A fortune-telling princess

“This is…”

Arsion remained silent for a long time, turning the mana stone over in his hands.

When his magic flowed into the mineral, its color changed again—a vivid, bright blue.

‘As I thought!’

It was a refined mana stone.

This was the same hue as the mana stone Duke Jabilon had flaunted to taunt Duke Sorpel years ago.

“Interesting.”

After examining the stone for a while, Arsion finally spoke.

“The old men will lose their minds over this.”

This stone wasn’t just powerful—it surpassed the best mana stones on the continent. Even one this small, no bigger than a finger, radiated an unprecedented amount of magic.

“That’s the smallest size.”

“What?”

Arsion’s eyes widened. If this was the smallest,

“There are larger ones?”

“Yup.”

“Hah.”

Arsion stared at the mana stone in his hand with a newfound sense of awe.

“What do you want?”

“The mine producing this mana stone is mine.”

Camilla rested her hands on her hips and lifted her chin proudly.

“…”

“I’m just saying.”

But the confidence melted away as Arsion’s gaze lingered on her, making her feel self-conscious.

He looked at her like he was asking,

“I need the power of black magicians. As you just saw, this reacts only to their magic. But once refined, even white magicians can use it.”

“You’re asking me to connect you?”

“Yup!”

She was pleasantly surprised at how quickly he understood.

“I’ll tell him.”

“Huh?”

“My father.”

*****

Thud.

“What’s this?”

“It’s for you.”

“From who?”

“Some woman.”

Duke Sephra’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the black mineral Arsion tossed onto his desk. It wasn’t the refined blue mana stone Arsion had demonstrated but a raw, unprocessed sample Camilla had given him.

Arsion had no intention of explaining, so he simply let his father judge the material himself.

“A low-grade mana stone? Hm?”

The duke’s previously indifferent expression shifted as he picked up the mineral for a closer look.

“What does she want?”

His cold gaze turned to Arsion, who met it with equal detachment.

“A deal.”

“Bring her here.”

“Tomorrow.”

That was the end of it. Arsion left without another word, and Duke Sephra didn’t watch him go.

“When will this end?”

Arsion paused with his hand on the doorknob.

“Do I still have to wait longer?”

The duke’s tone remained flat, as did his expression.

“I’d like it over quickly. I’m tired of waiting.”

Without responding, Arsion shut the door behind him and walked away.

Thud.

Only then did Duke Sephra look toward where his son had stood moments before.

With a sigh, he turned his attention back to the mana stone, which had now turned a deep blue.

“A woman?”

Now that he thought about it, this was unusual. Arsion had never done anything at someone else’s request before, nor had he ever come to him voluntarily.

Duke Sephra stared at the door with an unfamiliar look in his eyes.

***

‘It’s more normal than I expected.’

Camilla was surprised at how ordinary the Sephra duchy appeared, despite its ominous reputation.

Rumors of death and darkness had led her to expect something more sinister, but the estate was surprisingly mundane.

“Welcome.”

Even the staff seemed normal. Camilla followed Arsion through the house as they were greeted politely by the servants.

Eventually, they arrived at Duke Sephra’s office.

Bam!

Without bothering to knock, Arsion opened the door. Camilla, startled by his audacity, quickly composed herself and stepped inside.

‘Oh.’

Seated behind a desk was a middle-aged man.

Camilla couldn’t help but admire him quietly. Would Arsion grow to look like this?

With jet-black hair, cold, emotionless eyes, and a face that seemed carved from stone, the resemblance between the two was undeniable.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Camilla Sorpel.”

“Unexpected.”

“Excuse me?”

Unexpected? What was?

Camilla tilted her head at Duke Sephra’s murmured comment as he rose from his seat.

“Sit.”

“Yes.”

Once she was seated, the duke got straight to the point.

“You want to make a deal.”

Camilla didn’t hesitate. She laid out her proposal with a bright smile.

“I’d like your help refining and selling these. I’ll offer 10% of the profits.”

The duke didn’t respond immediately, silently analyzing her.

“Without black magicians, it’s worthless.”

A blunt statement, but Camilla wasn’t fazed.

“True, but it’s also a resource black magicians would covet.”

She kept smiling, her expression seemingly carefree, but her words carried weight.

So what if you don’t need it? Should I leave it as trash? Either way, the mine is mine.

“…”

“…”

The two stared at each other for a while, an unspoken battle of wills.

Eventually, the duke nodded.

“If you promise to sell to us first, we’ll take the deal.”

“Deal!”

“Hm?”

“I mean, thank you.”

Having already entrusted the sales to him, that condition was nothing. In fact, she had been prepared to offer more of the profits if necessary.

Camilla bowed respectfully.

“I’ll return with the contract.”

“Alright.”

What she had expected to be the hardest part of the process had gone smoothly. Camilla let out a quiet sigh of relief, her smile growing wider.

“By the way…”

The duke’s voice stopped her as she was about to leave.

“Your admirer seems to be our family’s divine beast.”

‘What?’

Camilla froze, looking down.

There, at her feet, a black wolf was resting its head on her lap.

It didn’t take long for her to realize this was the Sephra family’s divine beast.

“Ahaha… Well, you know…”

‘This man is sharp.’

Camilla had tried to ignore the wolf, but her occasional glances must have given her away. Duke Sephra had caught on instantly.

“I didn’t think anyone outside our family could see it.”

Though the wolf wasn’t in its summoned form, the duke could still sense where it was. Watching it take an interest in Camilla, he studied her quietly.

Rumors about the Sorpel lady had been spreading lately.

‘She found the egg of her family’s divine beast, didn’t she?’

While not officially public, it was common knowledge among the right circles.

“I find it fascinating too,” Camilla admitted with a sigh.

“I don’t usually meddle in other people’s business, but…”

Her gaze didn’t leave the duke. Or more precisely, the figure clinging to him.

“Why is that child holding onto you like that?”

The ghostly figure embracing Duke Sephra’s neck, its tear-filled eyes pleading silently, caught her attention.

***

“Sier.”

[Yes?]

The boy, nibbling on a cookie, looked up at her curiously.

Arsion had left to buy drinks after she claimed Sier was thirsty. Naturally, the boy had stayed by her side, his attention focused on the cookies.

“Can I ask you something?”

Sier nodded, inviting her to speak.

Camilla hesitated for a moment before asking a question she had been curious about.

“That scar on your back…”

[…]

The boy froze, stopping mid-bite.

Camilla rarely concerned herself with ghosts’ pasts, but this one had stuck with her.

‘I can’t ignore it.’

The tattered clothes and the reddish scar visible through them told a clear story. It was a lash mark, likely from a whip.

“Did your brother do that?”

[No!]

Even as the boy denied it vehemently, Camilla had already known the answer.

She had seen Arsion dash off to buy food the moment Sier expressed hunger. There was no way a man like that would harm his brother.

‘Not unless he’s a psychopath.’

Still, she had hoped her question might coax the boy into talking.

“Then who was it?”

[…Him.]

“Him?”

[Our father.]

“…”

It was an answer she had half-expected. The perpetrators of child abuse were often those closest to the victim.

[But my brother…]

What Sier said next, however, shattered all her expectations.