaunt from the past few days, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

“Rest.”

He patted her shoulder briefly before rising to his feet.

“Father.”

Camilla hurriedly called after him.

“This little one…”

Calling it a child felt strange, yet she gestured toward the tiny white tiger still licking her face.

Noticing her gaze, Duke Sorpel chuckled softly.

“It won’t leave your side.”

“Pardon?”

“Even when I took it out of the room, it kept crying and somehow ended up back here.”

He picked up the little tiger, holding it in his arms.

[king…]

“Like this.”

The divine beast wriggled in his arms and continued whining toward Camilla.

As Duke Sorpel looked at the tiger helplessly, he placed it back beside her. The cunning little tiger immediately scampered back to its spot next to her face, settling down as if it belonged there.

“My lady, here’s your medicine…”

Dormann approached with the medicine.

[Roar!]

“Ah!”

As soon as Dormann stretched out his hand, the previously calm tiger let out a sharp growl, raising its fur.

“I-I wasn’t trying to touch her!”

Startled, Dormann stumbled backward, but the tiger remained on edge, its fur still bristling as it glared at him.

Chuckling, Duke Sorpel once again scooped up the tiger.

[king…]

“At least it seems to recognize me as the head of the family, since it doesn’t reject me.”

While it acted like a docile kitten most of the time, the divine beast turned fierce when others approached Camilla.

“Take your medicine.”

Taking advantage of the moment, Dormann handed the medicine to Camilla, keeping a wary eye on the tiger.

Camilla stared at him in disbelief. Once, Dormann had been a soul-managing deity, yet here he was, reduced to nervously tiptoeing around a baby tiger.

“Get some more sleep.”

After ensuring Camilla had taken the medicine, Duke Sorpel placed the tiger back beside her and left the room with a lingering glance at the two.

“Hmph.”

Camilla turned to look at the little tiger, which had nestled itself into a comfortable spot.

‘I really dislike animals.’

Especially baby animals or children. They required constant attention from start to finish.

Maybe it was because she had never been cared for herself. Looking at something small and weak made her clueless about how to handle it.

[king?]

The tiger blinked up at her with wide eyes, then licked her cheek again.

…Forget it.

‘I’ll just sleep.’

Perhaps there was a sleeping aid mixed in with the medicine. Soon, Camilla drifted into a deep sleep once more.

****

“You fool! Do you know how dangerous that was?”

“No, but I saw it in my dream—”

“Camilla!”

For the first time in a while, she got scolded.

The moment she told Duke Sorpel that she had jumped into the Spirit Lake to retrieve the divine beast’s egg, he exploded with anger.

Even Ludville, who rarely showed emotion, frowned deeply, his eyes full of disapproval. Ravi, meanwhile, remained silent but pressed his fingers firmly against his temples.

“I’m sorry, but there’s no need to worry. No one saw me.”

“What?”

“I made sure no one was around. It won’t tarnish the family’s reputation.”

“That’s not the issue here!”

“That’s irrelevant!”

“Are you an idiot? How could you even say that?”

Aren’t they mad because I acted recklessly as the Sorpel family’s lady?

Camilla blinked, clearly confused. Seeing her misunderstanding, all three men sighed in unison.

“Don’t do anything so dangerous again.”

“It wasn’t exactly dangerous—”

“Camilla!”

The way all three of them said her name simultaneously made her flinch. When did they become so synchronized?

“Yes, I understand.”

Camilla finally relented under their combined stares.

[king!]

The tiger, which had climbed onto her shoulder at some point, licked her face again as if to comfort her.

“Why are you always licking me?”

The baby tiger constantly licked her hands and face at every opportunity. She wasn’t candy, so what was it so obsessed with?

“It’s feeding off your energy as it grows.”

“Energy?”

Duke Sorpel explained her question.

“Divine beasts grow by consuming the pure energy of humans.”

Camilla looked at the tiger still licking her face with newfound astonishment. Was it sucking out her energy this whole time?

“Though this licking behavior seems unique to this one.”

Duke Sorpel smiled faintly, as if guessing her thoughts.

“Typically, a divine beast grows just by staying close to someone whose energy it resonates with. It doesn’t need to do that.”

Camilla tapped the tiger’s nose lightly with her finger. Stop licking.

[king…]

The tiger curled up, covering its face with its paws, as if sulking. After a moment, Camilla turned her gaze back to Duke Sorpel.

“Is it alright for it to stay with me?”

She sighed softly.

A divine beast was a symbol of the family’s head. Having it follow her instead of Duke Sorpel might cause unnecessary trouble.

“Being the head of the family doesn’t grant ownership of a divine beast.”

“Pardon?”

He reached for the tiger perched on her shoulder.

[king…]

The tiger hesitated but reluctantly climbed onto his hand.

“Divine beasts choose their companions. It just so happens that their choices have always aligned with the heads of the family.”

He gently stroked the tiger’s head, his eyes filled with affection.

“Family heads simply possess the kind of energy that divine beasts are naturally drawn to.”

“Oh…”

“And you.”

Duke Sorpel looked amused as the tiger squirmed in his hand, trying to return to Camilla.

“You seem to have an energy that all divine beasts favor.”

“Me?”

“Even that damn red eagle was drawn to you, wasn’t it?”

He was referring to Jetty, the red divine eagle.

“The last time it wanted to meet you, I suspect it was because of that bird.”

“Jetty?”

Now that he mentioned it, Luve had told her before she fainted that Duke Jabilon wanted to see her.

“Why?”

“Who knows? He wouldn’t tell me.”

Duke Sorpel smirked knowingly.

“…”

Camilla absentmindedly picked up the tiger, her mind a tangled mess.

‘Should I really keep this divine beast by my side?’

Her internal conflict must have shown on her face because Duke Sorpel suddenly called her.

“Camilla.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

It was an odd expression of gratitude. Camilla’s face turned strange as she looked up at him.

Duke Sorpel was smiling softly. It was a gentle expression she had never seen before—calm and peaceful.

“Thanks to you, I’ve fulfilled a long-cherished wish.”

Did he really mean that? Did he truly have no regrets?

“Our family finally has a divine beast again.”

The years of hardship seemed to flash across his mind as he let out a deep sigh. Then, he gazed warmly at the tiger.

“This is something worth celebrating.”

“Father.”

“Well done.”

Seeing the lightened expression on Duke Sorpel’s face, Camilla couldn’t bring herself to say anything further.

‘So, everything turned out well?’

To be honest, this was the conclusion she had hoped for. She had planned and prepared for this outcome.

She could have simply shared the location of the divine beast’s egg after claiming she had seen it in a dream.

‘Why did you go there yourself? It was so dangerous.’

Dormann had asked her that after her recovery.

He was right. There had been no need for her to dive into the lake herself.

Even if she had taken Duke Sorpel to the lake with the pendant, the matter could have been resolved easily.

But she hadn’t done that.

She had wanted to find the divine beast and deliver it with her own hands.

Camilla didn’t care about praise or reputation. Her only focus was singular.

At least now, no matter what trouble she caused, it seemed unlikely she’d lose her head immediately.