A fortune-telling princess

[Brother always took the beatings from Father. Every single day.]

“And you?”

[Not me. I was never hit. This scar… I got it because I tried to shield him from a beating.]

Once Sier began speaking, the words poured out uncontrollably.

Unlike frail Sier, who had been weak since birth, Arsion had endured regular beatings from their father starting at the age of five.

The reason?

[Father said it was necessary to become the master of the divine beast.]

Hatred, anger, resentment—those emotions needed to build over time to claim the divine beast as one’s own.

The final trial for a child raised in such a way?

[We were locked up for three months.]

They were told to kill the one closest to them and sear that death into their memory. Locked in a dark, cramped space, they weren’t released until only one survived.

[Brother was freed only after I died.]

‘What a deranged family.’

Camilla’s only conclusion after hearing the story was that the Sephra family was insane.

‘So all the past family heads were raised like this to inherit the position of patriarch?’

The more she listened, the more she understood why Sier appeared so pitiful—frail, emaciated, and weighed down by sadness.

Camilla emptied her pouch of cookies, feeding Sier as much as she could.

***

Honestly, coming here today had felt uncomfortable.

‘I’m just here to discuss business and leave, but…’

Sier, who always lingered by Arsion’s side, was now facing the man who had driven him to his death.

‘I feel bad for him.’

But what she saw when she entered the duke’s office was beyond belief.

As soon as she walked in, Sier scurried over to Duke Sephra.

She thought the boy was reaching out to choke his father out of hatred. If that was his plan, she wouldn’t have stopped him.

But what happened next left Camilla stunned.

Instead of choking the duke, Sier threw his arms around his father’s neck and began sobbing silently, his expression full of sorrow.

‘I don’t want to get involved in family drama, but…’

She had hoped to keep the meeting professional, but she couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Why is he crying?”

Why does that boy look so heartbroken?

Hearing her question, Duke Sephra’s cold demeanor cracked for the first time.

“Sier?”

“Sier is crying?”

Both Arsion and the duke asked their questions simultaneously. Camilla nodded lightly.

Until now, both men had been aware of Sier’s presence.

Arsion believed Sier hovered near the duke out of hatred, while Duke Sephra had assumed the black smoke was just another lingering soul, common in their family’s vicinity.

“Is it really… Sier?”

For a moment, Duke Sephra’s cold gaze wavered.

The vulnerability disappeared quickly, but his eyes remained fixed on the spot where Sier stood.

“Is that all?”

Arsion asked softly.

“Don’t you have anything to say?”

“No.”

Bang!

Arsion slammed his hand down on the desk.

“Nothing at all?”

“…”

“Nothing to say to the son you killed?”

Bang!

Arsion’s fist hit the desk again, breaking off a piece.

“You have nothing to say when the son you killed is standing right here?”

“Should I?”

“Hah!”

Arsion clenched his fists tightly, taking a step toward the duke as if he might strike him at any moment.

“Wait.”

Camilla grabbed Arsion’s arm.

“Let go.”

His low, chilling voice sent shivers down her spine, but she held on firmly.

“I’m not here to interfere with your family issues, but…”

She glanced toward Duke Sephra again.

“Can’t you see?”

“…”

“Sier is standing in front of him, blocking the way.”

Sier was holding his arms out wide, his tear-filled eyes pleading silently.

[I’m sorry, Brother. I’m so sorry.]

Over and over, Sier’s tiny voice repeated his apologies.

“He says he’s sorry.”

Once again, Camilla found herself acting as an interpreter for the dead.

“Why are you apologizing?”

Arsion ground his teeth as he glared at the duke. Why was his little brother protecting this man?

[I… I volunteered. I said I’d go into the basement.]

‘What?’

Camilla’s hands froze mid-gesture.

‘What did he just say?’

He volunteered to enter that place?

“Am I hearing this right?”

She had heard him clearly, yet she couldn’t believe it.

[I knew I didn’t have much time left.]

Sier’s next words plunged the room into silence.

[I overheard them.]

He had overheard a conversation between his father and a healer.

Sier had been surprisingly calm when he overheard the diagnosis.

Having spent most of his life confined to a bed, he had already come to terms with his mortality.

‘Ugh.’

Camilla sighed deeply. She despised tragic stories like this. How could such a young child speak so calmly about death?

[So, for the final trial, I volunteered to go first.]

“…”

[I wanted my brother to become the patriarch.]

Sier had watched his brother endure so much pain over the years.

He had seen Arsion suffer endlessly and had wanted his sacrifice to bring him closer to inheriting the family headship.

If he died of illness and Arsion couldn’t complete the final trial, would all his suffering have been for nothing?

[I didn’t want my brother’s struggles to be meaningless.]

Even though he knew his death would cause Arsion great pain, he also knew that such emotions would draw the divine beast’s favor.

[If I was going to die anyway, I wanted my death to help him.]

‘What an insane family.’

It wasn’t just the patriarchs who were deranged—every member of this family seemed mad.

Camilla was speechless. Could a seven-year-old really think this way? At an age when most children played with candy, this boy had made a calculated decision to sacrifice himself.

“…”

Camilla wasn’t the only one stunned into silence. Arsion, too, stared blankly at the spot where Sier stood.

“You…”

[I’m sorry, Brother.]

“You, how could you…”

[I’m truly sorry.]

It was the same phrase Arsion had heard countless times in the basement.

When Sier had been dying, those were the last words he had spoken.

“…Sier.”

[My death wasn’t Father’s fault.]

Sier turned back toward Duke Sephra, taking his father’s hand gently.

[Father.]

When Arsion was finally released from the basement, he had charged at his father with blind rage. He wanted to kill him for what had happened to Sier.

But the attempt was futile. Arsion was knocked unconscious in a single blow.

After that, Duke Sephra had gone alone to the basement to retrieve Sier’s body.

[That was the first time I saw Father cry.]

The duke hadn’t made a sound, nor had he shown any expression. Yet tears had silently fallen from his eyes, one drop at a time.

“I was just… tired of it all.”

Duke Sephra let out a small sigh.

“Everything.”

The child’s death, the revolting position of patriarch, the oppressive burden of the divine beast—it was all too much. His complex emotions had spilled over as silent tears.

“There was no deeper meaning.”

He had never felt deserving of those tears.

“Only then did I understand.”

Why the previous patriarch had begged for death so desperately.

“I’m no different.”

He, too, longed to escape this cursed role.

“The divine beast of this family is always found in the same place.”

Duke Sephra’s gaze bore into Arsion.

“Inside the patriarch’s body.”

“…!”

“You have to carve it out to retrieve the egg.”

The duke didn’t take his eyes off Arsion as he continued.

“In this family, emotions are useless. You endured the beatings, witnessed your brother’s death—all to rid yourself of pointless feelings. The only things you need are hatred, anger, and a burning desire to kill me.”

Kill me and claim the egg. That’s your purpose.

With that, Duke Sephra rose from his seat.

Sier continued to sob quietly, while Arsion remained frozen, staring at his father.

“Wow…”

Camilla, who had been silently watching everything unfold, finally let out an exasperated sigh.

I want to go home.

I can’t stand to spend another second in this madhouse!